RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins has said his main priorities are to revive BlackBerry sales in the US, get the updated version of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet into the market and launch the next-generation BlackBerry 10 OS on schedule.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Heins said the company needs to so “something dramatically different” to recover its US market share and that it will start a promotional campaign – including money and app offers – with US operators this week to encourage consumers to try its latest BlackBerry 7 touchscreen devices.

He told Reuters that just 20 percent of US BlackBerry subscribers have the latest devices and his focus is therefore to increase the number of consumers with the latest devices through operator partnerships. He added that the company plans to launch an LTE-enabled version of the PlayBook tablet in the spring.

Heins – who took over from co-founders and co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Laziridis last week – also told Bloomberg that the company has been approached by handset and PC makers about the possibility of licensing BlackBerry 10.

In recent years, RIM has suffered from declining sales and market share with its shares hitting a seven-year low in November.  One of Heins’ first statements on assuming the CEO post was that he didn’t plan “drastic change”, prompting concern in the markets. However, he told Reuters the comments related to whether RIM would be sold or split up.

Responding to suggestions that RIM's former CEOs would still have significant influence on the company, Heins told Reuters: "What I do with the company is my decision. The CEO runs the company."

Bloomberg reported that RIM’s stock price rose 3.3 percent to US$16.80 yesterday after Fairfax Financial Holdings doubled its stake in the company. Fairfax boss, Prem Watsa, became a director of RIM as part of last week’s leadership changes.