BlackBerry 10 gets off to a record start

Barely a week into the launch of its all-new, make-or-break smartphone, BlackBerry is projecting a leadership position for itself in "mobile computing" with the device, says chief executive Thorsten Heins.

According to Heins, BlackBerry aimed to reclaim its position as an innovator in a world where smartphones would have the processing power to replace tablets and laptops.

The company, which changed its name last week from Research In Motion to Blackberry, coinciding with the launch of BlackBerry 10, was the first to offer on-the-go email before losing ground to competition from a host of rivals. The company is now looking to explore new territory.

Heins who took over as CEO a year ago, said in an interview at the time of the launch of BlackBerry 10 that it was not just about smartphones and tablets.

He added, the architecture the company had built was true mobile computing architecture and not a downgraded PC operating system. He added it was a whole new innovation built from scratch for mobile.

Despite a number positive reviews for the BB10 and reports of strong market response, a number of analysts and technology pundits remain sceptical about BlackBerry's chances of regaining its lost position, and its ability to sell either enough smartphones or manage to transform the way people used them.