Blackberry Z10 reduced to £159.99

Bargain or relic? The Blackberry Z10 pay as you go version is now on sale at Carphone Warehouse for the incredibly low price of £159.99 (+£10 top up with whatever carrier you choose). This phone, still listed on Blackberrys uk site as £349, was the first touchscreen only device to run BB10, the most up-to-date version of the Blackberry operating system and we reviewed it here.

It is now available at less than half the recommended retail price and although released almost a year ago should still hold it’s own amongst the current range of smartphones, maybe slipping into the top of the mid-range category due to only having dual-core rather than the more common quad core phones such as the Motorola Moto G. The phone is also capable of using 4g and so is still (in my opinion) a bit of a bargain and is available in both black and white variants from stores and the Carphone website here.

Would you be better off spending a bit more money and get the Nexus 5 or a bit less money and get the Moto G? Let us know in the comments field below.

BlackBerry Z30 lands at Vodafone

If you are a fan of BlackBerry devices and want to get your hands on their latest flagship, listen up. Vodafone have just put the Z30 on sale here in the UK.

The Z30 is the largest phone BlackBerry have made and comes with a 5? display, 8 megapixel camera, 16GB of internal memory and, of course, 4G ready so you get super fast access on the move.

 

Customers can pick up a Z30 for just £19 up front cost when signing into a £37 a month contract over 2yrs giving unlimited calls, texts and 1GB of 3G data. If 4G is your thing, then £42 a month will get you the same deal but a massive 6GB of data. This package also adds an entertainment pack.

When we had short hands on time with the Z30 a few days ago something I was impressed with was the build quality, the Z30 feels like a premium phone.

Full pricing is available online now or just pop into your nearest Vodafone store.

Sprint unsure of whether it will still carry BlackBerry phones in stores

 

10:00 PM

In a momentary reprieve from the gloom surrounding BlackBerry’s future, Sprint declared that it has not yet decided to stop carrying BlackBerry handsets. Sprint CFO Joe Euteneur said that Sprint will be taking a “wait-and-see” approach for whether or not it will continue to carry BlackBerry phones in its stores now that the handset vendor is shifting focus away from the consumer market. The carrier noted that business customers “have typically been the biggest fans of BlackBerry smartphones,” Reuters reports. This development comes right on the heels of T-Mobile’s confirmation that it will no longer carry BlackBerry products in its stores. Reuters also spoke with Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam who stated that, much like Sprint, his company’s decision “would depend on its customers’ wishes.”

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Video: BlackBerry unveils Z30 smartphone with 5-inch display and BlackBerry 10.2

 

7:55 AM

BlackBerry on Wednesday finally took the wraps off of the last new BlackBerry 10 phone expected to debut in 2013. BGR exclusively published the first ever photo of the BlackBerry Z30, then thought to be called the A10, so the handset shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The fact that it’s yet another high-end phone from BlackBerry without an entry-level offering in sight is still a bit surprising though, even though we already knew that as well. Key BlackBerry Z30 specs include a 5-inch Super AMOLED display, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSDXC support, an 8-megapixel camera and the new BlackBerry 10.2 operating system. The Z30 will begin rolling out globally in mid-October and a U.S. launch will take place ahead of the holidays. Pricing has not yet been announced. A video showcasing the Z30 follows below along with the full press release.

BlackBerry Introduces the New BlackBerry Z30 Smartphone with 5? Display and BlackBerry 10.2 OS

Biggest, Fastest, Most Advanced BlackBerry Smartphone Lets You Take on Any Task and Always Be in Control

Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today introduced the new BlackBerry® Z30 smartphone, BlackBerry’s biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone. Featuring BlackBerry® 10 OS version 10.2, the new all-touch BlackBerry Z30 smartphone comes with a beautiful 5? display and the largest battery yet on a BlackBerry smartphone. It is designed to keep you hyper connected, productive and always in control, and lets you share like you’re there and collaborate with ease.

“The new BlackBerry Z30 smartphone builds on the solid foundation and engaging user experience of the BlackBerry 10 platform with features like the powerful BlackBerry Hub, its exceptional touchscreen keyboard and industry leading browser,” said Carlo Chiarello, Executive Vice President for Products at BlackBerry. “The smartphone rounds out the BlackBerry 10 portfolio and is designed for people looking for a smartphone that excels at communications, messaging and productivity. Having apps like the full Documents To Go suite that comes preinstalled, together with its 5? touch display, the BlackBerry Z30 smartphone gives you a best in class productivity experience on the go.”

The new BlackBerry Z30 smartphone comes with BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, which includes hundreds of refinements plus many new features that help you be more productive. Among key features are:

• BlackBerry® Priority Hub – BlackBerry® Hub is the one place to manage all your conversations and notifications. The new BlackBerry Priority Hub can now learn what conversations and what people are important to you making it fast and easy to find the messages and information you need. It collects priority messages across your email, social networking and other accounts and gives you instant access to the conversations most important to you to help you stay organized and focused on the most important tasks.

• BBM™ Now in Any App and Message Previews Everywhere – BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 continues to refine the unique communications experience of the platform. You can now get a preview of any message as it arrives in whatever app you’re using, and immediately dismiss it or tap it to read the full content and respond. If a BBM message arrives, you can instantly reply to the message without even leaving the app you’re in. In addition, if your phone is locked, you can tap the various icons on the Lock Screen to see an instant preview of your most recent messages and notifications.

• 5? Super AMOLED Display – The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone features the latest in display technology with a 5? Super AMOLED display that makes whatever you’re running larger, clearer and more vivid. The smartphone also houses many top of the line components, including a 1.7 GHz processor with quadcore graphics that makes browsing web pages faster and games more detailed.

• Stereo Audio and BlackBerry® Natural Sound– The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone comes with stereo speakers that immerse you in your music, videos, apps and games, and makes conversations sound like you’re face-to-face. BlackBerry Natural Sound is new technology exclusive to BlackBerry and part of BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 that makes BBM Voice and BBM Video chats sound more natural and realistic. BlackBerry Natural Sound lets you hear nuances and variations in tone, making conversations sound like you’re in the same room.

• New Antenna Technology – The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone features BlackBerry’s new generation antenna technology that dynamically tunes reception to give you better connectivity in low signal areas. BlackBerry® Paratek Antenna can give you faster data transfers and fewer dropped calls in low signal areas, keeping you connected in more places.

• Longer Battery Life – The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone includes a 2880 mAh battery, the largest battery ever built into a BlackBerry smartphone. Combined with the battery enhancements in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, you can get up to 25 hours of mixed use* to keep you moving from dawn ’til dawn.

The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone will roll out from select carriers and retailers around the world beginning next week in the UK and Middle East, and all other regions going into the holiday season. Specific pricing and availability will be announced by partners at the time of their respective launches. A variety of accessories including cases and chargers will also be available.

Subject to carrier approvals, BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 is expected to be available for the BlackBerry® Z10, BlackBerry® Q10 and BlackBerry® Q5 smartphones beginning mid-October.

For more information about the BlackBerry Z30 smartphone, please visit http://www.blackberry.com/blackberryz30. To view a video of the new smartphone, visithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQVKISYQ31s and for “How To” videos, visit http://demos.blackberry.com/blackberry-z30/na/ca/gen/index.html.

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New round of layoffs hits BlackBerry as takeover rumors heat up

8:00 AM

Following a fresh round of rumors that Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Holdings has put together billions of dollars in backing as it prepares a takeover bid for BlackBerry, the company has confirmed a fresh round of layoffs. The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday followed up earlier reports with the claim that dozens of workers on BlackBerry’s sales team have been laid off. “I can confirm a small number of employees were laid off today,” a BlackBerry spokesperson said in response to the claim. Earlier reports had made the layoffs seem much more severe, suggesting that as much as half of BlackBerry’s sales team had been let go. It is unclear if this new round of layoffs is related to an imminent Fairfax buyout, the possibility of which has been tossed around since BlackBerry announced last month that it was exploring a possible sale. BlackBerry shares were down 1.8% on the news ahead of Tuesday’s session after gaining more than 6% on Monday to close at $11.53.

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More problems for beleaguered Blackberry

 

Touchscreens rule the world.  This is the conclusion that we can now get to after sales of the Blackberry Q10 have been ruined.

The Wall Street Journal reports that carriers and vendors are increasingly claiming that handset sales were exceptionally poor and many of those who sell have been returned.

A United States supplier sell devices Verizon said "we didn't see practically no demand for the Q10 and finally returned to our equipment supplier".

BlackBerry force has traditionally been with the keyboard however it seems that consumers have now changed and are favoring touchscreen devices that is part of the reason why there have been strong indications that Blackberry could be put on sale.

An area that the company can have success is within corporate sales where up to 60% of Fortune 500 companies are said be tested devices.  Of course, the proof is not buy if the company isn't keeping the ecosystem and then buyers may be reluctant to see through orders.

Seems increasingly more BB10 and launched new devices will not be the Savior, which had been promoted as.  The problem for the Board of Blackberry and that it must be addressed more urgently what is now?

iOS7 a new iPhone is imminent, and there is a high probability that we will see a new version of Android. This is combined with a devices growing range of Nokia Windows Phone and the market is growing increasingly crowded. That portion of space for Blackberry is becoming smaller day.