Speaking at a BlackBerry World press conference, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has admitted that the company has no plans to offer BlackBerry 10 updates for existing devices that run the BlackBerry 7 OS. The company has yet to announce a consumer device that will be powered by the new OS, though developers will be able to test apps on the Dev Alpha handset.
Research In Motion has finally previewed its BlackBerry 10 software, which will power the company's Dev Alpha handset before arriving on other devices. In an attempt to maintain the traditional BlackBerry pedigree, the new OS focuses on productivity and brings a new virtual keyboard that mimics the company's characteristic hardware keyboards.
The BlackBerry 10 developer device RIM plans to give away next week at BlackBerry World has been spotted days in advance. A CrackBerry forum poster got a quick, power-off look at the experimental smartphone, which is a relatively simple, brick-like design reminiscent of the BlackBerry PlayBook. Other than seeing both front and back cameras, little was discernible without turning it on.
The first BlackBerry 10 phones are now expected to be announced in mid-August with a planned release date in mid-October, according to a source quoted as "reliable" by enthusiast site N4BB. The prediction falls in line with reports from Research In Motion (RIM) itself that the first BlackBerry 10 devices would ship in the "later half" of this year. Some developers attending BlackBerry Jam early next month in Orlando are expected to receive "reference" phones for testing that do not reflect the true design.
New leaks have uncovered more of RIM's possible reorganization plans. The Reuters tip asserted that it had hired lawyers at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy to outline possible corporate plans. These could range from anything as simple as licensing patents to selling off parts of the company or making alliances with other companies.
RIM's former co-CEO Jim Balsillie had proposed using BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) servers to provide data for non-BlackBerry hardware shortly before he resigned his position, new leaks uncovered on Friday. The method outlined to Reuters would have let carriers offer Android and iPhone devices with cheaper data plans that limited Internet access to chat (possibly BlackBerry Messenger) and social networks, much like entry BlackBerry plans do today. RIM would presumably have made money from leasing access to carriers eager to get more smartphone customers and offload some of their bandwidth needs.
RIM chief Thorsten Heins during a call discussing the company's tough quarterly results gave some reassurances that the company was still on track with its first BlackBerry 10 phone. The device was still due for late 2012. Carrier partners were interested in both the new platform and keeping RIM as a partner, the CEO said.
RIM in statements Tuesday said it was delaying its usual analyst meeting until after the BlackBerry 10 launch. Normally held at BlackBerry World, which starts early May this year, the meeting would be moved to a "separate session" after that platform was public, RIM's representative Temille Kennedy told Reuters. The decision would move it to the second half of 2012 and possibly September.
RIM's developer relations VP Alec Saunders revealed in an interview Friday that it would give developers reference BlackBerry 10 phones. Those who visit the BlackBerry Jam developer event in early May, alongside BlackBerry World, would get to work on actual hardware, he told Bloomberg. Saunders cast this partly as reassurance that there wouldn't be another delay, as it was "tangible evidence" of getting closer to shipping.
RIM has confirmed with TechRadar that the BlackBerry PlayBookwill get the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 OS when it is ready. The BlackBerry 10 OS is based on the same QNX platform as the PlayBook OS and is currently in the process of being redesigned for an optimal smartphone experience. The move to update the PlayBook tablet to a variation of the same OS as its mobile phones will follow a strategy that has been adopted by both Apple’s iOS as well as Google’s Android.
New shots intercepted from a BlackBerry 10 ad briefing may have given some of the first detailed visuals of the OS. The CrackBerry images showed a device that at once had a shrunken parallel to the PlayBook interface but with traces of similarities to other platforms. It would use an always-up grid of all apps, like the iPhone, but have home screen widgets similar to, if more organized than, Android.
RIM's Developer Relations VP Alec Saunders made aggressive claims about the state of BlackBerry App World at his company's DevCon Europe keynote on Tuesday morning. He contended that the store was the second-most profitable mobile app store after Apple's own and that Android lagged behind significantly. Along with having more overall paid downloads than the normally larger Google shop, BlackBerry titles typically made about 40 percent more revenue than their paid Android counterparts.
RIM's BlackBerry London has been refined in looks ahead of what could be an attempt to return to the US in force. New leaks to CrackBerry have the render of the first BlackBerry 10 phone's expected finished look making it considerably more refined than the very angular, Porsche Design-like look of a dummy unit. A presumably mock screenshot also points to a more refined media player than either on BlackBerry 7 or on the PlayBook.
RIM's departing co-chief Mike Lazaridis chose an unofficial exit interview this weekend to uncover the amount of preparation for new CEO Thorsten Heins. He explained to The Record that they had started succession plans years ago and that Heins had been kept in mind. He was a "star" already, but he had to prove his worth and take on more roles before he could take on the position.
New info trickling out from a CrackBerry interview with new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins may assuage some early fears that he was locked into his predecessors' management style. The new executive made a point not just to use Android, iOS, and other platforms himself but a "whole team" that both looks at the competition and sees what doesn't work. Even his children are involved, he said.
An extremely detailed RIM roadmap has leaked to BGR that shows even more than what was shown yesterday. Along with confirming the 1.5GHz, 3G- and NFC-equipped PlayBook refresh, the scoop shows that the BlackBerry Curve 9220 and 9320 will make BlackBerry Messenger a central feature. Both will have a built-in BBM key on the side, making a return to chat a one-button feature.
RIM's hopes for 2012 might be brighter after a potential roadmap leak. According to a BGR tip, the BlackBerry PlayBook would get an update a year into its life with a 1.5GHz (presumably TI OMAP) processor, 42Mbps HSPA+ 3G, and NFC for tags and payments. It would reportedly ship in May or June.
Virtually every Verizon smartphone in 2012 will be an LTE-based 4G device, hardware marketing associate director Keith Lampron said in a discussion Wednesday. It would now be a "hard requirement" for nearly all devices, he explained to CNET. Only push-to-talk phones and, presumably, basic feature phones would be exempt from the 4G demand.
RIM may have slashed two out of the three BlackBerry 10 phones it was planning to launch this year, a rumor emerging Thursday said. The Colt and Milan were said by BGR to have been dropped, leaving just the touch-only London. The Milan may not have even been a BB10 phone, instead being a BlackBerry 7 QWERTY slider that carriers didn't want given how similar it would have been to the Torch 9810.
The independent panel investigating possible management shakeups at RIM may push co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazardis out from their joint positions as chairmen of the board, contacts slipped out early on Tuesday. The terms, characterized by the Financial Post as already set, would most likely see independent director Barbara Stymiest take over in the position from the BlackBerry maker's co-founders.
RIM was found Friday to be facing another lawsuit over one of its core products. Broadcast group BBM Canada is now known to have sued RIM on August 12, 2010, and to face a hearing on January 11, 2012, for allegedly misusing the BBM term to refer to BlackBerry Messenger. Unlike most such cases, BBM Canada could point to genuine cases of confusion, the Globe and Mail said, with staff being mistaken for RIM workers and an analytics branch being mistakenly called for messaging help.
RIM responded to claims that BlackBerry 10 was far too unfinished with an outright rejection. It called the rumor "inaccurate and uninformed" and insisted on its official position, which was a need to wait on a new chip that could give it dual-core and LTE 4G. There was no alternate explanation, RIM suggested.
Potentially damaging rumors emerged Thursday that RIM's decision to delay BlackBerry 10 phones until late 2012 was actually the company buying time for an unfinished OS. One of BGR's "most trusted sources" claimed that it has little to do with waiting for the needed dual-core, LTE-equipped chip and more with the unfinished state of the OS. The publicly available version of the PlayBook 2.0 OS was representative of what BlackBerry 10 looked like, with no e-mail or BlackBerry Messenger.
RIM faced an ignominious milestone on Monday after a stock crash following its BlackBerry 10 phone delay. With its share price down to $13.44 as of Friday's closing and down under $13.30 as of Monday morning, RIM's $7.04 billion market cap or less was smaller than an $7.08 billion contribution to Apple's market cap from the App Store, as estimated by Trefis and noted by Brian Hall. Apple's total market cap of $354 billion was itself over 50 times larger.
RIM while talking about its latest results added that it had finally reached a level of balance on BlackBerry PlayBook shipments and might trim costs for the whole company. In a rare instance of revealing some of its sell-through to actual customers, the firm said it had sold more than the 150,000 PlayBooks it shipped out in the quarter. For the first time in months, the company needed to replenish the channel after clearing out existing supply.
RIM during the call discussing its latest quarterly results delayed its first BlackBerry 10 phone to the "latter part" of 2012. It wanted a dual-core processor with LTE-based 4G support, but this chip wouldn't be available until the middle of next year. Co-CEO Jim Balsillie justified the delay by noting that the company wanted a "fully featured" platform with a healthy ecosystem, specifications, and design, making it wait for the new chip.
RIM's rumored BlackBerry Milan may have solidifed after details and a conceptual rendering appeared Wednesday. The BlackBerry 10 phone is now thought by CrackBerry sources to be a vertical QWERTY slider much like the Torch 9800 series. As described, it would have some angular elements like the London but would have more of the signature black, with all of the dedicated hardware buttons and trackpad of a current BlackBerry removed in favor of, presumably, bezel gestures.
