Here’s the hands-on BlackBerry Passport video you’ve been clamoring for [Updated]

So how about it, prospective smartphone buyers? Are you still clamoring for the BlackBerry Passport? If so then you’ll definitely want to check out a new video flagged by CrackBerry that was produced by U.K. retailer Carphone Warehouse that gives us a nice little hands-on demonstration of BlackBerry’s upcoming smartphone that will go head-to-head with the iPhone 6 and Galaxy Note 4 this September.

FROM EARLIER: BlackBerry: Consumers are ‘clamoring’ for our new square smartphone.

In the video, Carphone Warehouse shows off some of the Passport’s outside-the-box features such as the new touch-sensitive physical keyboard that essentially doubles as a giant trackball that will let you scroll up and down on pages just by running your fingers over its keys. Carphone Warehouse also praises the Passport’s wide square display, which it points out is terrific for everyone who loves reading and editing spreadsheets on their smartphones. In other words, it looks like the Passport will be a tool, not a toy, that can be used for real work.
The video also shows off the new BlackBerry Assistant feature, which for the first time gives BlackBerry users the same kind of voice-enabled personal assistant that’s long been enjoyed by iPhone fans with Siri and by Android fans with Google Now.

UPDATE: Well, that’s annoying — the video has now been taken private, likely because it showed off key features on a device that hasn’t officially been released yet. If we find another version of the video saved elsewhere, we’ll be sure to post it below.

UPDATE 2: We knew you wouldn’t let us down, Russian YouTube users! Check out a new copy of the video below:




Source : bgr.com

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Blackberry to divest most of its Canadian properties

The latest page in Blackberry's business woes comes in the form of a property announcement, with the company revealing plans to divest the majority of its real estate located in Canada. This follows some pretty big layoffs, as well as a recent announcement that it'll be selling five of its buildings to the University of Waterloo for $41 million Canadian.

The divestment will be taking place in part with CBRE, a real estate services company. Blackberry didn't say how much it is looking to make from the sales, but such a business move comes amidst months of hardship and the need to offset poor numbers. The real estate divestment will come in two forms.

Blackberry says, according to Reuters, that it will both sell vacant assets and initiate sale-leaseback sales, with the properties comprising more than 3 million square feet of office space. Where these buildings are located also wasn't specified, but given that most of Blackberry's physical locations hover in proximity to its Waterloo headquarters, one can assume these buildings are in the same general area.

As for the buildings it has already agreed to sell, the University of Waterloo has said its campus will grow 300,000 square feet as a result, as well as gaining 1000 parking spaces. Good news for the university, and good news for whatever companies acquires its current properties, but another sad tale in the long story of Blackberry in a world of shifting mobile preferences.






SOURCE: Reuters

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Typo BlackBerry-esque iPhone keyboard draws lawsuit

Remember that BlackBerry keyboard-looking case for the iPhone that popped up at the tail end of 2013? Looks like BlackBerry saw it too, and they weren't too happy about how similar it looked to their own handset models. The Typo iPhone keyboard is the subject of a brand new California court case which suggests the accessory is a "blatant" copy of BlackBerry's own designs.

While we'll leave the chatter about BlackBerry's current financial situation and sales to the SlashGear BlackBerry tag portal for your perusal, today's lawsuit isn't really about the cash. Instead it's about BlackBerry's protection of their own patent rights, the likes of which they have plenty of, to be sure.

    "This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design. From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence.

    We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations." - Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

How this will affect the appearance of Typo Products at CES 2014, we can't be sure. This is their headline product, after all, using the following introduction for their Digital Experience appearance during the conference:

    "Introducing what people all over the world are already calling a total game changer..the first ever physical keyboard for an iPhone..the Typo Keyboard." - Typo Products

Stay tuned and we shall see! This company was founded by founded by entrepreneur Laurence Hallier and TV host and media personality Ryan Seacrest, certainly nothing to scoff at lightly!





VIA: Engadget, BlackBerry

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BlackBerry CEO accuses rivals of FUD-spreading

New BlackBerry CEO John Chen has promised a new age of transparence as he tries to turn the ailing Canadian company around, blaming rival phone manufacturers for trying to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt around how it is holding up. "Don't be fooled by the competition's rhetoric" Chen wrote in a piece for CNBC, echoing parts of the company's manifesto as set out in its recent dire financial results, when it announced it would be pushing over some of the responsibility for handset design to Foxconn.

That deal, Chen insists, is about keeping BlackBerry more responsive to market demands. The result will be faster product cycles, he suggests, leaving BlackBerry itself to focus on software, its place in the enterprise, and BBM.

According to sources speaking to BGR, meanwhile, the first Foxconn-designed BlackBerry will lack a physical keyboard - perhaps a surprise to its core audience of messaging fans - though it is believed to run BlackBerry 10. That's presumably in an attempt to push the OS into the low-end market, something the company has struggled to do.

In fact, handset sales most recently have overwhelmingly skewed toward devices running the older BlackBerry 7, rather than the newer platform the company has set its future on.

    "I believe BlackBerry has a clear lane ahead of us to create new trails as a nimbler, more agile competitor" John Chen, CEO, BlackBerry

As for what BlackBerry itself will be concentrating on, Chen says that despite the company's competition suggesting that it is losing its place in the enterprise, that's not in fact the case. "We're still the leader" the new chief exec argues, pointing out that the global enterprise customer base totals more than 80,000 while all seven of the G7 governments are BlackBerry users.

The US Department of Defense, he highlights, has only granted "Authority to Operate" to the BlackBerry platform. However, both Samsung and Apple are chasing that level of approval.

Unfortunately, some of the current successes in BlackBerry's story aren't actually making them any money, at least directly. BBM, the now cross-platform messaging service, is flourishing, Chen says, though concedes that it won't be a source of revenue for a few years.

Whether Chen's enthusiasm will be matched by the market remains to be seen. BlackBerry confirmed earlier this month that it would be canceling some of its more affordable device plans as it tries to trim its outgoings.



source : slashgear

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'Twitter' for BlackBerry 10 Updated

Please read this important updated information about the latest release:

    Twitter version 10.2.2 has been removed from BlackBerry World due to user reported issues. We are actively investigating and will provide an update here when Twitter 10.2.2 has been reposted.

    If you have downloaded the 10.2.2 version and are experiencing issues please follow these steps to downgrade:

        On the home screen, hold the Twitter icon until the X appears. Press the X to delete the application.
        Open BlackBerry World.
        In BlackBerry World go to Settings by swiping down from the top of the screen.
        Select -> General -> Refresh BlackBerry World.
        Search for Twitter in BlackBerry World
        Install Twitter version 10.2.1

The Holidays are an important time for communicating. Whether you’re checking in with loved ones, or staying connected with friends around the globe, we’ve updated the Twitter app for BlackBerry 10 to make it that much better. Designed to be the best way to stay connected to Twitter on your BlackBerry 10 device, the Twitter app for BlackBerry 10 v10.2.2 comes packed with new features:

    Home Timeline Photo Preview – Tweets with Twitter photos let you be part of the moment. Image thumbnails are now displayed on the Home timeline for all pic.twitter.com images – just tap the image to reveal the full screen version.
    BBM™ Connected – If you love BBM and Twitter, you’ll love this update. Now Tweet and update your BBM™ status at the same time.
    Reply within Tweets – It’s now easier to reply to Tweets with a built-in Tweet composer that appears when you tap to see details of a Tweet.
    Improved Search – Now relevant accounts will appear in search after you enter your query.
    Report spam or abuse by clicking on the Tweet details screen.

This release also features performance improvements to help you access your content faster.

Be sure to download Twitter for BlackBerry 10 and let us know what you think in the comments.

Twitter version 10.2.2 is available globally for handsets running BlackBerry 10 version 10.0 or higher.
*Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for releases of new app versions to appear on BlackBerry World.






SOURCE: Blackberry

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BlackBerry sees huge Q3 losses: BB10 tanks, Foxconn deal inked

BlackBerry has announced $4.4bn in losses in its most recent financial quarter, looking to a new device manufacturing deal with Foxconn to try to staunch the gush of cash from the beleaguered Canadian firm. BlackBerry shipped just 1.9m smartphones in the three month period ending November 30th, 2013, of which the majority were cheaper BlackBerry 7 handsets rather than the BlackBerry 10 phones the company has pegged its future on. Meanwhile, BlackBerry is also axing its BlackBerry Live conference, the company has admitted.

Exactly what the shipping split between BlackBerry 7 and BlackBerry 10 phones was in the quarter hasn't been disclosed, though the company also says it lost $2.6bn on unsold BB10 handsets. Approximately 4.3m phones were sold at retail, of which 1.1m ran BlackBerry 10; almost three times as many ran the old OS which BlackBerry is trying to shift away from.

BlackBerry's challenge now is to push ahead with restructuring, and it's looking in part to Foxconn to help it achieve that. Operations will be split into four divisions - Enterprise Services, Messaging, QNX Embedded business, and the Devices business - following earlier attempts to separate out elements like BBM as standalone concerns rather than being primarily associated with the BlackBerry brand.

In fact, BBM is one of the few successes in the company's quarter. Over 40m iOS and Android users registered in the past 60 days, BlackBerry says, and its attempts to get BBM preloaded on phones has seen more than twelve - including LG - Android OEMs sign up.

For devices, a five year deal with Foxconn will see the manufacturer develop and produce handsets, taking some of the weight off of BlackBerry's engineering team. The first results will be a consumer smartphone for Indonesia, Mexico, and other developing markets, pegged for release in early 2014. Foxconn will also be responsible for managing the inventory of the devices, taking some of the risk off of BlackBerry's shoulders.

As for BlackBerry Live, there'll be no 2014 conference and things aren't looking too hopeful for years after that. Instead, BlackBerry will hold "smaller, targeted events" around the world over the coming year, focusing on developers, partners, or business audiences.

It's a similar strategy to what we saw Nokia announce back in 2012, when the company shuttered its big-ticket Nokia World events and instead shifted to a smaller, presumably less expensive series of more conservative events. Nokia still described its biggest event of this year as "Nokia World 2013" but it was a far cry from the single-brand expos of before.

Looking ahead, BlackBerry says it still expects to be cash-strong in Q4, but isn't putting any specific numbers on revenue estimates. Instead, the firm says it will continue to try to trim costs.



SOURCE: Slashgear

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