RIM releases new BlackBerry OS 10

[dieselraver]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/te...iled.html?_r=1

OTTAWA — Research in Motion unveiled Tuesday morning the new BlackBerry 10 phone and operating system that the company hopes will be its salvation, in a form that looked quite rough around the edges. Among the features missing on the prototype phones given to software developers was the ability to actually make phone calls or access wireless networks.
With the phones, which RIM said would not be sold to consumers until late this year, the company will attempt to regain market share lost to Apple’s iPhone and phones that use Google’s Android operating system. Although the new phone is clearly a work in progress, the company is handing out about 2,000 of what it calls “alpha” versions to developers attending a company-sponsored conference in Orlando, Fla.
While the remarkably unfinished state of the phones may add to RIM’s reputation for delivering products behind schedule and incomplete, Alec Saunders, the company’s vice president of developer relations, said it was necessary to get a “very, very stripped down” version out to developers now to avoid a more serious problem later.
“The reason why we’re doing this — which is unprecedented for us and it’s quite uncommon in the industry — is because we want to create a wave of application support behind the new BlackBerrys before we bring them to market,” Mr. Saunders said in an interview on Friday at a RIM office here where much of the new operating system was developed. “If we launch without applications, well, it will be slow.”
Apps have became an important selling point for smartphones since Apple opened its App Store. But current BlackBerry handsets have lagged well behind iPhones and Android phones in both the quantity and quality of apps available for them. The new BlackBerry 10 operating system will allow developers to create much more sophisticated BlackBerry apps, provided that RIM can persuade them that it is worth their while.
Outwardly, the prototype phones appear ready for sale even down to their packaging. They resemble a shrunken version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM’s tablet computer, which uses a variation of the new operating system. The phone’s 4.2-inch, high-resolution display is much larger than the 3.5-inch display of the current iPhone 4S but smaller than the largest Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note, which offers 5.3 inches. It is longer and wider than the iPhone to accommodate the larger display, but the matte black body of the prototype phone has about the same thickness.
The phone has two microphones on the bottom which, Mr. Saunders said, will enable it to improve voice quality on calls (when, of course, the software that will make calls possible becomes available later this year).
Noticeably absent is RIM’s signature keyboard. Indeed, there is not a single button on the face of the phone.
The incompleteness of the phone only becomes apparent when it is switched on. Most notably, it is still missing the on-screen interface that will be offered to consumers, which Mr. Saunders said developers would see this summer. A simplified version of the PlayBook’s user interface is currently standing in. The phone shown by Mr. Saunders contained very few apps as well.
Mr. Saunders said that the new phone has a dual-core processor and chips for improved graphics, although he declined to give their specifications. And, indeed, he acknowledged that developers would probably find the performance of the prototypes wanting.
“To be quite candid, this hardware is a little bit pokey,” he said adding that the prototypes will not offer the same battery life as the final version of the phones. “It’s not going to be super great, because all of the optimization that needs to be done in software in order to get the best power characteristics has not yet been done.”
RIM decided to release early versions of the phone, which are being specially made in a small factory near RIM’s head office in Waterloo, Ontario, because of its experience giving developers free PlayBooks, Mr. Saunders said. Since that program started in October, RIM has handed out about 17,000 tablets. Mr. Saunders said those giveaways, while costly, helped increase the number of PlayBook applications to about 20,000 during the last quarter from just 5,000 in the previous quarter.
Along with the phones, RIM will also be giving developers software tools for creating BlackBerry 10 apps in three different software formats.

Mike Abramsky, who recently left RBC Capital Markets where he covered RIM as an analyst for a decade, said that giving prototype phones to developers is probably a good idea, but will not guarantee success for the BlackBerry 10 phones.
“They’re not being stupid; they’re doing everything they can,” Mr. Abramsky said. “But this is about the challenges of being late to the game. They’re trying to run upstairs when the escalator is running in the other direction at an increasing pace.”
Like other analysts, Mr. Abramsky agreed with Mr. Saunders that having a full array of attractive apps will be important for the new phone.
The collapse of BlackBerry’s market share in the United States is not helping RIM attract or keep the interest of some developers.
Alex Quilici, the chief executive of YouMail, announced in April that his company would stop updating the BlackBerry version of its visual voice mail program because of a decline in interest, concentrating instead on iPhone and Android versions.
Mr. Quilici said he was in no hurry to move into BlackBerry 10. “If BB10 starts showing some real success, we’ll take a look,” he said.
But Refresh Mobile, a British company that builds apps and software for creating apps under the Mippin brand name, has, partly at RIM’s request, already started work on about 10 apps for the new operating system.
BlackBerry sales have not collapsed in Britain, a factor that played a role in Mippin’s continued interest, Nick Barnett, the company’s chief executive, acknowledged. But he said that BlackBerry 10 includes many attractive features, including integration with social media sites.
“It’s actually quite nice,” he said.
To date, Mr. Barnett said, Mippin’s clients, which are largely British publishers, have not expressed much interest in apps for BlackBerry 10 phones. But he added that this was not surprising.
“Until a device hits the dealers and somebody in the office has one, it’s not something they consider,” he said.

another article





http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-d...ices-40155131/

The Canadian mobile hardware maker released new software development kits, as well as the developer-only Dev Alpha test device, on Monday at the BlackBerry 10 Jam event in Orlando, Florida. The developer gathering runs alongside BlackBerry World.
The releases are a sign that RIM, which has been criticised in the past for its laggardly progress, is closing in on launching a BlackBerry 10-based handset. At the end of March, the company's head of developer relations, Alec Saunders, said, "It's tangible evidence of the company making progress to finally shipping the device."

The new BlackBerry 10 tools, available as a free download from the BlackBerry developer website, include support for RIM's QT-based Cascades user interface and for both native C++ and HTML5-powered applications. The tools are being released initially using the Eclipse IDE. However, a limited beta of a Visual Studio-based tool has been made available to gaming developers to support existing cross-platform gaming tools, RIM's director of app platform and tools product management, Tim Neil, said in a pre-briefing.
Neil noted that RIM will be "adding deep integration through the beta. We're starting with the UI framework. All the essentials, building blocks and storage are here".
While user interface development is done on the QML declarative framework, developers will also be able to use JavaScript to construct UIs for native applications. The C++ BlackBerry 10 Native SDK will include support for integration with the core BlackBerry personal information management (PIM) features and applications such as BlackBerry Messenger, as well as with new hardware options such as near-field communication (NFC).
In addition, the company delivered BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK. The new release of the WebWorks HTML5 programming environment has support for BlackBerry 10 and for native-like UI features via an open-source JavaScript UI library. Unlike earlier versions of WebWorks, which used Java and AIR wrappers for HTML code, the BlackBerry 10 release has a set of native JavaScript APIs, which are meant to improve performance and give developers more access to device features and capabilities.
Beyond this, RIM plans to add BlackBerry 10 user interface components to the popular JQuery Mobile JavaScript libraries. The toolsets released on Monday also include BlackBerry 10 SDKs for Adobe Air and Android apps.
Dev Alpha device

The Dev Alpha device provides a target for developers building for a BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Describing it as having "basic hardware and a basic OS, but with the BlackBerry 10 SDK", Neil said the prototype's OS and tools will be updated regularly before BlackBerry 10 is launched in late 2012.
A 4.2-inch device with a 1024 x 768 display, the Dev Alpha runs a pre-release version of the BlackBerry 10 OS with a similar look and feel to RIM's existing PlayBook platform. The company is distributing 2,000 of the devices to developers at its Orlando gathering.
Separately, RIM introduced the BlackBerry Music Gateway, an NFC-enabled device designed to play music stored on BlackBerry and other Bluetooth-capable hardware through home and car music systems.
The use of NFC technology simplifies device pairing, meaning people can use a simple tap to connect a BlackBerry and a Music Gateway. The Gateway supports A2DP and AVRCP Bleutooth profiles, and will ship in June, the company said.

[carguy69]

Best be havin' better maps. Maps on my blackberry are old and don't show newer areas.

I will consider this phone. Consider. Consider. Consider. Consider. Consider.

[ATL_Av8r]

Best be havin' better maps. Maps on my blackberry are old and don't show newer areas.

Like Texas....Louisiana.....California

[carguy69]

Like Texas....Louisiana.....California

lol that's how bad their maps are?

[TetsuoShima]

I really hope this succeeds otherwise Waterloo will be in a world of hurt they go under.

[The Ninja]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It is sad to see the company that made some of the best phones just a few years fall from grace. They also brought messaging phones to the masses with the first BB Pearl.

[TetsuoShima]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It is sad to see the company that made some of the best phones just a few years fall from grace. They also brought messaging phones to the masses with the first BB Pearl.

The problem now I think is mostly brand perception. I suspect that even if RIM produces a great phone that is miles ahead of any of its predecessors, then the public still probably won't recognize it that much because now bashing blackberry is the cool thing to do.

But the IT industry changes unbelievably fast so who knows, they need to enveil something as big as what BBM was when it first came out...I believe that's the only way to get a large portion of it's NA users back.

[ATL_Av8r]

They also brought messaging phones to the masses with the first BB Pearl.

Don't tell 1993 Nokia that

[rich!]

Don't tell 1993 Nokia that

i can finally get rid of my Advisor

[ValveCoverGasket]

... and not a single f_ck was given.

[NightTrain EX]

In other news, I'm having chicken for lunch.

[Harv]

Wow.

If this doesn't save them, nothing will.

[synthsis]

2012: an all touchscreen phone with apps? What!? that's crazy. oh wait, 2008 called

[TetsuoShima]

One thing I don't like already is how it looks very similar to the iphone. I never liked that design in the first place but from the picture in the 1st article it looks like a copy.

[ATL_Av8r]

Wow.

If this doesn't save them, nothing will.

It's asinine for them to consider the consumer market. They need to stick to their vendor-trapped corporate bread-and-butter customers and improve upon that. Thinking they're going to attract Sally Soccermom is just shooting themselves in the dick. Again

[TetsuoShima]

It's asinine for them to consider the consumer market. They need to stick to their vendor-trapped corporate bread-and-butter customers and improve upon that. Thinking they're going to attract Sally Soccermom is just shooting themselves in the dick. Again

I bet people thought the same way with Hyundai and Kia. All they need to do is provide the right features (in this case, apps) and make it really fast. But in RIM's case, even that probably won't help them that much...they need to provide something useful that no other phone on the market has. Only then will they gain credibility in NA back.

[ATL_Av8r]

they need to provide something useful that no other phone on the market has.

They have it.....it's called BES.

[synthsis]

They have it.....it's called BES.

but what about when RIM has their notorious worldwide blackouts? I can't believe anyone in the business world would use a device that essentially brings their communication to a standstill.

[v408w]

I really miss my 9700 bold. I had custom OS on it and it was awesome. Battery life was incredible.. 2-3 days. Now its like 12 hours on my Sensation. Need to buyan extended battery. Inb4 get iphone

Sent from my Sensation using Tapatalk 2

[Cousin Eddie]

[Blk95VR6]

i can finally get rid of my Advisor

Is that Pocsag, Golay, or Flex format supported Rich?


Mike

[rich!]

Flex!

[carguy69]

but what about when RIM has their notorious worldwide blackouts? I can't believe anyone in the business world would use a device that essentially brings their communication to a standstill.

during the black out all you had to do was log onto your email from the web browser. you could still text and make calls.

iphones have had their fair share of problems as well but people overlook that.

[Blk95VR6]

Flex!

HA! I used to have a program called "page capture" that would allow me to capture all paging activity, with phone numbers even, straight out of the airwaves. Alas, I have it no more. I saw some funny stuff while I had that program, some stuff that would rival any X-rated forum, and some rather interesting things as well. But remember, that's when two way pagers and Alphamates were all the rage...


Mike

[ATL_Av8r]

but what about when RIM has their notorious worldwide blackouts? I can't believe anyone in the business world would use a device that essentially brings their communication to a standstill.

That was preventable had they had adequate redundancy and a continuity plan worth a damn. I'm betting that some major "process re-engineering" went on after that.

[powderhound]

I heard on the radio this morning that one of the key features of the blackberry 10 platform was the ability to create up to a 4-panel split-screen for multi-tasking. I feel like 4 small viewports would maybe be overkill, but being able to split-screen is a pretty cool feature, even with just two separate viewports.

Give me an iphone with a slide out blackberry style keyboard and I would be pretty pumped.

[NightTrain EX]

I heard on the radio this morning that one of the key features of the blackberry 10 platform was the ability to create up to a 4-panel split-screen for multi-tasking. I feel like 4 small viewports would maybe be overkill, but being able to split-screen is a pretty cool feature, even with just two separate viewports.

Give me an iphone with a slide out blackberry style keyboard and I would be pretty pumped.

Ask and ye shall receive http://www.boxwave.com/iphone-4-case...wpdd/pkz-twvc/

[Numbersix]

So, by "releases", what this really means is RIM is unveiling the existince of an early beta of OS10 to the press in an attempt to reassure shareholders and enterprise customers that they still have product in the pipeline. They could have just released an SDK (which they did) instead of giving the press a very early preview of what a new device will look like.

[patrickvr6]

Is 10 the version of the OS or the number of people that still care?

[Numbersix]

RIM still has something like 77 million customers internationally, so they're doing fine.

[phryxis]

RIM still has something like 77 million customers internationally, so they're doing fine.

They have less than 6.3% market share, and it's falling. So, no, they aren't doing fine.

RIM is about 3 years too late in revamping their OS. They've already fallen out of relevancy, and to be honest it is interesting watching a company flounder as they grasp for lifelines.

Times change and you have to change with the change. Or you end up like RIM.

[patrickvr6]

RIM still has something like 77 million customers internationally, so they're doing fine.

They have missed earnings predictions for something like 5 quarters in a row and their stock lost 75% of it's value in the past year.

Doing fine might be a bit strong.

[dieselraver]

They have missed earnings predictions for something like 5 quarters in a row and their stock lost 75% of it's value in the past year.

Doing fine might be a bit strong.

Don't tell that to the fanbois. We may have another bb is king argument thread


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and my U S Robotics 14,400 baud modem on aol 2.5

[Shin Akuma]

they have less than 6.3% market share, and it's falling. So, no, they aren't doing fine.

Rim is about 3 years too late in revamping their os. They've already fallen out of relevancy, and to be honest it is interesting watching a company flounder as they grasp for lifelines.

Times change and you have to change with the change. Or you end up like Palm.

ftfy

[Chris Stack]

during the black out all you had to do was log onto your email from the web browser. you could still text and make calls.

iphones have had their fair share of problems as well but people overlook that.

IPhones dont have their reputation built on rock solid messaging services. If that's your core competency and main selling point and you eff it up...