Inside BlackBerry » launch

First Impressions of BlackBerry 10 – Live from the BlackBerry Experience Fan Events

Melanie M — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:56:49 +0000

Yes, we took this photo on a new BlackBerry Z10!

We’re here live at the BlackBerry Experience Fan Events in New York City and Toronto celebrating all things BlackBerry 10. You know just how fantastic we think BlackBerry 10 is; now it’s time for you to tell us what you think! Whether you are on the ground in New York City or Toronto or you have checked it out through our video demos, we want to know your first impression.

So, what are you waiting for? Vote now below!

BlackBerry 10 Launch Event to be held on January 30th, 2013

Donny Halliwell — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:00:54 +0000

One of my favorite things about working as a community and blog manager for BlackBerry ® is getting to talk to you and provide updates on our products. Each day on our social channels fans, followers and readers ask, when will BlackBerry ® 10 launch? It is clear you’re excited to get your hands on it, and we definitely can’t wait to get it to you.

Today, I’m happy to report that Thorsten Heins, in a press release, announced that the BlackBerry 10 Launch event is to be held on January 30, 2013. The event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world, where details of the smartphones and their availability will be announced. Here’s the message that Thorsten passed along in the release.

“In building BlackBerry 10, we set out to create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs. Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today,” said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of Research In Motion. “Thanks to our strong partnerships with global carriers and a growing ecosystem of developers, we believe our customers will have the best experience possible with BlackBerry 10. We are looking forward to getting BlackBerry 10 in the hands of our customers around the world.”

As we’ve covered at events like BlackBerry World ™ and BlackBerry Jam Americas, BlackBerry 10 promises to offer exciting features like BlackBerry Flow, BlackBerry ® Hub, BlackBerry ® Balance ™, and the iconic and innovative BlackBerry Keyboard. Thanks to the diligent work from the dedicated BlackBerry developer community, it also will feature a large catalog of the leading applications from across the globe.

So what do you say, Team BlackBerry? Are you excited for BlackBerry 10? Keep it locked to the Inside BlackBerry blogs for the latest BlackBerry 10 updates and let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments below.

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 is here

BlackBerry — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:05:01 +0000

I’m excited to announce that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 software update officially launched worldwide today. In October, I spoke to you about some of the key features you could expect with the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. Today, I’m proud to tell you – we’ve delivered them.

As you will see, we’ve made updates and enhancements to some of the things you’ve told us you like the most. We’ve also brought you some new, highly anticipated features that you’ll find only on BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Let me tell you about my favorite BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features:

All-New Built-In Functionality

I have to say, the features I’m most excited about with this launch are built-in email, calendar and contacts. Unique to BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, you can now quickly manage all of your email accounts with a unified inbox, manage your schedule with new features like a People View of your day (which lets you quickly see everyone who is on your agenda for that day), and view your contacts as a social hub that contains information from popular social networks including Facebook®, Twitter®, and LinkedIn®.

Social Integration in Calendar & Contacts

The built in calendar is designed to pull in the information that matters to you from your social networks and make it available where and when you need it. Contact cards are dynamically populated with the latest real-time information from your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts to create a consolidated view of your contacts most recent updates.

BlackBerry Bridge

Another feature I’m excited for you to try is the new BlackBerry Bridge functionality that allows you to use your BlackBerry smartphone as a remote control for your PlayBook. I’ve used this feature both for presentations in the office, and at home with my PlayBook tablet connected to my television.

Explore tablet hardware
Using the tablet interface
BlackBerry Bridge
Personalization

Docs To Go
Print To Go
Calendar
Contacts

Video Player
Messages
Video Chat
Browsing the web

Open On

Although it’s hard to choose only four, I will say that Open On definitely makes my list of favorite BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features. This convenient functionality allows you to open your documents, photos and links from your BlackBerry smartphone onto your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with one click. I often use Open On to review documents (PowerPoint, Word, and PDF) that people send me on my BlackBerry smartphone. It’s a great way to combine the convenience of my BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and the big screen on my PlayBook tablet.

These are just a few of the reasons I’m excited about today’s launch, and they’re just some of the great features that PlayBook OS 2.0 has to offer. Following the 2012 Consumer Electronics show, we heard a lot of great feedback on PlayBook OS 2.0 with reviews from Team BlackBerry. I’d love to hear what you think now that the software update has officially launched.

This post on the BlackBerry Help blog will provide more information about how to get started with your new PlayBook OS 2.0 update.

- David J. Smith, SVP, Mobile Computing, Research In Motion