Skip to content

BlackBerry World conference kicks off as company tries to rally developers

An annual event once considered a victory lap for executives of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will take a notably different tone this year as the company tries to rally developers in hopes they can help rescue the smartphone maker’s dwindling sales.

TORONTO — An annual event once considered a victory lap for executives of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will take a notably different tone this year as the company tries to rally developers in hopes they can help rescue the smartphone maker’s dwindling sales.

The BlackBerry World conference kicks off on Tuesday in Orlando, Fla. amid questions about the future of the Canadian technology firm that has been the centre of takeover rumours in recent months.

But while some have expressed hopes that the company will use the three-day event to unveil its highly anticipated next generation of BlackBerry devices, that’s unlikely to happen.

“We plan to launch BlackBerry 10 in the latter half of 2012 and we don’t plan to showcase it until it is ready,” said RIM spokeswoman Tenille Kennedy ahead of the conference on Monday.