blackberry

Early BlackBerry Z10 sales may not have been so hot after all

BlackBerry may not want to wave that victory flag just yet.

The early word is that sales of the new BlackBerry Z10 in the U.K. have been impressive, with some stores reporting sellouts. But Michael Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said that initial sales may be more mixed than they first appeared.

"Limited initial supply was cited as the reason for early post-launch stock-outs at some carrier stores versus overwhelming demand," Walkley said in a research note issued today.

With the success or failure of the BlackBerry Z10 weighing heavily on the fate of the company, … Read more

Analysts cautiously optimistic about BlackBerry Z10 sales

BlackBerry (the company formerly known as Research In Motion) is reportedly seeing solid demand for its Z10 smartphone and analysts appear to be cautiously optimistic about sales.

Whether cautiously optimistic saves the company remains to be seen. Generally speaking, Wall Street analysts seem to be betting that sales of the Z10 will be strong enough to support an upgrade cycle for the installed base.

The themes so far boil down like this:

Z10 (review) is in the discussion with Samsung's Galaxy S III and Apple's iPhone 5 for now. There are sell-outs in the U.K. Reps … Read more

That can't have been Blackberry's Super Bowl ad, can it?

Here's a few things I need to tell you about BlackBerry's Z10.

You cannot launch a Soyuz rocket from it. You cannot use it to make scrambled eggs with truffle oil. You cannot cut your hair with it.

You cannot milk a cow with it. Nor can you milk a rhinoceros with it.

You cannot use it to floss your teeth, steer your alpaca or clean your windows with it.

You cannot marry 12 wives, using it as your minister.

You cannot get it to construct a new mansion for you in the Turks and Caicos Islands. You … Read more

Low Latency No. 50: Better late than never

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

BlackBerry 10.1: What we want to see next

BlackBerry (formerly RIM) may have just lifted the lid on its completely overhauled BlackBerry 10 OS for mobile devices, but CNET has been testing the heck out of the OS and Z10 smartphone for over a week now. There are elements that we love and elements that we, frankly, think the smartphone-maker could have done better.

So, three of us who have spent time with the Z10 and its OS put our heads together to offer up a few suggestions that we'd like to see in BlackBerry's inevitable first OS update. And yes, we have more suggestions for … Read more

Why the Z10 and Q10 will not save BlackBerry

BlackBerry is betting its future on the Z10 and its new OS, but they won't be enough to prevent the company's inevitable demise.

By every standard, the BlackBerry Z10 is the best smartphone that BlackBerry (formerly RIM) has ever produced. It's a massive upgrade in terms of design, user experience and technology. I welcome the departure of the home button in favor of gestures. So let me first give credit where credit is due: BlackBerry has built a decent phone. The Q10 isn't bad either, if you're a die-hard fan of QWERTY keyboards.

Building decent … Read more

The 404 1,198: Where we captcha your mace face (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- This man will take your picture while macing you.

- Ticketmaster does one thing right, dumps captchas.

- PornHub's rejected SFW Super Bowl ad is brilliant marketing.

- Swedish police raid teenagers playing Call of Duty.… Read more

Oops: BlackBerry's Alicia Keys is an iPhone user, has an iOS app

BlackBerry's newest global creative director, recording artist Alicia Keys, must have been given an offer she couldn't refuse.

Keys, who today said would help "inspire the future" of BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion), is a longtime Apple user. That includes tweeting from iOS devices, and publishing her photography app Alicia Keys Photo Booth exclusively on the App Store. Keys also uses Facebook-owned Instagram -- which is not yet available on BlackBerry's platform -- where she has more than 1.6 million followers.

In a question and answer session with reporters following today's BlackBerry event, … Read more

Carriers throw support behind new BlackBerry 10 smartphones

Minutes after BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins introduced the two new BlackBerry smartphones, U.S. carriers began releasing statements to officially back the new devices.

Verizon was the first to announce it would sell the touchscreen BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 with QWERTY keyboard, going so far as to attach a price -- $199 on contract. Big Red also said it would exclusively sell the Z10 in white in addition to its all-black color.

AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile also came forward today, with Sprint committing to a 4G LTE BlackBerry Q10, and AT&T backing both. T-Mobile said in a statement … Read more

BlackBerry Z10 review: RIM fans will love it; everyone else won't

Members of the BlackBerry Faithful, meet your new phone. The BlackBerry Z10 has everything you've been waiting for: a sleek, modern, and professional touch-screen body with an up-to-date OS to match and 4G LTE support. You'll revel in the virtual keyboard's ease and in BlackBerry Messenger's seamless voice chats. You'll crow about the Z10's Micro-HDMI port, and enjoy the 8-megapixel camera with its built-in editing tools.

In the most important ways, everything comes together: a lovely HD screen, a fast processor, a camera (with tricks!) that's good enough to stand alongside those of … Read more