Research In Motion (RIM) President & CEO – Thorsten Heins – launched the new QNX-based BlackBerry 10 operating system and unveils the full-touchscreen Z10 and physical keyboard-equipped Q10 smartphones.
RIM is also renaming itself as BlackBerry from today.
Shareholders’ response to the launch inside. All images in this article were screen-grabbed from webcast of the event.
The first manifestation of the new BlackBerry 10 – the full-touchscreen Z10 (left) and physical keyboard-equipped Q10 (right).
The basic premise of the new “BlackBerry experience” is about extending connectivity to everything around users – connecting the phone to the car, sound system, healthcare system etc.
Availability of Z10
Jan 31: UK
Feb 5: Canada (C$149)
Feb 10: UAE
Feb 21?: Singapore
March: USA (pre-orders without pricing from today)
* Q10 may be 1 month behind.
Three overarching innovations to enable this are the BlackBerry Hub, Peek and Flow.
Hub is akin to the People Hub of Microsoft Windows Phone operating system and consolidates all people related and social network information and updates in one place.
What does the online fashion/lifestyle retailer and the enterprise secure smartphone of choice have in common?
BlackBerry and ZALORA join hands to present a “Fashionably Bold” event.
A strong sense of style and the gut to make Bold fashion statements with their products, which is why both enjoy a growing following among the young and trendy in the region. And BBM is the buzzword that keeps them connected.
(L-R) Valerie Lim, mentor to the models with stylist bloggers Irene of Moonberry, Vanessa of Wardrobe Trends Fashion, Sophie Willocq.
BlackBerry and ZALORA co-hosted a stylish event in Singapore to put forth a fashion show showcasing a unique set of looks developed by leading online fashion bloggers and inspired by BlackBerry’s Bold line of smartphones.
Promotion for fans
To celebrate the partnership between BlackBerry and ZALORA, anyone purchasing any BlackBerry smartphone through the various authorized partners, will receive a 15% discount from ZALORA Singapore, the island’s one-stop online shopping destination across fashion, beauty and home & décor.
Charles Dufourcq – Country Director for RIM, Singapore – looking fashionably bold.
“The individual styles inspired by the BlackBerry Bold portfolio truly showcase the diversity of the many collections on ZALORA,” said Terence Pang, Head of Marketing for ZALORA Singapore.
A vibrant and thriving night out
Local standup comedian, Kumar, being fashionably bold.
I popped in at the event (at 72-13 Mohammed Sultan Road) in the evening and the turnout was fantastic, thronging with both BlackBerry and ZALORA fans.
Everybody had a great laugh with local stand-up comedian Kumar’s act.
The fashion show was refreshing because the eight female and male models were not pros but lucky winners who had been chosen from an online contest earlier, based on the best poses that they had sent in.
They received their very own photo-shoot, makeover and runway tips from Miss Singapore Universe 2011, Ms Valerie Lim, who also choreographed the Fashionably Bold show.
Totally Fashionably Bold!
“Fashionably Bold showcases the popularity of the BlackBerry Bold portfolio in Singapore, while celebrating the lifestyle statement that both our black and white smartphones make. It is a celebration of functionality coupled with a unique sense of style that BlackBerry smartphones have,” said Charles Dufourcq, Country Director for RIM, Singapore.
Here’s a selection of interesting tech events happening this week (14-20 October 2012). It is not an exhaustive list and represents only a sampling of events that gives a taste of the tech pulse in Singapore.
What are some of the more interesting tech events happening in Singapore?
This week sees the continuation of buzz building up to the General Availability of Windows 8. Intel, Samsung, HP and Sony have already showcased their respective offerings. Next week, Microsoft will be releasing Windows 8 on 26 October 2012.
Event listing on tech4tea.com
You can see this selection of events in the right sidebar.
Event organisers can submit your events for listing to johntan@tech4tea.com – but there are no promises that your event will be featured.
Audiophiles can look forward to the launch of Swiss Piega handmade speakers by Atlas Singapore, while photographers finally see the Lytro light field camera officially launched in Singapore.
The much anticipated Samsung GALAXY Note II and GALAXY Camera will be launched at the Ritz-Carlton; while BlackBerry and ZALORA join hands to present a fashion show inspired by the BlackBerry Bold smartphones.
On the enterprise side, Progress Software and NCS are talks about growth in big data and the realtime analytic industries, while DPM Teo Chee Hean opens Techventure 2012.
Finally, wrap up the week with a bit of fun and learning at Canon Imaging Academy, shooting out-and-about Singapore and learning about shooting stock photos along the way.
15 October (Sunday)
BlackBerry JamHack 2012
5-city, 3-day, 40-hour hackathon organised by 5 developer groups & communities in Asia Pacific, supported by RIM.
Culminates in App Pitches on the last day on 15 Oct.
Venue: Delhi, Bangalore, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila
15 October (Monday)
Realtime analytics for business
Progress Software and NCS talks about growth in big data and realtime analytic industries.
16 October (Tuesday)
Lytro launch
Official launch of the Lytro light field camera in Singapore.
Venue: Clarke Quay
17 October (Wednesday)
Samsung launch of GALAXY Note II and GALAXY Camera
Launch of Samsung’s latest products in Singapore.
Venue: Ritz-Carlton
17-18 October (Wednesday to Thursday)
Techventure 2012
This year’s theme, “Äsia.Innovation.Renaisance”, highlights the economic transformation in Asia and opportunities for businesses from technological innovation.
Venue: Marina Bay Sands
18 October (Thursday)
Fashionably Bold
BlackBerry and ZALORA collaborates on a fashion show inspired by the BlackBerry Bold smartphones.
Venue: 72-13 Mohammed Sultan Road
19 October (Friday)
Piega launch by Atlas
Swiss Piega launching a range of exclusive handmade speakers in Singapore.
Venue: Atlas Showroom @ Windstedt
20-22 October (Saturday to Monday)
Singapore iStockalypse
iStockphoto and Getty Images are partnering with Canon Singapore to organise this 3-day photo-workshop to shoot Singapore.
Theory on Saturday, followed by portfolio review on Sunday and out-and-about shooting on Monday.
RIM has announced the details to two initiatives to attract developers to the BlackBerry 10 platform: the US$10k Developer Commitment initiative and Built for BlackBerry initiatives.
RIM BlackBerry 10 US$10K Developer Commitment.
First announced during BlackBerry 10 Jam Singapore, the US$10,000 Developer Commitment initiative is offered to developers that meet the following criteria.
US$10K Developer Commitment
Developers must certify their apps through the Built for BlackBerry program and submit them prior to the launch of BlackBerry 10.
RIM Built for BlackBerry developer initiative.
Over the period of 12 months from launch of BlackBerry 10, if the app earns at least US$1,000 on its own but less than US$10,000, RIM will pay the developer the difference between the revenue earned and US$10,000.
Developers are only eligible to receive this one time. In the event where the app earns less than US$1,000 or more than US$10,000, the app is not qualified to be part of the program.
Built for BlackBerry
The Built for BlackBerry program will be initiated this September and allow developers to submit their BlackBerry 10 apps for third-party review.
From productivity apps to lifestyle apps to games, developers will be able to submit their BlackBerry 10 WebWorks or BlackBerry 10 Native app to the Built for BlackBerry program, and when cleared through the review, will receive the “Built for BlackBerry” quality status.
The “Built for BlackBerry” designation will convey to customers the added level of evaluation an app has gone through and that it meets RIM’s high standards for quality and performance.Developers will be able to display this title on their website, on the BlackBerry App World storefront, and anywhere else they market their apps.It is a means for professional developers to differentiate their apps on BlackBerry App World.
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is now available in Pure White in Singapore. RRP S$608 (incl. GST). SingTel sells it from today. M1 and StarHub from 7 September.
The Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9790 is available in Singapore TODAY!
Powered by BlackBerry OS 7.1, the Bold 9790 Pure White has both a touch screen and BlackBerry’s popular QWERTY keyboard. It also has a precise optical trackpad.
Available from SingTel, M1 and StarHub.
The smartphone comes with 8GB memory and card slot for up to 32GB of additional storage..
BlackBerry 7.1 OS incorporates a new feature called BlackBerry Tag.
By simply tapping the NFC enabled BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone against another NFC enabled BlackBerry smartphone, customers can instantly invite a friend to BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)
Or exchange contact information, documents, URLs, photos, and other multimedia content.
They can also pair their BlackBerry smartphone with an NFC enabled Bluetooth device.
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 can also boost a customer¹s productivity with Mobile Hotspot, which allows them to share their cellular connection with up to 5 Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including laptops and tablets.
RIM has unveiled the new 4G LTE PlayBook. Available in Canada on 9 August with 32GB and a more powerful 1.5GHz dual-core CPU. Prices TBA.
The new PlayBook comes with much needed cellular connectivity.
The 4G LTE version of the BlackBerry PlayBook will make its debut in Canada next Thursday, with availability in other countries in the following months.
Cellular connectivity
LTE
700, 1700 MHz
HSPA+
100, 1900, 1700, 800, 900 MHz
Given the incompatibility of 4G networks in different countries, it could be some time before a version compatible with your country becomes available.
In the meantime, the new PlayBook will at least bring much needed cellular connectivity (on 3G) for users from countries which do not have a 4G network yet (or who have incompatible networks).
Available in Canada on 9 Aug.
Research In Motion (RIM) had announced earlier that the PlayBook will eventually run on BlackBerry 10 OS.
So the 4G LTE should be upgradeable from the current BlackBerry Tablet OS when BB10 becomes available next year.
Apart from the 4G LTE connectivity and CPU speed-up, the hardware for the new PlayBook remains the same – which is a testimony of how advanced it was to begin with when the original PlayBook was launched last year.
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is RIM’s next-generation mobile device management solution for Government and Business Customers in Singapore.
It promises to be a secure, reliable, and scalable solution to easily manage BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices.
From left, Ian Gardner, Director, Enterprise Sales, RIM; and Charles Dufourcq, Director, Singapore, RIM sharing the advantages of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion consolidates the management of smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry OS (which includes BlackBerry PlayBook and future BlackBerry 10 devices) as well as Android and iOS.
“For businesses and government, managing a mix of mobile devices on any scale is chaotic. Organizations face pressure to allow employees to bring their own devices into the workplace,” said Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at Research In Motion.
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion provides a single, unified, web–based console to manage the wide range of mobile devices that the employees of an organisation may bring and use for work.
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion integrates the market-leading features and security architecture of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (version 5.0.3), providing advanced IT management and controls, a single outbound security connection (256-bit AES encrypted “BlackBerry VPN”), enforceable IT policies, support for BlackBerry Balance technology, and over-the-air app and software installation capabilities for the management of BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets (as well as future BlackBerry 10 devices). (more…)
The BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour rolled into town today as more than 300 developers from Singapore and surrounding countries packed the Grand Ballroom at Hilton Hotel to be briefed on why they should develop apps on BlackBerry 10.
Wvygen Wong (right), local developer, talk about the BlackBerry 10 experience. To his right is Justin Lee, Application Development Consultant, Developer Relations, APAC, RIM.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at Research In Motion (RIM).
And that is the message that RIM wants to get through to developers.
“Research In Motion customers from GoDaddy Group Inc. to asset manager Thames River Capital UK Ltd. are preparing for the worst: the loss of the BlackBerry service their employees depend on to communicate.
RIM’s stock has slumped more than 70 percent in the past year, and tumbled 19 percent on June 29 after the company posted a quarterly loss and delayed the BlackBerry 10 operating system, increasing the pressure on RIM to find a buyer or sell assets.
While RIM has built infrastructure to ensure continued service, some customers are devising backup plans as RIM prepares to face shareholders at its annual meeting tomorrow.”
The rollout of BlackBerry 10 has been further pushed back to the first quarter of next year.
Developers need to be convinced that BlackBerry 10 will come into being if they are to be persuaded to invest time and effort into developing on the new platform.
I believe Dufourcq when he says RIM is committed to BlackBerry 10.
But it is not a secret that RIM may not even be in its current form after it considers the findings of an evaluation study of its strategic options by JP Morgan and RBC, which includes – as a least favoured option – a sale of the company.
It is anybody’s guess how a re-structured/acquired RIM positions BlackBerry 10.
But let’s not speculate too much.
The full-day BlackBerry 10 Jam today aims to provide the developer community with insights on the BlackBerry 10 platform.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at RIM.To help developers get started on the BlackBerry 10 platform, attendees were provided with a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device in order to test their apps and to help ensure their apps are ready and available for customers.
Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry PlayBook tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
The camera-less BlackBerry Curve 9360 is now available in Singapore. Suitable for those who need a camera-less smartphone for use in an environment where security concerns forbid the use of cameras or devices with cameras – such as military camps and installations.
The camera-less BlackBerry Curve 9360 is now available in Singapore.
The BlackBerry Curve 9360 was first unveiled in August last year and launched in Singapore in October.
The Curve 9360 comes equipped with the BlackBerry 7 OS and enables users to connect to the Internet, play games, BBM and be socially connected at all times.
Boosting developer confidence through BlackBerry 10 Jam
Monday, July 9th, 2012The BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour rolled into town today as more than 300 developers from Singapore and surrounding countries packed the Grand Ballroom at Hilton Hotel to be briefed on why they should develop apps on BlackBerry 10.
Wvygen Wong (right), local developer, talk about the BlackBerry 10 experience. To his right is Justin Lee, Application Development Consultant, Developer Relations, APAC, RIM.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at Research In Motion (RIM).
And that is the message that RIM wants to get through to developers.
“Research In Motion customers from GoDaddy Group Inc. to asset manager Thames River Capital UK Ltd. are preparing for the worst: the loss of the BlackBerry service their employees depend on to communicate.
RIM’s stock has slumped more than 70 percent in the past year, and tumbled 19 percent on June 29 after the company posted a quarterly loss and delayed the BlackBerry 10 operating system, increasing the pressure on RIM to find a buyer or sell assets.
While RIM has built infrastructure to ensure continued service, some customers are devising backup plans as RIM prepares to face shareholders at its annual meeting tomorrow.”
– “RIM’s Customers Working on Contingency Plans: Corporate Canada” dated 9 July (today) on Bloomberg, by Scott Moritz and Olga Kharif.
The rollout of BlackBerry 10 has been further pushed back to the first quarter of next year.
Developers need to be convinced that BlackBerry 10 will come into being if they are to be persuaded to invest time and effort into developing on the new platform.
I believe Dufourcq when he says RIM is committed to BlackBerry 10.
But it is not a secret that RIM may not even be in its current form after it considers the findings of an evaluation study of its strategic options by JP Morgan and RBC, which includes – as a least favoured option – a sale of the company.
It is anybody’s guess how a re-structured/acquired RIM positions BlackBerry 10.
But let’s not speculate too much.
The full-day BlackBerry 10 Jam today aims to provide the developer community with insights on the BlackBerry 10 platform.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at RIM.To help developers get started on the BlackBerry 10 platform, attendees were provided with a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device in order to test their apps and to help ensure their apps are ready and available for customers.
Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry PlayBook tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
Tags:BlackBerry 10 Jam, Bloomberg, developers, Research In Motion, RIM, Singapore
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