BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device (videos)

We brought you our Blackberry World 2012 Keynote Highlights Roundup yesterday, and today, we have footage, so let's not waste anymore time, shall we? See them all after the jump!



Thorsten Heins Shows BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device

Source: n4bbdotcom

Hands-On: BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha

Source: BlackBerryIndiaBlog

Thorsten Heins in the BlackBerry World 2012 Keynote General Session

Source: Blackberry

BlackBerry 10 Keyboard Demoed at BlackBerry World 2012

Source: n4bbdotcom

Thorsten Heins gives first keynote as RIM CEO at BlackBerry DevCon Europe

Source: blackberryuk

Blackberry World 2012 Keynote Highlights Roundup

Blackberry World 2012 Keynote Highlights Roundup

We've got everything from todays Blackberry World Keynote; from BlackBerry 10, along with RIM's new development device, cool new software features and even DJ'ing via the Playbook; it's all here in handy bitesize portions!


[UPDATE]
We've got videos of the Blackberry 10 Dev Alpha in action here!

BlackBerry App Generator Makes App Building a Breeze
Mippin, the app creation platform, has announced that it will power the BlackBerry App Generator, so users can turn their content (photos, music, info etc) into full-blown apps for BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets -- wait for it -- for free. Martyn Mallick, VP Global Alliances and Business Development at RIM noted, "With the launch of BlackBerry App Generator Mippin and RIM are tearing down the barriers and finding new ways to encourage content publishers to create apps."

Blackberries Will Now Have...Games?
It's no secret, Blackberries aren't known for their great apps. But that's all going to change, RIM's head of gaming, Anders Jeppsson, took to twitter to let the world know about the impressive pile of titles heading to the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10. Jetpack Joyride, from Halfbrick (the studio behind Fruit Ninja), and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 are scheduled, whilst others in the pipeline include Galaxy on Fire 2 and Star Marine, meanwhile Tomb Raider fans can get down with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light starting today
Source: Twitter

Pacemaker DJ app for BlackBerry PlayBook
Check Out Engadgets Video for impressions on the Pacemaker DJ App.

BlackBerry 10 Camera 'Timeline Lens'
Thorsten Heins took to the stage to unveil the new BB10 camera app, Timeline Lens. Designed to capture those "magic moments" you may miss by not being quick enough on the shutter. If you miss it by a couple of seconds, you can cycle back through the camera's cache with a circular "timeline" lens and take your pick from the previous seconds worth of frames.



BlackBerry 10 Multitasking
A stunning feature of the new QNX-based OS is the multitasking. Instead of going the task list route, you simply swipe to reveal background tasks. Drag your thumb from left to right to peek at other apps that are currently running in the background. You can simply glance at them and go back to the foreground, or you can actually swipe back to go to programs launched earlier. It's incredibly intuitive, and a very promising look into what RIM have to offer.

BlackBerry 10 Gesture Keyboard
Most people (all people) will say that the best part of a Blackberry is the keyboard. The Storm, Storm II and Torch showed that Blackberries aren't the ideal touchscreen models, but it does seem RIM have found a way to bring the trusty keyboard experience to a touchscreen design. According to Thorsten Heins, the new keyboard has gesture support, as well as elements of predictive text, like many other keyboards. For example, to get to numbers and special characters, just swipe upward from below and the keyboard layout changes. You can swipe up and down to cycle through these layouts and, like SwiftKey, swipe left to delete whole words. It's not revolutionary, but it looks a stellar effort.

And Lastly...


The BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device
Remember that pic we posted earlier? Well, here's a little more for you; The Dev Alpha boasts a 4.2-inch screen with a stunning resolution of 1280 x 768. We've learned that it houses 16GB internal storage and 1GB RAM. It also features a slot for microSD cards and a mini-HDMI port on the left side. On the top you'll see the 3.5mm headphone jack, power button and mic, while the right side offers a three-stage volume rocker. There's a front facing camera as well as a large bezel for gesture support on the front. And, well, that's it!
But here's a few shot's from Engadget.

Blackberry World 2012 Keynote Sneak Peek (video)

What's this? A sneak peek from the Blackberry World 2012 Keynote, that's what.

BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Unit Unveiled

See that there? That's RIM's official dev unit for its just launched BlackBerry 10 platform, and it looks pretty darn good. There's no word on the main guts, but we do know it features a jaw-dropping 4.2-inch, 1280 x 768 display that bests the 720p panels found on other similarly-sized handsets, and also it's packing 16GB internal storage and 1GB of RAM.

But what's for sure, is that this could be the start of something special. I've spent the most part of today very, very impressed with what I've seen so far of RIM's QNX-based slab.

Want more? We'll have the highlights of RIM's Blackberry World Keynote later.

Shareholder calls for RIM to sell itself or its Patents

With its revenues stagnating and smartphone market share declining, BlackBerry maker Rim is now facing new financial pressure from Jaguar Financial Group -- a Canadian merchant bank and RIM shareholder that's calling upon the company to: sell itself, or sell its patent portfolio. In an open letter to RIM's board of directors, Jaguar CEO Vic Alboni criticized the manufacturer for failing to "inspire consumer enthusiasm" for its products, and for bringing its devices to market too late.

The status quo is not acceptable, the company cannot sit still. It is time for transformational change. The directors need to seize the reins to maximize shareholder value before more market value is lost.

Jaguar didn't specify the size of its RIM stake, but claimed to be calling for upheaval on behalf of "other supportive shareholders" who, in total, hold less than five percent of the company. The Ontario-based firm is hoping that a new line of QNX-based smartphones will curtail its slump, but Alboni doesn't sound so optimistic. "You cannot put all your eggs in one basket," he told Bloomberg. "The board should be saying, 'What if these products don't pan out?' You don't want RIM to turn into another Nortel." A RIM spokeswoman, meanwhile, declined to comment on the letter.

Read the whole thing here.

Source: Engadget

BlackBerry App World hits one billion downloads, finally

BY BILLY STEELE
POSTED JUL 13TH 2011 08:08AM



Discovered a world of possibilities lately? Someone has, as the BlackBerry App World has just soared past the one billion download mark. It took a smidge over two years for the company to claim the milestone, if you count both smartphone and PlayBook tablet purchases. Android Market took about the same amount of time to reach the mark, but has soared to greater heights since, while Apple has averaged nearly a billion downloads per month in each of the last six months. A number of factors have likely led to the relative snail's pace in the BB storefront, including the outfit's rocky relationship with developers. In what can be seen as a morale booster, the company has begun a video series that allows seasoned RIM aficionados to offer their rationale for working with the mobile OS. Perhaps this will, in theory, help expedite the milestone conquering -- only time will tell.

Article Source: Engadget

RIM Recalls Some 900+ Blackberry Playbook

According to Engadget, the store, Staples received 1,000 faulty Blackberry Playbook's.



Now, we don't expect Staples (or any other stores that may be affected) to contact all of you that purchased a Playbook, so, luckily for you, Engadget have compiled a searchable database of all the serial numbers, so you can simply look and see if you're Playbook is one of the affected, just hit the link below.



source: Engagdet

Blackberry 7- New OS?

According to Crackberry, upcoming devices such as the Bold Touch won't be launching with 6.1 - but a new OS (no, not the 'fabled' QNX) branded Blackberry 7; an OS that current owners of BB6 wont get the update, which makes sense given that NFC will only run on newer devices, but it's not going to get RIM the developer attention it desperatly needs.

Source: Crackberry

Image source: Crackberry

Blackberry Playbook Review

After what seems like a lifetime, the Blackberry Playbook is here. Sort of. the OS  is not yet complete (Engadget reporting this is their third update), so not everything is finished, but as to what's still broke, the outcome remains to be seen, and with no native email client or BBM on launch, we'll let you decide the Playbooks fate. Hit the link below for Engadgets review.

<<Blackberry Playbook Review>>

Blackberry Torch 2

Given the not so warm reception the Blackberry Torch received, some may wonder why RIM are pushing the Torch 2 out.
Well, although it's predecessor looks almost identical, it's internals are vastly improved, which is a good sign. According to our source, the Torch 2 comes packing a 1.2GHz processor, which, and we quote, could "light a fire" when paired with BlackBerry OS 6.1, and that its 640 x 480 display "looks absolutely great."

Tough talk considering the hype behind the original Torch. We'll keep you posted, and who knows, this news might prompt Dan to finally finish the review...

source: BGR

Blackberry Playbook Videos

Following our report on the Playbook's Android compatibility, we thought we'd put some videos up of Blackberry's Playbook (not running Android). Taken from the DEVCON Show, and a video from Slashgear.











source: notebooks.com  and Slashgear

Blackberry Playbook Android Compatibiliity [update]

You may have heard the news of RIM's Blackberry Playbook supporting a numerous array of developer support (Android, Adobe Flash (previously announced), AirPlay and Unity games developers, C/C++) as well as it's own Blackberry smartphone community. Android, you say? Yes, Android. 

Cut down, the Playbook will be able to play Android Apps, although via a certified emulator. The key problem here, is that developers need not programme apps specifically for the Playbook. That might not sound too bad, but anyone who's tried to play smartphone apps on a tablet will know that the outcome isn't always too great. 
But again, the underlying problem is that if the Playbook will play Android Apps, there is no need to develop apps for the Playbook. Ever. Blackberry's aren't known for there masses of apps, whilst Android is the second highest count of apps available on market (iOS being number 1). 
So, you spend all this money on a Blackberry tablet, yet you're playing Android apps. Also, this highly odd inclusion doesn't really say much for RIM's confidence of the Playbook taking on Apples reign of the tablet world.


[UPDATE]

We have a statement from RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who, in a nutshell, says the Android inclusion is too "tick the thousands of Apps box". He also said that anyone wanting to play high performance apps, gaming etc, will want to create custom Playbook apps via QNX developer kit. See the full statement below, but we've got to say, RIM aren't painting the Playbook in the best of lights.

"First of all, what we announced is Gingerbread. This is not Honeycomb. I don't know what the number of Honeycomb apps is, but it's not very many. Whereas Gingerbread they've got lots of them. You've got the volume of the handset apps, so if you're looking for the tonnage of apps, or some kind of long tail stuff, you've got it.

At the end of the day, people are going to want performance. You're just not going to get things like gaming and multimedia, you're not going to get the speed going through a VM interface. If you want content, or Flash type stuff, or you're looking at AIR-type, evolving web-type assets, that's what you're going to do.

There's no compromise here. You've got the tonnage of apps. And you've got the performance. Do I think the tonnage is overplayed? Yes. 

But if you think it's about having a couple hundred thousand apps, there you go.

Do we believe it's about super high performance? Yes. Do we believe it's about full web fidelity? Yes. These are concepts that were really relegated as not technically possible, which we're doing here. This is a no compromise environment.

If you want to work on Android, great. Do we think people will want to migrate web assets? Yes. Do we think they're going to want super high performance native assets with the SDK? Absolutely. You think they're going to want to use their Flash based stuff for an offline Flash/AIR type environment? Yes.

I'm just not interested in these sort of religious application tonnage issues. I really think we put that issue to bed. And if you think the whole world's going to want to develop for Gingerbread, fine. Do I think that's going to happen? Then why is there a different environment for a tablet? And you know about the performance issues and you know about the app volume issues, cause it's tough. And that's why QNX matters. 

That's why people are saying, Is this stuff going to go more in the browser and HTML 5 and more native? These are going to be strong trends. But if you want these app players for different VMs -- and don't forget we have 25,000 BlackBerry 6 apps. So, at the end of the day, we believe this is going to be about performance. It's going to be about enterprise greatness. Things like multi-threaded capability, symmetric multiprocessing. We believe it's about an uncompromised web. We believe it's about enterprise security. True multitasking, not with suspension -- and that matters because you're going to want to run these things in the background. 

But I'm out of the religious war on tonnage, which I'm delighted."

Blackberry Playbook Release and Price...

Well, all the speculation surrounding the Blackberry Playbook have come to some actual light. RIM have released a Press Release (which you can find at the bottom of this post) that sheds light on availability and price- at least in Canada and the US. Still no word on when us Brits can get our hands on the tablet.

It does seem, however, that RIM are following the "aim high" game that tablets seem to be playing, for the Playbook is considerably more than originally rumoured.

Starting at $499.99 for a standard 16GB WiFi model, right up to $699.99 for a 64GB version.

We'll bring you more as we get it, but it seems the Playbook has missed a trick with the high pricing. Still, us Brits can still hope...

Press Release:

RIM Announces Retail Channels for BlackBerry PlayBook

BlackBerry PlayBook to be available in over 20,000 Retail Outlets in the U.S. and Canada

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to make the highly-anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet available in more than 20,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada.

"The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet that is already being widely praised as a multi-tasking powerhouse with an uncompromised web experience and an ultra-portable design," said Mike Lazaridis, President & Co-CEO, Research In Motion. "Given the high level of customer interest in the BlackBerry PlayBook, we are particularly pleased to be working with such an amazing lineup of retail partners."

The BlackBerry PlayBook delivers professional-grade, consumer-friendly experiences that redefine the possibilities of mobile computing. This ultra-portable tablet looks and feels great, measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound. It features a vivid 7-inch high-resolution display that is highly-responsive with a fluid touch screen experience. It also offers industry leading performance, uncompromised web browsing with support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, true multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development environment.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will be available in three models and will feature a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting at $499 in the United States and Canada. The lineup of retailers and wireless carriers currently expected to carry the BlackBerry PlayBook in the United States and Canada includes the following companies*:

United States

AT&T
Best Buy
Cbeyond
Cellular South
Cincinnati Bell
Office Depot
RadioShack
ShopBlackBerry.com
Staples
Sprint
Verizon
BlackBerry from Wireless Giant

Canada

Bell
Best Buy
Chapters / Indigo
Costco
Future Shop
Mobilicity
MTS Allstream
Rogers
Sasktel
Sears
ShopBlackBerry.com
Staples
Telus
Tbooth Wireless
The Source
Videotron
Walmart
WIND Mobile
WIRELESS etc.
WIRELESSWAVE

BlackBerry PlayBook Specifications

7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1" x 7.6" x 0.4" (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
1 GHz dual-core processor
BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
1080p HDMI output
Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
1 GB RAM memory
Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support


Best Buy Begins Accepting Orders For BlackBerry PlayBook today

Minneapolis, MN and Waterloo, ON - Customers eagerly awaiting the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet can begin placing their orders today. Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), a preferred retailer for the BlackBerry PlayBook, today announced the pricing and launch date for the highly anticipated tablet in the U.S. and Canada.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will come in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively. It is scheduled to be available from all Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile stores in the US, as well as Best Buy and Future Shop* stores in Canada, on April 19. Customers in the US and Canada can place their orders beginning today by visiting their local Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile or Future Shop store or by ordering on-line (after 8am ET) at:

U.S. – www.bestbuy.com/playbook

Canada - www.bestbuy.ca/blackberry or www.futureshop.ca/blackberry

"Previews of the BlackBerry PlayBook have generated tremendous excitement and we know that customers are eager to get their hands on one," said Craig McLennan, Regional Managing Director, North America, Research In Motion. "We share that excitement and we are very pleased to announce that customers can begin placing their orders with Best Buy today."

"Tablets are becoming a bigger part of our business everyday and the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook will heighten the level of excitement in this category," said Scott Anderson, head of merchandising for Best Buy Mobile. "RIM has a tremendous history of producing great mobility products for our customers and we are excited to help launch the BlackBerry PlayBook."

BlackBerry PlayBook is the world's first professional-grade tablet. It features an ultra-portable design and delivers industry leading performance, uncompromised web browsing with support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, true multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development environment.

BlackBerry PlayBook specifications:

7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1" x 7.6" x 0.4" (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
1 GHz dual-core processor
BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
1080p HDMI output
Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
1 GB RAM memory
Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support



source: geeksmack

HP Hits Out At Blackberry Playbook

It's Not Immitation, He's A Very Naughty Boy-

HP have called RIM's Blackberry Playbook's UI "a fast immitation of webOS". When you consider the facts, it's not a far off claim, but people have been crying out for various nods of webOS to appear on iOS for quite some
time, yet RIM have taken nearly every aspect of webOS, it could, in respect, be easily confused for a webOS tablet. Jeff McDowell of RIM replied to the claims with "when you're trying to optimize user experience that juggles multitasking, multiple apps open at once and on a small screen, you're going to get people landing on similar kinds of designs."

As they say, immitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Why can't they just get along, eh?

source: engadget