RIM Unveils BlackBerry 10, Its Big Turnaround Hope

Nerval's Lobster writes "Research In Motion has whipped the curtain back from BlackBerry 10. The revamped operating system is widely perceived as RIM's best chance at staying relevant in a smartphone market dominated by Google Android and Apple's iOS. Once a significant player in mobility, RIM watched its earnings and market-share crumble over the past few years. BlackBerry 10 abandons the longtime BlackBerry user interface, centered on grids of icons, in favor of one built on the same QNX technology that powers RIM's PlayBook tablet. The BlackBerry 10 home-screen offers 'live tiles' that dynamically refresh with updated information, and RIM is playing up how users can move between apps and alerts by swiping and flicking the screen. Other features include BlackBerry Balance, which divides the 'personal' and 'corporate' sides of the phone, as well as an updated BlackBerry Messenger. More details in the article." RIM also announced they are rebranding themselves as BlackBerry. If you like pictures, omfglearntoplay sent in an article that delivers. Gimmicks of the launch include hiring Alicia Keys as their "Global Creative Director."

Definitely a game changer

[ub3r n3u7r4l1st]

Their stock price says it all.

Last september/october it was around $6-$7 a share, now it is more than doubled.

Re:should have kept the keys

[c_sd_m]

They showed a keyboard version. They just haven't announced launch dates for it yet.

Re:Very nice..

[Scutter]

I haven't played with a BB10, but this is exactly how Palm WebOS behaves and it is, indeed, fantastic. Fat lot of good it did them when few developers would write apps for the platform.

Re:Oh really?

[Unknown1337]

The camera on a smartphone has evolved to having near quality of a professional camera. That said it is NOT a professional camera. When I take a picture with my phone I want it to capture the moment decently and for the size of a dime they go far beyond what anyone realistically needs. If I wanted amazing quality photos I would use a camera with proper optical zoom, etc. Basing a smart phone on 1 feature of which should not be primary is hardly advisable. That would be like not buying the perfect car because the horn sound isn't a perfect pitch. Sure you use it and some days more than others, but it is not core functionality and should be weighted as such.

Re:WTF is the point of BB Balance?

[otherniceman]

If your company is involved in litigation and you have work email coming in to your personal device, then under FRCP (if in the US) your personal phone could be imaged and examined for relevant documents. With balance their is a complete separation of work and home.

Re:Very nice..

[empties]

"The BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps supports Android 2.3.3 applications" and this should speed-up the number of available apps for BB. Android 2.3.3 features that aren't supported are listed here [blackberry.com].

Re:Oh really?

[eek_the_kat]

Resolution doesn't make up for the small lenses in any small camera. Ask any photographer. More Glass = Better Picture. It gives you better aperture and more light. No chips can make up for the lack of light in uber small lenses, point&shoots included. Therefore no smartphone will ever have the quality of a pro camera. Resolution sure, but those pixels will be garbage.

Re:Dominated by whom?

[blind biker]

same with Android. only samsung is making any money.

Will this fucking lie ever die, or does it have to be KILLED WITH FIRE?

However, LG posted an operating profit of Won107bn in the fourth quarter, up 25 per cent from a year earlier, on record smartphone sales of 8.6m units. The mobile phone business recorded a quarterly operating profit of Won56.3bn.

Source: LG Electronics 4th Quarter 2012 report [ft.com]

Re:Oh really?

[hjf]

Err, no
less glass = better picture.

that's why a prime lens (fixed focal distance) gives much better images than a zoom lens.

more glass = more tiny imperfections that amplify in the light's path.

of course, the convenience of zooms usually outweighs any gains in image quality (usually. not always.)

Re:WTF is the point of BB Balance?

[SpooForBrains]

Incorrect. If you add your corporate Exchange account to your iphone, you are giving your Exchange admins the ability to wipe your device. I know this because the it happened to a friend of mine - the IT function at her company apparently had a spazz attack and remote wiped ALL the phones.

iOS remote wipe from exchange [microsoft.com]

you miss the point....he means larger diameter

[Chirs]

"more glass" means a wider front lens with the ability to capture more light.

I have an 85mm F1.4 lens originally designed for 35mm. The front element is 72mm across. No matter how good the lens is on a phone (and some are *very* good) it won't be able to gather as much light as this lens.

Observations on BB10...

[erp_consultant]

The BB unveiling was streamed live on CNBC and I watched it. Some observations...

1) The CEO - Thorsten Heins - has absolutely zero charisma. I understand that English probably isn't his first language but he didn't look very comfortable during the presentation. Yeah, we're there to see the phone but getting someone with some presentation skills would have helped.
2) All that aside, they have done a very nice job on the phone. True multitasking. Personal and Business sandboxes. Full encryption. Nice screen. BBM now has a video client similar to Skype.
3) BBM video - was it just me or was the audio not working for the guy in London? The video looked fine but I don't recall hearing him say anything.
4) Apps - I'm tired of hearing about "apps" all time time. Look - no matter what phone you get you're going to have access to more apps than you can shake a stick at. Everyone (Apple, Android, Microsoft, Blackberry) has a collection of about 50 apps that most people want or need. The rest of it is a combination of copies of those 50, niche products, and utter shit. Everyone has Angry Birds, Skype, WhatsApp, Evernote, Dropbox, etc. Just get the phone you like and don't worry about the apps.
5) Good move releasing a phone with and without a physical keyboard. Having had a BB in the past I have to admit that having a physical keyboard is a nice feature. If you don't type on it that much you probably don't need it.
6) I think they said it was going to cost $149. That undercuts Apple and Samsung by $50.
7) No mention of memory, storage, processor, camera specs, etc. I think that was a mistake. That kind of stuff is important to a lot of people (well, me anyway). It would be nice to know if it has an SD card. How does it stack up against the iPhone or Galaxy 3? If they want people to switch they have to show why the BB is a better phone.

Overall it looks like a great phone and I hope they do well with it.

Re:Dominated by whom?

[Wookact]

LG credited demand for smartphones that run on faster "LTE" networks, which are taking off in South Korea, Japan and the United States. It sold 14.4 million mobile phones during the three months, with smartphone sales accounting for half of the volume. More than 70 percent of its mobile revenue came from smartphone sales.

There you go fanboi. If you were to google you could find all of the information you needed, instead of brow beating someone. http://news.yahoo.com/lg-electronics-post-profit-smartphone-sales-043621356.html [yahoo.com]

Look at that the darn URL even tells you you're wrong.