[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Mark Rigley, of QNX, and Thorsten Heins showed off the power of the BlackBerry platform with a the first BBM Video call from a phone to a car. On the line was none other than Vivek Bhardwaj who was jokingly taking a vacation, while at BlackBerry Live. Check out that video conference and the gorgeous QNX Bentley in the video above.

In a true demonstration of the power of mobile computing, they were able to update software on the vehicle wirelessly via a BlackBerry 10 smartphone. What do you think about the QNX Bentley? Are you excited for the future of mobile computing?

Today was an exciting day at the BlackBerry Live keynote in Orlando. We brought you all the action live as it happened here on the Inside BlackBerry blogs, and our social media properties. But there are a few awesome things that you may have missed – so we’ve taken the time to collect all the highlights here in one post! Talk about efficiency.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Thorsten Heins, kicked off the day reflecting on the year behind us and the years ahead. It’s been a long journey, but BlackBerry has built a world-class executive team who successfully brought BlackBerry 10 to market. If you’re familiar with the BlackBerry 10 experience, you already know that it’s a truly mobile experience that’s designed to be fluid and keep you moving while on the go. We’ve come a long way since he took this very stage last year and his message is clear.

“BlackBerry is firing on all cylinders!”

Thorsten took a few minutes to talk about our rapidly growing app ecosystem with BlackBerry World now containing 120,000 BlackBerry 10 applications! The news and announcements flowed throughout the event with an epic crescendo (more on that later). From the announcement of BlackBerry 10.1 availability on the BlackBerry Z10, bringing with it the Skype app to the all-touch smartphone, to the release of U.S. availability information for the highly-coveted BlackBerry Q10 smartphone – there was no doubt that we are committed to this platform and to our customers.

To round out the hardware announcements, Thorsten stood on a glowing red stage to unveil the fun, youthful new BlackBerry Q5 smartphone to be available in select markets around the world. The QWERTY keyboard phone, also running BlackBerry 10, was met with cheers from the crowd of attendees.

The focus quickly shifted to our strength in mobile computing as the QNX Bentley Continental show-car rolled onto the stage. Thorsten joined Mark Rigley, of QNX, in the passenger seat and delighted the crowd with a BBM Video call to Vivek Bhardwaj who was jokingly taking a much-needed (and well-deserved) vacation. They rounded off the demo by updating the car’s software wirelessly through a BlackBerry 10 smartphone – a true demonstration of the unique strength of the platform in machine-to-machine connectivity.

The show themes of power in the auto sector didn’t end there, we’d still see two more partners join the stage, with horsepower abound. Thorsten welcomed President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Johann Jungwirth, to talk about the future of the platform deployment in the auto industry. And, not to be out done, famed grand prix driver and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team member, Lewis Hamilton, rolled onto the stage with a stunning race car to introduce something very special.

Hamilton and Thorsten introduced a new way for brands, celebrities and others to connect with their fan base called BBM Channels. BBM Channels will bring the engagement power of the BBM platform to brands, something that will no doubt be a welcome way to connect with their user-base.

BlackBerry has been very effective over the past year in doing this – Frank Boulben , CMO at BlackBerry, took the stage at BlackBerry Live to discuss the year in BlackBerry marketing and the transformation of our brand in many different areas including social media. We have YOU to thank for that #TeamBlackBerry! He then welcomed Global Creative Director, BlackBerry – Alicia Keys to the stage to discuss the next phase of the Keep Moving projects and the BlackBerry Scholars program, a multi-level strategy to engage young women across the globe in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

The announcement that indisputably drew the biggest reaction from the audience was the introduction of plans to bring BBM to iOS and Android platforms later this year. The announcement made waves across the mobile community and definitely resonated with many. It’s a big step for our much-adored messaging platform that set the standard for mobile instant messaging with fast and reliable service and an added layer of engagement with delivered and read statuses.

The keynote was nothing short of a masterpiece for us here at BlackBerry, and it ended with the BlackBerry executive team taking the stage all at once for the first time. A wonderful photo-op and symbol of the strength of BlackBerry as we move to pioneer the future of mobile computing.

Did you tune in on the live stream or follow the action on our social channels? Which was your favorite moment from the BlackBerry Live 2013 keynote? Share it with us below in the comments.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the keynote at BlackBerry® Jam Americas, in San Jose, California, where Thorsten Heins clearly demonstrated that we are delivering on our vision for BlackBerry® 10 to a global audience of partners and developers.

Thanking our partners for bringing out the best in what BlackBerry is and what BlackBerry will be, Heins told attendees we’re at the start of a new era in mobile computing. “We are expanding beyond traditional mobile communications,” he said. “And we want to leverage what you do, and give you an expanded platform to build upon.”

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

BlackBerry 10 Ready for the Future

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

At the core of BlackBerry 10 is the idea of Flow. Flow lets you move easily from task to task. It lets you check in on your conversations, wherever they may be. It doesn’t get in your way. Gone are home buttons and the need to exit an app to open a new one. BlackBerry 10 is designed to make you more productive and more efficient. With BlackBerry 10, we’re expanding our leadership in communications, NFC, mobile social media, as well as collaboration in the enterprise.

Take our position in social communications as an example. BlackBerry Messenger, a platform used by 60 million people, is going to grow and flourish with BlackBerry 10. There are also over 60 million BlackBerry users on Facebook® and tens of millions using other social platforms. BlackBerry 10 will bring all these conversations together in the BlackBerry Hub allowing you to easily move from conversation to conversation with the swipe of one finger.

Driving Innovation Behind BlackBerry 10: You

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

After thousands of hours talking to you: our developers, our customers, it is clear what works, what frustrates you, and what we can do to make your mobile experience more enjoyable. You’ve told us you’re looking for something easier, more efficient – something that helps you get things done. We’ve listened.

“BlackBerry users will be able to do more, enjoy more and live more,” said Heins. Our customers are about action. “We have elegantly woven together mobile life by bringing together communications, the internet, people and events, multimedia, and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and even more, to give users immediate access to the information they need and want. And then we gave them the ability to take action on that information.”

Shortly after, Thorsten invited Vivek Bhardwaj from the product team to the stage to provide an in-depth demo of Flow. We caught up with the product team at the show and got a sneak peek for ourselves. Check out all the action in our post here.

Building Strong Momentum and Excitement

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Carriers and developers alike are excited about BlackBerry 10. Heins and the leadership team have been on tour around the globe, meeting with carriers and partners. He said the response has been outstanding.

“Developers, more than anybody, have embraced the power and potential of BlackBerry 10,” said Heins. “We are just a few short months away. BlackBerry 10 is on track… By showing the world how BlackBerry 10 unites elegant devices with a flowing user experience, that is based on a future-proof platform and strong alignment with carriers, we are making believers out of our partners.“

He continued “we understand that the BlackBerry platform was not always easy to develop for, but those days are gone. You told us what you needed, we listened and we made changes. You stuck with us and we thank you for your support and your enthusiasm. We will succeed together.“

Leadership and Commitment

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Since taking over as CEO, Heins knew there was a need for change. He’s made the decisions and taken the steps to build a strong future for BlackBerry. “Our amazing executive leadership team includes marketing, telecommunications and technology veterans from around the world,” he said. “These teams and all of the remarkable people at RIM are focused on the things that we – and we alone – do best. That focus on what we do best – will not change, ever.”

Thorsten closed by reflecting on our commitment and strength in mobile computing moving forward. “We must understand how the years ahead will see changes in the way we live and work that are no less significant than the changes we saw in the last decade. No one will argue that the changes in communications over the past years were in large part because of BlackBerry,” he said. “…We are convinced that the BlackBerry 10 platform will shape the next 10 years as profoundly and as positively as BlackBerry shaped the last 10. To do that, we are listening. We are focused. We are excited about our future. We are fighting. Join us.”

No doubt, the energy in this speech and in the room sets the tone for BlackBerry moving forward. Attendees were pumped up and excited about the future. Tell us what you think, Team BlackBerry. Are you ready, are you excited for BlackBerry 10? Let us know in the comments.

I caught up with Vivek just moments after he left the stage to get a feel for the energy and reactions from the audience. Check out footage from his live demo and my exclusive Inside BlackBerry interview in the videos below:

Live BlackBerry 10 Demo on Stage at BlackBerry Jam Americas Keynote

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Exclusive Backstage Interview on BlackBerry 10

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Next week we’re off to San Jose to cover all the action from BlackBerry® Jam Americas, our headline show of the year for developers. The show starts on Tuesday September 25, so be sure to make the Inside BlackBerry Blog your home for news from the ground. Also, don’t forget to check in with our friends over at the Inside BlackBerry Developer Blog and Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog to follow along with news for devs and the enterprise, respectively.

As usual, we’ll have all the action here from the keynote on Tuesday, some exclusive interviews, and maybe even a little taste of what we’ve been working on for BlackBerry® 10. Are you a developer interested in knowing more about the show? Swing by the Dev Blog for all the details, and check out this special message from Alec Saunders on why you should attend.

If you’re unable to make it to the event, tune in to the Live Webcast of the keynote, 8:30am-10:30am PDT on Tuesday September 25.

Are you going to BlackBerry Jam Americas, or will you be following along at home? Let us know in the comments, and remember that you can catch all the excitement here on the Inside BlackBerry Blog.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Perfect flow of information

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Incredibly fast keyboard

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Never miss a moment

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

There you have it! Which feature are you most excited for?

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

For those of us in the room, Thorsten explained that for BlackBerry 10, “it’s all about the flow.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Like what you see? Tell us below, and be sure to share your excitement on Twitter #BlackBerry10, #bbwc and Facebook.

Earlier today I sat in on the Day One general session at BlackBerry World™. To help celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the show, and since we’re in Orlando, the home of 3D, the keynote was conducted in 3D.

As you know, the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet comes preloaded with a ton of great apps – Facebook®, video chat, Kobo, Need for Speed, Tetris, Docs 2 Go, Podcasts, Slacker and more. In addition to all of these out-of-the-box apps, we already have thousands of BlackBerry PlayBook tablet apps in BlackBerry App World™, and today during the keynote, a number of new and exciting apps were showcased and will be coming soon – including Angry Birds!

We also had special guests join us in the keynote.

Adobe®

There are more than 3 million active Adobe developers, and we’ve done a lot of great things with Adobe to enable the development of high performance mobile apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. So we were really excited that Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems, and Danny Winokur, VP of the Flash Runtime at Adobe Systems, were able to join Mike Lazaridis on stage to talk about some new developments and run through a number of Adobe® AIR® app demos for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, including Readers Digest (an app developed using the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite), Facebook, and Adobe Connect.

As part of the keynote, Adobe announced that they are now shipping a major update of Creative Suite, Creative Suite 5.5, which includes the latest version of Flash Builder 4.5 that supports the development of apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This will be followed with Flex 4.5 in June, an open source framework that will include support for building mobile apps for BlackBerry® Tablet OS. We can’t wait to see all the apps that will be built with these tools for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Microsoft®

We also were joined today by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. RIM and Microsoft announced a partnership where Bing will be deeply integrated into the BlackBerry experience starting this holiday season. BlackBerry devices will use Bing as the default search provider in the browser, both here in North America and internationally.

Also effective today, Bing will be the preferred search and maps applications with regular, featured placement and promotion in the BlackBerry App World carousel. Microsoft showed how OCR camera search, voice search, streetside block view, photosynth panorama would work with the BlackBerry platform, and Blaise Aguera y Arcas from Microsoft also performed a number of demos including access to contextual info, local restaurant search and Bing deals search.

And to top it off? Mike Lazaridis closed the keynote by announcing that all BlackBerry World 2011 attendees will take home a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.