Blackberry

BlackBerry sues SVP of software to stay after being hired away by Apple

You don't hear this everyday: BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against its own SVP of software following his letter of resignation in December of last year. The company claims that Sebastien Marineau-Mes's attempt to leave for a new 'VP of Core OS' position at Apple was a violation of his employment contract.

According to a ruling from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Marineau-Mes is being sued over the breach of contract terms that stipulated he must provide at least six months notice before leaving BlackBerry. So since he submitted his resignation in December, the court says he must stay through June...

BlackBerry CEO calls iPhone users ‘wall huggers’ due to poor battery life

BlackBerry's newly appointed CEO John Chen isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers. Last month he penned an open letter regarding T-Mobile's 'ill-conceived' iPhone promotion, and this past week he went after the iPhone users themselves.

Speaking at the Oasis Montgomery conference, Chen was asked for his thoughts on the surging popularity of the iPhone. And his response was 'I call you guys wall huggers,' suggesting the handset is unable to last a full day on a single charge...

Apple’s CarPlay is powered by BlackBerry’s QNX

Monday, at the Geneva Motor Show, Apple's in-car system previously known under the 'iOS in the Car' moniker got formally announced and rebranded as CarPlay. Launch partners Volvo, Ferrari, and Mercedez-Benz backed the feature as dozens of vendors pledged to support CarPlay in their upcoming vehicles later this year.

Volvo confirmed that CarPlay's connection and video mirroring functionality is based on a streaming H.264 video feed, prompting watchers to speculate that the feature is based on AirPlay, an Apple-designed media streaming technology.

In a rather surprising find earlier today, N4BB was able to confirm that CarPlay runs on QNX, an operating system the embattled Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry acquired Harman International Industries back in 2010...

Stickers coming to BBM via upcoming BBM Shop

The embattled Canadian smartphone maker, BlackBerry, has confirmed plans to bring popular virtual stickers to its cross-platform messaging app, BBM. The stickers will be available for purchase through a new BBM Shop section that will be made part of a forthcoming BBM app update. BBM, a free download from the App Store, has recently been updated with voice calling, BBM Channels, location sharing and other features...

US Air Force replaces 5,000 BlackBerrys with iOS devices

The Air Force Times is reporting this week that the US military branch is replacing 5,000 of its BlackBerry devices with smartphones from Apple. The move is part of a broader strategy to exchange the legacy devices for modern handsets.

Eventually, the outlet says that all Air Force mobile users will be required to trade in their old BlackBerrys for Apple's iPhone, or other approved devices. This will be in addition to the 18,000 iPads the branch purchased in early 2013...

T-Mobile offering upgrading BlackBerry users $250 following backlash

BlackBerry users on T-Mobile who want to upgrade to a new device will now receive $250 towards the purchase of any BlackBerry phone, or $200 toward any other smartphone. The deal follows backlash from both BB loyalists and CEO John Chen regarding a recent promo offer.

For those that missed it, T-Mobile sent out an email to its BlackBerry-using customers suggesting they switch to an iPhone 5s. Loyal BB users took to Twitter to voice their outrage at the insulting offer and BlackBerry's Chen penned a blog post calling the whole thing "inappropriate."

And here's how T-Mobile has decided to respond...

BlackBerry CEO ‘outraged’ over T-Mobile’s iPhone offer

It looks like T-Mobile's targeted iPhone offer didn't just upset BlackBerry fans. The Canadian handset-maker's CEO John Chen says that he and his team are also outraged, especially since their long-time business partner didn't contact them beforehand.

For those that missed it, T-Mobile has been sending out iPhone promos with the text "great offer for BlackBerry users," and it caused quite the backlash on Twitter and other social networks from loyal fans. Here's what Chen had to say about the ordeal...

BlackBerry diehards pan T-Mobile over iPhone offer

After T-Mobile CEO John Legere recently advised BlackBerry fans to switch to Apple's iPhone 5s, all hell broke loose as diehard fans deemed the offer insulting and took to social media to express their distaste for T-Mobile's sleezy direct marketing tactics.

The carrier invited customers via email to switch to an iPhone 5s for $0 down as a “great offer for BlackBerry customers” because the Apple handset has the right tools "to do more".

Judging by the amount and the intensity of backlash, it wasn't T-Mobile's finest moment: after all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the struggling Canadian smartphone maker owns one of the most loyal and ardent following out there, the types of people who are especially sensitive to anything related to Apple...

BlackBerry rolls out BBM 2.0 with voice calling, Channels, location sharing and more

Following a minor refresh recently which brought out a handy new Find Friends feature, Canada's struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry is today rolling out a new BBM version 2.0. The release contains a few new features such as free voice calling, BBM Channels, Dropbox integration, location sharing and more.

The free update is rolling out today so keep an eye on the App Store and don't panic if it's not live yet as these things take time to propagate.

The full breakdown is right below the fold...

BlackBerry rolling out Find Friends feature to BBM for iOS

Troubled handset vendor BlackBerry today issued an update for its cross-platform messaging software, BBM, bringing out a new Find Friends feature.

Whereas previously you had to punch in a person's BlackBerry ID or email address to add him or her to your list of BBM contacts, today's update simplifies the process by detecting which contacts in your iPhone's Contacts are already using BBM, so you can quickly send them an invite to join your BBM contact list.

The free update is going live in the App Store later today so make sure to grab it (if you're still using BBM, that is)...

BlackBerry going after Ryan Seacrest’s ‘Typo’ keyboard for patent infringement

Last month, we told you about an interesting new accessory coming out this year for the iPhone called the 'Typo.' It's a case with a built-in Bluetooth keyboard that bills itself as the perfect solution for the folks who still carry both an iPhone and a BlackBerry.

Well, as you can imagine, this hasn't sat well with BlackBerry. And today the Canadian handset-maker announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Typo, co-founded by TV personality Ryan Seacrest, for "blatantly" copying its iconic QWERTY keyboard design...

Apple’s ‘Rockstar Consortium’ considering Nortel patent sale

In 2011, Apple teamed up with a number of tech companies including Microsoft and BlackBerry to form what many called the 'Rockstar consortium' to purchase a collection of over 4,000 patents from Nortel, a communications company that went bankrupt in 2009.

Bloomberg is now reporting that the consortium is currently holding discussion regarding a potential sale of a portion of the patents—which it paid in upwards of $4.5 billion for—after several attempts to land large licensing deals from other companies have failed...