BlackBerry, Alicia Keys to part ways starting Jan 30th

In a not so unexpected move, BlackBerry has announced that it is parting ways with global creative director-cum spokesperson Alicia Keys after barely year of collaborating.

Keys was introduced by ex-CEO Thorsten Heins during last year's BlackBerry 10 event which ushered in the Z10 and BlackBerry's new OS. With BlackBerry focusing on enterprise and slowly retreating from the consumer end of the market, a spokesperson of Keys' caliber and popularity is no longer needed. 14-time Grammy Award winner Keys appeared in various BlackBerry events and even integrated her Z10 into her stage routine during live shows. BlackBerry has often used musicians to promote its products, previous endorsers include DJ Diplo and The Martinez Brothers but it was recently revealed that they turned down Justin Bieber early in his career because they thought he was 'just a fad'. Bieber wanted $200,000.00 and 20 devices to be RIM's spokesperson.