Selasa, 10 Juli 2012

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

10Tons Brings Azkend, Sparkle, & More to the BlackBerry PlayBook

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 01:24 AM PDT

Sparkle Azkend

I have to preface this one by saying that both Azkend and Sparkle come highly recommended by Anders Jeppsson (@ajeppsson) who heads gaming at RIM. He is the one you can thank for many of the awesome gaming titles on the BlackBerry PlayBook and he calls #10tons his number one casual . With that said 10Tons Ltd has released Azkend, Sparkle, Joining Hands, and Ironworm for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Let us know what you think of the games. You can find trailers and more pictures on the 10Tons Ltd website.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 10, 2012, 4:24 am. | 10Tons Brings Azkend, Sparkle, & More to the BlackBerry PlayBook | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry PlayBook Experience Center Opens Tomorrow in New York City

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:20 PM PDT

 PlayBook Experience

I love when RIM throws events in my hometown. Their latest is the BlackBerry PlayBook Experience Center in New York City. The new Experience Center opens its doors tomorrow and will run for 2 weeks. According to RIM it is designed to "raise awareness about the BlackBerry PlayBook by offering New Yorkers a hands-on experience." The experience center will be at 75 9th avenue on the corner of 15th street and 10th avenue in Chelsea Market.

RIM has a whole schedule of events with themed attractions, special guests, giveaways, app showcase, and more. They also have a special free accessories offer if you buy a PlayBook at the center. I am hoping RIM has a new PlayBook OS or some new features to show off at the event but we have not heard any word of that. On top of the Experience Center in Chelsea Market RIM will also be doing BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Demos at:

  • July 10-20 – Grand Central Terminal Main Entrance
  • July 10 – Times Square Pedestrian Walkway
  • July 11-14 – Bryant Park
  • July 15-18 – Union Square
  • July 19-20 – World Financial Center
  • July 21-23 – Columbus Circle

Check out all the details at www.meetplaybook.com.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 5:20 pm. | BlackBerry PlayBook Experience Center Opens Tomorrow in New York City | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry 10 January 2013 Device Launch Confirmed by RIM CEO

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:28 PM PDT

BBW12_GeneralSession_6

One of the items that we glossed over mentioning in our recap of CIO's interview with RIM's CEO Thorsten Heins turns out to be a key statement. Thanks to Terry for pointing out that Thorsten Heins confirmed that BlackBerry 10 devices will start their rollout in January of 2013. That cuts short many skeptics who worried that RIM was waiting until March 31st, 2013.

Specifically Heins was responding to when frustrated customers, shareholders, and users would have their faith restored in RIM. He stated that:

In January with the full touch device and the QWERTY coming, I think we will reinstall faith in RIM. That’s what we’re working on. This is what our objective is, and when I’ve talked to carriers about the delay of BlackBerry 10, the overwhelming feedback was, "First, thank you for letting us know in advance. Second, Q4 is mostly a prepaid quarter anyway, lot of noise coming, actually why don’t we focus on a Q1 [2013] launch and make this a major launch in Q1?" I think we have a lot of support there.

I have faith in the future. My team is working relentlessly to create that future.

Hopefully that means we will have a nice present from RIM within weeks of the new year. :)

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 3:28 pm. | BlackBerry 10 January 2013 Device Launch Confirmed by RIM CEO | 5 comments |


RIM’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, Carrys Rival Smartphones to Stay Educated

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:21 AM PDT

BlackBerry Bold 9900 iPhone 4S Samsung Galaxy S III

One of the questions I have been asked many times over the years is if RIM's employees actively test out other devices. RIM's CEO, Thorsten Heins, was quite frank about it in the recent interview with CIO.com. He mentioned that alongside his BlackBerry he does make a point of staying educated about the smartphone market and rivals. That means he always has a second device that is a competitor device so he knows where they stand. Currently Heins is carrying a Samsung Galaxy S III now though he has previously used an iPhone to understand touch devices. He also mentioned that he switches them up regularly.

Just to drive this point home I also make a point of carrying around a competitors device for comparison. (Currently also a Samsung Galaxy S III) Not doing so would be like sticking your head in the ground like a mindless fanboy. That is exactly what RIM does not need. They need their employees all the way up to the C suite able to see exactly what they need to implement in BlackBerry 10 to differentiate and succeed in the face of stiff competition. That means they need to be intimately familiar with their competitions strengths and weaknesses.

What do you think?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 1:21 pm. | RIM’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, Carrys Rival Smartphones to Stay Educated | 8 comments |


RIM CEO Promises "One-Two Punch" for BlackBerry 10 in Latest Interview

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:46 AM PDT

BBW12_GeneralSession_3

I always enjoy reading Al Sacco's interviews @CIO and his latest one with RIM's CEO, Thorsten Heins, does not disappoint. Sacco poses some really tough questions to RIM's CEO and elicits some great responses that really give you a feel for what RIM has in store for us and his understanding of the current situation.

Some of the highlights of the interview include:

  • BlackBerry 10 touch and keyboard launches will be one after another "kind of like a one-two punch"
  • Thorsten Heins makes a point of carrying competitor devices for research.
  • The number of devices RIM will offer is going to be dramatically reduced to focus on quality
  • BlackBerry 10 delay is not as dramatic as many people see it but Heins could not disclose details
  • RIM missed the boat on 4G in the US while focusing on global device rollout

Last but not least Heins had a strong message as to why BlackBerry 10 was delayed into the first quarter of 2013:

The delay of BlackBerry 10 is not because we added stuff to it. The delay is because our software groups were actually so successful in coding the various feature components and building blocks that when we put them into the main "trunk line," as we call it, when we wanted to build the first main release, we got overwhelmed by integration efforts. I had to make a decision. I could actually have kept the schedule, if I had made a sacrifice on quality and on platform stability. And I decided not to do that, because I need to make sure that when we deliver a BlackBerry, it is best quality.

Am I disappointed that we had to shift it into the first quarter? Yes, I am. But the point is, it was a decision between: Rush it out again, and then fix the quality stuff later; or bring it out with high quality. What I commit to the public out there is that when we ship BlackBerry 10, we will do it at high quality. That was the decision I made.

I highly recommend checking out the full Q&A interview at CIO.com

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 12:46 pm. | RIM CEO Promises "One-Two Punch" for BlackBerry 10 in Latest Interview | 12 comments |


Lucky 4G BlackBerry PlayBook Owners Already Getting an OS Update

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:24 AM PDT

PlayBook OS update 4G

It has been a little over a month since RIM's last PlayBook OS update and I have been itching for a new OS fix. We just learned from Stéphane @BB-Fr that some 4G BlackBerry PlayBooks are already getting OS 2.0.1.668. So far they have not seen anything new in terms of functionality but they will report back if they do. Its nice to see that RIM is pushing out updates to the 4G PlayBooks as a sign that they are nearing release soon. Hopefully we get some OS update love for the regular PlayBook soon.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 12:24 pm. | Lucky 4G BlackBerry PlayBook Owners Already Getting an OS Update | 5 comments |


Giveaway: 25 Copies Of Photo Studio Pro

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT


Earlier this week, the guys over at KvadGroup updated their highly powerful and useful application Photo Studio. To celebrate the update of their application and official launch of the Pro edition for the Playbook, we have on hand 25 copies of this marvelous application up for grabs. For features and how to win, continue reading after the break!

Here are the main features of Photo Studio Pro:

  • BBM Connected! Share your photos directly from Photo Studio.
  • Base photo operations: brightness, contrast, RGB color adjustment, hue, saturation and transform operations: resize, rotate and crop.
  • 115 unique effects in categories: 'Simple toning', 'Old Style', 'Vintage', 'Summer mood', 'Sketch', 'Lomo', 'Blur' and 'Art'.
  • Apply set of beautiful digital frames to your photos with packs: 'Christmas Frames 1', 'Christmas Frames 2' and 'Frames Pack 1', ‘Valentine’s Day Frames’, ‘Summer frames pack’.
  • PicFrames helps you combine multiple photos into amazing looking frames with 60 templates.
  • Color Splash editor: create stunning artwork with your photos by removing or changing colors! (Only available for touchscreen devices)
  • Share photos with Facebook, Twitter and Messages applications installed on BlackBerry.
  • Open API for developers: now you can integrate your application with Photo Studio.
  • Supported languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Russian and Dutch. Contact us if you want localization to your native language.
  • PRO version includes unlocked packs 'Effects Pack 1', 'Frames Pack 1', ‘Christmas Frames 1′, ‘Christmas Frames 2′, ‘Valentine’s Day Frames’, ‘Color Splash editor’, ‘Summer frames pack’ and PicFrames.

For your chance to win, just drop a comment in the bottom.  If you do not want to wait, you can get your copy in the BerryReview Store or BlackBerry AppWorld for $3.99.

Disclaimer: The team over at KvadGroup has kindly sponsored 25 copies for our BerryReview readers, and to have a chance at winning a copy, simply leave a comment below. Take note that all comments must be left before Friday, July 13th. You must also be registered and logged in to BerryReview when leaving comments for them to be included in the giveaway draw.

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Posted by Terrence T for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 12:00 pm. | Giveaway: 25 Copies Of Photo Studio Pro | 28 comments |


Montreal BlackBerry 10 Jam Adds More Seats & Joins International Startup Festival

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:56 AM PDT

BlackBerry 10 Jam Montreal

RIM announced the Montreal BlackBerry 10 Jam a bit back but they have now set the venue. On top of that they are running it in conjunction with the International Startup Festival which starts the evening of July 11 until July 13th and focuses on business startups. That includes mobility, social, and gaming  sectors with attendees from across the startup spectrum. As a sponsor of ISF RIM is offering a discounted pass to the festival which you can find out more about on their DevBlog though the BlackBerry 10 Jam passes remain free.

RIM also announced that due to overwhelming demand they have reopened registration and expanded the number of slots available for the BlackBerry 10 Jam in Montreal. Check out the details here to register.

Kudos to Aseem for pointing it out!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 10:56 am. | Montreal BlackBerry 10 Jam Adds More Seats & Joins International Startup Festival | Leave a comment |


Shout Out To All BlackBerry Fans from #BB10Jam Singapore!

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:05 AM PDT

4 hours ago, RIM concluded the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour for Singapore. I was lucky to be able to be there and had the chance to meet and chat with Sarim (Head of Developer Relations Asia Pacific) and Alec Saunders (VP of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Development). And they have a message for you guys.

Most of the details shared at the BlackBerry 10 Jam are the was the same as at Orlando, but what was additional was that we learnt that for the BlackBerry 10 Alpha Device, RIM is building it in Waterloo, with a limited quantity of 12,000 sets. 6,000 sets are allocated to the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour and the other 6,000 of it will be distributed in Summer when they launch their next round of events. No details on this yet, but we will let you guys know on this once we have the details.

Also, we learnt that they will be making another 12,000 of the final-product BlackBerry Developer Edition devices for developers whom have received the BlackBerry Dev Alpha who have submitted a qualifying application for the BB10 platform. It will come with a nice engraving at the back and colours that will never be seen on any BlackBerry devices. No idea what did this mean yet, but sounds rather exciting!

And now, Alec Saunders and Sarim have a message for everyone out here!

So here’s their promise! Anyone getting excited?

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Posted by Terrence T for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 10:05 am. | Shout Out To All BlackBerry Fans from #BB10Jam Singapore! | 10 comments |


Developers Sound Off From BlackBerry 10 Jam Toronto

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:59 AM PDT

BlackBerry 10 Jam Toronto

BlackBerry 10 Jam Toronto was one of RIM's biggest on the World Tour from what we heard. They shared some of the details on the DevBlog right after the event last month. Now RIM has posted two videos where developers sound off after attending the event. Check them out below:

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 9:59 am. | Developers Sound Off From BlackBerry 10 Jam Toronto | Leave a comment |


RIM CEO Thorsten Heins Answers Users’ Questions

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 05:48 AM PDT

BBW12_GeneralSession_2

In what I think we can all agree was a refreshing move of openness, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins answered ten questions from readers last Friday in The Globe and Mail. The questions were pointed and sometimes challenging, the answers were – by necessity – somewhat defensive. At times repeating what he has publicly stated before, Heins attempted to placate his frustrated customers and re-build confidence in the RIM brand.

Some of the more interesting questions he was asked dealt with RIM’s decision to delay the release of BlackBerry 10 until 2013. One (perhaps cynical) Alabaman small-business owner even asked about whether we should trust the new release date in light of RIM’s “constant delays”  in product launching.

Heins addressed the questions about the delay of the new product by appealing to the unique nature of BlackBerry 10. He stated that “BlackBery 10 is more than a smartphone” and said that the delay was necessary simply because of the many features that had to be integrated with each other.  Of course, the many features of the phone still don’t assure its timely Q1 2013 arrival. To the doubts on that timetable, Heins could do nothing but insist on its accuracy.

Heins also tried to correct some mistaken impressions that he thinks have taken ground of late:

One of the misconceptions about BlackBerry is that it's your parents' smartphone. BlackBerry has a loyal fan base of young people around the world. For example, in South Africa, BlackBerry was recently voted coolest brand…Obviously, we have work to do in North America, and we know that.

In response to other questions, Heins assured recent purchasers of BB 7 products that their devices will still be supported, explained why he thought BB 10′s OS is superior to that of Apple or Android, and tried to assure customers that RIM really is concerned with “the little things.”

The final question was, I thought, a very good one. It asked why RIM couldn’t “put out new handsets with the old BlackBerry 7 and allow them to be upgraded with the new operating system when it comes out.” This would give people much greater incentive to purchase BlackBerry products prior to the release of the BlackBerry 10.

Heins’ resposne:

BlackBerry 10 is more than just a new operating system. It's an entirely new platform. The software and the hardware are designed together and the operating system will interact with the hardware in ways that are very different from BlackBerry 7. This is part of what gives BlackBerry 10 its power…

Overall, this question answering was a very good move on the part of Thorsten Heins. With the public perception of RIM in its current state, it’s of vital importance for their executives to reach out and allay the concerns of their customer base. Because they realize that, they have a fighting chance.

Check out the full Q&A series at The Globe and Mail

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Posted by Shlomo for ©BerryReview, July 9, 2012, 8:48 am. | RIM CEO Thorsten Heins Answers Users’ Questions | 2 comments |


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