Time for Unification: RIM Announces BlackBerry BBX for Smartphones & Tablets
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 18, 2011 1:12 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- RIM
- BlackBerry
- PlayBook
- Mobile
- BlackBerry BBX
- Tablets
With its PlayBook tablet RIM introduced a brand new mobile platform built on QNX's Neutrino 6.5 OS. The result was an extremely smooth user experience with great multitasking support (reminiscent of webOS) on a platform that simply needed more apps and maturity. At the time, RIM indicated future Blackberry smartphones would be based on a QNX derived OS although this year we only got BlackBerry OS7 devices.
At its developer conference today RIM announced BlackBerry BBX, an upcoming QNX based OS for future BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. It's too early to know when we'll see devices but the obvious assumption is it'll be in 2012.
RIM also released a beta version (2.0) of its PlayBook OS to developers with support for running Android apps, a feature we originally discussed in our PlayBook review.
Today's announcements do signal continued commitment to the market by RIM. Although Apple and Google have done their best to convert BlackBerry users, this is still anyone's game. RIM definitely has a lot of the right pieces in-house (QNX, webkit team, etc...) to make for a serious revival in the mobile market, but ultimately it boils down to execution and iteration. A BBX launch in 2012 isn't too late, assuming it can execute quicker than the competition. It's the latter that makes this a tall order.
Source: RIM
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Pirks - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
RIM does not screw up things lately, rather the opposite, you ignorant troll. I use two of their newest devices, a phone and a tablet and both are very high quality pieces of tech, mostly a pure pleasure to use, especially the tablet. The only thing screwed up here is your dead brain. I have experience with new RIM products and you don't, hence the only thing you can do is to parrot other trolls like you who also have no idea what products RIM makes these days. Go on, follow the sheeple crowd, bash RIM, buy yourself an iPhone, black turtleneck and a pair of jeans, whatever. For trolls like you who have none of their own mind and only follow the sheeple crowd this is the only way of life. Hive mind prevails because you have no mind of your own. You're just follow the sheeple. So sad :)I never follow the sheeple, I always test the stuff I gonna buy and then make a choice. You look at some Apple dick sucking "reviewer" and think that his review is the final truth, but I never do this. I don't trust the reviews most of the time (Anand is the only exception that proves the rule), I go and use stuff myself. Then I pwn the liars and trolls based on my own experience. It's that simple.
It's usually very easy to pwn them because they never know what they are talking about. They just saw some pictures with some RIM device and the picture caption said BAD BAD BAD DEVICE, so naturally their hive mind tells me the picture must be true! It's from a "reviewer", right? And then the DT forum fun begins, as usual :)
Veroxious - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Did it ever occur to you that not everyone likes or wants a BlackBerry for whatever reason? It's something called choice. For someone who just went off on an insulting rant you sure do come across as a sheep herder trying to push everyone into the BlackBerry pen. For my needs an iPhone or an Android device is a much better fit period.You don't see me going around bashing everyone who does not want either.retrospooty - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
"For someone who just went off on an insulting rant you sure do come across as a sheep herder trying to push everyone into the BlackBerry pen"I know, its hilarious the double standard. I also love how he insists that anyone that posts bad news, including staff at AT/DT is a troll (spoken from underneath his bridge). LOL
Anyhow Pirks... I have played with a co-workers OS7 as I set him up with mobile mail (minus cal and contact sync becasue its a RIM device and doesnt support EAS), not at all impressed. I also spent 10 mins in a store on the playbook... Like I said, QNX looks decent, its a comparable OS, but have you seen this Ice Cream sammy article? Another nail in the coffin I'm afraid. It looks awesome.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4987/google-introduc...
Pirks - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Yeah of course it does look awesome after they stole lotsa features from BlackBerry, WinPhone 7 and iOS. Whatever, I'm not interested in copycats, RIM and MS mobile platforms at least look original and interesting, Android ripoff - not at all yet.RIM usually introduces interesting stuff first, like BBM and Blackberry Tag, then others copy it (Apple iMessage and Android Beam)
You're interested in copycats, not in innovators? Lemme guess why - because "everyone" says copycats are cool? Okay Mr. Hive Mind, whatever you say LOL :)))
retrospooty - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
You are delusional. Dont go changin.Pirks - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Oh great, now you're trying to refute the inconvenient for you facts that Android Beam is a Blackberry Tag ripoff, and iMesaage is a BBM ripoff. Your denial of reality is funny.piiman - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
dude NO ONE reinvents the wheel. Take a good look and your fav RIM OS and I'm sure we can find some "rip offs" in it also.If RIM was so innovative and magical they would be Apple ..Obviously they are not.
Pirks - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
MS is no Apple too, which doesn't make it non-innovative. Same's true for RIM.retrospooty - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
"Android Beam is a Blackberry Tag ripoff, and iMesaage is a BBM ripoff."OMG you're too funny. I am not denying that, its just that of all the great things we can do now with modern smartphones, Beam, Tag, iMesaage and BBM are all just lame little tidbits. If you want to call that Innovation on RIM's behalf then I just laugh it off. Calling BBM and TAG smartphone innovations is alot like calling mud-flaps and cup-holders Automotive innovations.
Now, if you want to call copycat, call it on RIM, becasue thier whole platform is a total copy of Palm/Handspring. The only thing RIM invented was thier BES/mail system, their whole platform is a copy. If you want to stay away from copy's, then you cant use an iphone, android, blackberry or any other smartphone because the inventor is Palm.
Pirks - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Wait a second, where and how did QNX copy Palm? Tell me that, I think you're lying again here but I'm giving you a chance to prove it. Go on.