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WhatsApp will ditch Blackberry OS and Windows Phone by New Year's
WhatsApp is bidding farewell to older mobile operating systems as the year draws to a close. Specifically, it's ending support for BlackBerry OS (including BlackBerry 10) and Windows Phone 8.0 and older on December 31st. Although the Facebook-owned messaging app will continue to work on these platforms, users won't be able to create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts. Oh, and WhatsApp claims its app could stop functioning at any time, so maybe it's time for that upgrade.
BlackBerry will shutter its app store on December 31st, 2019
While there's little doubt that BlackBerry's in-house mobile platforms are finished (the last BB10 device shipped over 2 years ago), it's now giving holdouts some not-so-subtle hints that it's time to move on. The company has announced that it's shutting down BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS services over the next couple of years. The closures will start with relatively little-used services like the BlackBerry Travel site (February 2018) and Playbook video calling (March 2018), but it will culminate with the shutdown of the BlackBerry World app store on December 31st, 2019. When 2020 rolls around, your Classic or Passport won't have an official avenue for downloading software.
BlackBerry 10's new Facebook app lives only on the web
BlackBerry 10 is on life support, with few sales and fewer devices. It's in such a bad state that the company has switched its attention to Android, giving developers little reason to support its own operating system. Facebook jumped ship earlier this month, announcing that it would end support for its apps later this year. But wait! BlackBerry has announced a new, replacement Facebook app. Unlike the old one, however, it's just a web app. That does mean a few extra features, such as the ability to reply to comments (yes, really), but it's far from a like-for-like swap.
BlackBerry's Android phone should include a ton of BB10 features
BlackBerry's repeatedly leaked Venice slider may look like it's running stock Android on the surface, but new leaks suggest that there's a lot more going on underneath. Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) has posted both animations and file lists hinting that there could be a load of features borrowed from BlackBerry 10 and the BlackBerry Experience Suite. The centerpiece would be BlackBerry Hub that merges all your conversations, but you'd also get unified calendars and contacts, custom apps for basic features (such as notes and tasks) and BlackBerry mainstays like BBM. In essence, Venice shouldn't just be an AOSP device with a few nods toward BlackBerry's roots -- it'd be a showcase for everything the company can do, and proof that much of the modern BlackBerry experience isn't dependent on an in-house platform. While there's a good chance that some of these features could change or disappear by launch, it won't be shocking if they're the big highlights for Venice whenever it arrives.
Leak hints at a curvier BlackBerry Passport
Whatever you think of the BlackBerry Passport's oddball aspect ratio or software, there's no denying that the original design had rough edges... or rather, corners. That squarish handset might not dig into your hands and legs for much longer, though. N4BB claims to have photos of the Oslo, a "re-do" of the Passport that softens the design even beyond what you saw in the AT&T model. It's curvier all around, and it appears to have a slightly more compact plastic frame that's (hopefully) easier to fit into your pocket.
BlackBerry Leap review: an old phone with a fresh face
Two years ago, BlackBerry finally broke free of the monotonous cycle it had entrenched itself in by launching its first all-touchscreen device, the Z10. Despite it being a costly flop, the company formerly known as RIM has continued to explore touchscreen territory with the help of its poke-friendly BB10 OS. BlackBerry is no longer a stranger to the form factor: It quickly followed up the Z10 with the Z30, and now the new BlackBerry Leap. There's little that separates BlackBerry's three main touchscreen devices as far as internals are concerned, and therein lies the main problem with the Leap. Instead of trying something different, BlackBerry has kept well within its comfort zone and pushed out another mid-range, touchscreen handset that's marginally divergent from its predecessors. Don't get me wrong: If a Leap lands on your desk to replace an old work phone, you'll no doubt get on with it just fine. But, if your own money is on the table, you're probably going to want to take it elsewhere.
BlackBerry's latest update brings Amazon Appstore to its phones
All BlackBerry 10 phones will soon get features previously available on the BB Classic and Passport only, thanks to the platform's latest update. One of the most notable changes is the addition of Amazon's Appstore, giving users access to a bevy of Android apps. The update also equips the phones with BlackBerry Blend, which consolidates emails, text messages, BBM, contacts and calendar, and keeps them all synced across devices and even across operating systems (it works on Mac, Windows, Android and iOS). There's BlackBerry Assistant, as well: a virtual secretary like Siri and Cortana that responds silently if you type a question, speaks when you ask out loud and adds context to its answers if you're using a Bluetooth headset and it thinks you don't have access to the screen. These features, along with a bunch of other ones, are coming to all available BB 10 devices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East starting today, but it's slated to make its way to North America in the future.
BlackBerry Passport and Classic come to AT&T on February 20th
BlackBerry fans on AT&T, your long wait for a new phone is almost over -- the carrier has announced that both the Passport and Classic will reach its stores on February 20th. As promised, AT&T's ever-so-slightly customized (but still oddly shaped) Passport will cost you $200 on contract, $22 per month on Next 24 or $650 up front. If you'd like something a tad less squarish, the Classic will cost you $50 on contract, $14 per month on Next 24 or $420 outright. These BlackBerrys certainly aren't the cheapest devices in AT&T's roster, but they're also the network's only modern phones with hardware keyboards. If you still aren't a fan of typing on glass, they're your best bets.
BlackBerry's gold-hued Passport is even more audacious than usual
BlackBerry's Passport is already a fairly exclusive device by dint of the company's small market share, but the Canadian smartphone maker just kicked things up a notch. It's now selling a very limited edition (just 50 units) Black & Gold Passport that lets you flout convention with more gusto than usual. The gold-colored trim, while eye-catching, sadly isn't real like we've seen in some third-party mods -- c'mon, BlackBerry! However, you do get both a real soft leather back and an engraving that lets everyone know how rare your phone is. And despite the tiny production run, this is decidedly more affordable than the Porsche Design BlackBerrys aimed at celebrities and oil barons. It'll cost you a (relatively) modest $899 to score the Black & Gold Passport in the US, and $999 in Canada.
BlackBerry's Passport for AT&T isn't quite so square
Love the idea of BlackBerry's extra-wide Passport, but wish its ergonomics were a little better suited to your hands and pockets? You'll want to pick up the newly announced AT&T version, then. This first (and only, since it's exclusive) US carrier model both rounds off the corners and adds a more pronounced chin that could make it easier to type -- sadly, though, this doesn't bring a fourth row of hardware keys. It's otherwise the same oddball BlackBerry you've come to know, including that signature square 4.5-inch display, a reasonably speedy Snapdragon 801 processor, 32GB of storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front cam. AT&T hasn't pinpointed an exact release date, but its Passport will be available for $200 on-contract, $22 per month on a Next 24 plan or $650 up front.
BlackBerry's $450 'Classic' phone aims to bridge the past and present
It's been nearly 10 months since the folks in Waterloo announced the throwback BlackBerry Classic, but today's the day the thing officially breaks cover. Hooray? If it wasn't immediately obvious, the "Classic" moniker refers to the fact that the device is a proper sequel to the BlackBerry Bold 9900, complete with the traditional trackpad and navigation keys that people still apparently swoon over. Oh, and BrickBreaker is back too! We've seen the Classic's spec sheet in great detail over the past few months, but let's recap: It's working with a 3.5-inch square touchscreen running at 720 x 720, an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor. Combine those old-school physical attributes with the generally pleasing punchiness of the BlackBerry 10.3.1, and you're left with a device that aims to straddle the fence between past and present. The question is, will anyone bite?
BlackBerry's Passport is a square in looks, but not personality
For the first time in ages, I'm intrigued by a BlackBerry device. That's rather unusual these days, but it wasn't always this way. I remember when I first saw the Pearl eight years ago; it was one of the most beautiful devices I'd ever seen. The Curve and Bold series didn't disappoint either. But the magic has been missing from the Canadian phone maker for a long time, evidenced by its struggling sales. Only one in a hundred smartphone owners use a BlackBerry, and the company's older-generation hardware is still outselling current BlackBerry 10 handsets. Now it's putting much of its hope in a unique-looking squarish device called the Passport, which launches today in five countries (with 30 total by the end of the year). The $599 off-contract/$249 on-contract device ($699 in Canada and £529 in the UK, off-contract) is designed to appeal to fans of physical keyboards and large displays. It may not restore the magic BlackBerry's lost in recent years, but my initial experience with the Passport has been more positive than I expected. At least that's a start, right?
BlackBerry's rebirth: how a fallen smartphone giant plans to remake itself
BlackBerry has stopped bleeding -- officially, at least. In a memo leaked to Reuters, CEO John Chen tells staff that three years of job cuts are over, and that the former mobile legend can start building itself back up rather than salvaging what's left of its smartphone empire. But how did it get to this point? And more importantly, how does it plan to bounce back in an era when even many of its corporate customers have moved on to Android and iOS? As you'll see in our gallery below, BlackBerry is only getting to this point after some grave errors and painful decisions -- but it at last appears to have a strategy that, while imperfect, at least acknowledges a difficult reality. [Lead image credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim]
BlackBerry announces virtual assistant to take on Siri and Cortana
Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana, Google's got Now voice search and BlackBerry... doesn't have a virtual assistant of any kind. This morning, however, the Canadian smartphone maker confirmed that it has one in the works and will be showing up on the company's next major release. Known aptly as BlackBerry Assistant, the new program is a part of OS 10.3 and will be available on the upcoming Passport phone. Assistant is voice-activated and comes with quite a few of the standard features we've come to expect on the other mobile platforms, such as the ability to open apps, send messages and tweets, set reminders and change settings. It also is smart enough to learn and adapt to your needs, so it theoretically should become more useful over time as it gets to know you. BlackBerry isn't revealing all that Assistant can do yet, and it hasn't offered a firm timeframe for availability aside from the fact that it'll be part of the Passport, but so far we haven't seen much to set it apart from the competition. It's at least a good sign that the company is trying remain competitive, however.
BlackBerry tries to justify the square shape of its next big smartphone
If you're anything like us, your reaction to the unveiling of BlackBerry's upcoming Passport smartphone probably involved a few choice expletives -- why the hell would you ship such a blocky device in 2014? Thankfully, the company is more than happy to explain in a new blog post. It argues that the rectangular shape of most smartphones is fine for video and quick chats, but lousy for work. The Passport's square screen may look odd, but it's supposedly ideal for reading documents; you won't have to scroll quite so much when checking out a spreadsheet or writing a magnum opus. Logically, that hardware keyboard also keeps the interface out of the way as much as possible.
BlackBerry is getting Amazon's catalog of 250,000 Android apps
BlackBerry users haven't exactly had an abundance of apps to choose from lately, due in no small part to the once-legendary phone maker's dwindling market share. However, the company just reached an app library deal with Amazon that could give you a reason to hang on to that Q10 or Z30. When BlackBerry 10.3 launches in the fall, it will have access to the Amazon Appstore's catalog of 250,000-plus Android apps -- you'll have little trouble finding Minecraft, Netflix and other big-name titles.
Verizon's BlackBerry 10 phones are finally getting their 10.2.1 updates
A few lucky Verizon BlackBerry buffs got the long-awaited 10.2.1 update back in January, and now Big Red is starting to push that new build to all its Z10, Q10 and Z30 owners. The new version number doesn't sound all that impressive, but the changelog is heftier than the label lets on: there's loads of UI tweaks to dig into, to say nothing of an offline reading mode, better support for group messaging and FM radio functionality... if you've got a Q10 or Z30. BlackBerry also made it easier to install Android APKs, if you're into that sort of cross-platform witchcraft. Verizon is the second major US carrier to make this update available (T-Mobile took the gold this time), but there's still no word on when AT&T and Sprint will get their respective acts together.
BlackBerry's identity crisis continues
To say that BlackBerry's had it tough these past few years would be putting it mildly, if not too delicately for a company emerging from a period of willful ignorance. The Waterloo-based outfit, formerly known as Research in Motion, played an embarrassing game of catch-up in the mobile space it once dominated. An uphill rehabilitation that saw it acquire QNX to build a new operating system, release a half-baked tablet, rebrand as BlackBerry in search of a new identity and, tellingly, hire Alicia Keys as a creative figurehead. And none of it mattered -- not even the forced infusion of Ms. Keys' questionable zeitgeist-y influence. The BlackBerry of today has so far failed to resurrect sufficient interest in its fledgling mobile platform and devices, leading to the ouster of former CEO Thorsten Heins, the very recent installation of John Chen and a redoubled focus on the enterprise set that once was core to the company's business. So why does the company still seem to be engaged in an internal tug-of-war over its identity? I had a chance to speak with Gary Klassen, longtime BlackBerry employee and principal architect, here at SXSW in the hopes he could shed some light on what the Blackberry of today stands for and where it's going.
BlackBerry 10 finally gets its own Microsoft OneDrive app
If you worship at the BlackBerry altar and are in dire need of a cloud storage service that isn't Dropbox, Box or Mega, today's your lucky day. Now you can dump your files in Microsoft's OneDrive by way of a newly released BlackBerry 10 app. Like the Android and iOS versions before it, this OneDrive app lets you automatically upload your photos and videos as well as share your files with far-flung cohorts. Just be mindful of your limits: OneDrive (which went by "SkyDrive" before Microsoft got hit with a lawsuit) offers up 7GB of free storage to new users. That's still better than the 2GB that Dropbox gives away gratis, but Box and Mega offer 10GB and 50GB of free space, respectively. Choose wisely... or sign up for all of them and surrender yourself to the cloud.
T-Mobile will give you $250 if you trade in your old BlackBerry for a new one
If you hadn't heard, BlackBerry chief John Chen isn't happy with T-Mobile -- he believes the carrier fired a shot across the bow when it enticed BlackBerry users to switch phones in a recent promotion. To mend that bruised relationship, the magenta network is launching a limited-time trade-in offer that gives loyal users a strong incentive to upgrade. As of February 21st, T-Mobile will give you $200 for your existing BlackBerry, and $250 if you're upgrading from a T-Mobile BlackBerry to a BB10 device like the Q10 or Z10. The payout is the same regardless of the device's age, so long as it's in good condition; if you're still rocking a Curve 3G, you'll get the full amount. Market share trends suggest that there won't be too many people upgrading to new BlackBerrys, but the olive branch is welcome all the same.