Articles about BlackBerry

PlayOn, the TV service that aims to make cord-cutting even more possible, with affordable prices, and even going free to Google TV customers, is now aiming at Blackberry users in both the United States and Canada. It brings with it all sorts of video goodies for this ride.

Today the company announces that "for the first time, BlackBerry 10 customers in the US and Canada can watch content from Hulu, Netflix and HBO GO on their smartphone. By downloading the new PlayOn app to a BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10 smartphone, and PlayOn software to a Windows PC, customers can stream online content from Netflix, Hulu (with no Hulu Plus subscription needed), HBO GO, CBS and 60 additional online channels to their smartphone".

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US mobile operator AT&T just announced that BB 10.1 will finally be available for its branded BlackBerry Z10 handsets, nearly two months after the Canadian maker unveiled the latest operating system iteration.

Folks who have purchased the aforementioned variant of the smartphone can install the latest software version by heading to BlackBerry's "Software Download for AT&T" page and following the provided instructions. At the time of writing this article, however, the required BB 10.1 file is not yet available (AT&T says that it should be listed "starting today" -- Tuesday).

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On Tuesday, BlackBerry announced the availability of Secure Work Space for Android and iOS in BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. The tool, which was unveiled little over three months ago, is designed to provide a safer and BYOD-friendly environment with features like application-wrapping and containerization.

"It offers BlackBerry Balance-like capabilities to provide peace of mind for IT departments in a BYOD environment, while separating personal content for personal use", according to the Canadian maker. BlackBerry's reasons for beefing up the security of Android and iOS devices revolve around expanding needs and the "ever-growing variety of devices" brought into the work space.

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AT&T subscribers can now purchase the BlackBerry Q10, a little over two weeks after the US mobile operator introduced the QWERTY smartphone for pre-order. The Canadian maker's device is available today for $199.99 alongside a two-year agreement.

The BlackBerry Q10 is available on one-year contracts and month-to-month plans as well, for $449.99 and $584.99, respectively. AT&T subscribers can also trade-in "their current smartphone" to the mobile operator to receive a $100 discount off the purchase of the BlackBerry Q10 (the offer also applies to other new handsets in AT&T's lineup).

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Just a month after unveiling BB 10.1, Canadian maker BlackBerry is now focusing its attention on the next iteration of the smartphone operating system. Even though BB 10.2 is unlikely to be introduced in the upcoming weeks, the company already revealed an important detail related to the future version.

Late-yesterday, BlackBerry released the Android 4.2.2 runtime for BlackBerry 10.2, which allows developers to test apps originally designed for the second Jelly Bean iteration on the company's smartphone operating system.

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Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry just rolled out a new version of its Facebook BB 10 app, bringing the latest iteration one step closer to its Android and iOS counterparts. This is the second major update in the past couple of months.

The new Facebook app for BlackBerry 10, now at version 10.2.0, focuses on design and functionality improvements. In the former department, the app sports a new "refined" look for the newsfeed, adding a couple visual tweaks. The most noteworthy enhancements, however, are related to photo management and tagging.

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One week after US mobile operator Verizon introduced the BlackBerry Q10 for pre-order, rival carrier AT&T has revealed that its subscribers can now also register their interest in the QWERTY smartphone before it officially goes on sale.

"Building on our strong BlackBerry heritage, we are excited to announce that beginning June 5 customers can pre-order the BlackBerry Q10", says AT&T's Jeff Bradley. At AT&T, the handset is available to pre-order for $199.99 alongside the usual two-year contract.

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Touchscreen phones are just about the default choice these days, but there are still some users for whom a real QWERTY keyboard is an absolute must.

If you're one of these people, get ready to smile -- Verizon is now accepting pre-orders for the BlackBerry Q10.

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App store numbers grab headlines, but don't matter to users. Both BlackBerry and Windows Phone boast constant ecosystem growth with more than 100,000 apps available in each store, yet neither of the two platforms has managed to assert itself as a viable alternative to Android or iOS. Why? Well, Canalys says that it's the quality of the apps that matters not the quantity.

"At a certain point, how many apps are in a store becomes irrelevant. Offering 100 different unit converters or weather apps is not a valuable choice", says Canalys senior analyst Tim Shepherd. "What is now far more important for BlackBerry and Microsoft is to focus on plugging inventory gaps and making sure they offer the right apps; to focus on quality and local relevance, not quantity". According to the company's latest report, both BlackBerry and Windows Phone fail to offer many of the popular titles available today, hindering their appeal to potential users.

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Change the rules of the game and you change the hierarchy. Two days ago research company Gartner released its latest report on the state of smartphone market which, based on sales, places Windows Phone in fourth place, just behind BlackBerry in terms of share. Today, IDC also released its latest report for Q1 2013, that measures shipments, and the two smartphone operating systems trade places -- Windows Phone now surpasses BlackBerry for the third spot in the charts.

That switch means Microsoft and Nokia have a reason to celebrate, in spite of numerous barbs coming from pundits. "Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia", says IDC's Kevin Restivo. But the research company suggests that the operating system still has a long way to go: "Given the relatively low volume generated, the Windows Phone camp will need to show further gains to solidify its status as an alternative to Android or iOS".

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BlackBerry had a pretty busy day at its Live conference in Orlando. The Canadian manufacturer announced the new Q5 smartphone, introduced the updated BlackBerry 10.1 operating system, released Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1 and detailed plans to bring BBM to Android and iOS.

My colleague Larry Seltzer, who was at the BlackBerry Live conference, briefly went through a couple of the announcements, but let's take a more in-depth look at what the new products bring to the table.

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A year ago, at his first BlackBerry Live, according to BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins, many people told him that it would be his -- and the company's -- last. As Heins went on to say, they were wrong.

Here at BlackBerry Live 2013 in Orlando the company had an upbeat story and lots of news.

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Microsoft has been busy with its Skype toy recently, and today announces that it's bringing the popular communication service to yet another mobile platform -- BlackBerry's new Z10 handset.

Microsoft released a preview version of the app for the Q10 back in April, but now with Blackberry 10.1 rolling out to Z10, owners of this device can begin using that Preview version as well. Microsoft's Linda Summers announces the company is "working closely with BlackBerry to give users the best possible Skype experience on the Z10, just as we have for the Q10".

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Ouch! The latest report from market research company Gartner crushes Microsoft's dreams of Windows Phone breaking away from the smartphone operating system bottom pack. In Q1 2013, with a low market share of just 2.9 percent, Windows Phone battled with BlackBerry for the consolation spot of third most popular platform (and lost), far away from either Android or iOS. The green droid is still the dominant leader, followed from afar by Apple's OS.

"There are two clear leaders in the OS market and Android’s dominance in the OS market is unshakable", says Gartner's Anshul Gupta. "With new OSs coming to market such as Tizen, Firefox and Jolla we expect some market share to be eroded but not enough to question Android’s volume leadership". What he doesn't says is that the future is bleak for both Windows Phone and BlackBerry, which have to showcase their strength to survive the future string of contenders. Let's take a look at the numbers.

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Late yesterday, Canadian manufacturer BlackBerry announced yet another range of updates for the LinkedIn and Twitter apps on BlackBerry 10. The latest iterations are designed to bring the social networking apps on par with their Android, iOS and Windows Phone counterparts and, according to BlackBerry, to "make it easier than ever to stay connected and do more with your social and professional contacts, while on the go".

Twitter is on its third noteworthy update in the past couple of months -- the first one arrived in early-March while the second released weeks later. The latest iteration sports two major improvements, the first of which is the ability to display more content while searching. Users can view photos, relevant profiles and searches as well as tweets and top tweets on the same page.

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