New BlackBerry could still face an uphill battle

Blackberry-maker Research In Motion’s (RIM) new prototype of its next-generation BlackBerry 10 smartphone has had a lukewarm response from some industry experts after its glitzy preview.

The firm’s current smartphones and its BBM platform are hugely popular in the Middle East - but that’s not replicated elsewhere on earth where Apple and Android models have surged well ahead.

Worryingly for the recently unveiled BlackBerry 10, which will be available to consumers in October, a survey from Appcelerator showed less than 16 percent of developers were “very interested” in creating programmes for RIM - compared to a whopping 90 per cent for Apple and 80 per cent for Android.

“The bulls have disappeared from the scene as far as RIM is concerned,” said David Cockfield, managing director at Northland Wealth Management.

“There is no investor confidence in RIM at all. It will have to do something fairly spectacular to turn things around.”

BlackBerry 10 devices will navigate with fewer keystrokes than RIM’s existing smartphones, relying on swipe gestures and word suggestions.

The firm has confirmed its next phones won’t have a keyboard.