Blackberry Phones

Following the much delayed BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 update, the tablet finally has a native email client, other PIM apps and a larger selection of apps thanks to its Android player. Research in Motion is now looking to further boost interest in its debut slate, and it has announced the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard for those users looking for a physical keypad option on top of the virtual one.

The accessory retails for a lofty $119.99 and is available for pre-order starting today, with shipments going out on March 23rd. The concept of the keyboard is similar to the competition. It includes a multitouch trackpad for browsing, a keyboard for easy input and a battery that last up to 30 days. Unlike the ASUS Transformer Prime, RIM’s accessory does not have a docking feature and is just a carrying case with an integrated Bluetooth keyboard. RIM’s video demonstation follows below.

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When Research In Motion released its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the device had its fair share of problems. RIM promised an operating system update that would address these problems but the launch was delayed by several months. A new report from N4BB claims the official release of the PlayBook 2.0 update is set for February 21st, just over a week later than the company initially planned. The PlayBook OS 2.0 update will include native email, calendar and contacts apps, but unfortunately native BBM will remain absent from the tablet and can only be accessed through BlackBerry Bridge.

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The BlackBerry Playbook is not exactly the best selling tablet in the market right now, let alone having it fly the best seller flag for manufacturer RIM at the moment. In fact, RIM has gone so far as to offer the Playbook for free to enterprise customers, which is not always a good thing as it reveals your position to your rivals in the market that you are clearly having issues clearing up your inventory, and while the Playbook has not gone the way of the HP Touchpad, it is still a worrying sign for the Canadian company.

At least RIM still supports the BlackBerry Playbook with updates, and while the most recent update will not introduce Blackberry smartphone synchronization capabilities to your tablet, at least it will still fix several issues as listed below.

• Updated version of Adobe Flash Player version 11.1 and Adobe AIR 3.1
• Daylight savings time updates for time zones in the regions of Latin America, Australia and Central America
• Updated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi software to help to improve connectivity
• Fixed issues some users were experiencing with account payments in the BlackBerry App World storefront
• Improved synching when restoring applications with BlackBerry Desktop Software

Have you updated your Playbook already?

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Pasedena, California-based investment management firm Primecap Management Co. recently doubled its investment in BlackBerry vendor Research In Motion. According to a recent regulatory filing, Primecap now owns 26.4 million shares of RIM stock valued at about $577 million as of Monday’s close, and the stake represents approximately 5% of RIM’s total outstanding shares.

According to Bloomberg, Primecap’s stake at the end of the second quarter of this year was approximately 2.5%. As numerous analysts continue to cut their price targets on RIM stock, Primecap’s continued investment could represent a vote of confidence in RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 phones and its future QNX phones as well, which are due to begin launching in the first quarter of 2012.

BGR has learned that Research In Motion’s head of BlackBerry software may have left the company. Suresh Periyalwar, Senior Vice President of Handheld Software, had been with RIM since April 2001 when he joined as Director of Software Development. He came to the company from Nortel, where he managed CDMA-related development for more than five years. Periyalwar was promoted to SVP at RIM three years ago in May 2008 according to his LinkedIn profile, which still has him listed as a RIM employee. BGR has also learned from a trusted source that several additional key executives have been planning to leave on their own accord. (more

RIM’s stock is down more than 60% from its 12-month high of $70.54, and there is a great deal of unrest at the company’s headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario. BGR exclusively published an open letter from an anonymous senior executive at RIM late last month, which pleaded for the company’s top management to make several strategic changes in order to regain momentum and mind share in the smartphone market. A later expose, also published by BGR, painted a troubling picture of the smartphone vendor that once revolutionized the industry.

If Periyalwar did in fact leave the company as multiple sources have informed BGR, it might not bode well for RIM’s next-generation smartphones. The departure of RIM’s SVP of Handheld Software just ahead of the company’s transition to QNX could imply that the executive did not have confidence in RIM’s brand new platform. On the other hand, Periyalwar may have been pushed out in favor of fresh leadership in its software division ahead of the company’s QNX smartphone launches. RIM declined to confirm or deny the executive’s departure when reached for comment by BGR. Periyalwar could not be reached for comment.

Source: BGR

Research In Motion on Thursday announced that its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet has become the first tablet device to be certified for use by the U.S. government. The company’s slate has received FIPS 140-2 certification according to RIM, and it is currently the only media tablet to have been awarded this certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology at this point. FIPS certification is required in order for a device to be considered for use by the U.S. government. “RIM is pleased to announce that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first tablet approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government,” said RIM’s Senior Vice President of Security Scott Totzke in a statement.

“This certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information.” RIM’s full press release follows below.

BlackBerry PlayBook Becomes First Tablet Certified for U.S. Government

BlackBerry PlayBook Wins ‘Best in Show’ Award at FOSE 2011

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) announced today that it has received FIPS 140-2 certification for the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, making the BlackBerry PlayBook the first tablet certified for deployment within U.S. federal government agencies. No other tablet on the market has gained FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

“RIM is pleased to announce that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first tablet approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “This certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information.”

BlackBerry PlayBook is a powerful, ultra-portable tablet that fits comfortably in one hand. It has a stunning 7-inch high resolution display, offers true multi-tasking capabilities and a high-fidelity web experience. It also allows for secure pairing with BlackBerry® smartphones via the BlackBerry® Bridge™ app, which enables users to access their BlackBerry smartphone’s email, calendar, address book, memo pad, task list, BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger) and browsing functionality using the larger display on the tablet.

The FIPS-certified BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is being showcased this week in Washington DC at FOSE – the largest Federal government information technology conference in the U.S. – where BlackBerry PlayBook has just been awarded Best in Show, and also Best of FOSE in the Handheld Devices category.

Source: BGR.com

Now here’s a bit of news I’m sure a bunch of you will be happy to hear. I’ve mentioned the Blaq Twitter app for BlackBerry smartphones a few times here and there but since their last update in September 2010, they’ve basically been inactive till the release of their PlayBook app yesterday. According to a blog post by one of the Blaq developers, Ryan Hamrick, the smartphone version is not dead and will be getting a big update soon:

Long story short (or at least…less long), I recently found myself sitting here mulling over how I might break the news to you all, that while we would support the PlayBook and likely future QNX-powered BlackBerry smartphones, development for current and past BlackBerry smartphones would be ceasing.

I was just about ready.

However, that’s not the goal of this message tonight. Nope. Jerome Carty, developer of Blaq (wait, you’re not following him? I would, if I were you – @jcarty) has talked me into working with him to finish the big update that has been in the works for what seems like forever, and continuing to support the BlackBerrys you all have now.

So there you have it. Ryan didn’t make a timeframe available but I trust him and Jerome are working hard to get the update out as soon as possible. Any Blaq fans excited for the new BlackBerry smartphone version? If you want to check out the current version you can find it in the store from ALL KAPPS Software, both free and premium.

*Update*: While BlackBerry Bridge may not be officially available from App World for AT&T users, you can check this post for a workaround and OTA download. Once installed, AT&T can’t stop you. What the hell AT&T?! Lots of us will still buy Tethering plans. At least let us use the Bridge too!

Much like many others I anxiously awoke this morning eager to try out BlackBerry Bridge on my PlayBook. I fired up BlackBerry App World, scanned the barcode on my device and was shocked to see that the app was listed as “not supported on your device or carrrier”.

I instantly cruised to the webstore to check things out. I’m using an unlocked Bold 9780 on AT&T but that shouldn’t change anything. Well to my extreme surprise, App World lists BlackBerry Bridge as supported on all carriers except AT&T. Woah. Not really the greatest news to get PlayBook launch day started.

So what’s the deal AT&T? Why can’t us AT&T users have the BlackBerry Bridge?? Is the the free tethering?? Hopefully this is a mixup that will be worked out ASAP (Kevin has a feeling it isn’t a mixup…), so we’ll report back if anything new pops up. For now sound off in the comments and express to AT&T that they NEED to allow the BlackBerry Bridge!

BlackBerry Bridge in App World

Shares of Research in Motion stock declined over 12% after hours on Thursday as the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings for its 2011 fiscal year. RIM reported revenue that missed Wall Street’s consensus on device shipments that exceeded expectations by 200,000 units. Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $5.6 billion, just below the $5.64 billion analysts expected. Device shipments for the quarter totalled 14.9 million units, beating estimates of 14.7 million units, and full-year shipments were a record 52.3 million units — a 43% improvement over the year prior.

Full-year revenue of $19.9 billion grew 33% over the 2010 fiscal year and net income was up 47% year-over-year to $3.4 billion. “We are pleased to report record shipments and financial performance in fiscal 2011,” said RIM’s Co-CEO Jim Balsillie in a statement. “As we enter fiscal 2012, RIM is in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing convergence of the mobile communications and mobile computing markets. We are laying a strong foundation for RIM’s expanding market opportunity through focused investments and we are extremely excited about our smartphone, tablet and platform roadmaps.” Hit the break for the full press release.

Research In Motion Reports Year-End and Fourth Quarter Results for Fiscal 2011

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – 03/24/11) – Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM – News)(TSX:RIM – News), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported fourth quarter results for the three months and fiscal year ended February 26, 2011 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP).

Highlights:

–  Record BlackBerry® smartphone shipments of 52.3 million grew 43% over
fiscal 2010
–  Fiscal 2011 revenue grew 33% over fiscal 2010 to $19.9 billion and
earnings per share grew 47% over the prior fiscal year to $6.34 per
share diluted
–  Ongoing investment in PlayBook and QNX-based platform development in Q1
with PlayBook launch date of April 19th
–  BlackBerry was the number one selling smartphone brand in the United
States(1), Canada(1), Latin America(1) and the UK(2) for calendar 2010

Q4 and Fiscal 2011 Results:

Revenue for the fiscal year ended February 26, 2011 was $19.9 billion, up 33% from $15 billion last year. Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $5.6 billion, up 1% from $5.5 billion in the previous quarter and up 36% from $4.1 billion in the same quarter of last year. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 81% for devices, 16% for service, and 3% for software and other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 14.9 million BlackBerry smartphones for a total of 52.3 million smartphones in fiscal 2011.

“We are pleased to report record shipments and financial performance in fiscal 2011,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “As we enter fiscal 2012, RIM is in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing convergence of the mobile communications and mobile computing markets. We are laying a strong foundation for RIM’s expanding market opportunity through focused investments and we are extremely excited about our smartphone, tablet and platform roadmaps.”

Net income for fiscal 2011 was $3.4 billion, or $6.34 per share diluted, up 47% over fiscal 2010. The Company’s net income for the quarter was $934 million, or $1.78 per share diluted, compared with net income of $911 million, or $1.74 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and net income of $710 million, or $1.27 per share diluted, in the same quarter last year.

The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments was $2.7 billion as of February 26, 2011, compared to $2.5 billion at the end of the previous quarter, an increase of $227 million from the prior quarter. Cash flow from operations in Q4 was approximately $1.0 billion. Uses of cash included intangible asset additions of approximately $365 million, capital expenditures of approximately $304 million and business acquisitions of approximately $161 million.

FY2012 and Q1 Outlook:

For the full year fiscal 2012, RIM expects earnings per share to be in excess of $7.50 fully diluted. Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ending May 28, 2011 is expected to be in the range of $5.2-$5.6 billion. Gross margin percentage for the first quarter is expected to be approximately 41.5%. Earnings per share for the first quarter are expected to be in the range of $1.47 -$1.55 per share diluted. This guidance range reflects a mix shift in handset towards lower ASP products in the first quarter and an increased level of investment in Research and Development and Sales and Marketing related to our tablet and platform initiatives. The guidance range is slightly wider than normal to reflect the risk of potential disruption in RIM’s supply chain as a result of the recent earthquake in Japan.

The word from Barcelona is that Research In Motion has had a pretty successful show all around, with a lot of interest especially being shown by developers for the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook. One of the side-shows at App Planet this year was App Circus, where developers take to the stage for a few minutes at a time, to talk about their apps in front of a panel of judges.

Above you can watch the App Circus Spotlight on BlackBerry (warning, it’s a 52minute video), and get a glimpse and further insight into some current and future apps for BlackBerry. If you want to skip the video and just get to who won the App Circus competition, you can already download the winner Gbanga and runner up Urban Step from App World. I haven’t watched the whole video yet (I *wish* I could watch it on my PlayBook when going to bed tonight.. hurry up RIM!) so if you do watch it be sure to drop some comments below with any of the highlights.