Tag Archives: playbook
BlackBerry will shutter its app store on December 31st, 2019
While there's little doubt that BlackBerry's in-house mobile platforms are finished (the last BB10 device shipped over 2 years ago), it's now giving holdouts some not-so-subtle hints that it's time to move on. The company has announced that it's shut...
World cities are collaborating on rules for Uber and Airbnb
The sharing economy,and the companies that embody it, have often waded into a fight wherever they set up shop. That's because local governments aren't nimble enough to cope with such radically new ideas, and the companies themselves often struggle wi...
Refresh Roundup: week of September 9th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Filed under: Mobile
Switched On: Played out
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
At the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 -- the first hardware devices to run on the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system -- there seemed to be a silver lining for the renamed company's struggling PlayBook tablet. Confirming speculation, CEO Thorsten Heins promised a cheering crowd that the PlayBook would receive an update to a new OS. This would open the door to signature features, a more polished user interface and a vastly expanded app library.
But something was amiss. The company had also announced that, to simplify app development, BlackBerry 10 would support two screen resolutions: the Z10's 1,280 x 768 and the Q10's 720 x 720. In contrast, the PlayBook resolution is 1,024 x 600. Late last month, the other shoe dropped as BlackBerry confirmed that the PlayBook would not receive the promised update, leaving it with an abandoned OS and marking the effective exit of BlackBerry from the tablet market.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Blackberry
BlackBerry PlayBook Tablets will Not Get BlackBerry 10 OS
A bad news for all BlackBerry lovers and specially for Playbook fans. Now BlackBerry is not going to update its PlayBook tablets with BB10 OS. RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins, has taken back his earlier...
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.
Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Blackberry
BlackBerry Z10, Q10 and PlayBook get DoD approval
The average consumer may be able to thumb through FCC filings to get a peek at their next smartphone, but certain government employee's hopes lie in the hands of another agency: the US Department of Defense. Good news for federally employed BlackBerry fans, then -- the company just announced that BlackBerry 10 smartphones and PlayBook tablets running Enterprise Service 10 have been added to the Defense Information Systems Agency's approved product list. Finally, DoD employees can toss out that aging BB7 handset and pick up a modern OS. Check out the company's official statement after the break.
Filed under: Mobile
Via: nerdberry
Source: BlackBerry
Thorsten Heins: tablets aren’t a good business model, BlackBerry aiming to lead mobile computing in five years
Holding out for a post-RIM version of the PlayBook? That waiting likely won't end any time soon. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins used an interview yesterday to discuss the mobile environment five years out. Seems he's feeling particularly bullish about his own company's prospects. "In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing -- that's what we're aiming for," he told the interviewer. "I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a copycat."
Not being a copycat may likely involve staying away from the crowded tablet market. "In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," according to the CEO. "Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model." This certainly isn't the first time the exec has expressed caution about the space in the wake of the PlayBook's lukewarm reception. Heins has mentioned in the past that the company won't jump back into tablets unless it sees the potential for profits.
Update: BlackBerry has since issued an official response to the interview,
The comments that Thorsten made yesterday are in line with previous comments he has made about the future of mobile computing overall, and the possibilities that come with a platform like BlackBerry 10. We continue to evaluate our tablet strategy, but we are not making any shifts in that strategy in the short term. When we do have information about our PlayBook strategy, we will share it.
Filed under: Tablets
Source: Bloomberg
Phones4U taking BlackBerry Q10 pre-orders, giving away PlayBooks to first 300 customers (update)
Know what's better than a shiny new BlackBerry Q10? A BlackBerry Q10 with a 64GB PlayBook thrown in for free, and Phones4U is the place to get it. To be clear, the UK retailer has begun taking pre-orders for the BB10 handset with a hardware keyboard today, and the first 300 folks to pledge their money will get one of BlackBerry's 7-inch slates for free along with it. As for the Q10's cost, it's £36 a month on contract or £549.95 SIM-free, with the black model expected to arrive by the end of April and the alabaster version coming in the weeks after.
Update: Should you miss out on the Phones4U deal (or just don't want a PlayBook), you can head on over to the Carphone Warehouse to place your pre-order and get a free Bluetooth speaker to pair with your Q10 instead.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse