You know what's exciting? BlackBerry.
That's right. BlackBerry. More specifically, the BlackBerry PlayBook and the upcoming Bold Touch 9900 and 9930 devices - monsters of new and innovative technology that will most definitely take the mobile industry by storm.
It could be that I'm still dazzled by the showy keynote session which featured the likes of Mike Lazaridis (President and Co-CEO of RIM), Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft), Shantanu Narayen (CEO of Adobe), and many, many others. It could also be that a number of the video demostrations at the session were in 3D. Or it might even be that every single session attendee received a FREE 16GB PlayBook. I know!
Whatever the reason was, there's one thing I know for sure: there was so much awesome happening that I could harldy keep up with tweeting along. So, I decided to share a quick summary of what went down at the 10th annual WES/BlackBerry World conference. BlackBerry World conference round-up, just for you!
What's happening now (and soon) on PlayBook and BlackBerry devices
- Video chat on BBM for Playbook Earlier this week, RIM released the latest OS update for PlayBook which included the much anticipated video chat feature for BBM. Considered to be RIM's contender against Apple's Face Time, the video chat feature will certainly make an impact both in enterprise and personal communication. CrackBerry demos the video chat feature at BlackBerry World.
- Deep Bing integration Along side Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis announced on Tuesday that all new BlackBerry devices will use Bing-integrated map and search features.
- Native email and calendar apps for PlayBook A collective sigh of relief and round of cheerful applause was heard throughout the room on Tuesday when Mike Lazaridis finally announced the official arrival of native email and calendar apps on PlayBook, due out early this Summer. These apps will have full BIS and BES support
- VEVO on PlayBook With this app, you'll have access to the largest catalogue of music videos in HD directly from your PlayBook.
- Android compatibility mode on PlayBook Perhaps one of the most exciting elements of the PlayBook is that, as of this Summer, users will be able to run Android apps in compatibility mode. Audience members at Tuesday's keynote were wooed by a video demo revealing that Android apps will be available to purchase through PlayBook's App World app. Take a look at a demo of Android apps running on PlayBook here
What's coming with BlackBerry 7 and RIM's new touch BlackBerry
- Introducing BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 and 9930 RIM's newest smartphones were available for demo at the BlackBerry World conference. Boasting a ultra responsive 2.8" touch screen, 1.2Ghz processor, 8GB of onboard memory, full QWERTY keyboard, 5MP camera with flash and 720p HD video recording, unparallaled navigation, and all of the perks of the BlackBerry 7 OS - the new BlackBerry devices are sure to make a splash in the smartphone market. Check out a video demo of the Bold Touch 9900 in action here.
- Foursquare and Kobo integration with BBM New BBM features announced at BlackBerry World include the ability to share where you are and what you're reading with your contacts.
- Augmented reality One of the most exciting new apps coming preloaded on all BlackBerry 7 devices is Wikitude, considered to be an 'augmented reality browser' app that will allow users to take advantage of the 9900/9930's built-in digital compass. Video demo of Wikitude here
- 3D PlayBook gaming That's right. Mobile game developer, Unity, is paving the way for other developers to put the 'Play' in PlayBook. Check out a video demo of Unity's Samurai II on PlayBook
Of course, there were tons of other announcements, but these were some of the best and most exciting. So, what do you think? Has RIM gotten its groove back?
