[ 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?

Last week our CEO, Thorsten Heins, spent some time in New York speaking with the media and carrier partners about BlackBerry® 10 – the devices, the platform and what both represent for the future of RIM®.

Here’s what a few of them had to say:

• The Financial Times’ Paul Taylor wrote, “The new handsets will aim to change the way people use smartphones by exploiting the multitasking capabilities of the new hardware and software and threading together applications rather than requiring users to stop using one app in order to open up another.”
• Hugo Miller of Bloomberg News noted that “BB10, which has an improved Web browser and the ability to jump between applications while they continue running, is the linchpin of RIM’s efforts to regain market share from Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Licensing the new software to other manufacturers may help bolster investors’ confidence in the operating system.”
• In an article by Will Connors of The Wall Street Journal, he wrote that “One carrier executive who has seen presentations of recent versions of the phone said he thinks it is a marked improvement over its existing devices and potentially gets the company more competitive with Android.” And in the same article, Mark Siegel from AT&T stated, “We value our relationship with RIM and look forward to working with them on existing and new products.”
• And with regard to the look and feel of the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, Joshua Topolsky from The Verge commented that, “The QWERTY device also has a touchscreen, but is styled in the classic vein of the Bold line. It’s a handsome phone.”

With BlackBerry® Jam Americas right around the corner, we’re ramping up for a lot more BlackBerry 10 content. Come back often for the latest and greatest.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

I must say, my favorite part of the BlackBerry® Booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of 2012 has to be the QNX concept car based on a Porsche 911 convertible running the QNX® Car™ 2 application platform. It integrates BlackBerry and QNX technology into a vehicle (and a Porsche no less) making for a compelling user experience beyond the smooth ride. I’ve had the chance to see how the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ can enhance law enforcement technology in the BlackBerry PlayBook Police Cruiser from earlier this year, but this Porsche is truly a new animal (not a Jaguar). To top it off, the Porsche won the CNET Best in Show award in the Auto Tech category! Check out the video above to see the technology up close and to hear from the QNX team on how the embedded applications and hardware work within the vehicle.

How would you envision BlackBerry and QNX technology integrating with your car? How would you use it? Share in the comments below.

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show is shaping up to be a fantastic event, and we’re excited to be a part of all of the action here in Las Vegas. For those attending, be sure to come by the BlackBerry booth where we’ll be showcasing a whole host of BlackBerry® software enhancements, including previews of the coming BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 software, the new BlackBerry® 7.1 OS update, NFC, and much more. You’ll have the chance to chat with BlackBerry experts, check out some of the new apps and games available for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and even take a peek at a Porsche embedded with QNX infotainment technology. Come and find the BlackBerry Booth during all show hours in South Hall 3, Booth #30326.

If you’re unable to make the trek to Vegas this year, remain calm; we’ll be keeping #TeamBlackBerry updated every day via our social channels. Tune in to stay informed:

• Inside BlackBerry Blog
• @BlackBerry on Twitter
• BlackBerry Facebook Community

Apps, Apps, and More Apps!

This year you’ll have a ton of opportunities to check out some of the amazing apps that are available for BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Discover new games, productivity tools, social and lifestyle must-have apps that will supercharge your BlackBerry device experience. Some of our favorites include:

• Angry Birds, QFolio for NASDAQ, Reuters, Citrix, Groupon, and Zinio

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

We’ll also be previewing many of the features of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, which offers an advanced messaging experience, deep integration of social relationships, powerful pairing functionality between BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets, improved mobile productivity, and of course, new apps and content – including support for the Android App Player within the OS. To learn more, check out the press release on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, and keep an eye on the Inside BlackBerry Blog where we’ll be showcasing a few videos and diving a little deeper on PlayBook OS 2.0 throughout the week.

Ask the Experts

We’ve set up special areas for you to meet with a variety of BlackBerry experts to get the scoop straight from the source; presentations, Q &A sessions, Tips and Tricks, and a whole lot more. Don’t miss this opportunity to mine nuggets of knowledge from some of the individuals who have been involved with the devices and software from their inception.

The energy levels are high in all corners as we kick off a great week in Las Vegas. Keep in the loop as we share all of the action right from the show floor.

What’s the first thing that you’ll be checking out in the BlackBerry booth at CES 2012? Share in the comments!

BlackBerry BBX, the next generation mobile platform for BlackBerry® smartphones and tablets, was introduced to developers during the General Session Keynote at BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 today. BBX combines the best of the BlackBerry platform and the best of the QNX platform to to connect people, devices, content and services.

Development environments supported by the BBX platform include HTML5 with BlackBerry® WebWorks™, Adobe® AIR®, Native C/C++, and the BlackBerry® Runtime for Android™ Apps. Apps built today for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet will also run on BBX.

Additionally, BBX will include the new BlackBerry Cascades UI Framework for advanced graphics, also demonstrated during the General Session Keynote. BBX will also extend the core BlackBerry DNA of collaboration, communication and immediacy, with familiar “Super App” capabilities such as deep integration between apps, always-on Push services, BlackBerry security, the BBM™ Social Platform and much, much more.

Specific details regarding BBX products and availability will be provided at a later date, so stay tuned for more information in future posts on the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog!

Here’s what the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog (IBBDB) learned.

IBBDB: Congratulations, Alec, and welcome to the RIM team.

Thank you. I’m thrilled to be here.

IBBDB: Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

I’ve been in technology for over 20 years now. I’m a University of Waterloo graduate (1987) and I’ve spent most of my time working with software developers in various roles throughout my career – first at Microsoft, and then as VP of marketing of QNX Software Systems – which is the embedded operating system company that created the OS for the next generation of BlackBerry devices. In 2002, I went to Versatel Networks, a company that built a platform that allowed software developers to create compelling voice applications that ran in telephone networks, and in 2003, I struck out on my own with a friend and mentor, Howard Thaw, to build a company called iotum inc., which we conceived, financed, staffed, and launched successfully. At the beginning of this year, I went to my board and asked them to find a new CEO. After eight years I wanted a change, and I felt the company needed a really strong sales oriented CEO. So I offered to help find a new CEO, and in June we brought in the new guy, and I started looking for something new. I went looking for something that would allow me to return to what I love doing most, and that is working with developers.

And of all the opportunities I looked at, RIM was the most exciting to me.

IBBDB: What makes it so exciting for you to join RIM?

I’ll take you back to the late 90’s for a second, my first encounter with BlackBerry, or at least, what would become BlackBerry. It was Las Vegas, CES, and there I was in the back of a cab trying to get a press release edited … on a RIM pager. It was cool. I’d never seen anything like it and the promise of being able to do email wirelessly was mind blowing. Pretty soon tons of people on the Microsoft corporate campus were carrying one. And over the last decade, since that time, RIM has expanded to 175 countries, and its products are distributed by over 600 carriers across the globe and all from that start with the RIM Inter@ctive Pager. Despite the intensely competitive market out there, RIM continues to pull down huge numbers: 150 million devices RIM has shipped to date, 70 million subscribers on RIM’s network today, over 1 billion app downloads (increasing at 120 million per month) since BlackBerry App World launched.

All of that adds up to a huge opportunity for our partners, for developers … There’s no reason why developers shouldn’t be able to make a great living just by serving BlackBerry customers. And my team’s job is to make it as attractive, easy and fun as possible for developers to build for the BlackBerry platform – smartphones and tablet alike.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

I am very pleased to announce today that we are moving to the next stage in our launch plans for the Native SDK for BlackBerry® Tablet OS (‘Native SDK’) tools targeted at game developers. As of today, developers from around the world can apply to participate in our closed beta program to get access to these new and exciting tools.

The Native SDK provides you with the ability to create rich and compelling games for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet using C/C++, the Standard Template Library (STL) and Open GL ES 1.1/2.0. The Native SDK includes a number of POSIX compliant libraries, as well as support for accelerometer, device orientation, and a variety of other functions to make porting your existing games as easy as possible. When you check out games like Need for Speed: Undercover or the new Dead Space from EA, what you are seeing is the Native SDK in action, providing the framework for EA to build incredible gaming experiences on our platform. We are incredibly excited to see what the broader developer community can do when provided with access to these tools.

The Native SDK includes the industry leading QNX® Momentics® Tool Suite, which is an Eclipse-based integrated development environment. QNX Momentics provides unparalleled memory profiling, application debugging, and memory usage statistics, giving you the tools you need to debug sophisticated programs, including hardware accelerated OpenGL applications. QNX Momentics is designed to provide you with a safe, secure, and powerful environment to quickly and efficiently build applications for the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

During the beta we will be providing periodic updates to QNX Momentics to include additional APIs to further enhance your games on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet platform.

To apply to participate in the closed beta, please fill out the form, and we will contact you with more information. Space is limited in this preview and space will be granted on a first come first served basis. We will work to expand the program in the coming weeks for anyone interested in C/C++ development for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet platform.

You may know that many attendees were surprised during the Adobe MAX keynote when Kevin Lynch of Adobe revealed that the tablet he was using was a BlackBerry PlayBook. You may have also seen RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis joining him soon afterward for a detailed BlackBerry PlayBook app demo.

What many of you might not know is that, owing to the ease-of-development of the BlackBerry Tablet OS and related tools, developers are already writing apps—and quickly. (Keep in mind that the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR has only been out since Monday!) Here’s a quick highlight of what developers are already building for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Read More at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

As you have likely heard, Mike Lazaridis introduced the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® Tablet OS yesterday during his keynote at BlackBerry DEVCON 2010. The BlackBerry Tablet OS – based on technology by QNX Software Systems – has been designed to deliver unparalleled performance in a tablet. In honor of this announcement, we have with us today Dan Dodge, co-founder and CEO of QNX Software Systems, to talk about the BlackBerry Tablet OS and the opportunities it opens up to app developers, web developers and publishers.

Read more about the BlackBerry Tablet OS at the BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »