playbook
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After Near-$1B Inventory Write-Down, BlackBerry Starts Selling Unlocked Smartphones Direct To U.S. Buyers
Well that was quick: Not long after T-Mobile announced it would stop carrying BlackBerry hardware in its retail stores (but continue selling them online), the Canadian smartphone maker has revealed a new direct selling model that it likely hopes will shore up that retail channel loss. BlackBerry now offers unlocked Q10 and Z10 smartphones via its own site, for $549.00 and $449.00 respectively. Read More
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BlackBerry CEO Confirms No BB10 Update For The Aging PlayBook Tablet
Here’s a Friday morning PSA for you BlackBerry PlayBook owners: if you were feverishly clutching your tablet in hopes that BlackBerry would finally update it with a shiny new OS, you can finally put them down. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins just confirmed during the company’s Q1 earnings call that the BlackBerry 10 won’t be coming to your aging doodad. Tough break, folks. Read More
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BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins Says Tablets “Not A Good Business Model,” Evidently Forgetting About iPad
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins seems to be among the most transparent executives in tech in terms of showing his hand regarding future product plans, which may be partly because he doesn’t have much to lose at this point. In an interview yesterday, he downplayed tablet computing in what looks to be an indicator that BlackBerry will drop the PlayBook, its own lame duck tablet and the first… Read More
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BlackBerry CEO Talks Testing Smartphone-Powered Notebooks and Tablets, Will Share More Info In May
BlackBerry is launching the Z10 today in the U.S., but it’s already looking ahead to what comes next, according to an interview between ABC’s Joanna Stern and BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins. The company is working on ways that BlackBerry software can power your laptop or tablet, too, and all from your smartphone. Heins sounds like he’s describing an Asus PadFone, and revealed… Read More
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Are You A Jerk Who Wants To Share Your Sexual Conquests? Sadly, There’s An App For That
Our own John Biggs could tell you that there were some terribly neat projects to be found at the PennApps Hackathon, but not every app there was… on the up-and-up, let’s say. Case in point: a group of young developers whipped up an iOS app called Playbook that lets people upload and rate pictures of their romantic conquests with their so-called “bros.” Really. Just let… Read More
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RIM Rolls PlayBook 2.1 Update, Improves BlackBerry Bridge, Data Security, And Android App Support
RIM is not done with the PlayBook. The company just announced a major update for its tablet. The software update will be available later today for the WiFi PlayBook and brings a host of significant improvements. With this update the tablet now sports SMS capabilities through BlackBerry Bridge, data encryption on personal accounts, and improved Android application support. Read More
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The 32GB 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook Is Now Available From Canadian Carriers For $550
RIM announced the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook earlier this month and it’s finally available from several Canadian carriers. The LTE tablet is slightly upgraded from its WiFi-only counterpart with a 1.5GHz CPU and 32GB storage option, but the main difference is the new LTE radio. The 7-inch PlayBook is a pretty little package and the operating system is finally a contender. The tablet… Read More
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RIM Reveals The 4G LTE PlayBook, Plans For A Canadian Debut On August 9 (Updated)
FCC filings, leaked roadmaps, and comments from RIM’s top brass all pointed to the existence of an LTE-capable BlackBerry PlayBook — the only question left was when the thing would finally launch. The answer, according to a new statement released by RIM, is very soon. RIM’s LTE PlayBook will launch in Canada on August 9 (with support from a handful of Canadian carriers)… Read More
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Developer Teaches RIM’s PlayBook A New Trick: How To Run iOS Apps
For all its (largely software-based) shortcomings, RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook really isn’t that bad a tablet, even if RIM ended up losing a fair bit of money on some of them. This past weekend, a user named BusinessCat2000 posted a video (see above) of his PlayBook running a slew of iOS apps on the CrackBerry forums. Jaws dropped, legality was questioned, advice was thrown around… Read More
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BlackBerry PlayBook Update Adds Improved Android Compatibility
The RIM PlayBook by just received a developers update that adds some interesting new Android functionality to RIM’s tablet. This new version now supports Android apps running in their own windows, improving compatibility with the general Android app universe. Read More
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LTE BlackBerry PlayBook Coming This Year, Says RIM CEO
RIM is keeping the PlayBook party going. While speaking at a BlackBerry World breakfast with RIM CEO Thorsten Heins stated the company plans to launch an LTE-enabled PlayBook by the end of the year. However, the CEO didn’t detail the projected release date, price or available wireless carrier. This is a smart move for RIM. Rather than spending the time and resources producing another… Read More
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RIM Officializes Stance Against Jailbreaking
Jailbreaking, a term that has come to encompass several practices but generally refers to a user obtaining root access on their device, is controversial in a strange way. Companies like Apple and Nintendo hate it, and most users don’t care about it. Yet it’s constantly in the news because it is, in fact, a philosophical conflict. RIM has posted an official response to the habit… Read More
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The Rightsizing Of RIM: 41 Megapixels Is Completely Meaningless, And So Is 500k Apps, Says RIM VP
It’s not nice to knock a company when it’s down, but I had a briefing earlier today in Barcelona with Alec Saunders, the head of developer relations at RIM, which — depending on whether you support RIM or not — either speaks to the company’s new, original attack on the market, or a sign of why it won’t succeed. The bottom line is that RIM, in a way, seems… Read More
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Finally: RIM Releases PlayBook 2.0 OS; Email, Android Support Included
By most accounts there aren’t very many people out there in the world using PlayBooks, but for those that are, or are considering the purchase of one, comes some good news: RIM has finally updated the OS to include two services that have been long discussed and much anticipated: integrated email support and Android app availability. The OS could serve to give the device a boost in… Read More
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The $199 PlayBook Returns For A Limited Time
Back in November, there was a run on PlayBooks when the price was briefly reduced to $199. For a tablet that started out with a premium price, the deal proved enticing to many buyers. And again at the beginning of January, with a slightly odd promotion pricing all models at $299. Well, they’re at it again: until the 11th, the PlayBook is priced to move: $199 for the 16GB version, $249… Read More
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Hands-On With RIM’s New BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 OS: Great, But Too Late?
When RIM first launched the BlackBerry PlayBook last spring, we were all rather shocked to find that RIM’s stand-out core services — secure messaging and productivity related apps like calendar and contacts — were… absent. The company promised an update to fix it, and after eight months said update has finally been unveiled here at CES. Read More
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BlackBerry PlayBook’s Next OS Plays To RIM’s Strengths: Email, Calendar, Productivity
CES generally isn’t RIM’s stomping ground, but the Canadian company is here in force. Chief among RIM’s news is details about the upcoming PlayBook refresh. Available for download next month, PlayBook 2.0, as RIM is calling it, seems to right many of the PlayBook’s wrongs. This is the feature set the tablet so badly needed at launch. Read More
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RIM’s New PlayBook Promo: All Models For $299
Well, if you were hoping to snag a BlackBerry PlayBook on the cheap, it looks like now’s the time to act. In what seems like a move born of desperation, all models of the PlayBook are now going for $299 on RIM’s online store. Previous PlayBook sales have set the beginning price point at $199 for the 16GB model, but this time you’ll be able to purchase a 64GB PlayBook for… Read More
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Retailers Offer Last Minute Holiday Price Breaks On RIM’s PlayBook
It’s clear that the BlackBerry PlayBook is a tough sell (unless you don’t have to pay for them), but that hasn’t stopped RIM and their retail partners from going nuts with PlayBook promotions. To wit: Best Buy, Staples, and Office Depot have dropped the prices of RIM’s tablet yet again, starting at $199 for the 16GB model. Read More
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5,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks Stolen From A Truck Stop
Wow! They must be breaking mirrors, opening umbrellas and walking under ladders over at RIM because this is starting to get unbelievable. A big rig, carrying around $1.7 million worth of BlackBerry PlayBooks, was stolen in Indiana. The PlayBook has been a rough product for the Waterloo-based company. While RIM did quite a bit right with the little tab, lack of native email and calendar… Read More
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