BlackBerry to Shut Down Handset Business if Not Profitable Next Year: CEO

BlackBerry CEO John Chen during the Code Mobile Conference on Thursday hinted that the company might shutter its mobile handset business if it remains non-profitable next year.
The CEO of the Canadian smartphone maker said the company aims to sell 5 million smartphones in a year to achieve profitability, reported The Verge.
Chen at the Code Mobile conference said that BlackBerry Priv, company's first Android smartphone, might boost the company's handset business. The Android-powered Priv besides offering more apps to users would also be delivering privacy and security to users' content, something which Chen thinks is the key marketing mantra to attract users. "We want to bring the BlackBerry security knowhow to Android," he added. "The market wants privacy and security, and they also want apps." Samsung Knox is currently the closest competitor to Blackberry's security solutions, said Chen reported Engadget.
He however said that BB10 would still be an important part of the BlackBerry ecosystem as it is more secure than the security solutions the company is offering on Android-based Priv. In addition, to bring Priv in hands of more users, BlackBerry would also be offering the slider smartphone in carrier stores in the US. While 5 million unit sales might be a big deal for the Canadian smartphone maker, it is just a small fraction of what giants such as Samsung and Apple sell.
Chen showed-off BlackBerry Priv at the event and said the device would go on sale later this year. On asking if the company's target audience is the enterprise users or the general users, Chen said "I'm building a software business that focuses on endpoint security. My audience goes beyond just enterprise." The company last month posted a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company last month announced its acquisition of Good Technology for $425 million (roughly Rs. 2,809 crores). The deal is expected to bring some new clients to BlackBerry for its business services.

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Android-powered BlackBerry Priv officially confirmed

It is all official now, BlackBerry will be launching an Android-powered smartphone and it will be called Priv. This new information comes in an official company statement only hours after Evan Blass leaked the name online.

BlackBerry's statement proves the existence of the slider, previously named Venice. Ever since we caught a glimpse of the unit at MWC 2015, it has been shrouded in a lot of mystery and we had to only make do with speculations. CEO John Chen says he has kept his promise to only do an Android if it can reach the high security standards of the company:

Today, BlackBerry is announcing two new additions to its handheld device roadmap. First, the company will launch a flagship slider device, Priv, which will run on the Android operating system, bringing together the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform. In combination with BlackBerry's efforts to support Android for Work on the BES12 platform, the new device will offer best in class security for enterprise customers. BlackBerry expects the device to be available late in the calendar year in major markets in-store and online, and will release further details in the coming weeks.

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But, despite this new and exciting change of pace, BlackBerry also made it clear that it is not giving up on its BES12 platform and all it has accomplished and will keep building products and services upon it:

While the new device will provide a choice in OS to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which enables industry-leading security and productivity benefits. Second, the company will continue to develop and enhance the BlackBerry 10 operating system and is confirming plans to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements, with version 10.3.3 scheduled to be available in March 2016.

From what is known till now, the BlackBerry Priv is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 808 chipset, and come with 3GB of RAM. It is said to feature an 18MP rear camera with dual-LED flash, and run Android Lollipop.

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BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite Launched at Rs. 99,990

BlackBerry has expanded its premium smartphone range in India with the launch of the Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite. Priced at Rs. 99,990, the new premium Qwerty smartphone will be available to buy in the coming days. The move to launch its new premium smartphone now appears to be an attempt by BlackBerry to tap the upcoming festival season in the country.
The new premium Qwerty smartphone is a variant of the Porsche Design P'9983 smartphone that was launched last year.
Initially launched in May, the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite smartphone features "exclusive graphite-metallic coloured elements" while also sporting "hand-wrapped leather on the back door cover." The new Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite smartphone is the fourth smartphone launched in collaboration between BlackBerry and Porsche Design, with the others being - BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983, BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982, and BlackBerry Porsche P'9981.
For specifications, the Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite features identical innards as the Porsche Design P'9983 smartphone. It features a 3.1-inch touch screen with a resolution of 720x720 pixels and offers a pixel density of 330ppi. Under the hood, the handset is backed by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM, and 64GB inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB).
A 2100mAh battery powers the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite, and it sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. For connectivity options, it features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; LTE; FM radio; Micro-USB, and Micro-HDMI.
One of the highlight features of the Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite is the unique PIN feature - BlackBerry provides an exclusive Porsche Design PIN range to every consumer. The new premium smartphone from BlackBerry comes with such BlackBerry 10 features as BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Blend, and BlackBerry World (for downloading business and productivity apps).
The company in a press statement lists some of exclusive Porsche Design accessories that will be in the box including a premium stereo headset, an international charging kit, a polishing cloth, and a USB cable for high-speed data transfer.
Commenting on the launch, Hitesh Shah, Director - Sales and Distribution, at BlackBerry India said, "With the launch of the new P'9983 Graphite from BlackBerry, we bring a unique stylish smartphone combined with the superior productivity and ultimate security experience of BlackBerry 10 technology for our Indian consumers. This new smartphone is custom-built for power professionals aiming to make a style statement while not willing to compromise on effective communication and collaboration."

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Pakistan to Shut Down BlackBerry Services by December Over Security

The Pakistani government plans to shut down BlackBerry Ltd's secure messaging services by December 1 for "security reasons", the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Friday.
Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people, is plagued by militancy, criminal gangs and drug traffickers.
"PTA has issued directions to local mobile phone operators to close BlackBerry Enterprise Services from Nov. 30 on security reasons," an official with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said in a text message.
He asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of discussing communications and intelligence.
BlackBerry was not immediately available to comment.
A report released this week by British-based watchdog Privacy International said Pakistan's powerful military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was seeking to dramatically expand its ability to intercept communications.
BlackBerry encrypts data such as emails and its BlackBerry Messenger messages sent between a user's phone and public networks, ensuring greater privacy for users but making life harder for police and intelligence agencies.
The company has faced similar problems in the past in India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
The Privacy International report said the ISI had few legal checks on their surveillance.
"Pakistan's intelligence agencies have abused their communications surveillance powers, including by spying on opposition politicians and Supreme Court judges. Widespread Internet monitoring and censorship has also been used to target journalists, lawyers and activists," the report said.

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Leaked press render allegedly shows off a BlackBerry Android smartphone

It has been widely reported that BlackBerry is planning on launching two smartphones this year that run on Android operating system. New information claims that the Canadian company could actually be launching two smartphones this year, and we might have our first look at one of them.
 Prolific leakster Evan Blass aka @Evleaks reiterates that BlackBerry will launch a high-end slider smartphone codenamed ‘Venice’, and a more affordable variant codenamed ‘Prague’. The former will boast a touchscreen and a QWERTY keypad along with a 5.4-inch Quad-HD display, 18-megapixel rear camera and a Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor. The latter, on the other hand, is said to be a full touch smartphone based on the BlackBerry Z3.
The image shared by Blass though doesn’t fit any of the aforementioned smartphones. Instead it looks like the BlackBerry Passport with its three-row physical QWERTY keypad. What’s interesting though are the on-screen buttons at the top that look like the smartphone is running on Android Lollipop. At the moment, the photo is all that is available, and it isn’t clear what smartphone it could end up being.

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BlackBerry Messenger Update Brings New Private Chat Feature and More

BlackBerry on Friday started rolling out an update to its BBM apps for Android, BlackBerry 10, and iOS with a new Private Chat feature.
The latest BlackBerry Messenger build version 2.9.0.44 is currently available from Google Play India. The Canadian company also says the update to BBM with new features and improvements including Private Chat is also rolling out to the BlackBerry 10 and iOS apps, but while the updated BB10 app is available on BlackBerry World, the App Store still lists an older BBM app version that was last updated in April.
The BBM update primarily adds the Privacy and Control Subscription, which replaces the existing Timed and Retracted Messages Subscription. The most notable of the features offered in the subscription is Private Chat, which allows people to have a private chat without contact names or new message notification, and the chat also self-destructs after a short time. The company explains that while this is similar to Timed Messages, if a user takes a screenshot of the private conversation it cannot be attributed to either party, as there are no contact names. To remind users, screenshots can be taken of Timed Messages, but the sender gets a notification.
The previously offered Timed Messages or Retracted Messages features meant for specific chats still remain, while a new Edit Message feature has also been added. The Edit Message option will allow users to retract, change, and re-send the message. The Privacy and Control Subscription will be available at $0.99 (approximately Rs. 63) per month and the current Timed and Retracted Messages subscribers will be automatically upgraded to this bundle.
Apart from these common changes across the Android, BB10, and iOS apps, BlackBerry has also completely revamped the Android app with a Material Design makeover. It brings an all new look and introduces new colour theme to BBM. Some of the other additions in the update include the new hide unused sticker packs; Quote Message, which will allow to reference and reply to a previous message in the chat; tablet support, and landscape mode support. The new update also enables users to update their status from the feed. For iOS users, BlackBerry has also updated the way font sizes are rendered on iOS. On BlackBerry 10, the BBM app also gets the Quote Message feature, the ability to update status from the Feeds tab, and the ability to manage sticker collections.
In March, BlackBerry announced that its BBM app for Android touched the 100 million downloads or installs milestone since its launch on the platform in October 2013.

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BlackBerry's First Android Phone Rumoured To Come In August

A few days ago, there were rumours that the Blackberry's first Android-powered smartphone - codenamed Venice - might arrive in November. However, a new report is suggesting that the Venice might not run Android at all.

As per the report, the Canadian company's debut Android phone will instead be called Prague. Aimed at emerging markets, it will be a low-end, all-touch device, with form factor similar to that of the BlackBerry Z3 (shown in the image above). The handset is expected to be released in August this year, the report notes.
Needless to say, none of this has been officially confirmed by the company, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Via 1 | Via 2

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BlackBerry Said To Be Considering Making Android Smartphone

BlackBerry is considering equipping an upcoming smartphone with Google Inc.'s Android software for the first time, an acknowledgement that its revamped line of devices has failed to win mass appeal, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

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BlackBerry Leap to Launch in India at Rs. 21,490

The fact that BlackBerry is set to launch the Leap in India next week is widely known. If you've been waiting to find the launch price, well, your wait is over. NDTV Gadgets has learnt from its sources that the smartphone will be priced at Rs. 21,490.

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BlackBerry 10 Smartphones Available at a Discount to Existing BlackBerry Customers

BlackBerry India on Wednesday announced a limited period loyalty programme in partnership e-commerce website Infibeam.

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BlackBerry considering closing its Sweden operations, 100 jobs at stake

lackBerry has announced that it is mulling closing its offices in Sweden, a move that would put nearly 100 jobs at stake. The Canadian company is currently in discussions with the employees’ unions there, and a final decision in this regard will only be taken after the talks are over.

“At this time, we are considering the closure of our offices in Sweden. Since this may impact approximately 100 employees, we are now initiating consultations with the employees’ trade unions,” said a BlackBerry spokesperson.

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WhatsApp for BlackBerry 10 updated with voice calling feature

Less than a week after it was rolled out to iPhone users, the WhatsApp voice calling feature has been officially made available to all BlackBerry 10 users, too. The update is currently live, and is available through BlackBerry World.

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BlackBerry to Buy WatchDox to Bolster Data Security

BlackBerry Ltd said on Tuesday it is acquiring privately-held US tech company WatchDox, which makes software that secures files, in a bid to further bolster its security credentials.

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BlackBerry Passport now available for $549

Just over a month after brokerage firm Morgan Stanley said that the BlackBerry Passport and Classic aren't selling well, the Canadian company has started selling the unlocked version of the devices at discounted prices on its online store

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BBM retains more users than most other Android messaging apps

According to data from Quettra, which was reported by financial cable channel CNBC, BBM was second among 22 Android messaging and social apps tracked by Quettra for user retention. The data shows that BBM kept 93% of its users after 30 days. That is well above the average 43% retention rate after 30 days achieved by all of the apps in the study.

89% of BBM users remained loyal after 60 days. After 90 days, that figure was 82%. The only messaging app that outperformed BBM was Facebook. Of the 52 million Facebook users tracked by Quettra, a remarkable 98% of them were still using the app after 90 days. A much smaller 31% of the 19.4 million Twitter followers surveyed were still using the app 90 days after installing it. Of the 1.4 million Tumblr users followed by Quettra, only 14% were still using it after 90 days.

Quettra tracks app usage on 75 million Android phones around the world. That represents 6% of global users. The 22 messaging apps tracked for the study included Facebook, BBM, Instagram, WhatsApp, WeChat, Snapchat, Tumblr and Twitter.

BBM is available for the Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry platforms.

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Pre-orders now accepted in the U.K. for the BlackBerry Leap; handset is heading to the U.S. soon

The latest smartphone from BlackBerry is beginning its global rollout this week, starting with the U.K. where the BlackBerry Leap is now available for pre-orders via the ShopBlackBerry.com website. The handset will then be offered in Germany, France, the U.S., Canada, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and India. The device is packed with the latest and greatest 10.3.1 build of BlackBerry 10.

The BlackBerry Leap is equipped with a 5-inch screen carrying a resolution of 720 x 1280. That works out to a pixel density of 294ppi. Under the hood is a  dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 CPU with the Adreno 225 GPU crunching graphics. 2GB of RAM is inside along with 16GB of native storage. Those requiring additional storage can employ the 128GB capacity microSD slot. An 8MP camera is on back with a 2MP snapper adorning the front of the phone. BlackBerry says that the 2800mAh battery gives users 25 hours of heavy usage.

The BlackBerry Leap supports encryption and comes with built-in malware protection, and will let you wipe your handset remotely. The BlackBerry virtual QWERTY will correct your mistakes while allowing you to continue the flow of your typing. BlackBerry 10.3.1 brings you the virtual, voice activated BlackBerry Assistant. BlackBerry Blend allows you to view on your computer or tablet, messaging and other content that is on your phone. This is a great feature for the businessman in the field who uses his handset to take notes. And of course, BlackBerry World and the Amazon Appstore are stocked with apps for you to download and install on your Leap.

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