NSA Shoots Off Best Argument For BlackBerry

Previously known as Research in Motion Ltd., Blackberry Ltd. is a Canadian telecommunication manufacturer. As its name indicates, the company is known all over the world as it is the maker of the once highly coveted BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. The company had once dominated the smartphone market, but its decline began when Apple Inc. introduced its smartphone in the market. Since then, the company’s struggle began. But, the condition the company is currently in is because of the introduction of the Google Operating System that paved way for other companies to enter the market and gain traction.

The demand for BlackBerry devices went on a decline and it lost its market share to competitors. However, the company introduced its new range of BlackBerry 10 smartphones in January of this year as an attempt to gain some of its lost ground. It has launched two new smartphones of this range so far, the Z10 and Q10 respectively. Nonetheless, these devices have failed to deliver what the company expected and the company might be considering a takeover offer now. However, even though financially the company had been on the rocks, there was one thing that it had going for it.

This was its commercial email service that had often been declared one of the most secure services in the market. The messaging functions of BlackBerry are heavily encrypted due to which the company has received several threats by different foreign governments regarding banning its services in their borders. The governments claimed that it was the demand of national security to make the messages legible to all the law enforcement agencies. The word ‘uncrackable’ and ‘BlackBerry’ tend to appear together, though. Now, it has come to light that the NSA might have managed to compromise this security. According to the latest reports, it is possible for the agency to tap into the data on Android devices, iPhones and BlackBerry as well.

The surveillance that has taken place on mobile phones has been quite restricted and is usually targeting individual users. However, there is wide-ranging vulnerable information and is said to include the content of location data, text messages and also contact details. Governments before have also had access to BlackBerry data. When Saudi Arabia had warned that it would be cutting off the devices that were within its jurisdiction, the company had relented and installed a server in the country that gave the government access to the communications of users.

Before that, the device maker had also agreed to hand over its encryption keys that could access its BlackBerry Enterprise services to India. However, in these cases, the company had cooperated with authorities willingly. But, from the latest reports, it is being gleaned that the NSA has managed to gain access to the private data of BlackBerry users without the knowledge of the manufacturer. No comment was made by a BlackBerry spokesperson, but it was stated that the platform had no backdoor. If this super-strong encryption of the company has indeed failed, BlackBerry could lose its faithful users as well.

BlackBerry Takes Fourth Place In The Smartphone Race

BlackBerry was once a force to be reckoned with in the smartphone market when there weren’t many players. However, in the past couple of years, BlackBerry has seen its market share erode with the introduction of the Android OS of Google Inc. Various other companies have entered the market since then and have gained a stable share. Things haven’t been looking up for the company. Nonetheless, not the one to give up, the Canadian smartphone maker came up with its own new line of smartphones.

BlackBerry had a lot of expectations with its new range of smartphones that it had launched according to the market demand. However, the phones did not garner much success and are still attempting to gain traction in the highly competitive and slowing down smartphone market. Currently, Apple and Samsung are the two firms that are leading this market, Apple with its iPhone and Samsung with its Galaxy range. BlackBerry, on the other hand, has been competing with the Windows Phone for the third place in the market.

But, in a bad turnaround of events for BlackBerry, it seems that Windows Phone has won that battle and the Canadian company has managed to cement the fourth position in the market. More and more data is indicating that the third place has been swapped by the Windows Phone. International Data Corporation (IDC), the research firm has provided this latest information, which indicates that in the second quarter of this year, a total of 6.8 million handsets were sold by the maker of BlackBerry. This is around 2.9% of the total smartphone sales. In comparison, last year, the company had had 4.9% market share and sold around 7.7 million handsets.

According to the firm, the level of BlackBerry sales had never come as low as the level they have reached since IDC had started keeping track of the sales of mobile phones. What’s worse is that the sales figure is a combination of the sales of the two smartphones that were supposed to revive the company; Z10 and Q10. As the sales of the company decline, Windows Phone seems to be climbing up. So far the year-on-year increase of the Windows Phone is about 77%. As compared to the 4.9 million headsets sold last year, this year the sales were about 8.7 million. The majority of the growth is because of the Nokia Lumia smartphones that contribute about 80% of the Windows Phone sales.

In the US, BlackBerry has managed to retain third position because it has around 4.4% market share. However, even this position seems to be in jeopardy. From March to June, the subscribership of BlackBerry decreased by 15%. Even more worrying is that with 3.1% market share, the Windows Phone is nipping at the heels of Blackberry, ready to take over the lead as soon as possible.

Report: BlackBerry Cuts Down Z10, Q10 Production by Half!

BlackBerry Ltd. is one of the players in the huge smartphone market that has taken the technology industry by a force. Previously known as Research in Motion Ltd, the company is based in Waterloo, Ontario and is the manufacturer of the BlackBerry smartphones. There was a time when these smartphones were highly coveted by patrons in the market, especially those looking for business phones. However, the launch of the iconic iPhone in 2007 seemed to be the bearer of bad news for the Canadian company. The iPhone marked the beginning of the smartphone era that spread far and wide and replaced regular mobile phones.

With the introduction of the Android Operating System of Google, more and more firms entered the smartphone market and ate up market share of other struggling companies. BlackBerry was one of those victims and it lost a lot of ground to the likes of Apple and Samsung, as did Nokia. Things seemed to be getting worse for the company and it started losing its loyal customer base. Therefore, it decided to delve into the smartphone market itself and introduced its make or break line in January of this year with the launch of the Z10. That’s when it also changed its name to represent its name.

However, the phone did not managed to make much impact in the market as there was too much competition. The Z10 had been a complete touch phone that had been launched to meet the demand of the market. The company then introduced another smartphone called the Q10 that was also based on its latest system. This was more like a typical BlackBerry phone, boasting the QWERTY keyboard that BlackBerry customers love. Although it fared well, but not well enough it seems. Recently, the company made the announcement of its quarterly results that caused its share price to plummet to dangerous levels.

This is due to the fact that the figures have completely missed out the market estimates and the predictions of the analysts, combined with the dismal reception of its smartphones. According to an analyst at Jeffries and Co, Peter Misek, the production of the Z10 and the Q10 has been reduced by half by the Canadian manufacturer. Previously, the company had been producing two million units of the smartphones, but the latest orders indicate that the company is planning to produce only 1 million units combined of both the smartphones.

The analyst also stated that he was surprised to learn that the company had made build plans in May despite the lackluster sales of its devices. That month, it had been rumored that the company had increased the production of the devices because of increased consumer demand. However, it is quite evident that the Blackberry Z10 and the Q10 aren’t good enough to turn the company’s fortunes around. The company is planning to launch a new OS7 device in various markets, especially in areas where the purchasing power of people doesn’t allow them to get the Z10 or Q10. The company is also working on a tablet that is expected in the next couple of months.

BlackBerry Armed For Battle of Smartphones

 

Chief Executive of BlackBerry Ltd, Thorsten Heins has no doubt about where the battle of smartphones will be waged for the upcoming years. He has spent the last 18 months trying to turn the floundering company around. According to the CEO, the most innovative and competitive market is the US because that’s where the real wars are being waged. The other location is the emerging markets where the battle seems to be intensifying over time. This opinion was expressed by Mr. Heins this week at the BlackBerry keynote conference. The first salvos were fired by the Waterloo-Ontario based company earlier this year for regaining its lost market share in the form of the Z10 and Q10 smartphones.

The second volley came this week in Orlando when the Q5 smartphone was revealed by BlackBerry. The company is hoping that this particular smartphone will appeal to the middle-class customers that exist in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The price point of the smartphone hasn’t been announced by the company as yet, but it is expected to be rolled out in all the emerging markets in July of this year. The aim of the company is to recapture the magic of the Curve. This was the company’s best-selling smartphone based on the old operating system.

With this smartphone, BlackBerry is taking on lower priced models of smartphones that are sold by other companies in the market. Heins explained that the company has to build a complete portfolio that completes all the price ranges that exist in the market. For now, the company doesn’t have any plans of launching the Q5 phone in North America, but plenty of attention was attracted by this budget-priced smartphone at the annual conference of the company in Orlando. White, red, pink and black versions of the Q5 were displayed at a booth in the conference trade.

The onlookers were curious about the phone and wished to feel, touch and fiddle with the smartphone. A BlackBerry retail carrier trainer, Matthew Clark said that they had been given a separate booth at the conference and they were the busiest people there. A slightly weaker processor is boasted by the Q5 and it has a less memory capacity. Unlike the eight megapixels camera on the Z10 and Q10, this model has a 5 megapixel camera and its casing is also cheaper than the other models.

Moreover, the phone is also lighter as it weighs only 120 grams as compared to the 139 gram of Q10. However, the most striking feature of the handset is the BlackBerry keyboard. The keyboard of the Q10 was different and resembled that of a guitar. In contrast, the keyboard boasted by Q5 is similar to the renowned keyboards of the BlackBerry Bold and Curve line of smartphones. It was explained by a BlackBerry employee that some of the roots of the previous operating system of the company had been incorporated in the new smartphone. Nonetheless, it has the new BlackBerry 10 operating system and has excited the public.

BlackBerry Bringing Back Keyboard

Previously known as Research in Motion Ltd, BlackBerry Ltd is the manufacturer of the BlackBerry line of smartphones. The company was regarded as a pioneer in the smartphone industry and its phones enjoyed immense popularity in the market. Nevertheless, with the introduction of other smartphones from companies like Samsung and Apple, BlackBerry phones lost their position in the market. After struggling for a few years, the company launched a touch-based smartphone in January of this year, which is in line with the consumer demand. The BlackBerry Z10 remained three years in the making. Nonetheless, the success of this launch is still uncertain for the company.

Regardless, the company is gearing up for another of its release of the year; the BlackBerry Q10, which is equipped with the keyboard and resembles the traditional design of the BlackBerry smartphones. This new device will be coming to Canada and UK first, just like the Z10 and will later be available in the US. The company announced that carriers in Canada will start selling the new device from 1st of May while it will be available for shipping in the UK as early as Friday. The company is banking on the success of its new line to regain its lost market share.

In order to remain true to its image, the Q10 has been released, which looks very much like BlackBerry Bold that was once highly coveted since its launch in 2009. However, the Bold series were the last of the line to run on the old operating system of the company. The Q10, as opposed to it, will be running on the operating system designed by the company, BlackBerry 10. Apart from that, the new device will also boast a classic physical keyboard, along with a small touch screen. The phone will be competing with other high-end devices in the market as it will be priced at $200 with a multiyear plan.

The company is counting on the keyboard-loving users to snap up this model as soon as it’s out on the market. The keyboard-equipped smartphones still have a big market and it is dominated by BlackBerry Ltd. The only problem is that the market is shrinking fast in face of competition from touch-based phones. The market of keyboard-based smartphones was 62.8 million units last year, according to IDC, which was a down from the 100.2 million units the year before that. BlackBerry Ltd currently has 47% of the market and shares it with Nokia and other Asian manufacturers.

The market of touch-based smartphones has jumped up to 650.1 million units form the 372 million units in 2011. BlackBerry only has 3% of this market. Nonetheless, the shift in market is understood by the Canadian smartphone maker, which is the reason they introduced the Z10 before the Q10. With the touchscreen device, the company had to make an extra push in terms of advertising, but it can count on the loyal customers who love its traditional and classic keyboard design of smartphones. However, the phone has to be in touch with the market in order to succeed.

BlackBerry Urges Investigation on Z10 Report!

BlackBerry Limited is planning to ask Ontario Securities Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate what it claims to be a misleading and fault report regarding the retail rates of the Canadian firm’s new Z10 smartphone. The report was published on Thursday by an institutional research and wealth management group of Boston known as Detwiler Fenton. BlackBerry shares declined with this report. However, the research firm has rejected this criticism. Nonetheless, this is a serious blow to the already struggling BlackBerry. Formerly known as Research in Motion Ltd, the company is relying on the Z10 and other smartphones in the BlackBerry 10 line for halting the precipitous decline the company has been going through.

The Canadian company is struggling to compete in the market, where devices of Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics have become a dominant force. The chief executive of the company, Thorsten Heins stated that the sales of the new Z10 smartphone were meeting the expectations and the data collected from the carrier and retail partners indicates that customers are also satisfied with the new device. He further added that the return rates were either below the forecast or meeting it, which is in accordance with the industry. He said that suggesting otherwise was willful manipulation or a complete misreading of data.

The CEO said that this conclusion was not based on fact and the company would be challenging it. The Chief Legal Officer of BlackBerry, Steve Zipperstein stated that the company and its shareholders were harmed by the false and misleading reports about the Z10 return rates in the United States. Therefore, he said, that the appropriate authorities were being consulted to start off an investigation. He asserted that having an opinion regarding the various competing products in the market is acceptable. However, deliberately purveying false statements for influencing the market is not acceptable at all.

Detwiler Fention, the research firm was not unnerved by the criticism and said that it trusts its research methodology and would welcome an investigation. The company has been consistently bearish regarding BlackBerry. The chief compliance officer and general counsel of the research group, Anne Buckley said that they weren’t the only one who was releasing reports regarding the customer response, sales and the return rates of the new smartphone of BlackBerry. She also clarified that neither any director or officer nor the research analyst held any financial interest in the BlackBerry maker.

In a report it was published by the research group that retail partners were listing a significant increase in the returns of the BlackBerry Z10 and in fact, the returns were increasing to a point that they were exceeding the sales of the new device. This phenomenon hasn’t been seen. It was reported by the analyst that customers were complaining because of the lack of apps, the map app and the user interface. Moreover, some customers also said that the phone tends to slow down. The firm said that the company was already facing a battle in luring customers and with the high rate of returns, it would be impossible for it to gain back market share.

BlackBerry 10 Operating System Updated By BlackBerry!

Formerly known as Research in Motion, BlackBerry Ltd. is a Canadian telecommunication and wireless equipment company. It has its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. A few years past, BlackBerry was the leader in the smartphone industry and its phones were highly coveted all across the globe. It enjoyed immense success and was one of the most successful companies of the world. However, in recent years, the company’s popularity saw a decline when competitors like Apple and Samsung entered the market. It lost its market share gradually and according to many analysts, the time of the company is over. Nonetheless, BlackBerry wasn’t ready to accept this and launched a new line of smartphones.

The company developed a new operating software for the new phones that would meet the requirements of users today because its previous OS was unable to do so. It was introduced with the new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 that were unveiled on January 30^th, 2013. Now, the company has introduced a software update for its BlackBerry 10 OS for the first time since it was released. Five main improvements have been made to the new OS by the new update. This includes better performance from third party apps, an extended battery life and additional camera features.

The company stated in a blog post that a month had elapsed since the unveiling of the new BlackBerry phones. Since then, the company had been keeping an eye on user feedback and had been working on an update for them. The enhancement in the performance of third party apps is one of the major updates that have been made. This has been done to make it easy for users to develop faster and better apps for the platform. The company has said that this update would mean that not only will the apps run smoothly, but some fresh apps will also be introduced that include WhatsApp.

These new applications are expected in March. There have also been some changes and improvements made in the features of Contacts, Calendar and Phone. In addition, there has also been a revision in the way the phone handles the conversations and the BlackBerry Hub log call feature has also been improved. Apart from that, the company has also added that users will find it easier to import contacts into their mobile phones via online sources. BlackBerry has also mentioned that fans of the new phones will be delighted to know that the camera features have also been optimized.

Even in low-light situations, users will be able to take better photos. Nevertheless, the most significant and important updates that have been made to the phone are the improvements in the battery life. The company has said that around 60 battery-saving improvements have been introduced. Another improvement includes the function of the browser in video playback. A notification will be sent to users as the software update becomes available. The users can also check manually to see when it’s available. The company said that it will be accessible in the coming few weeks. 

BlackBerry May Not Go To Japan!

Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian telecommunication corporation that is the manufacturer of the once-highly popular BlackBerry smartphones and tablet computer. The company was formerly known as Research in Motion Ltd, but has recently changed its name to BlackBerry so that it can be recognized as a universal brand. For years, BlackBerry remained on the top in the list of the most wanted and desired smartphones and the company were considered to be a pioneer in the expanding smartphone industry. However, with the introduction of the iPhone and other smartphones, the company had to undergo a major decline.

In the past few years, RIM bled out most of its market share as more and more people began to opt for other phones instead of the BlackBerry. In order to make a comeback, the company launched two new devices called the Z10 and the Q10 on 30^th January 2013. At the launch, the company also announced its name change. These phones are being viewed as the company’s last chance to make a comeback in the market and grapple for the share its losing gradually. So far, the release of the phones seems to be going well for the company.

However, it has announced that its new models will not be launched in Japan. BlackBerry phones have been launched outside the US in several key markets, but the company has heralded a pull-out from a booming smartphone market. It was reported by the Nikkei business daily that the new BlackBerry devices will not be released in Japan as the Canada-based company is being beaten by Apple. According to the report, the market share of BlackBerry in the Japanese market has undergone a slump. In the past it was somewhere around 5%, but has slowly declined to 3%. However, no time frame was provided by the paper.

The domestic shipments of smartphones in Japan amounted to around 14 million from April-September, which marked a 40% increase. However, the paper stated that BlackBerry shipments were just tens of thousands. The figures were given in paper without a source. The report further added that in the light of the falling share of the market, the company has deemed it too expensive to produce a Japanese language edition of the two BlackBerry devices that are based on the recent operating system. Even though it was BlackBerry that helped in establishing a culture of mobile users sticking to smartphones a decade back, now people have moved onto Android based and Apple phones.

A spokeswoman for BlackBerry was cited regarding this report by the Wall Street Journal and it was confirmed that a Japanese version of the two new devices will not be launched by the company. The company said that they are working on launching the new devices in key markets and they are also noticing a solid demand for the new devices in these markets. However, Amy McDowell, the spokeswoman said that Japan is not a major market so the company has no plans of launching the phones there. 

Blackberry 10 Coming With a Growth Framework, Says Heins

Thorsten Heins, RIM CEO, claims that RIM’s new Blackberry 10 is going to provide the company with a growth framework in next decade. It might drop in history with “see, I mentioned I have been sick” and “do not be silly an elephant at this range cannot be hit” as a few of the most popular last words.

Thorsten Heins has been exerting the hatchet at RIM and believes the company can go for at least $1 billion of savings.  Indeed RIM has saved $800 million already. However, his cunning strategy still relies on the latest smartphones that are going to be launched in January 2013 in order to bring back a huge number of customers who left the company for more advanced phones released in the last few years. Heins believes that the Blackberry 10’s advanced-level security is what business consumers cannot really ignore.

However, consumers are becoming good at leaving behind RIM.  In fact, customers are perhaps better at evading the mobile phone manufacturer than they are at noticing the wino beggar standing on the road and shouting. RIM failed the 2011 release of its tablet that was thought to be taking out the iPad. Though it was a good hardware, the software it had was rubbish and required many updates. RIM also delayed the BlackBerry 10 phones roll-out to the 2013’s first quarter, so as not to recap the mistakes that bounded the launch of PlayBook. But, in doing this, RIM did miss Christmas sales. 

Now there are doubts that Blackberry 10 may even be outdated comparing to the recent phones generation. True the phones do have a minute QWERTY keyboard famous with a lot of BlackBerry customers. Users skim a finger or thumb to move from one program to other and can snitch a glance at a new email while being on Internet or utilizing other programs, a multi-tasking capability that as per RIM, other devices lack.

The application library presented at release is not going to match the large number of applications on other devices. RIM had selected to focus on offering those applications required in various markets all over the world. It anticipates around 100,000 applications to be available at launch. Developers explain that Blackberry 10 is not bad; however, financial analysts come up with mixed opinions on their prospective reception in this competitive market.

Features of BlackBerry Bold 9650

Blackberry is really a trusted brand name for mobile phones. It has launched numerous business phones during a short time. Usually these mobile phones support web surfing, text messaging, online faxing, cellular telephone, push e-mail and many other great features.

BlackBerry launched its BlackBerry Bold 9650 during 2010. It is a superior 3rd generation (HSDPA 2100) phone that comprises technology associated with high speed. It's aesthetically designed and it is a BlackBerry Bold family member including other mobile phones for instance Bold 9700 & Bold 9000.

Its style and body look like Tour 9630, however it has newer and more effective features like optical monitor pad and contains a comparatively smaller sized dimensions. It's keypad is nearly just like Tour 9630 with similar color scheme as well as layout. A few features of this phone are given under:

Key Features:

· IM program including Text, Push E-mail, MMS, Email and Messengers.

· 3.Fifteen Megapixel Digital camera, with 2048x1536px and consists of LED expensive and auto-focus function. It also has a function of Picture stabilization.

· It's compatible with regard to Social Networking.

· It offers a BlackBerry® OS, which comprises HTML internet browser, built-in together with online games, Maps, Player of MP2/WMA/MP4/WMV, Document Publisher to modify documents such as word, PDF and so on.

· Its phonebook contains limitless entries as well as fields; we are able to record calls.

· Its internal memory is 512 MB, while it also supports microSD, up to Thirty-two GB having a 2 Gigabyte built in memory card.

· Its display is 2.4" TFT, 65K (480 by 360px)

· It has a QWERTY Keyboard along with Touch delicate visual monitor pad.

· BlackBerry Bold 9650 has 3rd generation HSDPA, Wi-Fi® 802.11 b/g Technologies.

· Facility for connecting to other products using the online connectivity includes Universal serial bus & Bluetooth® wireless online connectivity.