As well as announcing the budget Q5 BlackBerry 10 handset at the BlackBerry Live conference this week, the company is also updating its management features for businesses – for its own and other smartphones.

So not only will the BBM messaging service be available for iOS and Android this summer - initially for text messages, photos and the new branded channels that businesses can use to reach customers - but with BBM voice and video features promised in the future. That could be useful within a business because it allows the sender to see when a message has been delivered and if it's been read yet.

But if your business uses Microsoft Lync or IBM's Sametime instant messaging, you can now get encrypted instant messages on BlackBerry 10 handsets.

You can see who else is available on IM, see new messages in the BlackBerry Hub, send individual and group messages or switch from a text chat to a voice call. And if you're using BlackBerry Balance to separate personal apps and work information, secure IM can be managed inside the work perimeter of Balance.

Secure Work Space

The free BlackBerry Enterprise IM 3.0 app is available on the BlackBerry site now, but the Secure Work Space apps for iOS and Android that BlackBerry showed in March is still in beta testing with selected partners. Secure Work Spaces will need an update to the BlackBerry Enterprise Service that will be available at the end of June.

It's scheduled to ship by the end of August through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Both versions will include email, contacts, calendar, tasks and file access, a secure browser for looking at intranet sites, and allow admins to package up apps to run inside the BlackBerry-protected workspace.

"What we're focusing on is data level protection," Jeff Holleran, Senior Director of Enterprise Product Management, told TechRadar Pro. "It's about protecting data on the device rather than the ability to control the complete device.

"We use the right levels of data protection so we don't have the concern of attack vector going against the data, because it's just those fully authenticated apps from the business that have the ability to go across the secure connection to the firewall. You can think of it as extending the firewall to cover the apps on the device."

Not only is that easier than trying to build an app that uses a VPN, but it's also better for battery life. Because a VPN connection will time out if it's not being used, other tools for connecting to business data have to keep the connection alive. This involves turning on the phone radio, which reduces battery life and uses up a data plan.

BlackBerry isn't yet looking at Windows Phone or any other platforms.

Feedback factor

"Our customers have asked us to support iOS and Android," Holleran said. "If there is feedback from them, we will add additional platforms when it makes sense to do so."

That's over and above the BES 10 version 10.1 update that's available this week, which allows admins to apply the same kind of policies to BlackBerry 10 handsets as they could with BlackBerry 7 devices, like turning off the camera or blocking personal apps and files.

It's aimed at primarily government departments and heavily regulated industries that need to strictly control what employees can do with phones. But smaller businesses will also be interested in the new version of BES because it's significantly easier to install, as well as showing more information about the phones – BlackBerry, iOS and Android - that you're managing.

The new dashboard will show how many devices are being managed, what mobile network they're on, what OS they're running, what apps are installed and whether they're complying with your policies.

"We got a lot of user feedback," Holleran told us. "We listened to the feedback and we've simplified it a lot."

For example, BES 10 had multiple installers, all with different requirements, and you had to run them in the right order.

"We consolidated the installers so it's going to lay down the components you need in the right order. We do port checking to make sure there are no conflicts. We made sure it became a very seamless installation."

Firewall options

The June BES update will also make managing iOS and Android devices easier by simplifying firewall options.

"The number one complaint we had was all those ports you had to open on the firewall to Apple and Google for managing devices," Holleran said. "Now we route that through the BlackBerry secure infrastructure so you don't have to open extra ports."

BES 10 version 10.1 is a free download and BlackBerry is continuing the offer of free upgrades for BES 5 users until the end of December 2013. After that licences will cost $59 (£39) per year per device.

Learn more »

BlackBerry is set to roll out its first major software update for BlackBerry 10 since the new operating system debuted earlier this year, reports suggest.

According to sources familiar with developments, BlackBerry is preparing version 10.1 of its revamped mobile OS, which will purportedly ship with the soon-to-drop QWERTY keyboard-equipped BlackBerry Q10.

Among the improvements it’s mooted to bring include faster camera shutter and superior low-light snapping courtesy of High Dynamic Range (HDR) support. It’s also said to pack new features, such as mnemonic phone dialling, keyboard shortcuts (for the BlackBerry Z10), Word Prediction, and Type N Go, which comprise various commands for universal search.

Elsewhere, the update purportedly packs enhancements to BlackBerry Balance, including separation of work and personal accounts in the BlackBerry Hub, ‘Dark Theme’ support for several native features and applications, Smart Card Reader 2.0 compatibility and an improved version of BlackBerry Link to enable connection between BlackBerry 10 and a PC for easier transfer of files.

BlackBerry Z10 users are expected to receive the platform bump via an over-the-air update. Alas, an ETA for the rollout is as-yet under wraps. Rest assured, we’ll bring you this as soon as we know.

Via:

Phone Arena

Learn more »

The BlackBerry Q10 has raced to record sales in Selfridges stores, it has been claimed, in what some are claiming is a sign that the QWERTY keyboard still has a place in a smartphone world dominated by touchscreens.

According to the high-end retailer, unprecedented demand for the Q10 since Friday April 26th in its London, Birmingham and Manchester stores means the handset is now Selfridges’ fastest-selling consumer electronics product ever.

The phone, which was exclusively on sale at Selfridges, purportedly sold out entirely within two hours.

Rob Orr, Managing Director of BlackBerry UK and Ireland, said: “The BlackBerry Q10 represents the next chapter in the BlackBerry 10 story and we are delighted that it has been so well received.

“This initial success at Selfridges highlights the strong consumer demand for a high-end physical keyboard smartphone.”

So. The Q10 is an unqualified success, then? Hmm. Not just yet. Early sales can be a pretty unreliable indicator of a phone’s fortunes. And given that the phone was solely on sale in Selfridges, it’s not terribly surprising that the handset sold out.

That said, we can see the Q10 being BlackBerry’s most successful kit for some time. If only because its physical keyboard means it’s guaranteed a good level of pick-up from the company’s core of enterprise users, as well as the kids who have stuck with BBM over rival messaging services on other platforms

Learn more »

Looking back at his remarks, it’s hard not to imagine a BlackBerry PR exec tearing their hair out as Thorsten Heins indulged himself in a takedown of the tablet market.

Quoth he: “In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore.

“Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.”

When BlackBerry finally managed to ease Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis out of the door, surely staff in their media and comms team would have thought that the days of firefighting were over.

But alas, it seems Heins hasn’t learned the lesson of his predecessors.

Taken in isolation, Heins’ comments to Bloomberg look downright odd.

Tablet sales show no signs of letting up. The budget end of the market is booming and other players are finally giving Apple a run for their money.

Mind you, the iPad’s nigh-on 20 million sales in the first quarter of the year show Cupertino’s doing pretty well out of the apparently ailing market too.

Consider that the PC market is being battered by tablets and that users are demanding bigger screens to access content, and the idea that tablets will be a goner by 2018 is just plain weird.

Perhaps Heins meant that phablets would take up the slack. But just look at the demand for seven-inch slates like the iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD.

People want more capacious displays for work and play and tablets fulfill that role perfectly.

Look at Heins’ remarks in the wider context, though, and you see a man heading a company that seems to think it’s made it back to the top.

The BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 have clearly been successful, selling better than hoped.

The company’s ambition is to be admired.

But making statements like this only serves to suggest that BlackBerry is still mired in the past, thinking it can dictate the terms of the market.

Those days ended when the iPhone arrived.

Heins seems only to want to dismiss tablets because BlackBerry has only ever released one and it was a total flop.

The PlayBook was the ultimate primer in how not to release a product: delayed endlessly, launched without complete software and lacking in decent apps.

It could have been so much more. In fact, a BlackBerry 10-based slate would probably do well.

In this post-PC world, a secure tablet would surely be the go-to piece of kit for corporations looking to save on IT costs but still offer full laptop functionality.

Now though, Heins’ remarks will follow him everywhere.

If BlackBerry does decide to release a new tablet, what will the reaction be? You can be certain his interview with Bloomberg will be the first thing on everyone’s minds.

Learn more »

Vodafone has reduced the upfront cost of the BlackBerry Z10 and is now offering the handset free on its range of pay-monthly tariffs.

Customers who pick up a Z10 on a two-year contract with Vodafone from £33 per month will be entitled to a free phone, along with monthly allowances of up to 600 any network minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data.

Available in black and white, the Z10’s USPs include a 4.2-inch display with a retina-popping 355 ppi density, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and an eight-megapixel primary camera.

It is also powered by the all-new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which has been completely rebuilt from scratch and brings a host of new features such as BlackBerry Hub, which unifies all your incoming missives and notifications in one place, and a new and improved BlackBerry Messenger that now lets you make both voice and video calls.

Vodafone has also dropped the monthly tariff for the ageing but still hugely popular iPhone 4, which is currently free from £21 per month, down from £29 previously.

This gets you the same allowances as the Z10 tariff detailed above, however the offer is for a limited time only, so you’ll have to move fast before the price goes back up.

Keep ‘em peeled as we bring you more price cut announcements in the days and weeks to come.

Learn more »