BlackBerry 10 beta release gets Siri-like voice command feature

Research In Motion (RIM) recently released an update to their developer alpha devices for BlackBerry 10 OS. One of the biggest features in the new build of BlackBerry 10 was the voice command feature with an operator whose voice sounds very similar to Apple’s Siri.

The new voice command feature is accessed by pressing the voice command button set between the two volume buttons in the developer alpha devices. It is still an early beta build so the voice command has limited functionality, but N4BB demonstrates that it has a universal search function, apart from calling and sending text messages. It may not yet be ready for prime time use, but it sounds very similar to Siri from Apple’s iPhone.

The voice command technology is speculated to be powered by Nuance, the same company that Apple acquired Siri from.

According to earlier reports, RIM had confirmed that BlackBerry 10 will include a video chat feature through RIM's popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service. This didn’t come as a surprise, considering that the BlackBerry PlayBook also has a Video Chat feature and the Dev Alpha devices being handed out to developers had front facing cameras. This was the first time RIM confirmed that there would be Video Chat available on BBM.

The upcoming BlackBerry 10 is highly anticipated. RIM recently released its developer tools for BlackBerry 10. Building a strong library of applications for the new BlackBerry platform is crucial to its success as its existing library of apps is far smaller than rival offerings from Apple and Google. Many of its available apps are incompatible with the upcoming BlackBerry 10. RIM is struggling to reverse years of slowing sales, delayed and disappointing product launches, and an embarrassing global outage of its prized network.

The updates to the developer tools help apps interact with each other, and make use of the BlackBerry network to push notifications to devices. RIM also opened App World in May to enable developers using a test device to share their work among themselves.

Last month, RIM reported an operating loss deeper than expected. The company said that it was reducing almost 10 percent of its workforce as it had delayed the BlackBerry 10 launch to the first quarter of 2013. The first devices to run BlackBerry 10 were originally expected to release early this year.

source from:tech2.in.com

BlackBerry Messenger for iOS and Android denied

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has denied a rumoured shift to rival smartphone platforms for its flagship BlackBerry Messenger service.

Following slowing sales of its handsets - originally designed for business users, but typically now the reserve of chat-hungry teenagers - in the face of the success of Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms, rumours pointed to work to port the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instant-messaging service to the rival platforms.

                      

With BBM proving the jewel in Research in Motion's increasingly tarnished crown, it was a risky strategy: moving what is increasingly proving the single unique feature of BlackBerry handsets onto rival devices could severely cut into already slow handset sales, but would have the potential of giving RIM a significantly larger target market for a subscription-based messaging service.

It's a risk too far for RIM's board, however: the Wall Street Journal, chief executive Thorsten Heins has declared that RIM should be concentrating on its first-party offerings and not seeking licensing agreements for its technologies with third parties.

Quoting an anonymous source 'familiar with the matter', the WSJ claims that Heins would refuse to even contemplate the plan - despite his forerunners' Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie actively developing the idea. "It was not up for discussion", the source claimed.

Instead, RIM is to concentrate on its upcoming BlackBerry 10 software, a revamp of its increasingly outdated operating system which has seen the BlackBerry brand lose market share to the app-driven Android and iOS platforms.

From:http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/

Download Blackberry Messenger 5.0.0.57

RIM sure is updating their native BlackBerry applications more often lately. BlackBerry Messenger version 5.0.0.57 is now available for download from blackberry.com/messenger and mobile.blackberry.com.

This version’s release could be a response to the current data outage affecting North American BlackBerry users, but since there’s no official changelog we can’t say for sure. If you’ve had problems sending messages through BBM today try downloading this update to see if it fixes it.