RIM Renamed as BlackBerry, Launched BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Z10 & Q10

BlackBerry 10

After years of Apple and Google grabbing its smartphone market share, BlackBerry yesterday launched a version of its phones that it hopes will bring it back. At an event in New York City, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, not only announced the much-delayed BlackBerry 10, the new phone software the company has been working on for the past two years, but that RIM would now officially be called BlackBerry. Also, the company made some huge announcements regarding its future. On Monday, Feb. 4 it will be changing its stock ticker symbol to BBRY.

Curious what all the hype is about? Here’s a quick look back at the event, what the company announced, and what we can expect in the future.

“We have been on a journey of transformation, to transform our business and our brand, but also one that will transform mobile communications to true mobile computing,” Heins said on stage. “Saying we have reinvented this company is simply not enough. Today is a new day in the history of BlackBerry.”

Blackberry 10

Don’t Call Us RIM

RIM officially changed its name to BlackBerry. To go along with the new name the company will update its ticker symbol from RIMM to BBRY, and it introduced a new tagline: “One brand, one promise.” The company will be showcasing the new name in its first Super Bowl ad ever this coming weekend.

BlackBerry 10′s New Features
BlackBerry 10 is a completely new version of the BlackBerry software. It doesn’t share a line of code with the previous version called BlackBerry 7 and was built completely for the touchscreen. The OS is quite similar to that of the iPhone or Android, as it is built around pages of apps but BlackBerry said the other platforms are now outdated and that the BlackBerry 10 will provide “differentiating” features.

“It’s a change in smartphone experience — the dominant paradigm, introduced six years ago, was great and revolutionary at the time,” BlackBerry’s Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben told ABC News in an interview. “But six years is a long time for a technology cycle, with a new user experience with a clear focus we have the opportunity to take market share back.”

BlackBerry Z10 phone doesn’t have a physical keyboard, but it has a software keyboard that BlackBerry has put a lot of time and effort into crafting. The software keyboard predicts words as you are typing, and you can swipe words into the keyboard. There is also the Hub, which brings in all your messages — email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn — into a universal inbox. You can swipe up and left to get to the Hub from any screen. In fact, the entire operating system is built around swiping; there’s no back button or physical home button.

BlackBerry also discussed a feature called BlackBerry Balance, which allows you to create different areas of the phone for work and your personal life. Additionally, it’s new BlackBerry Messenger will have voice and video chatting functionality, allowing users a way around using their minutes.

The camera app is one place where BB10 is going to stand out against the competition. A Time Shift feature allows you to scroll back in time on a particular part of a photo, adjusting it slightly. For instance, if a friend is blinking in a group shot, you can scroll back in time on just that friend’s face in the shot and change their expression to the moment before their eyes closed. A new feature called Story Maker lets you stitch together photos, videos and tunes together into a “story” you can share with friends.

Blackberry 10 – Z10 & Q10

There Are Two Devices – Z10 & Q10

There are currently two smartphones running BlackBerry 10: The Z10 and Q10. The Z10 is an all-touch handset with a similar look to the iPhone 5. BlackBerry 10 will first launch on the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. The phone has a 4.2-inch screen, a dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 2-megapixel camera on the front for video chatting.

While the Q10 has a traditional BlackBerry look with a physical keyboard.

All four major carriers in the United States have committed to carrying one or both of the handsets, however, no carrier has specified when. At the BlackBerry 10 launch event, Heins said he expected the Z10 to be available in March of this year in the U.S. and the Q10 to be available in April, as long as carrier testing goes according to plan.

Verizon announced pricing for the Z10 on its network: $199 with a new two-year contract. No other carrier announced pricing of any kind.

The BlackBerry Z10 will be available in Canada on Feb. 5 and in the U.K. early next month. In the U.S. it will be available in March. AT&T and Verizon have said they will carry one of the first phones with BlackBerry 10. According to RIM, the Z10 will be sold for a suggested retail price of $199 with a two-year contract; an unlocked version will be sold for $599.

 BlackBerry World and Apps 

Heins spent much of the presentation focusing on the big question people have had for the new software: How will it have the apps that have become so popular on the iPhone and Android phones?

“We will be the platform launching with the highest number of apps on day one,” Boulben said. The company has worked with software developers to stock its BlackBerry World store, which includes apps and music and movies, to have 70,000 apps out of the gate. RIM announced that popular apps like Facebook, Skype, Kindle, Twitter, Angry Birds, Evernote, Rdio, ESPN Scorecenter, Flixter and Cut the Rope will be in the store for consumers.

In addition to the apps available in the store today, BlackBerry also announced that Skype has committed to creating an application for the platform.

Alicia Keys?

At the end of the press conference, CEO Thorsten Heins announced that the company has appointed singer/songwriter Alicia Keys as its new Global Creative Director. Keys, who has previously spoken the praises of the iPhone, said she was happy to be back in an “exclusive relationship” with BlackBerry.

Keys says she is going to be working directly with developers and carriers on the platform, as well as with other artists.

 

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