Blackberry has unveiled its first entirely touchscreen smartphone, in a desperate attempt to rival the iPhone and revive its flagging sales.
The company, once the brand of choice for business customers, has struggled in recent years to compete against Apple and other rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy.
Its market share has dropped dramatically from 41 per cent in 2007, the year the iPhone was launched, to just 4 per cent in the first quarter of last year.
But the firm says the new model, the Z10, has been ‘reinvented’ and offers much better internet, music, camera and email facilities.
The phone goes on sale in the UK first, from today.
BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins displays one of the new Blackberry Z10 smartphone
It also resembles the iPhone physically, with a large touchscreen. It has a new operating system, the BlackBerry 10, and its makers say the phone is aimed at ‘the true multitasker’.
The Z10 device has a touch screen but no 'middle button' while the Q10 has a Qwerty keyboard for 'the best typing experience on smartphone'.
Chief executive Thorsten Heins, who also announced that the firm is changing its name from RIM to BlackBerry, said: 'We have been on a journey of transformation... We intend to lead the move from mobile communication to mobile computing.'
But the handset maker was immediately accused of 'copying' the iPhone's design and software with its BB10 operating system.
The Z10 will be available in black and white - just like Apple's iPhone 5
Twitter users led the complaints, with comments ranging from 'ripoff' to 'carbon copy', while other said the handsets bore a 'striking resemblance' to each other.
Launching the two handsets in New York, Mr Heins said: 'It's been one year since I was handed the reins, and it has been challenging, but exhilarating,' said Mr Heins.
The handsets do not have a home button, instead using a user's thumb to 'flick' across the screen. It also has a new 'peek' feature that allows owners to see their email and other messages from anywhere in the phone's menu system by swiping from the left of the screen.
The firm also said it had worked to create the 'best typing experience' of any handset.
It also boasts a new feature called balance to switch between a personal and business mode - each with its own applications, wallpaper and settings.
'People run around with two phones, a private one and a personal one,' said Mr Heins.
'We wanted to address that, and people can switch with a single flick.'
He said the new handsets were for 'people who are hyper-connected socially, who need balance in both personal and professional lives.
'People who want to flow, who don't want a home button. Blackberry 10 will keep them moving.'
Another new feature called 'active frames' allows people to have several apps open at once, and easily.
Spot the difference: The new BlackBerry Z10 (bottom) and Apple's iPhone 5 (up)
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