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Friday, 10 October 2014 01:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Senuri De Silva
Leading mobile phone manufacturer BlackBerry hopes to increase its presence in the Sri Lankan mid and high end smartphone market with the local launch of the new Blackberry 10.
BlackBerry India and SAARC Managing Director Sunil Lalvani said: “The smartphone market has evolved rapidly in Sri Lanka and we are all set to impress our customers with the unique range of BlackBerry smartphones. The range of unique BlackBerry 10 smartphones unveiled today will be a perfect embodiment of stylish, high performance, innovative design and exemplary security which are synonymous with our brand promise.”
BlackBerry said it was the preferred mobile phone of many of the world leaders and business due to the security and functionality it provides, with an ownership of over 40,000 patents that facilitate its unique capabilities.
The BlackBerry 10 hopes to build on this with new features such as the BlackBerry Priority Hub, BlackBerry Flow and the new and improved BBM that have all been included in the new range of smartphones, the Z30, Z3 and the Q5 that are to be made available in Sri Lanka.
The Priority Hub can be accessed from the mobile device to manage all conversations and notifications in one place. It gathers information across email, social networking websites and other accounts to learn the way its user interacts with the device and with a simple hand gesture of ‘pinching the screen’ the BlackBerry can now prioritise conversations for a more organised and focused work experience.
This feature combined with the BlackBerry Flow allows users to stay on top of a task. With BlackBerry Flow apps can now run seamlessly together allowing users to switch from one task to another without disrupting what he was already doing.
BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 continues to refine the unique communications experience of the platform. A preview of any message as it arrives in whatever app being used gives the users a choice to dismiss it or tap it to read the full content and respond immediately.
While typing the response users can also make use of the new BlackBerry keyboard that understands and adapts to the user by learning words that are commonly used. A simple swipe up gesture makes it easier and faster to accurately type messages as it allows you to input the entire word at once.
Furthermore BlackBerry balance technology provides a solution to those who carry separate personal and work phones as it now features a secure place work applications as well as data from personal content held separately within one BlackBerry device.
With regard to browsing the internet on the go, the new BlackBerry 10 browser, which sets the industry benchmark for HTML5 support on smartphones, is incredibly fast. Scrolling or zooming is fluid and responsive. The browser includes many advanced features, supports multiple tabs, lets you browse sites privately, includes a reader mode, and integrates with the platform for easily sharing content.
For sharing documents with colleagues, the BlackBerry 10 operating system simplifies the process by learning how you share and who you share with, helping you reduce the number of steps and amount of time it takes to get your files, photos, or documents to where they need to go. Touching “share” in any app provides suggestions on who and how to share your files based on who you’ve shared with in the past, and the feature only gets smarter the more you use it.
For sharing memories with family and friends, Time Shift, an astonishing camera feature that lets you capture a group shot where everyone is smiling with their eyes wide open. Story Maker, then lets you bring a collection of photos and videos together, along with music and effects, to produce an HD movie that you can instantly share.
BlackBerry Remember, which combines memos, tasks and much more into a single experience. It helps you organise and manage information you have on your smartphone around projects or ideas, letting you collect content such as websites, emails, photos, documents, and other files, and then like a To-Do list, lets you create tasks, assign due dates, and track your progress.
If your BlackBerry 10 smartphone is set up with a work account, your Microsoft Outlook Tasks will automatically be wirelessly synced with BlackBerry Remember. If you have configured an Evernote account with your smartphone, BlackBerry Remember will sync Evernote workbooks as well.
Built-in support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync so your BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10 smartphone can be simply connected and managed as other ActiveSync devices in a company, or enabled with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 to gain secure access to work email, “behind the firewall” applications and data, and benefit from other security and enterprise mobility management features.
The BlackBerry World storefront, which now includes BlackBerry 10 apps and one of the most robust music and video catalogues in mobile today – with most movies coming to the store the same day they are released on DVD. In addition, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare apps for BlackBerry 10 are preinstalled, and BlackBerry 10 customers will have access to leading applications from across the globe.
Most notably the BlackBerry 10.2 operating system now also enables users to download the most popular android apps directly onto the phone through a third party app store.
BlackBerry is made available in Sri Lanka in partnership with Softlogic.
Softlogic Managing Director Ashok Pathirage, commenting on the launch of the new BlackBerry devices, said: “There is a growing demand for wireless connectivity from mobile professionals in Sri Lanka. BlackBerry redefined the market for wireless communications and we are proud to be able to bring this superior technology to Sri Lankan customers, providing them with the opportunity to stay connected and productive.”
The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone features the BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, and has a 5” display with the largest battery yet on a BlackBerry smartphone which supports 4G/LTE. The new BlackBerry Z30 smartphone is priced at Rs. 64,990. The new all-touch BlackBerry Z3 smartphone also has a 5” display with a long lasting battery life and is priced at Rs. 34,990. In addition to this the new youthful and fun BlackBerry Q5, a BlackBerry 10 smartphone for selected markets which features a QWERTY keyboard with discrete keys will also be available at a price of Rs. 33,990.
Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera
