During the first day of its European DevCon event being held in Amsterdam, RIM has confirmed that alongside support for Android apps, the forthcoming PlayBook 2.0 update will also support the formerly Nokia-backed Ot application framework for application development on the PlayBook with future support being expanded to BlackBerry 10 devices slated for launch at the end of the year.

With the addition of Qt framework support, RIM is going after developers that formerly developed for Nokia devices and profiles, though Qt framework-based apps were few and far between on Symbian^3 and higher devices, while the MeeGo Harmattan-based N9 used Qt as the main application framework with mixed results as the phone was deliberately limited to select markets where Android and iOS did not have a major presence, such as Latin America and Eastern Europe.

RIM also reiterated that the long-awaited PlayBook update is still on track for release this month even with the newly announced framework support and the forthcoming relaunch of the device with 4G LTE support slated for later this year.

RIM has historically struggled with the PlayBook tablet since the launch of the device last April, with drastically lower than expected sales and less than stellar reviews leading to cancelled variants and most recently, a wave of firesales after RIM wrote down more than $400 million in unsold inventory during their last earnings call.

The unsold inventory became the catalyst for the shock resignation of former co-CEOs Lazaridis and Basillie late last month for new CEO Thorsten Heins, currently present at DevCon Europe and laying down the gauntlet against Android by claiming such figures  as 13% of developers making $100K+ in revenue via BlackBerry App World, as well as talking up substantial growth in Europe and Southeast Asia while lamenting the decreasing marketshare of the platform in its core US and Canadian markets.

The Qt framework and SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook are available to developers now and RIM did confirm that its adoption of the framework would mean that it would contribute all of its changes back to the main branch, save for user interface additions which will remain proprietary, as they will form the basis for the new BlackBerry 10 user interface and is code named Cascades.

Since Qt support also underpins the native application development support present in PlayBook 2.0, former Qt developers will have little trouble porting existing applications to the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 devices in the future owing to its basis in C/C++ in comparison to current SDKs which require knowledge of Adobe AIR/Flex and are considered less flexible and powerful.

Newly installed RIM CEO Thorsten Heins took to the press this morning to assure both investors and customers that RIM will continue to pursue its strategy of launching new devices with BlackBerry 10 and the forthcoming launch of BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 next month, while revealing surprising details, such as the possibility to license BlackBerry 10 to third parties and the reiteration of the commitment to its current strategy.

The news of the resignation of the co-CEOs last night during an NFL game and the introductory statements from Heins  this morning were enough to force a selloff in RIM stock today, ending with an eight percent drop. Ultimately, he is being seen as more of the same in terms of leadership style at RIM, instead of the stark, almost shocking change in leader many analysts and investors were hoping for.

It doesn’t help that Heins is continuing the same strategy that has led RIM to its current declining position in the consumer market in the US and Europe. While it’s enjoying growth in Southeast Asia, overall growth is shrinking every quarter, with more and more business customers moving away from the BlackBerry to Android and iOS now that both platforms have made great strides in corporate security and IT support compared to when both platforms launched in 2008 and 2007 respectively, showing just how much RIM has to do in terms of development with both PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 in order to remain competitive.

Below, comments from Heins taken from the introductory video filmed this morning that demonstrate the continuation of the same leadership style embodied by Balsillie and Lazaridis instead of substantial structural changes needed to turn the company’s fortunes around from its slump.

• “We have taken this to totally new heights and that journey isn’t over yet.”
• “If we continue doing well what we’re doing, I see no problems with us being in the top three players worldwide in the next years in wireless.”
• “At the very core of RIM is the innovation. We always think ahead. We always think forward. We sometimes think the unthinkable. And that is fantastic.”
• “Internally, from a process perspective, I think we need to get a bit more disciplined in our own processes.”
• “We are a great innovative company, but sometimes we innovate too much while we’re building a product.”
• “What we need to get a bit better at here is to have a little bit more of an ear toward the consumer. I want the strengthen this by bringing really good marketing expertise in.”
• “…With the ‘Be Bold’ campaigns, starting right now, I find this really exciting. I’m getting good feedback and we want to continue driving this.”
• “Don’t lose focus on what the present is. Congratulations to the team; we’ve seen great success with PlayBook 2.0 at CES. We are heading absolutely in the right direction.”
• “BB 10, needless to say, we have to ship on time. I can’t wait to see it.”
• “I’m also very performance driven. When we decide on getting something done, I want it to be done on time at good quality and at good cost. That defines our customer satisfaction.”

The above are the words of a leader groomed to continue the same pattern hoping for a different result rather than actively making the drastic changes needed for future success.

In addition he also confirmed an internal investigation into possible licensing of BlackBerry 10 to interested third-parties, though the likelihood of this coming to fruition is very low, as ODMs prefer Android for quick development and deployment and many other alternatives are in various stages of readiness, with webOS being the latest operating system relegated to the open source experiments file after HP abandoned webOS hardware last year.

Since the company’s hopes are now resting on QNX via the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10, it remains to be seen whether the new devices and the relaunch of the PlayBook next month will be enough to jumpstart RIM’s lagging fortunes in the US and Canada, much in the same way that Symbian and Windows Mobile were simply beaten into irrelevance due to shifts in the tastes of consumers for more multimedia oriented devices.

Unfortunately, Heins may come to realize that no amount of hardware or software can change consumer tastes overnight unless it represents the radical shift that helped propel both the iPhone and Android to their current place in the minds of consumers. Now more than ever, RIM would be better served to do away with its current plans and figure out a way to deliver a consumer friendly BlackBerry device that is not only the equal of iOS and Android but surpasses them in ease of use and performance.

We are long past the days where having a solid hardware keyboard and reliable email server were enough to drive the marketplace. RIM needs to learn how to jump ahead of the market or risk becoming another Symbian, webOS, even MeeGo. If they don’t, they only have themselves to blame for their eventual downfall when they had the opportunity to make a substantial change to their business for the better.

Reuters has confirmed  that RIM co-founders Jim Basillie and Mike Lazaridis have confirmed in a hastily conducted series of phone interviews held on Saturday that they have stepped down from their shared CEO and Chairmanship roles from the company they founded with immediate effect.

Their immediate replacements are former Siemens executive Thorsten Heins and former TSX head Barbara Stymiest, who previously held a position on the Board of Directors for the embattled company before moving to the chairmanship position yesterday.

The company has seen its once dominant position in the wireless industry nearly fade in the face of its competition, with the iPhone and Android proving to be increasingly popular for both consumers and business users. While RIM has attempted multiple times to reinvent its BlackBerry line to attract consumers with the latest attempt in devices based on BlackBerry 7, the company has met little more than disinterest in the general market while Android and iOS continue to erode its competitive advantage with business customers.

RIM has also attempted to enter the equally competitive tablet market with its BlackBerry PlayBook, but not without making major mistakes along the way, such as requiring the use of a BlackBerry device for full functionality and not having a native email client available for standalone use, while developers have cited a completely developer hostile environment to develop applications for the tablet, notably the lack of native development tools and the reliance on third-party frameworks for development that lack the power necessary to develop complete applications.

For its part, RIM has continually promised that the above issues would be addressed next month with the long-awaited release of the PlayBook 2.0 update, but the company is currently selling the tablets at firesale prices and even took a $485 million loss on unsold inventory last year, adding to the problems that the company is currently dealing with.

With the stepping down of Lazaridis and Basillie, this also represents the end of an era at RIM as both men oversaw the growth of the company from a small company developing paging systems for commercial and freight customers, into an enterprise darling and pop culture icon once consumers adopted the BlackBerry  en masse in the mid-2000s, before the launch of the iPhone.

Currently, the company is said to be working on its latest update to the BlackBerry operating system in BlackBerry 10, which is said to be based on QNX like the currently available PlayBook, but has suffered a major setback in terms of availability due to the lack of the necessary chipsets needed to produce commercial designs that won’t be available until mid-year for sampling, delaying the retail launch until the end of the year. As RIM is relying on BlackBerry 10 to save its current business model and compete against the iPhone and the whole of Android, having the co-CEOs step down in the middle of the transition marks a response to mounting internal and external pressure, rather than any long-planned transition.

Sprint and RIM have announced the rollout of BlackBerry OS 7.1 for the Bold 9930 and Torch 9850, which adds Mobile Hotspot support to both devices for the usual $29.99 monthly charge on top of the required Everything Data service plan and BlackBerry access charges. The update will be rolled out over the air and can be manually downloaded as well, if patience is thin.

To update your modern BlackBerry, tap go to the Home screen and navigate to Options. Then select the Device field, and finally, Software Updates.

BlackBerry OS 7.1 is an incremental update to the aging BlackBerry OS platform, which has not received a complete overhaul since its introduction. The 7.1 upgrade adds, in addition to Mobile Hotspot, support for FM radios and improved NFC sharing. FM radio is not available in the pair of Sprint BlackBerry devices updated today.

The update is also important in matching features such as NFC and Mobile Hotspot that Nokia aims to provide in Symbian Anna and Belle. Both RIM and Nokia are in similar positions, they are both struggling to provide a modern robust platform, in the wake of consumers fleeing their existing technologies. RIM recently announced major delays to BlackBerry 10, its embattled QNX-based platform that is derrived from the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software.

At CES, RIM touted announcing both PlayBook OS 2.0 and 7.1, but these platforms were announced at previous events. PlayBook OS 2.0 has been in beta since the announcement at BlackBerry Dev Con North America, and RIM has been providing 7.1 in beta form since Sprint’s Open Solutions Conference, where developers were given access to RIM’s NFC API stack. NFC was first introduced in a Verizon BlackBerry Bold 9930 update to OS 7.

After voluminous coverage of Research In Motion’s struggle with stockpiles of BlackBerry PlayBooks, the smartphone and tablet manufacturer has a plan; sell all the versions for one price, $299.

RIM has reportedly hundreds of thousands of PlayBooks that it can’t sell. Retail supply chains are full, and units are moving slowly. Retailer Best Buy has even cancelled additional orders for the device. Clearly, it’s a tough time to be a PlayBook.

The reasons surrounding the PlayBook’s struggle are numerous, but clear. The device has yet to receive PlayBook OS 2.0, which will resolve most software complaints about the device. Namely, it lacks touted compatibility with Google’s Android platform, as well as lacking the full set of tools commonly found on a BlackBerry.

At launch, RIM stated that the PlayBook was intended to be a companion for BlackBerry devices, hence the lack of basic applications such as email. Initially that made sense to help PlayBook find its niche, the manufacturer touted free tethering between BlackBerry and tablet, which would provide competitive advantage over Apple’s iPad and Google’s Android. Both of which lack the ability for their smartphones and tablets to share a connection, without a tethering plan.

However, the attach rate for PlayBook stalled when carriers threatened to reject the devices. RIM caved, and agreed to implement tethering plan checks on the BlackBerry PlayBook’s Bluetooth link. Almost instantly, RIM’s coveted feature became its scourge, the PlayBook then made no sense to own as a Wi-Fi tablet. RIM lost its foothold niche that would help accelerate it, while still developing the key apps needed, such as email.

PlayBook OS 2.0 also will start RIM’s transition to BlackBerry 10. RIM has stated clearly it is using PlayBook’s OS, based on its acquisition from QNX, to deliver BlackBerry OS 10 for smartphones. The company has struggled there, too. It has already delayed the platform to late this year, and even had to drop the more-attractive name of BBX, due to a trademark dispute.

At $299, RIM is hoping to sell off the tablets it is having the most trouble selling; the 64 GB and 32 GB models. However, it’s a tough sale to ask consumers to purchase a device on future features. It could expose further weakness in RIM, if the 64 GB model hangs around too long being priced the same as its 32 GB and 16 GB counterparts.

Regardless, RIM has said the sale will end February 4. It remains to be seen if RIM will “sell out” of 64 GB units by that date.

BlackBerry Store

A federal court today blocked Research In Motion from using the BBX name, until the completion of a trial for trademark infringement. So, RIM simply re-named the product to BlackBerry 10.

The BBX name was derived from being alphabetically-similar to one of RIM’s golden eggs, BlackBerry Messenger, which is advertised as BBM. BBX, now BlackBerry 10, is the first major reengineering of RIM’s BlackBerry OS since the platform launched. Instead of continuously improving atop a secure Java client, BlackBerry 10 will move the software over to a POSIX-based platform, acquired from QNX, which is now a division of RIM. QNX is already in-use in the BlackBerry PlayBook, which will be unified with BlackBerry 10 in a future software update.

Basis Software, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico filed suit against Research In Motion for trademark infringement, claiming that the name infringed on their BBx BASIC language interpreting product. RIM claims that the products are not confusingly similar, as BBx is a tool used by developers to build software, and that the potential customers of BBx would not confuse the two products.

A federal judge sided today with Basis, awarding a temporary restraining order. Temporary restraining orders are often awarded in trademark infringement cases, even if the defendant has a compelling case that could win a trial. The restraining order is aimed at preventing a plaintiff from losing market share and customer awareness for their product, provided they can demonstrate that there is considerable risk that perceived infringement could be legitimately argued as valid, and has clear potential to harm to their own product.

By changing the name, RIM will be able to move forward with launching BlackBerry 10-enabled products without the blocking of a temporary restraining order. However, it will likely do little to affect the litigation that is still pending. Basis Software will likely continue the lawsuit on the basis that their product has been irreparably harmed, by RIM contaminating the marketplace with their existing infringement and promotion of BBX.

It is likely Basis Software and RIM will settle, however, Basis will likely seek from RIM the cost of engineering a new platform for BBx. For RIM, it is one more tribulation in the process of launching BlackBerry 10, a path that has cost RIM much of its market share control and prestige in the industry.

If you own an iPhone BlackBerry or Android smartphone and are looking for an easy way to use smartphone data access for tethering without having to deal with additional monthly charges, a new app by the name of Tether may help in that goal.

Currently available for all three platforms, the  app requires a sever app to be installed on the host computer before the mobile apps can be used to tunnel the connection via USB  or Bluetooth, if supported. The BlackBerry version also requires additional APN configuration that may trigger additional flags for tethering charges.

Historically, Apple has taken a dim view of applications that overtly bypass official tethering functionality, especially now that iOS features built-in support. Previous attempts to offer such apps have been met with rejection or delisting, with the majority of such apps finding a home in the jailbreaking community as either paid or free apps.

Currently, the BlackBerry and Android versions feature a free trial while the iPhone version requires a purchase before use. Pricing for the BlackBerry and Android versions is set at $29.95, while the iPhone version is set at $14.95.

Tether – BlackBerry

Tether – Android

Tether – iPhone (iTunes)

Update: Apple has pulled the application as of 10:45 EST, though users are reporting that the application is still functioning as normal. Apple has yet to explain it’s reasoning for the delisting, but the developer of the application has made repeated statements to the media emphasizing that it told Apple what the application did and were forthright about why it was seeking approval.

Research-In-Motion this morning announced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, its first cross-platform device management system.

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will enable system administrators to offer BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) capabilities that extend beyond RIM’s own BlackBerry family of devices, and allow employers to offer compatibility with their employee-owned devices.

As a result, existing fleets of BlackBerry devices can be managed alongside devices from employees that choose to opt-out of the BlackBerry OS.

Notably, the offering does not bring BlackBerry Messenger to these platforms, but will support remote administration, remote wipe, email, contacts, calendar, and application deployments.

In addition, Mobile Fusion will augment the existing BlackBerry management services with full support for the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 upgrade. That upgrade will deliver dedicated and official BBM, native email, and native calendar clients to the PlayBook for the first time.

RIM has not released Mobile Fusion, and has not set pricing for the product. While this is a competitive marketplace already, RIM’s entrance into mobile device management beyond BlackBerry may help aide the company shake concerns that it cannot roll with the punches. Many companies depend on BlackBerry Email Services (BES), and CIOs nationwide have been contemplating a shift away from RIM, cold turkey.

By extending RIM’s secure platform beyond just BlackBerry OS devices, RIM will be able to help retain their existing BES customers, and prevent them from moving to open solutions, or Microsoft Exchange. Both alternatives support BYOD devices, and make a cold turkey solution attractive for companies facing disdain for BlackBerry’s current situation in the device world.

Mobile Fusion could also be seen as an important stop-gap between BlackBerry OS 7 and BBX. By acknowledging the lack of a stable monolithic platform with OS 7, Mobile Fusion buys RIM time to perfect BBX, without abandoning their existing customers. Even if initial BBX devices are a flop, Mobile Fusion will ensure customers remain with BES while RIM continues efforts to regain a stable device footing.

We almost called this one a deal. Until BBX ships for the PlayBook however, we’re not going to call it that. We do, however, call it the lowest price we’ve ever seen for a BlackBerry PlayBook.

While we reported yesterday that Best Buy has sold out of PlayBooks temporarily, they have begun sales of refurbished supplies of the PlayBook. The 16GB version sells for $149.99 and the 32GB version sells for $169.99. The 64GB version has also recently appeared for $199.99, but is sold out.

Unfortunately, we can’t suggest these units to readers. RIM states that refurbished PlayBook units are sold as-is with no warranty at all. Quoting Research-In-Motion’s warranty disclaimer:

Disclaimer of Warranties. ALTHOUGH THIS REFURBISHED PRODUCT IS SUBJECT TO THE RETURN POLICY, THIS REFURBISHED PRODUCT IS SOLD ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.”

While tablets generally have good performance records, PhoneNews.com does not recommend purchasing any tablet without at least a 90 day warranty. After the Best Buy return period, you would have no protection on the device. In addition, Best Buy may ask for a restocking fee to accept a defective-on-arrival PlayBook.

We also caution readers that Best Buy’s extended holiday return period does not apply to tablets. Tablets at Best Buy carry a 14 day return period, which is the extent of the warranty on these refurbished PlayBooks.

BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB Refurb – BestBuy.com
BlackBerry PlayBook 32GB Refurb – BestBuy.com

Reports have been circulating since the beginning of the day that Best Buy is preparing to discontinue sales of RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. At the time of this report, the only listings available all report the tablet being unavailable for online purchase and in-store pickup in all configurations, where previously the tablet listings were completely absent from the online store.

To add to the confirmation, Best Buy’s own forums have also been flooded with multiple reports confirming refunds for those that attempted to order the PlayBook during the Black Friday rush at Best Buy’s heavily discounted pricing of $300 off MSRP and that some stores have canceled all incoming store pickup orders while issuing refunds.

Calls to Best Buy inquiring about the situation have yielded little in the way of information, with store reps and management refusing to answer questions regarding immediate PlayBook availability or reports of store pickup order cancellations.

When inquiring about why orders are suddenly being canceled, some customers are also being told that Best Buy’s supply of tablets is “overextended” and is forcing the company to issue cancellations and refunds due to the unexpected demand, in a mirror image reminiscent of the August HP TouchPad weekend firesale.

Other RIM PlayBook resellers, such as Staples and Office Depot are reporting they have very limited stock on hand of the tablet and are not planning to restock once the stock on hand is sold through.

Update: Best Buy has issued statements to CNET and  PhoneNews.com confirming that the retailer is completely sold out of PlayBook tablets at this time, but will restock in time for Christmas for both online and in-store sales.  The original article follows at the continue reading link.

For its part, RIM has taken to imitating HP and started its own internal fire sale for the beleaguered tablet with the following internal pricing schedule exclusively for its employees at $100 for the 16GB edition, $150 for the 32GB, and $200 for the 64GB model.

Should the pricing report be confirmed, this means that RIM is taking the first steps to clear out the distribution channel of the tablet and is either attempting to discontinue the tablet and exit the market or is planning another model following a September report stating that RIM was planning to discontinue the tablet, which RIM quickly denied at the time and reiterated its support for the device.

The PlayBook tablet was originally launched in April of this year and was meant as a companion to select BlackBerry smartphones, with the tablet using the BlackBerry device as a passthrough dongle for everything from email, internet access and PIM functionality. which made it less functional than the equivalent Android or iPad tablet. Planned 4G and cellular data versions of the tablet are also in limbo or canceled outright, such as the Sprint WiMax version and the AT&T HSPA versions previously announced for release earlier this year.

Developer support for the PlayBook is also another point of contention, as developers continually become frustrated with the lack of updated tools and access to better APIs necessary in order to get the most out of the hardware to develop applications. The developer pricing may be a way for developers to adopt the platform, although it may be too late.

The tablet is also criticized for lacking a built-in email client amongst other applications considered necessary for proper standalone operation. As it stands, RIM has also yet to release long-promised updates to the tablet that would enable it to use Android applications via emulator as well as further developer updates to deploy native development tools besides the current Flash/Flex/AIR toolset, both of which were expected in late September and have yet to be rolled out despite multiple confirmations of its imminent release as well as updates that include a native email client and more standalone functionality.