- We've updated our Hands on: BlackBerry 10 review after spending time with a more complete build on the software.
The future of Research in Motion lies solely in the hands of BB10, the firm is leaking money left right and centre, laying off thousands of staff and struggling to compete in the now highly competitive smartphone market.
BlackBerry 10 is a brand new operating system from RIM, which has been built to run on both smartphones and tablets, much like Android and iOS, and will be absolutely key in deciding the company's future.
Get it wrong and BlackBerry 10 could well sink the Canadian firm, so here's hoping that BB10 (and not BBX after a lawsuit was filed) will be the blockbuster revelation which RIM so desperately needs it to be.
Update: Research in Motion is pretty bullish about the chances of BlackBerry 10, with CEO Thorsten Heins saying: "We have a clear shot at being the number three platform on the market. We're not just another open platform on the market, we are BlackBerry." - powerful stuff.
BlackBerry 10 release date
Initially RIM was planning to launch BB10 before the end of 2012, with at least one flagship device running the operating system arriving in time for Christmas.
However CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed in July that BlackBerry 10 will be delayed until early 2013, as the company continues to fine tune the software, to ensure it launches in the best possible state.
Heins said: "We expect a successful launch of BB10 in the first calendar quarter 2013 – this is our number one priority.
"The timeline has shifted to [this date] and is related to the large volume of software code to work through over last few months.
"This is taking more time than anticipated. To be clear, the change in timeline is not related to architecture, but the integration challenge of bringing all this code our diligent R&D teams have created and get it ready for use globally."
BlackBerry 10 interface
Update: RIM's dubbed its new interface "BlackBerry Flow."
BB10 sees the implementation of a whole new user interface, with RIM doing away with the familiar BlackBerry system we're all used to, in favour of something which resembles the likes of Android and iOS, although with its own unique features.
With BlackBerry 10, RIM has merged homescreens, widgets, app lists and a unified inbox into one slick interface, offering up an easy to navigate user experience.
Although the operating system is still very much in early stages of its development we must say that we were impressed with how smooth and slick the interface felt under out fingers – seamlessly zipping around without fuss.
BlackBerry assured us that this smooth experience would still be present in the final product, thanks to the clever integration of the HTML 5 system, which optimises the performance of the software. We certainly hope they're right.
To find out more about the initial features make sure you read out hands on: BlackBerry 10 review.
Update: A particularly enticing new feature is BlackBerry Peek, which allows users to glimpse their hub screen from any application without exiting the program.
It's a one-finger feature, meaning all it takes is a thumb swipe to see what emails, texts, and other messages are waiting on a phone.
Update:BlackBerry Balance draws a line between professional and personal use, so company phones have a set of rules laid out by the boss on one part of the device while allowing workers more freedom elsewhere.
Update: If you need any more convincing RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has said: "we believe BB10 will advance the OS environment to the next level" - so yeah, watch out Android/iOS/Windows Phone.
BlackBerry 10 keyboard
BlackBerry handsets are famous for their physical boards and RIM is keen to bring this typing experience to its BB10 touchscreen smartphones with its own offering.
RIM has developed its own keyboard, with a design which reflects the physical offerings on its Bold range and a new next-word prediction system which sees suggestions appearing above characters on the board itself.
It's critical that RIM nails the keyboard in BB10, as BlackBerry handsets are synonymous with typing on the go, and if dedicated fans can't easily transfer from physical boards then touchscreen BB 10 handsets may be hard to shift.
To find out more about the BB10 keyboard make sure you read our hands on: BB10 review.
BlackBerry 10 - BlackBerry Hub
The BlackBerry Hub will be the brain center of all BB10 devices, a one-stop shop to access email, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, BlackBerry messenger, text messages, and other time-sensitive information.
BlackBerry 10 camera
A brand new camera application has been developed for BB10, bringing the operating system inline with the camera functions found on Android, iOS and Windows Phone handsets.
The new app allows for photographs to be "rewound" in case you've mucked up the image.
Say for instance your friend is blinking in a shot, with the new app you would be able to "rewind" the image to the point where they weren't and save it.
With the launch of Blackberry 10, RIM has also revealed a developer toolkit for the platform, which could mean that more photography and image-editing apps are in the pipeline.
BlackBerry 10 apps
Your current BlackBerry apps won't run on BB10, so you'll need to download/purchase a new set of applications onto your new device when they eventually roll out.
Apps are big business in the smartphone and tablet world and RIM is very aware of this, as it's guaranteed developers $10,000 of revenue in the first year of an app's life on BB 10.
The current PlayBook, and to an extent BlackBerry handsets, suffer from a lacklustre offering in the App World store – with the likes of Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store dwarfing RIM's offering and thus putting some consumers off.
As well as the revenue incentive for developers, RIM has also made it easy to port Android applications on the BB10 platform, with an easy to use API helping devs to do this - and hopefully boasting the portfolio of apps available at launch.
BlackBerry 10 devices
The first BlackBerry 10 devices are now expected to arrive in January 2013, and RIM has confirmed that it will offer both full-touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard handset options.
According to leaked BB10 roadmaps, the first touchscreen phone will be called the BlackBerry London, while the first to sport a full keyboard and the new OS will be called the BlackBerry Nevada – both pegged for a first quarter release next year.
The same roadmap also shows RIM isn't going to be giving up on the tablet market after the poor performce of its PlayBook, with another slate, codenamed Blackforest, scheduled for release in the middle of 2013.
It's thought that the Blackforest will also sport a larger screen than the 7-inch PlayBook – possibly putting it in contention to challenge the new iPad and 10-inch Android crowd.
Update: Heins said BB 10 phones will use the same HDMI and USB connectors as past BlackBerry devices, noting, "We all can save some money" - a cheeky dig at Apple and the new port on the iPhone 5 right there.
Update: RIM CEO Thorsten Heins reckons the display on the new touchscreen BB10 device is going to be top notch: "The display in full touch will be beyond what iPhone 5 launched with, it will actually be true HD."
However RIM has also ruled out any chance of us seeing the BB10 handsets before the end of 2012, with the Canadian firm determined to make us wait until the new year.
Update: But wait, what's this? We may have got our first peek at the fully-touchscreen L Series and QWERTY keyboard touting N Series, thanks to a leaked video claiming to be an internal promo clip for RIM.
BlackBerry 10 on PlayBook
RIM has already confirmed that the BlackBerry PlayBook will receive the update to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and while there's no firm date for this to be rolled out, we'd expect it to happen pretty soon into the new year.
BlackBerry 10 in cars
The current PlayBook OS is based on the version of QNX built for car makers and "the next generation of QNX for cars is going to be built from BB 10," Alec Saunders told us; car makers are keen to use HTML5 for in-car information and entertainment.
That makes it easier to treat your car as another device, he suggested, and to share information. "Ultimately you will be able to transition from your smartphone to your tablet to your TV to your car. Sync will be important. I think you'll start to see devices do things like Bridge today, where it mirrors [on the PlayBook] what's on the BlackBerry handset.
"You'll use one device to access what's on another. QNX is made for these kind of scenarios, projecting information from one device to another. You won't have five devices and have all your content on everything; it's going to have to grow seamlessly across them."
BlackBerry 7 devices
There's bad news for anyone who currently owns a BlackBerry though, as all BlackBerry 7 handsets will not receive the update to the new BB 10 operating system, as RIM has completely rebuilt the platform from the ground up, which means the current crop of phones will be unable to run it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/bb10-what-you-need-to-know-1034921
0 comments:
Post a Comment