BlackBerry’s new Android phone available starting Friday

U.S. telco AT&T Inc said on Monday it would offer BlackBerry Ltd’s new Android-powered smartphone in its retail stores in the United States and online from Friday.

AT&T said it would be the first U.S. carrier to offer the BlackBerry Priv, powered by Google’s Android mobile platform.

Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry’s move to launch an Android phone marks a shift away from its own BlackBerry 10 platform, which failed to regain market share ceded to Apple Inc’s iPhone and a slew of Android-powered devices.

BlackBerry also closed on Monday the acquisition of rival mobile software provider Good Technology Corp, which it bought for $425 million to boost its ability to help corporate clients manage smartphones running on different operating systems.

BlackBerry’s shares were up 1.8 percent at C$9.70 in afternoon trading in Toronto.

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry unveils Android phone in new reboot effort

WASHINGTON — BlackBerry announced plans Friday to sell an Android-powered smartphone, in the latest reboot effort from the faded star of the sector.

The Canadian firm said its would begin selling “Priv,” describe as “a flagship handheld device that will run on the Android operating system with BlackBerry security,” expected to be available later this year.

“Priv combines the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform,” said John Chen, executive chairman and chief executive.

BlackBerry said however it “remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which enables industry-leading security and productivity benefits.”

The company said it “will continue to develop and enhance the BlackBerry 10 operating system and is confirming plans to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements,” in March 2016.

The BB 10 operating system was unveiled in 2013 as part of an effort to regain market share lost as consumers around the world shifted to devices running on Google Android and Apple’s iOS.

But the operating system share has fallen further, and now represents less than one percent of smartphone users.

BlackBerry, one of the early pioneers of smartphones, has been struggling for years. It has made several efforts to find new customer niches, with low-cost devices, tablets and by shifting its emphasis to software and services.

In releasing its quarterly results, BlackBerry said it swung to a profit of $51 million for the three months to August 29, compared with a loss of $207 million in the same period a year ago.

But the profit came from a one-time credit from an adjustment in the value of some of its debts.

Revenues for the period slumped 46 percent from a year ago to $490 million.

“I am confident in our strategy and continued progress, highlighted by our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year double digit growth in software licensing revenue and sixth consecutive quarter of positive free cash flow,” Chen said.

“At the same time, we are focused on making faster progress to achieve profitability in our handset business.”

BlackBerry said it sold 800,000 smartphones at an average price of $240. That represents a tiny fraction of a global smartphone market of some 300 million per quarter.

The company said 15 percent of its revenue came from software and services, 41 percent for hardware, and 43 percent for service access fees.

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry failed to keep pace with rivals

WASHINGTON — In just a short time, BlackBerry went from being the coolest gadget-maker on the planet to one apparently destined for the history books.

The Canadian smartphone maker, which agreed to a $4.7 billion buyout to take the firm private, appears close to a breakup, which might salvage some parts of the once high-flying Canadian tech pioneer.

While BlackBerry was considered perhaps the hippest if not the largest smartphone maker several years ago, the company quickly lost momentum as it failed to keep pace with innovations from rivals.

“They had a syndrome where they didn’t think anyone could displace them,” said Gerry Purdy, an analyst who follows the mobile sector for Compass Intelligence.

Purdy said BlackBerry, previously known as Research in Motion, reacted too late to the threat from Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007 and manufacturers using the Google Android operating system announced the same year.

“The one gigantic issue was the delay in getting an advanced operating system into the market,” Purdy told AFP.

“They had an operating system in 2010 and it took them three years to get in the market. And that was three years after the iPhone was released. So that’s six years. The market was moving too fast.”

Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates agreed that BlackBerry was too complacent, and became “blinded” to competitive threats.

“BlackBerry hung its hat on the physical keyboard, they believed that for people who do a lot of typing they need a keyboard,” Kay said.

“By the time it got the touchscreen it was too late. In this industry if you miss a couple of product cycles you’re pretty much toast.”

BlackBerry announced Monday it has signed a letter of intent agreement with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to buy the Waterloo, Ontario, firm, subject to financing and due diligence.

Fairfax, a Canadian firm headed by billionaire Prem Watsa, is already BlackBerry’s largest shareholder with approximately 10 percent of its shares. Watsa resigned from BlackBerry’s board when it announced in August its intent to search for a suitor.

Analysts say BlackBerry’s handsets are unlikely to draw much interest but the company’s software and services, which have a strong reputation for security, might offer the most value.

“Their device management solution is as good as it gets in the industry,” said Purdy, referring to BlackBerry’s ability to allow IT managers to control and monitor devices for a large number of employees.

“The highest value is in their security and software manageability suite, that’s been their stronghold in government and enterprise. They could have gone off the devices and onto software a few years ago but they got intoxicated with the revenue from hardware.”

BlackBerry still has some 70 million subscribers worldwide, but most of these are using older handsets, with the newer devices on the BlackBerry 10 platform failing to gain traction.

According to research firm IDC, BlackBerry’s global market share was just 2.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since the firm began tracking.

Because BlackBerry has some $2.6 billion cash on hand, the Fairfax offer is worth around $2 billion for the value of the enterprise, analysts point out.

Still, Kay said Fairfax “is taking quite a risk” with an equity buyout, which he maintained would be an interim solution until it is able to find a partner in the industry.

“Fairfax will be lucky to get its money back and to make a profit,” Kay said.

“If BlackBerry is going anywhere it has to have some strategic relationship with another company in the enterprise solutions business.”

Jack Gold, analyst with J. Gold Associates, argued meanwhile that BlackBerry is worth more as a single entity than the sum of its parts.

“I believe there is more value in keeping the three parts of the company (devices, services, and collaboration) intact, which works better for longer term value,” Gold said in an email.

“But BlackBerry still faces a huge mountain to climb to get back into the device marketplace, given the precipitous decline in sales.

“Going private and potentially bringing back the founder of the company, Mike Lazaridis (as has been rumored) could buy them some time to put the house in order.”

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry plans security feature for Android, iPhone

TORONTO — BlackBerry will offer technology to separate and make secure both work and personal data on mobile devices powered by Google Inc’s Android platform and by Apple Inc’s iOS operating system, the company said on Thursday.

The new feature could help BlackBerry sell high-margin services to enterprise clients even if many, or all, of their workers are using smartphones made by BlackBerry’s competitors. That may be crucial for the company as it has lost a vast amount of market share to the iPhone and to Android devices, such as Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy line.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said he expects BlackBerry’s device management software to gain traction this year, and boost revenue next year.

“Supporting devices with the best, most secure, and easiest-to-use mobile solution should enable RIM to transform into what we believe is an attractive model,” he said in a note to clients.

The offering could help BlackBerry shore up its profitable services business. BlackBerry’s shares plunged in December after it said it would change the way it charges for services, cutting fees for customers that do not need advanced security and other enhanced features.

The new Secure Work Space feature will be available before the end of June, and will be managed through BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, the platform that allows BlackBerry’s corporate and government clients to handle devices using different operating systems on their networks.

BlackBerry said the feature fences off corporate email, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos, web browsing and document editing from personal apps and content, which could be less secure.

Balancing act

In a bid to regain market share and return to profit, BlackBerry introduced a new line of smartphones powered by its BlackBerry 10 operating system earlier this year.

The touch screen version, dubbed the Z10, is on sale in more than 20 countries, while a device called the Q10, with a physical keyboard, will be available in April.

The new devices have a feature called Balance, which keeps corporate and personal data separate. It allows information technology departments to manage the corporate content on a device, while ensuring privacy for users, who can store and use personal apps and content on the same phone without corporate oversight.

With Secure Work Space, “we’re extending as many of these (Balance) features as possible to other platforms,” David Smith, BlackBerry’s head of mobile enterprise computing, said in a statement.

BlackBerry’s move comes as Samsung, whose Galaxy devices have gained great popularity, attempts to make itself a more viable option for business customers with security features such as Samsung Knox and SAFE, or Samsung for Enterprise.

BlackBerry said Secure Work Space means clients would not need to configure and manage expensive virtual private network (VPN) infrastructure in order to give workers’ devices access to data and applications that reside behind corporate firewalls.

“Secure Work Space also offers the same end-to-end encryption for data in transit as we have offered on BlackBerry for many years, so there is no need for a VPN,” Peter Devenyi, head of enterprise software, said in an interview.

Selling service

The new feature could also help stem declines in BlackBerry’s service revenue. That business has long been a cash cow for BlackBerry because of the large clients that pay to use its extensive network and security offerings.

However, the company has been under pressure to reduce its infrastructure access fees, and opted to do so during the transition to BlackBerry 10. Due to the changes, BlackBerry’s service revenue is expected to decline over the course of this year.

Giving its large array of corporate clients the ability to manage BlackBerry devices, along with Android smartphones and iPhones on their networks might encourage both corporate and government clients to continue to pay for and use BlackBerry’s device management services.

BlackBerry plans to report quarterly results on March 28.

Last week, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said sales of the Z10 had surpassed BlackBerry’s expectations in emerging markets such as India, where cheaper entry-level phones are typically popular.

On Wednesday, the company said it had received an order for 1 million BlackBerry 10 smartphones – the largest order it has ever had from a single customer – and its shares jumped.

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry Z10 all set for March 19 availability in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — BlackBerry’s latest attempt at regaining the mobile crown will soon hit stores in Metro Manila, bearing a price tag of P29,990 and support for high-speed LTE mobile Internet, executives announced Wednesday.

The BlackBerry Z10, the first-ever smartphone to carry the Canadian phone maker’s revitalized BB10 operating system, will be available on March 19 through the top three telecom firms in the Philippines — Smart Communications, Sun Cellular, and Globe Telecom. LTE plans, however, have yet to be disclosed by the telcos.

For interested users, BlackBerry Philippines is already accepting reservations from interested Filipino users via their Facebook page and an official website.

Featuring perhaps the most radical design transformation since the inception of BlackBerry, the Z10 will be powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor aided by 2GB of RAM, and will carry 16GB of onboard storage expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card.

It also includes the latest in “high density pixel and screen technology” that allows for a clearer and crisper display on a compact form factor. Executives announced that the Z10 will come in black and white colors for Philippine consumers.

But perhaps the most noteworthy feature to come to BlackBerry’s latest smartphone is the operating system, called BB10, which is tipped to clash head-on with popular mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS.

Largely gesture-based, BB10 features certain user-interface features that make it stand out among other mobile platforms, such as: BlackBerry Hub, which pools all contact information about a certain person into one location; BlackBerry Balance, which allows the user to quickly switch between work and personal profiles; and BlackBerry Peek, the OS’s multitasking facility, which gives the user the ability to quickly scroll between open applications and peek at notifications.

Executives said as much as 70,000 apps are already available on the BlackBerry World store front upon launch, aided largely by the opening of an online app generator that gives developers the facility to easily port their apps from other platforms and into the BB10 store front.

Announcing the latest BlackBerry device during the company’s 10th year of operations in the country, BlackBerry Philippines Country Director Cameron Vernest said: “BlackBerry 10 offers a faster and smarter experience that continuously adapts to you. Every feature, every gesture and every detail is designed to keep you moving.”

Touted as a platform that will “transform mobile communications into mobile computing,” BB10 is being hailed as the company’s last-ditch effort at staying relevant in the increasingly competitive smartphone market now dominated by the likes of Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, and Apple.

BlackBerry 10 devices will be offered in an all-touchscreen version as well as in a model that keeps a physical keyboard, which many “crackberries,” or loyal fans of the platform, have come to love. Local availability for QWERTY models, however, were not disclosed by local executives.

source: interaksyon.com

Yahoo! to shut down seven products, including Blackberry app

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo! Inc is shutting down seven products, including its mobile app for Blackberry smartphones, as new Chief Executive Marissa Mayer takes a page from Google Inc’s play book by eliminating unsuccessful products en-masse.

The product shutdowns, which Yahoo! announced on its official company blog on Friday, are part of what the company said are regular efforts to evaluate and review its product line-up.

“The most critical question we ask is whether the experience is truly a daily habit that still resonates for all of you today,” wrote Jay Rossiter, Yahoo!’s executive vice president of Platforms.

The announcement represents Yahoo!’s second group shutdown of products since Mayer, a former Google executive, became CEO of the struggling Web portal in July. So-called “spring cleaning” announcements, in which multiple products are shut down, have become a regular feature at Google in recent years.

Mayer signaled the company would prune its line-up of mobile apps at an investor conference last month, noting that Yahoo! would reduce the 60 to 75 disparate mobile apps it currently has to a more manageable 12 to 15 apps.

Yahoo! said its app for Blackberry smartphones would no longer be available for download, or supported by Yahoo!, as of April 1.

Yahoo! also said that on April 1 it will stop supporting Yahoo! Avatars – the cartoon-like digital characters that consumers create to depict them on Web services such as Yahoo instant messenger and Facebook. Consumers who want to continue using their avatar on Yahoo!’s online services must download the avatar and then re-upload the information to their personalized Yahoo! profile.

The other Yahoo! products set to be terminated include Yahoo! App Search, Yahoo! Sports IQ, Yahoo! Clues, the Yahoo! Message Boards website and the Yahoo! Updates API.

source: interaksyon.com

Want $2,000? Make a BlackBerry app

MANILA, Philippines — If you think paying $100 to submit your app to Apple’s App Store is a ripoff, then BlackBerry maker Research in Motion may have the solution for you.

In a bid to populate its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, Canadian phone maker RIM has announced rewards for app developers who will port their Android apps or websites into the company’s new system, with compensation reaching to as much as $2000 (about P80,000).

In a fresh round of porting events the company is calling “Port-A-Thons,” local developers who have existing Android apps can receive the cash reward by participating in the 36-hour virtual porting marathon, starting from 1:00 am of January 19.

For every successful app approved into BlackBerry World — the platform’s version of the App Store or the Google Play Store — RIM will pay developers $100, with a limit of up to $2000 per vendor.

But it’s not only app developers who are eligible for the cash reward, as website owners or Facebook page administrators can convert their Web pages into a BlackBerry app using RIM’s own conversion tooland submit them for approval.

The last app Port-A-Thon, held on January 12 worldwide and featured a local event organized by the PinoyBBDev community of BlackBerry developers, garnered some 15,000 applications for RIM’s new operating system over the course of 36 hours.

A total of $500,000 is available for distribution through these events, the company said.

The Canadian phone maker is preparing to unveil BlackBerry 10, its newest mobile operating system, along with a number of new devices at an event towards the end of January.

RIM President and CEO Thorsten Heins, who visited the Philippines in October, said they are banking on BB 10 to snatch market share away from Apple and Samsung, two companies that currently lead the global smartphone market.

It is also considered the company’s last-ditch effort for a turnaround as consumers increasingly go for touchscreen phones and away from QWERTY-enabled phones the likes of BlackBerry’s offerings.

“Why did we do this? Why didn’t we go Android or Windows 8 or any other open platform that’s out there? Because we want to serve our BlackBerry users and customers. And the way to do this is to keep our BlackBerry DNA alive, we need a new platform,” Heins said in an earlier interview.

RIM’s Port-A-Thons are a means to encourage rapid adoption of the platform upon launch as the availability of apps are now a major factor being considered by users in choosing their phones — something that the relatively young Windows Phone platform is currently struggling with, as its hundred-thousand-strong app base is easily dwarfed by iOS’s and Android’s apps that number by the millions.

Early adoption of the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 devices by government and corporate clients will help breathe new life into the struggling company, whose shares are down 90 percent from an all-time high of more than $148 in 2008.

Still, shares of RIM, which fell as low as $6.22 in September, have more than doubled in value over the last four months as the BlackBerry 10 launch approaches.

RIM promises that its new line of devices will be faster and smoother than existing BlackBerry phones and will boast a large catalog of apps, crucial to the success of any new line of smartphones.

source: interaksyon.com