BlackBerry 10 launched in late January as an attempt to keep BlackBerry relevant in a world dominated by Android and iOS. Did it succeed? It’s still a little too early to tell, but early results are promising.
In its Q4 results, BlackBerry reports that it had shipped 6 million smartphones through March 2. Out of that lot, 1 million were the new BlackBerry Z10. To ship 1 million BlackBerry Z10s in a little less than month is no small feat, especially for a company that’s recently been down on its luck.
Beyond smartphone sales, BlackBerry had a decent fourth quarter. Here’s the full breakdown:
The company notes that revenue is still down, but it’s not bleeding cash like it once was. From Q3 to Q4, the company posted a $49 million loss, or a loss of two percent. Compare that to the $1.5 billion loss it suffered from the same quarter last year, and its current losses don’t seem as bad.
It will be interesting to see what BlackBerry’s results for the current quarter look like as it has just launched the BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S. The company notes that 61 percent of its revenue comes from hardware sales, and the U.S. market might provide the kick its premium hardware needs.
Last year, the company formerly known as RIM put together a “band” of sorts to tell developers that it was going to keep on loving them. It was probably the most cringeworthy corporate promo released in 2012, and the company is apparently competing for the same honor in 2013.
BlackBerry got its band back together for a final performance in honor of BlackBerry 10’s launch. We won’t be seeing BlackBerry 10 until March 22, but at least you have a song to listen to until Friday’s launch.
Let’s hope that BlackBerry doesn’t use this as its TV ad in the U.S. unless it intends to market to the hipsters whom ironically like bad things.
[h/t: AllThingsD]
Robert Rodriguez is an interesting filmmaker. He’s directing “Desperado” one year and then doing “Spy Kids” the next. His lastest film is another strange one as he’s making it in collaboration with BlackBerry.
BlackBerry revealed Rodriguez’ newest film “Two Scoops” today. The film will follow twin sister vigilantes that pose as ice cream vendors by day, and monster slayers by night. Part of what makes this unique is that the film needs fan input to be finished. Fans can star as an extra, design monsters and weapons, or even star in the film itself. Here’s the breakdown from Rodriguez himself:
If you need inspiration for the film, here’s the first act. Prospective actors will be playing the role of the agent’s leader that will appear on the green screen:
After rumors pointing to a March 22 release date, AT&T has finally come forward to confirm the U.S. launch of the BlackBerry Z10.
AT&T announced today that the BlackBerry Z10 will indeed be available on March 22. The device will cost $199 under a two-year contract. There’s no mention of how much the device would cost off contract, but another U.S. seller was selling the Z10 for $999.
“AT&T customers were the first to experience BlackBerry smartphones and services in the U.S. and we are thrilled to bring the next evolution, the BlackBerry Z10, to the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices and Developer Services, AT&T Mobility. “Customers who have grown to love the tried and true BlackBerry experience will continue to enjoy the easy typing and the secure platform they expect with a fresh platform that lets them get more out of their smartphone with easy access to all their messages in BlackBerry Hub.”
Enterprise customers will be happy to know that AT&T will also be offering BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 alongside the Z10’s launch. It will be added as one of the many Enterprise Management options offered by AT&T.
There’s still no word on when the Z10 will be available on other carriers. The official story for all carriers is that a March release is still in the cards so we’ll probably see some announcements from Verizon and T-Mobile later this week.
If you find yourself craving a BlackBerry Z10, AT&T says that preorders for the device will open tomorrow.
![BlackBerry Z10 To Launch On AT&T March 22 [Report]](https://dev.webpronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/pexels-dominika-roseclay-905163-80x75.jpg)
The BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry’s latest push to become relavent, has proven to be a minor hit in some markets. It’s true test, however, will come when it launches in the U.S. this month. Those hoping for an early March release won’t be too pleased though as the Z10 will reportedly hit later in the month.
Bloomberg reports that the BlackBerry Z10 will go on sale in the U.S. on March 22 at AT&T. The carrier won’t comment on the rumored launch date, and BlackBerry is remaining silent on its U.S. launch plans. All the other carriers planning to carry the Z10 aren’t saying anything either.
We can assume that the BlackBerry Z10 is still on track to launch in the U.S. in March, but the company’s silence doesn’t inspire confidence. We’re already almost a quarter through the month and we don’t have any new details on the BlackBerry Z10’s U.S. launch. You would think that BlackBerry would want to announce a release date as soon as possible and begin advertising the launch, but that hasn’t happened yet.
As Bloomberg points out, the U.S. market has to wait longer for phones as testing periods at carriers take longer than in other countries. It could be that the Z10 hit a snag in testing at one of the carriers and it pushed the launch back for everyone. The March 22 launch date could be when everybody is launching, or it could be saying that AT&T will have completed its testing before everybody else.
Even if the Z10 launches on March 22, it may be too late. Samsung will be showing off the Galaxy S IV next week, and that alone may be enough to kill any chance BlackBerry had of catching a significant part of the U.S. market again.
BlackBerry 10 smartphones will start launching in the U.S. in March, but folks in other countries have been playing around with the device for about a month now. For those consumers, RIM BlackBerry is releasing an update today that you won’t want to miss.
BlackBerry upgraded the BlackBerry 10 software to 10.0.10.85 today, and the update contains a number of enhancements that the company thinks you’re going to love. Here’s the top five enhancements coming your way:
3rd Party App Performance
We’ve improved performance for 3rd party applications, so developers can build apps that run fast and smooth for you. With this update, you might want to keep an eye out for some fresh new app launches in March, like WhatsApp.Phone, Calendar, and Contacts
Among the top improvements and features are fixes for Gmail calendars on BlackBerry 10. You’ll also find improvements in the BlackBerry Hub for logging calls log and how conversations are handled. We’ve also made general improvements to importing contacts from online sources.Camera
We’ve optimized the camera for better photos in low-light situations. You’ll love the difference this makes for photos where you don’t use a flash – like the Time Shift Camera feature.Browser and Media
With more and more of you using the gorgeous screen on the BlackBerry Z10 to consume online videos and media, we’ve made a number of improvements to the software in the way the browser handles video playback to provide a fantastic experience.Battery Life
The software team has included a number of battery life optimizations with over 60 battery saving improvements since launch to keep you moving. These combined improvements are designed so that you see improvements in battery life and heavy users especially should see a longer average usage per charge cycle.
BlackBerry says that the update should be delivered over-the-air automatically, but says you can manually check for an update as well. The schedule for update delivery is decided by the carrier with some already offering the update. Other carriers will be pushing it out as soon as possible.
Reviews of the latest BlackBerry phone – the BlackBerry Z10 – have been generally positive, but are not asking the tough questions. Can the BlackBerry Z10 make phone calls? Can it help you cheat at Scrabble? Can it play obnoxious memes during lunch? These are the questions that one brave reviewer has agreed to tackle.
Sortable has reviewed the BlackBerry Z10 by not comparing it to other phones, but rather testing it out in a variety of situations. The review should help you come away with a better understanding of what the BlackBerry Z10 is truly capable of.
The BlackBerry Z10 has proven itself as a decently popular smartphone (in Canada), but it still has to prove that it’s the savior RIM BlackBerry is punching it up to be. We might be able to get a better grasp on its potential fortunes once the phone launches across all major carriers in the U.S. next month.
Mobile service provider Solavei this weekend announced it is the first U.S. provider to offer BlackBerry’s new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone.
Unfortunately, BlackBerry fans in the U.S. will have to pay-up significantly if they want to be early adopters. Solavei is offering the Z10 through its retail partner gsmnation for $999.
Solavei is a contract-free mobile virtual network operator on T-Mobile’s network. The service offers a $49 unlimited everything plan, but does not sell or subsidize mobile devices. The company is attempting to grow itself through word-of-mouth viral marketing, rather than traditional advertising.
“We believe in giving our members access to the latest phones and wireless capabilities,” said Ryan Wuerch, founder and CEO of Solavei. “Solavei not only gives its members the opportunity to pay less for unlimited mobile service, but even the opportunity to earn income by sharing Solavei with others.”
It sounds sketchy when put that way, but it’s basically a referral discount. And BlackBerry Z10 users are going to need plenty of those to offset the huge upfront cost of their smartphone.
Those who can’t afford, or don’t want to pay, the early adopter mark-up will have to wait around one month to grab the smartphone via a subsidized subscription plan. All major U.S. carriers have announced they will carry the BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10 starting in March.
(Via BGR)
BlackBerry, the company formerly known as RIM, today announced that the BlackBerry Z10, the company’s first BlackBerry 10 device, is already breaking records. The device was only just released yesterday in Canada, and the hometown crowd seems to have backed the Ontario-based smartphone manufacturer considerably.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins today announced that first-day sales of the Z10 in Canada were 50% better than for the launch of any other BlackBerry device. BlackBerry fans in the U.K., where the Z10 shipped on January 31, have stepped up as well, buying nearly three times as many Z10s during its first week on the market than they have any previous BlackBerry smartphone.
“In Canada, yesterday was the best day ever for the first day of a launch of a new BlackBerry smartphone,” said Heins. “In fact, it was more than 50% better than any other launch day in our history in Canada. In the UK, we have seen close to three times our best performance ever for the first week of sales for a BlackBerry smartphone.”
Of course, there is only one BlackBerry 10 smartphone model currently available, with the upcoming Q10 bringing a second physical keyboard option sometime this spring. RIM customers used to have the option of a wide range of BlackBerry choices. The reduction in options shows that handset manufacturers are truly beginning to embrace Apple’s “one phone fits all” philosophy.
RIM BlackBerry revealed its new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 handsets at a packed press conference Wednesday morning. The event was live streamed, but it also took place at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST so some of you on the West Coast may have still been in bed for it. Fear not, lovers of sleep, you can now watch the keynote in its entirety.
Sit down, grap some popcorn, and watch the obviously scripted keynote that caused BlackBerry’s stock to fall by 11 percent. Those without nefarious intentions might want to check out the keynote to see all the new features coming to BlackBerry 10, like Hub or BBM Video Chat.
If the keynote has ignited your interest in BlackBerry 10, be sure to check out our extensive coverage of the new mobile platform from BlackBerry.
Nearly every detail of BlackBerry’s (RIM has changed its name to just “BlackBerry”) new BlackBerry 10 operating system and smartphones were painstakingly covered in the company’s big launch event earlier today. The one very noticeable thing that wasn’t covered, however, was when the new devices would actually launch in the U.S.
Canada got a clear release date of February 5, but U.S. BlackBerry fans will have to wait until sometime in March. The specific launch date will probably vary by carrier, but each of the major U.S. carriers has at least confirmed that it will carry at least one of the two new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
AT&T and Verizon, the two largest U.S. wireless carriers, have both confirmed that they will be carrying the BlackBerry Z10 (the one that resembles an iPhone) and the BlackBerry Q10 (the one with the traditional BlackBerry physical keyboard). The white version of the Z10 will be a Verizon exclusive handset. Verizon is also the only carrier that has so far announced a price for either of the new BlackBerry devices. The Z10 (both black and white) will retail for $200 plus a two-year Verizon service contract.
Neither T-Mobile nor Sprint will be selling both the Z10 and the Q10. They seem to have some sort of split deal with BlackBerry, where T-Mobile will be selling the Z10 and Sprint will be selling the keyboard-laden Q10.
None of the carriers are taking pre-orders for the BlackBerry smartphones yet, though all of them but Sprint are allowing customers to sign up for email notifications regarding the devices.
BlackBerry, formerly known as RIM, announced its newest handsets that will run on the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Both devices feature a little something for everybody, including those that demand a physical keyboard on their handsets.
First up is the flagship BlackBerry 10 device – the BlackBerry Z10. This will be the device that RIM will market to consumers and enterprise customers alike. It’s more similar to the iPhone than anything else, but features a slightly larger screen than Apple’s latest smartphone.
The other handset – the BlackBerry Q10 – will definitely appeal more to the enterprise customer that wants something similar to a classic BlackBerry handset. The device features the physical keyboard that BlackBerry fans have come to know and love, while still sporting all the power and functionality of the BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Check out the rest of our BlackBerry 10 coverage here.
During its big BlackBerry launch event, the newly renamed BlackBerry company officially unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 phones. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage this morning to show off the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10.
The BlackBerry Q10 stays true to classic BlackBerry devices by having a physical keyboard. The Z10 is more of a standard modern smartphone, and heavily resembles an iPhone.
Where the phones really differentiate themselvesHeins and BlackBerry executives heavily emphasized the multitasking available using the BlackBerry 10 operating system. Many of the mobile OS’ features, such as the calendar and other updates, are heavily integrated into its interface through the “BlackBerry Hub.”
The company also claims to have the “best typing experience” on any smartphone device, even on the Z10. The touch keyboard in the BlackBerry operating system features a system where most-used words can be placed into a text box by flicking the first letter of the words.
The devices also feature quick account switching that moves between “Work” and “Personal” modes. Certain apps can be designated as work-only or personal, supposedly maintaining a user’s privacy while also allowing IT to control the work portion of the device.
The company formerly known as RIM has designed its new operating system to entice business to move back onto BlackBerry’s famously secure device ecosystem. The upcoming months will tell whether businesses are still loyal to BlackBerry, or whether BlackBerry 10 is too little, too late.
RIM’s last chance to save itself is almost upon us. BlackBerry 10 and its accompanying handsets will launch on January 30. That being said, not a lot of people have had a chance to see the new handsets in action. Now they can thanks to a vide from TelekomPresse.
TelekomPresse, a German Web site, uploaded a video today that features the BlackBerry Z10, RIM’s all-touch smartphone. The entire video is in German, but you can get a good look at the phone and its features by watching it.
The BlackBerry Z10 in the video looks just like the Z10 that we’ve already seen before in leaked photos from the developer beta. The only real difference is that the handset looks much smaller in video than it does in the photos. As many commenters on the video point out, it could just be the presenter has large hands.
Besides not understanding the German, did the video inspire you to switch back to BlackBerry once it launches? That’s going to be RIM’s greatest challenge moving forward because the enterprise market can’t carry it alone anymore. It has to capture at least some part of the consumer market that’s currently enamored with iPhones and Android devices. RIM will also have to deal with a reinvigorated Windows Phone brand that’s doing much better than expected thanks to increased demand for Nokia’s Lumia 920.
[h/t: BGR]