BlackBerry to stop making its own handsets after falling behind rivals like Apple & Samsung.

Blackberry is to stop designing its own smartphones after falling behind rivals firms including Apple and Samsung.
The Canadian firm that helped pioneer the smartphone market, said today that it will stop making handsets, outsourcing production to an Indonesian partner.read more

BlackBerry's BBM To Come Pre-Installed On Android Handsets.

 For most existing users, the free-to-use BBM feature is one of the killer applications that still makes owning a BlackBerry handset worthwhile.
This ability to chat to individuals, groups and to share links, video clips and images has also allowed BlackBerry to retain its position in emerging markets where the cost of data, rather than internal specifications, is the biggest decision when choosing a handset.
read more

BlackBerry For iOS And Android.Blackberry Releases User Guidelines For BBM For Android And iOS.

The long-awaited arrival of Blackberry Messenger for Android and iOS seems to be finally here, as Blackberry accidentally released the user guides for BBM for iOS and Android.

Techcrunch reports that for previous BBM users from BlackBerry, most of these details are familiar. The apps are designed to allow for real-time communication between contacts and groups, the guides explain, letting users share pictures and messages, including broadcast messages, multi-person chats, and group chats. Users will also be able to create BBM Groups, where they can plan events, track to-do’s, share photos, and chat with up to 30 people at a time, without the need to add everyone as BBM contacts.

BBM will work over both cellular and Wi-Fi, the latter option which is meant to help avoid data charges when traveling.
Each user can establish their own BBM profile, where they can choose a display picture, name, and status that their contacts will see, and they’ll also have a unique BBM PIN which they can access by tapping “Show Barcode.”

This is a major move for the struggling company, as BBM has for a long time been one of Blackberry, and the BB10′s, strongest features. At launch, Heins had said that only messaging and group features will be available, but promised that the rest of BBM will eventually make its way to the Android and iOS versions including screen sharing, BBM voice, and the newer BBM channels.

BlackBerry Putting Itself Up For Sale?

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, struggling to compete in a difficult market, has set up a committee to look at options, including joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company.

This is the strongest indication yet that the smartphone maker won’t remain independent as competition erodes sales and hammers its stock price.

A special board committee will consider ways to enhance BlackBerry’s value and scale, including joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company, according to a statement Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. will serve as its financial adviser.

BlackBerry shares gained as much as 9.1 percent in New York.

The announcement builds on a move last year when BlackBerry hired JPMorgan and RBC Capital Markets to advise the company on strategic alternatives. At the time, Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said a sale wasn’t the “main direction” he was considering. Prospects have worsened since then, with the new BlackBerry 10 — the linchpin of a turnaround strategy — meeting scant demand.

“What BlackBerry is doing is the appropriate course of action,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co. in New York who has the equivalent of a sell rating on the stock. The likelihood of a sale is at least 50 percent, he said. “The other options are much less likely.”

Heins will join fellow board members Timothy Dattels, Barbara Stymiest, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg on the new committee. Fairfax Financial CEO Prem Watsa, whose firm is BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, will step down from the board to avoid conflicts that might arise from the discussions.

BlackBerry fired 5,000 workers last year as part of a plan to eliminate $1 billion in operating costs. Analysts had expected the cutbacks to help the company post a profit last quarter. Instead, BlackBerry lost $84 million, dragged down by the lackluster sales of the BlackBerry Z10. The new touch-screen phone, introduced at a lavish event in New York in January, missed estimates by almost a million units last quarter. The company is projecting another loss for the current period.

Last month, Heins reiterated that the company was seeking partners to expand the footprint of its BlackBerry 10 operating system and help with its turnaround. After pioneering the smartphone market, the company has struggled to compete with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in recent years, dragging its market share down below 3 percent.

Culled From BusinessDay.