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BlackBerry's tentative step into the world of feed-based social networking, BBM Channels, is at last leaving beta. As of 3PM Eastern, those with BlackBerry 10 and classic BlackBerry OS devices can use the Tumblr-like service for themselves, subscribing to content feeds from both major providers and their friends. Android and iOS users, meanwhile, will have to sit tight -- BlackBerry says that Channels support for their platforms is arriving in the "coming months."
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: CrackBerry
We're familiar with much of BlackBerry's history, but there are a few unanswered questions: why did Jim Balsillie resign his board position, for example? And why did the Z10 launch ahead of Q10, to disastrous results? Thankfully, The Globe and Mail has addressed some of these mysteries through a detailed exposé. We now know that Balsillie left the board after BlackBerry axed an "SMS 2.0" plan that would have replaced carriers' text services with BlackBerry Messenger. Thorsten Heins wanted the company to remain focused on hardware, according to the newspaper. As for the Z10? Heins reportedly prioritized the all-touch phone over the objections of board members like Mike Lazaridis, who saw the Q10's keyboard as necessary for standing out in a crowded market. There's even more to the story than these two revelations, so you'll want to visit the source link if you're wondering just how BlackBerry ended up in such dire straits.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: The Globe and Mail
We hope you weren't scheduling your weekend around the launch of BBM for Android and iOS, as BlackBerry has paused the rollout following a leak of the Android version. There were too many simultaneous users, the company says; with over 1.1 million active clients in the first eight hours, the messaging service just wasn't ready to handle the load. There's no mention of when the BBM deployment will continue, although BlackBerry is disabling the unofficial Android build to prevent future problems. Unless you grabbed BBM's iOS version in the first several hours, you'll just have to be patient.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: Inside BlackBerry