BlackBerry announced its third BlackBerry 10 phone at its BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando today, a shiny, lower-cost QWERTY device called the BlackBerry Q5. The company also announced the availability of the BlackBerry 10.1 OS for the existing BlackBerry Z10 and Sprint and Verizon reiterated that the keyboarded BlackBerry Q10 would be coming.
"We have been on a tremendous journey for the past 12-14 months," BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said. "There's still a lot to do, but man, we have reached solid ground with this company."
The BlackBerry 10 platform has more than 120,000 apps and has been approved by 200 carriers worldwide, Heins said. The phones are sold in more than 50,000 retail stores around the globe, BlackBerry CMO Frank Boulben said. Here in the U.S., the Z10 is available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.
New Phones Coming
The new Q5 is a plastic-clad phone that will come in four colors: red, black, white, and pink. It has a 3.1-inch touch screen above a sculpted QWERTY keyboard very similar to the existing BlackBerry Q10's. The shape of the device is different, though - it looks longer and more rectangular than the Q10 does.The Q5 won't be coming to the U.S.; BlackBerry says it'll be available starting in July everywhere outside North America. But while the Q5 won't be coming here, it's absolutely critical to BlackBerry's ongoing success. The company's top markets are in lower-income countries like Indonesia and Nigeria, where a less expensive BlackBerry 10 device could really take off.
"This is specifically designed and built for selected markets, such as emerging markets; it's a sleek, slim, high-performance device," Heins said.
The CEO also aimed to keep up momentum here in the U.S. by announcing that "in early June, carriers here in the U.S. will start selling the BlackBerry 10 QWERTY device."
That will be on Verizon, the carrier said in a press release. Sprint sent out a separate press release that the Q10 would be coming to Sprint in "late summer."
BlackBerry 10.1 Arrives
The company also announced two minor upgrades to its software platforms - the arrival of BlackBerry OS 10.1 on existing Z10 phones, and a new version 10.1 of the BlackBerry Enterprise Service, which lets businesses manage BlackBerries, iOS and Android phones."You don't need any other platform," BlackBerry COO Kristian Tear said about BES 10. Existing BES licenses will be upgraded for free for a limited time, Tear said. "BES is a platform for managing mobile computing regardless of endpoint."
The client-side BlackBerry OS 10.1 includes an HDR mode in the camera, PIN messaging, custom notification profiles and a bunch of application and UI updates.
BES 10.1 includes a new enterprise instant messaging client which works with Microsoft or IBM Lotus systems, simplified deployment, new usage reporting capabilities, more policies, and improved support options.
The execs also emphasized that BlackBerry is a secure and private platform, both for individuals and corporations.
"BlackBerry has security baked in from the ground up," Tear said.
As part of the keynote, Heins also showed off a Bentley automobile with in-car communications, entertainment and navigation systems powered by BlackBerry 10, and had a Mercedes-Benz exec up on stage to discuss ongoing cooperation.
"We see BlackBerry 10 as a mobile platform that can be a driving force in the auto industry that can power new services and features that ehance the driving experience," Heins said.