BBM for Android 2.3 Gingerbread will launch in February

BlackBerry, the popular Canadian smartphone brand, is all set to bring its BBM or Blackberry Messenger service to Android-powered handsets running the OS version 2.3 Gingerbread. The messaging service was earlier only available for devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher.

"We've got some exciting BBM news for Android Gingerbread users - you've been asking and we've heard you loud and clear. We're now pleased to announce that BBM will soon also be available on Android Devices running Gingerbread (v2.3.3+)," stated Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing of BBM, on Blackberry's official blog.

BBM for Android Gingerbread OS is currently moving into an external Beta testing ahead of its launch next month. Gadway also mentioned that currently "Gingerbread represented about 21 percent of the total Android platform" which is quite a good number to rollout the BBM, according to the firm.

It has been previously reported that as early as February, BlackBerry may introduce the missing BBM Voice and BBM Channels features on both the Android and iOS platforms.

Additionally, the Canadian mobile maker is said to have revealed recently that it does not have plans to launch the popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app on Windows Phone-based smartphones.

Trusted Reviews quotes BlackBerry's Senior Director of BBM Business Development, David Proulx, as saying the nonexistence of a BBM application for Windows Phone was "entirely market driven," and stated that the decision is not a "religious thing," but is instead merely a choice made on the basis of a lack of consumer demand.

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Alicia Keys Out as BlackBerry Creative Director

Alicia Keys and BlackBerry Ltd will cut ties at the end of January, just one year after the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter was hired as a "global creative director" for the struggling smartphone maker.

The Canadian company on Thursday confirmed the singer's upcoming departure. The move comes as BlackBerry retreats from the consumer market to focus on businesses, governments and other large organizations.

"BlackBerry and Alicia Keys have completed our year-long collaboration," the company said in an emailed statement. "We have enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an incredibly talented and passionate individual."

Keys was hired when the company launched its long-delayed BlackBerry 10 devices in January of last year.

The new phones were seen as BlackBerry's last chance to win back market share lost to Apple Inc's iPhone and devices using Google Inc's Android technology. But sales flopped, triggering billions of dollars in losses and forcing BlackBerry to slash its staff.

In recent months the company has tried and failed to sell itself. The chief executive who hired Keys has left, along with many of his senior executives.

In her BlackBerry role, Keys contributed to a collaborative project encouraging fans to submit photographs that later appeared in music videos tied to her tour.

Shortly after taking the job, some tech blogs noted a tweet from her verified Twitter account that appeared to have been sent from an iPhone. Keys said at the time her account had been hacked.

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BlackBerry confirms BlackBerry Server support for Windows Phone

John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, has confirmed the arrival of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) support for the Windows Phone platform. The service currently supports on Android, iOS and BlackBerry platforms. No launch date for Windows Phone was provided however.

"I could put a sales team on Wall Street. I know how to do this up and down Wall Street ... we will go in and tell them why BES is the best thing for them, and go through the road map, the offerings, and all that good stuff. We're going to protect their investment in iPhone, and Android, and everywhere else, even with Windows Phones...you could be an iPhone customer, and also a BlackBerry customer. You could be an Android customer, and also a BlackBerry customer. It's not mutually exclusive. I think that's an important key message of the company going forward," stated Chen in an interview with CrackBerry.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Service is a multi-platform device management service that enables company administrators to club the employees' personal devices to the firm's own email system, and to wipe data in case the device gets lost. It can also controls the device's camera to make sure that it stays inactive during business hours.

Apart from these features, security and encryption options are also available, along with unified communications, and BlackBerry Balance work/home space separation.

With BES, the much popular messenger service by BlackBerry, BlackBerry Messenger or BBM is also expected to arrive soon on the Windows Phone platform. 

Alex Kinsella from the BBM team stated that Windows Phone users have the equal opportunity to experience the BBM service. Since the iOS and Android platforms are much bigger, the service was first provided to them.

More information on the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) can be seen here.

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BlackBerry Q5 becomes less costlier now available only at Rs. 19990

The BlackBerry Q5 made its way into the India markets for Rs. 24,990. Well that was too costly for the specs, but now the price has been dropped to Rs. 19,990 for a limited period only – call it a New Year Bonanza offer – but still way costly.

Apple, Android and Windows devices are eating into the BlackBerry market share and with time it will get even worse. The key issue with BB handsets is the exorbitant price tag when compared with other brands / specs.

The single SIM BlackBerry Q5 sports a 3.1 inch touchscreen with 720x720p resolution. There is the traditional BB QWERTY keyboard (many users still love to have). This handset runs on BlackBerry 10.1 OS with 2GB RAM and 8GB storage plus 32GB external card support. Key features are 3G (43Mbps), 2G support, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS with A-GPS / GLONASS and Wi-Fi (b/g/n).

This handset is powered by dual core 1.2GHz snapdragon S4 Qualcomm processor. Also included are a 5MP rear AF camera with flash and 2MP front camera. Full HD video recording and playback is supported. Q5 weighs around 120 grams with 10.5mm thickness.

The 2180 mAh battery gives talk-time of up to 12 hours on 3G networks. The BB Q5 is currently available for Rs. 19,990 on ebay.in and probably other online stores may also reduce the price.

Review:-

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