Tag Archives: blackberry 10

RIM chief: we looked ‘seriously’ at Android, didn’t want to join the herd

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Thorsten Heins of RIM in formal photo

RIM's current CEO Thorsten Heins has been very candid about his company's plans and past, but he has usually given the impression that the company wouldn't even consider deviating from its one true vision of a BlackBerry OS future. Although BlackBerry 10 is very much the center of RIM's universe today, Heins has revealed to The Telegraph that his firm's eyes did stray briefly -- at one point, it "seriously" investigated Android as a platform. The company ended up backing away after deciding a "me-too" strategy didn't fit the productivity-obsessed BlackBerry crowd, the executive says. RIM decided, like Nokia, that it couldn't differentiate enough in Google's ecosystem. There's still some time to go before we learn whether or not the gamble on the in-house OS pays off. If Heins' comments still leave you dreaming of what might have been, though, don't worry: at least a few companies are providing their own visions in a slightly more tangible form.

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RIM chief: we looked 'seriously' at Android, didn't want to join the herd originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BGR  |  sourceThe Telegraph  | Email this | Comments

TAT founder Hampus Jakobsson leaves RIM for startup land (update: not as much of a blow)

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TAT founder Hampus Jakobsson leaves RIM for startup land

RIM just can't seem to avoid staff shakeups. Hampus Jakobsson, The Astonishing Tribe founder and a key factor in BlackBerry 10's interface design, has signaled that he's leaving the smartphone maker. He cites an itch to launch another startup as the impetus behind the move, although he hasn't said what he'll be doing. We can certainly tell that Jakobsson is aware of the climate in which he's leaving -- the veteran has been quick to note that others at RIM are taking his role and that he doesn't expect an upheaval as he heads through the door. There's at least a grain of truth to the reassurances, we'd say. With BlackBerry 10 devices appearing in January on RIM's current schedule, most of the hard work on the software will likely have already been done. Nonetheless, we're sure some fans will be disappointed that a guiding light won't be around to influence any followups.

[Image credit: Media Evolution, Flickr]

Update: We've learned that Jakobsson had been a Director of Strategic Alliances at RIM since TAT was acquired; while the company he brought into the fold is clearly working on BlackBerry interface design, he hasn't been guiding the work himself. The departure still has an impact -- it's just at the corporate level rather than in design.

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TAT founder Hampus Jakobsson leaves RIM for startup land (update: not as much of a blow) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink N4BB  |  sourceThe Astonishing Tribe (Twitter), Hampus Jakobsson (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

BlackBerry 10 gets homespun picture editor to reduce Instagram-envy (video)

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BlackBerry 10 gets homespun picture editor to reduce Instagramenvy

BlackBerry users who routinely feel left out while friends share retro pictures of coffee and pastries on Instagram will soon have their own BB alternative. Slides released by N4BB reveal that a Scalado-powered photo editing app has been baked into BB10, which is due early next year. The software will let you tweak and enhance your casual snaps, but also offer a carousel of aged filters you can drag onto shots of your own taste-appropriate snack goods. After the break we've got an early hands-on with the app from the folks at Crackberry, which walks you through a non-working prototype.

Continue reading BlackBerry 10 gets homespun picture editor to reduce Instagram-envy (video)

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BlackBerry 10 gets homespun picture editor to reduce Instagram-envy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceN4BB, Crackberry  | Email this | Comments

BlackBerry 10 gets voice commands in latest dev update (video)

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BlackBerry 10 gets voice commands in latest dev update

Those lucky enough to have their hands on a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device were treated to a nice little software update this week. While some were having trouble just getting it installed, others were able to fire it up pretty quick and found a nice surprise waiting for them -- voice controls. Hold down the play/pause button on the side and you'll be prompted to speak a command and offered a unified search interface. Sound familiar? It should, Android and iOS have both hopped on the speech recognition bandwagon, and its becoming an expected feature of a modern mobile OS. The fine folks over at N4BB were able to give the suspiciously familiar sounding virtual assistant a run through and, lets just say it's a bit rough around the edges. Of course, thanks to the limitations of the alpha quality software there wasn't much to actually test anyway. To see it in action check out the video after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry 10 gets voice commands in latest dev update (video)

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BlackBerry 10 gets voice commands in latest dev update (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM gets patent for logic-based text prediction, BlackBerry 10 keyboard now preserved for the ages (update: not so ambitious)

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RIM gets patent for logicbased text prediction, BlackBerry 10 says hello

For those of us who aren't fans of swipe gestures, the highlight of BlackBerry 10 is undoubtedly a unique keyboard that's often a step ahead of its user. It's a good thing for this last camp that RIM was just granted the final version of a related patent for logic-based text prediction. Instead of simply hunting for typos, the patented keyboard guesses the next word based either on the context of the words around it or on other criteria, like common expressions. About the only time the technique doesn't predict words is for passwords -- RIM would rather not be that clever. While there looks to be a few differences in the practical implementation of the patent as we've seen it in a pre-release BlackBerry 10, theory and reality are close enough that RIM won't be worried about anyone else poaching its seemingly mind-reading technology anytime soon.

Update: We've dug deeper, and it's more focused on simple frequency logic and auto-complete shortcuts (think "ttyl" generating "talk to you later") rather than anything too complex. BlackBerry 10 isn't so secure, then, although these are still quite important typing techniques.

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RIM gets patent for logic-based text prediction, BlackBerry 10 keyboard now preserved for the ages (update: not so ambitious) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Interview: RIM CMO Frank Boulben

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The Engadget Interview Frank Boulbon

It's been said before that RIM CEO Thorsten Heins surely has one of the toughest jobs in tech. It's a title he no doubt shares with Frank Boulben, the company's newly minted CMO. After all, it's Boulben who will be taking charge of the marketing for the company so badly in need of a new image. The Orange / Vodafone expat, naturally, sees very bright things ahead for Research in Motion's future -- a future that hinges almost entirely on the success of the company's much delayed BlackBerry 10.

Like Heins, Boulben insists that all who have seen the much anticipated mobile operating system thus far have been thoroughly impressed -- it's a sentiment that we certainly can't debate. Of course, given all of the trouble the company has run into bringing the OS to market, the number of folks who can claim membership in that exclusive club is small indeed. When the first BB10 devices finally hit early next year, Boulben's team will be tasked with making sure that number increases significantly enough to ensure the company's success in a field that is increasingly dominated by the likes of Android and iOS.

We spoke to Boulben about his plans to help spread the BlackBerry gospel, the time he spent as an executive at the also-troubled Lightsquared and the changes RIM must make to ensure it's success in the future.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: RIM CMO Frank Boulben

The Engadget Interview: RIM CMO Frank Boulben originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM CEO hints at future BBM video chat feature

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RIM CEO hints at future BBM video chat feature

During today's shareholder meeting RIM CEO Thorsten Heins hinted that BBM, the companies celebrated group messaging service, might be getting some significant upgrades with the debut of BB10. In particular, the words "video chat" were tossed out as an example of how it planned to keep pace with the evolving mobile landscape. In response to a shareholder question, Heins said:

"BBM is a very, strong platform... With upgrading it into a new experience, think about adding features on BB10 such as video chat, for example, within BBM. There's many other features to come with BB10 that will really level this BBM experience... which will upgrade that experience to a whole new social networking experience based on BBM... we want to use this to build a BlackBerry-driven social networking platform."

So, does that mean BlackBerry is getting ready to take on Skype and Google? Perhaps. It would certainly make sense, but we'd stop short calling it a sure shot. What is clear, is that Heins really wants to push BlackBerry as the "social" platform focused on "experience" and seems content to let those other mobile OSes win the apps race.

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RIM CEO hints at future BBM video chat feature originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Verge  | Email this | Comments

Heins: RIM focusing on a ‘smaller number of devices’

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During today's shareholders meeting, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins threw out terms like "streamlining," noting his plans to help make the Canadian smartphone maker a "lean, mean hunting machine." The plan includes limited the company's production sites, decreasing the workforce (with earlier layoffs he referred to as "an incredibly difficult decision to make" during the meeting) and focusing on a smaller number of devices. BlackBerry 10 will launch with a touchscreen device aimed at addressing the needs of the North American market, to be followed shortly after by a full QWERTY device.

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Heins: RIM focusing on a 'smaller number of devices' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thorsten Heins talks BB10 delay, promises to ‘reinstall faith in RIM’ in January with full touch device

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Despite all the doom and gloom at RIM of late, CEO Thorsten Heins is a long, long way from throwing in the towel. After denying a "death spiral" and responding directly to Globe & Mail reader questions, he sat down with CIO's Al Sacco to talk about what he sees coming next year -- and why we're going to have to wait another couple of months for BB10. The reason for delay, he says, "is not because we added stuff to it. The delay is because our software groups were actually so successful in coding the various feature components... we got overwhelmed by integration efforts." In other words, the company didn't add too much stuff, there simply was too much stuff. That's a very different state of affairs.

That being the state of play, the decision to delay again was a natural one, says Heins. "What I commit to the public out there is that when we ship BlackBerry 10, we will do it at high quality." And he, of course, has high hopes for what they ship. "In January with the full touch device and the QWERTY coming, I think we will reinstall faith in RIM." That seems to imply a January release for the device, or at least a final media unveiling, which could make the 2013 CES RIM's last, best hope.

Thorsten Heins talks BB10 delay, promises to 'reinstall faith in RIM' in January with full touch device originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM’s Thorsten Heins answers Globe & Mail readers’ questions, is ‘absolutely committed’ to new timeline

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RIM CEO Thorsten Heins did a fair bit of talking to the media following the company's latest dose of bad news (in addition to penning his own op-ed), and he's now gone one step further by responding to some readers' questions for The Globe & Mail. While there's expectedly not a whole lot in the way of surprises, he did talk a bit more about the reasons for the BlackBerry 10 delay, noting that he "could still see some of the seams," and appears to have ruled out any further delays, saying that he is "absolutely committed" to the new timeline. He's also assured folks that the company will continue to support BlackBerry 7 devices "into the future," but reiterated that upgrading those devices to BB10 was out of the question. You can find all of his answers (10 of them) at the source link below.

RIM's Thorsten Heins answers Globe & Mail readers' questions, is 'absolutely committed' to new timeline originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 14:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Globe & Mail  | Email this | Comments