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BlackBerry Messenger for BlackBerry 10 gets a possible first sighting, themes to fit that chatty lifestyle
It was scarcely a day ago that we got a first peek at what could be the first BlackBerry 10 devices -- and now we're looking at what may be BlackBerry 10's cornerstone app, a reworked BlackBerry Messenger. As long as N4BB's details prove legitimate, the centerpiece of the app will be its theming: owners can customize the chat bubbles and backdrops to fit their finicky ways. Of course, this being an efficiency-obsessed RIM, the theming should also be integral to keeping power consumption to a minimum: the darker the colors, the less energy a BBM conversation demands from a future BlackBerry's big OLED screen. We don't know whether any changes will prove more than skin deep, although the switch to the QNX-based OS might prove enough at first. We'll know everything soon enough should of a September release for the first phone be more than just a feverish dream.
Jon Fingas06.26.2012
RIM finally gets some good news, court rules it can keep using BBM name
Between delays, executive defections and falling market share the news lately hasn't been rosy for RIM, but today it got at least one reprieve as a Federal Court in Canada ruled its use of the acronym BBM did not infringe another company's trademark. The lawsuit was filed last December by BBM Canada, a broadcast industry group that owns a trademark on the name but because they are in different types of businesses the court decided RIMs usage was acceptable. According to The Globe and Mail BBM Canada CEO Jim MacLeod has not decided whether or not to appeal the ruling, but we're sure the folks from Waterloo will take a win for now. It already had to switch the name of its new OS from BBX to BlackBerry 10 after losing a trademark ruling there and more bad news is expected in its next quarterly earnings report.
Richard Lawler05.31.2012
BBM staying exclusive to BlackBerry, says WSJ source
Been looking forward to porting your BBM addiction to iOS or Android in hopes of finally kicking that Crackberry to the curb? Take a seat -- it looks like RIM's private messaging service isn't going anywhere. According to a Wall Street Journal source, the firm's new CEO has shut down rumors of a BlackBerry Messenger port. "It was not up for discussion," the WSJ was told. According to a person "familiar with the matter," CEO Thorsten Heins decided that RIM shouldn't be pursuing licensing deals. Heins' apparent house cleaning might be a deal breaker for BlackBerry veterans looking to jump ship, requiring users to stick with RIM to maintain their dwindling BBM contact lists. Bummer? Sure is, but at least your pals don't need a security clearance to ping you.
Sean Buckley05.24.2012
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 16th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Verizon announced that its LTE service now covers two-thirds of the US population, and T-Mobile dropped its 'nice girl' image in attempt to position its HSPA+ network as a viable competitor to LTE. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 16th, 2012.
Zachary Lutz04.21.2012
The Engadget Interview: RIM VP of Enterprise Alan Panezic at MWC 2012 (video)
This week at Mobile World Congress we had the opportunity to talk with Alan Panezic, VP of Enterprise at RIM about what the company is doing to keep existing business customers (and possibly even lure new CIOs) in the warm and secure embrace of its enterprise services while still giving users personal freedom to fully enjoy their devices. RIM's secret weapon? BlackBerry Balance on the PlayBook running OS 2.0 (of course) and BlackBerry Mobile Fusion on the server side. Take look at our video and remember -- that corporate PlayBook of yours may still lack BBM integration but IT professionals are people too, so be gentle with them!
Myriam Joire03.02.2012
RIM builds BlackBerry server center in Mumbai, right where Indian government wants it
This is the epilogue to a story that started as far back as 2008, when the Indian government first demanded access to encrypted BBM traffic. In 2010, RIM made "certain proposals" that satisfied politicos and averted a ban, and now it's gone one step further -- placing 5,000 BES Enterprise servers directly beneath officials' noses in Mumbai. It's not yet clear if messages will be subject to any more scrutiny than they were before, but N4BB reports that a "team of officers" has already inspected the installation and that "permission for direct monitoring" is "expected to be issued." Looks like those snoops will soon be working double shifts.
Sharif Sakr02.22.2012RIM gets kicked while down, sued over BBM trademark (update: RIM comments)
It's been a long December for RIM, and there's reason to believe this year won't be any better than the last. This month, the company was sued for its use of the BBX trademark and was forced to change its name to BlackBerry 10; then, it all hit the fan when co-CEO Mike Lazaridis broke the news that phones running the aforementioned OS won't arrive until late in 2012. And let's not even get started on the quarterly earnings report. Sadly, it's not over: BBM Canada, a Toronto-based broadcast industry group that has used the BBM moniker in one way or another for six decades, wants to reclaim its name -- used and made popular by RIM's BlackBerry Messenger service -- and has filed a lawsuit against the phone maker for trademark infringement. BBM Canada CEO Jim MacLeod says he's made several attempts to resolve the matter with them in hopes of avoiding the courtroom -- even to the extent of offering to rebrand his own company as long as RIM footed the bill -- to no success. MacLeod told The Globe and Mail that "I find it kind of amazing that this wouldn't have been thought about before they decided to use the name -- the same thing goes for BBX." And according to court documents, it actually was: in February 2010, RIM attempted to apply for the BBM trademark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, was told that it wasn't registerable, and still went ahead and used it for its BlackBerry Messenger service anyway. We'll see what kind of explanation the company has for going ahead and using the three-letter acronym in a couple weeks, since a hearing has been scheduled for January 11th. Update: RIM just sent us an email with an official statement regarding the matter: Since its launch in July 2005, BlackBerry Messenger has become a tremendously popular social networking service. In 2010, RIM started to formally adopt the BBM acronym, which had, at that point, already been organically coined and widely used by BlackBerry Messenger customers as a natural abbreviation of the BlackBerry Messenger name. The services associated with RIM's BBM offering clearly do not overlap with BBM Canada's services and the two marks are therefore eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law. The two companies are in different industries and have never been competitors in any area. We believe that BBM Canada is attempting to obtain trademark protection for the BBM acronym that is well beyond the narrow range of the services it provides and well beyond the scope of rights afforded by Canadian trademark law. RIM has therefore asked the Court to dismiss the application and award costs to RIM. Further, for clarity, RIM's application to register BBM as a trademark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is pending and we are confident that a registration will eventually issue. The inference by BBM Canada that CIPO has refused RIM's BBM trademark application is quite frankly very misleading.
Brad Molen12.23.2011
Yahoo Hub offers free messaging to anyone, locks horns with RIM and Google
Yahoo, evidently tired of being passed up by hundreds of free messaging apps floating around the various smartphone application stores, has launched a service of its own to take on the likes of BBM and Google Messenger. The new app, called Hub, is only available for Android devices at the moment, but there's a brightside here: you can send a message to anyone, not just other folks who've downloaded the same app. The recipient -- or multiple recipients, since group chat is allowed -- can easily reply to the thread using their own standard SMS service. Curiously, Hub is only offered if you have a US SIM card and a text plan, even though the messages are transmitted using your data connection or WiFi. If you do a lot of international travel, Hub is supported in nine other countries besides the US, a rather small number we hope will grow as the service graduates from its beta status. While Yahoo can use all the help it can get right now, is this going to endear very many users? [Thanks, Ashish]
Brad Molen12.06.2011
RIM unveils BlackBerry Bold 9790, Curve 9380, hitting the market within weeks
Now that we've seen all the leaks and heard all the rumors, RIM has finally announced the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380, welcoming two new members to the OS 7 family. Picking up where the Bold 9780 left off, the comparatively higher-end 9790 boasts a 2.44-inch touchscreen display with 360 x 480 resolution, and is powered by a 1GHz CPU. The QWERTY-equipped handset also ships with 8GB of onboard memory and features a microSD slot that offers up to 32GB of additional space. The Curve 9380, meanwhile, is an all touchscreen affair, with a 3.2-inch, 480 x 360 display and a five megapixel camera. RIM hasn't offered any other details on the 9380's specs, though the company did specify that both devices will offer NFC and augmented reality support, and will come pre-loaded with BlackBerry Messenger, Documents To Go Premium, and BlackBerry Protect. No word yet on pricing or availability, though RIM says to expect a launch "over the coming weeks." Find more details in the full PR, after the break.
Amar Toor11.15.2011
RIM releases BBM SDK for WebWorks, injects some chatting flavor into your apps
This year's BlackBerry DevCon might have come and gone with nary a mention of BBM's flagrant promiscuity, but RIM did give us some other BBM news. The Canuck company's BBM Social Platform SDK is now up for general availability after recently hitting version 1.0. The release extends its venerable messaging protocol to WebWorks developers, allowing their wares to initiate chats and incorporate BBM statuses, avatars and personal messages from the service. Also on the docket is "application-to-application background communication," which we presume enables a smorgasbord of behind the scenes cross-application chattiness. Finally, Crackberry developers will be able to start file transfers over the protocol, including virally sharing apps between users. Sounds like the 'Berry of the future is gonna be much more reliant upon Waterloo's messaging platform, so let's just hope there aren't any more outages.
Dante Cesa10.26.2011
RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight
Well, we hope you weren't expecting to have PlayBook 2.0 up and running on your BlackBerry tablet any time soon, cause it's been officially delayed till at least February. Word has come straight from the mouth (well, keyboard) of David Smith, senior vice president for the PlayBook project. In a blog post Smith announced that RIM would be holding back on the release to ensure many of the new features, including native email and enterprise app deployment, work as advertised. The OS update will be getting a decently long beta test, with it rolling out to some in the Early Adopter Program "shortly." Sadly, it seems that some features have fallen by the wayside with the focus on polish -- namely, BBM. Since the messaging service relies on a one-device per-PIN model, getting it on the tablet has proved troublesome. For now users will have to rely on BlackBerry Bridge and their RIM handsets to get their BBM fix. Considering the company's track record, we wouldn't be shocked if the OS update slips even further into the future -- remember an email client was promised within 60 days of launch... that was back in April.
Terrence O'Brien10.26.2011
Mike Lazaridis apologizes for BlackBerry outage: 'We've let many of you down' (video) (Update: full services restored)
Now that BlackBerry services are returning to full functionality, RIM founder Mike Lazaridis has decided to issue a public apology for this week's mysterious global outage. In a video address published today, Lazaridis acknowledged that RIM dropped the ball this week, but assured that his company is working hard to remedy the situation. "I apologize for the service outages this week," Lazaridis said. "We've let many of you down." The executive went on to say that services are approaching normal levels across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, but could not give an estimate as to when RIM may see full global recovery. "It's too soon to say that this issue is fully resolved," Lazaridis explained, adding that there may be some instability as the system returns to normalcy. He reiterated, however, that his company is "working tirelessly" to restore services and, perhaps more important, consumer trust. Skip past the break to see the full video for yourself. Update: RIM is holding a conference call now and Mike just said "we have restored full services." That's said to be the status globally, so go ahead, spend a few minutes and get that BBM backlog out of your system. You deserve it. If you're still not receiving messages, RIM suggests pulling your battery and rebooting the phone. And those RIM folks probably need some sleep... "nobody's gone home since Monday," following "the largest outage we've ever experienced."
Amar Toor10.13.2011
BBM Music gets official for BlackBerry owners lusting after Spotify
Nothing warms our hearts quite like the thought of corporate suits and government workers pumping out the tunes of Iris DeMent and Amy Martin as they scurry throughout their busy days. As we've previously speculated, a new service for BlackBerry Messenger -- dubbed BBM Music -- has now become real official. For $5 per month, users may keep up to 50 songs in their personal library, which is kinda reminiscent of the wistful days filled with 128MB MP3 players. Fortunately, it gets better. A social component allows you to add BBM Music friends, which gives you access to their current 50 songs, too -- and serves as a real incentive to grow your social circle. Once you get bored of your jam selection, up to 25 songs per month can be swapped out for new ones, and your current library can be stored locally on the handset. The new service begins today in closed beta for residents of the US, Canada and the UK, but more countries will be added down the road. Curious if yours made the list? Just hop the break for the full PR to find out.
Zachary Lutz08.25.2011
BlackBerry Music to serve up 50 songs for $5 a month?
Well, it looks like BlackBerry's banking on another BBM to pull it out of the enterprise-only lurch, and this one should be like music to your ears. Earlier this week, we reported that RIM was readying a new music service, and now All Things D is giving us some juicy (unofficial) details on the tentatively titled BlackBerry Music. The publication says $5 a month will give users access to 50 songs that they can share with their BlackBerry-toting friends (also signed up for the service). What's more, it could be officially pumping the jams to the UK, US, and Canada as soon this fall, with other territories to follow in 2012. Rumor also has it that users won't be able to port the music to other devices, unless they happen to have a PlayBook handy. Somehow we suspect that last bit won't be what draws the youngster in.
Christopher Trout08.20.2011
CNET: RIM in talks to squeeze out BlackBerry music service
Those "sources with knowledge" are at it again, this time stirring the pot over a possible BlackBerry-branded music service. According to both CNET and Reuters, said sources revealed that RIM is in negotiations with "the four largest record companies" to launch a service that would "run on top of BlackBerry Messenger." What that means, exactly, is anyone's guess at the moment, but word is the mobile phone maker has already signed one label, and is close to snagging two more. Could this be the move RIM needs to shake off its enterprise-only reputation? We'll just have to wait and see -- according to Reuters, the service is expected to be announced by September 5th.
Christopher Trout08.18.2011
UK teen arrested for illegal BBM, social media crackdown gains steam
Lending further gravity to the proposed crackdown being bandied about in British parliament, an Essex teen has been arrested for sending a BBM that ran afoul of the Serious Crime Act of 2007. The 18-year old, now free on bail, allegedly used the service to encourage copycat attacks of the violent rioting that's swept London, and is set to appear in court on September 1st. It's the second known case to put RIM's private messaging service -- "popular among urban teenagers" as a cheap texting alternative -- in the UK's legal hotseat. For its part, the Canadian electronics maker has since reached out to police, promising to aid the investigation "in any way [it] can." Although no decision has yet been made to extend law enforcement's powers over social media services, such as Twitter and Facebook, arrests like these seem to indicate a murky free speech future.
Joseph Volpe08.13.2011
BlackBerry Messenger on PlayBook hands-on (video)
We just spent some time with Ryan Bidan, senior product manager for the PlayBook, who gave us a hands-on demo of BlackBerry Messenger on RIM's little tablet. It's not a native app -- it requires the PlayBook to be paired with a BlackBerry smartphone via BlackBerry Bridge. The functionality is being pushed out "tonight" with a Bridge update on the handset side, and an OS update on the tablet side. So if you and your PlayBook have been longing to get your BBM on, today's your lucky day -- assuming of course that you have a BlackBerry phone on another network than AT&T. Expect a standalone app sometime in the future, but in the meantime hit our video above for the full demo.
Myriam Joire05.02.2011
Shocker! Instant messaging gains popularity as TXTing declines, BBM to blame
Apparently, those young'uns just love their BBM. According to a report by the research group Mobile Youth, young folk (read: those of you between 15 and 24) are increasingly abandoning SMS in favor of instant messaging apps, with texting expected to drop off 20 percent over the next two years. The main culprit? BlackBerry Messenger, which now boasts over 39 million users, many of them living outside the US. In fact, it's in the UK, Indonesia, South Africa, and Brazil -- all popular markets for BBM -- that Mobile Youth expects texting to dwindle the most. And if BBM is to blame, well, that drop-off could be just the beginning.
Dana Wollman04.25.2011
BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak, show hints of OS 6.1
T-minus three weeks and counting to RIM's annual BlackBerry World conference, and the rumblings surrounding Canada's most famous handset maker are getting harder to ignore. Today's delectable spoonful comes in the form of leaked screenshots of BlackBerry Messenger 6, which could be released at or around the same time as BlackBerry OS 6.1 this spring. BBM enthusiasts will obviously note the enhanced colors and icons here, lending further credence to rumors that these were indeed sourced from the next major BB OS point release. Hit the source for a few more looks, but we're passing along fair warning to not install any BBM 6.0 builds you see floating around. Patience, or so we hear, is a virtue.
Brad Molen04.12.2011
Rumor: BlackBerry Messenger to land in the App Store on April 26 [Debunked]
Update: Boy Genius Report gets the official word from RIM; BBM is not coming out for iOS on April 26 (and that 'social media conference' where the CEO spoke? Also imaginary). That doesn't mean it never will, but we've erased that "x" from our calendars. Rumblings of an iPhone version of BlackBerry Messenger surfaced earlier this month from an unidentified source that provided a tip to BGR. Another unconfirmed source has stepped forward with additional information on the MacRumors forums that points to an April 26 debut of the BlackBerry Messenger app in the App Store. This latest information purportedly comes from an attendee of a social media conference hosted by RIM in Toronto [which never happened -- see above]. During the presentation, RIM's Co-CEO Jim Balsillie supposedly told those in attendance that BBM would make its way to the iOS App Store on April 26. The source also claims the app would be updated this summer with a new notification system. This last piece may be an indirect reference to iOS 5, which may overhaul Apple's current notification system. Douse this rumor with some pickling salt, kosher salt and table salt as we cannot verify this April 26 date, nor the existence of a BBM app. Based on earlier leaked information and RIM's move to incorporate Android application emulation in its PlayBook tablet, a move to iOS in the upcoming month is not that far-fetched. Anyone a believer? The image above was provided to TUAW several weeks ago and should not be considered evidence one way or the other of a BBM app.
Kelly Hodgkins03.29.2011