Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is pushing out a lot of changes in a short amount of time as it tries to recoup some of its recent losses.
Large enterprise customers like The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) are switching away from BlackBerry and to iOs en masse, so Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has a lot of catching up to do.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) attended the BlackBerry Experience Forum earlier this week and issued a report to investors on Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s progress in rebranding itself.
The analysts said the company is promoting itself as a “more competitive and contemporary smartphone developer” by “blending style with productivity.”
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) focused on the roll-out of the BlackBerry Z10 in Canada, the U.K. France, Germany, Italy and India. The device launched in India just this week, and thus far it has been widely criticized for its high price tag.
The company affirmed reports that sales were going well in its home nation of Canada and said that the Z10 was the highest sell-through launch in the history of the BlackBerry brand. The company reported that over 50 percent of the Z10’s buyers in Canada were switching from other platforms. In the U.K., it said more than a third of buyers were switching from other platforms.
BlackBerry is also rapidly expanding the number of apps it offers. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) said that in addition to the 70,000 apps that were available when the Z10 launched, the company registers almost a thousand new apps every day. It also expects the popular app WhatsApp to be ready by the time the Z10 launches in the U.S.
In addition, BlackBerry services will be available on Android and iOS through the use of an app, enabling users to use the platform’s security. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) analysts have maintained their Buy rating on shares of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB).
Meanwhile the BlackBerry 10 operating system has also gotten its first update. According to BlackBerry’s blog, the update will extend battery life and improve the performance of third party apps and multimedia. The update also features enterprise updates like new features for contacts and calendars.
Other major improvements coming with the update include better performance for the device’s camera in low-light situations. Conversations and call logging on the device have also been improved, and Google Calendars has now been fixed. It’s also easier to drag contacts in from online databases.
