Having made BlackBerry the indispensable device for business executives, lawyers and bankers who wanted to check their emails when not at their computers, the past five years have seen the Canadian company fail to fight back against competition from Apple and Google.
That, in turn, left Mr Balsillie and Mr Lazaridis under pressure from investors. RIM's shares fell 75pc last year.
"This marks the beginning of a new era for RIM," Mr Lazaridis told Bloomberg. "It was a bit of a bumpy ride. We've done it as best we could." The duo's departure comes a week before RIM's deadline for publishing a management review.
The challenges facing Mr Heins, who joined RIM four years ago from Germany manufacturer Siemens, are considerable.
RIM's share of the smartphone market in the US dwindled to 16.6pc in the three months to the end of November, according to research firm comScore.
That compares to just under 50pc for phones using Google's Android operating system and 28.7pc for Apple. RIM has lost just over $70bn (£45bn) of value since its market capitalisation peaked in 2008.
Mr Heins, who was previously RIM's chief operating officer, said he would focus on a consumer push and a smooth delivery of its products.
"We innovated while we were developing the product and that needs to stop," Mr Heins said. "We need to innovate, don't get me wrong, but ... when we say a product is defined and a product is a product, execution has to be really, really precise."
He said: "I don't think that there is some drastic change needed. We are evolving .... But this is not a seismic change."
Some main shareholders, who want a drastic improvement at a company that has lost market share and market value to Apple and Google, were unimpressed.
"If Thorsten really believes that there are no changes to be made, he will be gone within 15 to 18 months. He will be a transitional chief executive and this will be a transitional board," said Jaguar chief executive Vic Alboini, who leads an informal group of 16 RIM shareholders holding just under 10pc of the company's shares.
Mr Lazaridis, who founded RIM in 1984, will become vice chairman, while Mr Basillie will remain a board member.
Despite the public criticism from investors, the pair insisted their decision was not due to shareholder pressure.
http://boodleweb.com/bookmarks/view/5157/ford-fusion-gets-new-design-for-2013-nascar-season
http://elgg.glocalarea.com/bookmarks/view/1508/ford-fusion-gets-new-design-for-2013-nascar-season
http://www.avtz.com/elgg/bookmarks/view/211/ford-fusion-gets-new-design-for-2013-nascar-season
http://obsesss.com/elgg/bookmarks/view/339/ford-fusion-gets-new-design-for-2013-nascar-season