BlackBerry Beta Zone Opens Up To All Developers

 Until now only BlackBerry had been able to perform beta testing while all other developers had to make users side load apps. Thankfully the playing ground is getting flattened.

 Here is the email BlackBerry is using to announce the change:.

Hello,
We are pleased to announce that BlackBerry developers are now able to beta test their BlackBerry 10 apps through Beta Zone. Very soon you will start to see new “Third Party” beta programs available to you, which will be posted and fully managed by the developers themselves.

What do you need to know?

The process for participating in these beta programs remains the same, but all of your feedback will be submitted directly to the developers. Here are a few important things to note:

1.       You can easily distinguish between a Third Party and a BlackBerry beta application by taking a look at the ‘Author’ of the download in the Beta Zone app – BlackBerry apps will have “BlackBerry” listed as the Author, while Third Party apps will have the BlackBerry World Vendor name listed, example: “OSBB”.

2.       ‘Submit Feedback’ – After joining a Third Party beta program, you can contact the developer directly by using the ‘Submit Feedback’ form in the Beta Zone app. Be sure to select the appropriate beta program name from the “What is your feedback about?” dropdown, so that your feedback is sent to the correct developer.
Start testing! 

We are quite excited about this and expect that it will go a long way towards improving the quality of the apps available to you in BlackBerry World. We hope that you too are just as excited as we are, and that you will provide developers with the same amazing level of support and quality feedback that you have provided to BlackBerry over the years.
As always, thank you for the continued support and happy testing!

BlackBerry Classic targeting November release

A recent interview between BlackBerry CEO John Chen and USA Today finally lays a little bit more of an official timeline on it for those who've been wondering.

There's a new product called the BlackBerry Classic that's coming out. It's an updated and enhanced version of one of our most popular and successful products called the Bold. It will include a keyboard and a good touch-screen, very fast Internet, Web-browsing capability and multimedia capability. But also it will be very productive and very secure. So, all the familiar things that people love, with some new technology updated. That will come out in November along with the server that helps companies manage devices. Not only the BlackBerry device, but every device, the iPhone and androids and Windows and everything else. So, the new products will have a lot to do with the architecture . And we made some announcements of those at the Mobile World Congress.

That's a bit of wait for a new device. So long in fact it's already changed names, the device started life as the BlackBerry Q20 and John Chen went ahead and changed it to the BlackBerry Classic permanently.

Facebook for BlackBerry 10 v10.4.0.14 lands in the Beta Zone

If you've got the BlackBerry Beta Zone app downloaded to your BlackBerry 10 device, you might want to open it up and see if you have a Facebook for BlackBerry 10 beta available to you. A new release has now appeared and while the change log for it appears to be short, summing it up to just bug fixes and improvements to the news feed, the news feed is one of the biggest issues on with the app right now. Again, this is only in the Beta Zone app so you'll have to grab it from there assuming it's available to you.

BlackBerry is not getting out of the device business

Last night some stories were floating around stating that BlackBerry CEO, John Chen would "consider dumping" the handset business if that portion of the company remains unprofitable. Fact of the matter is, that's not the case — "my comments were taken out of context," he says.

Chen says he has no intention of selling off the handset business, and that the focus of the company is trying to make the business profitable.

From Inside BlackBerry

Yesterday, Reuters published an article that said I would consider selling our Devices business. My comments were taken out of context.
I want to assure you that I have no intention of selling off or abandoning this business any time soon.‎ I know you still love your BlackBerry devices. I love them too and I know they created the foundation of this company. Our focus today is on finding a way to make this business profitable.
BlackBerry is not a handset-only company. We offer an end-to-end solution and devices are an important part of that equation. That’s why we’re complementing our Devices business with other revenue streams from enterprise services and software, to messaging. We’re also investing in emerging solutions such as Machine toMachine technologies that will help to power the backbone of the Internet of Things.
We will do everything in our power to continue to rebuild this business and deliver devices with the iconic keyboard and other features that you have come to expect from this brand.‎
Rest assured, we continue to fight. We have not given up and we are not leaving the Devices business.

So long story short — don't worry! BlackBerry isn't getting out of the device business and will "continue to fight." So you can keep using your BlackBerry and go about your business!

BlackBerry Kopi smartphone appears online, features QWERTY keyboard

BlackBerry's Kopi smartphone has appeared online in a series of leaked photographs.

Images of the budget handset emerged on Vietnamese website Techrum, along with the device's alleged hardware specs.

© Techrum

BlackBerry's so-called Kopi smartphone

The entry-level phone is said to feature a 3.2-inch display, a physical keyboard and a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 processor.

The report goes on to say that the device includes a 2100 mAh removable battery and an HDMI port for hooking it up to an external display,

BlackBerry's Kopi is believed to sport a faster processor than its previous budget offering, the Q5, but lacks the 4G connectivity.

The handset is expected to be geared towards the emerging markets, with no word on whether it will be heading to the West.

Shawn the Sheep Stickers now available for BBM

Aardman Animations has finally released their Shawn the Sheep stickers for BBM! This sticker pack will run you $1.99 for all of their stickers. Shawn is the star of the Wallace and Gromit spinoff. Seeing these stickers come out, I just can't wait to see what others will appear in the BBM Shop. What would you like to see in the BBM Shop?? Let us know in the comments.

BlackBerry still holds the number 3 spot in Canada

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding BlackBerry, it appears they still hold the number 3 spot in Canada – despite a 5% drop on  a year to year basis. They even held on the number 3 spot with the PlayBook.

BlackBerry now owns 15% of the Canadian Smartphone market, according to a report by comScore. This is a 5% drop in market share on a year to year basis. However, the surprising news is that the BlackBerry PlayBook, also holds the number 3 spot in the Tablet market share. Personally, I think this is great news. Of Course, any drop in number is not good news, but considering where BlackBerry allegedly holds a virtual 0% in some places where they once dominated, it’s encouraging to see that there are some Canadians that take pride in holding onto their BlackBerry’s.

Updatein Places for BlackBerry 10 Updated to Version 1.3

Updatein Places, with which you can do location based searches for restaurants, coffee shops, theatres, gas stations, ATMs and much, much more. The application was updated to version 1.3, bringing lots of new features. Here’s what’s new:

• Bug fixes.
• BlackBerry 10 Universal Search Integration.
• Improved navigation experience and minor UI Tweaks.
• Location based distance units supported for all countries. Added Imperial and Metric settings which can be accessed from the swipe down menu settings.
• Available for Z3 devices.

The update should be live for most users right now, so check out BlackBerry World and if you still haven’t tried out the app, make sure you do. It’s available for free and for all BlackBerry 10 devices.

BBM 2.1 with Sticker Shop now available for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android devices

The latest version of BBM is rolling out across BlackBerry, iPhone and Android devices. BBM 2.1 brings with it BBM Stickers as well as some new features like pictures in multi-person chats and larger file transfers of up to 16MB.

The stickers will be available in both free and paid packs through the integrated BBM Shop. Packs will contain between 20-25 stickers and will be for brands like Shaun the Sheep and WWE.

Press Release
BBM Chats Just Got More Fun with the Introduction of Stickers
Multi-Person Photo Sharing and Larger File Transfers Round Out New Features
Waterloo, ON - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced an update of BBM™, a leading mobile messaging platform for private and secure communications, that allows customers to further personalize and enhance their chat experiences.
Available for download later today from the respective app stores for the Android™, BlackBerry® and iOS® platforms, BBM will now offer stickers – larger, bolder and more expressive images than emoticons – that BBM users can add to their BBM chats. Customers will be able to purchase and download sticker packs from the new BBM Shop found in BBM.
“Stickers are another great example of how we’re making the BBM experience more engaging and fun for our customers,” said David Proulx, Senior Director, BBM at BlackBerry. “Stickers let you personalize your chats and strike the right chord with people around the world who rely on stickers in chats when they connect with colleagues, family, friends, peers and partners.”
BBM customers will be able to download a variety of sticker packs right inside BBM from the BBM Shop. Each sticker pack contains between 20 and 25 stickers and features content developed by talented artists or relating to a theme or a character like CosCat, Gilbert’s Tales or Bubble Bot, as well as sticker packs featuring content from popular brands including Shaun the Sheep and WWE. To start, sticker packs will either be offered for free, or cost US $1.99, or an approximate equivalent amount in the local currency, and will be billed through the device’s app store.
With WrestleMania 30 just around the corner, WWE is planning to give away a free sticker pack to its fans through BBM. In addition, a free sticker pack created by BlackBerry featuring favorite BBM emoticons will be available to all BBM customers that download the new update. BlackBerry plans to add new sticker packs on a regular basis.
In addition to stickers, BBM customers can now easily share photos in multi-person chats*. Photos will be delivered in the chat as a thumbnail that can be opened to reveal the image in full size. BBM customers can also now send higher quality photos, videos and presentations thanks to larger in-chat file transfers. Files up to 16MB can now be shared in a chat, an increase of 10MB.**