Mar 08
The latest BlackBerry 10 handsets could have been really cool dual-screen smartphones. Instead, they’re the same ol’ rectangle everyone else is using.
Mar 08
Good news Blackberry 10 users! If you’ve been looking for a way to communicate with your non-Blackberry using friends, WhatsApp is probably an app you’ve been looking forward to. The good news is that according to Alex Kinsella on the Blackberry dev relations team, he tweeted that he predicts that WhatsApp will be arriving for Blackberry 10 next week. Considering that he is part of the dev relations team, we can’t help but feel this is less of a prediction but more like a hint of what’s to come. Either way we will be keeping our eyes peeled, so check back with us then for the details!
WhatsApp was originally not planned for Blackberry 10, much to the dismay of many Blackberry 10 hopefuls. However last month, a member of the WhatsApp team confirmed that the app would be arriving on the Blackberry 10, and that a March release was to be expected. Based on the latest tweet by Kinsella, it looks like they’ve managed to meet their deadline in the end.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone Breathalyzer Calls You A Cab If You’re Too Drive To Drunk, Look Lock Lets Your Smartphone And DSLR Go Trigger Happy,
Mar 07
Earlier this week it was reported that Netflix has no plans to develop a BlackBerry 10 app. While that specific nugget of news wasn’t surprising, we began to wonder what other popular apps may or may not be coming to BB10. More »
Mar 07
Blackberry’s CEO Says Sales Of Blackberry 10 Exceeded Their “Ambitious Expectations”
Posted in: Today's Chili
It’s usually expected of CEOs to stand behind their company and their products, so we guess it’s not surprising to hear that Blackberry’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, is proudly standing behind the launch of Blackberry 10. Speaking to Spanish newspaper Expansion (via Bloomberg), Heins expressed that the sales of Blackberry 10 devices last month were beyond the company’s “ambitious expectations”. He also claims that production of their products have increased and that feedback has generally been positive for older Blackberry customers, as well as Blackberry users coming from different platforms.
This seems to be line with a report from yesterday that suggested that 45% of new Blackberry 10 customers made the jump from a different brand. Blackberry 10 appears to be doing quite well for themselves and retailers have claimed that the Z10 smartphone has been selling very well. In fact a Canadian retailer claims that it has outsold the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple’s iPhone 5. Some speculate that this demand could be high because production of the Z10 was low, meaning that there wasn’t enough units to go around, thus creating the false sense of demand.
In any case if you were thinking about getting the Blackberry Z10, be sure to check out our comprehensive review before deciding!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: T-Mobile Reportedly Planning Layoffs Prior To MetroPCS Merger, Taliban Threatens Bombing A Mobile Phone Market,
Mar 06
T-Mobile will be launching the Blackberry Z10 for business users come 11th of March, and regular customers should be able to get their hands on it on the 27th. While the full touchscreen design of the Z10 is certainly a refreshing touch, we’re sure that there are some Blackberry users who would prefer the comfort and familiarity of a physical QWERTY keyboard, which for Blackberry 10 devices would mean the Q10. Now the good news is that according to the folks at N4BB, they confirmed with a T-Mobile rep that they will be launching the Q10 sometime in May. No specific dates were mentioned, so we will keep an eye out for that.
This comes after a certain report by Cannacord analyst Mike Walkley who claimed that T-Mobile will only launch the Z10, just like Sprint, who will only launch the Q10. Naturally we were just as surprised to hear this, but we guess Walkley either spoke in error or got his facts wrong, so hopefully this will help clear up the misunderstanding.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Has 5.9-Inch Phablet In The Pipeline, Nokia Celebrates 2 Million Lumias Sold In China,
Mar 05
While Instagram might be saying “no” to Blackberry 10, it did not stop developers from porting the Android version of Instagram onto Blackberry 10. Yup you heard that right, if you want to use Instagram on your brand new Blackberry Z10, you will now be able to thanks to an Android port. However the catch is that this port of Instagram is not a direct download, meaning that you will have to side-load the .BAR file onto your Blackberry 10 device. For those who aren’t familiar with side-loading apps, you might want to do your homework before attempting to do so. For those who know what they’re doing, you will be able to download the file here. However we should reiterate that this is an unofficial Android port meaning that if anything goes wrong or you encounter any errors or bugs, that’s entirely on you as Instagram will probably not be able to help you.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Green Throttle Launches Console-less Android Gaming Platform, Japanese Phone Strap 2 Cellphone Is World’s ‘Smallest And Lightest Phone’,
Mar 04
Things aren’t looking good on the Blackberry 10 front. Various retailers in Europe are already beginning to slash the prices of their Blackberry Z10 devices. This comes shortly after Blackberry had received bad news that Netflix had no intentions of releasing an app on their platform anytime soon. This does foreshadow a less-than-welcoming reception of Blackberry 10 when it arrives in the United States, but who knows, maybe the U.S. will be more receptive to the new, revamped platform.
Carphone Warehouse has reduced the pricing of its Blackberry Z10 devices down from 36 euros per month to 29 euros per month with a 29 euro up-front cost. The total price-reduction is said to equal about 160 euros. Vodaphone has reduced the pricing of its Z10 to around 33 euros per month, which is about a 72 euro total price reduction throughout the entire contract.
James Faucette, an analyst at Pacific Crest stated, “We believe that meaningful price cuts so soon after launch, while probably at the initial discretion of the carriers, is likely to relegate the Z10 to being a mid-tier device with very low gross margins.” The price-reduction sends out a bad message saying that the new OS still isn’t enough to attract users from other popular platforms like Android or iOS.
Many critics have stated, however, that the Blackberry Z10 is a great device. It has an intuitive UI, beautiful design, and is great at multi-tasking and productivity. The app base is at a great start, with over 70,000 apps being available at launch. Blackberry has even reported that 1/3 of British Z10 owners did not previously own a Blackberry device. Blackberry has come a long way and is delivering the user experience consumers have been asking for. Here’s hoping for a successful U.S. launch.
[via The Telegraph]
BlackBerry Z10 prices slashed before USA retail is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 04
Sad news for both Blackberry 10 users and Blackberry alike. It turns out that Netflix has no intentions of releasing its mobile app for Blackberry 10 devices any time soon. This is bad for Blackberry 10, who needs a great app base in order to covert customers from iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. It was already bad enough when Instagram stated it had no intentions of developing its app for Blackberry 10 either.
Netflix didn’t say exactly why they weren’t planning on developing an app for Blackberry 10, but sources have told All Things D that its because Blackberry 10 doesn’t have a big enough user base. Without a huge user base like Android, iOS, or even Windows Phone, Netflix wouldn’t receive a lot of returned benefits from its app on Blackberry, so it decided to forgo the developing costs of creating the app.
Things may change in the future when Blackberry 10 starts attracting more and more users. Netflix didn’t say they were never going to work with Blackberry 10. It’s just following Instagram’s footsteps and is waiting the situation out. Though if those two companies partnered up with Blackberry 10, wouldn’t it be enticing enough to attract many users over to the developing platform? Perhaps developing their apps would prove to be a win-win situation.
Even without Netflix and Instagram, Blackberry 10 still has a decent amount of popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Skype to hold it over. It has a catalog of over 70,000 apps, 40% which is comprised of Android apps, and the list will keep growing. Sooner or later, Netflix and Instagram will join in on the fun. Alex Kinsella, a spokesman for Blackberry, is hoping for the former however. He says, “We hope they choose to bring a Blackberry 10 experience to their customers. We’d love to have them.”
[via All Things D]
BlackBerry 10 Netflix app: not any time soon is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 04
Blackberry devices in the past were known for its keyboard feature, and while Blackberry is looking to continue that tradition with the Q10, the Canadian company’s current flagship device is the Z10, a full touchscreen Blackberry 10 smartphone. We expect that many carriers will offer the Z10, but it seems that in Sprint’s case, that will not be so. According to Blackberry spokesman, Mark Elliott, it seems that while Sprint is more than happy to carry a Blackberry 10 device as part of its portfolio, the Blackberry 10 device in question will not be the Z10, but the Q10 instead.
It is unclear as to why Sprint has decided to go with the Q10 instead of the Z10, especially since the Z10 would be pretty much the epitome of what Blackberry has been working so hard to achieve in the past year or so. In any case assuming Sprint has no plans to change their mind, subscribers looking to get their hands on the Q10 will probably have to wait until May 2013. If the Z10 is more your phone, you’ll probably have it find it elsewhere.
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Mar 01
The BlackBerry 10 operating system was released at the end of January, and it did not take more than a quarter for a new software update to be issued by BlackBerry, bringing the BlackBerry 10 operating system to hit version 10.0.10.85. Just what kind of improvements do you think you can experience with the latest software update?
For starters, it is said that 3rd party application performance has increased, allowing developers to build apps which will run fast and smooth just for you. Not only that, Gmail calendars on BlackBerry 10 will run fine and dandy from now on with the new update, in addition to improvements in the BlackBerry Hub which allows you to log calls as well as log how conversations are handled. The camera should also see an improvement especially in low light conditions, and the Web browser should also be able to handle video playback better, too. The BlackBerry 10 software update weighs in at approximately 150MB in size, so it would be best to stick to a Wi-Fi connection for a faster download.
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