Alicia Keys Unveiled as BlackBerry Global Creative Director

R'n'B superstar Alicia Keys has been named new global creative director of BlackBerry.

The Girl on Fire hitmaker has joined the Canadian company as it attempts to make a comeback with two new handsets, a revamped platform and a rebranding.

Research in Motion (RIM) has changed its name to BlackBerry in a bid to regain traction in a market now dominated by rivals such as Apple and Samsung.

"From this point forward RIM becomes BlackBerry," chief executive Thorsten Heins said at the Blackberry 10 Launch in New York. "It is one brand, it is one promise."

In her new role Keys is expected to work closely with the app designers and carriers to explore the potential of the BB10 operating system .

"I am an extremely committed and focused individual," she said. "I'm going to start with other super women who also love BlackBerry, and work with people in the entertainment and music business to inspire creative projects.

"And I want to enhance this concept of bridging the gap between the work phone and the play phone."

BlackBerry has unveiled two new devices for its new platform - one with a physical keyboard called the Q10, and a full touchscreen Z10.

The devices boast new features such as a gesture-based navigation system, smart cameras and - unlike previous BlackBerry models - services such as Skype and the popular game Angry Birds.