Hasta La Gadget!

While the focus might be on Android and iOS at the moment, let’s not forget that as far as smartphones are concerned, RIM’s Blackberry devices used to reign supreme. However lately the company has taken quite a bit of hits, although many are hoping that the upcoming Blackberry 10 OS and its accompanying devices will be amazing enough for RIM to regain some market share. Verizon appears to be rather supportive of RIM’s efforts, and when asked about the possibility of keeping their options open when it came to operating systems apart from iOS and Android given the whole Apple versus Samsung legal battle, Verizon’s CFO Francis J. Shammo was quoted as saying not to count RIM out yet as there was a chance that they could come into the marketplace with an innovative product. We guess this isn’t too surprising since Verizon did confirm they would have Blackberry 10 devices on hand at launch in 2013.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon’s CMO confirms that the carrier will offer Blackberry 10 devices at launch, Blackberry 10 demo video surfaces, shows off app switching and swipe gestures,

BlackBerry sales in the US have ditched and some stores have failed to sell a single handset from RIM’s range in the past month, according to analyst checks, painting a dreary picture of the Canadian company’s future. “We believe that current run rates are roughly one-fifth of those we saw in the US just eight months ago,” Pacific Crest’s James Faucette told AllThingsD, adding ominously that “we found a meaningful number of carrier retail locations which had not sold a single BlackBerry in over a month.”

Sales of BlackBerry devices in stores were apparently unchanged, comparing August to July, but Pacific Crest found evidence that retailers were simply not restocking with new devices. “We detected meaningfully lower inventory levels versus a month ago” Faucette pointed out.

That’s a real problem for RIM, as the company needs to tide its finances over through Q4 2012 and into early 2013, something it has been relying on existing BlackBerry 7 handsets to deliver. Next year, BlackBerry 10 will debut – delayed and much criticized – with RIM fighting to reclaim shelf space and market mindshare from iOS, Android and, to a lesser extent, Windows Phone.

“Even assuming that BlackBerry 10 devices roll out on time starting in 2013,” Faucette concludes, “we believe the clear evidence of shelf-space pressure our checks have detected does not bode well for the company in the longer term.”

RIM said in a statement on the analyst comments that it was “focused on the successful launch” of its new platform, reiterating that the rewritten OS was expected sometime in Q1 2013.

BlackBerry sales dwindle to nil in “meaningful number” of US stores is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Since our smartphones have the ability to do more than just surf the web, check emails, make phone calls and send messages, there has been a lot of demand for apps that take our device’s capabilities one step further, and having a large number of apps to choose from can sometimes influence someone’s decision on which platform to go for. As some of you guys know by now, RIM will be rolling out Blackberry 10 devices in the near future and if you were worried that the platform will still be lacking in apps like its Blackberry 7 predecessor (at least when compared to iOS and Android), fret not as according to Alec Saunders (via CNET), RIM’s VP of developer relations and ecosystem development, Blackberry 10 will launch with more apps than any first-generation mobile operating system.

Granted that both iOS and Android number over half a million apps at the moment, it will take RIM some time to play catch up, but hopefully their goal of having more apps available at launch will be attractive enough to convince customers to jump ship.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry 10 gets a fancy photo editor, Images of Facebook app for BlackBerry 10 leaked,

It’s hardly a secret that RIM is suffering in a big way, and the company is hoping that the eventual release of BlackBerry 10 will be able to pull it out of this rut. RIM has been given a glimmer of hope in the form of a Verizon announcement, with the company’s chief marketing officer Tami Erwin telling CNET that Verizon will offer at least one BlackBerry 10 device when the operating system launches.

Details are pretty slim at this point – as in essentially non-existent – but at least RIM can count on support for Verizon from day one. This is part of Verizon’s plan to offer consumers more choices when it comes to smartphone operating systems. Erwin says that no carrier wants to become “deeply tied” to one or two operating systems, so as a result, Verizon is trying to increase the scope of its offerings by welcoming Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 with open arms.

As many of you already know, BlackBerry 10 is currently scheduled to launch sometime in early 2013. RIM is shooting for a quarter 1 2013 release, but with BlackBerry 10′s history of delays, it wouldn’t surprise us to see the OS pushed back even more as we approach the end of the year. Indeed, BlackBerry 10 has been hit with a few delays since it was announced, so while we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a Q1 2013 release, it may not be the best idea to get your hopes too high until we’re closer to BlackBerry 10′s expected launch window.

RIM is planning to offer a more modern touch-based BlackBerry 10 device first, before launching a device with a full QWERTY keyboard. Since Verizon says that it will have a BlackBerry 10 device at launch, it seems likely that the device Erwin is referring to is that all-touch handset. In any case, having Verizon’s support from launch day is a big win for RIM, so lets hope that with Verizon backing up it, the struggling company can move some units.

BlackBerry 10 will be available at Verizon on launch day is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Good news Blackberry fans, if you’re wondering which carrier will be sporting RIM’s new Blackberry 10 devices, you can count Verizon as being among them. The carrier’s CMO, Tami Erwin in an interview with CNET revealed that the carrier will be offering Blackberry 10 devices at its launch in Q1 of 2013. No additional details were revealed, like the models, hardware specifications, specific release dates or pricing, but either way we’re sure that Blackberry fans out there should be pleased that at the very least, one out of the four major carriers will have Blackberry 10 devices on hand.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Blackberry 10 boot times should be “dramatically” better, RIM anticipating influx of app submissions for Blackberry 10,