Goodbye Research In Motion. Hello BlackBerry! (And BB10)

[Eug]

They've rebranded themselves. Not sure how much that is going to help.

Branding is important, but much more important is how well they'll execute this BB10 launch.

 

[dlock13]

I think that's a smart move to be honest. I bet if you ask 200 office employees who makes their BlackBerry, 80% would say BlackBerry..... and now, they'd finally be right.

 

[Deeko]

I imagine the average user probably thought the company was BlackBerry all along.

 

[ChronoReverse]

This is a good thing. Blackberry making Blackberries is less confusing than some random company called RIM making Blackberries.

Still, it's just a little thing. Blackberry needs to do a lot of little things right for this launch to work.

 

[Red Storm]

Live stream:

http://tremolo.edgesuite.net/blackberry_experience_launch/desktop_dvr/index.html

 

[ChronoReverse]

Whoa, if Balance works as well as advertised, that could be a killer feature.

Of course, it'll still need either global or by-location lockdown of the camera via group policies.

 

[Red Storm]

Screen share, very useful for corporate phones.

 

[dlock13]

Whoa, if Balance works as well as advertised, that could be a killer feature.

Of course, it'll still need either global or by-location lockdown of the camera via group policies.

I have a few friends with BBs without cameras because of their work, and I was wondering how they would handle the camera.

 

[Eug]

Yeah they said when they're overseas and they identified themselves as RIM, a lot of people just had no idea who they were.

Hands on BlackBerry Z10 review:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/tech...ds-on-with-the-blackberry-z10/article7998393/

BlackBerry Z10 will be available on February 5. Available as of today in the U.K. and February 10 in the UAE, unfortunately U.S. customers will have to wait until March for carriers to begin offering the new phone.

Dimensions: 130 millimeters tall by 65.6 mm wide, and 9 mm thick
Screen: 4.2 inch, 4-pont IPS LCD display, 1280 x 768 resolution at 356 PPI
Weight: 135.4 grams
Memory: 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Flash (extra microSD slot supports up to 32 GB)
Processor: Dual Core 1.5 GHz
Camera: 8 megapixel, 1080p HD video recording (2 megapixel front facing camera, 720p video recording)
NFC-enabled support for mobile payments.
GPS: Assisted, Autonomous and Simultaneous GPS
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 low energy
HDMI: microHDMI out port
WiFi: Dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n, Mobile Hotspot Network: 4G LTE or HSPA+, support for global roaming
Battery life: 10 hours of talk time on 3G, 305 hours on standby on 3G, up to 60 hours Audio playback, up to 11 hours video playback.

P.S. Apparently some of the local Kitchener-Waterloo bars right now have half-off booze for BlackBerry owners, during this launch.

 

[Dari]

This thing is so DOA. 2011-era specs and a massive bezel. Yeah, that'll sell.

 

[dlock13]

This thing is so DOA. 2011-era specs and a massive bezel. Yeah, that'll sell.

You forget there are a lot of companies that use BB solely and have even when the iPhone came out. With added features to BES and just an overall (seemingly) easier UI with what looks to be an easy way for tech support... I think they can knock this out with corporations.

 

[Yuriman]

This thing is so DOA. 2011-era specs and a massive bezel. Yeah, that'll sell.

The OMAP4470 didn't come out until Q2 '12, and how many phones had 2GB of RAM in 2011?

A small screen doesn't make it outdated, I wonder if the large bezel was a design choice to make it more drop resistant or just to save costs?

 

[Red Storm]

So far not too bad. I definitely think this is waaay better than what MS did with their first Windows Phone launch.

 

[Deeko]

The OMAP4470 didn't come out until Q2 '12, and how many phones had 2GB of RAM in 2011?

A small screen doesn't make it outdated, I wonder if the large bezel was a design choice to make it more drop resistant or just to save costs?

Not to mention the heavily gesture-based UI - you kinda need a bit of bezel to make it usable.

 

[Deeko]

I'm curious to hear more about these 70k apps. I submitted an app during their port-a-thon...and it was actually a legitimate (albeit smaller) app. But then I saw on twitter some kid on New Zealand claiming to have submitted over 200 apps in that weekend?? They have to all be garbage.

 

[Deeko]

Engadget has their review up:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-z10-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-os-10-review/

 

[dlock13]

I'm curious to hear more about these 70k apps. I submitted an app during their port-a-thon...and it was actually a legitimate (albeit smaller) app. But then I saw on twitter some kid on New Zealand claiming to have submitted over 200 apps in that weekend?? They have to all be garbage.

I'm just remembering the days I had the BB Storm, and how horrendous the apps were then. I'm hoping devs are taking the QNX platform seriously and submitting apps that make use of the UI BB has presented us. I can seriously see these devices taking off because of how many people still use a BB.

Also, one thing I'm wishing is that devs make sure their app LOOKS quality. I hate the disparity in aesthetics on Android.. I cannot stand that one app looks freaking amazing, and then another app looks like it was created for Windows 95.

 

[grkM3]

Does it support lte?

 

[dlock13]

Does it support lte?

Yes. They already said it would.

 

[Eug]

I think the 4.2" screen size is perfect. 1280x768 at 356 ppi is also perfect.

That's exactly what I want in a top-tier Android smartphone. My 4.7" phone is awkwardly big IMO.

Does it support lte?

Of course.

 

[cronos]

There's still no info about prices?

Actual prices, of course. Subsidized prices mean absolutely nothing to me.

 

[Imp]

They going to change their stock ticker too?...

 

[silverpig]

There's still no info about prices?

Actual prices, of course. Subsidized prices mean absolutely nothing to me.

One blog in Canada is reporting $650 outright, $149 on a 3 yr for the Z10.

 

[cronos]

One blog in Canada is reporting $650 outright, $149 on a 3 yr for the Z10.

Thanks. Here's also an update I found on one of the Engadget's articles:

Update: Bloomberg has added that the device will cost $599 unsubsidized in US. When it gets there.

 

[Deeko]

They going to change their stock ticker too?...

Yep.