Blackberry 10: ‘One swipe away’

Victor Barreiro Jr.

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Blackberry introduces Blackberry Z10 and Blackberry Q10 as flagship devices of the new Blackberry 10.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Research in Motion, now known as BlackBerry, has announced the arrival of its latest operating system, the BlackBerry 10 OS. While BlackBerry’s devices are usually known for their attention to the business-minded individuals who want a productivity device, BlackBerry 10 hopes to change the company’s image.

The BlackBerry 10 OS sports a number of features that allow it to work as both a business and leisure phone.

The main feature that will interest folks looking to mix it up between business and leisure is BlackBerry Balance. BlackBerry Balance partitions the phone into two profiles: a secure mode that can be used for work, and a personal mode to allow for leisurely usage and connectivity with family and friends. You can switch between the two on the fly, and users will be able to see their applications running on both profiles, but with the permissions and capabilities of the apps running specifically tailored to each profile’s setup.

BlackBerry Hub, another feature of the OS, is a centralized repository of social information, such as email, messages, or social network updates. There’s also a system in place on the BlackBerry, known as Flow, which allows for better multitasking and navigation across apps and profiles.

One aspect of the BlackBerry 10 that is also being touted is its virtual keyboard, which they say is an improvement over the virtual keyboards of competing brands. The company says this keyboard will not be smarter in a number of ways by virtue of having a second heatmap layer that remembers how you press keys and your tendencies when typing. The OS on their new phones will not only learn a user’s style of typing, but will also try to predict what a user is saying by offering words already used in the document being made or commonly used words.

BlackBerry 10 also comes with an upgraded version of the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service. This version also comes with video chat capabilities, which functions on BlackBerry Z10 devices and will be limited to users running the BlackBerry 10 mobile OS. This version of BBM will also get screen sharing functions.

Applications are also important to the ecosystem of the new Blackberry OS, and BlackBerry has promised 70,000 apps on its BlackBerry World store, with most of those apps available at launch. Users can also purchase other forms of media, such as music, videos, and books through BlackBerry World.

With the launch of the BlackBerry 10 OS and its new phones, BlackBerry hopes to regain some footing in the cellular phone marketplace. – Rappler.com

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Victor Barreiro Jr.

Victor Barreiro Jr is part of Rappler's Central Desk. An avid patron of role-playing games and science fiction and fantasy shows, he also yearns to do good in the world, and hopes his work with Rappler helps to increase the good that's out there.