Goodbye WhatsApp

WhatsApp support for mobile devices end of life

WhatsApp

Earlier this week WhatsApp turned seven years old. It has been an amazing journey and in the coming months we’re putting an even greater emphasis on security features and more ways to stay in touch with the people that you care about.



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BlackBerry Classic in white now available: Saudi Arabia

BlackBerry Classic now available in white in Saudi Arabia
New Color Offers Greater Choice to Productive Mobile Professionals Looking for a Familiar QWERTY Design Merged with the Security and Speed of BlackBerry 10
Riyadh , Saudi Arabia – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced that a white color version of the BlackBerry® Classic™ smartphone is now available in Saudi Arabia. The no-nonsense smartphone is built to meet the needs of productive people who appreciate the speed and accuracy that can be found with a physical QWERTY keyboard. The white colored BlackBerry Classic is available today at leading telecom retail stores.
Ron Louks, President, Devices and Emerging Solutions at BlackBerry, said: "The introduction of the BlackBerry Classic in white offers yet another color choice to users who desire a stylish smartphone, yet understand the need for a mobile business tool that keeps them productive and securely manages their information."
The BlackBerry Classic upgrades the BlackBerry® Bold 9900 experience with:
Unveiled in December 2014, BlackBerry Classic upgrades the BlackBerry® Bold 9900 experience with:

• Three times faster browser
• 60 percent more screen space
• 50 percent longer battery life
• Greater variety of applications through BlackBerry® World® storefront and the Amazon Appstore

Top features of the BlackBerry Classic that drive productivity, communications and collaboration include:

• BlackBerry® Keyboard & Trackpad - The QWERTY keyboard has stood the test of time as the iconic BlackBerry feature that users know and trust. Crafted for optimal speed and accuracy, the BlackBerry Classic's QWERTY keyboard gives users the control and confidence to communicate quickly and clearly using one hand with a trackpad and classic navigation keys.
• BlackBerry® Browser - The BlackBerry 10 web browser is amazingly fast and astoundingly beautiful. That's why HTML5TEST.com rates it amongst the top mobile browsers for web fidelity.* Access your favorite online content as it was meant to be seen, faster than ever before and with unlimited browser tabs.
• Screen & Battery - The BlackBerry Classic offers a form factor optimized for power communicators with a 3.5-inch touch screen display, 294 dpi HD resolution and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 for greater durability. The BlackBerry Classic also offers a large battery capacity and state-of-the-art battery optimization software. With up to 22 hours of battery power, you can be confident that BlackBerry Classic will be ready to deliver results when you need it.
• Premium Design, Built to Last - The BlackBerry Classic is purpose built and built to last - from the outer frame which is cut from a solid block of stainless steel, to the textured back for better grip. The BlackBerry Classic also includes premium components, including a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of device storage (expandable by up to 128GB via uSD), and a 2MP front- and 8MP rear-facing camera with enhanced optics and upgraded imaging sensors.

BlackBerry® 10 OS 10.3.1 - The BlackBerry Classic comes preloaded with the BlackBerry 10.3.1 operating system, offering a fresh look that incorporates updated icons and an instant action bar so that each user's most commonly accessed functions are in the center of their screen. With this new operating system, users gain access to powerful features, including:

• BlackBerry® Blend - BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Get instant message notifications, read and respond to your work and personal email, BBM™ and text messages, and access your documents, calendar, contacts and media in real time on whatever device you are on, powered by your BlackBerry.
• BlackBerry® Assistant - The BlackBerry Assistant is BlackBerry's first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. It's the only smartphone assistant on the market today that can access both personal and work content in your work perimeter. BlackBerry Assistant intelligently determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it - if you type, it responds silently, if you speak, it speaks back and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.

Dual app storefronts preloaded for access to a huge selection of apps for work and play:

• BlackBerry World - BlackBerry World offers essential business and productivity apps for professionals looking to drive efficient communications and collaboration including Box, Evernote, Cisco WebEx Meetings and Documents to Go.
• Amazon Appstore - Preloaded on BlackBerry Classic, discover and download popular Android apps and games through the Amazon Appstore including Candy Crush Saga, Pinterest, SoundCloud, Kindle and Amazon Shopping.
• BlackBerry® Hub - The one place to manage all your conversations - email, texts, BBM, phone calls, social media and more. You can even glance at what's next in your calendar. It's always available with a single swipe to help you stay organized, in control and on top of all your conversations.

BlackBerry Classic is built on BlackBerry's renowned secure operating system, with built-in protection against viruses, tampering and data leaks. The BlackBerry Classic is private by default, protecting users with encrypted email, web browsing and BBM.
About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

BlackBerry Named One of World's Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations of 2013

BlackBerry got some rare positive recognition. Thomson Reuters recognized the smartphone pioneer as one of the world's top 100 most innovative organizations of 2013.

It is BlackBerry's first appearance on the list. BlackBerry is the only Canadian company on the third-annual list, next to 45 US companies. According to Thomson Reuters, BlackBerry's innovation was "driven by a 38 percent surge in patent filings between 2010 and 2011, and 17 percent growth in patent filings between 2011 and 2012."

"Now in its third year, the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators study provides further evidence that innovative organizations—those that secure global patent protection for their intellectual property, continue to push the envelope with new technologies and invest more in R&D—are those that outperform the S&P 500 on virtually every measure of business success," noted David Brown, managing director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions.

"These are the companies that are driving growth, creating jobs and pioneering new products and services; we are honored to recognize their efforts through this annual program," he added.

The 100 organizations in the 2013 study outperformed the S&P 500 for the third consecutive year. This year's winners also outspent the S&P 500 by 8.8 percent on R&D; collectively they invested $223 billion in their research and development efforts.

Next 250 Approved Built for BlackBerry Developers get a Limited Edition BlackBerry Z10: I could get my second one!

BlackBerry today re-launched its Built for BlackBerry program to provide developers with a more simple and clear path to achieving Built for BlackBerry status, a designation that tells consumers that a BlackBerry app delivers the signature BlackBerry 10 experience.

The revitalised Built for BlackBerry program is part of an effort to ensure that BlackBerry World contains the applications that customers want with the best customer experience. The program will ensure that an increasing percentage of apps in the store provide seamless performance and an integrated experience with BlackBerry 10 features such as the Hub or BBM.

BlackBerry is also focused on being the strongest platform business partner for developers. The new Built for BlackBerry program works to increase discoverability, a key hurdle for app and business success. In fact, in the week when featured on the Carousel, measured against the time not featured, Built for BlackBerry apps have increased daily downloads by an average of 230%.

Built for BlackBerry apps will now have more regular placement on BlackBerry World carousels and microbanners, as well as a new top Built for BlackBerry list that customers can easily find and search. Built for BlackBerry apps will also have an exclusive results area in app searches.

The program also includes a refreshed criteria checklist that clarifies the requirements for developers and a new submission process that enables a faster path to be part of Built for BlackBerry:

What does this mean for BlackBerry 10 customers?

• Built for BlackBerry is a simple way to find and explore apps that take advantage of the BlackBerry 10 platform.

What does this mean for developers?

• Increased exposure and discoverability of their app
• A noted designation that can be leveraged in app promotion
• Opportunities to be featured in BlackBerry app promotions

What is the BlackBerry 10 signature app experience?

• The BlackBerry 10 signature app experience requires vendors to follow the BlackBerry 10 guidelines to deliver a familiar experience to customers, i.e. swipe back to exit an app, swipe down for application menu with settings, swipe up for action menu, use of context menus, etc, without unnecessarily complicating BlackBerry app development.

How does a developer build for the signature BlackBerry 10 experience? 

• It is simple to implement the BlackBerry 10 experience into apps – both for native, HTML5 and AIR apps
• Native – Cascades auto implements these controls for the developer
• HTML5 – BlackBerry provides a bootstrap template for developer Phonegap or HTML5 app projects to use
• AIR – The BlackBerry Experience framework allows developers to easily create a BlackBerry 10 UI

Find out more details on the revamped Built for BlackBerry program at http://developer.blackberry.com/builtforblackberry/