There is a future for customers hoping to stay inside the BlackBerry family – at least that’s what BlackBerry wants the public to believe as they send out an open letter this week for reassurance. This letter comes from BlackBerry itself and is being pushed by BlackBerry’s chief marketing officer Frank Boulben. He’s made clear […]
It is no secret that BlackBerry 10 is miles behind its competitors in the apps department, and the situation hasn’t drastically improved ever since the platform was first unveiled back in January this year. In June, Viber CEO had said that the official Viber for BlackBerry 10 app would be released alongside the BB OS 10.2 update. He said that both, the app and the update, would be released “hand-in-hand.” Though it looks like Viber had made a U-turn, in response to a user’s query on Twitter, it was revealed through the official Viber Twitter account that there are currently no plans to release a version for BB10.
Back then, Viber CEO Talmon Marco had said that a compatible version was in development, but didn’t exactly say when Viber would release its app for BlackBerry 10. BB OS 10.2 update hasn’t been released as yet for existing BB10 devices, though devices running this firmware are already out in the market, seeing as how the recently announced BlackBerry Z30 ships with BB OS 10.2 pre-installed. Viber tweeted that at this point, “we do not intend to release a version for bb10.” So it can’t be said if Viber will change its mind somewhere down the line. Its competitor, WhatsApp, has released a BlackBerry 10 compatible app. Those BB10 users who want to use Viber, they will have to make do by sideloading an Android version.
Viber For BlackBerry 10 Not Coming Anytime Soon original content from Ubergizmo. 
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BlackBerry 10‘s designers The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), acquired by BlackBerry in late 2010 and renamed BlackBerry Sweden, have quietly abandoned the struggling Canadian company, with seven of the top talent founding a new company, TOPP. The startup studio will “craft new products and breathe life into innovative ideas through design, prototyping, and technology”, across mobile, […]
Things haven’t been going well for BlackBerry, that’s certainly no secret. The company has lost a major chunk of its user base both in the established as well as emerging markets. It has recently taken a nearly $1 billion hit as an operating loss largely due to inventory write down of unsold BlackBerry Z10s. The company’s share price is a fraction of where it used to be only a couple of years back. Still, it has proven itself to be one of the major players in the area of secure mobile communications. NATO has approved BlackBerry 10 smartphones up to the level of “Restricted” communications.
Enterprise and government customers have without a doubt remained a large part of BlackBerry’s user base over the years. However its been facing strong competition on that front as well by other devices, such as those developed by Apple and Samsung. What this particular NATO approval entails is that BlackBerry will now be able to sell BB10 devices to agencies in 28 member countries which have been allowed to use them in the field or in the office. This is definitely a piece of good news regarding BlackBerry to come out in recent weeks, as the company has more or less been caught up in a web of bad press primarily due to its own troubles.
NATO Approves BlackBerry 10 For ‘Restricted’ Communications original content from Ubergizmo. 
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There’s no official Instagram app available for BlackBerry 10 right now. Users have to make do with an Android port by sideloading the APK on their BB10 device. Time and again it has been said that the official app will probably not be coming soon. This was reiterated by BlackBerry’s VP of developer relations at the Jam Asia 2013 conference last week. He suggested that users find an “alternative.” A third party Instagram client for BlackBerry 10 will soon be making its way into the BlackBerry World, and it brings an impressive list of features.
iGrann is a full featured native Instagram client for BlackBerry 10. Users will be able to register, login, edit profile information, browse feeds and photos, explore the popular page, search for users and hashtags as well as share pictures through it. Not only that, they’ll also have the ability to upload photos, make comments and even like and unlike them. However, at launch, users won’t be able to apply filters to photos, browse or upload videos or receive push notification. The developer says that all of these features, except push notifications, are planned and will be made available in later versions. iGrann is said to be free at launch, though it is not said exactly when it will be appearing in the BlackBerry World. [Image via CrackBerry]
iGrann Instagram Client For BlackBerry 10 To Be Released Soon original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Earlier today BlackBerry announced an operating loss of nearly $1 billion and revealed that it only managed to sell 3.7 million devices during the second fiscal quarter. Majority of those devices were ones running legacy OS, not BlackBerry 10, which was released earlier this year and was supposed to save the company. Its no secret that there aren’t a lot of quality apps for BB10, apps like you would find on iOS or Android. However, despite all the negative press BlackBerry has been pulling in recently, app developers are reportedly not going to jump ship any time soon.
Digitimes reports that majority of the app developers that participated in BlackBerry Jam Asia 2013 indicate that they won’t be giving up on the platform. The primary reason for this is the fact that Apple places strict restrictions on developers while Google Play Store is riddled with low quality apps. Given the relatively less number of apps on BlackBerry, developers might find it easy to break through as compared to the App Store. Nevertheless, there will be a need for BlackBerry devices on which these apps can run. The company has already said that it will tone down its product roadmap from six to four devices, and recently it has been rumored that its manufacturing partner might cut it loose.
App Developers Reportedly Not Jumping BlackBerry 10 Ship original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Though the folks at BlackBerry decided to hold off on their regularly scheduled earnings report, the report has indeed come out – and it’s not looking good. This second fiscal quarter for the company here in 2013 showed sales of $1.6 billion, but a loss on those sales of $965 million. This loss came in […]
T-Mobile USA will no longer stock BlackBerry smartphones in-store, with a carrier exec arguing that poor sales meant it was now “inefficient” to have phones on-hand. Despite BlackBerry’s best efforts to push BlackBerry 10, the platform – and devices like the Q10 and Z10 that run it – has failed to gain significant traction. Now, […]
The bad news for BlackBerry just keeps on coming; two days after the company entered a buyout agreement, it’s confirmed that T-Mobile will no longer sell BlackBerry devices in its brick-and-mortar stores. We’d heard as much earlier this month when rumblings hit the Crackberry forums, but additional confirmation came today, with one T-Mobile employee reporting: “My manager told me…that all BlackBerry 10 devices will now only be available via direct ship.”
It’s hardly a surprise that the carrier would be pulling the plug — lackluster sales of BB10 devices contributed to an expected net operating loss of more than $950 million in Q2. Still, one additional nail in the coffin’s gotta hurt for the (former) Canadian phone maker.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry, T-Mobile
Via: Daily Tech
It’s been announced today by BlackBerry Limited that they’ve signed a letter of intent agreement with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to be acquired for approximately $4.7 billion USD. This deal would put BlackBerry shareholders in a position to receive $9 USD for each stock, each stock not currently already held by […]
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