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BlackBerry's keyboard lives on in TCL's 'Mercury' prototype
Eagle-eyed BlackBerry fans (if there are any left) have probably been following the rumors about a device that is supposedly codenamed Mercury. They may have even caught the little teasers that TCL Communications president Steve Cistulli has been sharing on his Twitter in the past day. To no one's surprise, the reports were true, and TCL has indeed been working on its first BlackBerry handset since it bought the brand. Mercury isn't the upcoming smartphone's official name (although how cool would it be if it were!), but the company is going with the flow and adopting it as a placeholder name for now. Indeed, even though we saw an intriguingly familiar and striking prototype here at CES 2017, much of the phone's specs are still unknown. Cistulli couldn't yet share information on price or availability, but was happy to show us the working model and highlight three features the company can confirm. From my preview, the Mercury looks to be a better-looking, non-sliding BlackBerry Priv, and has the potential to please fans and perhaps even win over new customers.
BlackBerry creates a research hub for self-driving cars
Just because BlackBerry is done making its own smartphones doesn't mean it won't be a big name in consumer tech. The company has unveiled the BlackBerry QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Center (AVIC), a facility in QNX's Ottawa home that will be key to building the framework for self-driving cars. It's not crafting the autonomy code, but it will create the underlying platform. One of its first initiatives will have it team up with Renesas, PolySync and the University of Waterloo to build a concept vehicle to test on Ontario roads.
BlackBerry phones live on thanks to a deal with TCL
BlackBerry's days of making its own smartphones are over, and that means it's time to hand the responsibilities over to someone else. The Canadian company has reached a "long-term" deal with TCL (which repurposed Alcatel phones as the BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60) that licenses both the BlackBerry name and software for future devices. TCL will design, build, sell and support the hardware -- BlackBerry is just putting its security-oriented spins on the resulting handsets. You'll learn more about the phones resulting from the deal in the "coming months."
'White' Twitter bots can help curb racism
Twitter is trying to curb the virulent racism on its platform by banning bigots and expanding reporting features, but it's like whack-a-mole -- two pop up for every one banned. However, a new research paper shows that calling out users who post racist and sexist slurs can heavily curb trolling. There's a catch, however: it's much more effective if the "white knight" is, well, white
Apple chose BlackBerry's 'hood for its car OS project
Apple may have put the brakes on plans to build its own self-driving car, but the company's plug-and-play, self-driving operating system is still moving forward, even if the team has been scaled back. According to a new report from Bloomberg, what's left of Project Titan is coming together at Apple's Canadian office in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, using a big team of engineers poached from BlackBerry's automotive software division QNX.
BlackBerry's third Android phone packs a fingerprint sensor
BlackBerry has announced the DTEK60, the second in its range of Android smartphones manufactured by a third party. Like the DTEK50, the actual device has been put together by TCL, leaving BlackBerry with the job of making sure that it's secure enough to be loved by corporations. The biggest new feature, compared to its predecessor, is the new fingerprint scanner that allows you to unlock the device as well as use Android Pay.
BlackBerry is done making smartphones
In BlackBerry's latest quarterly financials released today, the company revealed it's getting out of the hardware business once and for all, choosing instead to "outsource that function to partners." It's not a huge shock given BlackBerry CEO John Chen has foreshadowed the cut and run several times. Earlier this year, he warned that if hardware wasn't making a profit by September it would be time to call it quits, and he's kept his word after the Mobility Solutions division posted an $8 million loss for this past quarter. This doesn't mean we've seen the last of BlackBerry handsets, though; they just won't be produced in-house anymore.
The bottom line: Our quick verdict on the BlackBerry DTEK50
With a review headline that reads "cheap, secure and better than expected," you might expect the device in question to have earned a high score. As it turns out, this is a BlackBerry we're talking about, which is to say, "better than expected" doesn't necessary mean you should actually buy one. The good news is that the new DTEK50 offers solid build quality at a reasonable price: just $299. For the money, you also get improved security over typical mid-range Android phones -- a potential selling point for prospective business customers. While this is indeed a decent choice for IT departments, individual users can get more for their money at a similar or slightly higher price (read: faster performance, longer battery life and superior image quality). Basically, then, while the DTEK50 surpassed our admittedly modest expectations, you can still do better.
BlackBerry DTEK50 review: Cheap, secure and better than expected
BlackBerry's first Android phone was a curious, ambitious machine, so it's funny that the company's second turned out to be so ... practical. The $299 DTEK50 is affordable from the get-go, lacks a physical keyboard and was basically tailor-made for corporations to buy in bulk. Seriously: BlackBerry has been pretty candid about the fact that this is a "fleet" device, a supersecure phone it hopes will attract companies trying to trick out their mobile workforce. BlackBerry is trying to pitch this to regular people too, though, and in the process, it's hurling the DTEK into a crowded, crazy-competitive pool of midrange phones. Spoiler alert: It's probably not for you.
BlackBerry releases its Hub+ apps on Android
Even if Kim K ends up ditching BlackBerry, she could still replicate part of the BB experience with an Android phone. The Canadian phonemaker has released its Hub+ suite of applications on Google Play for devices running Android Marshmallow. BB's Hub shows all your mail and social media notifications in one interface, while the suite as a whole comes with the Calendar app and a password manager. As the company wrote in its announcement post, we once described Hub as the "closest [thing] to [a] universal inbox." The Hub+ used to be exclusive to BlackBerry 10 and to BB's Android phone the Priv, but the company's sluggish sales hinder the software from reaching as many users as possible.
A day with BlackBerry's all-touch DTEK50 smartphone
BlackBerry pulled back the curtain on its new DTEK50 smartphone a few days ago, and soon after gave hungry journalists units to play with. I'm still working on my full review of BlackBerry's $299 Hail Mary pass, but since I spent a day playing with it, here's a peek into an evening of nutso, BlackBerry-centric thinking. Long story short, it's all at once a perfectly adequate phone with serious security chops, a shrewd business move and a lesson in lousy marketing.
Apple brings on new talent for autonomous car initiative
Apple has brought on the former head of BlackBerry's automotive software division to lead its self-driving car tech projects.
BlackBerry's second Android phone is a toughened Alcatel
BlackBerry's back! Again! And this time it's rocking some hardened Alcatel hardware with an awful name. Oh, BlackBerry. If you're one of the few remaining hardware keyboard enthusiasts hoping for the Canadian phone-maker's trademark QWERTY, look away now as you're going to be disappointed.
'Star Wars' drones can do aerial stunts and shoot lasers
When Propel releases its official Star Wars drones this fall, fans could challenge fellow fans to a space battle in their own backyard. The RC toy company has launched small replica quadcopters of the Millennium Falcon, an X-Wing, a TIE fighter and a speeder bike. According to Wired, their propellers are clear and are attached to their underside to be as inconspicuous and true to the movies as possible.
BlackBerry is finally moving on from its Classic smartphone
BlackBerry is embracing change in a big way, finally moving forward from its BlackBerry Classic smartphone. The writing's been on the wall for quite some time, but as of today the company has made very clear its intention to strike the phone from its portfolio and wind down operations for the "workhorse device going forward.
US Senate finally dumps BlackBerry
The US Senate's Sergeant at Arms (SAA) announced earlier this week that staffers would no longer be able to request new BlackBerry OS 10 devices for official work. That includes the Q10, Z10, Z30, Passport and Classic. In their place, the SAA is offering use of the Samsung Galaxy S6 on Android or the 16GB iPhone SE.
BBM Video for Android and iPhone is now out in Asia-Pacific
Most BBM users finally have access to the app's video calling capability. BlackBerry has released the feature for Android and iOS in Asia-Pacific, which is apparently home to its biggest userbase. The company said it made cross-platform video calls available in the US and Canada first, because it wanted to be able to fix bugs before it reaches more people. Since video calling is now stable, the phonemaker can roll it out to the rest of world.
President Obama got rid of his BlackBerry
President Obama has had to use a BlackBerry since the moment he took office. However, he's finally moving on with less than a year left in his term. The Commander-in-Chief tells Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that he was given a new (and currently unnamed) smartphone this year to replace his increasingly rare BlackBerry. Not that there's much reason to celebrate. The President notes that his phone is so locked down "for security reasons" that he can't call, play music, send texts or take pictures. It's like one of those "play phones" you'd give to a 3-year-old, he says.
PayPal is killing its Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon apps
On June 30th, PayPal is forcing all its Android and iOS users to update their apps to version 6 if they haven't yet. Notice how Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Android Fire users aren't included in that list? That's because the company is killing its apps for those platforms on the same day. PayPal didn't explain why it decided on shutting down its non-Android and non-iOS applications. In her announcement post, PayPal VP Joanna Lambert only mentioned that everyone can still access the mobile website and that it's still possible to send P2P payments via BBM or to send money from their inbox on Outlook.
Creative pushes for US bans on several smartphone makers
Creative has a long history of wielding its patents against other tech companies (just ask Apple), but its latest effort might top them all. The US International Trade Commission is investigating Creative's complaints that seven smartphone makers (BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Lenovo/Motorola, Samsung, Sony and ZTE) violate its patents. Allegedly, all of the companies are imitating Creative's hierarchical menu system for media playback, much as the iPod supposedly duped Zen players a decade ago. If successful, the ITC dispute would ban the sale of at least some of these companies' devices... and given the sheer scope of the complaint, you'd probably notice the absences on store shelves.
