BlackBerry’s CEO plans broader array of phones

WATERLOO, Ont. — BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins plans to unveil a broader array of new smartphones this year, catering to markets around the world, as the company works to recoup a stronger position with devices for more than just business users.

As competitors like Apple and Samsung prepare their next round of attacks in the highly competitive industry, with new models expected later this year, Heins is aware that BlackBerry will need to respond with more than just the pair of new phones it has announced so far.

“In order to stay relevant, we have to build a portfolio,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“We will bring it out at the moment when we can expect the biggest market attention for these products.”

Heins is thinking big these days, but he’s also well aware of the stumbles that BlackBerry has faced in the past. Its former leaders famously let the smartphone’s success go to their heads, and innovation fall by the wayside, as competitors surged ahead.

As he talks about the future, Heins sits among the smartphones that built the BlackBerry name. The company is preparing to open the BlackBerry Experience Centre at its Waterloo, Ont.- based headquarters where it will celebrate the company’s roots while showcasing the new line of products.

On the walls of the museum of sorts, which officially opens to the public in April, a timeline reminds visitors of the “history” of the BlackBerry and the devices that helped build the company to its once- dominant position. While Heins poses for photos, he’s careful not to stand beneath the “History” sign on the wall, a public- relations nightmare for a company trying to prove it’s still a serious competitor in the smartphone race.

Certainly, BlackBerry isn’t out of weeds yet, but Heins has helped the company come a long way since he took the top position in January 2012 and navigated through the make- orbreak product launch of BlackBerry 10.

In March, the BlackBerry Z10 touch screen smartphone arrived in U. S. stores, often considered its most crucial market. But Heins isn’t sitting on the sidelines tallying sales.

Instead, he’s moving ahead with a BlackBerry product line that will have three tiers: smartphones for high end users, as well as variations that sell at mid- and “entry- level” prices.