Jan 30
BlackBerry unveiled Alicia Keys as its new spokesperson, but turns out she’s been posting from her iPhone. Seems a little dubious, but we’ll see. More »
Jan 30
You’re nobody in the consumer tech world if you don’t have a celebrity “Creative Director” and, with will.i.am and Lady Gaga already occupied, BlackBerry has snatched warbler Alicia Keys. The freshly-announced “Global Creative Director” for the Canadian company, Keys joined CEO Thorsten Heins on-stage at the launch of BlackBerry 10 and promised to “work closely” with developers, retailers, and others to promote the platform.
“I want to further enhance this concept of having your work life and your personal life in one device” Keys said, referring to BlackBerry 10′s combination of both business and consumer functionality. Keys will also be trying to push BlackBerry in the music industry, so expect the OS to feature in RnB and rap music soon.
Of course, being a creative director also means you get to plug your own projects, and Keys is no different. Her side-project of choice is Keep Moving, though the scheme will at least get some BlackBerry 10 devices to use. Neil Gaiman, Roger Rodriguez, and others will be using the OS to produce various creative projects.
For Keys, it’ll be producing music videos in multiple cities as part of her own tour, using the Z10 to make special films to “capture sights, sounds, and fans of every city that I visit.” Whether having her onboard will raise the profile among consumers is questionable, however.
Alicia Keys joins BlackBerry as Global Creative Director is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 30
It is official. Research In Motion is now officially called BlackBerry. The announcement was made today by BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins. One brand, one promise. These are the driving factors of the major change. The announcement is a bold move for the company, and it will probably be remembered as one of the best decisions it has made. What could be better than to reflect the name of your product to your actual brand name? ”We have transformed ourselves inside and out, and we have defined a revision, a dedication to the boundless opportunities in mobile computing,” Heins said. “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.”
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google’s 2013 Science Fair Aims To Discover Future Scientists And Engineers, China Is The New Thneedville As Canned Air Goes On Sale There, 
Jan 30
If you didn’t get the hint from the constant appearances during the BlackBerry 10 video promos, BlackBerry loves Alicia Keys. And it looks like she might like it back. Filled with analogies of new lovers and “exclusively dating” a mobile platform, Alicia Keys is now BlackBerry’s Global Creative Director. We’re not sure what her work remit will be (although there was a mention of app development) but we presume Will.I.Am is somewhere, crying in a pool of money.
Other famous fans that BlackBerry mentioned on stage include Neil Gaiman and Robert Rodriguez — creative types are looking forward to their new free BlackBerry phone.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM
Jan 30
BlackBerry has detailed some of the 70,000 apps that will be available on BlackBerry 10 at launch, with high-profile titles like Skype, Angry Birds, and Twitter all ready to go. The fresh new platform – which will debut on the Q10 and Z10 smartphones – will also get Facebook and Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader.
They’ll all arrive in BlackBerry World, the newly named app store which is now the central hub not only for apps but for multimedia. As BlackBerry announced earlier this week, BlackBerry 10 will launch with the support of the eight major movie studios – in the US at least – as well as music content too.
Business users will get SAP and LinkedIn, as well as Cisco WebX, while there’ll also be FourSquare and WhatsApp. Box, The Economist, The Guardian, and more will also join the virtual shelves, along with AccuWeather and United Airlines.
Given BlackBerry 10 also supports repackaged Android apps, and that should give Android developers an easy option for getting their wares into the BlackBerry App World store. More on BlackBerry 10 here.
BlackBerry 10 launches with 70,000 apps: Angry Birds, Skype, more is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 30
Good news for Honda fans: the automobile manufacturer has just revealed which of its 2013 vehicles will receive support for Apple’s hands-free extension of Siri, known as Eyes Free. Namely, the feature will be available as a dealer-installed option for the Honda Accord, along with the RDX and ILX from Acura. Mum’s currently the word on software integration, but it’s worth pointing out that the HondaLink infotainment system was previously revealed to debut on the 2013 Accord, and both the RDX and ILX feature AcuraLink — so, you do the math. Honda’s yet to reveal pricing for the kit, but hey, it’s something to haggle about.
Filed under: Transportation, Software, Apple
Jan 30
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.
Gallery: BlackBerry 10 app roundup
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, RIM
Jan 30
After all these years, who’d have thought that kids got it right all along? The part about wanting to eat dirt and mud pies, that is, because there’s a French restaurant called Ne Quittez Pas in Tokyo’s Gotanda district that is actually offering a dirt-filled full-course menu. And by dirt, we mean actual black, powdery, dirt-y (but not necessarily dirty?) soil.
Food infused with dirt doesn’t sound very appealing to me. In fact, I think I might choke on it given the consistency and quality of dirt. But they don’t ‘cook’ their food with normal dirt that you have in your backyard. No, the dirt they use is ‘high-quality black soil’ that comes from Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture.
The soil is “strictly tested for safety and purity” to make sure that the dirt soup, dirt risotto, and salad with dirt dressing that you’re about to choke feast on will satisfy your every craving. Either that, or it will probably ruin your appetite.
Of all the dirt-infused items on the menu, I think I’d be least excited for dessert – dirt ice cream. Yuck.
[via RocketNews24 via Foodbeast]
Jan 30
It’s possible that some of you have never seen a rotary phone in real life. It’s likely that many of you have never used a rotary phone: heard the pulse take the place of the tone, mustered your patience as the dial rolls back it its reset, cursed a number with so many zeroes in it because it takes so long to call. And that’s a shame, because rotary phones are awesome: physical of a time when the home phone was home decor. Here are some of our faves. More »
Jan 30
BlackBerry Z10 review
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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.
Gallery: BlackBerry Z10 review
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM
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