Blackberry

Can the BlackBerry smartphone make a comeback? Research in Motion, the troubled Canadian company that makes BlackBerries, has announced Jan. 30 will be the day it officially launches the first phones using BlackBerry 10, the next version of its operating system. Blackberry phones, once considered state-of-the-art, have been widely criticized for not keeping up with portable devices using Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating systems. RIM said it will hold launch events around the globe on Jan. 30 to mark the arrival of the much-delayed new operating system, which the company says has been thoroughly redesigned from what previously was offered.

Things just keep getting worse for Research in Motion, the makers of BlackBerry devices. RIM revealed it lost three of its top leaders and also turned in poor results during the fourth quarter of 2011. Jim Balsillie, one of RIM's co-founders, resigned from the company's board. Leaving with Balsillie are also RIM's chief technology and chief operating officers, David Yach and Jim Rowan. Besides the personnel losses, the company also posted a drop in revenue. RIM brought in $4.2 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, a 19% drop from its revenue in in the third quarter.

Bringing back a bit of the sexiness of gadgets more suited to Ethan Hunt, James Bond or Captain "kicking it old-school" Kirk, Research in Motion is making your BlackBerry an "eye-device," with information from your iris stored inside. In partnership with Iris ID and HID Global , RIM has announced that it's supporting the use of a biometric template from Iris ID.  This means you could flash your Blackberry instead of an employee ID card to open doors at work.

The iPhone is the top smartphone among "mobile" workers, coming in ahead of the struggling BlackBerry, according to a quarterly report. The iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report defines a mobile employee as any worker who uses a mobile device — including laptops, smartphones, cellphones and tablets — to access networks for work purposes. Apple Inc.'s iPhone now holds 45% of the smartphone market share among mobile workers, up from 31% a year earlier, the report said. Last year BlackBerry — which used to be the overwhelming favorite among professionals — held the No. 1 spot with 35% of the market.

BlackBerry posted a surprise profit in its fiscal fourth quarter and revealed it sold 1 million Z10 smartphones, which was more than what analysts were expecting. Analysts were anticipating the Canadian cellphone maker to sell more than 900,000. The Z10 launched in the U.S. with AT&T last week. Earlier this week, the Z10 began selling from T-Mobile, and it launched Thursday with Verizon. The sales that are included come from Britain, Canada and other markets, where the Z10 phone sold for about a month before the quarter ended.

Score one for BlackBerry. Or 1 million to be exact. Days ahead of its U.S. launch, the Canadian phone maker said it received an order for 1 million of its new Z10 smartphone -- making it the largest single order in its history. According to the Associated Press, BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion, did not disclose who placed the order. The company did say, however, that it came from an established partner and that shipments would begin immediately. PHOTOS: Tech we want to see in 2013 BlackBerry has two new devices, the touchscreen-only Z10 and the Q10, which has a physical keyboard.

Research In Motion, which is expected to unveil two new phones next week, may at some point allow its BlackBerry software to run on devices made by other companies. In an interview with Die Welt , a German newspaper, RIM Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said the Canadian cellphone company would be willing to consider licensing its mobile operating system to others in the industry. He called the idea "conceivable. " Another possibility that RIM isn't opposed at looking into would be selling its hardware production business, Heins told the German paper.

It has a new phone, new technology, even a new stock ticker symbol. But the blows keep coming for BlackBerry. The smartphone maker's stock price tumbled Monday after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its rating on the  company, citing an underwhelming debut of the new BlackBerry Z10 mobile phone. BlackBerry shares were down about 4% in early trading Monday, after falling nearly 8% on Friday. Before the two-day decline, optimism about the company's new phone had driven its shares up 36% for the year.

Desperate? Clever? Too little, too late? It's hard to know what to make of the news that Research in Motion, the company behind BlackBerry, has taken credit for the "WAKE UP!" "protest" that took place outside an Apple store in Sydney, Australia, last week. "We can confirm that the Australian 'Wake Up' campaign, which involves a series of experiential activities taking place across Sydney and Melbourne, was created by RIM Australia," the company told The Age. Even before it was revealed who was behind the "protest," caught on video by Australian video blogger Nate Burr and viewed around the world, it was clear that it was a marketing stunt.

Pictures of what is believed to be the next BlackBerry smartphone with a keyboard are making the rounds on the Internet. The photos, which were posted on the Web earlier this week by Chinese website  cnBeta , show a BlackBerry device with a full QWERTY keyboard. The images posted on cnBeta also show the device has a taller touch screen than previous BlackBerry phones that have also had both touch screens and full keyboards. PHOTOS: Top 10 tech products of 2012 The expected Blackberry phone with full keyboard is believed to be one of two devices that the Canadian tech company Research In Motion will unveil next month at launch events for BlackBerry 10, the next version of its mobile operating system.