It's no secret that the team at QNX Software Systems has been working on the development of their car platform. We've seen it in action a few times, most recently at CES in January, and I know many of you are anxious to see it come to your vehicle someday. In the video above, Kerry Johnson leads us through a quick tour of the QNX CAR 2 platform. Kerry is the automotive product manager at QNX, and he shows off some of the developments they've been working on including mobile device connectivity, the application area, HTML5 support, voice-enabled apps, and more. Check out the video, and head over to the forums at the link below to chat about it.

Discuss the QNX CAR 2 platform in the forums

We've seen a couple of concept cars from QNX in the past, and the latest being shown at CES 2012 goes above and beyond anything we have seen to date. The Porsche Carrera is pre-integrated with QNX products and third-party technologies to deliver an experience like no other. You can watch the video above to get a feel for what went into designing the car, and check out the full press release after the break for an in-depth look at just what this amazing concept can do. 

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While not directly related to BlackBerry -- as we know from Kevins recent trip to Waterloo, we know RIM and QNX have plenty of things in store when it comes to the automotive sector. QNX has the QNX Car Platform that they've demonstarted on many occasions and it's only a matter of time before we see further developments of BlackBerry integration in automotive from QNX. Two weeks ago, at Telematics Detroit, TeleNav demonstrated their services using the QNX Car Platform -- while they didn't use a BlackBerry PlayBook for it, it does offer a glimpse of things to come.

Source: On Q

QNX was on at hand at Embedded World 2011, as such they were giving off demos of the BlackBerry PlayBook and the whole QNX ecosystem of devices. The video above gives us a rather revealing walk-through of the BlackBerry PlayBook while highlighting a lot of the technical aspects of the OS that interests many folks out there.

While Research In Motion has given plenty of demos thus far, something about watching an interview from QNX employees always seems to more outward with their explanation of how things work and what to expect in the future. Check it out. Some of the questions asked and ultimately answered, really might have been passed over if this was a Research In Motion demo.

Source: ARMDevices

A lot of talk has been happening at the BlackBerry Developer Conference regarding QNX Software. More specifically, the OS that will be running on the sexy new BlackBerry PlayBook. The official BlackBerry blogs were able to catch up to Dan Dodge, co-founder and CEO of QNX Software Systems. In the talks, they discuss QNX, the OS and it's role in the new BlackBerry Tablet OS ecosystem. If you're interested in learning more about QNX Software be sure to give it a read through, rather interesting in how the OS works.

• Click Here To Read The Full Interview With Dan Dodge Via The Official BlackBerry Blog>>

Just in case you weren’t excited about the upcoming BlackBerry Developers Conference before, some information being tossed around today may change your outlook on the situation. According to the folks over at the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Post, RIM is seemingly poised to launch some new hardware and services at this year’s event. Of course, for all you CrackBerry readers this may not exactly be new news or come as a surprise at all. In reality, we've been talking about a new OS developed by QNX and the BlackBerry Tablet for months now. Go back as far as WES 2010 and even more recently, the last CrackBerry podcast and you'll hear us speak of QNX, the OS they are developing and what exactly, it would be released on and what RIM has planned for it as a long term solution.

The news today was that, Research In Motion would be announcing (or at least showing off) the BlackBerry Tablet at the BlackBerry Developers Conference. Which would indeed be running the new OS as developed by QNX software. In addition to that, it was also noted that the OS would eventually carry over to newer, upcoming devices such as the BlackBerry Storm 3. While we have heard before that it was Research In Motions intentions to demo the device we've since heard that idea got put on the back burner but, it's anyone’s guess now. Finally, the last piece of information to come out today was the Research In Motion is also planning to announce a new advertising service using Mobclix. Rumours have been abounding for a while about the RIM and Mobclix connection but nothing solid has ever come from those rumours.

All this information is great to see as we draw closer to the opening of the BlackBerry Developers Conference but, one thing to remember is that until announced they are just rumours. It's rather easy to take every rumour from the past 6-8 months that has never fully come to light yet and say yes, that's what Research In Motion is going to announce. But, the fact is it's all speculation until those press releases start to roll out. We'd be remiss though if we didn't say that the excitement of seeing what we've been talking about for months now turn to reality is high.

Sources: WSJ, FP

Rumors are swirling today from "inside sources" that RIM's acquisition of QNX back in April will result in a brand new OS for the BlackPad, rather than a revised version of OS 6. There really isn't much more information right now. We've been under the impression for quite some time that this was the case. Given what the QNX business model is (ie: building embedded OS') it sounds rather logical to put the two together and come up with the idea RIM took them on to build a new OS. Today's news makes for some interesting additions to the speculation already floating around about RIM's plans. If this really is the case, how much of a departure will this be from the OS form and functionality we are used to? I for one am very interested to see where this goes, and if there is any more to come from this.

Source: Engadget

Here it is CrackBerry readers, our WES 2010 Special Edition Podcast! We're making podcast history with this one as the CrackBerry team sat down with the Boy Genius, Andrew Munchbach and Michael Bettiol of BGR and Eric Zeman of Phone Scoop to talk all things BlackBerry. This is one podcast you will not want to miss.

In 48 minutes we pretty much touch on all of the news coming out of WES including BlackBerry 6 and the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G. More than that, we spend a lot of time addressing the state of BlackBerry - looking at both the challenges and opportunities RIM faces in the smartphone game. Take a listen and be sure to drop us a comment and let us know what you think. Enjoy the show!

Here's an interesting piece of news to kick off a Friday. RIM has just announced the acquisition of QNX Software, a division owned by Harman International.  Full press release is below with all the details.  But if you jump over to QNX.com you can see what these guys are all about. On the surface it's looking like RIM wants to enhance the integration between BlackBery Smartphones and in-car infotainment systems, but I would be pretty stoked if in a year or two I could buy a car who's entire onboard computer/communication system was powered by BlackBerry!!  

Press Release

Research In Motion to Acquire QNX Software Unit from Harman International

Move furthers innovation among parties for mobility, connectivity and intelligent automotive markets

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 9, 2010) - Harman International (NYSE:HAR) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced today that the two companies have reached an agreement for RIM to acquire QNX Software Systems. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is anticipated to close within 35-45 days. This strategic move is expected to further strengthen QNX penetration in the automotive market and foster innovation for markets served by all parties.

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