BlackBerry launches the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in Australia

Sydney, Australia – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today launched the BlackBerry® Z10 smartphone running on the re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry® 10 platform, in Australia. The BlackBerry Z10, which is also LTE-enabled, offers you a faster, smarter and smoother experience that constantly adapts to you.

“We are confident that Australians will love the new BlackBerry Z10, running on the new BlackBerry 10 platform, because it offers users something they will have never experienced before,” said Thorsten Heins, President & CEO, BlackBerry, in Australia for the launch. “This revolutionary new platform continuously adapts to you. Every feature, every gesture, and every detail is designed to keep you moving, whether at work or at play.”

Re-engineered: The BlackBerry Z10 Smartphone

The new BlackBerry 10 smartphones are elegant and distinctive, and the fastest, most advanced BlackBerry smartphones yet. They feature 1.5 Ghz dual core processors with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an expandable memory card slot.

The latest enhancements in high density pixel and screen technology display clear, sharp, and incredibly vivid images. Both feature a micro HDMI out port for presentations, and advanced sensors such NFC (near field communications) to support mobile payments and the exchange of information with a tap of the smartphone. They also have a removable battery.

Highlights of BlackBerry 10

BlackBerry 10 is a robust and reliable platform that is smooth and responsive. It has a modern design and a gesture-based interface that is highly discoverable. It is designed to support, learn, and adapt to the way you work and share, with features including:

• The      ever present BlackBerry® Hub, which is a single place to manage all your      conversations whether personal or work email, BBM™ messages, social media      updates or notifications, and the ability to “peek” into the BlackBerry      Hub from anywhere, so you’re always only one swipe away from what matters      to you.
• BlackBerry®      Flow, where the BlackBerry 10 experience excels by enabling features and      apps to flow seamlessly together, helping you complete the task at hand      effortlessly and efficiently. For example, you can tap on an attendee      listed for a meeting to see their latest tweet or LinkedIn profile. Or tap      the thumbnail of a picture you just took to launch the Picture editor and      quickly apply a transformation or filter, then instantly share it with      your contacts.
• A      keyboard that understands and adapts to you, that learns what words you      use and how you use them, then offers them up to you so you can type      faster and more accurately.
• BBM      (BlackBerry® Messenger), which allows you to share things with the people      that matter to you in an instant. BBM in BlackBerry 10 includes voice      calling and video chat, and introduces the ability to share your screen      with another BlackBerry 10 contact.
• BlackBerry®      Balance™ technology, which elegantly separates and secures work      applications and data from personal content on BlackBerry devices.
• Time      Shift, an astonishing camera feature that lets you capture a group shot      where everyone is smiling with their eyes wide open. Story Maker, which      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.
• 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.
• 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.
• BlackBerry®      Safeguard technology that helps protect what is important to you, and the      business you work for.
• Built-in      support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync® so your BlackBerry Z10      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 70,000 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.

BlackBerry 10 in Australia

BlackBerry 10 has gained support from carriers and retailers in Australia. The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone will be available through retailers including Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and Fone Zone, or can be purchased with competitive pricing plans from carrier partners Optus and Telstra from March 25 and 26, respectively.

Matthew Ball, Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand, BlackBerry, said: “After the global announcement of BlackBerry 10 on January 30th, we are delighted customers here in Australia will be able to purchase the BlackBerry Z10 this month. We know how important full-touch devices running on high-speed networks are in this market, and based on early feedback from our customers, we are confident Australian users will love the new BlackBerry 10 user experience.”