bb10

BlackBerry pleads for patience after brutal quarter

BlackBerry's "solid ground" just got shakier.

The company on Friday posted a loss in its fiscal first quarter, whereas analysts had projected at profit. Compounding the negativity was the eventual disclosure that it only sold 2.7 million BlackBerry 10 devices in the quarter and saw its subscriber base fall by 4 million to 72 million.

It was a bad day for BlackBerry all around. The surprising and disappointing numbers underscore the continued challenges the company faces as it continues its slow efforts for a recovery. But with losses expected to continue piling up, some are wondering … Read more

Uh-oh: BlackBerry shipped just 2.7M BB10 devices last quarter

BlackBerry sold a humbling 2.7 million BlackBerry 10 devices in its fiscal first quarter.

The company disclosed on a conference call Friday that 40 percent of the 6.8 million total BlackBerrys it sold in the period, which ended June 1, ran on its much-ballyhooed next-generation platform.

That's a number that most on Wall Street regarded as disappointing. Sanford Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu, for instance, had expected sales of 3 million units.

The sales figure likely represents the number of units sold to carriers, or the "ship in" figure. It's unclear what the "sell … Read more

BlackBerry CEO axes planned BB10 for PlayBook tablet

The BlackBerry PlayBook will not be moving to BlackBerry 10 after all.

CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed that he had canceled BlackBerry's plans to bring its next-generation operating system to its tablet, which continues to ship and has developed a small cult following.

Heins said he wasn't satisfied with the level of the experience, and made the "difficult decision" to stop the company's efforts on that front and shift its resources back to its core smartphone products.

The PlayBook runs on a rudimentary version of the BB10 operating system. Both BB10 and the PlayBook OS are … Read more

BlackBerry Q10 finally landing on AT&T June 21

It's been a long time coming, but AT&T customers can now expect to get their hands on the BlackBerry Q10 on June 21. The physical keyboard-toting gadget will cost the industry standard price of $199.99.

With an expertly designed typing surface that's based on BlackBerry's legendary Bold line of handsets, the Q10 features keys that are billed as 30 percent larger. In my experience with the device, I can certainly vouch that punching out messages on the keyboard is both fast and accurate.

That said, to make way for the bigger key layout you … Read more

How to install Android apps on your BB10 phone

No matter how slick the new hardware is or how hard BlackBerry strives to convince us that its new BB10 handsets are the cat's meow, there's still one massive stumbling block -- quality apps. Apparently even the BlackBerry faithful agree and intrepid tweakers have stepped in to fix the situation themselves.

Read on to learn how you can quickly take advantage of free BlackBerry 10 apps that others have kindly ported from Android. Best of all, the entire process takes minutes and loading apps to your Z10 or Q10 just a matter of seconds.

Gather your tools So … Read more

BlackBerry flaunts BB10 Bentley at BlackBerry Live

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of the most memorable moments from BlackBerry Live 2013 was when CEO Thorsten Heins jumped into a special Bentley luxury auto tricked out with BB10 software. That's why I decided to see what the fuss was all about personally.

Luckily BlackBerry was thoughtful enough to provide the premium car for display on the BlackBerry Live show floor. And yes, after spending a short time behind the wheel of this fine automobile, I can report it's a sweet ride. Specifically I'm speaking to the Bentley's smooth integration of phone features, though the vehicle'… Read more

BlackBerry Messenger jumps to iPhone, Android

CNET Update busts out the Breakout:

Lots of news around BlackBerry in today's roundup. Not only is BlackBerry expanding the popular Messenger service as an app for Android and iOS, but it also is giving Messenger a social-media twist with BBM Channels.

BlackBerry keyboard fans in the U.S. are finally able to own the Q10 this summer when it arrives at T-Mobile, Verzion and Sprint. (Get the full Q10 review here.) Considering the phone was unveiled at the end of January, BlackBerry fans in the U.S. have had to wait awhile for any availability details. But as … Read more

BlackBerry CEO likes tablets, just not as they are

ORLANDO, Fla.--OK, so is BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins a fan of tablets, or isn't he?

Heins, who made waves last month when he said he didn't see a place for tablets in five years, made some seemingly contradictory comments on tablets when he spoke on Tuesday during a Q&A session with the media while at the BlackBerry Live conference.

"We believe in a single element of mobile computing: one on your hip," Heins said.

Roughly 15 minutes later, Heins said BlackBerry was looking at the future of tablets and investing R&D … Read more

BlackBerry Live by the numbers: 120,000 apps available

ORLANDO, Fla. -- BlackBerry needs to convince developers that they aren't wasting their time working on its platform.

So what better way to state its case than by throwing out a few impressive statistics? BlackBerry spent the better part of Tuesday morning during its BlackBerry Live conference attempting to drum up support and enthusiasm for its platform.

Oh, and the venerable handset maker also used the occasion to unveil its BlackBerry Q5 phone, a device intended for emerging markets that will arrive sometime this summer.

Here are the highlights from BlackBerry on how well it's doing:

Number of … Read more

BlackBerry Q5 debuts with budget buyers in mind

ORLANDO, Fla. -- BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins on Tuesday unveiled the BlackBerry Q5, a budget phone designed for emerging markets.

The phone will launch in the summer around the world, Heins said during its BlackBerry Live conference here today. The company said in a blog post that the Q5 would launch as early as July in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There's no word on pricing yet.

Taking a cue from other handset vendors, BlackBerry will offer the device in multiple colors, including black, white, red, and pink.

BlackBerry was widely expected to unveil a … Read more