BlackBerry reportedly loses execs responsible for social apps, BB10 Hub

BlackBerry reportedly loses execs responsible for social apps, BB10 Hub

BlackBerry has had trouble retaining executives as of late, and its situation may not be getting much better when the Wall Street Journal claims that two software overseers recently left the company. T.A. McCann (pictured at left), a VP who oversaw BBM and social networking apps, reportedly said goodbye two weeks ago. Marc Gingras (right), who masterminded the BlackBerry 10 Hub and came with the Tungle.me acquisition, supposedly quit in "recent weeks." BlackBerry hasn't commented on the rumored exits, although the Journal believes that both McCann and Gingras left voluntarily. If real, the departures aren't coming at a good time -- BlackBerry is in rough financial straits, and it needs executives willing to turn the ship around.

[Gingras image credit: Kris Krüg, Flickr]

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Source: Wall Street Journal

Flixster for BlackBerry 10 adds UltraViolet movie streaming

Flixster for BlackBerry 10 adds UltraViolet movie streaming

BlackBerry 10 users have had Flixster's app as a movie guide since January, but they haven't had the chance to watch their discoveries on the BlackBerry itself. Thankfully, Flixster has provided that missing piece of the puzzle today by adding UltraViolet support (not pictured here). As with Android and iOS, anyone with a BB10 device can now stream videos saved in their UV locker. The upgrade brings regular Flixster accounts, too -- members can mark the movies they want to see and review them afterward. Between these two major additions, the new Flixster app is easily worth an update at the source link.

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Via: CrackBerry

Source: BlackBerry World

BlackBerry OS 10.2 leak reveals actionable notifications, WiFi Direct and more

BlackBerry OS 102 leak reveals actionable notifications, WiFi Direct and more

BlackBerry 10 users rejoice! The awesome folks over at the CrackBerry forums have leaked a few screenshots of BlackBerry's upcoming OS 10.2 (build 10.2.0.483, to be exact) which reveal a bunch of new features, including actionable notifications and WiFi Direct. With the former, you'll be able to pull down on notifications and respond to them (as shown above). This OS version will also provide a way to mute notifications or view them on the lock screen. WiFi Direct, which was hinted at during BlackBerry Live, is now confirmed with this build. It enables simple peer-to-peer wireless connectivity between various devices like phones, tablets, printers and TVs. This update also include a new native Evernote app, settings app and app manager. Find out more at the source link below.

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Via: PhoneArena

Source: CrackBerry forums

BlackBerry shipped just 2.7 million BB 10 handsets last quarter (updated)

Blackberry shipped just 27 million BB 10 handsets last quarter updated

BlackBerry got off to a roaring start with with the Z10, which shipped a million devices in its first three weeks on the market and led many to predict there'd be at least 3 million shipped this quarter (the first full quarter of Z10 availability). That turned out not to be the case, as the company said during an earnings call for Q1 2014 that it managed to get just 2.7 million BlackBerry 10 OS handsets out the door, despite the Q10 having joined the Z10 on shelves for a good part of that period. Those figures make up just 40 percent of its handset numbers, meaning most of the 6.8 million phones it shipped consisted of cheaper last-gen products. They refused to break those numbers down between the Q10 and Z10, so that's all we have to go on at this point -- but taken with its announcement of an $84 million loss, it's far from encouraging.

Update: Apologies, folks. Our original headline said 2.7 million were sold, whereas in fact the figure indicates shipping numbers. The post itself is unchanged and accurate. For reference, BlackBerry's actual sales to end users lagged behind shipments by around 30 percent when they revealed the previous set of figures back in March.

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BlackBerry 10 not coming to BlackBerry PlayBook tablets

BlackBerry 10 not coming to BlackBerry PlayBook tablets

If you were hoping your BlackBerry PlayBook would get a taste of BlackBerry 10, think twice. Despite earlier plans, Thorsten Heins just revealed that the newer OS isn't coming to his company's tablet due to "performance and user experience" concerns. The executive didn't discuss the long-term future of the PlayBook, but it's clear that the current model is at the end of the road. When the company's earnings are back in the red, devoting attention to a long-struggling device isn't likely to be high on the priority list.

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Facebook update for BlackBerry 10 brings photo album controls

Facebook update for BlackBerry 10 brings photo album control, tweaked timeline

BlackBerry 10 users haven't had much control over their Facebook photo uploads -- a big problem when they're trying to organize their pictures later on. Thankfully, they can be a little more restrained as of the Facebook 10.2 update. The revision lets socialites both create albums on-device and upload directly to particular albums. After the fact, they can tag existing shots and toggle just which images they see. If you're the sort whose Q10 or Z10 doubles as a primary camera, you'll want to grab the update at the source link.

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Via: Inside BlackBerry

Source: BlackBerry World

BlackBerry Q5 stops by the FCC with AT&T-friendly 3G

BlackBerry Q5 stops by the FCC with AT&T-friendly 3G

When we were introduced to BlackBerry's Q5, a lower-end QWERTY handset running BB10 OS, we were told it was aimed at emerging markets and heard of no plans to bring it to the US. While that still could be the case, a device with the identifier RFS121LW and an appearance matching that of the Q5 has been given the all-clear by the FCC. Now, this might be just a roaming application (when devices not sold in the US get approved for use there), but it's important to note that the 3G radio inside this phone is compatible with AT&T's network (850 / 1900MHz). We can't guarantee the image above isn't a generic outline BlackBerry's used to show the position of the label, nor can we totally certain you'll ever be able to purchase a Q5 from the US carrier. Well, at least not until the Q10 launch buzz dies down, anyway.

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Source: FCC

Splashtop 2 brings its remote desktop talents to BlackBerry 10

Splashtop 2 brings its remote desktop talents to Blackberry 10

Unless you're willing to poke around in leaked software, there's been no way so far to access your desktop computer via that shiny new BlackBerry 10 device -- until now. Splashtop 2 has just arrived on the platform to fill that hole, and a quick tryout on our Z10 confirms that it works just as well as on other devices to give you a remote wormhole to your Mac or PC. You'll be able to seamlessly access your desktop apps and files, watch videos and even play 3D games hosted from your home machine -- though we'd wouldn't count on a great experience for the latter. You can download and use it on your home network for free, but remote usage will run you $1.99 per month or $16.99 per year -- still quite a bargain for the terminally tethered.

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Via: Crackberry

Source: Blackberry World

BlackBerry Q10 available for pre-order on Verizon, $200 with a two-year contract

BlackBerry Q10 available for preorder on Verizon, $200 with a twoyear contract

For those of you who wouldn't touch a tactile screen if we gave you one, Verizon's just put a smartphone up for pre-order that might be preferable: the Blackberry Q10. Big Red will carry the regular black model and has exclusive dibs on the dapper white Q10 we saw earlier, both of which are on pre-order for $200 with a two-year activation, or $600 sans commitment. On top of real QWERTY chiclets, you'll get a 3.1-inch, 720 x 720 Super AMOLED touch display, dual-core Qualcomm CPU, 2GB of RAM and Blackberry 10.0. As a bonus, Verizon's estimated ship date of June 6th might even line up nicely with the imminent arrival of a certain new version of the OS, too.

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Via: CrackBerry

Source: Verizon

BlackBerry 10.2 OS update brings emojis, level 1 notifications plus alarm features

BlackBerry 10.2 update sees the return of emoji, level 1 notifications and alarm features

You might still be getting your thumbs around that Q10, or the waiting for that BlackBerry 10.1 update, but already some future tidbits for the platform have come to light. Michael Clewley, product manager at the firm, let slip that version 10.2 of the OS brings with it support for standard unicode emojis, multiple alarms and level 1 notifications (for email). With the 10.2 SDK said to be coming in June, you can expect the update to follow later in the year. Weren't sure what to do with BlackBerry Channels, yet? If you had added Clewley's (PIN C00014277) you'd have got the reveal straight from the man himself.

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Source: Crackberry