Blackberry's market finally hits zero

Following many struggles by the once powerful company, they just finally hits zero.

BlackBerry sold 200,000 of its own phones last year, but that might as well have been zero.

The onetime leader in smartphones sales made up zero percent — or 0.0482 percent — of global smartphone purchases in the fourth quarter of 2016.

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Finally, Blackberry lives again

BlackBerry has signed over (mostly) global rights to use its branding on phones to Chinese manufacturer TCL. The news follows an announcement by the Canadian company in September that it would stop making its own phones and concentrate instead on services and software.

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How corporate world icon Blackberry faded into oblivion

Blackberry finally exited the smartphone development and design business and announced that it will be outsourcing its hardware. John Chen CEO Canadian phone maker synonymous for its QWERTY keypad said that its decision to outsource the development of its smartphones helps avoid the risks of a competitive market and focus on its more lucrative businesses of software and managing rival devices.

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BlackBerry Priv Gets Android March Security Update

The latest Android device to get the March security update is the BlackBerry Priv, the update is being released for both the AT&T and T-Mobile versions of the handset.
Both AT&T and T-Mobile have started to roll out the March security update for BlackBerry’s Android smartphone, you can see more details from BlackBerry on the update below.

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First Bank’s Firstmonie, MMIT Partners on BlackBerry Social Commerce in Nigeria

Firstmonie, the mobile money service of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and MMIT (Mobile Media Info Tech) are partnering with BlackBerry in Nigeria to enable social commerce in BBM™, the popular private social network.

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BlackBerry cries foul as Facebook plans to end BB OS 10 support

Facebook and its WhatsApp messaging subsidiary have both announced plans to end support for BlackBerry OS 10 by the end of 2016 despite pleas from BlackBerry's executives. In a blog post, BlackBerry's senior manager in charge of the company's App Ecosystem and Developer Outreach team, Lou Gazzola, expressed disappointment over the decision and urged customers to protest it.

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BlackBerry plans to make BBM more fun after WhatsApp drops support

BlackBerry is exploring alternatives to make working on BBM, its messaging platform, “more convenient and fun” to support users after rival WhatsApp announced to stop its support to Canadian firm’s operating system from later this year.
WhatsApp, which has over a billion users globally, had earlier this week said it will end support for BlackBerry phones and those powered by Nokia’s Symbian operating system later this year.

“BlackBerry is committed to our BlackBerry 10 operating system, and we work closely with developers to create and deploy solutions to bring apps to our consumer and enterprise fans. We continue to invest in the BlackBerry 10 platform and will introduce several key security updates this year,” BlackBerry said in a statement

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BlackBerry prides itself in being the first to release monthly Android security updates

Last year, shortly after the discovery of the Stagefright vulnerability, Google and various Android manufacturers have committed to delivering monthly security updates in order to avoid exposing users to new threats. Once it launched the Priv - its very first Android handset - Blackberry also joined the bandwagon. Now, four months after Google started releasing monthly security patches, BlackBerry takes pride in being the first OEM to actually roll out these updates.

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Finally, BlackBerry's Priv Android phone comes to Verizon

The power Android users who need a physical keyboard, one of the few devices left is the BlackBerry Priv. Until now, it could only be found onAT&T and T-Mobile, but it's now available on Verizon, the biggest network in the US -- for a price. While it costs as little as $700 or so unlocked, Big Red is selling it for $720 sans contract, or a hefty $30 per month over two years. However, it means that BlackBerry's first and only Android device (so far) is now available to over 80 percent of US subscribers, with just Sprint missing from the big four.

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WhatsApp will no longer be functioning on BlackBerry, Nokia and older Android phones

A bad news for those that use this operating systems. WhatsApp is to drop support for many older phones, arguing that they could hold back the app’s growth.

All Blackberry phones, as well as some Nokia and Android ones, are going to stop being supported by the end of the year, the company has announced.

“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future,” the company wrote in a blog post that made much of the fact that the app launched into a vastly different market.

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Android, Apple, BlackBerry phones: Which is more easily hacked?

The tech world is holding its breath for the courtroom showdown between the FBI and Apple over a government request for a backdoor to the iPhone used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook.

The fight is one example of how security has long been a selling point in smartphones, dating back to the long-encrypted BlackBerry.
"The tech industry tries to build the most secure products possible," says Harvey Anderson, chief legal officer at computer security company AVG Technologies.
There's no real way for consumers to protect themselves against the privacy concerns raised by possible government-mandated backdoors in mainstream phones on the market today.

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Goodnews? BlackBerry Triples Down on Security

This is a big week for mobile announcements because of Mobile World Congress and BlackBerry didn’t disappoint. In the shadow of Apple’s FBI problems, BlackBerry isn’t just doubling down on security it is tripling down. BlackBerry announced three major events: it launched a new cybersecurity service, it increased its alliance to create secure health help to users, and it increased its relationship with Microsoft so that companies could have a secure hosted solution for BES.

Cybersecurity Service

If your key differentiator in a market where security is a huge concern is security, why not increase your security footprint to include practices? And that is exactly what BlackBerry is doing, focusing on three IT competency areas and one interesting new one.

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If Oscars awards are given to smartphones: The 10 best handsets 2006-2016

Just few days back, Oscar award was given to great movies in the movie business.
ZDNet have tested hundreds of smartphones over the past decade and spent a couple hours reading through past articles and thinking about which device could be give an award to as the best for each of these ten years. Here's my list and summary thoughts:

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New Battle: BlackBerry PRIV vs. iPhone 6s Plus

When the original iPhone was announced 9 years ago, the smartphone market landscape was very different. One of the pre-iPhone champions, of course, was BlackBerry. Its physical QWERTY-equipped devices were fast, efficient and productive. Next to the iPhone, they looked old within a few weeks of Apple’s first smartphone launch.

After that came Android, and with it, the slow-demise of the once-giants of the mobile world. The Canadian company had to try and reinvent itself after years of trying to bring its own platform back to life.

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BlackBerry to continue shift to software section

We’ve said this in the past about BlackBerry and the man we often call the potential architect of its recovery, CEO John Chen – Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s a long, arduous trek back up for the troubled Waterloo firm, which just announced 200 layoffs in Canada and Florida, and keeps losing more of whatever tiny market share it has remaining in the smartphone space, even with the recent release of the Android-powered Priv.

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It's a Pity, BlackBerry Ltd Won’t Allow Rooting On Its Android-Based Priv

BlackBerry’s Priv, the first Android device from the Canadian smartphone makers, will not allow rooting by its owners. Rooting is very popular among Android users as it allows them to exercise more control over their device and what they can do with it.

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BlackBerry now heading for only Android,it's over for BB10

 

• Two new devices due for 2016
• No new BB10 OS devices planned
• 2016 is make or break year for BlackBerry

BlackBerry has announced that it will be abandoning its BB10 operating system in favour of Android, for 2016. It has since made it seem that BB10 will be abandoned completely in favour of Android.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed at a CES interview in Las Vegas that the company will release two new products in 2016, both of which will run Android OS. More recently, at the Priv launch in India, Damian Tay, senior director, APAC product management at BlackBerry, said:
"The PRIV device is essentially our transition to the Android ecosystem. As we secure Android, over a period of time, we would not have two platforms, and may have only Android as a platform [for smartphones]... But for now, we have BB10 and Android platforms for our smartphones."

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BlackBerry with a new promo if you buy a Priv before February 24

Still on the fence about springing for that BlackBerry Priv? They say the early bird gets the worm, but it looks like procrastination has saved the day for you this time. BlackBerry just started a new promo that sees you getting $100 worth of BlackBerry accessories if you buy a Priv between now and February 24, 2016.
So let’s take a look at what all you get when you take the dive for a Priv. For $699.00, you get the basic Priv Bundle. This comes with the titular smartphone, of course, but you’ll also be getting two pretty cool accessories to boot.

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BlackBerry Priv vs. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus – Let's see the one with Better Specs?

Curved screen smartphones are getting more and more popular nowadays and it’s not surprising the BlackBerry has decided to bring a curved edge screen on its Priv device. Today we’re going to compare the BlackBerry Priv with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and let you decide which one is better for you.

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BlackBerry now focused on Android phones, sorry BB10 users

Its a pity for BB10 users as this will be an all-Android year for BlackBerry's newest phones.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company plans to release one new product, and potentially a second phone, in 2016. Both will run on Google's mobile software, CEO John Chen confirmed in an interview at CES in Las Vegas.
His comments follow news that Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint will sell the BlackBerry Priv, the company's first phone running on Android, after a 60-day exclusive deal with AT&T.

It's bittersweet news for die-hard BlackBerry fans, a shrinking, but fiercely loyal group. Yes, BlackBerry will continue to exist, but won't offer any phones running on its own BlackBerry 10 software. Still, future Android BlackBerry devices means more choice besides the usual mix of Samsung, LG or HTC Android phones.

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