BlackBerry Inc.’s new smartphone, called Passport, will go on sale Sept. 24., at a lower price point than the newest devices from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., according to a report. Quoting an interview with BlackBerry CEO John Chen, The Wall Street Journal reported that the device would go on sale Wednesday and cost $599 US in the United States, as compared to $649 US for Apple’s new iPhone 6, $749 US for the iPhone 6 Plus, and around $650 for Samsung’s Galaxy S5. Chen told the WSJ that the phone should cost around $700, but that “to try to get the market interested, we're going to start a little lower than that." The WSJ said the phone, which has a 4.5 inch-screen and a physical keyboard, will be launched in Toronto, London and Dubai on...
As BlackBerry Ltd.’s problems mount, other companies are jumping in to capitalize on any inklings its corporate customers might have about switching to other mobile devices. Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry’s ongoing issues—the latest, the Nov. 4 news that a proposed acquisition led by Fairfax Financial Holding Ltd. had been called off—have created uncertainty about the company’s future structure, ownership, and even the products and services it might provide. At...
BlackBerry Ltd., which launched BlackBerry Messenger apps for the Android and iOS mobile operating systems this week, said the apps were downloaded 10 million times in the first 24 hours. “We’ve already had more than...
Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd. has signed a nondisclosure deal with BlackBerry Ltd. to examine its books in advance of a potential bid for part of the Canadian company, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. In a report that cited anonymous sources, WSJ said that Lenovo was likely to “pursue just parts” of BlackBerry due...
BlackBerry Ltd. published an open letter to customers in major newspapers around the globe on Tuesday, reassuring them of continued service as changes are ahead. “You can continue to count on BlackBerry,” said the letter, also posted on the company’s website. “These are no doubt challenging times...
BlackBerry Ltd.'s founders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin are considering an offer to buy back the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker, they said in a regulatory filing Thursday. The founders...
Rogers Communications Inc. said it will offer the new BlackBerry Z30 to its customers a week after the company said it would not stock that model when it becomes available in Canada Oct. 15. “In response to customers' feedback and excitement about the device, Rogers looks forward to offering the new Z30 to its customers,” Rogers spokeswoman Patricia Trott said in an emailed statement. She said Rogers would make the Z30 available “online, through our national reservation system and directly to our business to business customers.” BlackBerry Ltd., which is...
BlackBerry Ltd. is talks with Cisco Systems Inc., Google Inc. and SAP AG about its possible sale, Reuters reported Monday. The news service, citing anonymous sources, said BlackBerry was in talks...
New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP is looking at BlackBerry Ltd. in a possible acquisition, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The New York firm plans to sign an agreement with BlackBerry...
BlackBerry Ltd. said NATO approved its BB10 smartphones for “restricted” security level use. “The certification allows agencies in NATO countries in all 28 member states across North America and Europe to use BlackBerry 10 smartphones in the office or in the...
If BlackBerry Ltd.'s users haven't yet decided whether to give up on their devices, give it a year, or maybe more, for enterprise clients. Many of the company's roughly 70 million subscribers around the world are high-profile enterprise clientele in the health, government and finance sectors, who will be...
BlackBerry Ltd. reported a second-quarter loss of $965 million US, or $1.84 US per share, including a $934-million US writedown on unsold phones and a restructuring charge of about $72 million. For its second quarter results for...
Canadian pension funds the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Alberta Investment Management Corp. held “preliminary discussions” with FairFax Financial Holdings Ltd. about financing its proposal for a...
Takeover bids for Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry Ltd. officially began after Toronto investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. said it made an offer to acquire the Canadian smartphone maker for...
BlackBerry Ltd. reported preliminary earnings Friday that included a net loss of $950 million US to $995 million US for its second quarter, and the sale of 5.9 million smartphones, down from 6.8 million in the previous quarter. The company made the preliminary announcement in advance of its second quarter results due Sept....
Industry Minister James Moore said he wants BlackBerry Ltd. to “make it on its own” and compete with Apple Inc.'s iOS and Google Inc.'s Android mobile platforms. “I want BlackBerry to grow and to continue to employ Canadians and to continue to innovate and be a challenger to the Android and iOS platforms and Windows platforms,” the minister told reporters in Oakville, Ont., on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. That was before BlackBerry's announcement Friday of sagging sales, hundreds of millions of dollars in additional net losses, and another round of layoffs of 4,500. In March the Waterloo, Ont.-based company said it had about 12,700 staff. It has already cut about 400 jobs this summer. The struggling smartphone manufacturer has said it is looking...
BlackBerry Ltd. is preparing to lay off as many as 40 per cent of its employees by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, hours after BlackBerry announced the launch of its latest smartphone device. In a report citing unnamed sources, WSJ said the planned job cuts would affect all of the company’s departments, and will likely be rolled out in waves between now and the end of the year....
BlackBerry Ltd. plans to talk to the federal government about Canada's foreign takeover rules as the company holds discussions with potential buyers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. BlackBerry registered with the federal...
BlackBerry Ltd.’s board of directors is pushing for a speedy auction process to sell off the company or its divisions and hopes to have the process completed by November, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a report citing...
BlackBerry Ltd. may make its BlackBerry Messenger service into a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The newspaper, citing anonymous sources, reported that the subsidiary would be called BBM Inc. The company has also been moving executives to “the BBM team,” and working on other offerings, such as video chatting, the newspaper said. The company said earlier this month...
BlackBerry Ltd. is laying off “approximately 100” of its Waterloo, Ont.-based employees, the company said. In an emailed statement Tuesday, BlackBerry’s media relations team said the company has informed “a small number of employees” that they will be let go from the company, “including approximately 100 employees in Waterloo.” “We are in the second phase of our transformation plan where we will be assessing our organization—from top to bottom—to ensure we have the right people in the right roles with the right skill sets to drive new opportunities in mobile computing,” it said. The announcement follows the company’s decision to lay off about 250 staff in July, and the departures of three of the company’s...
BlackBerry Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins would receive an estimated $55.6 million payout if he loses his job following a sale of the company, Bloomberg said. In a report Friday, Bloomberg said a BlackBerry proxy circulated in May...
BlackBerry Ltd. should sell off or shut down its smartphone manufacturing business as the company begins a special review of its “strategic alternatives” amid slow smartphone sales,...
BlackBerry Ltd. laid off about 250 staff from its offices in Waterloo, Ont., Reuters reported. Reuters quoted an anonymous company spokesperson who said the layoffs “are part of the next stage of our turnaround plan to increase efficiencies.” The staff were let go from BlackBerry's product testing team at the company’s Waterloo headquarters, Reuters said, adding that the company had...
Two executive-ranking officials with BlackBerry Ltd. left the Waterloo, Ont.-based company, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. They were T.A. McCann, a vice-president responsible for social media functions, and Marc...
BlackBerry Ltd. shareholders approved the company’s decision to change its name from Research in Motion Ltd. as CEO Thorsten Heins told investors the company “is still in the early phases” of its transition at an annual meeting. In an address at the company’s annual and special shareholders meeting...
Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM Ltd., operating as BlackBerry, reported shipments of 6.8 million smartphones for its first quarter of 2014, representing a 13 per cent rise from the previous quarter, though the number of shipments for its touchscreen Z10 smartphone fell short of analyst expectations. In an earnings statement...
Investors are betting against BlackBerry ahead of the company’s release of its fourth-quarter financial report on Friday, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing data from financial services firm Markit Group Ltd. According to the Markit data, investors have taken a “record number” of “short positions” against BlackBerry in...
Machine-to-machine communications will become more important in the mobile wireless sector as the QNX operating system, the foundation of BlackBerry’s new BB10 operating system, is in 60 per...
BlackBerry said it plans to ask the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission for reviews of a “false and misleading report” about the return rates of the company's new Z10 smartphone. "Sales of the BlackBerry Z10 are meeting expectations and the data we have collected from our retail and carrier partners demonstrates that customers are satisfied with their devices," BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins said in a statement Friday. "Return rate statistics show that we are at or below our forecasts and right in line with...
BlackBerry has appointed Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg to its board of directors, the company said Thursday. In a release, BlackBerry said Lynch previously held the position of executive vice-president of Verizon Communications...
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) changed its name to BlackBerry and launched its new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system Wednesday. “As we launch BlackBerry 10 around the world, now is the right...