Hasta La Gadget!

Slowly, but steadily, BlackBerry’s building its BB10 app catalog with some major gets. Today, that burgeoning list grows by a very important one with the addition of Sony’s Crackle. The free, ad-based streaming video service, which culls together content from Sony’s various TV and film studios, is available to download now from BlackBerry World. It’s also compatible with the Q10’s teeny, 3.1-inch screen, so if you hate your good eyesight, you can devote an hour or two to reliving the opus that is Bad Boys II. Sure, popular apps like Instagram, Hulu Plus and Netflix have yet to make their way over to BB10, but you can’t fault the Waterloo-based outfit for getting users what it can. Even if that means bringing them Bad Boys II.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Sony, Blackberry

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BlackBerry didn’t break out its individual BB10 device sales in its quarterly earnings report released earlier this morning, but during its conference call to discuss its performance CEO Thorsten Heins revealed that it shipped 2.7 million handsets during the quarter, which is not a great number. Nokia shipped 5.6 million Lumia devices in Q1 of 2013, for instance, and AT&T reported 4.8 million iPhone activations alone during its Q1 reporting.

BlackBerry shipped 6.8 million phones in total during the quarter, so the new BB10 devices represented just under 40 percent of total new device sales. The total number of devices shipped was already fairly unimpressive, but it’s perhaps more worrying that BB10 made up a big chunk of those sales, despite the Q10 only being available in most areas for a fraction of the quarterly period. This also marks the first full quarter of sales for the flagship Z10, so it’s really the first true barometer of the health of that device available to investors and observers.

Here, then, is the problem: The Z10 has been available for a full quarter in its primary target markets, and with a device like that, launch is generally your most successful period over the entire device life cycle, since you have the most buzz and consumer attention (perhaps barring a holiday bump). Analysts will not look kindly at 2.7 million in sales for a brand new operating system, which is probably further divided between the Z10 and the Q10.

Already, BlackBerry stock is suffering a huge hit, down 24 percent ahead of market open. That’s not likely to turn around now that we have a better idea of how RIM’s big bet on a brand new mobile operating system is faring in terms of consumer sales.

Earlier than expected (and a little pricier than we’d hoped), the BlackBerry Q5 will go on sale tomorrow in the UAE. We know that its radios are primed for AT&T 3G and while the build might not rival the flagship BB10 device, it’s another option for those who can’t relinquish the tactile joys of a physical keyboard. It will launch priced at 1,499 AED (just above $400), which nets you BlackBerry’s latest OS spread across a 3.1-inch touchscreen with the aforementioned keyboard nestled below. Interested in hopping on a red-eye flight for the third device since the company’s name change? Then we’d recommend reacquainting yourself with our first impressions.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: CrackBerry

BlackBerry is reportedly going to release 3-4 new devices in the second half of 2013. The company had previously said that it would release 4 new products this year.

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Got a taste for a physical keyboard, but you’re currently on AT&T without any QWERTY-laden LTE options? That’s about to change. The BlackBerry Q10 has already been announced for the GSM network, but now we’ve been informed that pre-orders will officially begin tomorrow and you can get one of your own for $200 with a two-year commitment. Not exactly the price we were hoping for, but it appears that you’re paying a little extra for the nostalgia of tactile keyboards. We also don’t have any word on exactly when we can expect to see the device hit retail or virtual shelves. Official statement from AT&T below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T, Blackberry

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