BlackBerry says tablets will be dead by 2018

Update: BlackBerry seemed eager to temper its CEO's comments as the company's PR arm sent out a message not to read too deeply into Thorsten Heins' pronouncements:

"The comments that Thorsten made yesterday are in line with previous comments he has made about the future of mobile computing overall, and the possibilities that come with a platform like BlackBerry 10," a BlackBerry spokesperson told AllThingsD.

"We continue to evaluate our tablet strategy, but we are not making any shifts in that strategy in the short term. When we do have information about our PlayBook strategy, we will share it."

Oh joy, more PlayBooks?!

Original article...

Everyone else might see a bright future for tablets, but BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins reckons slates have just half a decade left on the clock.

"In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore. Maybe a big screen in your workplace, but not a tablet as such," he told Bloomberg in an interview at the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles.

"Tablets themselves are not a good business model."

Bold claims from the BlackBerry man, which will no doubt be met with a lot of scepticism. Apple has just reported that iPad sales are on the up, and Android tablets continue to rise in popularity.

He'll probably regret this in Heins-sight

But the crystal-ball gazing continued with the CEO stating exactly where he thinks BlackBerry will be positioned when the tablet supposedly lets out its last breath.

"In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing – that's what we're aiming for."

It seems a pretty contradictory thing to say, however Heins wants Blackberry's focus to be purely about phones, leaving the tablet market to everyone else. After the fate of the PlayBook, we're not all that surprised.

The company has just released the BlackBerry Q10, which Heins said he expects to sell in the "tens of millions". The proof will be in the BlackBerry pudding.