BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins displays the new Blackberry 10 smartphones at the BlackBerry 10 launch event by Research in Motion at Pier 36 in Manhattan on January 30, 2013 in New York City. The new smartphone and mobile operating system is being launched simultaneously in six cities. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
TORONTO -- Research In Motion is changing its name to BlackBerry as it rolls out a new version of the smartphone after lengthy delays that saw the company fall behind its rivals in the mobile computing market.
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins announced the company's new name Wednesday in New York before unveiling a long-awaited line-up of BlackBerrys that will run on a redesigned operating system.
Photos: BlackBerry's makeover unveiled
The first of the long-awaited smartphones will go on sale in the next week in Canada and the United Kingdom, but won't be released in the U.S. until March.
A model called the Z10 will go on sale Thursday in the U.K. Prices will vary by wireless carriers. The Z10 will be released in Canada on Feb. 5 and will cost about $150 with a three-year contract.
Heins says the Z10 and another model called the Q10 won't come to the U.S. until March. He didn't say how much the smartphone will cost.
With the name change, the Canadian company's stock will now trade under the ticker symbol "BBRY" on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The company's shares fell 45 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to $15.21 in early afternoon trading.
ROB GILLIES, Associated Press
Associated Press