Tag: rim

BlackBerry Creates “Special Committee”, Will Consider Sale

Looks like the rumours from last week were true about BlackBerry potentially going up for sale. The company has announced this morning that the Board of Directors have created a ‘Special Committee’ to “explore strategic alternatives” that could include ‘possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.”

According to the press release the Special Committee will be chaired by Timothy Dattels, plus include Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg. Leading the “Exploration of Strategic Alternatives” process will be JP Morgan Securities as its financial advisor, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are serving legal advisors.

Timothy Dattels, Chairman of BlackBerry’s Special Committee of the Board, stated “Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of BlackBerry investigating its options in an increasingly-competitive smartphone market — in early 2012, the company reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to evaluate its options, and last June the company was reportedly investigating the selloff of its handset business.

Of course, a lot has happened since last year — BlackBerry 10 finally launched in 2013, but so far the new OS hasn’t stopped the bleeding for the formerly-dominant company.

[Via]

August 12, 2013
Report : Blackberry Set To Follow Dell And Go Private

The latest rumour to circle about BlackBerry is not a new smartphone, but that the company is entertaining the idea of going private. Reuters “several sources familiar with the situation” revealed that the board is favouring this route and believe being a private company “would give them breathing room to fix its problems out of the public eye.” The company noted in the report is private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, same company who’s behind Dell’s current private dealings, but they make it clear that “no deal is imminent” and “BlackBerry has not launched any kind of a sale process.”

The message from BlackBerry’s communications department has been pretty consistent regarding its recent quarterly performance, as well as issues like layoffs and executive departures – the company is still in turnaround mode, and needs to make more changes to get the organization ship-shape before it can return to growth. But that’s not a refrain that investors enjoy hearing – especially not when the track’s on repeat.

Ever since Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry’s CEO, took over the reins he stated that the company was not for sale, but could potentially look at licensing BlackBerry 10 to other manufactures. In an interview last year Heins stated “We don’t have the economy of scale to compete against the guys who crank out 60 handsets a year. We have to differentiate and have a focused platform. To deliver BB10 we may need to look at licensing it to someone who can do this at a way better cost proposition than I can do it. There’s different options we could do that we’re currently investigating.”

BlackBerry’s openness to consider a deal marks a radical shift in thinking at the once high-flying smartphone maker. Until recently, BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion and a pioneer in providing secured emails on handheld devices, had been bent on staying independent, betting its turnaround on its latest smartphones.

BlackBerry reported 6.8 million smartphone shipments last quarter and revenues of $3.1 billion, but also recorded an operating loss of $84 million.

[Via]

August 9, 2013
Blackberry Z10 Costs $154 To Make

We’ve seen the BlackBerry Z10 from the inside out, but have you wondered just what it costs to actually make the device? There are various bits and pieces that go into making a BlackBerry, from the plastic enclosure all the way down to that red LED. The Z10 was pieced out and together all the components ring in at a total of $154 when all is said and done.

The 4.2-inch display for the Z10 costs around $26.50. The 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor costs about $23.50. The 8MP rear-facing camera and 2MP front-facing camera totals about $15. The 16GB internal storage costs around $9.00. The other components, including the battery, communication chips, and RAM total $21.00. Finally, the casing, as well as the other small electronics included in the Z10 total around $59.00.

The Blackberry Z10 is slightly more expensive to create compared to the iPhone 5, which costs about $139 to make. But in the Z10’s defense, it has a bigger, higher resolution screen, more RAM, and a bigger battery.

– Display and Glass (4.2-inches): $26.50
– Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC processor $23.50
– Cameras (8MP back camera and 2MP front-facing): $15.00
– 16GB Flash storage: $9.00
– Other components (battery, communication chips, RAM): $21.00
– Remaining materials such as the plastic casing: $59.00

The Blackberry Z10 is expected to retail for around Rs 40,000 in India while the second Blackberry 10 device, the Qwerty keyboard Q10, is expected to make its debut in April, and its pricing is still to be revealed.

[ CNNMoney via Slashgear]

February 18, 2013
White Blackberry Q10 spotted

While Blackberry was busy renaming their parent company and launching the new OS along with black variants of the Z10 and Q10 a white version of the BOLD series replacement the Blackberry Q10 has been spotted at the event.

The Blackberry Q10 is packed with a 720 x 720 Super AMOLED 3.1-inch display, the Blackberry Q10’s screen is slightly larger than its touch-hybrid predecessor, the Bold 9930, and has a pixel density of 328ppi. Other specs include the 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB of RAM, 10.3mm-thick body and a 139g weight.

January 31, 2013
Blackberry Announces Blackberry Q10, With Physical QWERTY Keyboard

The BlackBerry Q10 is the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone with a physical keyboard, it features a glass laminated back which is reportedly lighter and stronger than plastic. The handset features a stainless steel build, “edge-to-edge glass”, and what it’s calling a three-dimensional weave on the back.

The Blackberry Q10 sports a 1.5GHz processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, which is expandable with a microSD slot. The 3,1-inch touchscreen has 330ppi, 720 x 720 display.

[quote]”We have the aspiration to be the best keyboard experience period,” Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said during an event in New York.[/quote]

BlackBerry 10 will also launch with applications and games such as Foursquare, Skype, Twitter, Facebok, Angry Birds Star Wars, Where’s My Water, Cisco WebEx and many more. The BlackBerry Z10 will be available in the UK starting tomorrow, in Canada February 5th, the UAE February 10th and in the US in late March.

Heins, meanwhile, discussed other features of the new products and operating system, including BlackBerry Flow, which allows users to move between apps. The technology allows users to open and minimize apps through swipes, and everything keeps working. BlackBerry Peek allows users to play a video and check notifications at once.

BlackBerry has confirmed that it will be getting some big name apps including Amazon Kindle, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

It was also announced earlier in the week that BlackBerry had signed a deal with the major TV studios and film networks confirming that big titles such as Prometheus, American Dad and Friends would all be available on BlackBerry 10.

January 30, 2013
Blackberry Launches New Flagship Z10

In a move that shocked precisely nobody, the new BlackBerry Z10 has been launched.

[quote]When introducing the BlackBerry Z10, Thorsten Heins said, “This is the most beautiful BlackBerry we have ever launched. I can’t wait for you to try it out. We knew a large beautiful display was important. This is the window into the BlackBerry 10 experience.”[/quote]

The new handset features BlackBerry 10 OS as the obvious talking point. The Blackberry Z10 also has a 4.2-inch HD screen, dual core processor and 16GB of onboard storage.

The BlackBerry Z10 contains a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 8960 SoC with an Adreno 225 GPU, the same part found in the Lumia 920.

The 356ppi pixel density is sharper than the iPhone 5, though it doesn’t match the ridiculous 440+ found on recently-announced Android products like the Sony Xperia Z.

The BlackBerry Z10 has two cameras, a 8MP back shooter and a 2MP front-facing lens. They offer a few nifty features, such as the ability rewind and get the picture you wanted, rather than the one you actually took, called TimeShift.

[quote]”We have been on a journey of transformation, to transform our business and our brand, but also one that will transform mobile communications to true mobile computing,” Heins said on stage. “Saying we have reinvented this company is simply not enough. Today is a new day in the history of BlackBerry.”[/quote]

BlackBerry also discussed a feature called BlackBerry Balance, which allows you to create different areas of the phone for work and your personal life. Additionally, it’s new BlackBerry Messenger will have voice and video chatting functionality, allowing users a way around using their minutes.

The BlackBerry Z10 is has a specially designed screen for precise touch input, so typing on the BlackBerry keyboard can be faster and more accurate. The BlackBerry Z10 screen uses the latest technology to ensure images are sharp, clear and incredibly vivid.

[quote]”We will be the platform launching with the highest number of apps on day one,” Boulben said. The company has worked with software developers to stock its BlackBerry World store, which includes apps and music and movies, to have 70,000 apps out of the gate. RIM announced that popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, Evernote, Rdio, ESPN Scorecenter, Flixter and Cut the Rope will be in the store for consumers.[/quote]

Like all previous BlackBerry smartphone and, with clear sights on its utilitarian roots, the Z10 has a removable battery cover with a replaceable battery cell. The new battery, LS1, is taller and narrower than in previous RIM products and, at 1800mAh, is slightly larger.

RIM also includes a Siri-like Voice Assistant that is activated by holding down the play/pause button on the side of the phone. It can perform many of the same tasks as its iOS counterpart: send texts and emails, search the web, schedule an appointment or make a Remember note.

The Blackberry Q10 has also been announced. We’re still awaiting the magic of things like prices or a release date, but we’ll update the story as soon as we hear.

Specs

– BlackBerry 10 OS
– 4.2-inch 1280×768 pixel TFT display
– 1.5Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC
– 2GB RAM / 16GB internal storage (w/ microSD)
– 8MP BSI back camera / 2MP front-facing camera
– 1080p video capture @ 30fps
– WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS/GLONASS, NFC
– 1800mAh removable battery
– 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm
– 135.4 grams
– 3G (850/1900) / LTE (700/AWS)

January 30, 2013
Lenovo Interested In Buying RIM’s Hardware Division

RIM is about to release its latest BlackBerry 10 platform by next week. But even with this new development, the Canadian company is not off the hook when it comes to its market predicament. BlackBerry is a platform on the decline, and apart from BB10, RIM is thinking of ways to revitalize its business. Among the possibilities is licensing is operating system or even selling off its hardware division.

Lenovo is reportedly mulling over a purchase of RIM’s traditionally-unprofitable hardware division as it determines how best to move into the international smartphone and tablet market.

Lenovo is the world’s number two PC manufacturer, and although sales have been strong over the last few quarters, rocketing past Dell in market share, desktop and laptop sales are slowing in the wake of smartphones and tablet proliferation. Lenovo rose to be the number two smartphone maker in China in 2012, but it has a lot of work to do if it ever wants to be an international player.

Analysts speculate that even if BlackBerry 10 proves a success for the company — which, if early indications are a bellwether, it likely will — RIM may choose to sell its hardware business anyway, focusing on its network and software assets. A partnership with a company like Lenovo or even Samsung, which was also rumoured to be interested in acquiring RIM at one point, could push the Waterloo-based outfit back into the black.

On related news, RIM’s shares rose with the reports of Lenovo’s interest. The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed shares rose 3%. Still analysts say RIM is likely to wait until it launches BlackBerry 10 before seriously considering partnerships or asset sales.

[Mobile Syrup]

January 25, 2013
BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 Officially Released And Available For Download

RIM can cross another action off the list. Today they’ve announced that BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) is available for download. This mobile device management solution has been one of RIM’s prize possessions for more than a decade and has been revamped/reworked for the launch of BlackBerry 10. Company IT departments will be able to securely manage devices running BlackBerry 10 and the PlayBook, plus competing platforms such as iOS and Android (BlackBerry Fusion is being rolled into BES 10).

[quote]According to the press release BES 10 has received some positive feedback from both corporate clients and industry analysts. Peter E. Lesser, Director of Global Technology, from a big law firm with too many names called “Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom” stated “We’ve been testing BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 in our environment and we’re pleased with the manageability, security and reliability that the solution offers, along with expanded management capabilities to other devices within our network.”[/quote]

In addition to bringing device and application management capabilities for the BlackBerry 10 handsets, the release of BES 10 also marks the retirement of RIM’s standalone mobile device management product and brand, Mobile Fusion. In future, Mobile Fusion functionality will be a part of BlackBerry Enterprise Service, available to BES customers.

[Mobile Syrup]

January 23, 2013
RIM’s Rebranded BlackBerry World Web Store Launched

RIM officially put the naming of the BlackBerry App World to sleep this morning. In its place is the new branding of “BlackBerry World.” This change was noted at BlackBerry Jam Americas back in November and will play a big part in the launch of BlackBerry 10. According to their company blog, BlackBerry World “reflects a shift in the type of things you can purchase from the store,” such as apps, with music (powered by 7Digital) and movies coming later. RIM promises that the new BlackBerry World will be your “one-stop shop for all of your mobile entertainment needs.”

The beleaguered manufacturer made the change in preparation for the launch of its new OS, BB 10, later this month. It recently announced that it had amassed 15,000 BB 10 app submissionsin just two days, and calls BlackBerry World “the one-stop shop for all of your mobile entertainment needs.”

Their website and mobile store have been redesigned. BlackBerry smartphone or PlayBook owners will see the new BlackBerry World changes arrive on their device “in the coming weeks.” RIM also notes that we can easily share links to the content via BBM, Facebook, Twitter, or you can use your NFC-enabled device and “simply tap smartphones together and invite your friends to download it.”

The change to RIM’s online store is rolling out now, and should be available to everyone in the next 24 hours. It will be rolled out to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BB smartphones in the coming weeks.

January 21, 2013
New Hands-On Video Of RIM’s BlackBerry Z10 Shows Up On YouTube, Shows Rear Camera Footage

RIM is set to officially unveil its BlackBerry 10 operating system and the devices that will first carry it on 30 January in several countries around the globe.

We’ve had more leaks than a woolen canoe when it comes to the new BlackBerry devices, but there has always been an air of mystique around certain aspects. Until now.

Austrian website Telekom-presse.at has completely blown the lid on the phone formerly known as the BlackBerry London or L-Series. It is now simply the BlackBerry Z10 (as rumoured a while back), and the site professes to have had one in its grasp long enough to give it a full review.

The specs for the phone are solid but not cutting-edge: a dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 SoC and 2GB of RAM drive a 4.2-inch 1280×768 display, and the phone has 16GB of storage that is expandable via a microSD card slot. The phone also has a USB and good-sized 2100mAh battery, weighs 4.4 ounces (125 grams), and measures roughly 5.07 by 2.56 by 0.31 inches (129 x 65 x 8mm), slightly larger in every dimension than an iPhone 5. The back of the device is covered by a lightly textured removable plastic cover.

A video from Telekom-Presse has been uploaded to YouTube today, this time showing off the camera quality. According to their report, the Z10 “camera takes very excellent images even in low light” and will sport “a resolution of 8MP and 3264 x 1836 pixels in 16:9 mode or 3264 x 2448 pixels in 4:3 mode. The front camera has 1.9 MPx and triggers with 1600 x 1200 or 1600 x 900 pixels on.”

The video is quick, only 34 seconds, but the quality is solid and so is the sound.

January 16, 2013
Developers Submit 15K BlackBerry 10 Apps In Less Than Two Days

Research In Motion reported that developers submitted 15,000 applications for its new BlackBerry 10 operating system during a virtual Community Port-A-Thon event running over the weekend. This is an impressive number and only confirms the interest in building apps for RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS.

“37.5 hours in, we hit 15,000 apps for this portathon,” BlackBerry Development Head Alec Saunders tweeted. “Feel like I’ve run a marathon.”

The Port-A-Thon, which kicked off at noon ET on Jan. 11, awarded developers $100 for each eligible mobile app or game approved for BB 10. Developers who submitted between five and 10 approved apps were also given a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device; in addition, the first 10 developers with 10 approved apps were given a paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe 2013, taking place in Amsterdam early next month.

Frank Boulben, RIM’s CMO, recently noted that “at launch we will have more than 70,000 apps available. RIM is 16 days away from officially unveiling BlackBerry 10 and the two new BB 10 smartphones.

[Fierce Mobile Content]

January 14, 2013
High Resolution Images Of BlackBerry X10 Smartphone Surface

Earlier we posted about some new BB10 photos of the Z10 which is the touch screen only BlackBerry due to be announced next month.

BlackBerry are known for their keyboards though and a BB10 handset is also in the making we believe to be called the X10. Some photos were posted recently of the said device but now there are even more photos with the X10 switched on to give you a better idea of what to expect.

The pictures clearly show the X10’s relatively tiny (in today’s world of 4″ and 5″ displays) display and QWERTY keyboard that extends from edge-to-edge.

The back of the phone also shows the camera lens and flash. Given that this is likely a prototype unit, we can excuse the rather cheap looking finish of this X10 pictured. Hopefully the production models will have better graining than what’s currently shown.

BB10 launches on 30 January — so a month to the day exactly. Many people think it’ll be make or break time for RIM, after its recent troubles. There was a rumour a while ago that RIM would have to split the company in half and sell off its networking business, or join forces with Microsoft. BB10 has already been delayed twice, so let’s hope 30 January is indeed the day it launches.

[N4BB]

December 31, 2012
Another Set Of BlackBerry Z10 Images Leaked

Research In Motion’s long awaited BlackBerry Z10 has popped up once again, showing off what an attractive handset it’s turning out to be. That all-black black candybar design and matted look really accentuate the company’s much anticipated OS, which is slated for a full unveil and release on Jan. 30 of next year.

The pics were posted online via a blog called “Fou6an” and have since been removed. So we’ll really only know if these images, along with all the others, are a true when RIM announces them.

The latest speculation has the BlackBerry Z10 offering a 4.2 inch screen with resolution of 768 x 1280 with a high pixel density of 356ppi, well above the Retina display on the Apple iPhone 5.

A dual-core 1.5GHz processor will be doing the heavy lifting and the U.S.models are expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 under the hood. 2GB of RAM is on board while there is 16GB of native storage that can be expanded using a hot swappable microSD slot.

The 8MP camera on back captures video in 1080p while there is a 2MP front-facing shooter. An 1800mAh cell powers the device. The Blackberry Z10 will have LTE connectivity and supports NFC.

December 30, 2012
RIM Reports Fiscal Q3 2013 Results: Revenue of $2.7 Billion And Lower Subscriber Numbers

BlackBerry maker RIM has announced its third quarter results for the three months ended December 1, 2012. The company reported the revenue of $2.7 billion with GAAP net income was of $14 million, or $0.03 per share diluted, including a $166 million favourable tax settlement. The cash increase was of approximately $600 million to $2.9 billion while the cash flow from operations was approximately $950 million.

The company plans to invest heavily in marketing in the coming quarter, with high expectations for its BlackBerry 10 launch on January 30th. The first handsets are planned for sometime in February, though specific dates are not yet known.

RIM subscriber base now sits at 79 million, down over a million from the previous quarter. Though specific numbers have not been provided, the net loss is likely due to continued purging of the BlackBerry platform in North America, with significant gains in Africa and the Middle East. The company sold 6.9 million smartphones and 255,000 PlayBooks this quarter; that’s 500,000 fewer smartphones and 125,000 more tablets compared to last quarter.

RIM cash balance has increased to $2.9 billion this quarter as it continues to iterate on its Cost Optimization and Resource Efficiency (“CORE”) program. Although the company expects another net loss in Q4, CEO Thorsten Heins is bullish on the BlackBerry 10 launch. “More than 150 carriers are currently completing technical acceptance programs for the first BlackBerry 10 products,” he said in a statement.

December 21, 2012
RIM CMO: We Will Have More Than 70,000 Apps At The Time Of BlackBerry 10 Launch

RIM CMO Frank Boulben recently sat down for an interview, explaining that he joined RIM for “what could be the greatest comeback in tech history.”, with the Blackberry 10. Some investors bolted a long time ago and declared the company cannot return the glory they once had. However, amidst all this turmoil, RIM and their 80 million subscribers are poised to embark on what will possibly be the most talked about mobile story of 2013.

Boulben also noted that part of the road to success for BlackBerry 10 is to educate the public on “what the device is capable of, that is a fundamental aspect.” In addition, an area of concern is the number of apps that will be available at launch. RIM has already shown off Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare, but has never communicated a solid number of how many we can expect, only that there’ll be thousands available. In the interview, Boulben stated that the Blackberry 10 will have a best in class browser, a fantastic multimedia experience and “at launch we will have more than 70,000 apps available.” That is promising.

All set for 30th January!

December 18, 2012