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BlackBerry fans waiting for an opportunity to blend the BlackBerry 10 OS with a more familiar QWERTY form factor may know exactly how long they have left, at least north of the border. MobileSyrup received this pic tonight of what is purported to be an internal Rogers document, which lists the launch date for the BlackBerry Q10 as April 30th. A few other phones appear on the list as well, revealing the Canadian carrier will be offering the Nokia Lumia 520 and a couple of Doro's PhoneEasy models. If this date holds up it's a lot more specific than what we'd heard before -- hopefully we're not left waiting much longer for US release information.
Update: Rogers is going on the record for many more Q10 details... except the ship date. It tells us that the smartphone will cost $200 on a 3-year contract, and that Rogers will be the first (but not only) Canadian carrier with the white edition. The Q10 will also be one of the few Rogers smartphones to supplement the usual AWS-based LTE frequencies with the 2,600MHz band, the other notable example being the LG Optimus G. The more eager among us can reserve the Q10 today.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: Mobile Syrup, Rogers
Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research in Motion (now known as BlackBerry), has been until recently the third-largest shareholder in the company with 5.1 percent ownership. According to Financial Post, however, he's cut his stake in BlackBerry altogether, now reporting a grand total of zero shares. Balsillie stepped down as co-CEO in January and resigned from the board in March; this next big move away from the company will likely lead to speculation that his interest or faith in BlackBerry's future is waning, though his successor certainly would beg to differ.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: Financial Post
It looks like Japan won't be a part of BlackBerry's BB10 launch plans now or anytime in the foreseeable future. According to a report from Nikkei, BlackBerry has decided to stop selling phones in the country, at least in part because it wasn't able to justify the cost of making the necessary language modifications to its new operating system. As Nikkei also notes, however, BlackBerry has seen a particularly steep drop in market share in Japan, where it now stands at just 0.3 percent. We've reached out to BlackBerry about the news and are awaiting comment.
Update: We've received a statement from BlackBerry confirming that it has no plans to launch to launch BB10 devices in Japan at this time, although it adds that it will continue to support its customers in the country. The complete statement is as follows:
We are in the process of launching BlackBerry 10 globally in key markets and we are seeing positive demand for the BlackBerry Z10 in countries where it has already launched. Japan is not a major market for BlackBerry and we have no plans to launch BlackBerry 10 devices there at this time. However, we will continue to support BlackBerry customers in Japan.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: Reuters
I've never been a BlackBerry user. But I've seriously considered one at a few points over the years, and I've been genuinely curious to see how the first BlackBerry 10 device fares. Last week's launch event didn't sell me on one, but I'm still curious to try it. Unfortunately for BlackBerry, née RIM, the event also served to again highlight some of the problems that have plagued the company in recent years.
You'll get different opinions about when those problems really started, but you can directly trace last week's launch event back to one date almost three years ago: April 9th, 2010. That's when RIM announced it was buying QNX Software Systems, the company whose operating system would ultimately provide the basis for BlackBerry 10 (and the PlayBook before it). At the time, the acquisition didn't signal a massive shift for RIM -- it mostly talked up things like in-car infotainment systems and "intelligent peripherals."
Filed under: Mobile, Blackberry
So, catch the big game on the, er, internet? Or, if you took our advice and used more traditional hardware, you may have caught Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd trying to outdo each other to become Samsung's "Next Big Thing" promoters (only to be trumped by LeBron James), or a BlackBerry Z10 user turning a tanker truck into rubber duckies. Other tech ads included Best Buy's "Ask Amy" with Amy Poehler in full-on adorkable mode, Sony's cinematic PlayStation God of War teaser and a pair of skeevy / cleverish Godaddy ads. We also got a sneak peak at the trailers for Iron Man 3 and Zombie apocalypse / Brad Pitt starrer World War Z. Finally, Star Trek: Into Darkness launched another teaser, which notably featured the debut of the Apple Store's "AppStore.com" short link. All-in-all, pretty weak sauce compared to last year, in our opinion -- but you can decide for yourself after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Samsung, Sony, Blackberry
BlackBerry vowed to pull out all the stops to get BlackBerry 10 noticed -- and the company certainly isn't holding back with its promised Super Bowl spot. The ad claims that it's easier to show what the Z10 can't do in 30 seconds than what it can, and goes to extremes that include setting a man on fire and giving him elephant legs. We do still get a glance (or rather, Peek) at the phone itself, thankfully. Does the commercial make us want to drop everything for a Z10? Not necessarily, but we'll likely remember what we saw. Check the clip for yourself after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
With BlackBerry 10 devices wending their way into the hands of patient fans, there's been some uncertainty as to just what service plans customers need to reach the new platform's full potential. The short answer, after confirmations at CrackBerry: just about any of them. Unlike older BlackBerrys, the Z10 and future models don't require tiers with BlackBerry Internet Service or BlackBerry Enterprise Server support in order to work their push messaging magic. Those migrating from a regular BlackBerry plan won't have to worry about switching, though. The lone exceptions are subscribers who have barebones, social-only plans where BIS serves as the filter. While the switch could lead to price hikes for those cost-conscious users, it's otherwise good news for BlackBerry devotees who've wanted the same choice in service as the rest of their smartphone-owning peers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM
Source: CrackBerry
I confess, I'm intrigued by BlackBerry 10. Surprised? So am I. It's been easy to pre-emptively count BlackBerry out of the smartphone wars based on its performance over the last two or three years, but there's an element of mystique and personality that have made me quite curious to give the new OS a shot. While Wednesday's BB10 launch answered a lot of questions, it also raised a lot of new ones. Most of the mysteries revolve around its ecosystem, hardware quality, competitive advantages / disadvantages and if the platform can persuade Android and iOS users to switch. As a former Pearl and Curve owner, I want -- nay, need -- to determine for myself how well BlackBerry's latest effort holds up against its rivals. Thus, I have decided to use the BlackBerry Z10 as my sole device and daily driver for thirty days.
From now until March 3rd, I'll experience nearly every aspect of BB10: the UI and its learning curve, its performance and battery life, BlackBerry World, the highly praised virtual keyboard and how well it can handle my work load. I'll even use the phone at MWC, a major international trade show in which I'll be even more dependent on my mobile than usual. Throughout this process I'll be documenting my thoughts, feelings and emotions and deliver them in a regular series of weekly posts. By the end, we'll see whether or not BB10 can win my heart; is it a suitable replacement for the average iOS or Android user, or does the company still have a difficult path ahead of it? Time will tell, and I'm eager to find out.
Note: If you want to keep updated on my posts, be sure to use the "BradBerry" tag!
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, RIM
After delays and a software preview, RIM BlackBerry finally pulled the wraps off of it's new hardware and operating system that we'd been looking for the end of January to bring. In this week's edition of our e-publication, we take a look at all of the wares that the Canadian company unveiled in order to determine if it's enough to reinvent the outfit. We also rundown the history of the unit formally known as Research in Motion to paint a complete picture of the road leading up to this week's proceedings. Of course, there's more than just BlackBerry stuffs to peruse. Hands-On visits NAMM 2013, Weekly Stat tallies up earnings season and we get cozy with the Pebble Smartwatch. There's plenty of time for a bit of weekend reading, so head to your favorite repository to snag the goods.
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Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile
Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store