CrackBerry is Under New Ownership and Relaunching in 2022 Beyond BlackBerry - Read All About It!

News

Become a CrackBerry 2.0 VIP Member for FREE for LIFE!

Submitted by Kevin Michaluk on Sun, 01/16/2022 - 17:16

In the VIP

As the work begins to relaunch CrackBerry in 2022 as a beyond-BlackBerry destination, I've been thinking about ways to recognize and reward the loyal community and audience that has been with us for a long time.

To that end, I'm excited to announce you can Sign up Now to Become a CrackBerry 2.0 VIP Member, FREE for LIFE!

What does being a CrackBerry 2.0 VIP Member get you, you ask?

CrackBerry VIP member status will come with perks. These perks may change and evolve over time, but since you've been here for the ride you'll always be entitled to them. Some examples of what VIP status may bring:

  • You'll be considered a trusted CrackBerry Insider (get an early heads up on all things CrackBerry)
  • You'll be recognized as being a VIP (special badge on your CB 2.0 user profile)
  • Ability to participate in VIP-only giveaways (better odds of winning!)
  • Free stuff could just show up at your door (CB stickers, swag, other cool things!)
  • If CBK is visiting your city or town in the months/years/decades ahead, a meetup could happen!

I'll keep the registration period for this open for a limited time, but it will get turned off as we move into relaunch territory - the point here is to recognize and reward the OG audience and community. So if VIP membership is promoted after CrackBerry 2.0 comes into existence, it will be a much more difficult club to gain access to. So if you're reading this and plan to partake in all the fun that's coming to CrackBerry again, hit the link below and take a few minutes and fill out the form to sign up now!

Sign up Now to Become a CrackBerry 2.0 VIP Member FREE for LIFE!

Editorial

OnwardMobility Declares Itself Not Dead...

Submitted by Kevin Michaluk on Fri, 01/07/2022 - 15:42

Onward Mobility, the company that promised to deliver a 5G BlackBerry Smartphone in 2021 then fell off the face of the planet, today posted to their website an update and declared themselves NOT DEAD:

To all of you who have patiently waited so long for updates from OnwardMobility, we are humbly aware that we owe you some form of communication as we enter 2022. And to misquote Mark Twain, as so many do, "Contrary to popular belief, we are not dead."

We've read all your Facebook and LinkedIn comments, articles, Tweets, email messages and more, and not only do we understand your frustration, but we genuinely share it. Everyone has eagerly awaited additional information following our last announcement, but 2021 was truly a challenging year to launch a new phone, much less one with the high expectations we set and the fact that we want to get it right!

While we encountered various delays that prevented us from shipping in 2021, we will be providing more regular updates starting this month that will clarify and answer many of your questions about the ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone (still with a keyboard!) we're bringing to market.

All of us at OnwardMobility are incredibly grateful for the community of loyal users for this opportunity. To the media: we'll be ready to deliver news and speak with you soon and we look forward to it.

We sincerely apologize for our silence and truly appreciate your patience. In the meantime, we wish everyone a healthy start to the New Year!

All the best, The OnwardMobility Team*

A few quick thoughts came to my mind after reading this update from OM (which I'll write directly to them since they said they're reading all the articles):

  1. OHH MY EFFEN GOD.. why the hell did you wait until TODAY to post this news? On a week when media around the world is reporting that it's the End of an Era as BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 phones go End of Life, having this message up a week sooner would have really helped work in your favor as maybe, just maybe, the mainstream media would have positioned the story right. As it is, the news this week mainly came across that ALL BlackBerry Phones are dead (newer Android phones included). It's going to seem extra weird (and maybe even a little desperate) to launch this as a BlackBerry device now.

  2. Which makes me wonder if this ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone will even carry the BlackBerry name if/when it comes to market? I can't help but notice that the update post didn't actually mention the word BlackBerry in it. So maybe that's a clue that either a) it won't come to market as a BlackBerry anymore, or b) you're not allowed (by BlackBerry) to mention it.

  3. Either way, you guys should have made SOME SORT of an update before 2021 closed out. No update of any kind basically made the CrackBerry community -- myself included -- write you off. Back in August 2020 when we talked to Peter Franklin on the CrackBerry Podcast we left excited and optimistic that a new BB was truly in the works. That waned over 2021. Sure, there was a post encouraging people to sign up for updates. But then no updates ever came. And then we couldn't help but notice a lot of the folks on LinkedIn who had OnwardMobility job titles... went elsewhere. Add it all up and by every account it felt like OnwardMobility decided to ghost everyone.

So with that all said, to the BlackBerry community I say PLACE YOUR BETS in the comments as to whether or not 2022 will bring a new smartphone to market.

Reactions aside, yesterday John Chen via an interview at CES, did respond in a FOX Business interview that while BlackBerry doesn't intend to launch any new phones anytime soon than they did have a partner working on a 5G BlackBerry. So that, maybe more than anything OnwardMobility has said in their update, could point to the odds being more favorable than ZERO that we will see a BlackBerry in 2022.

As for me, you can probably tell at this point I'm over it so will remain moderately skeptical / slightly optimistic at best that we'll see this phone in 2022. If and when we do I'll definitely give it a go (understanding it is being positioned for an enterprise market) and hopefully it'll have some of that BlackBerry DNA in it that makes it something to get excited about.

Rant out of the way, hopefully OnwardMobillity will still include CrackBerry in its media outreach when they have something to say. We may be going BEYOND BLACKBERRY as CrackBerry upgrades this year to 2.0, but if there's a new BlackBerry phone we're obviously going to cover the hell out of it.

Tag: 
OnwardMobility
News & Rumors

Relaunching CrackBerry in 2022 - Beyond BlackBerry!

Submitted by Kevin Michaluk on Tue, 01/04/2022 - 15:03

Heyyyyyy Everybody!

Remember me? I'm back! Again!!

Today marks the end of an era as legacy BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 phones officially go End of Life (EOL).

I don't feel sad about this. We've known it was coming and longtime BlackBerry fans have already been put through the emotional wringer many times over the years. You might say we have thick skin… especially on our thumbs!

Instead, today I find myself full of warm and fuzzy memories from BlackBerry and CrackBerry's glory days.

The stories of BlackBerry and CrackBerry have been intertwined since this site launched back in 2007. Since the story of BlackBerry is coming to a close, it's time I find a new way to write CrackBerry's.

Since time is money and inflation is way outta control, here's a quick summary of what's happening:

  • CrackBerry.com is now under new ownership. Well, old ownership actually. I, CrackBerry Kevin, a.k.a. CBK a.k.a. the original Founder and Fearless Leader of CrackBerry Nation, have purchased CrackBerry back from its previous owner, Future PLC.
  • Over the course of 2022, CrackBerry is going to get relaunched. The new CrackBerry will not be a BlackBerry-focused website. It will be something… different… and more… I don't have the grand vision all worked out just yet, and I'd rather under-promise and over deliver, but I'm confident with time CrackBerry will become something really, really awesome that brings us those warm and fuzzy feelings of the good 'ole days as we all face the future together.
  • For our remaining active BlackBerry forums users, I will keep forums.crackberry.com live and accessible for years to come. No need to panic!

Summary out of the way, if you want more details of what's going on and the thinking behind it, keep reading.

Saving CrackBerry From Extinction

The opportunity came up recently for me to purchase CrackBerry back from Future PLC, the company we sold Mobile Nations to in March 2019.

Given the state of the BlackBerry world (and the whole world for that matter), it didn't feel like the smartest business opportunity for me to pursue. At the same time, I also felt like if I didn't buy it the most likely outcome for the future of CrackBerry would be its eventual deletion. In a world that values growth above all else, it doesn't make sense to throw time and money and energy at supporting something on a rapid decline.

After pondering the decision, I decided to throw business sense out the window and get the deal done. I could figure out what to do with CrackBerry after I owned it again.

The Framework for a New CrackBerry

Reflecting on CrackBerry's past while thinking about what a new CrackBerry could look like, a few thoughts have become abundantly clear:

  • A new CrackBerry will have to move past the BlackBerry legacy in order to have a chance and a hope of thriving again.
  • If I'm going to invest the time and effort and expense to relaunch CrackBerry, the mindset needs to be that a CrackBerry publication and community 40 years from now could and should still be relevant. Products come and go, technology changes and what's a trending topic one year becomes outdated the next. A new CrackBerry should be built with a long-term mindset that matures and evolves alongside all of us that are part of "the CrackBerry Generation".
  • A new CrackBerry would have to continuously capture the essence of the early days of CrackBerry. When this site first launched in 2007 it was by no means the first BlackBerry website. There were already several popular BlackBerry blogs and forums. What made CrackBerry stand out and become a vibrant and truly iconic media brand was how we covered BlackBerry. Our CrackBerry team was made up of misfits. Our content was fun and full of passion and positivity (even when we were being prickly about our BlackBerry pain points) and our amazing community brought the site to life. Come for the articles, stay for the comments and forums! And we did a lot of crazy stuff that was memorable and just made you laugh and enjoy your day a little bit more.
  • I finally realized that CBK and Kevin Michaluk are the same person. This will sound ridiculous, but in the past I tried to simplify my life by consciously wearing different hats: CrackBerry Kevin the BlackBerry/content guy, Kevin Michaluk the business guy, Kevin the person. When we sold Mobile Nations my "CrackBerry Kevin" name went along with the sale and in hindsight I realize now so did part of my identity that I've been missing since. Most of the people I've met the past 15 years have known me as CrackBerry Kevin. It's a history and story I'm proud of, even if the association to BlackBerry dates me a bit. There's a lot of work to do to build a new CrackBerry, but just having my name back and being CBK again I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. With the new CrackBerry I won't split my personality. CBK is Kevin. Kevin is CBK. CrackBerry won't be the only thing I do. I'll likely always have other projects on the go, but CrackBerry will be my constant and my center from which all awesome and fun things flow!

Relaunching CrackBerry in 2022

Over the course of 2022, CrackBerry is going to get rebuilt and relaunched. The process will be a bit messy and weird and probably go against every best practice. But it'll happen. And I'll lean on the community a LOT for your input. I hope you stick around and come back often and help shape what CrackBerry becomes next.

Here are some of the things that will happen next as we embark on the new CrackBerry journey:

Migrating CrackBerry to a New Tech Infrastructure - Over the next couple of months CrackBerry will get migrated away from Future's existing servers and over to a new tech infrastructure that I'm setting up. Currently I have access to publishing content and making some very subtle site tweaks, but right now the techstack and adstack are still powered by Future.

Once we get the site moved over (primary goal not to break anything too badly along the way), then we can start fixing and tweaking things and planning for change.

Defining Our Audience and Strategy - While the tech migration work is happening behind the scenes, in parallel we'll start to hone in on our new audience and content strategy. The reality is, I report to no one and we can do whatever the hell we want. So if we try things and they don't work, we'll scrap them and try some other things until over time CrackBerry finds its new groove.

I could write thousands of words here on audience development and content strategy, but to keep it brief let's just say for now that our content will be beyond BlackBerry, but everything we cover will be done in that old school CrackBerry way. Tech and gadgets will definitely be part of what we cover as that's in the CrackBerry DNA and it's just fun. We'll obviously have a nostalgia section where BlackBerry can live on forever, but we'll also look at new tech.

Outside of tech, I also want to explore areas that appeal to me where I think the CrackBerry way of covering them will add value and resonate with a lot of others. Topics like health, home, money and hobbies are all on the table. We'll stick to producing original content done in a way that's honest and fun, and stay away from topics that get too serious. The world is serious enough as it is, so CrackBerry should be a place that leans to the side of lighthearted. Oh, and we'll have LOTS of giveaways. Because winning free stuff is the BEST.

Building a New Crack Team - When I think about CrackBerry's past, more than phones I think about the people I've had the opportunity to meet over the years and build lasting relationships with. Without CrackBerry my life would be very, very different. Some of my best friends and absolute favorite people I know are all thanks to CrackBerry, and I'll always consider my former Mobile Nations work colleagues to be family. I know that for so many other individuals CrackBerry has been life changing as well. It's helped them launch their careers and even find their spouses!

Looking ahead to building a new CrackBerry, I'm starting from scratch again. Outside of the amazing volunteer moderators and ambassadors that keep the forums running, there's just me. For now. I'm hoping this initial announcement serves as a catalyst to get others intrigued and excited for the mission ahead. If being part of the New Crack Team is something that appeals to you, stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved.

CrackBerry is Dead, Long Live CrackBerry!

Now that you know what's coming for the future of CrackBerry, it's time to pour one out and reminisce a bit longer on the good 'ol days of BlackBerry and CrackBerry.

An "End of An Era" CrackBerry podcast definitely has to get recorded this week. I'll see which of the former podcast troops I can find and convince to join.

But for CrackBerry, don't be sad. This isn't the end. This isn't even the beginning of the end. It's merely the end of the beginning.

News & Rumors

BlackBerry Reports Q2 Fiscal Year 2022 Results

Submitted by Bla1ze on Wed, 09/22/2021 - 17:33

BlackBerry Logo

BlackBerry has now reported their Q2 Fiscal Year 2022 results. As part of the announcement, BlackBerry CEO John Chen noted revenue for all businesses beat expectations this quarter, specifically Cyber Security and IoT.

  • Total company revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $175 million.
  • Total company non-GAAP gross margin was 65% and GAAP gross margin was 64%.
  • IoT revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $40 million, with gross margin of 83% and ARR of $89 million.
  • Cyber Security revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $120 million, with gross margin of 59% and ARR of $364 million.
  • Licensing and Other revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $15 million as negotiations for the sale of a portion of the patent portfolio continue. Gross margin was 60%.
  • Non-GAAP operating loss was $30 million. GAAP operating loss was $141 million, primarily due to a non-cash accounting adjustment to the fair value of the convertible debentures, resulting from market and trading conditions, of $67 million.
  • Non-GAAP loss per share was $0.06 (basic and diluted). GAAP loss per share was $0.25 (basic and diluted).
  • Total cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments were $772 million.
  • Net cash generated from operating activities was $12 million.

"Revenue for all businesses beat expectations this quarter. The Cyber Security business unit delivered robust sequential billings and revenue growth and the IoT business unit performed well in the face of global chip shortage pressures," said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "We are already seeing benefits from establishing the two key business units and are delighted to appoint John Giamatteo as President of Cyber Security. Giamatteo, who was previously President and Chief Revenue Officer at McAfee, adds leading industry expertise.

In IoT, design activity for our QNX products remains very strong, demonstrating both our industry leadership position and secular trends, such as ECU consolidation. In Cyber Security we received strong third-party validation of the effectiveness of our AI-driven, prevention-first suite of products, illustrating progress made with recent product launches."

If you missed out on the conference call, a replay will be available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #6149337. Additionally, you can view the full financial breakdowns here once uploaded by BlackBerry.

Press Release

BlackBerry Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Results

Revenue exceeds expectations and Company adds deep cybersecurity industry experience to drive growth

  • Total company revenue of $175 million.
  • IoT revenue of $40 million.
  • Cyber Security revenue of $120 million.
  • Licensing & Other revenue of $15 million.
  • Positive operating cash flow of $12 million.
  • Non-GAAP loss per basic and diluted share of $0.06; GAAP loss per basic and diluted share of $0.25. A non-cash accounting adjustment to the fair value of the convertible debentures, as a result of market and trading conditions, accounts for approximately $0.12 of GAAP loss per share.

WATERLOO, ON, Sept. 22, 2021 /CNW/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today reported financial results for the three months ended August 31, 2021 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP, except where otherwise indicated).

"Revenue for all businesses beat expectations this quarter. The Cyber Security business unit delivered robust sequential billings and revenue growth and the IoT business unit performed well in the face of global chip shortage pressures," said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "We are already seeing benefits from establishing the two key business units and are delighted to appoint John Giamatteo as President of Cyber Security. Giamatteo, who was previously President and Chief Revenue Officer at McAfee, adds leading industry expertise. In IoT, design activity for our QNX products remains very strong, demonstrating both our industry leadership position and secular trends, such as ECU consolidation. In Cyber Security we received strong third-party validation of the effectiveness of our AI-driven, prevention-first suite of products, illustrating progress made with recent product launches."

Second Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Highlights

  • Total company revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $175 million.
  • Total company non-GAAP gross margin was 65% and GAAP gross margin was 64%.
  • IoT revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $40 million, with gross margin of 83% and ARR of $89 million.
  • Cyber Security revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $120 million, with gross margin of 59% and ARR of $364 million.
  • Licensing and Other revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 was $15 million as negotiations for the sale of a portion of the patent portfolio continue. Gross margin was 60%.
  • Non-GAAP operating loss was $30 million. GAAP operating loss was $141 million, primarily due to a non-cash accounting adjustment to the fair value of the convertible debentures, resulting from market and trading conditions, of $67 million.
  • Non-GAAP loss per share was $0.06 (basic and diluted). GAAP loss per share was $0.25 (basic and diluted).
  • Total cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments were $772 million.
  • Net cash generated from operating activities was $12 million.

Business Highlights & Strategic Announcements

  • BlackBerry has design wins with 24 of the world's leading 25 Electric Vehicle (EV) automakers. This has increased from 23 of the top 25 last quarter following an EV win with Daimler.
  • BlackBerry IVY to deliver highly secure vehicle-based payments, leveraging direct access to vehicle sensor data and edge processing to create a "digital fingerprint". Delivered through a partnership with Car IQ.
  • Nobo Technologies selects BlackBerry QNX Neutrino as foundation for new Digital Cockpit Controller for Great Wall Motors' Haval G6S SUV. Great Wall Motors is China's largest producer of SUV vehicles.
  • sTraffic, Korea's leading solution developer for transportation infrastructure systems, selects QNX OS for Safety as the foundation for their train traffic management system that includes unmanned train operations.
  • BlackBerry launches BlackBerry Jarvis 2.0 composition analysis tool. Delivered as a more user-friendly SaaS offering, Jarvis 2.0 empowers OEMs to validate and ensure the quality of their multi-tiered software bill of materials.
  • BlackBerry awarded highest AAA rating by SE Labs in breach test of BlackBerry Protect (EPP) and BlackBerry Optics (EDR). The breach test adopted a range of real-world hacker tactics and BlackBerry's AI-driven products delivered complete prevention and detection with zero false positives.
  • BlackBerry UEM integrates with Microsoft 365, delivering BlackBerry's industry-leading security to Microsoft's productivity products.
  • BlackBerry AtHoc critical event management platform used as foundation for autonomous flood risk and clean water monitoring solution.
  • BlackBerry updates SecuSUITE capabilities to protect group phone calls and messages for governments and businesses from high risk eavesdropping.

Appointment of New Cyber Security Business Unit President

BlackBerry has appointed John Giamatteo as President of the Cyber Security business unit. With this strategic hire the company adds significant industry experience. Giamatteo will join the company on October 4th and report to Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen. He will be responsible for business unit strategy, engineering, and go-to-market.

Giamatteo brings to BlackBerry over 30 years of experience with technology companies. Most recently he served as President and Chief Revenue Officer of McAfee, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, and customer success. During his time with McAfee, he delivered strong double-digit growth across its Enterprise, SMB and Consumer businesses as well as significant margin expansion across the portfolio. Prior to that he served as Chief Operating Officer at AVG Technologies, a leading provider of Internet and mobile security. Giamatteo also held leadership positions with Solera Holdings, RealNetworks, Inc. and Nortel Network Corporation.

"I'm excited to be joining BlackBerry and to be leading the Cyber Security business unit. Never has the threat of cyberattacks been higher, nor more in the minds of management," said Giamatteo. "BlackBerry's AI-driven, prevention-first technology is well placed to scale to meet the constantly evolving cybersecurity needs of companies everywhere. I'm very positive about the opportunities that we have as a company."

Tom Eacobacci, BlackBerry's President and COO, has decided to pursue other opportunities and will leave the Company on October 29th. BlackBerry thanks Tom for his hard work and contributions in his time at the Company.

Outlook

BlackBerry will provide fiscal year 2022 outlook in connection with the quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call. The earnings call transcript will be made available on our website and on SEDAR.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures used by the company to comparable U.S. GAAP measures and an explanation of why the company uses them.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and live webcast will be held today beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET, which can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 682-6267 or by logging on at BlackBerry.com/Investors.

A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #6149337 and at the link above.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including more than 195M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.

BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry introduces Flood Risk and Clean Water Monitoring Solution

Submitted by Bla1ze on Tue, 08/03/2021 - 13:16

Blackberry Logo Water

Partnering with the University of Windsor, BlackBerry today announced a new flood risk and clean water monitoring solution based on BlackBerry AtHoc. When the solution is put to use, BlackBerry says governments, utility companies and local communities could save up to $1,000,000 or more annually in operating expenses while increasing environmental, safety, and health benefits.

"BlackBerry is pleased to deliver this critical innovation, based on BlackBerry AtHoc, as the climate change crisis escalates. Climate change is one of the most pressing threats to our everyday lives, and tackling it requires the urgent and combined effort of governments, organizations, and individuals," said Neelam Sandhu, Senior Vice President & Chief Elite Customer Success Officer. "BlackBerry is committed to delivering advanced technologies, that turn real-time data into intelligence and leverage our leadership in communications, to enable the safety and security of people around the world. Furthermore, we are on-track to be carbon neutral this year."

"Globally, societies must increasingly rely on the autonomous monitoring of air and water to inform our understanding of the environment and to alert us to impending danger. The BlackBerry solution announced today delivers on this need," said Mike McKay, Executive Director, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor. "Autonomous early-warnings and real-time monitoring are critical to provide enough time to address the risks communities around the world are currently facing. We are proud to have partnered with BlackBerry on this important and unique technology."

With the system being based on BlackBerry AtHoc, it will tap into large amounts of sensor data to provide year-round monitoring while offering valuable insights from the processed data including early warnings for seasonal and unseasonal water related risks.

Press Release

BlackBerry Launches First-of-its-Kind Flood Risk and Clean Water Monitoring Solution

Based on BlackBerry AtHoc, the autonomous and intelligent solution has helped a municipality save nearly $1 million in operating expenses

WATERLOO, ON, Aug. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced a first-of-its-kind flood risk and clean water monitoring solution. Based on BlackBerry® AtHoc®, a critical event management platform, the innovative technology provides autonomous year-round monitoring and an intelligent early warning system, collecting and processing large amounts of sensor data, and generating alerts based on the data insights.

BlackBerry has partnered with the University of Windsor to deploy the solution in Canada, where Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately impacted by these issues. Its proven benefits include its ability to identify seasonal and unseasonal water related risks, and generate significant cost savings for governments, utility companies and local communities. Using the solution, local municipalities could each save up to $1,000,000 or more annually in operating expenses, in addition to the environmental, safety, health, and other benefits of early warning flood mitigation and clean water.

"BlackBerry is pleased to deliver this critical innovation, based on BlackBerry AtHoc, as the climate change crisis escalates. Climate change is one of the most pressing threats to our everyday lives, and tackling it requires the urgent and combined effort of governments, organizations, and individuals," said Neelam Sandhu, Senior Vice President & Chief Elite Customer Success Officer. "BlackBerry is committed to delivering advanced technologies, that turn real-time data into intelligence and leverage our leadership in communications, to enable the safety and security of people around the world. Furthermore, we are on-track to be carbon neutral this year."

"Globally, societies must increasingly rely on the autonomous monitoring of air and water to inform our understanding of the environment and to alert us to impending danger. The BlackBerry solution announced today delivers on this need," said Mike McKay, Executive Director, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor. "Autonomous early-warnings and real-time monitoring are critical to provide enough time to address the risks communities around the world are currently facing. We are proud to have partnered with BlackBerry on this important and unique technology."

Over two billion people globally lack access to clean water, with the lives of children under the age of five most threatened. Almost one and a half billion of the world's population faces a flood risk. Both issues are exacerbated by climate change. To learn about BlackBerry's commitment to be carbon neutral in 2021 click here.

For more information on BlackBerry AtHoc click here.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 195M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.

BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Tag: 
BlackBerry AtHoc
News & Rumors

You can now sign up to receive the latest OnwardMobility BlackBerry 5G information

Submitted by Bla1ze on Fri, 07/23/2021 - 12:32

OnwardMobility Sign Up

As part of a new engagement program built for those interested in BlackBerry 5G smartphones, OnwardMobility has opened up registration to receive product, feature, and availability updates. Additionally, those who sign up will also have the chance to offer input on product features and functionality as well as be among the first to purchase the device at launch.

  • In the Know: First to receive product, feature, and availability updates–before the general public
  • Drive Design: Provide input to directly influence product features and functionality
  • Be the Early Bird: Pre-order the device and be one of the first to receive your device at launch

Given that news surrounding the new device(s) has been rather short since the initial announcement, there has been a lot of speculation happening in the CrackBerry Forums as to what exactly is going on. This new engagement program sounds like a fantastic way to put some of that speculation to rest.

Sign up to receive OnwardMobility BlackBerry 5G updates

Tag: 
OnwardMobility
BlackBerry 5G
News & Rumors

BlackBerry Reports Q1 Fiscal Year 2022 Results

Submitted by Bla1ze on Thu, 06/24/2021 - 17:55

BlackBerry Logo

BlackBerry has now reported their Q1 Fiscal Year 2022 results. As part of the announcement, BlackBerry recognized total company revenue of $174 million, IoT revenue of $43 million and Cyber Security revenue of $107 million. Additionally, licensing and other revenue reached $24 million while BlackBerry CEO John Chen noted other achievements such as BlackBerry QNX now being embedded in over 195 million vehicles.

"This quarter we aligned the business around the two key market opportunities – IoT and Cyber Security. In IoT we are pleased with the strong progress of the auto business, despite global chip shortage headwinds. Design activity remains strong, the number of vehicles with QNX software embedded has increased to 195 million, and royalty revenue backlog grew by 9% year-over-year.

Tangible progress continues to be made with BlackBerry IVY, including the launch of the IVY Advisory Council and the first investment by the IVY Innovation Fund," said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "On the Cyber Security side, we announced two new significant product launches as part of our XDR strategy – BlackBerry Gateway and Optics 3.0. We continue to see strong pipeline growth for our new UES products."

First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Highlights

  • Total company revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was $174 million.
  • Total company gross margin was 66%.
  • IoT revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was $43 million, with gross margin of 84% and ARR of $86 million.
  • BlackBerry QNX royalty revenue backlog increased from $450 million in Q1 FY21 to $490 million in Q1 FY22, a 9% increase year-over-year.
  • Cyber Security revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was $107 million, with gross margin of 57% and ARR of $364 million.
  • Licensing and Other revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was $24 million as negotiations for the sale of a portion of the patent portfolio continue.
  • Non-GAAP operating loss was $23 million. GAAP operating loss was $58 million.
  • Non-GAAP loss per share was $0.05 (basic and diluted). GAAP loss per share was $0.11 (basic and diluted).
  • Total cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments were $769 million.
  • Net cash used by operating activities was $33 million.

Business Highlights & Strategic Announcements

  • Volvo Group selected BlackBerry QNX operating system and hypervisor as foundation for its 'Volvo Dynamic Software Platform', to meet the needs of the 'whole truck'.
  • WM Motor, a Chinese electric carmaker, chose BlackBerry QNX to power its W6 all-electric SUV.
  • BlackBerry QNX and BiTECH Automotive (formerly Bosch Car Multimedia Wuhu Co. Ltd) jointly developed a digital LCD instrument cluster for Changan's UNI-K SUV.
  • BlackBerry QNX is now embedded in over 195 million vehicles, increasing from over 175 million vehicles last year.
  • BlackBerry launched BlackBerry IVY Advisory Council to drive use case generation using BlackBerry IVY. Initial members include Geico, Cerence, HERE, Telus and Amazon.
  • BlackBerry's IVY Innovation Fund made its first investment in Electra Vehicles, a start-up that will use data from BlackBerry IVY in its AI-driven platform to optimize battery performance.
  • BlackBerry announced appointment of Mattias Eriksson as President of IoT business unit.
  • BlackBerry announced BlackBerry Optics 3.0, its next-generation cloud-based endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution.
  • BlackBerry further built out Extended Detection and Response (XDR) strategy with launch of BlackBerry Gateway, the company's first AI-empowered Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) product.
  • BlackBerry's AI-driven, prevention-first BlackBerry Protect product demonstrated to block both DarkSide ransomware and Conti ransomware, even using the 2015 version of the product.

Outlook

BlackBerry will provide fiscal year 2022 outlook in connection with the quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call. The earnings call transcript will be made available on our website and on SEDAR.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures used by the company to comparable U.S. GAAP measures and an explanation of why the company uses them.

If you missed out on the conference call held, a replay of the conference call be available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #2676452.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

Unihertz is back with the 'Titan Pocket' for QWERTY fans!

Submitted by Bla1ze on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 13:07

Unihertz Titan Pocket

The Unihertz Titan Pocket is now available for backing on Kickstarter.

While many BlackBerry fans are waiting to see what Onward Mobility has in store for their 5G BlackBerry, the folks at Unihertz are not exactly standing still with their attempts to reach BlackBerry and QWERTY keyboard fans. Following up on their Passport-like Titan, they have now introduced a new, smaller version called the Titan Pocket.

Titan is great, but it may not be everyone's top choice. Now we are offering you a brand new choice - a QWERTY smartphone that can perfectly fit in your pocket.

Although Unihertz has yet to reveal any of the specs for the Titan Pocket, they're certainly right in stating the Titan may not be everyone's top choice. The original Titan was built to be rugged and is an all-around massive phone. It's thick, and heavy coming in at 303 grams. The Unihertz Titan Pocket however, looks keep that same ruggedness in a much smaller package featuring Android 11.

With the lack of new BlackBerry options available, Unihertz is certainly filling a void for some BlackBerry fans. Plenty of members of the CrackBerry Forums added the original Titan to their collection when it was launched and no doubt plenty more will be considering the Titan Pocket as well.

The Titan Pocket is launching on Kickstarter soon and if you sign up through the Unihertz site, Unihertz is offering up to 47% off the MSRP. It's a similar deal to which they offered on the original Titan and wholly fufilled their promise of. Spots are limited, so if you're interested be sure to check it out.

If you're looking to discuss the Titan Pocket a bit more, swing by the CrackBerry Forums or drop a comment below. You can also check out TechOdyssey's video covering the announcement below.

Tag: 
Unihertz
News & Rumors

BlackBerry trends on Twitter as shares rise to heights not seen since 2011

Submitted by Bla1ze on Mon, 01/25/2021 - 12:38

BlackBerry sign in Waterloo

BlackBerry stock has been on the rise since they announced the patent settlement with Facebook and the selling of patents to Huawei but on Monday morning the stock jumped over 40% from Friday and began trending on Twitter.

Since the stock began to rise on little news, BlackBerry has issued a press release in response due to a request from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC").

The Company is not aware of any material, undisclosed corporate developments and has no material change in its business or affairs that has not been publicly disclosed that would account for the recent increase in the market price or trading volume of its common shares.

According to a report from CBC, BlackBerry stock is just one of many including GameStop, AMC, as well as Bed, Bath and Beyond which are on rise due to investors on Reddit boards looking for bargains to invest in.

Discuss more in the CrackBerry Forums

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry and Facebook agree to settle patent fight

Submitted by Bla1ze on Sat, 01/16/2021 - 12:56

Facebook launch screen on BlackBerry KEY2

The legal battles between BackBerry and Facebook which started back in 2018 have run their course and as of yesterday, both parties have agreed to settle.

Although the terms of the deal were not announced, BlackBerry spokeswoman Karen Clyne noted "We have resolved our disputes pursuant to a confidential agreement and have no further comment".

Following the news BlackBerry stock rose as much as 26.8%, making it the second day BlackBerry stock made signifcant gains. Earlier this week, the stock rose as much as 25% following the news of the company selling smartphone patents to Huawei.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry sells off 90 smartphone patents to Huawei

Submitted by Bla1ze on Wed, 01/13/2021 - 14:54

BlackBerry Logo

Following a report from The Globe and Mail stating that BlackBerry had sold off 90 key smartphone technology patents to Huawei, BlackBerry CFO Steve Rai confirmed the deal yesterday during a JP Morgan virtual investor conference.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, ownership of the patents was transferred to Huawei on December 23rd. Speaking of the deal, Steve Rai noted they were a "very small number of patents that are no longer relevant to the business. So, small sale, not part of our recurring transaction. And certainly, it was permitted under the applicable rules."

Since 2014 when BlackBerry launched their BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS) business unit, they have been maximizing their efforts to license or sell some of their 38,000 patents held which inlcude those from QNX, Certicom, Paratek and more. Still, the sale has raised questions among many about Canada's innovation strategy citing possible national security issues.

Discuss more in the CrackBerry Forums

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

OnwardMobility is growing their Global Sales Team

Submitted by Bla1ze on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 15:30

Onward Mobility

Although we haven't heard a ton from OnwardMobility since they announced a new 5G BlackBerry with a keyboard would be arriving in 2021, it seems as though they have been working hard on growing their team according to a new announcement posted to their blog.

OnwardMobility is growing! Today, we're excited to announce significant new hires for our global sales team to meet the need for the growing global interest in our company. We're welcoming to the team industry veterans Géraud Boutibonnes as Vice President General Manager EMEA and Global Accounts (EU) and Matthew McFee as Vice President of Government Sales. With more than 60 years' combined experience, both Mr. Boutibonnes and Mr. McFee will contribute to growing OnwardMobility's global sales and will report to OnwardMobility's EVP of Sales Chuck Becher.

"We continue to see increased excitement about our company and pent up demand for our new robust devices, and the addition of Géraud and Matthew enables us to quickly ramp up our sales efforts throughout EMEA and with key government accounts," said Peter Franklin, CEO of OnwardMobility. "Both Géraud and Matthew bring extensive experience in increasing wireless device sales in key markets and will be important contributors to bringing to market OnwardMobility's global flagship device, a feature-rich, 5G Android smartphone that delivers on security and productivity."

Seeing some action on the hiring front is fantastic. In order to make it all work, you need great people on the front lines to help out but as an admittedly impatient BlackBerry fan, I just want to see some teases of new BlackBerry hardware.

Press Release

OnwardMobility Expands Global Sales Team

OnwardMobility is growing! Today, we're excited to announce significant new hires for our global sales team to meet the need for the growing global interest in our company. We're welcoming to the team industry veterans Géraud Boutibonnes as Vice President General Manager EMEA and Global Accounts (EU) and Matthew McFee as Vice President of Government Sales. With more than 60 years' combined experience, both Mr. Boutibonnes and Mr. McFee will contribute to growing OnwardMobility's global sales and will report to OnwardMobility's EVP of Sales Chuck Becher.

"We continue to see increased excitement about our company and pent up demand for our new robust devices, and the addition of Géraud and Matthew enables us to quickly ramp up our sales efforts throughout EMEA and with key government accounts," said Peter Franklin, CEO of OnwardMobility. "Both Géraud and Matthew bring extensive experience in increasing wireless device sales in key markets and will be important contributors to bringing to market OnwardMobility's global flagship device, a feature-rich, 5G Android smartphone that delivers on security and productivity."

About Géraud Boutibonnes, Vice President General Manager EMEA and Global Accounts (EU)

With more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications and wireless sales, Mr. Boutibonnes is responsible for establishing and expanding OnwardMobility's sales footprint within the EMEA region and brings extensive experience in building sales organizations and engaging EMEA carriers. With a track record of strong growth performance and successful management of large-scale global businesses, Mr. Boutibonnes has led outstanding performances in sales, marketing and operations, engaged and motivated large teams, and developed senior leaders for the Alcatel and BlackBerry brands. For the past 10 years, Mr. Boutibonnes developed mobile broadband, CiOT, and delivered innovative solutions with global carriers headquartered in Europe (Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, Telefonica, CKH) as VP of global accounts and partnership in TCL. Mr. Boutibonnes will be based in Paris, France. EMEA customers can directly connect with Géraud Boutibonnes via LinkedIn.

About Matthew McFee, Vice President of Government Sales

Matthew McFee brings over 35 years of wireless experience to the team. At OnwardMobility, he will be instrumental in positioning Onward Mobility's BlackBerry devices as the most trusted and secure solution serving government markets around the globe. His career started with Motorola in East Tennessee where he focused on special markets including radio common carriers, federal government and subscriber cellular, which led him to Atlanta as the Southeast Area Sales Manager. He was recruited by his customer (BellSouth) to lead the New Product and Services Development team in the U.S. and eventually for BellSouth International in LATAM. He has a proven ability to build and develop successful teams with Motorola, BellSouth, Kyocera and Sonim, as well as longstanding professional relations with federal and state agencies for secured tactical communications. Mr. McFee will be based in East Tennessee. North American government customers can directly connect with Matthew McFee via LinkedIn.

Interested in learning more about OnwardMobility?

  • Potential financial partners may email: FinancialPartners@OnwardMobility.com.
  • Businesses interested in ensuring access to early production or in pre-ordering devices may email: Contact@OnwardMobility.com.
  • Businesses interested in ensuring access to early production or in pre-ordering devices may email: Contact@OnwardMobility.com.
  • Those interested in working with OnwardMobility to solve today's pressing security challenges may send resumes to: Recruiting@OnwardMobility.com.
  • For media inquiries, please reach out to onwardmobility@rainierco.com
  • To connect with us on social media, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Tag: 
OnwardMobility
News & Rumors

BlackBerry reports Q3 Fiscal 2021 earnings

Submitted by Bla1ze on Thu, 12/17/2020 - 17:30

BlackBerry Logo

Right on schedule, BlackBerry has now reported their Q3 Fiscal 2021 earnings which highlight sequential software and services revenue growth.

  • Total company non-GAAP revenue of $224 million; total company GAAP revenue of $218 million.
  • Non-GAAP earnings per basic and diluted share of $0.02; GAAP loss per basic and diluted share of $0.23.
  • Net cash generated from operating activities of $29 million.

"We are pleased to report solid financial results this quarter, delivering sequential software and services revenue growth in line with our outlook. This quarter we delivered exciting new technology releases, especially our AI-driven BlackBerry Cyber Suite. We also made significant progress with partnerships," Said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry.

"Our recently-announced multi-year, exclusive partnership with AWS to co-develop and co-market BlackBerry IVY, is both strategic and unique. This new platform will create a recurring-revenue business, bringing together BlackBerry's extensive experience and footprint in embedded automotive with AWS' unparalleled cloud reach, consumer experience and interface."

A conference call and live webcast will be held today beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET, which can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 682-6267 or by logging on at BlackBerry.com/Investors. If you miss it, there will be a replay of the conference available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #7510319.

Press Release

BlackBerry Reports Sequential Software and Services Revenue Growth, Non-GAAP Profitability and Positive Free Cash Flow for Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter

  • Total company non-GAAP revenue of $224 million; total company GAAP revenue of $218 million.
  • Non-GAAP earnings per basic and diluted share of $0.02; GAAP loss per basic and diluted share of $0.23.
  • Net cash generated from operating activities of $29 million.

WATERLOO, ON, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today reported financial results for the three months ended November 30, 2020 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP, except where otherwise indicated).

"We are pleased to report solid financial results this quarter, delivering sequential software and services revenue growth in line with our outlook. This quarter we delivered exciting new technology releases, especially our AI-driven BlackBerry® Cyber Suite. We also made significant progress with partnerships," Said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "Our recently-announced multi-year, exclusive partnership with AWS to co-develop and co-market BlackBerry IVY, is both strategic and unique. This new platform will create a recurring-revenue business, bringing together BlackBerry's extensive experience and footprint in embedded automotive with AWS' unparalleled cloud reach, consumer experience and interface."

Third Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Total company non-GAAP revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $224 million. Total company GAAP revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $218 million.
  • Software and Services non-GAAP revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $168 million. Software and Services GAAP revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $162 million.
  • Non-GAAP gross margin was 70% and GAAP gross margin was 68%.
  • Non-GAAP operating earnings were $14 million. GAAP operating loss was $127 million, primarily due to fair value adjustments to long-term debt.
  • Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.02 (basic and diluted). GAAP net loss per share was $0.23 (basic and diluted).
  • Total cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments were $757 million.
  • Net cash generated from operating activities was $29 million.

Third Quarter Business Highlights & Strategic Announcements

  • AWS and BlackBerry join forces to accelerate innovation with new intelligent vehicle data platform, BlackBerry IVY.
  • BlackBerry QNX has design wins with 19 of the top 25 Electric Vehicle OEMs, who together have 61% of EV market.
  • BlackBerry unveils industry's first Unified Endpoint Security (UES) solution for AI-powered Cybersecurity, BlackBerry Cyber Suite. Cyber Suite will Integrate with all leading UEMs, including Microsoft Intune.
  • BlackBerry launches industry's first user behavior AI technology for Cybersecurity, BlackBerry Persona® Desktop.
  • BlackBerry launches new AI-powered Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) solution to protect against mobile malware and phishing attacks, BlackBerry Protect Mobile.
  • BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Manager (UEM) software has achieved National Security Agency (NSA) Commercial Solutions for Classified Program (CSfC) approval.
  • Announced new global BlackBerry Partner Program that combines the award-winning BlackBerry Enterprise Partner Program and
  • BlackBerry Cylance Partner Programs into one unified comprehensive structure.
  • BlackBerry uncovered massive hack-for-hire group, BAHAMUT, targeting governments, businesses, human rights groups and influential individuals.
  • Launched QNX OS for Safety 2.2, a new release of the trusted, safety-certified operating system certified by the independent auditors at TÜV Rheinland to IEC 61508 SIL3 (Industrial), ISO 26262 ASIL D (Automotive), and IEC 62304 Class C (Medical devices) functional safety standards.

Outlook

BlackBerry will provide fiscal year 2021 outlook in connection with the quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call. The earnings call transcript will be made available on our website and on SEDAR.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures used by the company to comparable U.S. GAAP measures and an explanation of why the company uses them.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and live webcast will be held today beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET, which can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 682-6267 or by logging on at BlackBerry.com/Investors. Slides relating to the recent BlackBerry IVY announcement will be shown during the live webcast. These slides will be made available on the BlackBerry.com/Investors website at 5:30 p.m. ET. A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #7510319 and at the link above.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including more than 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust. BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere. For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry prevails in MobileIron patent and civil extortion case

Submitted by Bla1ze on Fri, 12/11/2020 - 20:11

BlackBerry Logo

BlackBerry today revealed that earlier this week, the California federal court approved dismissing with prejudice claims that BlackBerry attempted to extort MobileIron through a patent licensing agreement.

In its complaint filed earlier this year, MobileIron claimed that BlackBerry attempted "civil extortion" by sending MobileIron notices of patent infringement. But as BlackBerry maintained throughout the suit, BlackBerry's efforts to enforce its patent rights were at all times proper, and MobileIron's claims to the contrary were both "abusive" and "meritless." The dismissal of MobileIron's claims vindicates BlackBerry's position and the propriety of BlackBerry's licensing practices.

"BlackBerry is a pioneer in mobile security and enterprise software and has always stood behind its technologies and licensing practices," said Steve Rai, Chief Financial Officer, BlackBerry. "We are gratified that these meritless claims have been definitively put to rest and will continue to vigorously defend BlackBerry's position. We appreciate the change in direction that Ivanti, MobileIron's new owner, has taken with respect to this suit and look forward to working with them to reconcile the remaining open items."

As a result of the dismissal, MobileIron will have to pay BlackBerry's costs and attorney's fees incurred defending against the claims.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry to announce Fiscal Year 2021 Q3 results on December 17, 2020

Submitted by Bla1ze on Thu, 12/03/2020 - 16:41

BlackBerry logo on black background

Before we all say goodbye to 2020, BlackBerry has to announce its Fiscal Year 2021 Q3 results and they've now set the date as December 17, 2020, for those to be outlined.

BlackBerry to Announce Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Results on December 17, 2020

WATERLOO, Ontario, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) will report results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 17, 2020. The conference call can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 682-6267 or live-streamed on the Company's website.

A replay of the conference call will be available at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET on December 17, 2020, by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 and entering Conference ID #7510319. It will also be available at the link above.

At the end of Q2 BlackBerry reported total company non-GAAP revenue of $266 million and total company GAAP revenue of $259 million while net cash generated from operating activities came in at $31 million.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
News & Rumors

BlackBerry and AWS introduce BlackBerry IVY Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform

Submitted by Bla1ze on Tue, 12/01/2020 - 13:48

Today, BlackBerry and AWS (Amazon Web Services, Inc) have announced a multi-year, global deal to develop and market a new Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform dubbed BlackBerry IVY. The scalable, cloud-connected software aimed at automakers will provide secure access to vehicle sensor data so automakers can make informed decisions about enhancing in-vehicle experiences.

"Data and connectivity are opening new avenues for innovation in the automotive industry, and BlackBerry and AWS share a common vision to provide automakers and developers with better insights so that they can deliver new services to consumers," said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry. "This software platform promises to bring an era of invention to the in-vehicle experience and help create new applications, services, and opportunities without compromising safety, security, or customer privacy. We are pleased to expand our relationship with AWS to execute this vision and deliver BlackBerry IVY."

"AWS and BlackBerry are making it possible for any automaker to continuously reinvent the customer experience and transform vehicles from fixed pieces of technology into systems that can grow and adapt with a user's needs and preferences," said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Through this joint effort with BlackBerry, we will provide automakers with the insights, capabilities, agility, and speed they need to thrive in an increasingly connected world. As automakers seek to race ahead in their digital transformations, BlackBerry IVY empowers them to build their brands and set the standard for connected vehicle services across the automotive industry."

The deal is huge for automakers and automotive suppliers as it allows them to tap into information and API's in a secure manner while reducing costs and product development time but it has also had a massive effect on BlackBerry stock as well. BlackBerry stock has surged upward 40.03% as of 1:48 PM EST following the announcement.

Press Release

AWS and BlackBerry Join Forces to Accelerate Innovation with New Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform

SEATTLE, WA and WATERLOO, ON — December 1, 2020 — Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), and BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB, TSX: BB), a worldwide leader in intelligent security software and services, announced a multi-year, global agreement to develop and market BlackBerry's Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform, IVY. BlackBerry IVY is a scalable, cloud-connected software platform that will allow automakers to provide a consistent and secure way to read vehicle sensor data, normalize it, and create actionable insights from that data both locally in the vehicle and in the cloud. Automakers can use this information to create responsive in-vehicle services that enhance driver and passenger experiences.

BlackBerry IVY addresses a critical data access, collection, and management problem in the automotive industry. Modern cars and trucks are built with thousands of parts from many different suppliers, with each vehicle model comprising a unique set of proprietary hardware and software components. These components, which include an increasing variety of vehicle sensors, produce data in unique and specialized formats. The highly specific skills required to interact with this data, as well as the challenges of accessing it from within contained vehicle subsystems, limit developers' abilities to innovate quickly and bring new solutions to market. BlackBerry IVY will solve for these challenges by applying machine learning to that data to generate predictive insights and inferences, making it possible for automakers to offer in-vehicle experiences that are highly personalized and able to take action based on those insights.

BlackBerry IVY will support multiple vehicle operating systems and multi-cloud deployments in order to ensure compatibility across vehicle models and brands. It will build upon BlackBerry QNX's capabilities for surfacing and normalizing data from automobiles and AWS's broad portfolio of services, including capabilities for IoT and machine learning. BlackBerry IVY will run inside a vehicle's embedded systems, but will be managed and configured remotely from the cloud. As a result, automakers will gain greater visibility into vehicle data, control over who can access it, and edge computing capabilities to optimize how quickly and efficiently the data is processed. With BlackBerry IVY's integrated capabilities, automakers will be able to deliver new features, functionality, and performance to customers over the lifetime of their cloud-connected vehicles, as well as unlock new revenue streams and business models built on vehicle data.

For instance, BlackBerry IVY could leverage vehicle data to recognize driver behavior and hazardous conditions such as icy roads or heavy traffic and then recommend that a driver enable relevant vehicle safety features such as traction control, lane-keeping assist, or adaptive cruise control. IVY could then provide automakers with feedback on how and when those safety features are used, allowing them to make targeted investments to improve vehicle performance. Additionally, drivers of electric vehicles could choose to share their car's battery information with third-party charging networks to proactively reserve a charging connector and tailor charging time according to the driver's current location and travel plans. BlackBerry IVY could also provide insights to parents of teenage drivers who may choose to receive customized notifications based on insights from vehicle sensors when the number of passengers in the vehicle changes, when the driver appears to be texting, distracted, or not observing speed limits, or when the vehicle occupancy level rises above the parents' desired safety threshold. Similarly, parents of infants could receive a reminder to engage the child safety lock when the vehicle detects a child in the rear seat.

BlackBerry IVY will enable automakers to compress the timeline to build, deploy, and monetize new in-vehicle applications and connected services across multiple vehicle brands and models. Instead of investing in one-off solutions that conform to the unique engineering of different vehicle models (as they do today), automakers using BlackBerry IVY will be able to leverage different types of data as common building blocks for new services that could work across a range of models. Automakers will be able to use the platform's application programming interfaces (APIs) to share data and outputs with their software development teams, giving them the ability to innovate, while also protecting customer privacy and security by controlling whom can access vehicle and app data and at what level of detail.

In addition, BlackBerry IVY will make it easier for automakers to collaborate with a wider pool of developers to accelerate creation of new offerings that deliver improved vehicle performance, reduced costs for maintenance and repairs, and added convenience. For instance, by analyzing real-time performance data, automakers could recognize the first signs of potentially faulty parts, deploy code to identify affected vehicles, notify impacted drivers, and perform targeted recalls. Automakers will be able to remotely deploy and update the software from the platform's Cloud Console (a web interface for managing BlackBerry IVY) to continuously improve the functionality of the system.

"Data and connectivity are opening new avenues for innovation in the automotive industry, and BlackBerry and AWS share a common vision to provide automakers and developers with better insights so that they can deliver new services to consumers," said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry. "This software platform promises to bring an era of invention to the in-vehicle experience and help create new applications, services, and opportunities without compromising safety, security, or customer privacy. We are pleased to expand our relationship with AWS to execute this vision and deliver BlackBerry IVY."

"AWS and BlackBerry are making it possible for any automaker to continuously reinvent the customer experience and transform vehicles from fixed pieces of technology into systems that can grow and adapt with a user's needs and preferences," said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Through this joint effort with BlackBerry, we will provide automakers with the insights, capabilities, agility, and speed they need to thrive in an increasingly connected world. As automakers seek to race ahead in their digital transformations, BlackBerry IVY empowers them to build their brands and set the standard for connected vehicle services across the automotive industry."

To learn more about BlackBerry IVY and general availability, please visit https://blackberry.qnx.com/en/aws.

About Amazon Web Services

For 14 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 175 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 77 Availability Zones (AZs) within 24 geographic regions, with announced plans for 15 more Availability Zones and five more AWS Regions in India, Indonesia, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust. For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
BlackBerry QNX
QNX
News & Rumors

BlackBerry KEY2 November Android security update now available!

Submitted by Bla1ze on Tue, 12/01/2020 - 11:50

BlackBerry KEY2 Security Update Screen

If you were surprised in October to see an update for the BlackBerry KEY2, you'll want to go ahead and check for updates once again. Turns out the November update is now widely available on the KEY2 and looks to be coming soon for the KEY2 LE according to Rogers.

Rogers BlackBerry November Security Update

Like the October update, it seems rather hit or miss when it comes to whether your specific device will have the update available. Some folks received it a few days ago, while a broader number of folks have started seeing it today. The update is noted as ACT536 on the KEY2. Given the sporadic nature of the rollout, best to just check for system updates and see if you have it waiting for you!

Tag: 
BlackBerry KEY2
BlackBerry KEY2 LE
News & Rumors

BlackBerry UEM receives approval from the NSA

Submitted by Bla1ze on Wed, 11/18/2020 - 14:04

Blackberry Spark

Adding to its already large list of certifications, BlackBerry today announced that BlackBerry UEM has achieved approval from the National Security Agency (NSA) for use as part of their Commercial Solutions for Classified Program (CSfC).

"BlackBerry and the NSA share a common mission to help make the nation safer," said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "We are honored to receive approval from the NSA for BlackBerry UEM to be used to protect classified information. This adds to the portfolio of U.S. government certifications BlackBerry has received for UEM, including NIAP, DoDIN APL and FedRAMP."

This approval is just another feather in BlackBerry's security cap. As it stands, seven of the G7 and sixteen of the G20 governments are using BlackBerry solutions. Additionally, 70+ percent of the US Federal government personnel are currently being protected by BlackBerry AtHoc.

Press Release

BlackBerry Achieves NSA Approval for BlackBerry UEM

WATERLOO, Ontario, Nov. 18, 2020 /CNW/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced that its BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Manager (UEM) software has achieved National Security Agency (NSA) Commercial Solutions for Classified Program (CSfC) approval.

The NSA protects the United States' most critical information and systems against cyberattacks. The CSfC is an important part of the NSA's strategy, ensuring that the U.S. government can leverage the industry's most secure and innovative cybersecurity technologies to accomplish their mission objectives.

"BlackBerry and the NSA share a common mission to help make the nation safer," said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. "We are honored to receive approval from the NSA for BlackBerry UEM to be used to protect classified information. This adds to the portfolio of U.S. government certifications BlackBerry has received for UEM, including NIAP, DoDIN APL and FedRAMP."

For more information on BlackBerry certifications, including NIAP, DoDIN APL, FedRAMP and FIPS 140-2, visit BlackBerry.com/Certifications

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust. BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.

Tag: 
BlackBerry UEM
Enterprise
News & Rumors

BlackBerry QNX to power Plus self-driving trucks

Submitted by Bla1ze on Tue, 11/17/2020 - 13:54

Plus Automated Trucks Blackberry Safety Security

Plus have now announced they will be the first automated truck developer to make use of BlackBerry QNX for their next-generation self-driving systems. Plus will license the BlackBerry QNX OS for Safety software for their Class 8 trucks which are expected to begin rolling out in cooperation with China's largest heavy-duty truck maker, FAW, starting in 2021.

"Self-driving systems consist of the most complex and powerful software and hardware to go into a Class 8 truck. Every technology choice we make has to contribute to the overall safety and security of heavy-duty trucks integrated with the Plus automated driving system. The operating system is an important foundation for the rest of the system," said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder, Plus. "Our engineering team has done an exceptional job in completing the transition to the industry's highest standard of safety-certified technology as we move from product development to commercial deployment."

"BlackBerry QNX provides both commercial and personal autonomous vehicle developers with operating systems that meet the highest safety, reliability and security standards. We are thrilled to support the commercialization of automated trucks and to work with the Plus team to advance the global deployment of its automated trucking system," said John Wall, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions. "Self-driving trucks will have a revolutionary impact on the logistics industry and it is exciting to contribute to making that future possible."

If you're looking to learn more about Plus, you can check out the video below which offers a closer look at how they are bringing self-driving trucks to the market. You can learn about BlackBerry QNX OS for Safety right here.

Press Release

Plus Chooses BlackBerry to Power Its Class 8 Truck Automated Driving System First Self-Driving Truck Developer to Leverage Safety-Certified BlackBerry QNX Operating System

WATERLOO, Ontario and CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) and Plus, a leading provider of self-driving truck technology, announced today that Plus has selected BlackBerry QNX technology for the global commercial deployment of the company's automated driving system for Class 8 trucks.

Plus is the first automated truck developer to use BlackBerry QNX technology for its next-generation self-driving systems, which are expected to be commercialized and deployed by Plus and FAW, China's largest heavy-duty truck maker, beginning in 2021. Plus also plans to deploy thousands of intelligent, automated trucks in the US in the next two years.

As part of the agreement, BlackBerry will license its ISO 26262 ASIL-D safety-certified QNX OS for Safety software solution to Plus, further strengthening the technology foundation the company has built to create a truly safe and secure automated driving system. Based on the QNX Neutrino Real-time Operating System (RTOS), QNX OS for Safety is used around the world by embedded software developers for mission-critical systems in medical devices, industrial controls, rail, robotics and aerospace and defense.

"Self-driving systems consist of the most complex and powerful software and hardware to go into a Class 8 truck. Every technology choice we make has to contribute to the overall safety and security of heavy-duty trucks integrated with the Plus automated driving system. The operating system is an important foundation for the rest of the system," said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder, Plus. "Our engineering team has done an exceptional job in completing the transition to the industry's highest standard of safety-certified technology as we move from product development to commercial deployment."

"BlackBerry QNX provides both commercial and personal autonomous vehicle developers with operating systems that meet the highest safety, reliability and security standards. We are thrilled to support the commercialization of automated trucks and to work with the Plus team to advance the global deployment of its automated trucking system," said John Wall, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions. "Self-driving trucks will have a revolutionary impact on the logistics industry and it is exciting to contribute to making that future possible."

A certified automotive operating system is the foundation for functionalities of a self-driving truck, helping to manage the autonomous system data flow from sensors to prediction technology and finally to the actuation that controls the movement. Optimizing this data flow can also help to speed up the image processing, machine learning and other algorithms that are needed for the automated driving system to work. The transition to the safety-certified QNX OS for Safety, along with other enterprise technology that Plus has adopted, will allow Plus to work more quickly with its OEM and fleet partners to continue the commercial rollout of its automated driving system.

About Plus

Plus is a world leader in self-driving truck technology. Headquartered in Cupertino, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley, the company was founded in 2016 by a group of serial entrepreneurs and industry veterans, each with over 20 years of experience in high tech and artificial intelligence. Plus specializes in providing full-stack self-driving technology to enable large scale autonomous commercial transport. Plus is currently working with some of the leading truck manufacturers, largest shippers, and top fleet operators to begin mass production of its automated driving system.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints and over 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.

Tag: 
BlackBerry QNX
QNX
News & Rumors

BlackBerry QNX to power ARCFOX αT digital cockpit system

Submitted by Bla1ze on Wed, 10/21/2020 - 23:31

Arcfox Alpha

BlackBerry has recently announced the BlackBerry QNX Hypervisor will power the ARCFOX αT digital cockpit system including the digital instrument cluster, console touchscreen, AC screen, and Heads-Up display.

"We are thrilled to work with ARCFOX to help them take advantage of one of the auto industry's most significant trends – the exploding demand for safe, seamless, digital in-car experiences," said John Wall, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions. "BlackBerry QNX is the obvious choice for its safety-certified, extremely reliable, and highly secure automotive software. We're confident that drivers of the new ARCFOX αT will relish the comfort, safety and connectivity it delivers."

The ARCFOX αT is set to officially launch on October 24 with pricing starting at ¥250,000. If you're looking to learn more, you can check out the ARCFOX αT site right here. To learn more about the BlackBerry QNX platform, visit the BlackBerry site.

Press Release

BlackBerry QNX to Power ARCFOX αT Innovative Digital Cockpit

WATERLOO, ON and BEIJING, Oct. 20, 2020 /CNW/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced that BlackBerry QNX technology will power the innovative digital cockpit in ARCFOX αT, a high-end, intelligent, electric SUV.

In ARCFOX αT's digital cockpit system, the fully digital instrument cluster, console touchscreen, AC screen and Heads-Up Display are all based on the QNX Hypervisor, the world's first ISO 26262 ASIL D safety-certified commercial embedded hypervisor. The QNX Hypervisor provides the trusted reliability and performance of the QNX Neutrino RTOS, while also allowing multiple operating systems to safely co-exist on the same system-on-a-chip (SoC). With the QNX Hypervisor, developers can partition and isolate safety-critical systems from non-safety critical systems, ensuring that critical systems are isolated and continue to function even if other components fail.

"We are thrilled to work with ARCFOX to help them take advantage of one of the auto industry's most significant trends – the exploding demand for safe, seamless, digital in-car experiences," said John Wall, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions. "BlackBerry QNX is the obvious choice for its safety-certified, extremely reliable, and highly secure automotive software. We're confident that drivers of the new ARCFOX αT will relish the comfort, safety and connectivity it delivers."

As the leader in safe, secure, and reliable software for critical embedded systems, BlackBerry QNX provides OEMs and Tier 1s around the world with state-of-the-art foundational software and cybersecurity technologies. BlackBerry QNX technology is used in more than 175 million vehicles on the road including in advanced driver assistance (ADAS), digital instrument clusters, connectivity modules, handsfree, and infotainment systems.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust. BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.

Tag: 
BlackBerry
BlackBerry QNX
News & Rumors

Pages