In remarks earlier Heins said, "There was no comment [at the Tuesday keynote] that 'we will not build physical keypads,'" he said. "We're the best physical keypad on the planet. We only showed one element of BlackBerry 10 [a demo of a all-touch prototype unit]. There are many others. We're not going to lose the focus on physical keypads."

Heins has been CEO for just 12 weeks. He took charge of RIM's hardware products when he joined the company in 2007, and then gained responsibilities to keep BlackBerry 7 on track when development ran into problems, and then to deliver the PlayBook OS, the forerunner of BB10. That background, his comments at this week's BlackBerry World keynote and the brief exchange with reporters suggest that there's a tough core of determination and competitive drive under his laid-back, quiet-spoken mannerisms.

He'll need every bit of it. In response to a question, Heins reiterated that he had been surprised by the depth and breadth of RIM's difficulties after becoming CEO.

In his previous executive roles, "I was focused on what I was supposed to do," he said. "The CEO role is a broader one. That's when I had access to all the data... But I'm excited about the progress my management team has accomplished in three months.

Heins will complete that changeover, along with other changes to streamline RIM's management structure, with the hiring of a chief marketing officer and COO.