On Wednesday, Research in Motion, creator of the famous Blackberry line of phones, held a flashy event with Alicia Keys to announce that they have two brand new phones debuting soon and that they are becoming the hip, exciting brand they want to be by changing their very boring and nonsensical name to … Blackberry. Wow.

Blackberry desperately wants to be cool again. It has been losing ground to Apple’s iPhone and Android phones made by companies such as Samsung for quite some time. IPhones and Samsung Galaxys are seen as modern, cool and advanced. Blackberrys are seen more as something that was amazing and super cool about 10 years ago. They’re phones for older businessmen and those who worry about security, such as Barack Obama.

That problem is clear when walking on campus. You might see someone using a Blackberry a couple of times a day; you see someone using an iPhone or Android every few seconds. And the young students who use smartphones soon will be heading off soon to the workforce — exactly the market Blackberry has traditionally held. And they will want to bring their current smartphones with them. That trend has already been happening, and not just among recent college graduates. Blackberry just isn’t in the minds of young consumers like Apple or Samsung is.

But Blackberry actually isn’t an elderly technology company. They have some innovative ideas with their upcoming phone, the Z10. While it has just as boring a name as the company used to, the phone itself has many cutting-edge features. The user interface is all new and is a clever update to how users interact with a touch screen. In a world where tech companies constantly sue each other for copying everything from app icons to how finger movements zoom or unlock a phone, the new Blackberry system is refreshing. Moving your finger in different directions either brings applications in and out of full screen, takes you to your notifications or brings up the keyboard or other menus — and it all animates well because it looks simple and smooth.

It’s the same story with the physical looks of the device: It has an all black rectangular front much like an iPhone, or really any popular smartphone, but unlike an iPhone the back plate comes off to access the battery compartment. It is a far cry from the rounded edge phones with a full keyboard that Blackberry is famous for, and it brings something new to the market.

There is a big problem with the phone though: the name. Not just the Z10 (which sounds like a German car), but Blackberry. When you hear Blackberry, your brain thinks “boring and old.” It has a reputation for being something for business and not for regular consumers, especially younger ones. And for that reason, many people will not consider it, no matter which celebrity the company gets to endorse it.

It is probably too little, too late for Blackberry. They have been mostly nonexistent for younger phone users for too long. And even if they drummed up enough publicity to get buyers to compare the Z10 to an iPhone, many won’t switch. They have spent years buying apps and using Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems. The new Blackberry looks good, but not so much better to be worth switching ecosystems.

But there are signs of life for the former Research in Motion (which is like Samsung calling themselves Korean Electronics Development or something). They have what’s become rare in the phone world: an operating system that offers something new to the user experience. If this phone were sold by Samsung, it would probably be a success. Which is why Blackberry should ditch its name entirely if it wants more recognition by younger consumers. Forget “Blackberry,” and start something new. Maybe they can refer back to their Canadian roots. The Maple Z10 — it sounds cooler already.

Tim is a junior in Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].