Balsillie relayed an audience member's question before answering it: "What you are asking is, when are we going to shrink the packaging so that you can hold it up to your ear." Good question.

His answer: "I can't get into future products, but it's not the hardest thing in the world to repackage." Balsillie says it's just a matter of shrinking down the PlayBook's to the size of a smartphone screen.

RIM has clearly been trying to make its BlackBerry smartphones a little sexier--see the company's new , which looks much less utilitarian and a lot more "designed."

RIM now seems poised --the user interface--perhaps to appeal to mobile users who are addicted to their BlackBerrys, but who admire the look of the iPhone's UI.

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