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Tag: blackberry

  • Z30 – Blackberry’s New Flagship Smartphone


    Blackberry has launched the Z30 as its flagship smartphone as it tries to capture back market share amid an uncertain future. Blackberry was once a pioneer in the smartphone arena but it has now indicated that it is weighing its options.

    The much anticipated Z30 is poised to take the crown from the previous Z10 as Blackberry’s top of the line device. It was launched at an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The touch screen device features a five inch display as well as a 1.7 gigahertz processor. It is set to compete with the iPhone 5C, Samsung galaxy S4 as well as other android powered devices. 

    Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um has indicated that the success of the Z30 will be based on the pricing, carrier ability as well as the pace of consumer adoption. Blackberry has for long been targeting to make Blackberry 10 the 3rd most popular operating system. However, Microsoft’s windows phone platform is poised to clinch this position.

    Although Blackberry’s new devices have received a good reception from consumers, many analysts think that it does not have the financial heft to fight off competition from the industry giants.

    Blackberry has indicated that the new Z30 smartphone will be available in stores in the UK and Middle East within the next few weeks. It will go on sale in selected retailers in other regions within the year.

  • Mobile Phone Sales Fell in 2012 While Smartphones Thrived

    Half of last year, the research and market analysis company Gartner warned that sales of handsets are in decline, the final report for last year, which was published today, confirming the trend observed in August.

    The unfavorable economic climate that people from Gartner blame for this negative trend, has affected the sales figure for mobile phones. Producers managed to sell 1.75 billion pieces, a 1.7 percent decrease compared to performances recorded in 2011.

    The least demanded products were the featurephones, in the last three months they managing to attract only 264.4 million customers, a figure that marks a sharp drop of 19.3 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

    In the same three months of last year, smartphone sales reached a record level, the 207.7 million units representing a jump of 38.3 percent compared to the last quarter of 2011. In 2013, Gartner estimates that sales of smartphones will reach one billion and the entire mobile phone market will recover and reach a figure of approximately 1.9 billion pieces.

    Rivals Samsung and Apple have captured 52 percent of the market. South Koreans last year sold 386.4 million mobile phones, of which 53.3% were smartphones, while Apple, which is only selling smartphones, has sold 130 million handsets, an increase of 22 percent from 2011.

    According to Gartner, the Android platform has captured nearly 70 percent of smartphone market in the last quarter, followed by the iOS, down nearly 3 percent, BlackBerry OS, also in decrease, and Windows Phone, which managed to reach a modest market share of only 3 percent, but which represents almost double compared to the situation in late 2011.

  • RIM to license its technology out to other hardware manufacturers?

    Research in Motion is thinking ahead, while the Blackberry 10 is about to hit the market. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins told Die Welt that they are examining the possibility of selling their hardware to other hardware manufacturers in the future. This means that they could license their technologies and provide them to others, leaving behind their exclusivity, which had its advantages, but also its disadvantages.

    More specifically, he mentioned:

    "There are several options, including the sale of the hardware production is as much as licensing our software. But there is no reason for us to decide in hectic. It is important first of all, BlackBerry 10 successfully putting them on the market. Then we shall see."

    Altough it is still early to predict the future of RIM, it could be a good choice, which could significantly expand their audience. Especially now with the release of Blackberry 10 that they have put all their hopes on, it could be a wise move indeed for such a thought.

    For the time being they are focusing on the promotion of BB10, enlarging its hype and raising the anticipation level. For example, RIM's stock is following the general hype that favors RIM, jumping more than 10% the last week. And BB10 has not even launched to justify the general optimism.

    If it is a success, as they wish, why not plan for bigger things?

  • RIM announces BlackBerry Curve 9315

    RIM and T-Mobile have announced the release of BlackBerry Curve 9315, a brand new smartphone, which is ideal for those that don't spend a fortune for a phone, but are still looking for a decent choice.

    BlackBerry Curve 9315 is the next generation of Curve Blackberries, featuring a QWERTY keyboard once again, a 320×240 screen, a 512MB RAM, a 3.2MP camera and a 3G connectivity. It runs on BlackBerry 7.1 operating system and is considered a good choice for those that need an easy-to-use smartphone. What's more, it supports micro SD cards up to 32GB, it has a built-in FM radio and a built-in Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to communicate with your friends instantly. There is also a button for BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook and Twitter are already preloaded, if you are the social type.

    According to Ricard Piasentin, managing director for RIM USA:

    "The Curve 9315 is designed to make it incredibly easy to stay connected with friends, family and coworkers and will be popular with customers upgrading to a smartphone for the first time, as well as existing Curve customers looking for a step up in speed and functionality."

    It is also characterized as a "great device to combine business and personal use" and also "T-Mobile's most affordable Blackberry smartphone", since it will cost $49.99 upfront and $10 per month on a 20-month plan.

    If you are excited about it, pre-sale starts on January 16 and the official sale is on January 23. It seems like a decent choice if you are a fan of the classic Blackberry smartphones. However, if you are looking for the next generation of Blackberries running on BB10, maybe you have to wait a litte bit more before purchasing your next smartphone.

  • BlackBerry 10 to be introduced on January 30

    After all the speculation regarding the release of the Blackberry 10, RIM finally made an official announcement, informing us that they will introduce BlackBerry 10 on January 30.

    Although we do not know any details regarding the phones that will be presented, we do know that the two new smartphones will be faster, with a great range of choice among applications and will have touchscreens. Blackberries might have been popular about their QWERTY keyboards, but RIM seems to understand that touchscreen is preferred lately in the mobile industry and that's why their first smartphones will follow the latest trends. However, if you are a fan of the classic Blackberry smartphone, you won't be disappointed. You will just have to wait  little bit more for the next line of Blackberries.

    According to RIM, they will present both the new phones and their updated operating system, in multiple countries simultaneously on January 30, hoping that the delays have made them even more competitive.

    According to Thorsten Heins, the president and CEO of Research in Motion:

    “Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today,”

    What's more, RIM is already trying their new products with many carriers around the world and they already have obtained a  U.S. government certification, which means that they will be ready to launch their brand new smartphones in USA.

    As it seems, RIM has finally managed to create a calendar with everything that we are expecting from Blackberry 10 the following months. We might not know whether the anticipation will be satisfied, but RIM surely needs it in order to survive in the mobile industry.

  • RIM anticipates for the Blackberry 10

    RIM seems to be very excited about the forthcoming release of the Blackberry 10 and it decided to present the phone to developers, by exhibiting some Dev Alpha devices to a series of "Blackberry Jam" events. It is a way to get the first impressions on Blackberry 10, until its final release for consumers during the first months of 2013.

    According to the CEO of RIM, Thorsten Heins:

    “With BB10 we’re at the start of a new era of mobile computing,”

    “BB10 introduces a shift to true mobile computing, and that is why we’ve built a whole new platform, a new architecture, from the ground up."

    Blackberry 10 is expected to have many new features, while surprises are not denied. From what we already know, we are expecting an update on Blackberry Messenger (BBM), which is going to have a better look that will allow an easier conversation. The home screen is also expected to change, with RIM naming it "Blackberry Flow" and allowing the user to browse the pages with the apps. The inbox is also going to change, integrating BBM, text messages and any update from social networks. From now on, it will be known as "Blackberry Hub" and it will be one of your most frequent visits. What's more, the camera will be more functional, while there will also be active frames, which remind us of the live tiles on the Windows Phone.

    All these features indicate that RIM is trying hard to prove that they are still in the game and they seem to be aware of what the consumers want lately. Will Blackberry 10 be their rebound to the smartphone market? We just have to wait a few months to answer that question.

  • Blackberry services down for 3 hours

    Blackberry has experienced a major service problem in Europe, Middle East and Africa some days ago, which could not be ignored.

    Research in Motion does not seem to relax lately, since problems never seem to end. After the worries that Blackberries might be staying behind the needs of the modern smartphone user, an outage in their services in various areas was just another blow. It was September 21 when a 3-hour outage at the Blackberry services was widely discussed in social media, with RIM making two announcements related to the issue.

    The first one was when the problem was spotted, with RIM stating:

    "We are currently experiencing a BlackBerry service issue impacting some users in Europe, Middle East & Africa. All relevant support teams are working to resolve the issue. We apologize to any customers who may be affected."

    Afterwards, just when the problem was resolved, RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins made the following announcement:

    “I want to apologize to those BlackBerry customers in Europe and Africa who experienced an impact in their quality of service earlier this morning,”

    “The BlackBerry service is now fully restored and I can report that no data or messages were lost.”

    It is not the first network outage recorded for Blackberries, with the most serious one being almost a year ago, when email, browsing and instant messaging did not work around the world for 3 days!

    Although the stock of RIM has been affected by the outage, they still remain confident over the release of the new line of Blackberries. They are optimistic about their future and they reassure all the Blackberry fans that they are still alive in the competition of smartphones.

  • RIM presents BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

    RIM has announced their plans about BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, hoping that businessmen will stick to Blackberries and buy their new BB10 devices.

    Research in Motion does not seem to lose hope, despite the fall in Blackberry's sales the last years. Although iOS and Android have conquered the market, RIM knows that they still have part of the businessmen on their side. That's why they announced BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, which simplifies any service that entrepreneurs might need.

    According to RIM:

    "BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 represents a consolidation of our enterprise mobility management (EMM) product portfolio, which includes our mobile device management (MDM), security, infrastructure, and app management products. It will prepare your organization for the future of mobile diversity, as well as integrate with your existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) deployment. From a single unified web-based console, BES 10 will manage the following devices:

    – BlackBerry 7 OS and prior smartphones
    – BlackBerry 10 devices
    – BlackBerry PlayBook tablets
    – iOS and Android™ smartphones and tablets

    BES 10 will be the ultimate management solution for all BlackBerry platform devices, as well as iOS and Android devices. BES 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in Q1 of calendar year 2013. "

    As it seems, RIM understands that their focus should be on enterprise customers and they decided to entice them with a great idea.

    "RIM remains committed to our enterprise customers by providing advanced, innovative, and flexible options for a straight-forward migration to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, as well as cross-platform management of your mobile device deployment."

    We just have to see whether this could boost their sales.

  • Windows Phone to win Blackberry in US market

    Times are changing and so does the smartphone market. Gone are the days when Research in Motion was dominating the smartphone market. Now, Blackberry seems to decline in the US market, with Windows Phone being willing to take over its place.

    According to a chart from Statcounter, posted by WMPoweruser, Windows Phones are expected to overtake Blackberries in the US market until November. The fact that Windows Phone is on the rise and Blackberry seems to decline might justify the graph's validity. What's more, Windows Phone 8 smartphones are about to be released in September, which raises the competition even more. And the graph is further enhanced by the fact that Blackberry 10 is not expected before the beginning of 2013.

    With all these in mind, Microsoft should be happy about their recent progress in the smartphone market. Although many were questioning whether Windows Phone could make it in such a competitive market, the numbers are proving them wrong. Microsoft's collaboration with Nokia is already considered rather successful, since it was a combination of Nokia's experience in the smartphone market with Microsoft's fresh air. If you consider that the first Windows Phone has been released in US market only 2 years ago, and is currently about to overtake a well established name like Blackberry, then it is definitely a success.

    Blackberry on the other hand hopes that Blackberry 10 will help them recover, since they keep on losing their share in the market. Two years ago they held the 34.3% of the US market, a number which now seems really distant to them. Times are changing, Apple is dominating and Blackberries are only used by a small, but loyal, group of people that are satisfied with them and do not seek a change.
    However, are these people enough to hold such a big name?

  • RIM considered switching to Android OS

    Research in Motion, Blackberry's company, is trying to find a way to recover and one of their thoughts was to turn into Android.

    Blackberry used to be a very popular smartphone, but Apple's domination has significantly affected their sales. The popularity of iOS and Android did not leave any space for other operating systems. Thus, according to RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins and his recent interview to the Guardian, RIM did consider the prospect of using Android on their future smartphones. It could be a way to take advantage of Android's popularity and functionality, while combining it with Blackberry's experience in the smartphone market. However, they ultimately rejected the idea.

    “We took the conscious decision not to go Android. If you look at other suppliers’ ability to differentiate, there’s very little wiggle room. We looked at it seriously – but if you understand what the promise of BlackBerry is to its user base it’s all about getting stuff done. Games, media, we have to be good at it but we have to support those guys who are ahead of the game. Very little time to consume and enjoy content – if you stay true to that purpose you have to build on that basis. And if we want to serve that segment we can’t do it on a me-too approach.”

    Blackberry is mostly used for business reasons and this led RIM to stick to the Blackberry OS and the creation of the BB10, which will be perfect for multitasking. It is expected to arrive with the new smartphones in January and they have to prove that they do not need Android or any other operating system.

    Did they make the right choice? Time will tell.