The Touch Generation

Goodbye WhatsApp

2016-03-02T14:11:00.000+02:00

WhatsApp support for mobile devices end of life

Earlier this week WhatsApp turned seven years old. It has been an amazing journey and in the coming months we’re putting an even greater emphasis on security features and more ways to stay in touch with the people that you care about.

Read more here

Blackberry’s plan to win back users in India has nothing to do with its devices

2015-05-11T15:49:00.002+02:00

Indians were big BlackBerry fans until just a few years ago. But once smartphones took off, they quickly turned to cheap and cheerful smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.

Instead of trying to win them back to its handsets, BlackBerry is trying to win them back to its services. According to reports in Indian newspapers, the Canadian handset manufacturer will introduce a service that allows users to operate up to nine phone numbers from a single SIM card. Quartz has asked Blackberry for comment, and will update this post with any response.

This is an acknowledgement of a large and growing market worldwide: Just under half of Android users in India have dual-SIM devices.

According to the Hindustan Times, BlackBerry’s new SIM, offered in conjunction with Idea Cellular, a mobile operator, will allow users to separate their work and personal lives, using a different number and billing plan for each while using the same physical device. The system has the benefit of working on all phones, rather than just dual-SIM devices. And it allows people to segregate different parts of their lives.

BlackBerry Classic in white now available: Saudi Arabia

2015-05-11T15:45:00.001+02:00

BlackBerry Classic now available in white in Saudi Arabia
New Color Offers Greater Choice to Productive Mobile Professionals Looking for a Familiar QWERTY Design Merged with the Security and Speed of BlackBerry 10
Riyadh , Saudi Arabia – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced that a white color version of the BlackBerry® Classic™ smartphone is now available in Saudi Arabia. The no-nonsense smartphone is built to meet the needs of productive people who appreciate the speed and accuracy that can be found with a physical QWERTY keyboard. The white colored BlackBerry Classic is available today at leading telecom retail stores.
Ron Louks, President, Devices and Emerging Solutions at BlackBerry, said: "The introduction of the BlackBerry Classic in white offers yet another color choice to users who desire a stylish smartphone, yet understand the need for a mobile business tool that keeps them productive and securely manages their information."
The BlackBerry Classic upgrades the BlackBerry® Bold 9900 experience with:
Unveiled in December 2014, BlackBerry Classic upgrades the BlackBerry® Bold 9900 experience with:

Three times faster browser
60 percent more screen space
50 percent longer battery life
Greater variety of applications through BlackBerry® World® storefront and the Amazon Appstore

Top features of the BlackBerry Classic that drive productivity, communications and collaboration include:

BlackBerry® Keyboard & Trackpad - The QWERTY keyboard has stood the test of time as the iconic BlackBerry feature that users know and trust. Crafted for optimal speed and accuracy, the BlackBerry Classic's QWERTY keyboard gives users the control and confidence to communicate quickly and clearly using one hand with a trackpad and classic navigation keys.
BlackBerry® Browser - The BlackBerry 10 web browser is amazingly fast and astoundingly beautiful. That's why HTML5TEST.com rates it amongst the top mobile browsers for web fidelity.* Access your favorite online content as it was meant to be seen, faster than ever before and with unlimited browser tabs.
Screen & Battery - The BlackBerry Classic offers a form factor optimized for power communicators with a 3.5-inch touch screen display, 294 dpi HD resolution and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 for greater durability. The BlackBerry Classic also offers a large battery capacity and state-of-the-art battery optimization software. With up to 22 hours of battery power, you can be confident that BlackBerry Classic will be ready to deliver results when you need it.
Premium Design, Built to Last - The BlackBerry Classic is purpose built and built to last - from the outer frame which is cut from a solid block of stainless steel, to the textured back for better grip. The BlackBerry Classic also includes premium components, including a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of device storage (expandable by up to 128GB via uSD), and a 2MP front- and 8MP rear-facing camera with enhanced optics and upgraded imaging sensors.

BlackBerry® 10 OS 10.3.1 - The BlackBerry Classic comes preloaded with the BlackBerry 10.3.1 operating system, offering a fresh look that incorporates updated icons and an instant action bar so that each user's most commonly accessed functions are in the center of their screen. With this new operating system, users gain access to powerful features, including:

BlackBerry® Blend - BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Get instant message notifications, read and respond to your work and personal email, BBM™ and text messages, and access your documents, calendar, contacts and media in real time on whatever device you are on, powered by your BlackBerry.
BlackBerry® Assistant - The BlackBerry Assistant is BlackBerry's first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. It's the only smartphone assistant on the market today that can access both personal and work content in your work perimeter. BlackBerry Assistant intelligently determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it - if you type, it responds silently, if you speak, it speaks back and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.

Dual app storefronts preloaded for access to a huge selection of apps for work and play:

BlackBerry World - BlackBerry World offers essential business and productivity apps for professionals looking to drive efficient communications and collaboration including Box, Evernote, Cisco WebEx Meetings and Documents to Go.
Amazon Appstore - Preloaded on BlackBerry Classic, discover and download popular Android apps and games through the Amazon Appstore including Candy Crush Saga, Pinterest, SoundCloud, Kindle and Amazon Shopping.
BlackBerry® Hub - The one place to manage all your conversations - email, texts, BBM, phone calls, social media and more. You can even glance at what's next in your calendar. It's always available with a single swipe to help you stay organized, in control and on top of all your conversations.

BlackBerry Classic is built on BlackBerry's renowned secure operating system, with built-in protection against viruses, tampering and data leaks. The BlackBerry Classic is private by default, protecting users with encrypted email, web browsing and BBM.
About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® 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, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

LinkedIn For BlackBerry 10 Updated

2014-12-07T07:04:00.001+02:00

The LinkedIn app for BlackBerry 10 just keeps getting better and better. An update to v10.1.30.113 has starting appearing in BlackBerry World today, bringing standard bug fixes and performance improvements, which is a pretty standard change log.

There is also a mention of improved notifications and support for new devices, which is a sure sign that BlackBerry isgetting their native apps ready for the upcoming BlackBerry Classic launch.

Let us know in the comments below if you find any additional changes.

Download LinkedIn For BlackBerry 10 via BlackBerry World

Win an IOU for a FREE BlackBerry Classic from CrackBerry!

2014-11-16T08:30:00.001+02:00

Leave a comment on this post and you could win an IOU for a FREE BlackBerry Classic!

Though it's not launching for a little over a month --December 17th to be precise -- we know you some of you are very anxious to get your hands on the new BlackBerry Classic. We are equally as excited to get our hands on this device and can't wait for them to start shipping. So, let's pass the time with a contest for a FREE BlackBerry Classic! Keep reading to see how you can enter to win!

We're going to keep this one simple. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below telling uswhy you want to win the BlackBerry Classic. We're actually going to up the ante this time and let youenter once per day, for a total of 10 entries. Please don't leave ten comments in a row. Come back each day and leave a comment. You can leave more than ten comments if you wish, but only the first 10 will count as entries, and they must answer the question above to count.

The contest is open worldwide, however, please not that the Classic works with GSM Carriers only, and the bands include: FD-LTE: 1,2,4,5,7,13,17,25. HSPA: 1,2,4,5/6. This phone will not work on Verizon, Sprint, or US Cellular. Please be sure that the phone will work for you before entering, as we are not responsible for an alternate prize if it's not compatible with your carrier. Also, international winners are responsible for any duties/customs fees that are incurred.

This contest starts now and ends Saturday, November 22nd, with the winner announced on the blog the following week. Good luck everyone!

Don't want to try your luck? You can preorder the BlackBerry Classic now for $449 from ShopBlackBerry.

PRESS RELEASE: BBM 2.0 update

2014-02-14T02:39:00.000+02:00

BBM Voice and BBM Channels Now Available for Android and iPhone Customers

New features also include simple file and photo sharing, location sharing, over 100 new emoticons and Dropbox integration for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry Smartphones

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - February 13, 2014) - A new version of BBM™ will be available later today for Android™, iPhone and BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB) customers, giving them lots of exciting new features. Android and iPhone customers will now be able to make free voice calls to BBM contacts over a Wi-Fi® or data connection with BBM Voice(i), as well as access BBM Channels. In addition, BBM customers on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry(ii) smartphones will have more to chat about with fast one-click sharing of photos, documents, voice notes and more. BBM customers will also be able to share their live location for a specified amount of time with other BBM contacts by using location sharing, powered by Glympse, and will have 100 new emoticons available to help them say what's on their mind.

"BBM continues to deliver new functionality as a premier messaging platform that provides a simple and effective way to stay connected. Today's announcement gives Android and iPhone customers the rich experience of BBM Voice and BBM Channels - two great ways to connect with friends, family and colleagues, to build out communities around shared interests, and to follow your favorite people and brands," said John Sims, President, Global Enterprise Solutions at BlackBerry. "BBM continues to quickly evolve as a social mobile platform for consumers as well as for business customers through innovative features that give you great new ways to connect and share with each other."

BBM Channels

BBM Channels lets customers chat with other BBM users about topics that interest them. Customers can join channels about a range of topics from products, hobbies and sports to entertainment, fashion, cars and more. Channels can be created by brands, businesses and BBM customers alike and are a great way to communicate directly and immediately with people who share common interests in the broader BBM community.

By posting to their channel, channel owners immediately reach their subscribers with a message that can spark discussions. "Scheduled chat hours" allow BBM customers to have live chats with the channel owner - a great way to engage directly with their favorite channels one on one.

BBM Channels maintains the BBM core values of immediacy, privacy and control. Because BBM Channels live right inside BBM, BBM customers get notified the moment one of the channels they follow has a new post, or when someone responds to their comments.

With BBM Channels, customers can engage with brands or other customers without having to add them to their contact lists, thereby maintaining a high level of privacy. With BBM Channels, customers have the discretion to opt in only to channel brands that are relevant to them and always have control over the channels they subscribe to, while channel owners have control over how subscribers interact with their channel.

For brands and businesses, BBM Channels provides a new way to interact and connect with a highly engaged and targeted mobile audience. There are thousands of brands already using BBM Channels to engage with their customers. More on BBM Channels:

Open, yet private. Channel owners control the conversation on their channels. Channel owners can choose to: allow subscribers to comment on posts freely or to approve them first; let subscribers chat with them directly anytime, or set chat hours; they can interact with subscribers without ever giving out personal details, or adding them as a personal BBM Contact. And with private channels, channel owners can keep in touch with closer circles on an invite-only basis.
Channel reporting. Each channel has its own performance dashboard built right in. Channel owners can see stats on how subscribers are engaging with their channel, how many people have viewed each post and how the subscriber base is growing.
It's fast and easy. Start a channel right from a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android smartphone. It only takes a few minutes to set up a BBM Channel and once it is set up, posting to it is as simple as choosing a photo and adding a short message

Location Sharing

With location sharing powered by Glympse, customers can now share their real-time location with one or several BBM contacts for a specified amount of time - perfect for when people are running late, out with friends and more. BBM puts control in the customers' hands, allowing them to specify how long they want to share their location for, by setting a timer. When the timer runs out the customers' location becomes private again.

Dropbox Support

Built-in support for Dropbox™ makes it easy to send large files like presentations and videos. With Dropbox built in to BBM, you can send a file from your personal cloud directly to a BBM contact. On the receiving end, you can save the file directly to your smartphone or add it to your Dropbox account.

Emoticons

BBM customers have been asking for more emoticons, and now more than 100 new emoticons have been added to help you express yourself. Many of the new emoticons came from ideas submitted by customers!

BBM continues to connect friends, family and colleagues across a myriad of mobile networks, as the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, and engaging experience that puts control of privacy and personal information back in the customers' hands.

Design that takes a stand – the iF design awards 2014 reward the daring... The Zed10 WINS!!!!!

2014-02-14T02:35:00.003+02:00

When the BlackBerry Z10 was first announced there was plenty discussion surrounding the design of the device. In our Z10 review, we got to speak with BlackBerry's Senior Industrial Designer Joseph Hofer about the thinking that went into the BlackBerry Z10's design. At the time, he noted the primary design goal for the BlackBerry Z10 was to achieve a simple, understated, timeless elegance.

Since then, the device has gone on to win the Red Dot Award for Product Design 2013 and now it has won the right to take home the 2014 iF Product Design Award as well. In January, 49 international design experts assessed 4,615 products, communication designs and packaging entered by participants from 55 countries.

4.615 entries vied for the coveted iF design awards, which were awarded for the 61st time this year. The successful internationalisation continued to gain ground in 2014: the jury of 49 experts evaluated designs from 55 countries in total, once again a considerable increase over the previous year. The iF design awards 2014 were awarded in the three competitions iF product design award 2014, iF communication design award 2014 and iF packaging design award 2014. 75 entries stood above the strong international competition and received an iF gold award for their extraordinary design achievement. The award ceremony will take place at the BMW Welt in Munich on 28 February 2014.

BlackBerry extra fun codes (for legacy devices)

2014-02-05T09:55:00.000+02:00

Here are some key strokes which you can use on your Blackberry device for some cool functionality. Before proceeding with the secret keys disable the Blackberry Keyboard shortcut mode if you have already enabled it.

•Function: Decibel meter.

•Purpose: Displays your signal strength in decibels, instead of bars.

•Process: Hold “Alt” and Press “N”, “M”, “L”, “L” (repeat to reverse the effect).

•Function: Address Book files verification.

•Purpose: Checks the data in your Address Book for inconsistencies.

•Process: In the Address Book, hold “Alt” and Press “V”, “A”, “L”, “D”.

•Function: Address Book data structure rebuilds.

•Purpose: Forces data structures re-build in the Address Book.

•Process: In the Address Book, hold “Alt” and Press “R”, “B”, “L”, “D”.

•Function: View source code.

•Purpose: Displays the source code of a Webpage.

•Process: In the Browser, hold “Alt” and Press “R”, “B”, “V”, “S”.

•Function: Help Me! Menu.

•Purpose: Provides crucial technical information about your device, for when seeking technical support or help in forums.

•Process: Hold “Alt” and (left) “shift”, then Press “H”.

•Function: IMEI display.

•Purpose: Displays your device’s international mobile equipment identity (IMEI–your serial number) on-screen…Also works from all other

GSM handsets.

•Process: Type “*”, “#”, “0″, “6″, “#”on the Home screen.

•Function: “Soft” reset.

•Purpose: Performs a “soft” reset of your device; the equivalent of doing a “battery Pull” (i.e.

Removing the battery for a few seconds).

•Process: Press-and-hold “Alt”, then Press-and- hold (left) “shift”, then Press-and-hold “Del”.

•Function: Event Log.

•Purpose: Displays event logs of all the system- level events that occur on your device.

•Process: Hold “Alt” and Press “L”, “G”, “L”, “G”.

Note: Please note that these secret keys may not work in Blackberry Pearl. It is good to be on the home screen while you executing most of these secret keys.

Here’re the steps to disable the Keyboard shortcut mode:

1. Press the Call button and click on Options

2. Now you are in “Phone Options” menu. There click on “General Options”

3. On the General Options menu select “Dial from Home Screen” and change the option to “Yes”. You set this option back to “No” to re-enable the Keyboard shortcut mode once you’re done playing around with the secret codes.

This post was originally published @

www.hackstacks.com

Your WhatsApp conversations may not be as safe as you think! O_o

2014-02-05T09:50:00.000+02:00

A post popped up from Thijs Alkemade, a computer science and mathematics student at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. The post outlines a bit of the core encryption methods of WhatsApp, highlighting a few of the technical aspects of the service and also noting some big vulnerabilities.

If you can follow along with the original post, you can see that Thijs runs through two "mistakes" that WhatsApp uses in its methods, both of which are able to be exploited if someone has the know-how. Ultimately he determines that your WhatsApp messages can be decrypted given enough effort by a would-be snoop.

You should assume that anyone who is able to eavesdrop on your WhatsApp connection is capable of decrypting your messages, given enough effort. You should consider all your previous WhatsApp conversations compromised. There is nothing a WhatsApp user can do about this but except to stop using it until the developers can update it.

Of course this is something that could be (and will need to be) fixed by WhatsApp to patch things up, so they could very well be corrected soon. He also notes that the problems could be avoided if WhatsApp were to use something like TLS (Transport Layer Security), which is exactly what BBM uses for their services.

From Andrew Bocking, Head of BBM for BlackBerry:

I can’t really speak to all of the technical aspects of the WhatsApp system. However people can rest assured that BBM remains a trusted private social network. Where other services may be vulnerable to unwanted snooping or eavesdropping, BBM increasingly uses standard TLS deployment to remove that vulnerability from our service. TLS is a well-known, well-studied protocol. To put it in every day context, this is the same technology used for internet banking.

Hearing things like this can't make cross-platform BBM get here soon enough. We know the demand is crazy high but we just need it to be released. Sadly we're over three weeks in since it was supposed to launch originally, and while it's still on the way, we have no idea when we'll actually see it. Thankfully when it does show up you can rest assured it will be a solid, private messaging service that won't have such issues or vulnerabilities. Something to keep in mind, in light of recent attacks on WhatsApp.

A Season Or A Lifetime: 2014 Change

2013-12-13T12:47:00.001+02:00

When people come into your life for a SEASON
Its because your twin has com to share, grow and to learn
They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you never done
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy
Believe it! Its real! But, only for a SEASON.

Lifetime friendships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid, emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships,
And areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind, but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life!
If asked what's more important, my life or my friendship with you. I would sa my life and you would walk away, not knowing that my friendship with you is my life!

From
Kudzai Angeline Mutenzwa "Big Sister"

Copied as is from her. This is also to show change wave is coming. 2014 will be unique and different from 2013. Who will be there to watch as the drama unfolds? YOU. Thank you for the views and clicks in the year, a revolution just began and will continue. #Deuces

Free VMware and MS Virtualisation Examination vouchers

2013-12-09T15:03:00.000+02:00

Recently VMware has launched 3 new certifications aimed at the foundation layer to demonstrate your fundamental understanding of VMware technology in three key areas, being Datacenter Virtualization, Cloud and Workforce Mobility.

The good news is, these exams can be registered for, and taken online, and if your willing to sit the exams before the end of ~~October 2013~~ Jan 2014, you can use the below voucher to sit all 3 exams for 50% off!

Voucher: ~~VCA13ICS~~ – (Updated) Voucher/Promotion Codes

1. VCA13GKN

If the voucher does not work for any reason unfortunately there is nothing I can do to assist.

VMware Certified Associate – VCAC510 – Cloud (VCA-Cloud)

The self-paced e-learning class can be found here and taken for free.

VMware Certified Associate – VCAD510 – Data Center Virtualization (VCA-DCV)

The self-paced e-learning class can be found here and taken for free.

VMware Certified Associate – VCAW510 – Workforce Mobility (VCA-WM)

The self-paced e-learning class can be found here and taken for free.

Coming soon there will also be the VMware Certified Associate – Network Virtualization (VCA-NV) for those folk who are focusing on the emerging network virtualization path with NSX (formally Nicira).

So you have nothing to loose, study the free self-paced e-learning classes, register for the exams and sit them at 50% off, in the comfort of your own home.

For Microsoft

Microsoft Hyper-V (link)
Microsoft is offering a free two day course via Microsoft Virtual Academy. There is also going to be a voucher for a certification exam. The sessions will be recorded so if you can't attend I'd recommend signing up to at least get the voucher ($150 normally).

Fun Facts about BlackBerry

2013-12-06T09:21:00.001+02:00

Obama Still Rocking BlackBerry

2013-12-05T15:36:00.000+02:00

"Mr President, why don't you use an iPhone?"

Not a question that you're likely to hear during Barack Obama's official duties - however this one came up at a youth meeting while he was promoting he healthcare law.

Obama state's that "security reasons" are why he's firmly gripping his BlackBerry instead, although he does concede that his daughters do use iPhones.

Security is a touchy subject for the US Government at the moment - especially with Edward Snowden's allegations that Apple is one of the companies that have allowed the NSA to access their servers.

There's no doubt that the US Security Service are likely to be scrutinising their tech security even further to avoid being the victims of similar infiltration methods. Reaching to BlackBerry still remains the strongest security in their eyes.

Source: Yahoo News

PRESS RELEASE: John S. Chen Interim BlackBerry CEO as of 4 November 2013

2013-11-20T09:56:00.002+02:00

hn S. Chen to be Appointed Executive Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and Interim CEO; Prem Watsa to be Appointed Lead Director

Company Concludes Review of Strategic Alternatives and Announces Changes to Board and Leadership Team

WATERLOO, ONTARIO and TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired - November 04, 2013) – BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today announced that it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”) and other institutional investors (collectively, the “Purchasers”) will invest in BlackBerry through a U.S. $1 billion private placement of convertible debentures. Fairfax has agreed to acquire U.S. $250 million principal amount of the Debentures. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.

Under the terms of the transaction, the Purchasers will subscribe for U.S. $1 billion aggregate principal amount of 6% unsecured subordinated convertible debentures (the “Debentures”) convertible into common shares of BlackBerry at a price of U.S. $10.00 per common share (the “Transaction”), a 28.7% premium to the closing price of BlackBerry common shares on November 1, 2013. The Debentures have a term of seven years. Based on the number of common shares currently outstanding, if all of the U.S. $1 billion of Debentures were converted, the common shares issued upon conversion would represent approximately 16% of the common shares outstanding after giving effect to the conversion.

Upon the closing of the transaction, John S. Chen will be appointed Executive Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and, in that role, will be responsible for the strategic direction, strategic relationships and organizational goals of BlackBerry. Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax, will be appointed Lead Director and Chair of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee and Thorsten Heins and David Kerr intend to resign from the Board at closing.

In addition, Mr. Heins will step down as Chief Executive Officer at closing and Mr. Chen will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer pending completion of a search for a new Chief Executive Officer.

Today’s announcement marks the conclusion of the review of strategic alternatives previously announced on August 12, 2013.

“Today’s announcement represents a significant vote of confidence in BlackBerry and its future by this group of preeminent, long-term investors,” said Barbara Stymiest, Chair of BlackBerry’s Board. “The BlackBerry Board conducted a thorough review of strategic alternatives and pursued the course of action that it concluded is in the best interests of BlackBerry and its constituents, including its shareholders. This financing provides an immediate cash injection on terms favorable to BlackBerry, enhancing our substantial cash position. Some of the most important customers in the world rely on BlackBerry and we are implementing the changes necessary to strengthen the company and ensure we remain a strong and innovative partner for their needs.”

Ms. Stymiest added, “I am also pleased that John Chen, a distinguished and proven leader in the technology industry, has agreed to serve as BlackBerry’s Executive Chairman. I look forward to continuing to serve BlackBerry as a member of its Board of Directors and chair of the Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee. On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Thorsten for his service to BlackBerry over the past six years. Under his leadership, BlackBerry established a more efficient cost structure, developed new products, saw the adoption of BES 10 and delivered the BlackBerry 10 platform. These are all significant accomplishments. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

“Fairfax is a long-time supporter, investor and partner to BlackBerry and, with this investment, reinforces its deep commitment to the future success of this company,” said Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax. “I look forward to rejoining the BlackBerry Board and to working with the other directors and management team, under John Chen’s leadership, to shape the next stage of BlackBerry’s strategy and growth.”

“I am pleased to join a company with as much potential as BlackBerry,” said Mr. Chen. “BlackBerry is an iconic brand with enormous potential – but it’s going to take time, discipline and tough decisions to reclaim our success. I look forward to leading BlackBerry in its turnaround and business model transformation for the benefit of all of its constituencies, including its customers, shareholders and employees.”

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Pursuant to the Transaction agreement, the investors have an option to purchase up to an additional U.S. $250 million principal amount of Debentures within 30 days following closing. If an additional U.S. $250 million of Debentures is issued and all U.S. $1.25 billion of Debentures were converted, the common shares issued upon conversion would represent approximately 19.2% of the common shares after giving effect to the conversion, based on the number of common shares currently outstanding.

LEAK: BlackBerry 10.2.1.1055 on some devices

2013-11-14T15:01:00.004+02:00

Changelog :

- runtime unlocked
- apk files install directly on device without apk to bar conversion or debug token
- Customizable quick settings
- group contacts
- Quick speed dial on Q10
- Music UI changes
- Call dialer changes
- BBM - vibrate on ping, new emoticons
- white balance adjuster
- picture lock password
- IBM notes traveler in accounts settings
- full device monitor
- new charge icon
- custom contact notifications
- wolfram alpha commands
- battery percentage in peak
- hub pinch gesture works
Instagram video upload works, BlackBerry 10 keyboard works without mods

Some image changes:

10 million BBM downloads in 24 hours

2013-10-23T12:58:00.000+02:00

Blackberry says its new app that opens up the proprietary BBM messaging platform to Android and Apple users was downloaded 10 million times in just over its first 24 hours of availability.

The free app was launched Monday morning.

Using it, people with Android and iOS can exchange messages with friends and colleagues using the BBM system. The system notifies users when each message has been read and indicates when someone is in the process of responding. Files and photos can also be shared over BBM.

There are around 60 million active monthly users of BBM.

The launch of BBM on Android and iOS is about more than just making it easy for people to message Blackberry users.

“We intend to be the leading private social network for everyone who needs the immediate communication and collaboration of instant messaging combined with the privacy, control and reliability delivered through BBM,” said Andrew Bocking, Blackberry’s executive vice president for BBM, in a statement.

But to do that, Blackberry is up against stiff competition from companies like Yahoo, AOL, and Google, which have operated open instant messaging networks for years. It will not only have to convince people of their need for a new platform and to download the app, but it will also have to get people used to exchanging a BBM “PIN,” an alphanumeric code each user has that identifies them, instead of their email address.

BlackBerry Outselling Motorola And HTC

2013-10-21T11:49:00.000+02:00

With BlackBerry’s declining popularity and with reports of the company recently announcing an operating loss, many have assumed that the Canadian company is on the way to its grave unless someone comes and bails them out. While it might seem that way on the surface, perhaps BlackBerry’s demise and troubles might be greatly exaggerated, at least that’s what a recent report by the Yankee Group seems to suggest. According to the recently published report, it basically tallies up the second quarter results from both Motorola and HTC and based on that report, it was found that despite BlackBerry’s troubles, they were still outselling both these two companies despite the recent BlackBerry Z10 inventory write-down.

For example HTC had recently announced their own operating loss of $101 million, a first of the Taiwanese company in a long time, while Motorola’s own operating loss was reported at $208 million. It was also found that BlackBerry had managed to reach the one million mark of Z10 units sold in the first quarter, versus Nokia who only managed to reach that mark with one of their Lumia devices after it had been on the market for a year. While this report certainly does not negate the problems that BlackBerry is currently facing, it does add some perspective to the entire proceedings.

Meaning of Blinking LED code on the BlackBerry

2013-10-17T11:02:00.000+02:00

Have you ever experienced the LED blinking, then you can not startup your Blackberry. Consider the meaning of blinking code below:

1 1 Not a bootrom error: The OS is resetting During init!

3 11 No OS Loaded (* Tip: The reload MFI)

5101 Bad OS CRC

Missing OS CRC 7111

11 OS 1011 Trailer Missing

Not Signed OS 13 1101

Invalid Signature 15 OS 1111 (* Tip: verify failure by loading the software and let sit with no battery for approximately one hour, if it boots up it’s fine, if it comes back with another bootrom Error, try replacing the flash)

21 10101 Unknown Flash Manufacturer

23 10111 Flash initialization problem (* Tip: try replacing flash)

27 11011 Flash Erase Failure (* Tip: try replacing flash)

29 11101 Flash Operation Out Of Range

31 11111 Bad Bootrom CRC (* Tip: try replacing flash) 43 101 011 USB Driver Error

45 101101 No Bootrom CRC

47 101111 Flash Write Failure (* Tip: try replacing flash)

53 110101 Invalid Memory Configuration Table

55 110111 Password Not Initiated

59 111011 RAM initialization problem (* Tip: try replacing flash)

61 111101 Cache No Pages Free

63 111111 Cache Invalid Page Type

Random Number 85 1010101 Failure

Failure OSStore 87 1010111

91 1011011 Security Init Failure

93 1011101 NAND failure

95 1011111 General assert failure

107 1101011 GPIO failure

109 1101101 runtime library failure

111 1101111 Exception: undefined isntruction

117 1110101 Exception: SWI

119 1110111 Exception: Prefetch Abor

123 1111011 Exception: Data Abort

125 1111101 Exception: Reserved

127 1111111 Exception: IRQ

171 10101011 Exception: FIQ

BlackBerry Named One of World's Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations of 2013

2013-10-17T09:33:00.001+02:00

BlackBerry got some rare positive recognition. Thomson Reuters recognized the smartphone pioneer as one of the world's top 100 most innovative organizations of 2013.

It is BlackBerry's first appearance on the list. BlackBerry is the only Canadian company on the third-annual list, next to 45 US companies. According to Thomson Reuters, BlackBerry's innovation was "driven by a 38 percent surge in patent filings between 2010 and 2011, and 17 percent growth in patent filings between 2011 and 2012."

"Now in its third year, the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators study provides further evidence that innovative organizations—those that secure global patent protection for their intellectual property, continue to push the envelope with new technologies and invest more in R&D—are those that outperform the S&P 500 on virtually every measure of business success," noted David Brown, managing director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions.

"These are the companies that are driving growth, creating jobs and pioneering new products and services; we are honored to recognize their efforts through this annual program," he added.

The 100 organizations in the 2013 study outperformed the S&P 500 for the third consecutive year. This year's winners also outspent the S&P 500 by 8.8 percent on R&D; collectively they invested $223 billion in their research and development efforts.

Next 250 Approved Built for BlackBerry Developers get a Limited Edition BlackBerry Z10: I could get my second one!

2013-10-10T08:49:00.000+02:00

BlackBerry today re-launched its Built for BlackBerry program to provide developers with a more simple and clear path to achieving Built for BlackBerry status, a designation that tells consumers that a BlackBerry app delivers the signature BlackBerry 10 experience.

The revitalised Built for BlackBerry program is part of an effort to ensure that BlackBerry World contains the applications that customers want with the best customer experience. The program will ensure that an increasing percentage of apps in the store provide seamless performance and an integrated experience with BlackBerry 10 features such as the Hub or BBM.

BlackBerry is also focused on being the strongest platform business partner for developers. The new Built for BlackBerry program works to increase discoverability, a key hurdle for app and business success. In fact, in the week when featured on the Carousel, measured against the time not featured, Built for BlackBerry apps have increased daily downloads by an average of 230%.

Built for BlackBerry apps will now have more regular placement on BlackBerry World carousels and microbanners, as well as a new top Built for BlackBerry list that customers can easily find and search. Built for BlackBerry apps will also have an exclusive results area in app searches.

The program also includes a refreshed criteria checklist that clarifies the requirements for developers and a new submission process that enables a faster path to be part of Built for BlackBerry:

What does this mean for BlackBerry 10 customers?

Built for BlackBerry is a simple way to find and explore apps that take advantage of the BlackBerry 10 platform.

What does this mean for developers?

Increased exposure and discoverability of their app
A noted designation that can be leveraged in app promotion
Opportunities to be featured in BlackBerry app promotions

What is the BlackBerry 10 signature app experience?

The BlackBerry 10 signature app experience requires vendors to follow the BlackBerry 10 guidelines to deliver a familiar experience to customers, i.e. swipe back to exit an app, swipe down for application menu with settings, swipe up for action menu, use of context menus, etc, without unnecessarily complicating BlackBerry app development.

How does a developer build for the signature BlackBerry 10 experience?

It is simple to implement the BlackBerry 10 experience into apps – both for native, HTML5 and AIR apps
Native – Cascades auto implements these controls for the developer
HTML5 – BlackBerry provides a bootstrap template for developer Phonegap or HTML5 app projects to use
AIR – The BlackBerry Experience framework allows developers to easily create a BlackBerry 10 UI

Find out more details on the revamped Built for BlackBerry program at http://developer.blackberry.com/builtforblackberry/

BlackBerry previews cloud-based mobile enterprise solution: BOYD

2013-10-07T14:29:00.000+02:00

A super easy-to-use cloud service for managing
mobile users, apps and devices.

Key features at a glance:

As simple and fast to set up as a web email account
Full device and app management for iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices
Define individual and group email, app, connectivity and security settings within the simple to use admin console
Publish apps to catalogs on users’ devices
Identify and take action on devices that break pre-defined policies
Self-service user portal will save time and support cost

A super easy-to-use cloud service for managing
mobile users, apps and devices.

Key features at a glance:

As simple and fast to set up as a web email account
Full device and app management for iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices
Define individual and group email, app, connectivity and security settings within the simple to use admin console
Publish apps to catalogs on users’ devices
Identify and take action on devices that break pre-defined policies
Self-service user portal will save time and support cost

New Mercedes-Benz Concept S-Class Coupé sports QNX-powered infotainment system

2013-10-02T12:00:00.004+02:00

All-digital instrument cluster and head unit based on QNX CAR Platform

Did you ever lay your eyes on something and say, “Now, that is what I want for Christmas”? Well, I just said it — in response to a set of wheels. But holy turbochargers, what wheels! Not to mention everything else.

If you’re wondering what fueled this sudden rush of automotive desire, here’s a glimpse:

And here’s a bird’s-eye view:

And here’s a peak at the oh-so-gorgeous interior:

All images copyright Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off this car, the new Concept S-Class Coupé, earlier this week. And just a few minutes ago, QNX and Mercedes revealed that the car’s infotainment system is based on the QNX CAR Platform.

This isn’t the first time QNX and Mercedes-Benz have worked together. Besides providing the OS for various Mercedes infotainment systems, the QNX automotive team has worked with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America since the early 2000s, providing the group with advanced technologies for the specification and prototyping of next-generation vehicle electronics. The infotainment system in the Concept S-Class Coupé is the latest — and arguably coolest — product of this long collaboration.

The Concept S-Class Coupé also packs a serious power plant: a 449 hp Biturbo V8 with peak torque of 516 lb-ft. And it offers driver-assistance technologies that are, quite literally, forward looking. Here is a sampling of what's inside:

Two 12.3-inch displays
Touchscreen showing four world clocks
Stereo camera offering 3D view of the area in front of the car
"6DVision" to detect the position and movement of objects in front of the car
Variety of assistance systems to monitor surrounding traffic

Defense Readies Networks For LATEST BLACKBERRYS

2013-09-30T10:03:00.000+02:00

The Pentagon is outfitting military networks with software to support tens of thousands of BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones this year, according to the Defense Department and Blackberry officials who, in recent days, have announced the company will sharply scale back commercial sales.

Defense has one of the more sweeping plans among federal agencies to equip employees with brand-name mobile devices that can provide ubiquitous data access and custom apps. Before the Canadian company’s sales model shift, Defense already had sanctioned the BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets for use on military networks.

Despite BlackBerry's new business direction, "to date, DoD has seen no impact to its Blackberry's services," Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said in an email on Tuesday.

BlackBerry on Friday announced the new strategy, which hinges on sales to large enterprises, such as the federal government, rather than personal shoppers, who largely purchase Apple iPhones and mobile devices based on Google's Android operating system.

BlackBerry spokeswoman Kara Yi said in an email on Tuesday, "It remains our top priority to continue serving all our customers, including the DoD, and provide the same industry-leading quality products and services organizations have come to expect from BlackBerry."

The company still will face competition in the government sector, which typically follows consumer trends and would like to march in lockstep with them.

Defense Chief Information Officer Teri Takai stated in the department's overarching mobile device agenda, issued in 2012: "This strategy is not simply about embracing the newest technology -- it is about keeping the DoD workforce relevant in an era when information and cyberspace play a critical role in mission success."

About 9 million of the latest iPhone models flew off the shelves this past weekend, while the combined sales of all BlackBerry versions during the past three months only reached 5.9 million, according to company estimates.

BlackBerry officials on Tuesday downplayed their hardware business and pointed to recent work with Defense on mobile security software. Certain services can work on top of non-BlackBerry handhelds, including iPhones and Android smartphones, they added. "BlackBerry is much more than a device company," with software that protects phones at the "device, server and network level," Yi said.

The Canadian company last month gained permission to deploy its latest security services coupled with BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones on military networks. Defense "is now developing the infrastructure to support BlackBerry 10 smartphones," specifically 10,000 devices this fall and 30,000 by the end of 2013, officials said in a statement at the time.

iPhones, iPads and Samsung devices also have obtained approvals to operate on Defense networks, as part of a Defensewide shift from office workstations to government-owned gadgets of various makes and models.

Pickart said on Tuesday, “We are moving toward a secure mobile communications infrastructure that supports a variety of devices, to include BlackBerry. By establishing an agnostic, multi-vendor environment, we've minimized the impact of a single vendor to our current operations.”

In June, Pentagon officials purchased a potentially $16 million service for remotely securing devices in the hands of 300,000 military personnel worldwide. Neither the security nods nor the mobile protection service represent actual device purchases.

The Pentagon anticipates equipping 100,000 users with mobile devices by February 2014, and ultimately 600,000 military employees.

It remains to be seen how a potential sale of BlackBerry will impact all of the company’s customers. On Monday, the company tentatively agreed to be taken private under a $4.7 billion buyout deal led by Fairfax Financial Holdings.

Prem Watsa confident of BlackBerry deal!

2013-09-27T12:41:00.004+02:00

Fairfax Financial chief executive Prem Watsa said he is confident the consortium he leads can find the money to fund its $4.7 billion bid for smartphone maker BlackBerry.

"We wouldn't put our name to such a high-profile deal if we didn't feel confident that at the end of the day that our due diligence would be fine and we'd be able to finance it," Watsa said in an interview.

The Canadian-led consortium put in its $9 a share bid for BlackBerry on Monday, arguing that the troubled company would have better chances as a private entity, away from Wall Street's constant gaze. The company pioneered mobile email communications but has lost ground to Apple iPhone and other snazzier rivals,

BlackBerry shares closed a full dollar below the bid price on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, indicating that investors were skeptical the deal would succeed. The stock edged up to $8.05 in after-market trade.

"Short term these things fluctuate, there is speculation one way, there's speculation the other way," Watsa said of the movement in BlackBerry's share price. "We never pay too much attention to the marketplace."

Fairfax is BlackBerry's biggest shareholder, and Watsa said he did not expect Fairfax would need to contribute more than its existing stake of about 10% to the buyout bid. He said the bid was led by Fairfax and Canadian funds, but not restricted to them.

"BlackBerry is one of Canada's great success stories," he said. "There is no question it's fallen on hard times recently, but we have every confidence it will be successful again. We're putting a consortium together to make sure that that takes place."

The group has until November 4 to conduct due diligence, in which time BlackBerry can also seek out other buyers.

Asked if the bid price could be reduced, Watsa said he didn't expect that to happen unless the review of BlackBerry produced negative surprises. He said Fairfax had never changed the terms of a deal in 28 years.

Watsa declined to name any participants in the group, citing confidentiality agreements, or to comment on questions around possible collateral the group could use to secure financing, or on the possibility of bridge financing that could be repaid using BlackBerry's existing cash pile.

He said the group did not include any strategic players, but that one or two technology companies could possibly join.

Watsa, who stepped down from BlackBerry's board when the company said it was looking for buyers in August, said the "timing was right" for a deal after BlackBerry warned on Friday that it would post a heavy loss in its fiscal second quarter ended August 31 and cut more than a third of its workforce.

"For the benefit of the company's customers, its employees, it was the right time to do the deal," he said.

Apple iOS 7 Versus BlackBerry 10.2

2013-08-27T09:06:00.000+02:00

Apple’s mobile operating system iOS is one of the most elegant and simple-to-use operating system in the mobile arena. With iOS7, it’s readily apparent Apple has felt the sting of Android–an open ecosystem adulterated by various OEMs like Samsung, HTC, LG, and Sony. To coat the wound, Apple has redesigned the face of their next OS iteration to make it more alike feature wise, against the Android leviathan (which recent IDC reports suggest accounted for 80% of smartphone sales thus far in 2013). Read on for a thoughtful dissection of iOS 7 in terms of BB10–and why BlackBerry’s latest offering is still miles ahead of iOS in terms of user experience, multitasking, and productivity. We’ll also extrapolate why these three are quickly becoming the key tenants for all mobile devices.

Technological convergence. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. As all these mobile operating systems mature, we see technological convergence between hardware and software regardless of who builds what. In plainer terms, you’ve got 3-4 different houses all with different layouts, different perks but at the end of the day they are all the same thing, and they all provide the same functions (if not always in the exact same way).

User experience is what truly defines the long term conversion of a user from one OS to another. With carriers making it easier and easier to jump ship, the “experience” is becoming the prevailingabstraction. As users ask “What’s new?” or “What’s different?”, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to put those differences into terms that the new users can grasp without literally holding the various devices in their hands and seeing the often subtle differences and connections between the core applications. Instead, these mobile operating system designers are focused on delivering feature parity lowering the thresholds between competitors offerings and their own.

The conversations have been had before. Do you honestly care what app you’re getting a notification from? Or do you care about the notification itself and being able to react to it in a seamless manner? People don’t give a rats ass whether it’s Bejeweled or Candy Crush Saga that’s *hot* – they want content, whatever it’s called, in whatever way they can get it. It’s a reality that iOS7 seems to acknowledge but not truly understand, and I can only assume the App Store is the cause for this lapse.

In iOS7, you’re still silo-ed off into individual applications when responding to notifications, which on one hand makes sense for common users, but it’s not a giant paradigm shift by any means. Notification Center lets you aggregate all your incoming notifications but you’re still tossed into the respective app to interact with it. While multitasking through those silo-ed apps on iOS is MUCH improved, it hinges on a design concept we’ve seen recycled since 2009 with webOS–and streamlined for buttonless-gestures with the PlayBook OS. It’s “new” but far from fresh in themobile space. You’re still battened down to that silly hardware ”Home” button for moving between apps. This experience, while familiar, is cumbersome for the new age of mobile users looking for a more agile and seamless experience.

iOS7 feels almost no different from previous OS versions, but the added transitions and flashy UI bits like the much over-hyped Parallax effect add to a refreshed, not re-imagined mobile experience. The tedium of moving between app layers on iOS has been overhauled; pulled right out of the BB10 handbook, with a simple left-to-right gesture that you can use to move through app hierarchies. This will be huge for the iPhone users who had to always search around for a digital back button. This also replicates a “full screen” experience that we have on BB10 where most of the UI chrome is at the bottom nearest the thumb, lessening the need for users to bring their hand up to hit a navigation button.

Hitting the home button flies in your app grid which is pleasant to watch, but when moving left and right through your grid there’s not much to see but static off-colored icons that don’t at all seem to match the aesthetic of the new core applications. In BB10, we have a slick fade in and out between app panes that really makes the navigation look smooth. iOS looks rather tacky in comparison–parallax only has a nice pop on some wallpapers. iOS7 hosts your classic bold and bright 3rd party apps standing out harshly against the colorful albeit muted core icons (that have all been flattened and minimized with questionable color options), giving the UI across the OS a very inconsistent feel. Then again, that’s a pain point the general consumer may not care about (and I’m sure devs are well on their way to matching up with the new style).

What’s more is that across iOS7, you’ll see frosted glass through semi-transparent backgrounds in apps; these remind me a lot of Windows Vista from a design perspective, although Apple has added in their own flair of course, adding blur into the transparency mix. Still, there’s nothing earth-shatteringly awesome here. BB10 makes use of semi-transparent grays in a similar fashion. It seems to me that Apple couldn’t decide on a specific direction so they coped out with another legacy design concept that we’ve seen before. It feels like a fresh coat of redundant paint.

One nice thing is that folders in iOS 7 are endless, whereas on BB10 we can currently only hold 16 apps within a folder. Also, folders in BB10 look just like the regular app grid, while in iOS7 they are shown in a zoomed in view where icons are bigger and brighter, this works on many levels, making scanning for the chosen icon much easier. Kudos to them for that.

They both have an “Icon Dock” on the homescreen. While BlackBerry’s is currently uneditable and only has shortcuts for Phone, Search and Camera, you can drag and drop whatever 4 apps you want to the dock on iOS7 (this is no different than their previous offering).

One of my favorite parts of iOS7 is something they borrowed from Android and enabled using a gesture from BB10. A simple swipe up pulls up a kick ass toolbar not unlike what BB10 owners are familiar with on a downward swipe. This toggles in everything you don’t want to have to dig through your settings app to get quick access to. Unfortunately it feels a bit bloated, but it allows you everything from flashlight access to toggling things like Wifi on and off. I personally enjoy that you can control brightness quickly from this screen.

There are further little changes that be found across iOS7′s native apps and I generally like them. They’ve streamlined their UI a lot and across the OS, this feels like a big departure for them. Frankly though, in the hands of someone who has used BlackBerry 10, it doesn’t excite me nearly as much as it will someone already in the Apple camp. The truth of the matter is that they should have launched the iPhone 5 with iOS 7 – now it just seems late out of the gate. BlackBerry 10.2 will drop in close proximity to iOS 7 and will have had many months to mature as a mobile OS. For instance, 10.2 will bring actionable notifications so that we can respond to texts, BBMs, etc without having to leave whatever app we’re in. Jumping back and fourth between apps just to communicate is annoying on iOS. BlackBerry Hub is so much more integral, and our notifications are built right in.

What I really gathered from my time with both OS’ is that iOS multitasking. while vastly improved on iOS7, makes compromises that BlackBerry 10 doesn’t have to. While tasks on iOS are all partitioned or smart scheduled, BB10 has true multitasking built-in from the core. The way apps run on the two OS’ is very different. iOS has to compensate for the multitude of applications by pulling in app data in the background. This tossing back and fourth between active and background states used to kill battery and performance (especially on older devices with lower specs), however with some smart innovations (ones they used within Mavericks) they’re able to make the multitasking much more transparent. Then again, it’s still just slick task switching. Developers must build into these APIs to get the full benefit of the system.

On BlackBerry 10, multitasking is done at the kernel level with each application running in real time in memory protected space. In the multitasking center of BlackBerry 10, you can run up to 8 applications simultaneously. If an app crashes or hiccups, it’s dropped from memory protected space and the rest of the OS runs as if nothing happened — one fault doesn’t cripple the entire system, a pain point for most other OS’ aside from BlackBerry’s. (Not to mention the headless app support coming in 10.2). BlackBerry’s software is used in dangerous medical equipment that can’t glitch or lag or break. The QNX Medical RTOS actually has the ability to restart itself without having to close running processes. This results in 100% uptime (Wrap your head around that). Apple has done a great job slapping a lot of usability onto their next OS, but as a core system it’s no better than it was when it launched in 2007. They have done a lot of upkeep, tightening the integration of some core apps, but there’s nothing here that BB10 can’t already do when it comes to multitasking. The invocation framework in BlackBerry 1o is top notch.

From an efficiency standpoint, there is no beating BlackBerry 10. UI concepts like ‘Peek.’ allowing you a simple swipe to move through app panes, check notification and even begin entry into your unified inbox BB ‘Hub,’ moving between apps seamlessly through ‘Flow’… it really does create a nice trinity of communication bliss. iOS masks its shortcomings very well in this sense, but everything is very disparate. What I have found is that iOS7 is a great consumer UI but BlackBerry 10 is very utilitarian, focusing on what’s going to make your time with your phone as agile and efficient as possible. From the flick keyboard to the timeshift camera, your time is valuable and BlackBerry 10 is easily the most proficient mobile OS that’s ever been built, and it’s got intelligence and charm without the gimmicks of iOS. For me, it comes down to DNA and the markets to which these two OS’ cater. I think they are talking to drastically different user bases and, as such, have different solutions for those bases.

There are ideas in use on BlackBerry 10 that are leagues ahead innovation-wise. While iOS7 feels like another chapter in a slowing story, dressed to impress but somehow out of touch with the rate that it will be leapfrogged in the coming years. Apple needs to seriously assess its platform as we begin to move into deeper connections between our phones and other smart devices. User experience is so much more than what you see, but how you end up having to interact with it. UX is leagues ahead on BB10 vs iOS7.

The Touch Generation

Goodbye WhatsApp

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); WhatsApp support for mobile devices end of life

Blackberry’s plan to win back users in India has nothing to do with its devices

BlackBerry Classic in white now available: Saudi Arabia

LinkedIn For BlackBerry 10 Updated

Win an IOU for a FREE BlackBerry Classic from CrackBerry!

PRESS RELEASE: BBM 2.0 update

Design that takes a stand – the iF design awards 2014 reward the daring... The Zed10 WINS!!!!!

BlackBerry extra fun codes (for legacy devices)

Your WhatsApp conversations may not be as safe as you think! O_o

A Season Or A Lifetime: 2014 Change

Free VMware and MS Virtualisation Examination vouchers

Fun Facts about BlackBerry

Obama Still Rocking BlackBerry

PRESS RELEASE: John S. Chen Interim BlackBerry CEO as of 4 November 2013

LEAK: BlackBerry 10.2.1.1055 on some devices

10 million BBM downloads in 24 hours

BlackBerry Outselling Motorola And HTC

Meaning of Blinking LED code on the BlackBerry

BlackBerry Named One of World's Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations of 2013

Next 250 Approved Built for BlackBerry Developers get a Limited Edition BlackBerry Z10: I could get my second one!

BlackBerry previews cloud-based mobile enterprise solution: BOYD

New Mercedes-Benz Concept S-Class Coupé sports QNX-powered infotainment system

Defense Readies Networks For LATEST BLACKBERRYS

Prem Watsa confident of BlackBerry deal!

Apple iOS 7 Versus BlackBerry 10.2

WhatsApp support for mobile devices end of life