BlackBerry News and Rumours

BlackBerry News and Rumours News, Rumours, Press Releases pertaining to BlackBerry/RIM Sat, 25 May 2013 18:07:32 +0000 Sat, 25 May 2013 18:07:32 +0000 RapidBerry - Community Forums http://rapidberry.net/forums/forums/blackberry-news-and-rumours.4/ BlackBerry Q1 2014 fiscal results to be announced on June 28 WATERLOO, ONTARIO - May 24, 2013 - BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSX:BB) will be reporting results for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 on June 28, 2013. A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 8 am ET, which can be accessed by dialing 1-800-814-4859 or through your BlackBerry 10 smartphone, personal computer or BlackBerry PlayBook tablet at http://ca.blackberry.com/company/investors/events.html

A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 10 am by dialing (+1)416-640-1917 and entering pass code 4612565# or by clicking the link above on your BlackBerry(R) 10 smartphone, personal computer or BlackBerry(R) PlayBook(TM) tablet. This replay will be available until midnight ET July 12, 2013.

Scheduled Quarterly Results Conference calls for FY 2014

Q1: Friday, June 28, 2013, before markets open
Q2: Friday, September 27, 2013, before markets open
Q3: Friday, December 20, 2013, before markets open
Q4: Friday, March 28, 2014, before markets open

About BlackBerry

A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry(R) revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ:BBRY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:BB). For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.

BlackBerry, RIM, Research In Motion and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other brands, names and marks are the property of their respective owners. RIM is not responsible for any third party products or services.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Sat, 25 May 2013 00:10:27 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-q1-2014-fiscal-results-to-be-announced-on-june-28.2841/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-q1-2014-fiscal-results-to-be-announced-on-june-28.2841/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol BlackBerry announce first BlackBerry 10 Jam in Jordan BlackBerry, in association with Maysalward and the Jordan Gaming Lab, have announced the first BlackBerry 10 Jam in Jordan, taking place on Monday, May 27th in Amman.

Showcasing the unique capabilities of BlackBerry 10, developers in Jordan will have the chance to attend the hands-on event for free and learn how BlackBerry is helping developers in the region.

Hekmat Jaber, Country Director, LEVANT, commented,

"Jordan is home to a thriving developer community and we've had a fantastic response from them since launching BlackBerry 10. We want to reinforce our commitment to them by bringing our hugely popular BlackBerry Jam developer sessions to Amman in partnership with Maysalward, an excellent example of a successful Jordanian developer company, and their initiative the Jordan Gaming Lab."

The event will include sessions on:
•Monetizing apps and games monetization
•HTML5 development with WebWorks
•Native development in C/C++ with BPS and Qt/Cascades,
•Repackaging existing Android applications.

Ziad Al-Masri, CMO and Partner at Maysalward, said,

"BlackBerry has consistently demonstrated their support for entrepreneurial developers by providing world-class expertise and training through the BlackBerry 10 Jam sessions. We are very excited to be partnering with them to bring this conference to our app developer community here in Jordan."

The Jordan Gaming Lab was set up by the 'King Abdullah II Fund for Development and a number of local developers who have had great success building apps for BlackBerry OS 7 and BlackBerry10 smartphones. Jordanian developer company Maysalward were recognized for their quality applications when they launched a series of gaming apps at the BlackBerry 10 global launch event in Dubai in January 2013. - TradeArabia News ServiceView the Post on the Blog]]> Fri, 24 May 2013 02:58:05 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-announce-first-blackberry-10-jam-in-jordan.2837/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-announce-first-blackberry-10-jam-in-jordan.2837/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol O2 offer the BlackBerry Z10 Free in Flash Sale O2 have made the BlackBerry Z10 available free as part of a Flash Sale.

The BlackBerry Z10 is now free on O2 from £32 per month on a two-year term, which comes with unlimited calls and texts and 1GB of data.

If you wish to increase the data on the packages you can get 2GB for £40 per month or 4GB for £47 per month.

The option of upgrading your handset a month before the contract expires is included on all three plans.

The offer is only valid until June 5th and is subject to availability.

You can get the white Z10 here or the black Z10 here.

[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Fri, 24 May 2013 02:43:34 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/o2-offer-the-blackberry-z10-free-in-flash-sale.2836/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/o2-offer-the-blackberry-z10-free-in-flash-sale.2836/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol BlackBerry Dev Alpha's A and B to remain 'live' but unsupported For those developers who’ve been part of the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha program with either a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A or BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha B, there’s a date upon which you may have been keeping a watchful eye: June 30th, 2013… the day the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing devices are set to be deactivated. Or are they?

The BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing devices were seeded to the development community in advance of the BlackBerry 10 launch to ensure hardware availability to our devs well ahead of launch. Now that launch has come and gone (and so too has the date for the BlackBerry 10 Limited Edition device!), those BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing devices start falling into the category of unsupported hardware since they were never intended to be a full commercial product nor do they support the full OS builds. But really, they still work, so why throw away a perfectly good device? Good news! You don’t have to.

Developers will be pleased to learn that the 10.1 SDK OS also had the side benefit of removing the date that was to disable the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing devices. In other words, for any BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha owners, if you’ve updated to the 10.1 SDK OS build, your device will continue to work beyond the June 30th date, with no imposed expiry date embedded in the OS.

The BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A hardware will continue to be officially unsupported and the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha B hardware will join those same ranks on June 30th, but if you want to continue to develop apps against those devices beyond that date, you’re welcome to do so.

For more info on the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha program and to view other FAQs, please visit the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha web page.[signoff1]Source View the Post on the Blog]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 15:25:52 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-dev-alphas-a-and-b-to-remain-live-but-unsupported.2834/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-dev-alphas-a-and-b-to-remain-live-but-unsupported.2834/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol BlackBerry announces EMI scheme in India BlackBerry has announced the introduction of new EMI schemes in India for the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry Curve 9220.

Customers can now buy the BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Curve 9220 via credit card offered by select banks over EMI.

The EMI for the BlackBerry Z10 is Rs. 4,799 per month for 9 months.

The EMI for the BlackBerry Curve 9220 is Rs 799 per month for 12 months.

Both schemes have zero down payment, zero processing fee and zero interest.

BlackBerry has tied up with Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Kotak, State Bank of India, and Standard Chartered, to offer the deal to customers.

According to BlackBerry, the plan will be rolled out in 3000 BlackBerry outlets across the country by this weekend.

[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 15:05:24 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-announces-emi-scheme-in-india.2833/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-announces-emi-scheme-in-india.2833/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol Batelco offers BlackBerry Q10 paired with high speed 4G LTE packages Bahrain's leading telecommunications company Batelco, is now offering the BlackBerry Q10 paired with high speed 4G LTE packages.

Batelco Group General Manager Media Relations, Ahmed Al Janahi, said that Batelco is delighted to deliver first the much sought-after BlackBerry Q10 4G LTE to its customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

He said,

"We recognize the important role that BlackBerry smartphones have come to play in the daily lives of individuals and enterprises and their widespread popularity worldwide. We take our commitment to meeting our subscribers' changing needs seriously, and we strive to provide them with the latest technology to enhance their everyday lives."

"The BlackBerry Q10 smartphone delivers a powerful new platform for BlackBerry customers. Combined with network and service plans from Batelco, BlackBerry Q10 customers will be delighted with a re-invented communication experience, seamless multitasking, easy access to several social networks, and the peace of mind that BlackBerry security gives them," said Carlo Chiarello, EVP, Global Smartphone Business at BlackBerry.

More information and pricing can be found here.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 23:49:01 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/batelco-offers-blackberry-q10-paired-with-high-speed-4g-lte-packages.2830/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/batelco-offers-blackberry-q10-paired-with-high-speed-4g-lte-packages.2830/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne BlackBerry Q10 keyboard shortcuts being worked upon for BlackBerry Z10, with gestures Omio had a one-to-one press briefing at BlackBerry Live with Don Lindsay, Vice President, User Experience at BlackBerry – who heads up the team responsible for the BlackBerry 10 OS.

He said:

“One of the challenges I gave to the design team is, what’s the equivalent to a short cut on a touch display”

“Things like peek are allowing us to actually find and discover new ways to deliver the equivalent value of a shortcut, but through an entirely touch interface”

“This is an area that we are going to continue to expand the gesture language to find more short cuts, more ways to actually achieve tasks in a faster and simpler ways – using just touch”

“With physical keyboards, we’ve always supported shortcuts, that has been in place with BlackBerry for many many years”

“In BlackBerry 10.1, on the physical keyboard, in the contextual menu, we now show the keyboard shortcuts”

“Now the challenge is: how do we do the same thing, but with gestures”

Could be a combination of gestures, which could act as a keyboard shortcut?

“One of our guiding principles in the creation of BlackBerry 10 was one handed operation”

“One handed operation has led to decisions such as the placement of the top most item [in the BlackBerry Hub], by default, is in reach of my thumb”

“That fulfils our principle of one handed operation”

“Our design [rules] goes a little bit further than that, it actually says: we must deliver great one handed operation, but it can be more powerful with two hands”

“This is an acknowledgement of, are there ways in which we can interact with two thumbs or two fingers, that can be faster – than just a single finger [or thumb]”

What short cuts from the Q10 keyboard could be taken across to the full touch screen BlackBerry Z10?

“We’re at the point now where we’re trying to see, first of all, what needs to be recreated”

“One of the request we often get is the ability to scroll a list to the top, quickly”

“With our physical keyboards, we have ‘T’, which is a keyboard shortcut for the top, and ‘B’ for bottom”

“The team is now looking at, is there an equivalent to the command to go to the top of the list”

“They’re looking at, is there an intuitive gesture, to get to the top”

“The common ones on the Q10 are F for forward a mail; R for reply”

“Those are the higher priority candidates for us to see, can we do better in this space”

“If we can deliver that kind of efficiency, BlackBerry users will appreciate it”

[signoff1]Source View the Post on the Blog]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 23:37:54 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-q10-keyboard-shortcuts-being-worked-upon-for-blackberry-z10-with-gestures.2829/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-q10-keyboard-shortcuts-being-worked-upon-for-blackberry-z10-with-gestures.2829/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne BlackBerry putting software at the heart of its vision BlackBerry is putting software at the heart of its vision as it targets deepening its ties with the IT channel.

BlackBerry attended CRN‘s Partner Connect event in Coventry yesterday to offer an insight into its technology road map and try to woo some UK partners.

UK channel sales manager Andy Smallwood told CRN that BlackBerry is increasingly diversifying its channel from its traditional base of handset and airtime dealers, and working more with IT VARs and integrators. Central to this is the company’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) mobile device management platform, and Smallwood characterized software as the key offering in continuing to court the IT channel.

Tom Byrd, head of competitive intelligence at BlackBerry, explained that device management and security, enterprise apps and unified communications are the three key plays for the mobility firm in the coming months and years.

He stressed the importance of upcoming developments including a cloud-based version of the BlackBerry Balance software and the launch of BBM for iOS and Android. He also spoke out to reassure any potential partners concerned by media reports about the precariousness of the vendor’s finances.

“We have no debt and $3B in cash. If any of you have heard anything negative about BlackBerry, do not believe it,” he said. “We are here to stay — because we have lots of money!”

[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 04:30:15 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-putting-software-at-the-heart-of-its-vision.2822/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-putting-software-at-the-heart-of-its-vision.2822/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne South Africa is still a country full of BlackBerry people BlackBerry got a lot of flack from South Africanswhen it announced the popular R59 per month BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS) would no longer be available on its new-generation smartphones.

Despite that, the company has seen considerable uptake of its new 10 OS.

Alexandra Zagury, MD for South and Southern Africa at BlackBerry, says although SA presented what was perhaps the company’s biggest challenge due to the change in proposition,

“SA is still a country full of BlackBerry people”.

Bob Bose, BlackBerry regional MD for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), painted an optimistic picture of the company’s future in emerging markets like SA, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, India and Venezuela. Bose says MEA includes some of the fastest growing markets in the world.

“In fact, according to Informa, Africa is now the number one fastest growing market in the world.”

He points out that, in many emerging markets, mobility is creating people’s first experience with the Internet – and SA is a case in point.

Zagury says the uptake of BlackBerry 10 in SA bears testament to the fact that, despite the change in BIS to a new data reality and a new proposition, the BlackBerry brand is “alive and kicking”.

She points out that, according to GfK (Society for Consumer Research), BlackBerry has been number one in SA for 28 consecutive months.

The research firm places the Z10, in the top five selling smartphones in SA. The Z10 launched locally at the beginning of March. BlackBerry says, of the six million devices shipped in Q4 of financial year 2013, around a million were BlackBerry Z10 smartphones.

Zagury says BlackBerry beat the BIS backlash through strong local partnerships.

“Everyone always asks why BlackBerry is so famous in SA, and I always say the strength of our partnerships is key.”

SA, she says, is a carrier-led market.

“If you walk the malls of SA you will see the Z10 is present throughout. All of our carriers have been excited and supportive with the launch of the Z10.”

The Z10 launched at the end of January, with Johannesburg being one of the six global launch sites.

While BlackBerry deals with SA’s five main carriers – Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom and Virgin Mobile – she notes that SA is unique in that about 30% to 40% of smartphone sell-through exists via independent retailers.

“Even fashion stores sell BlackBerry products – and this is unique to the South African market. You can go clothes shopping and at the same time purchase a phone.”

BlackBerry Buddies

She says, in a bid to keep BlackBerry’s momentum going in SA, the BlackBerry Buddies system introduced in August last year will be extended “in coming months”.

“During the transition [to BlackBerry 10] we made sure to take in customer feedback and we launched this retail project. BlackBerry Buddies are available at kiosks in five of SA’s main malls at the moment and we plan to extend this to nine.”

The BlackBerry Buddies booths – located in Pretoria (Menlyn), Johannesburg (Sandton), Bloemfontein (Mimosa), Cape Town (Canal Walk) and Durban (Gateway) – are available for BlackBerry queries, but products cannot be purchased through them. Zagury says the project has seen “overwhelming feedback” with about 5 000 interactions taking place per month.
Evolving ecosystem

Another key element to keeping BlackBerry on SA’s map, says Zagury, is support of the mobile ecosystem.

“We have a team working with developer partners to ensure that our apps are locally relevant.”

She says local price comparison app PriceCheck’s recent accolade for app of the year shows investment in the local ecosystem is paying off.

“We have also opened two apps labs in SA. These are really cool and funky places where developers can come and learn how to develop on the BlackBerry platform.”

[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 03:29:19 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/south-africa-is-still-a-country-full-of-blackberry-people.2816/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/south-africa-is-still-a-country-full-of-blackberry-people.2816/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne 1 Nobex Technologies says thanks with Price reduction and free trial Nobex Technologies won Entrepeneur of the Year in the BlackBerry Achievement Awards and as a way of saying "thank you" to the community, they are taking 70% off the cost of their premium service, which grants access to international stations, and are granting their premium service free of charge for a trial period of 30 days!

Many BlackBerry enthusiasts are familiar with Nobex Technologies' innovative mobile app that allows people to listen radio stations on the go and share the experience and chat with friends through BBM.

Link for Mobile Viewing

Nobex Radio for BlackBerry 10 continues its inventiveness with a newly designed app. It adds podcast functionality that allows people to search and subscribe to thousands of podcasts, with notifications sent to the BlackBerry Hub when new episodes are available.

The App has been specifically architected for a BlackBerry® 10 experience. The Built for BlackBerry designation is your assurance that this App meets BlackBerry’s high standards for quality and performance.

[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 03:24:42 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/nobex-technologies-says-thanks-with-price-reduction-and-free-trial.2819/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/nobex-technologies-says-thanks-with-price-reduction-and-free-trial.2819/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne 2 Sprint planning at least one more BlackBerry this year Sprint Nextel is planning at least one more BlackBerry to join its line up this year.

"We're not done with BlackBerry," said Lois Eichelberger Fagan, director of product portfolio for Sprint Nextel, in an interview with CNET on Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless conference.

"There's more to come."

Sprint plans to launch the Qwerty keyboard-equipped BlackBerry Q10 late summer. The company opted not to sell the flagship BlackBerry Z10, which was the debut product for BlackBerry 10.

Sprint has teased another product from BlackBerry by the end of the year, but wouldn't go into details. CEO Thorsten Heins told CNET that he was excited by another flagship phone roughly slated for the holidays. Or, Sprint could offer the BlackBerry Q5, which is slated for overseas budget-conscious users.

Sprint had considered carrying both the Z10 and the Q10, but Fagan said the timing wasn't right. Initially, the devices were supposed to debut together, but Sprint opted to focus on the Q10 when it became clear there would be a large gap between device launches.

There remains some loyal customers used to the full keyboard who would appreciate the Q10, Fagan said.
[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 19:39:07 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/sprint-planning-at-least-one-more-blackberry-this-year.2820/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/sprint-planning-at-least-one-more-blackberry-this-year.2820/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne BlackBerry 10 app helps save trapped ducklings in Windsor A BlackBerry 10 app is being credited for helping save the lives of a pair of ducklings in Windsor, Ontario.

A mother duck and her two babies were walking along Longfellow Avenue when the two ducklings fell more than a metre straight down into a storm drain.

"She started to walk away and we heard noise coming out of the sewer," resident Michael Williams said of the mother duck.

Once inside, the scared ducklings swam into a pipe leading underground, away from the reservoir.

That's when Williams called the City of Windsor and pulled out his BlackBerry Z10.

While waiting for maintenance crew, Williams downloaded a duck call app for his Blackberry Z10.

Together, Williams and city employee George Thomas began the rescue effort.

Williams used the digital duck call to lure the ducklings back into the main reservoir, where Thomas scooped them up with a net.

"I thought maybe there was an app for duck calls. Thankfully, they have an app for everything and it worked out," Williams said. "I held it up to the sewer and the two ducks just came out."

CBC Windsor's Katia Augustin caught the entire rescue on video.

Thomas said the city receives two or three calls a year reporting ducks trapped in storm drains.

"Usually the [Ministry of Natural Resources] comes by to help out. We got lucky this time," Thomas said. "He used his app. We pulled them out. That was it.

"It feels good. It feels blessed."

[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 17:59:14 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-10-app-helps-save-trapped-ducklings-in-windsor.2779/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-10-app-helps-save-trapped-ducklings-in-windsor.2779/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol 2 Unity makes its mobile tools free to developers Unity Empowers Games Industry With Free Mobile Publishing Tools

MALMO, SWEDEN–(Marketwired – May 21, 2013) – Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, is pushing the democratization of game development further than ever before by making its fundamental mobile tools completely free to independent developers and small studios. Starting today, Unity’s gigantic indie developer community can publish their games and apps to iOS and Android in the build menu. Publishing options for additional supported mobile platforms, such as BlackBerry and Windows Phone 8, will be included at no additional cost once they are released.

Unity, the most adopted game engine, holds a central place in the videogame industry for driving the explosive growth in independent studios. By making tools completely free that previously cost $800, Unity is widening the path for developers looking to take steps towards creative and fiscal freedom. Individual developers and small studios using the free version of Unity can commercialize their games without buying licenses or sharing their revenues with Unity.

“We were able to make Unity free for the web and for desktop computers a while ago, but have been dreaming of doing the same for mobile for what seems like forever,” said David Helgason, CEO, Unity Technologies. “Mobile games development is possibly the most dynamic and exciting industry in the world, and it’s an honor to be able to help so many developers be so successful in fulfilling their visions and in building their businesses.”

With a high-powered engine rendering the most visually stunning mobile games, a deep and intuitive editor for fast-paced development, and ability to deploy across a multitude of mobile platforms, Unity has become the number one development tool for game developers.

In 2012, Game Developer Magazine conducted a survey that found 53% of mobile developers were using Unity and Apple named 17 Unity-authored mobile titles to their “Best of” awards including The Room which was named Game of the Year on iPad.

About Unity TechnologiesUnity Technologies is the creator of Unity, a flexible and high-performance development platform used to make creative and intelligent interactive 3D and 2D experiences. The “author once, deploy everywhere” capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of 1.8 million developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. To remain at the forefront of innovation, Unity Technologies tirelessly re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and its democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:38 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/unity-makes-its-mobile-tools-free-to-developers.2817/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/unity-makes-its-mobile-tools-free-to-developers.2817/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne Register for the BlackBerry Q5 from Carphone Warehouse Last Thursday we reported that the BlackBerry Q5 will be available to purchase in the UK this July and was available for pre-registration from Phones4U.

The Carphone Warehouse has now also opened up pre-registration for the mid-tier BlackBerry 10 device.

The stunning new BlackBerry Q5 brings together beautiful design, affordability and the convenience of QWERTY in one incredible package.

Available in a range of vibrant colours and featuring the innovation-packed BlackBerry 10 operating system, this all-new BlackBerry is as professional as it is personal.

BlackBerry 10 operating system
1.2GHz dual-core processor
5 megapixel camera
3.1-inch display
2100mAh battery

At the moment, there’s no price-tag or specific release date, but you can pre-register for the Q5 now from Carphone Warehouse.

Register for the BlackBerry Q5 here.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 10:57:14 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/register-for-the-blackberry-q5-from-carphone-warehouse.2813/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/register-for-the-blackberry-q5-from-carphone-warehouse.2813/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne AT&T opens mobile video chat for all customers AT&T customers should be able to use any mobile video chat app before too much longer.

Preloaded video-chat apps will work over AT&T's cellular network for all customers, regardless of device or data plan, by the end of 2013, according to a statement from AT&T.

Customers with unlimited data and an LTE device should expect to be able to use video chat apps from Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry over the AT&T network by mid-June.

Here is the full statement from AT&T:

For video chat apps that come preloaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung, and Blackberry have chosen to enable this for their preloaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we'll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.

Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable preloaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by year-end.

Today, all of our customers can use any mobile video chat app that they download from the Internet, such as Skype.

[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 22:44:13 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/at-t-opens-mobile-video-chat-for-all-customers.2810/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/at-t-opens-mobile-video-chat-for-all-customers.2810/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne BlackBerry to drive Z10 Sales at over a hundred cafes across India BlackBerry will drive sales of the BlackBerry Z10 by demonstrating the product to customers at over a hundred cafes across India.

In April, BlackBerry staff offered to demonstrate the device to all customers who entered 130 Barista and Cafe Coffee Day franchises in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, BlackBerry India Marketing Director Ashish Gupta said.

Over 70 percent of cafe goers actually consented to a demonstration, Gupta said. This exceeded the company's projections of a 50 percent conversion rate.

Of these, one in ten asked BlackBerry to contact them about purchasing the device. He said that from this group, 82 percent actually proceeded to buy a Z10.

While Gupta wouldn't provide a number of sales, he said the campaign facilitated 22,000 demonstrations. The BlackBerry executive added that some of the customers actually invited the BlackBerry staff to drink coffee with them.

"All marketing needs to reach your target audience. You need to find new and unique ways to reach your segment. The era of just going to mass marketing is over," Gupta said.

The company will soon expand the project to Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmadabad and Pune.[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 15:30:39 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-to-drive-z10-sales-at-over-a-hundred-cafes-across-india.2809/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/blackberry-to-drive-z10-sales-at-over-a-hundred-cafes-across-india.2809/ Rapid Yvonne Rapid Yvonne Touch or Qwerty. Enter the BlackBerry competition to win a BlackBerry 10 device BlackBerry UK are running a fun competition to win a new BlackBerry10 smartphone.

Are you a fan of the Totally Touch Screen (Z10) or do you prefer the physical Qwerty keyboard.

Make sure you’re following @UK_BlackBerry on Twitter so they can notify you with a direct message if you’ve won.

Winners will be notified by the 5th June 2013 so keep tweeting.

Head on over here and tweet your preference and why for a chance to win.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Sun, 19 May 2013 01:06:21 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/touch-or-qwerty-enter-the-blackberry-competition-to-win-a-blackberry-10-device.2772/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/touch-or-qwerty-enter-the-blackberry-competition-to-win-a-blackberry-10-device.2772/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol 2 Be the first to find out when BBM is available on Android and iOS One of the biggest things to come out of BlackBerry Live this year was the fact that BBM will finally be going cross-platform and is coming to Android and iOS.

BlackBerry have now put up a page where you can sign up to be the first to hear when both apps are available.

If you are keen to try out BBM on Android or iOS, then sign up now and be the first to know when it is available.

All you have to do is provide your email address.

You can sign up to be the first to know here.[signoff1]View the Post on the Blog]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:46 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/be-the-first-to-find-out-when-bbm-is-available-on-android-and-ios.2797/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/be-the-first-to-find-out-when-bbm-is-available-on-android-and-ios.2797/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol Windows Phone claims third place in smartphone market according to IDC Microsoft's Windows Phone grabbed third place from BlackBerry in global smartphone shipments in the first quarter, market researcher IDC said Thursday.

Windows Phone accounted for shipments of 7 million smartphones, earning itself a market share of 3.2 percent last quarter. That was a gain from the first quarter of 2012, which saw shipments of 3 million and a market share of 2 percent.

Over the same period, BlackBerry saw its fortunes fall. Last quarter, shipments fell to 6.3 million from 9.7 million in the year-ago quarter, while BlackBerry's market share dropped to 2.9 percent from 6.4 percent.

Windows Phone posted the largest gain among all operating systems, a feat largely due to Nokia, IDC said in its report. The Finnish phone maker was responsible for 70 percent of all Windows Phone shipments last quarter. Since partnering with Microsoft, Nokia has shipped a total of 20.3 million Windows Phone handsets. Other vendors also offer Windows Phone devices but mostly as an alternative to their mainstay Android phones.

"Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia," IDC analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement.

"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."

Google's Android and Apple iOS operating systems still completely dominate the smartphone landscape.

Android phones saw shipments of 162.1 million last quarter, up from 90.3 million for the prior year's quarter. Market share climbed to 75 percent from 59.1 percent.

Apple shipped 37.4 million iPhones in the first quarter, up from 35.1 million, though its slice of the market dropped to 17.3 percent from 23 percent.

"Underpinning the worldwide smartphone market is the constantly shifting operating system landscape," IDC research manager Ramon Llamas said in a statement.

"Android and iOS accounted for more than the lion's share of smartphones in the first quarter, but a closer examination of the other platforms reveals turnaround and demand for alternatives.

Windows Phone has benefited from Nokia's participation, and BlackBerry's new BB10 devices have already hit a million units shipped in its first quarter of availability."

[signoff1]Via View the Post on the Blog]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 22:54:40 +0000 http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/windows-phone-claims-third-place-in-smartphone-market-according-to-idc.2790/ http://rapidberry.net/forums/threads/windows-phone-claims-third-place-in-smartphone-market-according-to-idc.2790/ Rapid Carol Rapid Carol Windows Phone claims third place in smartphone market according to IDC Microsoft's Windows Phone grabbed third place from BlackBerry in global smartphone shipments in the first quarter, market researcher IDC said Thursday.

Windows Phone accounted for shipments of 7 million smartphones, earning itself a market share of 3.2 percent last quarter. That was a gain from the first quarter of 2012, which saw shipments of 3 million and a market share of 2 percent.

Over the same period, BlackBerry saw its fortunes fall. Last quarter, shipments fell to 6.3 million from 9.7 million in the year-ago quarter, while BlackBerry's market share dropped to 2.9 percent from 6.4 percent.

Windows Phone posted the largest gain among all operating systems, a feat largely due to Nokia, IDC said in its report. The Finnish phone maker was responsible for 70 percent of all Windows Phone shipments last quarter. Since partnering with Microsoft, Nokia has shipped a total of 20.3 million Windows Phone handsets. Other vendors also offer Windows Phone devices but mostly as an alternative to their mainstay Android phones.