Catch his take on some of the best announcements and the showing of strength from the BlackBerry leadership team. Watch the brief video below for all the details:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Let us know if you have any questions for Jeff in the comments below. For those of you perplexed by the “tie you to a chair” reference — check out this video from early on in the BlackBerry 10 marketing days where Jeff and I show off some features in a fun way. Thanks for being a good sport, Jeff!

If you’re already a fan of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), we’ve got some exciting news designed to make it easier for you to connect with your entire mobile social network. BlackBerry plans to make BBM, our wildly popular mobile messaging service, available for the first time to iOS® and Android™ users this summer, (subject to approval by Google Play and the Apple App Store, as applicable). This means that, once available, you can welcome your friends and family using these other mobile platforms to connect over BBM and share in the Team BlackBerry love.

As we’ve chronicled on our Inside BlackBerry blog for some time now, BBM set the standard for mobile instant messaging with fast and reliable service and an added layer of engagement with delivered and read statuses. You’ve shared with us your stories about how BBM has kept you connected when it mattered most to you. Upon release of the multi-platform BBM service, you can broaden that real-time connection to friends and colleagues on other supported mobile platforms.

In the first version of multi-platform BBM, iOS and Android users are expected to be able to experience the following BBM features:

• The immediacy of BBM chats
• Multi-person chats
• Voice note sharing
• BlackBerry Groups, where BBM users are able to set up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar, photos, files and more

The team here at BlackBerry has definitely been working hard to bring the much-adored BBM experience to a wider group of mobile users. In a recent press release at BlackBerry Live 2013, Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry had this to say:

“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community.”

BBM Quick Facts:

• More than 60 million monthly active users
• More than 51 million daily active users who are connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day.
• BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps
• Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are

Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download in the Apple® App StoreSM and Google Play store. Additional details about system requirements and availability will be announced closer to the launch.

That’s some pretty big news, indeed. Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments below, who will be the first person from your extended network that you introduce to BBM?

We’ve briefly mentioned a few of our future plans for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 in the past, but today we’d like to share a preview of how secure enterprise mobility management is growing and evolving to meet the needs of businesses worldwide with Secure Work Space for iOS and Android devices. BlackBerry has and continues to be the only choice for enterprises with security, functionality, and collaborative mobile strategies in mind. As needs evolve and IT departments face an ever-growing variety of devices being brought into the workplace, we’re building our solutions to match your needs and priorities.

BlackBerry security capabilities for data-at-rest and data-in-transit will soon be extended to iOS and Android devices; both for smartphones and tablets. A separate and secure work space will hold corporate apps, work email, calendar, contacts, and more. Administrators can configure, secure, wipe, and interact with the Secure Work Space, while employees can enjoy a work and personal experience on a single device. Check out just a few of the benefits:

• Trusted BlackBerry security extended to iOS and Android
• No need for an expensive VPN infrastructure to secure data in transit
• Third party MDM providers and multiple vendors aren’t required – we’ve designed Secure Work Space to be managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 from a single console
• Deployment is straightforward, with all components on a single server
• Global and flexible technical support is available for all aspects of the solution, even further reducing the need for multiple IT and mobility vendors

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog »

Today Research In Motion® (RIM®) has launched the next-generation in enterprise mobile device management (MDM) – BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion. This tool acts as a central platform giving IT managers the ability to effectively and efficiently manage the following:

• BlackBerry® 7 (and previous) smartphones
• BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets (and BlackBerry® 10 smartphones in the future)
• As of today, tablets and smartphones running Android® and iOS®

I recently spoke with some enterprise customers during the BlackBerry® Innovation Forum in both Toronto and Atlanta about their thoughts on BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – clearly customers are excited. Beyond Mobile Fusion Studio and BlackBerry® Device Service – both of which we’ve discussed previously – many seem eager to deploy the Universal Device Service. Check out a video overview of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion below:

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog »