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BlackBerry 10 app roundup: Social, games, news and more
Beyond the several standard applications unveiled today for BlackBerry 10, RIM's got a much, much longer list of standouts from the BlackBerry World store to share. The New York Times, ESPN, and BBC are just a few of the biggies on the list, as well as a flock of Angry Birds heading up the gaming charge. Head past the break for a taste of those 70,000 apps RIM's touting. (Update January 31st: BlackBerry just sent out a press release with even more app commitments. We've added a link to that release in More Coverage below.)
BlackBerry Z10 review
One cannot overstate the importance of this phone. This, the BlackBerry Z10, is the device upon which the fate of BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) hangs. That's not to say that the company will disappear if the Z10 -- and the BlackBerry 10 OS that it contains -- is not a mass-market success. But if this phone does not do its job of extending the reach of the 'Berry OS beyond those die-hard loyalists who have clung on to their Bolds and Torches and Storms, it's safe to say that BlackBerry is in for some very hard times. The company hasn't exactly bet the proverbial farm on this BB10 release, but with massive financial losses tempered only by job cuts, plus an absolutely tectonic shift among the executive leadership and corporate culture architected by CEO and President Thorsten Heins, the phrase "make or break" feels pretty apt. So, then, is this the phone that's good enough to woo buyers away from the Galaxy S III or the iPhone 5 or any of the other delicious devices on the other platforms? The short answer is that no, as of now it isn't quite -- but of course it's a lot more complicated than that. Join us as we explore.
BlackBerry Z10 gets clip-on speakerphone, charger bundle and cases galore
No launch of a new flagship is complete without a few new accessories to go along with it. While RIM is still banking big on the NFC-powered Music Gateway, it wasn't about to let the Z10 sit around with no new friends to keep it company. Obviously, a BlackBerry isn't a BlackBerry with out few leather holsters to keep it strapped to your hip. The fancy leather cases (both the "Holster" and the "Pocket") even have a magnet inside them that automatically turns off the display on your Z10 when it's slipped inside. The rotating holster will set customers back $40, while the Pocket, with its fewer moving parts, will cost only $30. There are other cases on the horizon too, the Transform Shell and Flip Shell, which feature build in kickstands and basic protection in standard black or bright red. Both shells will retail for $35 when they hit shelves. A bit more intriguing is the BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker, a tiny speaker phone that pairs using Bluetooth and has a unique "U" shape that allows you to clip it on to a seatbelt or (shudder) a lapel. The little white speaker will launch alongside the Z10 for $99. The charging bundle is pretty simple at first glance -- it contains a spare battery and a separate charging cradle for $50. But, upon closer inspection, you'll realize the charger has a microUSB out, for pushing power to any device with a compatible adapter. We're sure more fun accessories are in the pipeline too, once third parties start updating there product lines. Mat Smith contributed to this report.
BlackBerry 10 OS review
For years now, the BlackBerry OS has occupied something of a special state, almost feeling as if it were thrown down into a pit and locked into a bar of carbonite, preserved in stasis for future generations to see. Want to show your kids what using a smartphone was like in 2006? You just needed to find a Bold on display at the local electronics store and let your little ones gaze wide-eyed at a sea of menus and tiny buttons. BB7, then, was a disappointment for many, feeling like a bare-minimum update to those versions that came before rather than the complete QNX-based retooling we'd all been waiting for. The PlayBook showed us what was possible with a clean-sheet approach to a BlackBerry OS, and we wanted that on a phone. Now, two years after the release of that tablet, here we have it. It's BlackBerry 10. It's a wholly new experience, very different even than the PlayBook, and in general it's quite good. But is it good enough to thrive in a world dominated by iOS and Android? Let's find out.
BlackBerry 10 won't launch in the US until mid-March, arrives in the UK tomorrow and Canada later this week
Excited about what Blackberry's got planned for 2013? Well US fans are going to have to wait even longer. According to an interview with the WSJ, RIM chief exec Thorsten Heins confirmed that while the touchscreen Z10 will launch in the UK tomorrow and Canada later this week, it won't be ready for the US until March. (Update: And he's just confirmed it on stage) Mr. Heins said the delay was due to the longer time it takes for American carriers to test new devices. No precise date was revealed, although we know that all the major carriers will be stocking BB10 devices on their eventual launch. Update: Bloomberg has added that the device will cost $599 unsubsidized in US. When it gets there.
BlackBerry 10 BBM video calling, Screen Share demoed for first time
We'd had some indication that it was on tap, but RIM BlackBerry has today demonstrated BBM video calling in BB10 for the first time, as well as a new screen sharing feature. The video calling feature looks to be as straightforward as you'd expect, while the appropriately-named Screen Share will let you share a mirror of what's on your screen with the person you're chatting with -- it apparently won't let you hand over control of your device to them, though. Details on both features remain a bit light beyond that, but we'll hopefully have some hands-on time with them in the near future.
Skype coming to BlackBerry 10 devices
These days, an OS is only as good as its ecosystem, and it's one of the biggest question marks circling around the brand new BlackBerry 10. Without a solid selection of apps and entertainment options, RIM BlackBerry will have a difficult time persuading Android and iOS users to give the smartphone platform another chance. The company is currently in the middle of announcing a load of app and media partnerships for the nascent OS, and fortunately Skype is showing up on the grid of icons at the keynote. Update: We just received official word from Skype. "We are excited about our plans to bring Skype to smartphones running the brand new BlackBerry 10 platform," said Bob Rosin, VP & GM of Business Development for Microsoft's Skype division. "We are working closely with BlackBerry to ensure Skype runs great on BlackBerry 10 devices. This will give BlackBerry 10 users a great Skype experience, including free voice and video calling, sending instant messages and text messages, sharing photos, videos and files, and calling to landlines and mobiles at Skype's low rates."
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare shown on BlackBerry 10, integrated into OS
The four biggest smartphone applications in social -- Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Foursquare -- are headed to BlackBerry's latest software platform, BlackBerry 10, via BlackBerry World. Not exactly a surprise considering that somewhere in the ballpark of 70,000 apps are planned for BB 10 at launch, eh? The first three were demonstrated on-stage during today's BB 10 launch event, and were all shown as integrated with BB Hub (as partially revealed in a recent leak). We're also seeing Angry Birds Star Wars featured on BBW, but we expect to hear a lot more about applications any minute now.
BlackBerry Q10 official with keyboard, 3.1-inch display (update: may hit US in April)
BlackBerry (formerly RIM) has just unveiled the BlackBerry 10 device that, let's face it, many of the faithful really want: the keyboard-equipped Q10. It mates the QWERTY hardware input that BlackBerry fans have known and loved while including a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM. Yes, it will have LTE, and there's already confirmed plans from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and Canadian providers to carry it -- though there's no firm release date or pricing. Check our hands-on with the Q10 for early impressions. Update: During a post-event Q&A, Thorsten Heins said that we could likely expect the Q10 to reach the US sometime in April.
BlackBerry Z10 official: 4.2-inch 1,280 x 768 display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus, LTE, BB 10 for $200
After months of rumors, speculation and official teases, RIM's BlackBerry's first full-touch BlackBerry 10 device -- the Z10 -- is finally official. Look familiar? It should. Thanks to an incessant stream of leaks, the handset you see in black and white above had become something of an open secret. But now we can confirm that candybar slab does indeed pack specs quite similar to that of the Dev Alpha unit that preceded it. Bucking the bigger is better trend we've seen in the mobile industry as of late, the Z10 comes outfitted with a palm-friendly 4.2-inch 1,280 x 768 display -- amounting to a pixel density of 356 dpi -- and measures in at 5.13 (130mm) x 2.6 (66mm) x 0.37 (9.3mm) inches, making it significantly bulkier than, say, the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III. So, it's not the thinnest device we've seen as of late, but at 138 grams, the Z10 certainly won't be weighing down your hand. Beneath its mixture of aluminum and hard, textured plastic lies a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus buffered by 2GB RAM, a removable 1,800mAh battery, slots for microSD (up to 32GB supported) and micro SIM, as well as radios for Bluetooth 4.0, NFC (integrated into the backplate) and WiFi a/b/g/n. And because no 2013-era smartphone launch could go without it, the Z10 will ship LTE-ready for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, with carrier-branded models across the top four US operators. Long time BlackBerry fans will be glad to note that the Z10 does, indeed, sport that familiar red notification LED, in addition to ports for micro-USB, micro-HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the imaging front, the handset packs a 2-megapixel front facer (720p video) and 8-megapixel rear shooter capable of 1080p recording -- both perfect for using Scalado's Time Shift camera software. Of course, it nearly goes without saying that the Z10 is RIM's showcase entry point for its BB 10 OS. Of the stateside carriers, Verizon is the first to confirm that it'll charge $199.99 for the handset on a two-year deal when the hardware arrives in March, and has also called shotgun on the white version as an exclusive. You can read along at our liveblog!
Research in Motion now known as BlackBerry
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins just announced that Research in Motion is no longer known as "RIM," and will be simply known as "BlackBerry" going forward. "We have reinvented the company, and we want to represent this in our brand," Heins said. The company's new tagline, as seen above, is "One brand. One promise." Of course, given that RIM BlackBerry only makes BlackBerry devices, that's the logic there. "We have transformed ourselves inside and out, and we have defined a revision, a dedication to the boundless opportunities in mobile computing," Heins added. "Our customers use BlackBerry. Our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry everywhere in the world," he said. The company's stock ticker is also reflecting the new name (it's now "BBRY"), so the change is being reflected literally everywhere.
Live from The BlackBerry 10 Experience!
Are you ready to see a phone running a QNX-based operating system? How about two such phones? It's BlackBerry 10, and RIM can't wait to show it to you -- and we can't want to bring you along with us, live from New York City. Tune in at this very page at the time listed below and get ready for a ride. January 30, 2013 10:00 AM EST
BlackBerry Z10 spotted at retailers prior to BB10 event
Looks like retailers might be jumping the gun a bit on the about-to-be-announced BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. Twitter user @bandozer spotted one at a UK Phones4U retailer and managed to snap a pic (after the break), saying that "it looks and feels good," while our own tipster forwarded us the above image that came from another store. Looks like the only thing that'll stop the numerous leaks is when RIM finally announces the darned thing -- sometime in the next hour or two. [Thanks, Anonymous]
BlackBerry Z10 tipped to come only in black at launch, white edition to arrive February 15th
We've had a note in from a well-placed friend who says that RIM's BlackBerry Z10 will only debut in Henry Ford's favorite color: black. Those looking for a white-tinted fruity smartphone will apparently have to wait until February 15th before being able to splash their hard-earned. Either way, as we're but a few short minutes away from Thorsten Heins' big moment, we won't have long to wait for confirmation. [Thanks, Anonymous]
BlackBerry World storefront goes live with music, TV shows and movies
Heads up, content lovers: you can now get your fix over at BlackBerry World, which has been updated with music, movies and TV shows for your perusal. As expected, prices are in line with industry norms, ranging from $8 to $12 for albums, and between $0.99 and $1.49 for individual tracks. Meanwhile, television episodes can be had for $1.99 a pop -- perfect if you happened to miss the awkward season premiere of Archer -- and there's variable pricing for movies, depending on whether you rent or buy. You'll find previews of all music tracks, but movies are limited to the trailers and TV shows lack free samples. Nonetheless, if you're feeling bold and live within one of the supported regions, take a moment to check out the overhauled BlackBerry World. It's certainly a nice appetizer of what's to come.
Strategy Analytics: Android claimed 70 percent of world smartphone share in Q4 2012
Maybe it's easier being green than we thought. We suspected Android would do well in smartphone market share when Strategy Analytics had Samsung surging ahead in the fourth quarter of 2012, but the firm's newer breakdown of estimated share by OS shows an even larger jump for Google's overall platform -- from 51.3 percent in fall 2011 to 70.1 percent one year later. Apple was knocked down slightly to 22 percent, although it's mostly other platforms that took the bruising. Collectively, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Phone and other platforms sank from 25.1 percent of the smartphone space in late 2011 to just 7.9 points as 2012 drew to a close. When just two companies' platforms make up 92 percent of smartphones, it's safe to call the result a duopoly, like Strategy Analytics does -- even if others aren't so content with the idea.
What we know about BlackBerry 10
Despite -- or rather thanks to -- major delays in releasing BlackBerry 10, RIM has let quite a bit slip about its upcoming operating system and related BB10 devices. We've had more than a year to absorb leaks, rumors and official information, after all, so it's no surprise that we have a very good idea of what to expect when Waterloo pulls back the curtain on January 30th. That doesn't mean things are as plain as day, though; the deluge of blurrycam shots and carrier screens have provided an almost indigestible amount of information about BB10, and we don't blame you if you can't keep the story straight. We're here to parse the madness, though, so read on to find out what to expect at tomorrow's launch event.
Reminder: We're live at RIM's BlackBerry 10 unveiling tomorrow
The BlackBerry Experience is almost ready to begin. In 24 hours RIM will deliver upon us a wholly new operating system, the QNX-based phone OS that 'Berry fans have been awaiting for years. And, if that weren't enough, we're expecting two totally new smartphones to run it, one being the frequently leaked Z10, the other a somewhat more mysterious QWERTY model. Are you ready to see them for real? Set your browsers to our liveblog page right here and join us at the time listed below. January 30, 2013 10:00 AM EST
RIM: A brief history from Budgie to BlackBerry 10
Listen to much of the chatter about Research in Motion today and you'll hear the launch of BlackBerry 10 described in almost apocalyptic terms. All-or-nothing. Live-or-die. Make-or-break. There's some truth to the extreme language, but BlackBerry 10 is really just the latest in a series of transformational moments for a company that has frequently had to adapt to survive. In that sense, the appreciation for crises and opportunities is almost as natural as breathing for RIM. What's less certain is whether or not the company in 2013 is as capable of wholesale shifts in strategy as it was for much of its not quite 30-year history. Read on to see why reform is possible, but won't be quite so easy.
BlackBerry World music and video offerings detailed, next day downloads for TV
We're just a few short days away from the official debut of BlackBerry 10 -- RIM's effort to remain relevant in a market it helped pioneer. With the move to a next-gen platform, it also became clear that media would need to be added to marketplace offerings. When it launches, the revamped BlackBerry World will feature DRM-free music, as well as TV shows and movies available for purchase or rent. While prices aren't set in stone, you can expect them to to fall in line with industry norms. Best of all, most movies should be available the same day as their DVD release and TV shows the day after airing. And, lest you think RIM was going to half-ass the content part of the equation with nothing more than a few CTV and Japandroids offerings (we'd get tired of watching Degrassi: TNG eventually), the slew of partners is pretty impressive. Record labels signed on include 4AD, Matador, Warner and Sony and will be available in 18 countries at launch, while the BBC, Fox, CBC, ABC, CBS, NBC and Warner Bros. are among those offering TV shows in the US, UK and Canada. For a complete list of partners and countries check out the PR after the break.
