RIM unveils affordable BlackBerry

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Research In Motion unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets on Tuesday, stepping up its efforts to regain market share lost to Apple's iPhone and Android devices powered by Google's software.

The lower-cost gadget, called the Q5, is the company's third smartphone to run the new BlackBerry 10 system. It will have a physical keyboard, something that sets RIM's devices apart from Apple's iPhone and most Android phones.

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said the "slim, sleek" device will be available in red, black, white and pink. He announced the phone to a packed ballroom to open RIM's annual three-day conference in Orlando, Florida.

The device will be available in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia (including the Asia Pacific region), and Latin America beginning in July. The Q5 isn't expected to be released in North America for now. The company did not disclose prices for the new phone.

RIM's higher-tier Q10 has been released in most markets, but delays have meant that U.S. carriers aren't likely to have it until June. The U.S. delays complicate RIM's effort to hang on to customers tempted by Apple's iPhone and a range of Android smartphones. Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have remained loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen found on other devices.

Will BlackBerry ever be hip again?

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:58:00 +0000

As I waited Wednesday morning for four different liveblogs to update with nanosecond-by-nanosecond hyper-coverage of Research in Motion's "Hail Mary pass" to revive the BlackBerry, I found myself wrestling with a classic postmodern technology coverage conundrum. Was BlackBerry's decision last September to embrace REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" as a vow of enduring faith to its all-important app developers an unintentional confirmation that the BlackBerry brand is eternally consigned to corporate middle-manager mediocrity, or was it some kind of ironic hipster jujitsu move? Ha ha, wink, wink!

You see, from my cultural vantage point, REO Speedwagon signifies the death of cool and the end of rock 'n' roll. The song "Keep On Loving You" hit No. 1 just two months after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. Need I say more?

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RIM unveils affordable BlackBerry

Will BlackBerry ever be hip again?