Apple & China UnionPay to Bring Apple Pay to China

Source: Apple - Press Releases - December 18, 2015

BEIJING — Apple and China UnionPay today announced a partnership to bring Apple Pay®, which transforms mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay, to China. China UnionPay cardholders will be able to easily add their bank cards to Apple Pay on iPhone®, Apple Watch® and iPad®, providing added convenience and security to everyday shopping.

“China UnionPay is dedicated to promoting payment innovations and providing secure, convenient mobile payment experiences for its hundreds of millions of cardholders, aligning multiple parties in the industry,” said Chai Hongfeng, executive vice president of China UnionPay. “We’re very excited to offer Apple Pay among a diverse set of innovative payment options that work with China UnionPay QuickPass.”

“Apple Pay has revolutionized the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “China is an extremely important market for Apple and with China UnionPay and support from 15 of China’s leading banks, users will soon have a convenient, private and secure payment experience.”

China UnionPay’s QuickPass and Apple Pay together will protect customer payment information through industry-leading payment tokenization technology. Security is at the core of Apple Pay, so when you add a credit or debit card, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in a dedicated chip called the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is also authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code. 

Paying is simple with the touch of a finger and can happen in one motion. In stores, there’s no need to open an app or wake your display. With the innovative NFC antenna design, simply hold iPhone near China UnionPay’s QuickPass-enabled POS terminals with your finger on Touch ID® to pay. With Apple Watch, just double click the side button and hold the watch face up to the contactless reader to make a purchase right from your wrist. Shopping within apps accepting Apple Pay has never been easier and there’s no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. 

Apple Pay will roll out to China UnionPay cardholders as soon as early 2016 after relevant tests and certification required by Chinese regulators, with the service itself in compliance with the applicable national mobile payment and financial industry standards in China.

In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. When paying within apps, Apple Pay is compatible with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air® 2, iPad mini™ 3, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro™. For more information on Apple Pay, visit http://www.apple.com/cn/apple-pay/. 

As a bankcard network, China UnionPay operates China’s national inter-bank clearing and settlement system, develops the worldwide UnionPay Card acceptance network, promotes the issuance and usage of the UnionPay cards as well as other innovative payment solutions, so as to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued both at home and abroad has been over 5 billion. The UnionPay network has been extended to all the cities and rural areas in China. In addition, UnionPay has enabled UnionPay Card acceptance across more than 150 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with financial and payment institutions around the world. UnionPay cards can be used in more than 26 million merchants and 1.9 million ATMs. Additional information may be found at www.unionpay.com.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Apple Names Jeff Williams Chief Operating Officer

Source: Apple - Press Releases - December 17, 2015

Johny Srouji Named to Executive Team; Phil Schiller Adds Ecosystem Responsibilities

CUPERTINO, California — Apple today announced that Jeff Williams has been named chief operating officer and Johny Srouji is joining Apple’s executive team as senior vice president for Hardware Technologies. Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, will expand his role to include leadership of the revolutionary App Store® across all Apple platforms. Apple also announced that Tor Myhren will join Apple in the first calendar quarter of 2016 as vice president of Marketing Communications, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

“We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple’s executive team. As we come to the end of the year, we’re recognizing the contributions already being made by two key executives,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I’ve ever worked with, and Johny’s team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year.”

Cook continued, “In addition, Phil is taking on new responsibilities for advancing our ecosystem, led by the App Store, which has grown from a single, groundbreaking iOS store into four powerful platforms and an increasingly important part of our business. And I’m incredibly happy to welcome Tor Myhren, who will bring his creative talents to our advertising and marcom functions.”

Jeff joined Apple in 1998 as head of worldwide procurement and in 2004 he was named vice president of Operations. Since 2010 he has overseen Apple’s entire supply chain, service and support, and the social responsibility initiatives which protect more than one million workers worldwide. Jeff played a key role in Apple’s entry into the mobile phone market with the launch of iPhone®, and he continues to supervise development of Apple’s first wearable product, Apple Watch®.

In nearly eight years at Apple as vice president of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji has built one of the world’s strongest and most innovative teams of silicon and technology engineers, overseeing breakthrough custom silicon and hardware technologies including batteries, application processors, storage controllers, sensors silicon, display silicon and other chipsets across Apple’s entire product line. Educated at Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, Johny joined Apple in 2008 to lead development of the A4, the first Apple-designed system on a chip.

With added responsibility for the App Store, Phil Schiller will focus on strategies to extend the ecosystem Apple customers have come to love when using their iPhone, iPad®, Mac®, Apple Watch and Apple TV®. Phil now leads nearly all developer-related functions at Apple, in addition to his other marketing responsibilities including Worldwide Product Marketing, international marketing, education and business marketing. More than 11 million developers around the world create apps for Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X®, watchOS™ and tvOS™ — as well as compatible hardware and other accessories, and customers have downloaded more than 100 billion apps across those platforms.

Tor Myhren joins Apple from Grey Group, where he has served as chief creative officer and president of Grey New York. Under his leadership, Grey was named Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year for both 2013 and 2015. As vice president of Marketing Communications at Apple, Tor will be responsible for Apple’s advertising efforts and will lead an award-winning team that spans a broad range of creative disciplines from video, motion graphics and interactive web design to packaging and retail store displays.

Tor will succeed Hiroki Asai, who earlier announced plans to retire after 18 years in graphic design and marketing communications roles at Apple.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

BlackBerry's First Powered by Android Secure Smartphone Coming to the Middle East

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 17, 2015

PRIV Delivers the Best of BlackBerry Privacy and Productivity to the largest App Eco-system

Dubai, UAE, December 17, 2015– BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, announced today that PRIV™ by BlackBerry®, the first-ever BlackBerry smartphone powered by Android™ is expected to be available in the UAE early January and in KSA in the first half of January from leading retail stores .

Combining the best of BlackBerry’s productivity, security and privacy features with the wide world of Google Play™ store apps, PRIV is the epitome of form and function. It has been engineered with the world’s finest technology and packaged in an ultra-thin device – including a dual-curved screen, touch and physical keyboards, state-of-the-art 18MP camera, and long-lasting battery – with unique tools that allow users to manage and control their privacy.

“PRIV is the first BlackBerry smartphone running Android and it creates a new market opportunity for us in the Middle East with users who are entrenched in the Android ecosystem and who are seeking greater productivity and more powerful privacy features,” said Mike Al Mefleh, Product Management Director Middle East, BlackBerry. “In addition, PRIV is the first Android smartphone to combine the privilege of privacy with all of the most critical features users need to power through their day: a BlackBerry keyboard, large display, excellent battery life, BlackBerry productivity and security features, powerful specs and access to the world’s largest app ecosystem.”

A New Standard for Security and Privacy  

PRIV was designed with security at its core, building on BlackBerry’s legacy of security and keeping private its customers’ data. Security highlights include:

·         Advanced Privacy Controls: The exclusive DTEK™ by BlackBerry® app for Android™ monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users can know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk so they can take action to improve it.

·         Secure Hardware: BlackBerry’s hardware root of trust, a unique manufacturing process, injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.

·         Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain: Keys have been embedded to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. Additionally, thousands of modifications were made to harden the Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.

·         Fully supported on BlackBerry's EMM Solution: PRIV can be integrated with our leading EMM solution, BES 12, which offers cross-platform management of PRIV and other devices; providing a full end to end security solution and secure collaboration applications for business users like Secusuite for secure voice and WatchDox for secure file sharing.

A New Standard for the Slider Form Factor

As part of BlackBerry’s cross-platform strategy to provide a greater choice of secure solutions to its customers, users will see a seamless merging of key BlackBerry 10 productivity features like the BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Calendar into PRIV. Additional key features include:

·         Full Android App and Ecosystem Experience – PRIV brings incredible new features to the Android platform and gives users full access to over one million applications: whether it’s Instagram, Spotify, Uber or BBM®, you’ll find it on Google PlayTM.  

·         Best of Both Keyboards – offers the freedom to choose between a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard for speed and accuracy.

·         Tough and Beautiful Screen – A stunning 5.4-inch immersive dual-curve OLED display offers plenty of room to work or play with rich colors, deep black levels and less power consumption. At a resolution of 2560x1440, it sports an incredible pixel density of 540 PPI – 4x the amount of pixels of a standard HDTV. Along the screen’s curved edge is the Productivity Tab that provides an “at a glance” view of the most pertinent info from BlackBerry Hub, Calendar, Task, and Contacts.

·         Full-day Battery Life – PRIV has a 3410 mAh battery with enough power to work up to 22.5 straight hours of mixed usage*.

·         State-of-the-Art Camera – Engineered to deliver professional looking photos with minimal effort, an 18MP camera, certified by Schneider-Kreuznach®, integrates technologies commonly found in DSLR cameras.

·         Powerful Performance and Expandable Storage – PRIV is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a premium-tier chipset designed to offer consumers a superior and compelling user experience along with peace of mind with Qualcomm® SecureMSM™ technology and Qualcomm® Snapdragon StudioAccess™ content protection. Plus, with 32 GB of onboard storage and  support for micro SD cards up to 2TB, the new PRIV gives users the flexibility to add affordable and hot-swappable storage to download, install, capture and share as their needs evolve.

·         BlackBerry® Natural Sound - PRIV comes with powerful speakers and a three-microphone system that delivers a high-quality listening experience. BlackBerry® Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt Wi-Fi and cellular call sound depending upon phone position and background noise, automatically adjusting volume so users don’t have to.

·         Android™ for Work – PRIV comes ready for work. Android for Work support allows for fast, simple and secure integration with the enterprise environment. Seamless integration with Google Play for Work enables easy access to IT-managed apps.

While PRIV will provide a choice in operating system to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and will continue to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements.

Availability and Pricing

PRIV is expected to be available in the UAE early January and in KSA in the first half of January from leading retail stores and will be available at a suggested retail price of AED 2899 and SAR 2899.

For more information on PRIV, go to BlackBerry.ae/PRIV. Follow all updates to PRIV on the Inside BlackBerry blog (blogs.BlackBerry.com).

* Based on mixed usage scenario.  Many factors affect battery life, including network connectivity, application usage, feature configuration and battery age. Actual results may vary.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

BlackBerry's PRIV Secure Smartphone Powered by Android Now Available in Germany

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 10, 2015

Groundbreaking new device brings the best of BlackBerry security and productivity to the Android ecosystem

Düsseldorf, December 10, 2015 – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in secure mobile communications, today launched PRIV™ by BlackBerry®, the first-ever BlackBerry smartphone powered by Android in Germany. PRIV is available in Germany starting today in more than 40 Media-Saturn retail stores and online at 779 Euros and will be available on ShopBlackBerry.com early next week. The PRIV is also available from Vodafone for enterprise customers at 83.95 Euros with a Red Business Special+ tariff.

Combining the best of BlackBerry’s productivity, security and privacy features with the wide world of Google Play™ store apps, PRIV is the epitome of form and function. It has been engineered with the world’s finest technology and packaged in an ultra-thin device – including a dual-curved screen, touch and physical keyboards, state-of-the-art 18MP camera, and long-lasting battery – with unique tools that allow users to manage and control their privacy.

A New Standard for Security and Privacy  

PRIV was designed with security at its core, building on BlackBerry’s legacy of security and keeping private its customers’ data. Security highlights include:

·         Advanced Privacy Controls: The exclusive DTEK™ by BlackBerry® app for Android™ monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users can know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk so they can take action to improve it.

·         Secure Hardware: BlackBerry’s hardware root of trust, a unique manufacturing process, injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.

·         Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain: Keys have been embedded to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. Additionally, thousands of modifications were made to harden the Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.

·         Fully supported on BlackBerry's EMM Solution: PRIV can be integrated with our leading EMM solution, BES 12, which offers cross-platform management of PRIV and other devices; providing a full end to end security solution and secure collaboration applications for business users like Secusuite for secure voice and WatchDox for secure file sharing.

A New Standard for the Slider Form Factor

As part of BlackBerry’s cross-platform strategy to provide a greater choice of secure solutions to its customers, users will see a seamless merging of key BlackBerry 10 productivity features like the BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Calendar into PRIV. Additional key features include:

·         Full Android App and Ecosystem Experience – PRIV brings incredible new features to the Android platform and gives users full access to over one million applications: whether it’s Instagram, Spotify, Uber or BBM®, you’ll find it on Google PlayTM.  

·         Best of Both Keyboards – offers the freedom to choose between a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard for speed and accuracy.

·         Tough and Beautiful Screen – A stunning 5.4-inch immersive dual-curve OLED display offers plenty of room to work or play with rich colors, deep black levels and less power consumption. At a resolution of 2560x1440, it sports an incredible pixel density of 540 PPI – 4x the amount of pixels of a standard HDTV. Along the screen’s curved edge is the Productivity Tab that provides an “at a glance” view of the most pertinent info from BlackBerry Hub, Calendar, Task, and Contacts.

·         Full-day Battery Life – PRIV has a 3410 mAh battery with enough power to work up to 22.5 straight hours of mixed usage*.

·         State-of-the-Art Camera – Engineered to deliver professional looking photos with minimal effort, an 18MP camera, certified by Schneider-Kreuznach®, integrates technologies commonly found in DSLR cameras.

·         Powerful Performance and Expandable Storage – PRIV is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a premium-tier chipset designed to offer consumers a superior and compelling user experience along with peace of mind with Qualcomm® SecureMSM™ technology and Qualcomm® Snapdragon StudioAccess™ content protection. Plus, with 32 GB of onboard storage and support for micro SD cards up to 2TB, the new PRIV gives users the flexibility to add affordable and hot-swappable storage to download, install, capture and share as their needs evolve.

·         BlackBerry® Natural Sound - PRIV comes with powerful speakers and a three-microphone system that delivers a high-quality listening experience. BlackBerry® Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt Wi-Fi and cellular call sound depending upon phone position and background noise, automatically adjusting volume so users don’t have to.

·         Android™ for Work – PRIV comes ready for work. Android for Work support allows for fast, simple and secure integration with the enterprise environment. Seamless integration with Google Play for Work enables easy access to IT-managed apps.

While PRIV will provide a choice in operating system to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and will continue to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements.

For more information on PRIV, go to BlackBerry.com/PRIV. Follow all updates to PRIV on the Inside BlackBerry blog (blogs.BlackBerry.com).

* Based on mixed usage scenario.  Many factors affect battery life, including network connectivity, application usage, feature configuration and battery age. Actual results may vary.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

Releasing PRIV, BlackBerry's First Powered by Android Secure Smartphone in Malaysia

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 8, 2015

PRIV Delivers the Best of BlackBerry Privacy and Productivity to the Largest App Ecosystem

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, announced today the availability and full features of PRIV™ by BlackBerry®, the first-ever BlackBerry smartphone powered by Android™ in Malaysia. Combining the best of BlackBerry’s productivity, security and privacy features with the wide world of Google Play™ store apps, PRIV is the epitome of form and function. It has been engineered with the world’s finest technology and packaged in an ultra-thin device – including a dual-curved screen, touch and physical keyboards, state-of-the-art 18MP camera, and long-lasting battery – with unique tools that allow users to manage and control their privacy.

A New Standard for Security and Privacy  

PRIV was designed with security at its core, building on BlackBerry’s legacy of security and keeping private its customers’ data. Security highlights include:

·         Advanced Privacy Controls: The exclusive DTEK™ by BlackBerry® app for Android™ monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users can know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk so they can take action to improve it.

·         Secure Hardware: BlackBerry’s hardware root of trust, a unique manufacturing process, injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.

·         Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain: Keys have been embedded to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. Additionally, thousands of modifications were made to harden the Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.

·         Fully supported on BlackBerry's EMM Solution: PRIV can be integrated with our leading EMM solution, BES 12, which offers cross-platform management of PRIV and other devices; providing a full end to end security solution and secure collaboration applications for business users like Secusuite for secure voice and WatchDox for secure file sharing.

A New Standard for the Slider Form Factor

As part of BlackBerry’s cross-platform strategy to provide a greater choice of secure solutions to its customers, users will see a seamless merging of key BlackBerry 10 productivity features like the BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Calendar into PRIV. Additional key features include:

·         Full Android App and Ecosystem Experience – PRIV brings incredible new features to the Android platform and gives users full access to over one million applications: whether it’s Instagram, Spotify, Uber or BBM®, you’ll find it on Google Play^TM.  

·         Best of Both Keyboards – offers the freedom to choose between a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard for speed and accuracy.

·         Tough and Beautiful Screen – A stunning 5.4-inch immersive dual-curve OLED display offers plenty of room to work or play with rich colors, deep black levels and less power consumption. At a resolution of 2560x1440, it sports an incredible pixel density of 540 PPI – 4x the amount of pixels of a standard HDTV. Along the screen’s curved edge is the Productivity Tab that provides an “at a glance” view of the most pertinent info from BlackBerry Hub, Calendar, Task, and Contacts.

·         Full-day Battery Life – PRIV has a 3410 mAh battery with enough power to work up to 22.5 straight hours of mixed usage*.

·         State-of-the-Art Camera – Engineered to deliver professional looking photos with minimal effort, an 18MP camera, certified by Schneider-Kreuznach®, integrates technologies commonly found in DSLR cameras.

·         Powerful Performance and Expandable Storage – PRIV is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a premium-tier chipset designed to offer consumers a superior and compelling user experience along with peace of mind with Qualcomm® SecureMSM™ technology and Qualcomm® Snapdragon StudioAccess™ content protection. Plus, with 32 GB of onboard storage and support for micro SD cards up to 2TB, the new PRIV gives users the flexibility to add affordable and hot-swappable storage to download, install, capture and share as their needs evolve.

·         BlackBerry® Natural Sound - PRIV comes with powerful speakers and a three-microphone system that delivers a high-quality listening experience. BlackBerry® Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt Wi-Fi and cellular call sound depending upon phone position and background noise, automatically adjusting volume so users don’t have to.

·         Android™ for Work – PRIV comes ready for work. Android for Work support allows for fast, simple and secure integration with the enterprise environment. Seamless integration with Google Play for Work enables easy access to IT-managed apps.

While PRIV will provide a choice in operating system to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and will continue to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements.

Availability and Pricing

Customers who are keen to be among the first to get their own PRIV can preorder from today through 11street. The first 60 customers who preorder through 11street will be able to purchase PRIV at a discounted price of              MYR 3,388 inclusive of GST. To preorder your very own PRIV, please visit www.11street.my  

Alternatively, customers can preorder PRIV at selected Blue Cube Outlets managed by Celcom Axiata Berhad, from December 10, 2015, at the same price of MYR 3,388 inclusive of GST.

Distributed by Brightstar, PRIV will be available through 11street, Celcom, Maxis Enterprise, Tune Talk and other BlackBerry authorized partners, from December 15, 2015 at an RRP of MYR 3,559 inclusive of GST.

For more information on PRIV, go to www.BlackBerry.com/PRIV. Follow all updates to PRIV on the Inside BlackBerry blog.

* Based on mixed usage scenario.  Many factors affect battery life, including network connectivity, application usage, feature configuration and battery age. Actual results may vary.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

BlackBerry Named a Leader in Enterprise Mobile Management by Independent Research Firm

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 8, 2015

Waterloo, ON - December 08, 2015– BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in secure mobile communications, today announced that it has been named a “Leader” in The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Mobile Management, Q4 2015.1 Forrester Research, Inc. evaluated BES12 and Good Secure Mobility Solution along with offerings from other significant EMM vendors. The BlackBerry solution portfolio of BES12 and Good Powered by BlackBerry scored among the highest in 14 of the 25 criteria measured by Forrester, including  Network Security, Containerization, Data Management and Security, App Management, App Security, Secure Productivity Apps and Reporting and Analytics.

According to Forrester Research, “BlackBerry’s strong network and data security paired with recently acquired Good Technology’s containerization for new devices and application services will enhance its offering further and cement its leadership position.”

“We believe the Forrester EMM Wave 2015 validates that enterprises can rely on BlackBerry when moving forward with their cross-platform mobility strategy,” said Billy Ho, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Product and Value Added Solutions, BlackBerry. “We are pleased to be listed as a leader in the EMM solutions market showing, in our opinion, that our strategy of ensuring the highest levels of security and personal privacy is helping enterprises in the complex world of mobility.”

Forrester Research also noted in the report that, “BlackBerry looks like a very different company today than it did a few years ago — and that’s a good thing for customers. BES has become a truly cross-platform solution without leaving behind the commitment to security that entrenched it in the enterprise. The acquisitions of AtHoc, WatchDox, and, most recently, Good Technology show a clear commitment to helping customers with secure collaboration, communication, and application development.”

BlackBerry provides the industry’s most comprehensive mobile security platform, and is the only vendor to offer cross-platform device management, secure and encrypted voice, text, messaging and enterprise file-sync-and-share solutions in one EMM portfolio. BlackBerry secures the mobile communications of all G7 governments, 16 of the G20 governments, 10 out of 10 of the largest global banks and law firms, and the top five largest managed healthcare, investment services, and oil and gas companies.

The company continues to make strategic investments and expand beyond EMM capabilities for secure communication and seamless access to data and applications behind the firewall or in the cloud – across any mobile endpoint or platform.

[1] Forrester Research, Inc. " The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Mobile Management, Q4 2015, " by Christian Kane, December 4, 2015.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

BlackBerry to Announce Third Quarter Fiscal 2016 Results on Friday, December 18th, 2015

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 4, 2015

Waterloo, Ontario – December 4, 2015 – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) will be reporting results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 on December 18, 2015. A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 8 am ET, which can be accessed by dialing 888‐428‐9507 or by logging on at http://ca.blackberry.com/company/investors/events.html.

A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 10 am ET by dialing 1‐647‐436‐0148 and entering pass code 8820480# or by clicking the link above.  This replay will be available until 10 am ET January 3, 2016.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile‐first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

Releasing PRIV, BlackBerry's First Powered by Android Secure Smartphone in the Philippines

Source: BlackBerry - Press Releases - December 3, 2015

PRIV Delivers the Best of BlackBerry Privacy and Productivity to the Largest App Ecosystem

Manila, BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, announced today the availability and full features of PRIV™ by BlackBerry®, the first-ever BlackBerry smartphone powered by Android™ in the Philippines. Combining the best of BlackBerry’s productivity, security and privacy features with the wide world of Google Play™ store apps, PRIV is the epitome of form and function. It has been engineered with the world’s finest technology and packaged in an ultra-thin device – including a dual-curved screen, touch and physical keyboards, state-of-the-art 18MP camera, and long-lasting battery – with unique tools that allow users to manage and control their privacy.

A New Standard for Security and Privacy  

PRIV was designed with security at its core, building on BlackBerry’s legacy of security and keeping private its customers’ data. Security highlights include:

    ·       Advanced Privacy Controls: The exclusive DTEK™ by BlackBerry® app for Android™ monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users can know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk so they can take action to improve it.

    ·       Secure Hardware: BlackBerry’s hardware root of trust, a unique manufacturing process, injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.

    ·       Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain: Keys have been embedded to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. Additionally, thousands of modifications were made to harden the Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.

    ·       Fully supported on BlackBerry's EMM Solution: PRIV can be integrated with our leading EMM solution, BES 12, which offers cross-platform management of PRIV and other devices; providing a full end to end security solution and secure collaboration applications for business users like Secusuite for secure voice and WatchDox for secure file sharing.

A New Standard for the Slider Form Factor

As part of BlackBerry’s cross-platform strategy to provide a greater choice of secure solutions to its customers, users will see a seamless merging of key BlackBerry 10 productivity features like the BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Calendar into PRIV. Additional key features include:

    ·       Full Android App and Ecosystem Experience – PRIV brings incredible new features to the Android platform and gives users full access to over one million applications: whether it’s Instagram, Spotify, Uber or BBM®, you’ll find it on Google PlayTM.  

    ·       Best of Both Keyboards – offers the freedom to choose between a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard for speed and accuracy.

    ·       Tough and Beautiful Screen – A stunning 5.4-inch immersive dual-curve OLED display offers plenty of room to work or play with rich colors, deep black levels and less power consumption. At a resolution of 2560x1440, it sports an incredible pixel density of 540 PPI – 4x the amount of pixels of a standard HDTV. Along the screen’s curved edge is the Productivity Tab that provides an “at a glance” view of the most pertinent info from BlackBerry Hub, Calendar, Task, and Contacts.

    ·       Full-day Battery Life – PRIV has a 3410 mAh battery with enough power to work up to 22.5 straight hours of mixed usage*.

    ·       State-of-the-Art Camera – Engineered to deliver professional looking photos with minimal effort, an 18MP camera, certified by Schneider-Kreuznach®, integrates technologies commonly found in DSLR cameras.

    ·       Powerful Performance and Expandable Storage – PRIV is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a premium-tier chipset designed to offer consumers a superior and compelling user experience along with peace of mind with Qualcomm® SecureMSM™ technology and Qualcomm® Snapdragon StudioAccess™ content protection. Plus, with 32 GB of onboard storage and support for micro SD cards up to 2TB, the new PRIV gives users the flexibility to add affordable and hot-swappable storage to download, install, capture and share as their needs evolve.

    ·       BlackBerry® Natural Sound - PRIV comes with powerful speakers and a three-microphone system that delivers a high-quality listening experience. BlackBerry® Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt Wi-Fi and cellular call sound depending upon phone position and background noise, automatically adjusting volume so users don’t have to.

    ·       Android™ for Work – PRIV comes ready for work. Android for Work support allows for fast, simple and secure integration with the enterprise environment. Seamless integration with Google Play for Work enables easy access to IT-managed apps.

While PRIV will provide a choice in operating system to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and will continue to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements.

Availability and Pricing

PRIV is available at a suggested retail price of PHP 45,000 inclusive of local taxes. It will be available from mid-December through BlackBerry’s exclusive partner in the Philippines, MemoXpress. Details of MemoXpress-affiliated retailers can be found at memoxpress.theshop.ph.

For more information on PRIV, go to www.BlackBerry.com/PRIV. Follow all updates to PRIV on the Inside BlackBerry blog.

* Based on mixed usage scenario.  Many factors affect battery life, including network connectivity, application usage, feature configuration and battery age. Actual results may vary.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world’s most sensitive data across all end points – from cars to smartphones – making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

Apple Releases Swift as Open Source

Source: Apple - Press Releases - December 3, 2015

Developer Contributions Will Help Make Swift Even Better and Available on More Platforms

CUPERTINO, California — Apple® today announced that its Swift™ programming language is now open source. As an open source language, the broad community of talented developers — from app developers to educational institutions to enterprises — can contribute to new Swift features and optimizations and help bring Swift to new computing platforms. Introduced in 2014, Swift is the fastest growing programming language in history and combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages.* Apple today also launched the Swift.org website with detailed information about Swift open source, including technical documentation, community resources and links to download the Swift source code.

“By making Swift open source the entire developer community can contribute to the programming language and help bring it to even more platforms,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Swift’s power and ease of use will inspire a new generation to get into coding, and with today’s announcement they’ll be able to take their ideas anywhere, from mobile devices to the cloud.”

Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language that gives developers the freedom and capabilities they need to create the next generation of cutting-edge software. Swift is easy to learn and use, even if you’ve never coded before, and it's the first systems programming language that is as expressive and enjoyable as a scripting language. Designed for safety, Swift also eliminates entire categories of common programming errors. 

The Swift open source code is available via GitHub and includes support for all Apple software platforms — iOS, OS X®, watchOS and tvOS™ — as well as for Linux. Components available include the Swift compiler, debugger, standard library, foundation libraries, package manager and REPL. Swift is licensed under the popular Apache 2.0 open source license with a runtime library exception, enabling users to easily incorporate Swift into their own software and port the language to new platforms. For more information about Swift, and access to community resources visit the new Swift.org.

*Based on RedMonk Programming Language Rankings, June 2015.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Samsung Launches Optimized Web Browser for Gear VR

Source: Samsung Mobile Press - Press Releases - December 2, 2015

Samsung Internet for Gear VR enables users to browse the web and enjoy content easily in a more immersive environment

SEOUL, Korea – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd today announced the web browser optimized for Gear VR. Samsung Internet for Gear VR is the latest virtual reality service along with a strengthened VR content ecosystem. The app now allows users to intuitively browse the web and enjoy content in a more immersive atmosphere without having to download content on to their smartphones.

“As a pioneer in the mobile VR industry, Samsung has continually worked to provide our users with a fully immersive mobile experience in the evolving world of virtual reality,” said Chan-Woo Park, Vice President of Product Strategy Team, IT & Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “As the demand for 360-degree, immersive video content rapidly rises - Samsung Internet for Gear VR further enriches the VR content ecosystem for our consumers, setting an industry standard for the VR viewing experience.”

Through the Internet for VR, users can directly enjoy a variety of on-line content by browsing the web. It supports both 360-degree and 3D video streaming, as well as any HTML5 video from the web, allowing users to enjoy video content in a fully immersive environment.

Furthermore, in order to make text input intuitive and easy, Internet for VR provides voice recognition, along with on-screen keyboard. With Gaze Mode, users can select menus by simply gazing at them, without having to lift a finger. The app can also import bookmarks from the mobile web browser, Samsung Internet for Android, and provides helpful features such as Quick Access, Bookmarks and Tab Manager, giving users a familiar web browsing experience.

Samsung Internet for Gear VR beta version will be available for download in the Oculus Store beginning December 2. Supported Samsung devices include: Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note5 with Gear VR.

Full details are available at www.samsungmobilepress.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies that redefine the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space with the open platform SmartThings, our broad range of smart devices, and through proactive cross-industry collaboration. We employ 319,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover more, and for the latest news, feature articles and press material, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

Samsung Launches Galaxy A (2016) with Premium Design and Improved Features

Source: Samsung Mobile Press - Press Releases - October 14, 2015

A Brand new Galaxy A offers unmatched style, performance along with enhanced features perfect for self-expression

SEOUL, Korea – December 2, 2015 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd today announced its latest Galaxy A smartphones that offer premium design, easy mobile payment technology, and enhanced camera features. The Galaxy A (2016) incorporates Samsung’s latest in innovative design and technology, giving consumers the ability to expresses their individuality with powerful performance in three screen size options: 5.5-inch for the A7, 5.2-inch for the A5 and 4.7-inch for the A3

“At Samsung, we are committed to continued innovation, inspired by the feedback and needs of our wide range of consumers,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of Samsung’s IT & Mobile Business. “With the introduction of the Galaxy A (2016), we took the consumer feedback on our original Galaxy A models and made thoughtful and impactful improvements offering consumers a seamless convergence of style and performance for their everyday lifestyles.”

The Galaxy A (2016) continues the latest Samsung Galaxy design heritage, combining metal and glass to create a beautifully harmonious premium design. The new Galaxy A provides superior viewing experience with narrower bezel.

Now the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 (2016) support Samsung Pay, Samsung’s simple, safe and virtually anywhere mobile payment service. Protected by fingerprint verification, Samsung Pay works with both Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Near Filed Communication (NFC) technologies.

The Galaxy A (2016) also comes equipped with an enhanced camera system for both brighter and clearer photos and videos. This advanced system includes Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) to prevent image blurring, as well as a front and rear F1.9 lens to allow users to take the optimum photos in dark conditions. What’s more, with Samsung’s Quick Launch feature, double clicking the home button launches the camera in less than a second. Consumers can also take their best selfie yet with features including Wide Selfie, Palm Selfie and Beautifying Effects..

The Galaxy A (2016) will be available in China in mid-December 2015 and will be expanded to global markets.

Full details and product images are available at www.samsungmobilepress.com


Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) Product Specifications:

Galaxy A7 (2016)

Network:LTE Cat.6 * May differ by markets and mobile operators

Display:5.5-inch FHD (1920x1080) Super AMOLED

AP:1.6GHz Octa Core

OS:Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Camera:Rear : 13MP OIS (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)

Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM

Audio:MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

Additional features :MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
* Samsung Pay launches may vary by market-readiness

Connectivity :Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE)

Sensor:Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner

Memory:3GB RAM + 16GB Storage
Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)

Dimension:151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3mm, 172g

Battery:3,300mAh, Fast Charging

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) Product Specifications:

Galaxy A5 (2016)

Network:LTE Cat.6 * May differ by markets and mobile operators

Display:5.2-inchFHD (1920x1080) Super AMOLED

AP:1.6GHz Octa Core

OS:Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Camera:13MP OIS(rear), 5MP (front)

Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM

Audio:MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

Additional features :MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
* Samsung Pay launches may vary by market-readiness

Connectivity:Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0,
NFC (UICC, eSE)

Sensor:Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner

Memory:2GB RAM + 16GB Storage
Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)

Dimensio :144.8 x 71.0 x 7.3mm , 155g

Battery:2,900mAh, Fast Charging

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) Product Specifications:

Galaxy A3 (2016)

Network:LTE Cat.4 * May differ by markets and mobile operators

Display:4.7-inch HD (1280x720) Super AMOLED

AP:1.5 GHz Quad Core

OS:Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Camera:Rear : 13MP (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)

Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM

Audio:MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

Additional features:Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option

Connectivity:Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC)

Sensor:Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall

Memory:1.5GB RAM + 16GB Storage

Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)

Dimension:134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3mm, 132g

Battery:2,300mAh

* OIS, Fingerprint Scanner and Samsung Pay only support A5, A7

* Features and functions will vary by market.

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

 

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies that redefine the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space with the open platform SmartThings, our broad range of smart devices, and through proactive cross-industry collaboration. We employ 319,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover more, and for the latest news, feature articles and press material, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.