RIM CEO reckons BlackBerry 10 handsets will replace laptops

RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins has been making some pretty bold claims about his company’s upcoming platform overhaul, BlackBerry 10.

Heins has been on something of a BlackBerry 10 offensive for the past several months, championing the new platform’s USPs in an attempt to drum up support and interest. For the most part it seems to be working – a lot people, including us, are very excited by it. 

Scheduled for a January 30 launch, BlackBerry 10 is RIM’s last shot at bringing itself back into contention within the mobile space. 

But Heins’ latest comments have caused something of a stir inside the industry. Speaking to The New York Times, Heins claimed that within three to five years his company’s BlackBerry 10 platform would eliminate the need for laptop computers.

‘Whenever you enter an office, you don’t have your laptop with you, you have your mobile computer power exactly here,’ said Heins. ‘You will not carry a laptop within three to five years.’

That’s quite a bold statement, even more so when you consider that RIM is effectively starting from afresh with its BlackBerry 10 platform – no one currently uses it. Not consumers. Not businesses. No one. RIM has to start all over again. 

From this current vantage point it’s difficult to predict how BlackBerry 10 will perform. Many analysts aren’t convinced by the platform, claiming it’s too little too late. But we’ve had some pretty extensive hands-on time with it and can say it is definitely a big leap forwards for the company. 

Will consumers think the same? We think so – but it will definitely take time for BlackBerry 10 to make a name for itself, and hardware will play a pivotal role in making it a success. 

So while we are confident that BlackBerry 10 will be an excellent platform, we’re not convinced that it’ll be replacing our laptops within the next decade or so…

Sorry, Thorsten.