Though there’s still no word on how any of this affects Google+ Hangouts at all – since it doesn’t come pre-loaded with devices at this very moment – AT&T is making it clear that changes are in the works. Changes for pre-loaded apps only. Specific to three manufacturers: Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry, pre-loaded apps working with Mobile Share or Tiered data plans will have instant access to video chat with mobile data.

“For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and Blackberry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we’ll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three manufacturers.” – AT&T Representative

So if you’ve got an Apple, Samsung, or BlackBerry device – and one of those data plans – you’ll be able to video chat with pre-loaded apps no matter your connection.

AT&T goes on to say that they’re opening their doors wider later this year, allowing pre-loaded apps to use video chat on any phone no matter the customer’s data plan. You’ll still have to pay for the data you use while chatting, but you’ll be able to do so without a hassle.

“Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable pre-loaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by year end.” – AT&T Representative

Strangely enough, AT&T insists that “any mobile video chat app” that’s not pre-loaded with a device they purchase should be able to be “used” without trouble. It would seem that Google+ Hangouts is considered a native app by AT&T due to its replacing of Google Talk, therefor rendering Video chat limited to wifi until each of these announcements take hold.

“Today, all of our customers can use any mobile video chat app that they download from the Internet, such as Skype.” – AT&T Representative

Let us know if you’re able to use Google+ Hangouts with mobile data on your AT&T device later this June. At the moment we’re still seeing the error that brought us to this point last week. Video chat freedom, on the way!

“At this point it is iOS and Android, and that’s iOS phones running iOS 6 and higher” Bhardwaj said of the app. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.”

Expanding BlackBerry Messenger support across rival platforms has been a long-rumored strategy for BlackBerry, though there’s controversy around whether the decision will now be too little, too late. BlackBerry OS has dropped a place in the worldwide smartphone OS market share league, it was announced today, with Windows Phone taking third place instead.

Whether that will mean BBM for iPhone and Android works as a gateway drug of sorts, or merely as a route for BlackBerry owners looking to leave the platform behind and yet still keep in touch with old friends on a new device, remains to be seen.

Even without a dedicated iPad version, that’s not to say iPad and iPad mini owners won’t be able to access the iPhone BBM app. However, they’ll be stuck using screen-doubling until BlackBerry gets around to coding up a tablet-specific interface, and there’s no telling when that will actually happen.

Still, there’s at least a hint that such support is in the pipeline, as well as other form-factors where BBM could roost, beyond mobile. “I think when you look at things like Smart TVs and desktops, those are definitely areas for exploration,” Bhardwaj teased.

IMAGE: BlackBerry Blog

That’s a 79.5-percent increase year-on-year for Android, while iOS managed a 6.6-percent climb from its share in Q1 2012. Microsoft saw the biggest increase, however, up 133.3-percent over the course of 12 months, to hold 3.2-percent globally.

BlackBerry OS, however, declined 35.1-percent year-on-year, down to 2.9-percent. There’s still a comfortable buffer over other platforms dwelling at the bottom of the barrel, but it suggests that BlackBerry 10 still has plenty of work to do if it’s to leverage the company back into the mainstream.

For Windows Phone, 7m units were supposedly shipped in the opening three months of this year. That’s predominantly down to Nokia devices; the Finnish company shipped 5.6m Lumia Windows Phones in the period, making it the most popular vendor for Microsoft’s mobile OS. Nokia’s expectations are high for Q2, too, with estimates of as many as 7m sales by some analysts.

In Android, Samsung dominates the segment, with 41.1-percent market share of smartphones overall. Earlier this week, Strategy Analytics estimated Samsung devices comprised 95-percent of Android smartphone sales.

“The intra-Android competition has not stifled companies from keeping Android as the cornerstone of their respective smartphone strategies,” IDC concludes, “but has upped the ante to innovate proprietary experiences.”

For Apple, it’s the company’s most impressive volume for iPhone sales, but IDC blames iOS stagnation for lower year-over-year growth than the market as a whole. That’s likely to change, it predicts, when iOS 7 debuts later in 2013.

The BBM app will support all iOS devices running iOS 6 and higher, as well as Android devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher. BlackBerry said that it would be bringing some of the same features of BBM over to iOS and Android, including groups functionality, as well as voice features and screen sharing in later releases.

BlackBerry also announced what they’re calling BBM Channels, which is a new social feature for BBM that will allow companies and celebrities to create a fan page of sorts that BBM users can follow. Whenever a BBM Channel gets updated with new content, users who follow these pages will see notifications for the updates in BlackBerry Hub. Users will also be able to comment and share posts with friends, as well as the ability to create their own channels. In the simplest of terms, Channels is essentially BlackBerry’s version of a social network.

Channels is still in beta, but the company is planning to update it several times until it will fully launch sometime this summer — most likely in conjunction with the BBM launch for iOS and Android. It’s still up in the air whether or not Channels will be the boost that BlackBerry needs to gain more users, but we’ll certainly find out come this summer. The company already has 60 million BBM users, with 10 billion messages being sent every day. With the release of an iOS and Android version, those numbers should jump significantly.

As for the Verizon version, customers will have their pick at either the black or white model, with the white version being a Verizon exclusive. The carrier hasn’t announced any pricing details yet for the new device, but it’s likely that the phone will sell for $250 after signing a two-year contract with Big Red.

As for T-Mobile, they also mentioned a generic June release window, and since the company recently got off the contract bandwagon, you’ll be paying full price for the BlackBerry Q10 on T-Mobile, with a $99 down payment with 24 monthly payments of $20 a piece. This means you’ll be paying $580 for the phone, but like with other pre-paid plans, there’s no contract to hold you down over two years.

As for pre-orders, Verizon said that customers will be able to reserve their own Q10 unit sometime “in the coming weeks.” T-Mobile has yet to announce any pre-order plans, but we’re guessing they’ll let customers get in on the fun early by purchasing a unit ahead of time.

It was rumored back in February that the Q10 wouldn’t launch until this month at the earliest, with June also being a possible release window, and it seems that the rumors were true. We haven’t heard anything from AT&T yet, but they’ve already confirmed that they’ll be offering the new device, so we’re guessing that Ma Bell will release the Q10 around the same time as the other carriers.

The app includes all of the same features that you’ll find on other platforms with Skype running on them, but on the BlackBerry Z10, the Skype app seamlessly integrates with the phone book and BlackBerry Hub, making it the process a bit easier to make a video call to a friend or family member.

The app is available now to download from BlackBerry World, but unless you have the new BlackBerry 10.1 update, you won’t be able to download the free app, which is a little puzzling at this point, but it seems Skype simply wants to get the app out there beforehand, so that it’s ready once the first batch of 10.1 updates starts rolling out to users. The 10.1 update will mostly come with tweaks and performance enhancements to the OS, but there will also be a few new features, such as an HDR mode for the camera, PIN-to-PIN messaging and email, as well as improvements to notifications.

Skype reiterates that this is simply a preview version of the app, so there may be bugs and there may be some features that will be taken away or added by the time the final version releases. The company said that they’ll be working closely with BlackBerry over the next few months on the app, to make sure it’s up to standards.

Along with the release of Skype for the BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry also announced this morning that there now 120,000 apps in BlackBerry World. The company also announced the new BlackBerry Q5 QWERTY smartphone that will release later this year in emerging markets across the world. It’s essentially the cheaper brother of the Q10, but still comes with the 3.1-inch touchscreen and the full physical keyboard, along with BlackBerry 10 running the software show.

The BlackBerry Q5 is being marketed as the low-end brother of the Q10, and it’ll sport the same 3.1-inch touchscreen as the Q10, as well as the physical keyboard that button mashers will enjoy. It’ll also come with BlackBerry 10 on board, meaning that users will have access to new features like Time Shift mode in the camera app and BlackBerry Hub.

The will be launching in three colors at launch, which include black, white, red, and pink. The Q5 is set to launch in regions of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America starting at some point in July. The company didn’t announce a price for the new device, but we’re guessing it’ll be in the lower bracket as far as cost goes.

This is the third BlackBerry 10 device that the company has announced so far. The Q5 joins the Q10 and the flagship Z10 smartphones as BlackBerry’s trio of new devices that the company has announced this year. We know little specs about the Q5 right now, but we should be hearing more on that (as well as the price) when it gets closer to releasing later this summer.

BlackBerry also announced that the flagship Z10 in the US will be getting an update to BlackBerry 10.1 later this month. Exact dates aren’t yet known, as it seems each US carrier will have to decide for themselves on when exactly to release the update to their Z10 devices. As for what’s included in the update, it’s mostly some tweaks and performance improvements to the OS, including notification enhancements, but there’s also a new HDR mode for the camera app, as well as PIN-to-PIN messaging and email support.

Hardware

The Q10 may be outwardly very different from the first BlackBerry 10 device, the all-touch Z10, but internally it’s pretty much the same device. The 1.5GHz dualcore Snapdragon S4 Plus processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, are all identical, along with the microSD card slot, 8-megapixel rear camera, and 2-megapixel front camera. The Q10 also has WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC, along with a microHDMI port (which will need an adapter, not included, to plug into a regular HDMI input) alongside a microUSB port.

The key difference is obvious, however. Where the Z10 has a 4.2-inch 1280 x 768 display, the Q10 shrinks that down to 3.1-inches and 720 x 720 resolution; it also uses an AMOLED panel, rather than the LCD of the Z10. Using a smaller screen leaves room for the Q10′s four row keyboard – more on which in the next section – that spans the entire width of the phone.

Overall, it’s a broad but stubby device, at 2.62-inches across filing your palm more than the 2.58-inch Z10, but shorter at 4.7-inches. Accommodating a physical keyboard does make for a thicker phone, however, at 0.4-inches, and a slightly heavier one, at 4.9oz. The weight is nicely spread, however, meaning it doesn’t feel top-heavy when you’re typing, and it’s easy to shift your fingers between the QWERTY and the touchscreen.

BlackBerry’s traditional row of buttons in-between keyboard and display are missing on the Q10, which means the only other physical controls are the power/lock key on the top edge, and the volume controls on the right edge, flanking a voice-command button. The 3.5mm headphone socket is also on the top, while a reasonably sized speaker is on the bottom edge, meaning it won’t be blocked no matter whether the Q10 is placed face-up or face-down on the table.

We criticized the BlackBerry Z10 for its uninspiring aesthetic, which felt almost like the company had been so caught up in developing the OS, it had forgotten it needed to design hardware too. The Q10 uses the same dense black plastic, sturdy but lacking in the premium feel of the metal iPhone 5 or HTC One, but jazzes things up with a carbon fiber effect to the rear. Opinions on how successful that is were mixed; some thought it enlivened the Q10 up in a much-needed way, while others argued it makes the phone look relatively cheap. Still, the soft-touch finish is easily gripped.

QWERTY Keyboard

Keyboards have been BlackBerry’s bread & butter for years, and have arguably kept the company afloat despite rival platforms steadily eclipsing BlackBerry 7. As you might expect, BlackBerry doesn’t mess with the formula too much on the Q10, the only real difference being the regimented layout that lacks the bow of previous models.

Curved or not, it’s a great keyboard to type on. One-handed, you can just cradle the Q10 with your middle and ring fingers and punch at it with your thumb; again, the excellent weight balance left us with no concerns the phone would tip out of our hand as we did so. Spare two hands and it’s even better, the Bold-style beveling to the key caps neatly cupping your thumbs and helping keep accuracy high. Altogether it’s a sturdy little thing, and we quickly got into the habit of punching replies and tweets on it.

The question is, of course, whether it’s better than the on-screen keyboard of the Z10. BlackBerry 10 does some interesting things with auto-prediction, notably floating the suggested words over the likely next letter and allowing you to select them with a simply flick of your fingertip, and it’s a system we found worked very well. Practically speaking, after getting accustomed to the Z10′s touch system, we were able to hit the same rate of text-entry as we could on the Q10, which suggests that, for the mainstream at least, having the flexibility of a bigger display may be more beneficial.

Software and Usability

BlackBerry 10 is a considerable improvement on the versions that came before it, combining elements of Android, Windows Phone, and iOS with the Canadian company’s own twists. We covered it comprehensively back in our Z10 review, which we’d recommend reading first. At its core are a new series of gestures which are used to navigate without a dedicated Home button, among other things. So, a swipe up from the bottom of the screen takes you back to the homescreen, while pulling your finger partway up – what BlackBerry calls the “Peek” gesture – pulls in first a column of notification icons, and then hops into the unified inbox.

It works well on the touch-exclusive Z10, but the layout of the Q10 can leave the gesture system feeling touch & go at times. The most common is the swipe-up with your thumb, but the proximity of the bottom of the touchscreen with the top keyboard row leaves little room to start your finger off in the right place. All too often we ended up tapping options or scrolling through lists rather than “Peeking”, with the Q10 assuming we were swiping the display rather than gesturing.

The solution seems to be actually starting your gesture from the keyboard itself, though we then had a few inadvertent text entry moments with that workaround. What we’re still not 100-percent convinced by is the usefulness of “Peek”; just as with the Z10, we found getting a glimpse of new notifications – i.e. that they exist, not any sort of detail as to what they are – simply wasn’t something that made a half-Peek worthwhile to us. As soon as the red LED light above the display started flashing, we swiped all the way across to the inbox instead.

Out of the box, the Q10 runs BlackBerry 10.1, a dot-one update on what the Z10 is using. The changes are minor, though side-by-side the Q10 feels a little more immediate than the occasionally laggardly all-touch phone. Biggest difference – and the one which perhaps takes best advantage of the hardware ‘board – is universal search actions, which allows you to trigger tasks like new messages, reminders, tweets, and more by typing straight into the search box.

It works particularly well on the Q10, because the universal search pops up as soon as you start hitting the keys. So, begin tying “Text XYZ” and at the top of the list there’ll be two options from your address book to send an SMS to. If you have more than one contact with the same name, or more than one number for the same contact, you can tap the expand button and see the full list of potential recipients.

The flip-side of all that usability is the relatively limited amount of screen real-estate for apps. At 3.2-inches and 720 x 720 resolution, the Q10 has a small display compared to what we’re used to from modern smartphones. The browser, for instance, supports everything you’d expect to show full webpages, but they’re crammed into a small window; BlackBerry 10 then makes the space even more confined with its persistent address/search bar running along the bottom. Whereas the page title only shows when you swipe down from the top edge, the bar for switching tabs and entering URLs is fixed, unnecessarily taking up space.

Camera

With the same camera hardware as the Z10, it comes as little surprise that, for the most part, the Q10 puts in an identical photography showing. That’s unfortunately not among the best devices we’ve tested in recent months: colors are somewhat drab in all but the best outdoor lighting, but zoom in or step into a lower-light situation and the noise starts to make itself known.

Similarly, video recording at up to 1080p is supported, but you’ll want to be filming it during daylight hours if you don’t want noise and artifacts.

BlackBerry 10.1 adds an HDR camera mode, which fashions images with better dynamic range out of two shots taken in rapid succession. If you’ve a sufficiently steady hand, it works, spitting out images where detail in darker and brighter areas is more clearly visible.

However, we found the HDR mode to be more susceptible to shake than similar settings on rival phones, and even a little movement could ruin a frame with ghosting. There’s also the ability to shoot stills in 1:1 aspect ratio, which certainly fits the Q10′s own display, but look a little strange everywhere else.

Phone and Battery

Many smartphones seldom get asked to make more than the odd voice call, but BlackBerry knows its audience demands solid voice quality and enough volume to serve impromptu speakerphone use. We had no problems with dropped calls, testing on Vodafone’s 3G network, and the positioning of the speaker – on the bottom edge – meant that speakerphone calls came through loud and clear.

Battery life is also impressive. The Q10 uses a removable 2,100 mAh pack that’s plenty large enough given the relatively compact screen. BlackBerry has even taken advantage included some darker color schemes for BlackBerry 10 apps, to take advantage of the fact that AMOLED uses less power for dimmer parts of the display.

The upshot is a phone which will last the full day without pausing for breath. BlackBerry quotes up to 13.5hrs of 3G talk time or up to 14.8 days of 3G standby (or up to 60hrs of solid music playback); in practice, with push email turned on, and regular use of the browser, camera, multimedia playback, and other apps, we made it to the evening with juice to spare.

Wrap-Up

Choices are slim if you’re in the market for a smartphone with a physical keyboard. The rise of all-touch, the flexibility of a big display, and the growing accuracy of on-screen keyboards means that the usability arguments for taking up half your fascia with a QWERTY layout are slimmer than ever. That’s not to say the audience is nonexistent, but it’s certainly smaller than it once was, and physical buttons no longer mean the most productive device.

BlackBerry is a company still very much in transition, and trying to find its feet in the process. For existing users, the Q10 is an obvious upgrade: it’s the best QWERTY BlackBerry to-date, BlackBerry 10 is a solid step up from what came before it (even if there are still plenty of rough edges), and the tactile key-feel they covet is there in spades. For that group, only the combination of BlackBerry software and a hardware ‘board will do.

Problem is, that group is also a shrinking one, and what were previously the inescapable advantages of a QWERTY device – like unsurpassed typing accuracy – are no longer so clean-cut. Typing on the BlackBerry keyboard is great, but then so is typing on the Z10′s clever software keyboard, and indeed most other modern smartphones. That leaves the Q10 feeling a lot like a sop to keep the old-school users happy, while the rest of the market goes in a different direction. If you’re wedded to keys then the Q10 is the BlackBerry – and potentially the smartphone, period – for you, but for the everyone else it’s more like proof that the days of physical keyboards are behind us.

There’s also apparently a fixed, non-user-accessible 1,800 mAh battery, together with 2GB of memory and 8GB of storage. The display apparently runs at 720 x 720 resolution, just as per the BlackBerry Q10, and runs BlackBerry 10.1 OS.

So far we’ve seen the R10 leak in black, white, and red, which suggests either BlackBerry is having some fun with its color schemes or, alternatively, the company will be offering multiple colors at retail. Given the BlackBerry R10 is presumed to be the BlackBerry 10 equivalent of a Curve-series phone, that would make sense for the youth market traditionally keen on Curve variants.

Although touchscreen text-entry has found favor on most platforms, and indeed BlackBerry 10 itself has a refined on-screen system for the Z10, the Canadian company is reluctant to step away completely from physical ‘boards. Expectations for the Q10 are high, within BlackBerry at least, with ambitions of “tens of millions” of the phone being sold.

[via MobileSyrup]

Department of Defense employees can now use both Blackberry 10 smartphones and the PlayBook in conjunction with Blackberry’s Enterprise Serivce 10 on the agency’s networks. This approval covers both the Blackberry Z10 and the Blackberry Q10 handsets, both of which are now listed on the DISA’s Unified Communications Approved Product List.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, both Samsung and Apple will be seeing approval separately for their devices. Reportedly, Samsung will get approval for use with the agency’s internal email, and Apple will get approval for iOS use with “nonclassified communications” methods that weren’t specified. With Blackberry getting its approval today, it is reasonable to assume the other two will be seeing theirs shortly as well.

Blackberry’s Senior Vice President of Blackberry Security Scott Totzke said: “BlackBerry 10 is ideal for our government customers because it offers a rich, highly responsive mobile computing experience … This approval will enable DoD customers to connect their BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10 smartphones to DoD networks and securely access assets from work, while enjoying the wealth of consumer-oriented functionality that BlackBerry 10 brings to market.”

[via Blackberry]

Of course with the language used by the company, it’s just as likely they’ve got no large-screened BlackBerry devices in the works as it is that they do. With the original BlackBerry PlayBook having stayed in the technology news ranks for far, far longer than it’s been a commercial success. As Heins suggested in the article released earlier today:

“In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore. Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.” – Heins

In an update sent across the wire by BlackBerry this afternoon, it’s being clarified what the company wants Heins to have meant. As he said previously, they make clear, never say never!

“The comments that Thorsten made yesterday are in line with previous comments he has made about the future of mobile computing overall, and the possibilities that come with a platform like BlackBerry 10. We continue to evaluate our tablet strategy, but we are not making any shifts in that strategy in the short term. When we do have information about our PlayBook strategy, we will share it.” – BlackBerry

So do we expect BlackBerry 10 to be coming to the market in a large-screened tablet in the immediate future? It wouldn’t be a very good bet, that’s for sure. Will there be BlackBerry 10 devices appearing outside the BlackBerry Z10 and keyboard-toting Q10 out on the market today? That you can expect with a bit more confidence.

Speaking at the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles this week, Bloomberg reports, Heins vaguely outlined his reasoning behind the dark prediction. “Maybe [you'll have] a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such” the CEO suggested. “Tablets themselves are not a good business model.”

You certainly can’t blame Heins for being pessimistic about slates, given the failure of the BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM – as it was known back when the PlayBook was released – launched its 7-inch iPad rival back in 2011 as a companion device to BlackBerry 7 handsets, but the tablet’s limited standalone functionality left consumers non-plussed, and by the time the OS – a precursor of the BlackBerry 10 platform on the Q10 and Z10 – was reworked, the company had already resorted to slashing prices in order to clear shelves.

Heins has since suggested that, while a tablet isn’t necessarily off the table, BlackBerry will need to see the opportunity to do something uniquely special before it’s tempted back into that particular market. “I want to gain as much market share as I can,” he said in an interview back in January 2013, “but not by being a copycat.”

The negativity around slates has led to suggestions that BlackBerry is in no hurry to – and may in fact never – replace the PlayBook, despite originally arguing that one of the strengths of the QNX-based BlackBerry 10 OS is its cross-platform flexibility across phone and tablet-scale devices. One possibility, meanwhile, is that increasingly powerful phones could be used to drive the “big screen in your workplace” Heins mentioned; the Z10 and Q10 already support HDMI output to a separate display.

Heins states that he believes that the Q10 will be much more successful than the Z10, mainly because it offers both the new Blackberry 10 experience along with Blackberry’s classic, and loved, physical QWERTY keyboard. In an interview with Bloomberg, Heins says that Blackberry as a whole currently has a user base of 70 million, and that many die-hard Blackberry fans are expected to pick up the phone once it heads to their respective countries.

Because of Heins optimism, Blackberry’s shares rose 3.9% to $15.61, which is the highest price its had since March 21st. Thanks to the launch of Blackberry 10, Blackberry’s shares have increased a total of 32% this year. Many of the Q10′s major buyers were exporters, who SeekingAlpha reports were buying 20+ devices at a time. It got to the point where Carphone Warehouse had to make two lines; one for single-unit buyers, and one for multi-unit buyers.

Heins has high hopes for the Blackberry Q10, but some believe that his optimism may be delusional. Heins also had high expectations for the Blackberry Z10, which is currently experiencing shrinking demand in various markets. On the bright side, the Blackberry Z10 sold around 1 million units within its first quarter. The Blackberry Q10 is expected to head to major U.S. carriers by the end of May. You can check out our hands-on review of the Blackberry Q10 to see if Heins’s optimism is all hype.

[via Bloomberg]

That puts the potential audience for Skype on BlackBerry 10 relatively low, at least for the moment, though plans to update Z10 devices to OS 10.1 are already afoot. Skype says that BlackBerry expects that to happen “in the near future” at which point the app will install.

Though described as a “preview”, Skype for BlackBerry 10 does show some significant integration into the core platform. Based on a port of the Android version, rather than built natively for BB10 from the ground up, it has a new UI – suited to the Q10′s squared-off touchscreen – and automatically funnels Skype contacts into the smartphone’s phonebook.

There’s also Skype notification support in the BlackBerry Hub, which means incoming chat requests, file transfers, and contact invite requests – among other things – will pop up in the unified inbox BlackBerry refined for its latest platform. The app can be used for sharing photos, videos, and other files, as well as for making SkypeOut calls to phones not using Skype.

Skype for BlackBerry 10 is already in the BlackBerry World store, where it’s a free download.

Such is the case with the good news that BlackBerry has announced this week. BlackBerry announced on Wednesday that the Skype application is finally hitting BlackBerry 10 devices. Skype is hardly a new service having had applications for Apple and Android users for a very long time.

Skype will allow BlackBerry users to place voice over phone calls and chat with their contacts right from their BlackBerry device. BlackBerry says that the Skype application will be available on its new Q10 smartphone on the day the smartphone launches. The Q10 will be available in Canada on May 1.

An exact launch date for that smartphone in the US hasn’t been offered, but BlackBerry has said it will be available for US fans by the end of May. The Q10 is the second BlackBerry device running the company’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system. The first was the BlackBerry Z10, which we reviewed back in February.

[via Reuters]

With the BlackBerry Q10, the company delivers its QWERTY smartphone experience for their full-fledged BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system launch. This device works with a display that’s a little over half the size of their Z10 model and offers a full physical keyboard in portrait mode.

The release of the BlackBerry Q10 will tend to traditional-style BlackBerry users as the original BlackBerry craze centered around physical keyboards and internet connectivity primarily. Though we’ve not yet seen a BlackBerry 10 device coming with a trackball between the display and the keyboard, we wouldn’t put it out of BlackBerry’s range of possibilities.

Have a peek at our timeline of BlackBerry Q10 bits and pieces below and get ready for the final launch of the Q10 for more than just business users. If what we’ve seen with the Z10 remains true of the Q10, this launch will be decent, if not simply satisfying for traditional BlackBerry fans.

This program is entirely separate from BlackBerry’s own Android initiative – you’ll find that previous reports have put the number of “repackaged Android apps” in the BlackBerry 10 library at 40 percent. That’s no small number for a platform that’s competing with both Android and the iPhone for market share in the mobile industry. Be it BlackBerry’s own Android toolset or Unity’s new offering, it would appear that BlackBerry 10 is seeking developers from widely successful environments left and right.

The offering Unity has here is a toolset which allows an app developer to create apps for multiple platforms at once. Developers will be able to create with what would at first appear to be the same tools and workflow they normally employ for iOS or Android, but here the end result will be a BlackBerry 10 app. These apps will work on the BlackBerry Z10, the BlackBerry Q10, and eventually whatever other BlackBerry 10 devices arrive on the market.

At the moment this setup is being pushed to only the most advanced developers, while the final workflow will be released in a form that Unity Technologies will aim at a more broad developer user base. This release will be followed soon after by a set of tools for those developers hoping to create apps for Windows Phone 8, as well.

With the BlackBerry Q10 you’ll be seeing pre-orders beginning from today at Vodafone – grab one if you’re living in the United Kingdom only! If you do want one and live inside the UK, you’re in luck: Vodafone has promised that this device is one of the first to have the built-in ability to work with the 4G LTE networks appearing soon throughout the region!

Here in the USA we’re expecting this device to also appear with 4G LTE capabilities built-in as the device will be appearing on several networks with 4G LTE as a standard feature on all smartphones. The BlackBerry Q10 is also a device we’ve had some hands-on time with – have a peek at our BlackBerry Q10 hands-on experience right this minute, or stick around for the preview video here:

This BlackBerry Q10 device is working with a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 330 PPI resolution and Super AMOLED technology. Below this display you’ll find the device’s full physical QWERTY keyboard and a full rounded-edged body that’ll have BlackBerry addicts screeching for joy. Keep your eyes peeled for more BlackBerry Q10 action in the near future right here on SlashGear!

[via Vodafone]

The survey was conducted by Raymond James, which also included some other questions, such as which features were most likely to make them buy a new smartphone among the three options, such as a low price or big display. Sometimes there isn’t any feature that is grand enough to lure consumers to certain products, however, and so another option was included: the ability to choose which phone the consumer will never use.

Apple‘s iPhone came out on top (or bottom, depending on your perspective) with only 19.7-percent of the respondents saying they would never use the handset. Next up was Android, which had a slight rise over the iPhone at 31.3-percent of those who took the survey saying they’ll never use it. And then, finally, there’s Blackberry, with 71.4-percent saying they won’t ever give the platform a shot.

The results pretty strongly reflect the data that has been published on the smartphone market over past months, which is very strongly dominated by Apple and Google, with Blackberry squeezing in with a small percentage in global phone shipments. Regardless, however, the survey is an intriguing reversal on the type of questions typically asked, and gives us an inverse look at the sides consumers have taken on the mobile device playground.

[via AllThingsD]

With Aruba’s solution you’ll be working with a visible differentiation between work and play – personal privacy is at the forefront of this initiative and will allow businesses as well as employees to take command of their devices. And not just laptops. Also included in this push is Apple products from desktop to iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tables, Windows, and BlackBerry too.

Aruba is making an effort to secure your data and your workspaces on all devices by partnering with a variety of brands that have high-powered apps you’re already using right this minute. Cisco, Box, SugarSync, and more are on-board already – Aruba has made it clear that the community has already brought fourth more than 40 apps working with the system at launch time – nothing to turn your nose up at! This WorkSpace Partner Program continues to expand, as well – more partners are jumping onboard all the time!

At this very minute, those of you out there with an app that you feel would be a good fit for this secure business-minded system can sign up on the official Aruba WorkSpace site – there you’ll get a toolkit that will jump-start your app into a whole new realm. Also at this minute you’ll be able to jump onboard with the ClearPass Access Management System – meanwhile Aruba’s newest in WorkSpace is currently still in Beta.

WorkSpace will be making its official launch later this year – July is expected for both the main system and the client-side software application for both iOS and Samsung Android devices. We’ll see more soon!

[via Aruba]

MobileSyrup obtained an internal document that states that Canadian wireless carrier Rogers, as well as all other Canadian carriers most likely, will launch the Q10 on April 30. However, pricing and color choices have yet to be leaked. The internal document also reveals that Rogers will be launching the entry-level Nokia Lumia 520.

The Q10 was officially announced back in late January, along with the announcement of the BlackBerry Z10 and the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. It’s certainly not as popular as the company’s flagship Z10, but it sports a hybrid design of sorts, including both a touchscreen and a physical QWERTY keyboard for business road warriors.

The BlackBerry Q10 isn’t anything to write home about, but it comes with some respectable internal hardware. It’s running a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz with 2GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of internal storage. It comes with a 3.1-inch display with a resolution of 720×720, an 8MP camera that shoots 1080p HD videos, and a 2100mAh battery powering the whole thing.

[via MobileSyrup]

Below you’ll see an image presented by BlackBerryOS who say they’re all about the idea of it being a new R-Series BlackBerry device called the BB10 Curve. This smartphone is said to come with less RAM, less processor power, and not quite as much excellence on the whole. But you’ll still be working with BlackBerry 10, so perhaps it’s not all bad – and the price will certainly be affordable!

Then there’s the top-notch BlackBerry Q10, the QWERTY keyboard version of the Z10, BlackBerry 10′s heroes the both of them. Have a peek at our BlackBerry Q10 hands-on right this minute to understand the power. Today’s news includes the first official pre-orders from Carphone Warehouse in the UK – that includes T-Mobile, Three, EE, O2, and TalkMobile.

Have a peek at the timeline below of recent BlackBerry goings-on to see how this BlackBerry 10 universe is expanding at an interesting rate. We’ll be having our own look at the Q10 in the near future in a full review – then the R-Series as well if it does end up existing on the market, yes indeed. BlackBerry 10 makes its big push!

According to the email, current subscribers will be billed in April, and will then begin to see songs turn grey in May; once grey, the song will no longer be playable, with the entire service going dark on June 2. These dates could change, per a postscript in the message. Users should begin making their transition the service this month.

Says the email sent to subscribers today: “BBM Music service will be discontinued as of June 2, 2013*. For paying customers, April is the last month that you will be billed. In May, as your BBM contacts stop using the service, songs in your playlists will begin to turn grey and will no longer be available.”

Once Blackberry Music is no longer available, you won’t have any use for the BB Music app, which is why removal instructions were provided. Users can make the transition more comfortable by taking advantage of the Rdio offer, which can be redeemed by following directions also included in the email, which you can read in full here.

[via Crackberry]

Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins states that the company will be launching its Blackberry 7 devices in emerging markets, more specifically to the countries who have always been loyal to Blackbery’s products. While Apple and Samsung are the major players in the bigger markets, Blackberry is still one of the top players in the emerging markets, like Nigeria, where its devices top those of other companies.

After bringing Blackberry 7 devices to those markets, Heins says that the company will also be launching lower-end Blackberry 10 devices as well. Heins states, “We’re not excluding those markets from Blackberry 10 because of us wanting to sell Blackberry 7.” Blackberry plans on bringing a wide-variety of low to mid-ranged devices “that covers the entry-level market”. He states that the company needs to appeal to all the markets in order to turn a profit.

Along with releasing these lower-end devices, Heins states that the company is also working on developing a variety of new services and features that they can monetize. The new features will tie in mainly with Blackberry Messenger. One of the new features, BBM Money, will allow users to transfer money to each other through the app. Blackberry plans on developing its portfolio even further this year, which we sort of have an idea of thanks to the leaked Blackberry Roadmap. The Blackberry Z10 is a phenomenal device, and once more people get to see that, Blackberry may be able to pull off a successful comeback. Check out our Blackberry Z10 review to see if its the device for you.

[via CBC]

Blackberry planned on releasing a 10-inch version of its Blackberry Playbook last year, but ended up cancelling the device due to poor sales of its 7-inch Blackberry Playbook device. Many Blackberry fanatics will be pleased to know that an even better, 10-inch tablet may be headed their way sometime in Q3/Q4 of this year. Instead of running the Playbook’s QNX operating system, it will run the more polished, Blackberry 10 OS.

The roadmap also shows that Blackberry intends on releasing another touchscreen device between Q4 of this year and Q1 of next year. The device may be a phablet because it looks much bigger than the Z10 and the Q10 on the roadmap. It’s speculated to be the Blackberry Aristo that was rumored before, which is said to have a display that’s 5-inches or larger.

The last device looks to have both a touchscreen display as well as a full-QWERTY keyboard. It resembles the Blackberry Q10, however it looks like it will have a much bigger display. It is also speculated to be a mid-ranged Curve device that’s part of the rumored Blackberry R-Series. Thorsten Heins, Blackberry’s CEO, confirmed that there will be plans for mid-ranged Blackberry 10 devices this year.

What’s strange about this roadmap is that recently, Martyn Mallick, VP for Global Alliances and Business Development for Blackberry, stated that Blackberry devices will come in 1 of 2 screen sizes this year. He may have believed that the Blackberry phablet and the touchscreen full-QWERTY phone would be coming next year however. Whatever the case may be, these devices will be able to fully utilize the 100,000 apps in the Blackberry World, 20% of which are Android ports. Be sure to check out our review of Blackberry’s first Blackberry 10 device, the Blackberry Z10.

[via Crackberry]

In our original BlackBerry Z10 Review, Chris Davies spoke about both the hardware and the software in great detail. Lucky for you, not a whole lot has changed since that device was ready for action nearly 2 months ago. Here with the Verizon version we’ve only got the addition of big red’s 4G LTE connectivity compatibility and a couple of Verizon account apps.

With My Verizon Mobile and Backup Plus Contacts you’ll now have the ability to work with your Verizon bill and monitor the data you’ve used during the month. You’ll be able to back up your contact list with Verizon as often as you’d like. And that’s it.

This version of the BlackBerry Z10 uses the same 2 megapixel camera on the front, the same 8 megapixel camera on the back with LED flash, and the same processor under the hood. Inside you’ll find the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, the same that exists in every version of the Z10 that exists thus far – this same processor is used in such phones as the Samsung Galaxy S III (USA edition), the Motorola DROID RAZR HD, and the HTC One X (USA edition). You’ll also find the first, most updated, and only version of BlackBerry 10 mobile OS on the market.

Up front you’ve got a lovely 4.2-inch 1280 x 768 pixel LCD display, complete with the third-densest pixel arrangement on the market. While the HTC One wins at the moment with 468 Pixels Per Inch, and the HTC DROID DNA is in second (with the Xperia Z and GALAXY S 4) with 441 PPI, the BlackBerry Z10 stands alone as holding the only display on the market with 355 PPI. Of course at that level of density, it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between the lot with the naked eye, but it’s always fun to compare!

Have a peek at our hands-on photos above and below, keep your eye tuned to our BlackBerry Z10 tag portal for more information on this device and see the timeline below for our adventures with BlackBerry 10 up to and including this week!

If you’re all about the least-expensive of this notoriously business-oriented smartphone lineup, it looks like you’ll be waiting until mid-year. According to Heins, “various markets” will be getting a so-called “midrange” BlackBerry 10 device, while up until then the world will be working with the two top-tier devices we’ve seen thus far. Heins added that the company was looking forward to [this midrange release] because [BlackBerry] knowss that there’s a big demand even in the midrange.”

This announcement has this lesser BlackBerry device pinned for right around September – that’s not halfway through the year, you might say, but Heins wasn’t talking about the normal year, he referred instead to the fiscal year. BlackBerry’s fiscal year just ended with this particular earnings call, the next starting presently.

This midrange machine’s existence will quite likely hinge on the success of the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10, both of which are hitting the market either immediately or rather soon. Have a peek at the rest of the earnings call results in our BlackBerry earnings wrap-up and hit the timeline below for more BlackBerry 10 hands-on magic!

BlackBerry’s profit this quarter is quite surprising, but the company ended up losing three million subscribers over a three month period, which is now down to 76 million subscribers globally, compared to 79 million subscribers during the previous quarter and 80 million users the quarter before that.

BlackBerry ended up selling six million devices during its Q4 2013 quarter, with one million of those being BlackBerry 10 devices (a.k.a. the BlackBerry Z10). BlackBerry’s Q4 2013 ended on March 2 of this year, so the BlackBerry Z10 sales don’t account for the US and Canada launches of the new phone, so we should be seeing a healthy dose of Z10 sales during the company’s next earnings report in three months.

During the company’s earnings call, CEO Thorsten Heins says that BlackBerry’s newest QWERTY device, the Q10, will be releasing sometime next month. As for Lazaridis, he will be stepping down from his current position of Vice Chair of the Board on May 1, and will be leaving the company entirely to focus on his new Quantum Valley Investments venture.

The new PowerSkin for the BlackBerry Z 10 is designed as a one-piece soft touch silicone case that snaps around the BlackBerry smartphone. This case also come promises to help protect the device from scratches and drops. The big feature is the internal battery featuring 1500 mAh of additional power.

The company says that the case can extend the call time by up to 70% and standby time by up to 70%. The case measures 2.89″ x 0.79″ x 5.39″ and weighs 0.19 pounds. That means despite adding a lot of extra battery power, the case doesn’t add much in the way of additional bulk or weight. The case also ships with a cable allowing you to charge and sync the Z10 without removing the case.

The battery inside the case can be activated to charge your BlackBerry at the press of the on/off button. The case also features indicator lights to display the charge level and status of the battery inside the case. The case is also NFC enabled allowing for the sharing of data without having to remove the protective case. The PowerSkin for BlackBerry Z10 is available in black for $79.99 right now.

[via Power-Skin]

Brightstar is a big, wireless distributor that distributes products all around the world. About 40% of its revenue was composed of Blackberry handset sales a couple of years ago. Brightstar had enough confidence in Blackberry’s new product in order to place such a massive order, and since it operates globally, it has a better chance, than AT&T and Verizon Wireless, to resell all of its Blackberry Z10 devices.

Brightstar also acts as a buffer for companies like Verizon Wireless. Mark Gerber, managing director at Detwiler Fenton, a Research House, stated that Verizon is using Brightstar to “handle the big-box retail and dealer agent channels” for the Blackberry Z10. Gerber believes that Verizon Wireless doesn’t have enough faith in the Blackberry Z10, otherwise it would sell the product on its own.

Operating through a 3rd party is Verizon’s safety net if the Z10 doesn’t do well on its network. It’s a conscientious move on Verizon’s part. Goldman Sachs’s research showed that the Blackberry Z10′s launch on AT&T was disappointing. The firm checked over 20 various AT&T, Best Buy, and Radio Shack stores to confirm their research. However, the firm did say that it wasn’t the product itself that was bad, but the company’s and Blackberry’s lack of marketing support for the device.

[via All Things D]

Of course, this isn’t the first teardown of the Z10, but it’s the first time that iFixit has had a chance to pry it open. Overall, there was nothing too special with this teardown. iFixit was pleasantly surprised by the removable battery, since that’s something we no longer usually see nowadays. After removing the rear panel and the battery, there are just a handful of screws and a plastic casing that hide the internals from curious eyes.

The screws that hold the plastic midframe in place also double as screws holding the motherboard in place, so once those screws are removed, a couple of disconnections is all it takes to pop out the motherboard, meaning that there’s no glue holding the main circuitry in place. The camera module pops off the motherboard with ease as well.

As for the unit’s display, it’s held to its frame with a few screws and a dab of adhesive to keep it in place, but it was also fairly easy to remove as well. However, as with Apple devices, the digitizer and the glass are fused together, making the entire display unit extremely thin. The glass is a hardened variant, but it’s not Gorilla Glass.

The only difficult things to remove were the smaller accessories around the edges of the device, including the headphone jack, power switch, ambient light sensor, and earpiece speaker housing, which are all built into a single assembly that’s held in place with stronger adhesive than any of the other components. Overall, iFixit gives the BlackBerry Z10 a repairability score of 8/10, which is certainly respectable.

Of course, business customers on T-Mobile were able to get their precious Z10s a bit earlier, but that’s quite a niche group of folks that we don’t really count. AT&T is the first carrier to offer the new device to the general public. Verizon will begin the BlackBerry Z10 next week, but if you just can’t wait that long, consider hopping on over AT&T to grab the latest device on the market right now.

The Z10 features a 4.2-inch display with a 1280×768 resolution, resulting in a whopping 356 ppi pixel density, which is quite impressive. Under the hood there’s a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage space, with the option to increase that by 32GB with a microSD card.

The phone features an 8MP rear camera capable of shooting full 1080p HD video, and a 2MP front-facing shooter that can record 720p HD video, so make sure you look good before you chat with friends or family, because the clarity will point out that bad hair day. Other than that, there’s an 1,800mAh battery, micro HDMI support, and Bluetooth 4.0 on the inside.

Said Heins, “There’s one new product I’m really excited about, but I can’t really share it.” He went on to state that the phone’s launch is planned in time for the year-end holidays, but that he cannot say with absolute certainty that it will roll out in time. What he does say, however, is that the device “takes Blackberry 10 to another level in terms of the user experience.”

A statement which, given the relatively near release date, might give pause to those who were planning on the grabbing the Z10, which went up for pre-order earlier this month and will be available from multiple carriers in just a few days. While the Z10 has been getting all the attention, Blackberry also unveiled the Q10, which features a physical QWERTY keyboard and will be available next month or the month after.

Speaking of a physical Blackberry keyboard, Google’s Eric Schmidt revealed this week that is he a Blackberry user, and his reason for using the non-Android handset is because he likes the keyboard. He should be happy to hear, then, that Blackberry’s CEO said the company will roll out three tiers of devices, each one offering both touchscreen and QWERTY options.

[via CNET]

Though a real straight-up pull-quote has yet to be found, it’s been said by the Guardian that Schmidt’s desires lie in the keyboard of the BlackBerry he continues to use to this day. Of course there are many Android alternatives for those addicted to BlackBerry who cannot get off the idea that they need a physical keyboard, but it’s apparent that Schmidt will not be deterred.

It’s assumed that Schmidt means the physical keyboard when he says “the keyboard”, since the next-generation on-screen keyboard in BlackBerry 10 being choice for Schmidt over Android’s plethora of keyboard options, well, that’d just be too much to swallow. As it stands, BlackBerry 10 as an OS and as a smartphone lineup has yet to hit the United States – it’s on the way soon and very soon.

With Schmidt also talking about the way we must consider the privacy of others and how China is laying low its society’s ability to use the web, we must also note that one of the main reasons the Google Executive Chairman had this particular interview was because he’d just left North Korea. There he’d been speaking as evangelist for a more open internet in the top half of the Korean land mass, attempting to knock some sense into the government – and whoever else would listen – with chat about how their economy would flourish if given the chance.

Have a peek at the timeline below for more wild and wacky adventures of Eric Schmidt and don’t you dare leave without letting us know if you’re thinking about tossing your Android smartphone out the window the moment BlackBerry 10 hits your local mobile carrier!

Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said that the recent reporting of the DoD dropping BlackBerry in favor of iOS “is in error.” Furthermore, Pickart notes that the DoD’s mobility strategy and supporting implementation plan states that the department is “moving towards a mobile management capability that supports a variety of devices, to include BlackBerry.”

UPDATE: BlackBerry has sent an official statement on the matter –

BlackBerry Statement

Our work with the U.S. Department of Defense is going well and the U.S. Department of Defense is moving forward with testing of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. We are currently working with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and anticipate Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) and Security Requirement Guide (SRG) approval for the BlackBerry Device Service, BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry PlayBook by early April. BlackBerry was the first to go through the new SRG process by the Defense Department and will be the first to successfully come out of it.

The Department of Defense was rumored to be ordering 650,000 iOS devices, which matches up with the approximate 600,000 devices currently being used by DoD employees. However, Pickart said that he is not aware of any plans to place that large of an order for iOS devices, saying that he is “unfamiliar with the figures quoted” in various reports.

Pickart notes that the Department of Defense’s mobile plan consists of including multiple platforms, including BlackBerry and iOS, as well as Android possibly. Currently, Pickart says that the department supports over 600,000 mobile devices, including 470,000 BlackBerry devices, 41,000 iOS devices, and 8,700 Android devices.

[via PC Mag]

Image via Flickr

What’s perhaps more impressive, however, is the fact that BlackBerry World gained 30,000 apps in just seven weeks, since the company reported back in January that they were at the 70,000-app mark. Of course, this isn’t too surprising, and frankly it’s quite expected, as BlackBerry has been offering incentives for developers who create apps for BlackBerry 10.

Plenty of popular apps are available from BlackBerry World, including Facebook, Foursquare, NOVA 3, and Angry Birds. Also, BlackBerry announced that Amazon’s Kindle app just launched today, and “in the coming weeks,” BlackBerry 10 users will be treated with even more apps, such as eBay, eMusic, MLB at Bat, Rdio, Skype, and Soundhound.

The BlackBerry Z10 will hit the US starting tomorrow on AT&T, while BlackBerry’s PlayBook tablet will receive an update to BlackBerry 10 sometime in the near future. 100,000 apps may not seem like a lot compared to Google’s or Apple’s own offerings, but it’s certainly a good start for such a new platform, and we expect BlackBerry World to keep growing over the next few years.

The folks over at Electronista say they have received information from “well-placed sources familiar with the matter” that the Department of Defense has a pending order for over half a million Apple devices, which will go through after the sequester ends. This follows reports that Blackberry’s BB 10 handsets were given the kibosh in an effort to reduce costs.

The sources went on to break down the numbers, stating that the order will be comprised of 200,000 iPod Touches, 100,000 iPad minis, and 120,000 iPads. For those doing the math, this leaves another 200,000+ empty slots that will be filled with “various iPhones,” meaning some government workers won’t be lucky enough to score the iPhone 5. Still, this order is being placed, the sources say, to satisfy “needs that can’t wait.”

Reportedly, the majority of these Apple devices will be sent to those on the “battlefield [and] afloat,” as well as to support commands related to both. The devices left over from that will almost exclusively stay with Pentagon personnel, and whatever remains will find homes in various other locations. The blow for Blackberry comes from another source, which stated that these Apple devices will replace almost all Blackberry devices in use that aren’t BB 10 compatible.

[via Electronista]

Previous versions of the BlackBerry operating system were only allowed to be used by the British government for classifications up to “Restricted,” which is two levels below “Secret.” The Guardian reports that BlackBerry 10 and the company’s BlackBerry Balance software have failed to meet the security requirements that BlackBerry 7.1 met. BlackBerry Balance is software that is supposed to separate work and personal accounts preventing any copying of data between the accounts.

BlackBerry has confirmed that its latest software hasn’t been passed by the UK Communications-Electronics Security Group. The company will apparently be offering revised software with the goal passing the certification, but a date when that software will be offered is unknown. This news will come as a significant blow to BlackBerry within the UK because the company had and much of its hope of turning around its ailing fortunes pinned to BlackBerry 10 and the Z10 and q10 smartphones running the new software.

BlackBerry was hoping to win large and lucrative business contracts with its new devices, but at least for now in the UK that won’t happen. The Guardian reports that the British government and NHS are two of the library’s biggest clients in the UK numbering tens of thousands of users.

Update: BlackBerry has given us the following statement, arguing that the situation is not one of rejection but of a time impact in restructuring approvals processes:

“Media reports alleging that BlackBerry 10 has been ‘rejected’ for U.K. government use are both false and misleading. BlackBerry has a long-established relationship with CESG and we remain the only mobile solution approved for use at ‘Restricted’ when configured in accordance with CESG guidelines. This level of approval only comes following a process which is rigorous and absolutely necessary given the highly confidential nature of the communications being transmitted. The current re-structuring of this approval process, due to the Government Protective Marking Scheme review and the new CESG Commercial Product Assurance scheme has an impact on the timeline for BlackBerry 10 to receive a similar level of approval. The U.S. government’s FIPS 140-2 certification of BlackBerry 10 and the selection of BlackBerry 10 by the German Procurement Office and Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) underline how our new platform continues to set the standard for government communications. We are continuing to work closely with CESG on the approval of BlackBerry 10 and we’re confident that BlackBerry 10 will only strengthen our position as the mobile solution of choice for the U.K. government.”

Update 2: A CESG spokesperson gave the following statement:

“Discussions with BlackBerry are ongoing about the use of the BlackBerry 10 platform in government. We have not yet performed an evaluation of the security of that platform, but we expect to be issuing Platform Guidance in the summer. This will cover a number of platforms including Blackberry 10 (and the use of ‘Balance’).

We have a long standing security partnership with BlackBerry and this gives us confidence that the BlackBerry 10 platform is likely to represent a viable solution for UK Government.”

Update 3: Looks like BlackBerry is bringing out the whole UK government to pipe up on its behalf. A Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spokesperson gave the following statement (broadly the same as CESG’s):

“Discussions with BlackBerry are ongoing about the use of the BlackBerry 10 platform in government. We have not yet performed an evaluation of the security of that platform, but we expect to be issuing Platform Guidance in the summer. This will cover a number of platforms including Blackberry 10 (and the use of ‘Balance’).

We have a long standing security partnership with BlackBerry and this gives us confidence that the BlackBerry 10 platform is likely to represent a viable solution for UK Government.”

[via Guardian]

Just this past week, T-Mobile’s merger with metroPCS was approved by the FCC. This could have implications of expanded services and a quicker ramp up to 4G LTE connectivity for users across the USA as the two companies become one for greater connectivity for customers of either. This event could very well have been planned only in the event of the FCC sending approval of the merger, in which case this event would be about service expansion primarily.

On the other hand, the invite itself tips the possibility of non-mobile-carrier traditional services. Could it be that T-Mobile is getting pumped up for new ways for you to pay your bill? Perhaps they’re ready for some Television and Security System services like some of their competitors offer?

We shall see!

You should know good and well that you’ll be able to join us on the 26th for more T-Mobile action than you can handle, all day long! We’re guessing this event will also play host to another welcoming-in of the BlackBerry Z10 as well as the HTC One – maybe, just maybe.

If you log in on your desktop computer, your Android smartphone, your Chromebook, or anything in-between, today you’re able to access your Gmail account. Not quite so solid is the connection between the many odds and ends in Google’s chat environment. If Google did indeed create a single chat service for any and all environments, anyone would be able to work with it as easily as they do Gmail – app or no.

The word on the street today is that Google Babble would work on many – if not all – mobile products as well as in-browser for desktop machines. BlackBerry own BBM – BlackBerry Messenger – continues to be one of their “unique” services that users love to a degree that keeps them stuck tight to the hardware. Apple uses Messages which now works between mobile and desktop machines seamlessly.

Even the app called WhatsApp has been trying to capitalize on the one-app cross-platform messaging gap that exists in the Google universe right this minute. So what’s holding Google back?

Perhaps nothing! If Google Babble does exist, you may want to bank on it being revealed around or at Google I/O 2013 – that’s starting on the 14th of May – coming up quick! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on Google’s recent innovations with Hangouts in Google+ to see what we very well may be experiencing in Babble soon!

[via Geek]