BlackBerry marketing head undeterred by share loss

The new marketing chief for BlackBerry smartphones isn't dejected by perceptions that his products look ancient next to iPhones and Android devices.

Frank Boulben, four weeks into his job as chief marketing officer for Research in Motion Ltd., promises to impress people when phones running the company's new BlackBerry 10 software are released in early 2013, at least a year later than analysts had expected.

RIM will tout features that current devices lack, he said. Few details about BlackBerry 10 have been released, but the company has said it will include the ability to run multiple programs at once and will let users switch between programs without returning to the home screen. Android devices and iPhones typically require people to return to the home screen to start or resume an app, while traditional computers let you jump directly to them.

"You'll be able to flow seamlessly from one application to another," Boulben said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "The underlying operating system is truly multitasking."

But touting new features is just part of the challenge. BlackBerry devices will be handicapped because, compared with rivals, they have fewer games, utilities and other apps available to extend the phones' functionality.

Analysts believe RIM is running out of time to turn itself around. RIM is holding its annual shareholders meeting in Waterloo, Ontario, on Tuesday, less than two weeks after announcing disappointing financial results, deep job cuts and the latest delay in BlackBerry 10. Its stock is trading near a nine-year low and closed Monday at $7.67, down 43 cents, or 5.3 percent, for the day.