Internet Society lobbies on project to get ahead of IoT vulnerabilities

telecom | 10/17/2019 5:33 pm EDT

The Canadian chapter of the Internet Society (ISCC) is looking to embark on...

Digital rights group studying privacy policies of political parties

Media | 05/15/2019 6:01 pm EDT

The Centre for Digital Rights has hired new lobbyists to help it research...

BlackBerry plants foot in IoT security

telecom | 01/07/2019 3:30 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. is stepping in to fill a security gap widely complained about in an emerging space:...

Cellular search-and-rescue system RCAF’s domestic priority

telecom | 12/07/2018 9:35 am EST

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is currently testing radio technology...

Facebook sues BlackBerry for voice, security tech

telecom | 09/05/2018 5:38 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. filed a suit against BlackBerry Ltd. Tuesday accusing the device-maker of allegedly infringing on six of its patents, including voice messaging technology and security components, following BlackBerry’s suit against the social media company earlier this year. The six patents relate to a number of proprietary technologies, including the option to switch to voice calls from an instant messaging chat, a multiplatform device manager, GPS technology that allows users to monitor multiple-tracked devices from a single location, and a dedicated security processor that functions...

BlackBerry to offer ransomware recovery service

telecom | 08/09/2018 4:56 pm EDT

In a bid to combat the growing problem of ransomware, BlackBerry Ltd. announced in a release on Monday an...

Balsillie’s Centre for Digital Rights meets with OPC

telecom | 06/21/2018 4:00 pm EDT

A newly-minted data rights group spearheaded by former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie met with privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien in late May, according to the federal lobbying registry....

Ethics committee wants political parties to come under privacy legislation

Media | 06/19/2018 1:20 pm EDT

Following nine public meetings that began in March, the House committee...

Balsillie-led Centre for Digital Rights registers to lobby

Media | 05/25/2018 12:33 pm EDT

A new organization called the Centre for Digital Rights (CDR) that is...

Blackberry sues Snapchat for patent infringement

Media | 04/04/2018 3:17 pm EDT

Blackberry Ltd. is taking Snap Inc. to a Los Angeles court for allegedly infringing on its messaging...

BlackBerry targets Facebook with patent infringement lawsuit

telecom | 03/06/2018 4:38 pm EST

Citing its early developments in timestamp interfaces, encryption...

BlackBerry launches cybersecurity software for cars

telecom | 01/16/2018 5:01 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. is making available a new cybersecurity product initially aimed at carmakers, the company...

SCC text message ruling clarifies privacy in digital communications

telecom | 12/08/2017 10:32 am EST

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada said Friday that a sender of a text...

Ottawa opens autonomous car test track

telecom | 10/13/2017 5:16 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, is now home to the first Canadian autonomous vehicle demonstration track on public roads with integrated municipal wireless infrastructure, representing an opportunity for communication companies to test their technologies in a real...

‘Primary contact point’ needed for connected car safety: BlackBerry

telecom | 06/06/2017 2:17 pm EDT

OTTAWA — If the government expects to make connected cars safe and...

Regulations could help IoT device security, privacy: experts

telecom | 06/01/2017 6:15 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — The advent of 5G networks and the accompanying rise in...

Government help necessary for connected car rollout: ISED

telecom | 02/14/2017 11:15 pm EST

OTTAWA — In order to roll out the infrastructure and technology necessary to make connected cars available across Canada, government funding will be needed, and it could be modeled after the...

Giuliani to advise Trump on cyber security following BlackBerry partnership

telecom | 01/12/2017 5:05 pm EST

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, will provide “his expertise and insight” to president-elect Donald Trump on private sector cyber-security issues, the transition team...

BlackBerry opens connected car ‘innovation centre’

telecom | 12/19/2016 9:46 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. has opened a centre focusing on connected cars within its existing Ottawa facilities. The company said in a press release Monday that the BlackBerry QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre would “accelerate the realization of connected and self-driving vehicles by developing production-ready software independently and in collaboration with partners in the private and public sector.” One of centre’s first projects will be to support an Ontario pilot project to test self-driving cars and to work with partners University of Waterloo, United States-based self-driving software maker Polysync and Renesas Electronics Corp., a Japanese semi-conductor manufacturer, “to build an autonomous concept vehicle.”...

Ontario approves self-driving car pilot

telecom | 11/28/2016 9:19 pm EST

Ontario is launching a pilot project to test self-driving cars, the provincial government said Monday. It noted in a press release that the province was the first in Canada to launch a regulatory framework allowing...

BlackBerry to outsource all hardware development

telecom | 09/28/2016 7:14 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. will “end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners,” the company said in a press release Wednesday. It also said that it signed a licensing agreement...

Cyber security consultations begin

telecom | 08/16/2016 3:40 pm EDT

The federal government has launched public consultations in support of its review of cyber security, Public Safety Canada announced Tuesday. In a press release, the department said it will be collecting...

Lindsay Gibson joins TextNow as COO

telecom | 07/07/2016 7:42 pm EDT

Waterloo, Ont.-based TextNow announced Thursday former BlackBerry Inc. executive Lindsay Gibson was joining the company as chief operating officer. The company, which provides WiFi-based wireless...

Cyber security consultation to be ‘launched shortly’: ISED

telecom | 06/30/2016 5:34 pm EDT

The federal government will be moving forward with another consultation in the coming months, this time as it prepares to review cyber security measures. A briefing note prepared in advance of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Minister Navdeep Bains' spring meeting with BlackBerry Ltd.’s...

Liberal MPs, staff create ‘think tank’ for digital issues

Media | 05/17/2016 7:59 pm EDT

OTTAWA — It wasn’t a hard sell for David Graham to recruit Liberal colleagues for a new Parliament Hill research body. “[I said] ‘I want to talk about digital issues....

Smartphone penetration 77% among anglophones: MTM

Media | 05/17/2016 7:42 pm EDT

The number of anglophone Canadians with smartphones reached 77 per cent in the fall of 2015, up from 73 per cent in the spring of that year, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor, a project...

Canada won’t see another company like RIM under TPP: Balsillie

Media | 05/05/2016 9:59 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie doubled down on his dire warnings against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what he calls its failure to support Canadian...

RCMP had encryption key for BlackBerry: report

telecom | 04/14/2016 8:19 pm EDT

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has had an encryption key for BlackBerry Inc.’s devices since 2010, Vice News reported Wednesday. The report was based on court documents that show “law enforcement intercepted and decrypted roughly one million PIN-to-PIN BlackBerry messages” in connection with a probe into a Montreal crime syndicate, Vice reported. The article added that neither “the RCMP, nor BlackBerry ever confirmed where the global key actually came from and the documents shed little light on the matter.”...

TPP exposing Canada’s innovation weak link: Balsillie

telecom | 04/01/2016 6:04 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a raw deal for Canadians who deal in intellectual property because the country has never developed a proper innovation strategy, according to Jim Balsillie, former co-CEO of BlackBerry Ltd. "I find it inexcusable. I find our approaches completely different than...

WhatsApp won’t be available on BlackBerry by end of year

Media | 02/29/2016 10:32 pm EST

Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp will stop supporting its messenger app on most BlackBerry Inc. devices by the end of the year, the company said in a blog post Friday. Company...

BlackBerry launches new mobile security software

Media | 01/26/2016 5:53 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. announced Tuesday the release of a new suite of mobile security software for businesses. It said in a press release that the new software, called Good Secure EMM Suites, is "a comprehensive set of mobile...

Bell’s claim FTTH investment at risk is ‘fear-mongering’: CNOC

telecom | 01/05/2016 9:48 pm EST

Small Internet service providers (ISPs) are asking the government to reject an appeal, filed by BCE Inc., of a CRTC decision that mandated access by smaller competitors to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)...

BlackBerry mum on quarterly smartphone sales

Media | 12/18/2015 2:53 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. did not provide figures on smartphone sales for its third fiscal quarter, leaving it undisclosed how well its first smartphones to run on Android software are selling. The Canadian smartphone-maker and mobile-services provider said in a press release Friday that revenue in the three months ended on Nov. 28 was $548 million US, down 30.9 per cent from $793 million US a year earlier. Its net loss for the quarter was $89 million US, down from $148 million US one year earlier. The company broke away from its past practice of disclosing the number of BlackBerry smartphones it...

Power struggle at company headed by ex-BlackBerry boss: report

Media | 12/09/2015 2:57 pm EST

Three board members of Powermat Technologies Ltd., a maker of wireless mobile-device chargers, are suing the company and CEO Thorsten Heins, accusing them of unauthorized operations that threaten the...

BlackBerry says it’s shutting down BES in Pakistan

Media | 11/30/2015 10:03 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that it will stop operating its BES enterprise servers in Pakistan as of Dec. 30 due to the insistence of the Pakistani government that it get "unfettered access" to communications on the servers. A blog post by Marty Beard, BlackBerry's chief operating officer, initially said BES...

BlackBerry completes acquisition of Good Technology

Media | 11/02/2015 2:34 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. announced Monday it has completed its acquisition of Good Technology Corp. and will begin integrating its software security solutions to its mobile enterprise platform. It said in a press release that the...

Wayne Wouters joins BlackBerry board

telecom | 10/13/2015 2:31 pm EDT

Former clerk of the Privy Council, Wayne Wouters, has joined BlackBerry Ltd.'s board of directors, the company said Tuesday. Wouters was head of the Privy Council between 2009 and 2014, and before that was secretary of the...

Android-powered BlackBerry confirmed

Media | 09/25/2015 1:51 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Thursday confirmed that it will be releasing a smartphone that runs on Google Inc.'s Android system within the coming months. It said in a press release that the device will be called the Priv and feature a...

BlackBerry completes acquisition of AtHoc

telecom | 09/23/2015 2:09 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. announced Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of AtHoc Inc., a software provider for secure networked crisis communication. It said in the press release that AtHoc will operate as a division of BlackBerry...

BlackBerry buys Good Technology for $425M US

telecom | 09/04/2015 2:55 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Friday it will pay $425 million US to acquire Good Technology Corp., which makes secure mobile device platforms geared for businesses and governments. BlackBerry said the acquisition will allow it to...

‘Wireless’ concept extends to charging

Media | 08/28/2015 6:49 pm EDT

Wireless charging creates advantages beyond not having to use cords when refuelling mobile devices with electricity, according one British researcher, though a Canadian technology expert says widespread adoption of such technology is far from certain. James Moar, a research analyst with Juniper Research Ltd. in the United Kingdom, said in a phone...

Global smartphone sales growth slows

Media | 08/21/2015 7:17 pm EDT

Worldwide smartphone sales in this year's second quarter grew at their slowest rate since 2013, largely as a result of the first year-to-year decline on record for sales of smartphones in China, Gartner Inc. said Thursday. The research company said in a press release there were 330 million sales of smartphones in the second quarter, up 13.5 per cent from a year earlier. In China, sales were down four per cent from the year before, Gartner said. "China is the biggest country for smartphone sales, representing 30 per cent of total sales of smartphones in the second quarter of...

Morgan Elliott takes reins of Shaw’s regulatory ops

Media | 07/15/2015 2:48 pm EDT

Morgan Elliott has taken on the job of vice-president of regulatory and government relations at Shaw Communications Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. The profile indicates Elliott started the job in June. It also indicates that during the same month he left his job as vice-president of government relations at...

Carl Wiese to head BlackBerry’s global sales

telecom | 07/13/2015 2:07 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that Carl Wiese has been hired as its president of global sales, replacing John Sims who has left the company. The company said in a press release that Wiese comes from spending more than a decade in senior roles at Cisco Systems Inc., most recently as senior vice-president in charge of global sales and getting products to...

Pay app launched for Android, BlackBerry, while Apple users wait

Media | 06/23/2015 7:26 pm EDT

A mobile payment application owned and supported by Canada's three biggest wireless providers was announced Tuesday for Android and BlackBerry phones, while iPhone users are left waiting for Apple...

BlackBerry revenue falls to $658M US

telecom | 06/23/2015 2:40 pm EDT

BlackBerry Inc. reported revenue of $658 million US for its first fiscal quarter ended May 30, down from $966 million US a year earlier. The company said in a press release that hardware accounted for 40 per cent of that revenue,...

BlackBerry declines comment on Android report

Media | 06/12/2015 4:12 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. declined Friday to comment on a report that it was considering using Google Inc.'s Android software in an upcoming smartphone. Reuters reported Thursday that four sources with knowledge of the matter said BlackBerry was considering using the Android operating system as a way to shift its focus more toward software and device management, and less on creating the actual devices. In an emailed statement, BlackBerry said: "We don’t comment on rumours and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and...

BlackBerry’s IoT platform to deliver new automotive experiences

Media | 06/03/2015 7:17 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. announced in a press release Wednesday that it will demonstrate its new automotive software, which allows for wireless updates, at this year's TU-Automotive Detroit auto show. The new software will help automakers reduce maintenance costs and expensive recalls, improve customer satisfaction, and keep...

BlackBerry reaches legal settlement with Typo

Media | 06/01/2015 1:52 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday in a press release it reached a settlement agreement in its disputes with Ryan Seacrest's Typo Products LLC. The release said that Typo will permanently discontinue the sale of its...

Fumbled response to iPhone sealed BlackBerry’s fate: book authors

telecom | 05/25/2015 5:15 pm EDT

The decline of BlackBerry Ltd. as a dominant player in the global smartphone market can be traced largely to its inadequate response to Apple Inc.'s iPhone, say authors of a new book on the subject. Losing the Signal: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of BlackBerry was written by Globe and Mail journalists Jacquie McNish...

Ciena announces new Ottawa campus

telecom | 05/08/2015 2:57 pm EDT

Ciena Corp. said Friday it is moving into a new campus in the west end of Ottawa on a property that was formerly used by BlackBerry Ltd. Ciena, which is headquartered in Hanover, Md., said in a press release that employees will...

SaskTel launches mobile-payment capabilities

Media | 04/24/2015 7:03 pm EDT

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday it has launched mobile-payment capabilities for wireless customers who bank with Toronto Dominion Bank and have certain devices. SaskTel said the current service works...

BlackBerry to purchase document-security company

Media | 04/21/2015 1:26 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. announced Tuesday that it has reached a deal to purchase a California-based company that makes technology to secure shared documents. The company being bought is called WatchDox Ltd. Terms of the deal were not...

BlackBerry posts 4Q profit, revenue down by third

Media | 03/27/2015 2:30 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Friday reported its first net quarterly profit in two years, though revenue was down by about a one-third from a year earlier. The Canadian smartphone maker said in a press release Friday it had net income of...

BlackBerry division releases high-security tablet

telecom | 03/16/2015 3:36 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Saturday announced that its Secusmart division had released a new tablet meant for operations in which special security standards are required. The device is called the SecuTablet, BlackBerry said in a press...

BlackBerry CEO open to producing another tablet: report

Media | 03/03/2015 7:08 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said he's open the idea of having the company produce another tablet, according to a report by CNet. "It's not in the works, but it's on my mind," an article published on the website Tuesday reported Chen as saying during an interview from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The article reported Chen as saying he would "want it to be different. I want it to be iconic. Bringing a tablet out for a tablet's sake, it's not the right thing to do." Chen's statement comes in the wake of data from International Data Corp....

Google announces work software for Android devices

Media | 02/25/2015 9:05 pm EST

Google Inc. said Wednesday it has a developed a program that will help utilize Android devices for business purposes in a way that ensures security for employers. A blog post from Google said the technology is called Android for...

Android, iOS approach ‘total domination’ of smartphone market

Media | 02/25/2015 3:47 pm EST

Google Inc.'s Android and Apple Inc.'s iOS operating systems "inched closer to total domination of the worldwide smartphone market" in the fourth quarter of 2014, International Data Corp. said Tuesday. The technology research company said in news release that the two operating systems powered 96.3 per...

BlackBerry seeks injunction against Typo 2: report

Media | 02/18/2015 5:27 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. is seeking an injunction against the latest version of a keyboard add-on made by Ryan Seacrest's Typo Products LLC for Apple Inc.'s iPhones, Reuters reported Tuesday. The article said BlackBerry claimed in...

David Kleidermacher joins BlackBerry

Media | 02/10/2015 3:28 pm EST

David Kleidermacher has been appointed chief security officer of BlackBerry Ltd., the company announced Tuesday.  Kleidermacher was previously chief technology officer at Green Hills Software, a maker of embedded operating...

Judge orders Typo to pay BlackBerry $860,600 US

telecom | 02/05/2015 9:26 pm EST

A U.S. district judge ordered Typo Products LLC to pay BlackBerry Ltd. $860,600, plus lawyers’ fees and costs, for selling an physical keyboard for iPhones despite an injunction being in place, Reuters reported Wednesday. In March, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ordered the company to stop selling this typing accessory for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, while a lawsuit against Typo by BlackBerry Ltd. proceeds. Reuters reported BlackBerry had asked for a $2.64-million US fine, and that the court said Typo had sold almost 19,000 of the cases following the injunction....

BlackBerry boss takes aim at Netflix in neutrality battle

Media | 01/23/2015 3:38 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said the battle for net neutrality in the United States should not only focus on service providers' traffic management practices, but should also include companies,...

Documents show Samsung interested in BlackBerry: report

Media | 01/22/2015 2:51 pm EST

Documents indicate Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is still interested in buying device maker BlackBerry Ltd. despite denials from both companies that a deal was in the works, the Financial Post...

Ex-Microsoft exec calls out wireless industry on radiation issues

telecom | 01/19/2015 9:36 pm EST

OTTAWA — The former president of Microsoft Corp.'s Canadian operations is calling on companies involved in wireless technology to be more forthcoming in addressing what he says are health...

BlackBerry CEO to Industry Minister: no talks with Samsung on buyout

telecom | 01/19/2015 6:31 pm EST

BlackBerry Inc. CEO John Chen told Industry Minister James Moore on Thursday that reports of talks about a potential acquisition of his company by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. weren’t true,...

BlackBerry denies acquisition talks with Samsung

telecom | 01/14/2015 9:13 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. has denied a report it has held talks with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. about an acquisition. “BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase...

BlackBerry posts smaller loss on less revenue in Q3

telecom | 12/19/2014 3:34 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. reported on Friday a smaller net loss than a year earlier, and less revenue as well, for its third-quarter. The company posted a $148-million US loss on revenue of $793 million US in the quarter ending Nov. 29,...

EDC provides $850M US in financing to Vodafone

Media | 12/16/2014 8:40 pm EST

Export Development Canada (EDC), a federal Crown corporation that loans money to foreign companies doing business with Canadian companies, said Tuesday it has loaned $850 million US to British-based telecommunications service...

Global smartphone sales up 20% in Q3: Gartner

telecom | 12/15/2014 5:15 pm EST

Global smartphone sales to end users were up 20.3 per cent worldwide in this year's third quarter compared to a year earlier, technology research company Gartner Inc. said Monday. The company said in a press release that...

Privacy commish backs stricter privacy safeguards for apps

Media | 12/10/2014 5:13 pm EST

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien has joined 22 other privacy authorities from Canadian provinces and international jurisdictions calling on mobile-app marketplaces to require easily accessible privacy policies from developers of apps that collect personal information from users. Therrien is among those who signed a letter addressed to operators of application stores, including Google Inc., Apple Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd., that said "an app marketplace operator should, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, make the basic commitment to require each app that can...

App business thriving within Canada’s wireless industry: CWTA report

telecom | 12/09/2014 8:50 pm EST

A recent study on the wireless industry's effects on the Canadian economy in 2013 showed a shift favouring businesses involved in applications and content, and against those involved in devices and other hardware. The study was done for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) by research company...

BlackBerry to launch cancer genome app for doctors

telecom | 12/08/2014 8:03 pm EST

BlackBerry Inc.’s new Passport phone will support an application that allows doctors to access their patients’ genetic data. The company said in a press release Monday that the NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser “enables deep, interactive reporting on genomics data for physicians and other treatment providers in clinical settings —...

BlackBerry offers iPhone holders up to $600 to buy Passport

telecom | 11/25/2014 6:07 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. is offering up to $600 in incentives for Canadian iPhone users to purchase a BlackBerry Passport. On Monday, BlackBerry said in a press release that, between Dec. 1 and Feb. 13, it...

Starbucks starts wireless charger rollout in U.S.

telecom | 11/20/2014 7:27 pm EST

Starbucks Corp. announced on Tuesday it is starting a U.S. rollout of wireless charging stations in its coffee shops. It said in a press release that about 200 locations in the San Francisco Bay area have been equipped with...

Thorsten Heins to lead Powermat Technologies

telecom | 11/18/2014 3:33 pm EST

Powermat Technologies Ltd., a New York-based maker of public charging stations for mobile devices, said Tuesday that it has appointed former BlackBerry Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins as its new CEO and chairman. Its outgoing CEO and founder Ran Poliakine will remain with the company as vice-chairman, Powermat said in a press release. Powermat said it is in the midst of an expansion of its global presence, including a recent deal with Starbucks Corp. to install charging stations at its coffee shops across the U.S. Heins was replaced by John Chen as BlackBerry CEO last November....

BlackBerry releases new enterprise system

Media | 11/13/2014 5:58 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. on Thursday announced the availability of its latest system for enterprise management of mobile devices. The new system is called BES12, which BlackBerry said in a press release "is the foundation for...

Fee-based privacy features introduced for BBM

Media | 10/31/2014 3:07 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Friday announced new privacy measures for its BBM messaging service that will eventually be offered, along with other services, for a fee. One such feature allows users to set a time when their sent messages...

Alec Saunders steps down from BlackBerry

telecom | 10/07/2014 4:30 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. vice-president Alec Saunders, who heads the company’s QNX cloud division, announced on his personal blog on Tuesday that he will be leaving the company Nov. 3. Saunders took over the job in January,...

Sybase alumnus Mike Daniels joins BlackBerry board

telecom | 10/01/2014 1:52 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen has brought in another one of his connections from his days leading Sybase Inc. into the BlackBerry fold. On Wednesday, BlackBerry said in a press release that Mike Daniels has been appointed to...

BlackBerry devices bring in more cash in Q2

telecom | 09/26/2014 2:27 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. posted a $207-million US net loss in its quarterly report released Friday, though it saw bump in the number of devices it derived revenue from in comparison to the previous period. In its second quarter, which...

BlackBerry launches Passport, new app

telecom | 09/24/2014 3:49 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. launched a new smartphone, the Passport, on Wednesday, as well as an app that brings content from BlackBerry smartphones to computers and tablets. The Passport, revealed at a launch event in Toronto that featured...

BlackBerry expands mobile-payment service in Indonesia

Media | 09/18/2014 6:26 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Thursday that its mobile payment application will be made available to iPhone and Android smartphone users in Indonesia in early 2015. The company said in a press release that...

BlackBerry buys ‘virtual identity’ company

Media | 09/11/2014 3:08 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Thursday announced it had acquired Movirtu, a United Kingdom-based maker of technology that creates "virtual identity solutions' for smartphones. BlackBerry said in a press release that Movirtu's technology helps companies manage cellphones in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and...

BlackBerry creates ‘innovative technology’ unit

Media | 08/18/2014 5:12 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Monday announced the creation of a new business unit comprised of what it called its "innovative technology assets." The company said in a press release that its new BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS) division would be comprised of its QNX embedded-software operations, Internet-of-Things platform Project ION, cryptography applications maker Certicom, RF-antenna tuning operations Paratek and its patent portfolio. BlackBerry said it has named Sandeep Chennakeshu as the new unit's president. Chennakeshu has previously been president of Ericsson's mobile-platforms division and chief technology officer of Sony Ericsson. "Combining all these assets into a single business unit led by Sandeep will create operational synergies and new revenue streams,...

Android makes up almost 85% of smartphone market: IDC

telecom | 08/14/2014 1:53 pm EDT

The dominant smartphone brands keep getting stronger as weaker brands, such as devices from BlackBerry Ltd., lose more ground, according to International Data Corp. The technology research company said in a press release Thursday...

Facebook hires former BBM exec

telecom | 08/08/2014 8:31 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. has hired former BlackBerry Ltd. executive Andrew Bocking, who formerly led the BlackBerry Messenger unit at the Canadian smartphone manufacturer, to run its Internet.org mobile project, the company confirmed on...

BlackBerry finished restructuring process: Reuters

telecom | 08/05/2014 8:32 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. has concluded its restructuring process, Reuters reported Tuesday, quoting an internal company memo. The news service said the memo, sent Friday by CEO John Chen, said: “We have completed the restructuring...

Blackberry buying German encryption specialists

telecom | 07/29/2014 3:44 pm EDT

Blackberry Ltd. announced Tuesday that it is buying Secusmart GmbH, a German company that specializes in communications security and encryption. The companies had an existing partnership, providing smartphones to governments and...

Blackberry announces hosted BES10

telecom | 07/23/2014 1:34 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. announced Wednesday that the BlackBerry Enterprise Services 10  (BES10) platform is now available from third-party providers as a hosted service. BES10 is the enterprise management software bundle for BlackBerry administration, connecting the company’s different services together with locally managed solutions such as Microsoft Exchange.  With hosted BES10, companies will have a choice of providers for their BlackBerry mobile management. ...

Marty Beard named BlackBerry COO

telecom | 07/21/2014 2:31 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Monday said it has made Marty Beard its new chief operating officer. The company said in a press release Beard was most recently chairman and CEO of LiveOps Inc., a maker of cloud-based applications for...

Apple, IBM team up to target enterprise business

telecom | 07/16/2014 3:19 pm EDT

Apple Inc. and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. have entered a partnership that will integrate IBM’s “big data and analytics capabilities” with Apple’s iPad and iPhone products. The companies...

BlackBerry launches ‘Fact Check’ portal

Media | 06/26/2014 6:58 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Thursday it has launched a new website to "hold our competitors accountable for what they say, when what they say is wrong." Mark Wilson, BlackBerry's senior vice-president of marketing, said on the company's official blog that the company has to defend itself with the facts.  "As we’ve been...

BlackBerry lays off 65 staff

telecom | 06/24/2014 8:58 pm EDT

BlackBerry Inc. has laid off 65 employees, “primarily” in its Global Alliances and Ecosystem group, the company confirmed Tuesday. A BlackBerry spokesperson said in an email Tuesday that the company “is working...

BlackBerry posts first-quarter profit

telecom | 06/19/2014 2:14 pm EDT

Blackberry Ltd. on Thursday posted a profit for its first quarter of $23 million US, up from a loss of $84 million US one year earlier. The company said in a press release that it had reduced operating expenses by 57 per cent...

CIBC payment app available for Bell wireless customers

Media | 06/18/2014 4:27 pm EDT

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and BCE Inc. on Wednesday said that CIBC's mobile payment app will be available in the coming weeks for certain mobile phones on the Bell network. In a joint...

Netflix for BlackBerry, among other things

Media | 06/18/2014 3:25 pm EDT

BlackBerry users will gain access to several applications this fall, including Netflix, as a result of making Amazon.com Inc.'s Appstore part of the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system that becomes available this fall, BlackBerry...

BlackBerry releases enterprise-version BBM

telecom | 06/16/2014 4:51 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Monday announced the availability of BBM Protected, a version of its BBM messaging service for enterprise use. The company said in a press release that the new application is "the most secure and reliable...

BlackBerry to support financial transactions for wireless incumbents

Media | 06/12/2014 4:58 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Thursday it has reached a three-year deal with a consortium comprised of Canada's three incumbent wireless providers to support financial transactions conducted through smartphones. BlackBerry and EnStream LP, which is a joint venture run by BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc., did not disclose financial details of the agreement. BlackBerry said its infrastructure will be used in this partnership to facilitate secure transactions using card-payment...