TAGGED AS BLACKBERRY
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: Internet of Things devices.
The smartphone pioneer, which has focused its efforts on shoring up security for a broad clientele including businesses and governments,...
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...
Blackberry sues Snapchat for patent infringement
telecom | 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...
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...
BlackBerry call encryption approved for U.S. government
telecom | 07/21/2017 4:12 pm EDT
Blackberry Ltd. will now be able to provide its mobile device...
Smartphone penetration at 80% among anglophones: MTM
Media | 05/09/2017 5:42 pm EDT
The number of anglophone Canadians who have smartphones climbed up to 80 per cent in the fall of 2016 from 77 per cent a year earlier, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM). At the same time, the...
Trump withdraws from TPP
Media | 01/23/2017 10:16 pm EST
The United States is officially withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, after president Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday. Advocacy group OpenMedia said in a press release following the announcement that Canada should also reject the deal. In Canada, 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 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...
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...
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 operation's viability, according to a report. The website CNet reported Wednesday, based on court documents filed in Israel, where Powermat has an office, that these board members accuse Heins, a former CEO of Canada's BlackBerry Ltd., and the company of operating without an approved budget and pushing the company toward financial ruin. The report quoted a filing from the company in...
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...
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...
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...
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 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,"...
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...
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 systems, according to a press release. He has more than 20 years of experience in strategy and product engineering, the company said, and is the author of a book on security for embedded systems. “David’s knowledge of securing the Internet of Things and embedded systems will be invaluable as we execute on our strategy and continue to expand our management...
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....
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, Moore's press secretary Jake Enwright said in an email Monday. BlackBerry also denied the rumors in a press release last week, following a report from Reuters that Samsung had discussed a deal to buy BlackBerry that could be worth as much as $7.5 billion US. ...
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 launches IOT platform, BBM for wearables
Media | 01/07/2015 6:16 pm EST
BlackBerry Inc. said Wednesday from the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas that it launched an Internet of Things (IoT) platform, and that it will make its BBM service available on smartwatches. The IoT platform, which the...
BlackBerry posts smaller loss on less revenue in Q3
Media | 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...
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...
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 BlackBerry's extensive portfolio of enterprise security, productivity, and communication and collaboration services that will help organizations securely connect employees with each other and with the corporate information and machines that are required to get their jobs done." BlackBerry said it's the first version of BES that will support the Internet of...
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 hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, is aimed at professional users, the company said in a press release, has a physical keyboard, as well as a 4.5-inch touchscreen shaped like a square and is roughly the size of a Canadian passport. “The BlackBerry Passport was created to drive productivity and to break through the sea of rectangular-screen, all-touch devices,”...
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...
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...
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 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 hard to return to profitability and we continue to optimize our resources to be in a better position to compete in this current mobile environment. As such, last week, 65 BlackBerry employees were impacted … in order to realign resources to focus on new programs that will drive enterprise application development.” The company said last week that it was entering a new partnership with Amazon.com Inc. that would provide users with more consumer apps, adding that under the deal, it would have an opportunity to focus more on the creation of enterprise apps....
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...
BlackBerry might make phablets: report
telecom | 06/11/2014 9:12 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. chief executive John Chen said the company might get into the business of making so-called phablets, or smartphones with extra-large screens, according to an article in an Indonesian publication. In an interview...
Growing smartphone market won’t help BlackBerry: report
telecom | 05/28/2014 7:30 pm EDT
A new report says smartphone sales will continue to grow in the coming years, though the opposite trend will be seen with BlackBerry Ltd.’s handsets. International Data Corp. said in a news...
BlackBerry launches Internet of Things project
telecom | 05/22/2014 5:16 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. announced Wednesday a number of initiatives it said will be the “cornerstone” of its “vision to offer end-to-end solutions for the Internet of Things.” The company said in a press release...
Canada needs stronger IP defences: Balsillie
telecom | 04/11/2014 6:07 pm EDT
Canadian companies need to build their capacity for defending patents and asserting intellectual property rights in order to build more technology success stories like the company he founded, Research in Motion...
Money for messaging — BlackBerry mines BBM for dollars
telecom | 04/04/2014 6:36 pm EDT
It’s hard to pin down David Proulx, BlackBerry Ltd.’s senior director of BBM, on when exactly the company started to see this application as something that could generate revenue directly....
BlackBerry won’t renew contract with T-Mobile
telecom | 04/02/2014 1:58 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. said in a release issued late Tuesday that it will not renew T-Mobile US Inc.’s licence to sell BlackBerry products after it expires on April 25. BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in the release:...
U.S. judge bars sales of iPhone case with physical keyboard
telecom | 03/31/2014 6:43 pm EDT
A U.S. district judge has ordered Typo Products LLC to stop selling its case for Apple Inc.'s iPhone that includes a physical keyboard for typing on the device while a lawsuit against Typo by...
BlackBerry’s hardware business shrinking proportionally
Media | 03/28/2014 3:12 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd.’s fourth-quarter earnings show the company is a getting smaller proportion of its revenue from hardware and a bigger slice from services. Results released in a press release...
BlackBerry receives U.S. military certification
telecom | 03/27/2014 7:36 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. has received an exclusive security certification from the U.S. military, the company announced on Thursday. The Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker said in a release it earned the Full Operational Capability (FOC) designation from the U.S. Department of Defense, which allows the company’s phones to be used to access the email and applications on the department’s network. “FOC further highlights BlackBerry’s proven security model at a time when cybersecurity is top-of-mind for governments and enterprises,” the company said in the release....
BlackBerry work app for iPhone, Android security certified
telecom | 03/26/2014 5:00 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. said Wednesday that its Secure Work Space application for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and devices running on Google Inc.’s Android software has been certified in a way that should...
Government said no to BlackBerry sale to Lenovo: CBC
telecom | 03/25/2014 5:37 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. abandoned a potential sale of the company last year to Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd. after the Canadian government indicated it would not approve such a transaction, CBC reported online on Monday....
BlackBerry lays off 90 people in Ottawa
telecom | 03/18/2014 8:11 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. laid off about 90 workers from its Ottawa operations this week, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. The BlackBerry official said these employees were part of the company’s product-development and...
BlackBerry cuts 120 employees
telecom | 03/17/2014 6:01 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. on Monday said it has laid off 120 employees in Waterloo, Ont., as part of its efforts to restore the company’s fiscal sustainability. A statement from the company said the latest cuts came from its...
BlackBerry testing sponsored content on BBM
Media | 03/05/2014 7:10 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. said in blog post that it is testing sponsored content on its BBM messaging service with some users. A posting on BlackBerry’s website Tuesday by Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM, said the company is seeing how its BBM Channels feature functions as a way for certain brands and businesses to directly connect with BBM users. Gadway said featured placements, where companies have their own forums indicated in in the “Featured Channels” section of BBM, is one method being tried out. Another is sponsored invitations, where companies can...
BlackBerry CEO would consider selling BBM: reports
Media | 02/25/2014 8:10 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said Tuesday he would consider selling BBM, the company’s messaging service, according to different media reports Tuesday. CNBC quoted Chen in an interview as saying: "If somebody comes to...
BlackBerry makes BBM available for Windows, Nokia phones
Media | 02/24/2014 2:50 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that its BBM instant-messaging service would become available to users of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phones and Nokia Corp.’s X smartphones. BlackBerry made the...
Blackberry CEO John Chen slams “inappropriate” T-Mobile offer
telecom | 02/18/2014 9:13 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said in a blog post Tuesday he was “outraged” at T-Mobile US Inc. after the U.S. carrier sent a targeted email to BlackBerry users last week offering them a...
Android, iPhone users can make free calls on new BBM
telecom | 02/13/2014 7:12 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. announced a new version of its BBM messaging system Thursday that will, among other features, allow users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android system to make free...
Andrew Bocking leaves BlackBerry’s BBM unit
telecom | 02/10/2014 9:27 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. confirmed Monday that Andrew Stocking has left his post as executive vice-president of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). His LinkedIn profile shows that he’s held that position since June last year, and has been...
BlackBerry update unlocks FM radio
telecom | 01/28/2014 5:20 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. announced an update to its operating system on Tuesday that, among other things, unlocks a built-in FM radio on certain models. The company said in a release Tuesday that version 10.2.1 of its BlackBerry 10 OS...
Reports of U.S. military BlackBerry order incorrect: spokesman
telecom | 01/24/2014 5:29 pm EST
The U.S. Defense Department says reports from earlier this week of a major purchase of BlackBerry Ltd. devices were not correct. A emailed statement Friday from a department spokesman to The Wire...
New U.S. military program to support 80,000 BlackBerrys: reports
telecom | 01/20/2014 9:04 pm EST
The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency will use about 80,000 BlackBerry Ltd. devices on a new mobile communications system to be launched at the end of January, news agencies reported Monday....
BlackBerry names Eric Johnson to head global sales
telecom | 01/13/2014 3:01 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday it has named Eric Johnson as president of global sales. This announcement follows a series of other executive appointments in recent weeks, including Ron Louks as president of devices and emerging solutions, John Sims as president of global enterprise services, James Mackey as executive vice-president for corporate development and strategic planning, and Mark Wilson as senior vice-president of marketing. "I am pleased to round out BlackBerry's new executive leadership team with another outstanding addition today,” BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in a...
Ron Louks joins BlackBerry
telecom | 01/06/2014 5:40 pm EST
Ron Louks is the new president of devices and emerging solutions at BlackBerry Ltd., the company said Monday. CEO John Chen said in a release that Louks would focus on “BlackBerry’s long-term product roadmap, including hardware, software and design, as well as the company's joint...
BlackBerry reports $4.4B Q3 loss
telecom | 12/20/2013 5:03 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. reported a net loss of $4.4 billion US in its third fiscal quarter results, deepening from the $965-million US loss it reported in the second quarter and compared to a profit of about $9 million US one year...
BlackBerry adds three executives
telecom | 12/18/2013 6:10 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. appointed John Sims as its new president of global enterprise services, James Mackey as executive vice-president for corporate development and strategic planning and Mark Wilson as senior vice-president of...
Three more BlackBerry departures
telecom | 12/16/2013 10:10 pm EST
BlackBerry Inc.’s executive vice-president of global sales, Rick Costanzo, and Chris Wormald, the company’s vice-president of strategic alliances, are leaving BlackBerry, Canadian Press reported Monday. Costanzo has...
Obama still uses BlackBerry: report
telecom | 12/05/2013 7:31 pm EST
U.S. President Barack Obama is still a customer of Canada’s BlackBerry Ltd., Reuters reported. The news article said Obama told an audience of youth on Wednesday that he continues to use a BlackBerry and is not permitted to use Apple Inc.’s iPhone because of because of “security reasons.” He does use an iPad, the article noted. When Obama became president in 2009, he fought the Secret Service to keep his BlackBerry. Reuters reported that just 10 people have Obama’s personal email address and neither George W. Bush nor Bill Clinton used email during their...
Competitors pitch their services as options for BlackBerry’s enterprise customers
telecom | 11/08/2013 5:19 pm EST
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,...
BlackBerry no longer for sale; Heins leaving
telecom | 11/04/2013 9:40 pm EST
BlackBerry Ltd. said it concluded its strategic review and is no longer looking for a buyer, and will instead receive a $1 billion investment from Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The company said in a release Monday that the...
Facebook meets with BlackBerry: WSJ
telecom | 10/29/2013 8:59 pm EDT
BlackBerry Ltd. executives met with Facebook Inc. in California last week “to gauge its interest in a potential bid” for the company, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. In a report citing anonymous people...
BBM downloads top 10m in 24 hours
telecom | 10/23/2013 9:18 pm EDT
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...
BlackBerry founders looking at buying the company back
telecom | 10/11/2013 2:30 pm EDT
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 will now carry BlackBerry Z30
telecom | 10/11/2013 2:05 pm EDT
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'...
Cisco, Google, SAP show interest in BlackBerry: report
telecom | 10/07/2013 9:29 pm EDT
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 firm eyeing BlackBerry
telecom | 10/03/2013 9:09 pm EDT
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...
NATO approves BB10 for use
telecom | 10/01/2013 9:55 pm EDT
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 field,” BlackBerry said in a release Tuesday. BlackBerry is working to convince enterprise clients to stick with the Waterloo, Ont.-based mobile device maker after it reported a possible sale and second-quarter loss of $965 million US last week. Security is a top-selling feature of the BlackBerry platform and network as the company leaves the consumer market to serve business clients only. "We built the new BlackBerry 10 platform from the ground up with the highest security needs of our government and enterprise customers in mind," Scott...