BlackBerry Live: Stay tuned for The Comeback Phase
BlackBerry Live: Stay tuned for The Comeback Phase 2
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Matt Hartley | 13/05/14 | Last Updated: 13/05/14 8:43 AM ET
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Thorsten Heins, chief executive officer of BlackBerry, speaks during the launch of the BlackBerry 10 in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013.
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When the curtain rises on this year’s BlackBerry Live conference, BlackBerry fans will finally get a chance to see what Canada’s smartphone maker has up its sleeve for phase two of its comeback plan.
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On Tuesday morning, BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins will kick off the Waterloo, Ont.-based firm’s annual partner and developer conference in Orlando, where he is expected to reveal more details about the company’s plans to build on the BlackBerry 10 momentum.
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BlackBerry conference likely to highlight progress after years of hope and promises
Now that BlackBerry has rolled out its new BlackBerry 10 operating system as well as the first two devices to run on the new software — the touchscreen Z10 and keyboard-equipped Q10 — the company is expected to provide partners and developers with a glimpse of its strategy for pushing the new OS into new markets and for how it plans to build on its progress.
Observers are anticipating that during his keynote address on Tuesday morning, Mr. Heins could provide developers and partners with an update on the company’s plans for a low-cost BlackBerry 10 device that will be rolled out to BlackBerry’s international strongholds, as well as what the company has planned for the future of the PlayBook tablet.
Join FP Tech Desk Editor Matt Hartley for live coverage of the BlackBerry Live opening keynote, beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Matt Hartley A FEW SECONDS AGO
Sounds like we’re still a few minutes away.
So here’s what we’re expecting
1. New details about BlackBerry 10 roll out
2. Update on BlackBerry 10 progress
3. Update on lower-cost BlackBerry 10 models
4. New apps, new partners
5. (Maybe) An update on the tablet strategy.
Matt Hartley 3 MINUTES AGO
If memory serves me correctly, BlackBerry doesn’t usually start these events directly on time.
Matt Hartley 9 MINUTES AGO
Matt Hartley 9 MINUTES AGO
Not expecting it, but would be very cool to see a big announcement of some kind. Instagram on BlackBerry 10, Netflix maybe (unlikely as CEO Reed Hastings is in Toronto today), or some other kind of major announcement.
Matt Hartley 10 MINUTES AGO
Chances are good we’ll also be hearing from BlackBerry’s head of developer relations, Alec Saunders for a bit of an update on how the company is continuing to work with devs around the world.
Matt Hartley 11 MINUTES AGO
We’ll also likely learn about the next software update for BlackBerry 10 and a few of the features that we can expect to see.
Of course, we’ll also hear from developers about what they’re working on for BlackBerry.
Matt Hartley 13 MINUTES AGO
So, could we see a little more clarity there? Maybe.
Matt Hartley 13 MINUTES AGO
As for the PlayBook tablet, we might hear a bit about BlackBerry’s plans for that too.
Mr. Heins told the Financial Post earlier this year that the company had not stopped its “tablet activities” and that BlackBerry would produce a tablet if the company’s enterprise customers demanded such a device.
However, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Heins appeared less optimistic about the future of tablet devices, saying that “In five years, I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore.”
Matt Hartley 14 MINUTES AGO
That’s something Mr. Heins has mentioned in the past.
It’s not likely that we’ll see a new device today, but it could happen.
Matt Hartley 15 MINUTES AGO
We will also likely hear more about plans to start moving BlackBerry 10 devices into markets where the company is selling lower cost BlackBerry 7 devices.
Matt Hartley 19 MINUTES AGO
So expect to hear more about BlackBerry 10 as a mobile computing platform today.
Matt Hartley 19 MINUTES AGO
Mr. Heins has spent a great deal of time lately talking about his vision for the future of “mobile computing” which includes BlackBerry technology in smartphones, cars, and (maybe) tablets.
Matt Hartley 20 MINUTES AGO
So, instead of talking about a future that is still a ways out, Mr. Heins will be able to talk about the progress BlackBerry has made under his leadership, and start talking about phase two of the BlackBerry 10 execution.
Matt Hartley 21 MINUTES AGO
BlackBerry has got the Z10 into the U.S. market and the Q10 — which is probably the BlackBerry that most fans have been waiting for — is selling in select markets.
Matt Hartley 22 MINUTES AGO
BlackBerry 10 is out the door and in the hot hands of BlackBerry fans. The Z10 became the fastest selling BlackBerry in Canadian history (and BlackBerry has sold more than one million units).
Matt Hartley 23 MINUTES AGO
This year, things are different.
Matt Hartley 25 MINUTES AGO
If you remember, last year, we heard a lot about BlackBerry 10, even though BlackBerry 10 was about eight months away from launching.
The theme of last year’s conference seemed to be about selling hope. Hope for the future of the company under Mr. Heins, who had only been in power for about 3 months at the time of the conference.
Matt Hartley 26 MINUTES AGO
Should be a little bit different than last year’s keynote.
Matt Hartley 26 MINUTES AGO
In a little more than 20 minutes we’ll be hearing from BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins as he delivers the opening keynote of the conference, which is one again being held in Orlando, Florida.
Matt Hartley 29 MINUTES AGO
Welcome to our live coverage of BlackBerry’s annual partner and developer conference, BlackBerry Live.
Formerly known as “BlackBerry World.”
Formerly known as the “Wireless Enterprise Summit.”
Matt Hartley 30 MINUTES AGO
Good morning everyone.
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