BlackBerry Ten
BlackBerry Ten is a proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Movability). BlackBerry ten is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was originally developed by QNX Software Systems until the company was acquired by BlackBerry in April 2010. [Two]
It supports the application framework Qt (version Four.8) and features an Android runtime to run Android applications. Prior to version Ten.Three.1, BlackBerry ten also supported the Adobe AIR runtime. [Three] The user interface uses a combination of gestures and touch-based interactions for navigation and control, making it possible to control a device without having to press any physical buttons, with the exception of the power button that switches the device on or off. It also supports hardware keyboards, including ones which support touch input.
On October 26, 2015, BlackBerry announced that there are no plans to release fresh APIs and software development kits (SDKs) or adopt Qt version Five. Future updates, like versions Ten.Trio.Trio and Ten.Trio.Four, would concentrate on security and privacy enhancements only. [Four] [Five] The company has not released a compatible device since the BlackBerry Leap smartphone, released in 2015. It has not ruled out any future devices. [6]
Contents
The operating system was originally called BBX, but this was switched when BlackBerry was blocked from using the BBX trademark after legal act from BASIS International, who already used it for their software. [7]
On November 12, 2012, CEO Thorsten Heins announced a January 30, 2013, launch of the BlackBerry ten operating system version Ten.0 and the very first smartphones running it. [8] The operating system, as well as two devices, the Z10 (a total touchscreen device), and the Q10 (a device tooled with a physical keyboard), were announced at the same time around the world on January 30, 2013. [9] The company also announced that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet would receive an update to BlackBerry ten later in 2013. [Ten] Subsequently, BlackBerry stated when releasing their Q1 two thousand fourteen financial results that the BlackBerry PlayBook would not be receiving an update to BlackBerry Ten, citing that the hardware would not provide a good practice of BlackBerry ten and are focusing on future devices. BlackBerry has continued to support and develop the PlayBook with its separate Tablet OS.
On fourteen May two thousand thirteen BlackBerry OS Ten.1 was launched. This brought improvements to many features requested by users.
On thirteen September 2013, in Asia, BlackBerry announced the launch of BlackBerry OS Ten.Two and a fresh BlackBerry ten device, the Z30, providing spectacle increases over the previous BlackBerry ten devices.
On June Legitimate, 2014, BlackBerry announced an official relationship with Amazon.com, which resulted in the Ten.Trio update bundling the Amazon Appstore.
Controls Edit
The touchscreen is the predominant input method of BlackBerry Ten, in addition to hardware keyboard for devices that have one. Users can use gestures and keyboard shortcuts to navigate around the system. For example, a user can unlock the device or comeback to the home screen by swiping from the bottom to the top. Some gestures suggest extra modes of interaction when they are used differently. For example, the same gesture can be used to showcase unread notifications when the user swipes from the bottom edge to somewhat the middle and slightly to the right and also keep the finger on the touchscreen. Similarly, when the finger is moved from the bottom to the right in a curved movability, the user can inject BlackBerry Hub instantly. [11] Devices with a hardware keyboard can use keyboard shortcuts to reach applications or perform specific functions more quickly.
Multitasking Edit
When a user comes back to the home screen from within an application, the application is minimized into a so-called "Active Framework". An Active Framework is a miniaturized window of the application which keeps running in the background. A user can come back to such an application by tapping on the Active Framework or close it by tapping on the X icon. Active Frames can have widget-like functionality and display petite bits of information, similar to widgets on Android. For example, the calendar application can demonstrate upcoming events and meetings. BlackBerry ten thresholds the number of active applications and it varies per device.
BlackBerry Hub Edit
BlackBerry ten collates emails, SMS/MMS, calls and notifications into the BlackBerry Hub. It shows all messages and notifications in a continuous list, sorted by date. The user can filter results by application or, in the case of email, also by inbox. The user can create, view or act upon messages or notifications directly from the Hub. For example, when the user opens a Facebook message, the Hub will open a petite part of the Facebook application and permit the user to perform the same deeds as the Facebook application itself. Applications need to support the Hub specifically to use most of these features, which is only possible for applications written with the native SDK. Notifications from unsupported applications are collated in the generic notifications tab.
Miscellaneous Edit
Other notable features of BlackBerry ten include:
- A virtual keyboard with support for predictive typing and several gestures. [12][13]
- Voice control and BlackBerry Assistant (Ten.Trio.1 and later), an intelligent individual assistant, with which the user can perform various tasks by voice input or typed queries.
- BlackBerry Balance, with which the user can separate individual from work data, if enabled by the device’s enterprise server. The user can switch inbetween two workspaces, each with their own applications, files and accounts.
- BlackBerry Link, with which the user can synchronize data inbetween the device and a computer, update the device or make backups. It supports iTunes and Windows Media Player.
Preloaded Edit
BlackBerry ten has a number of applications that help users perform various tasks and activities. These include a web browser, Documents to Go (for Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel files), Story Maker (movie and music stitching app), as well applications for notes, reminders, calculator, clock, music, media, weather and file management. Cloud services like Box and Dropbox are also integrated by default. In addition, BlackBerry’s messaging service BlackBerry Messenger is included, which supports movie talk, VoIP and screen sharing.
Third-party applications Edit
BlackBerry ten can run applications that were written with its native SDK, Android applications compiled for API levels 10–18 [14] (support varies per version) and applications written for Adobe AIR (only supported until version Ten.Three.1). BlackBerry ten provides the distribution platform BlackBerry World as well as the Amazon Appstore (on version Ten.Trio.0 and later). [15] Since version Ten.Two.1, Android application packages can be installed directly, whereas on previous versions Android applications could only be installed through BlackBerry World or by sideloading, which required packaging such applications into a native package format (BAR). [16]
At release in January 2013, BlackBerry ten had 70,000 third-party applications. [16] At the two thousand thirteen BlackBerry Live conference, BlackBerry announced that they had more than 120,000 applications. [17]
Some developers have suggested applications to access the Google Play Store, albeit this is not sanctioned by BlackBerry or Google. Applications which depend on the Google Play Services framework may not run. Similarly, Android applications which require a newer API level than eighteen cannot run on BlackBerry Ten. [14]
BlackBerry ten supports the following BlackBerry smartphones, all of which can run the latest version.
Engagement strategy Edit
Building up to the launch, the company made substantial switches to how it had previously engaged developers, being substantially more active at courting developers, solving issues and being see-through about development updates. The company sent two teams to engage developers. The very first, focused on acquiring premier applications from third parties. The 2nd team focused on engaging the broader development community and building the platforms application count. [Legal]
Prototype smartphones Edit
In May 2012, the company released a prototype touch screen smartphone to BlackBerry developers as part of the BlackBerry ten Jam Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Dev Alpha A’ device, which resembled a puny BlackBerry PlayBook, ran an early version of the operating system and was provided as a means for developers to develop and test their applications on a physical device. [Nineteen]
In September 2012, a 2nd developer prototype was released in September 2012, known as the Dev Alpha B. It includes a quicker processor and a number of internal improvements. [20]
A third developer device, the Dev Alpha C, [21] was announced on November 29, 2012, and is the very first developer prototype to demonstrate the physical keyboard capabilities of BlackBerry Ten. Acquisition of a Dev Alpha C device is based around a point system, meaning that developers who have previously developed apps for BlackBerry, or have had the Dev Alpha A/B devices, will have a higher chance of receiving a device than a fresh BlackBerry developer. It was released at the BlackBerry Jam Europe two thousand thirteen event in February 2013. [ citation needed ]
Portathons Edit
Pre-launch “Portathons” held by BlackBerry have received up to Nineteen,000 applications submitted per weekend. [22]
Reviews of BlackBerry ten have been generally positive. David Pogue of the Fresh York Times noted that the software was, “simple to master, elegantly designed and remarkably finish. It offers features nobody else offers, some tailored to the corporate world that raised BlackBerry aloft in its glory days.” [23] Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal referred to the operating system as “logical and generally effortless to use”. Mossberg praised the virtual keyboard, camera software, and messaging hub; but criticized its application ecosystem, cloud capabilities and the immaturity of some features [ citation needed ] . Gizmodo’s Kyle Wagner states that BlackBerry Ten’s home screen "gives BB10 the single best implementation of multitasking of any mobile OS right now". Wagner goes on to say that the Hub "works out to function a bit more like a junk drawer". He also reports what he refers to as the "Tragic Flaw": "Unlike every other major OS right now, BlackBerry does not feel fully integrated.". [24] Wagner’s review was based on the BB Ten.0 and it should be noted that since the initial reviews of BB10 the OS has been updated several times and for many the issues have been addressed. [25] [26]
In comparison to that, at launch, CrackBerry.com views the fresh features more positively and takes into account the fact that the OS is brand fresh. It says that the BlackBerry Hub “is a polished solution to efficiently managing the influx of messages we have coming at us. ". [27] It goes on to mention minor discrepancies and ultimately pointing out that many of the problems are getting stationary in future updates (some now released, e.g. battery life improvements, call ringtone disabled in bedside mode [28] ). [27] [29] It criticizes the limited customization options compared to BlackBerry OS (Alert tone volumes, alert light colour). Regarding the apps in BlackBerry World "truly struck by the quality of apps BlackBerry World has to suggest", it notes that the application ecosystem is not as large as Android and iOS because of its age (brand fresh) and finishes with "doubtlessly many more will come around once they see the Z10 getting traction in the wild." Its general summary of BlackBerry ten (with thought for its predecessor) "is that BlackBerry ten indeed is the best of the old and the best of the fresh assembled seamlessly into an elegant, practical, and integrated package." [ citation needed ]
As of Q2 2013, the fresh BlackBerry ten platform had almost the same number of developers using the platform as the legacy BlackBerry Five/6/7 had just before the release of BlackBerry Ten. [30] Within a few months from its launch, the BlackBerry ten platform was used by approximately 15% of mobile developers. [ citation needed ]
BlackBerry ten added a compatibility layer for Android software, which permitted developers to repackage their Android apps for distribution on BlackBerry World, however this advertised feature has received a poor reception as the Android apps "performed abysmally on the phone. Sluggish, ugly, and disconnected from the core OS. In fact, because these apps are being run in a software emulation of Android — Gingerbread no less (that’s version Two.Three) — they bear little to no relationship to the rest of the operating system". [31] Later versions added the capability for users to by hand install Android app packages. Beginning with the BlackBerry Passport, Amazon Appstore was bundled with BlackBerry ten to provide an extra source of third-party Android software. [15] [16] [32] BlackBerry CEO John S. Chen hoped that Amazon’s own smartphone, the Fire Phone, would bolster the adoption of the Amazon store and attract more major developers to it, and in turn, BlackBerry’s ecosystem. However, the Fire Phone was a commercial failure, which led to BlackBerry’s decision to develop an Android phone of its own, resulting in the BlackBerry Priv. [33]