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BlackBerry CEO Announces Lower-Priced Phone (TIME)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets on Tuesday, and said it will offer its once-popular BlackBerry Messenger service on iPhones and devices running Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android software. CEO Thorsten Heins said the time is right to offer BBM on rival devices. He said iPhone and Android versions will be available for free, subject to approval by Google Play and the Apple App Store. “It’s time to bring BBM to a greater audience,” Heins said. He said the lower-cost Q5 device will be available in selected markets this summer. The gadget is part of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s effort to regain market share lost to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone and Android smartphones.
Amid a bevy of announcements from the smartphone maker at its conference in Orlando, Florida, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) today launched the latest offering of its enterprise instant messaging platform. BlackBerry Enterprise IM 3.0 now enables BlackBerry 10 users to communicate with third-party services, notably Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Lync 2010 and 2013, Microsoft Office Communication Server (in older versions of Office), as well as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)’s Lotus Sametime 8.5 and above. By encrypting data from end-to-end, it not only protects Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) enterprise customers, but also those at the other end, on desktops and third-party platform-enabled smartphones.
Alicia Keys announces the BlackBerry Scholars Program — an effort to bring more women to tech (VentureBeat)
On stage at today’s BlackBerry Live conference, Alicia Keys, the company’s Global Creative Director, announced the BlackBerry Scholars Program, a four-year scholarship that’ll be available to outstanding female students around the world. Applicants will also need to be focusing on specific science and technology curriculums to receive the scholarship. “It’s clear we need to elevate more women to leadership roles,” Keys said. She pointed out some startling disparities between men and women in the technology industry: Even though more women earn college degrees than men, only 5 percent of women lead startups, 56 percent leave the technology industry after entering it, and women make up only 11 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.
RIM to Roll Out Emerging Market-Focused BlackBerry (Wall Street Journal)
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) said it is planning to roll out a new phone that will run off its latest operating system but target customers in the developing world—the first new RIM product following the launch of its all-touch BlackBerry Z10 and its keyboard-equipped Q10.
BlackBerry Z10 gets BlackBerry 10.1 update (BGR)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) announced on Tuesday that its flagship BlackBerry 10 smartphone, the Z10, will be updated to the latest version of its next-generation operating system. The announcement came during the vendor’s BlackBerry Live conference, and BlackBerry 10.1 availability for the Z10 will be determined by carriers that offer the phone.
BlackBerry’s “New” Strategy: Mobile First (All Things Digital)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) lost the mobile world it once ruled in a matter of years. Now, under new CEO Thorsten Heins, it hopes to reclaim it in an equally short time. But how? According to Heins’s remarks during his BlackBerry Live keynote this morning, by “building for mobile first.” As a pioneering mobile device company, one would think that “mobile first” is a redundant call to arms for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). And of course it is. But making that remark, Heins was offering a broader point about BlackBerry’s view of the mobile space. As he said later, “We believe in a single element of mobile computing: The one on your hip.”
