RIM today gave us a sneak peek at BlackBerry Hub, which manages contacts across multiple platforms. While Research in Motion has kept a bit of a lid on certain features prior to the make-or-break launch of its BlackBerry 10 platform, a better picture of the devices is starting to take shape.
We know it will have a cool, if not entirely unique, camera, thanks to Sweden’s Scalado.
We know the same can be said about its music service, which will be provided by U.K.-based 7Digital.
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We know its browser will be top drawer. RIM’s VP developer relations, Alec Saunders, went as far as to tell CNET that the BlackBerry 10 browser “….beats every desktop browser, it beats every mobile browser, it beats every tablet browser, when you start to measure the scores.”
We also know that the company has worked hard to make the availability of apps a negative that steers potential buyers to Apple or Android devices. BlackBerry App World, which will be rebranded as simply BlackBerry World for the BB10 launch, has grown to more than 100,000 apps.
Still, RIM’s PR efforts haven’t been helped by the fact that some household names have abandoned BlackBerry altogether. In February, Netflix went as far as to announce from its Twitter account that “We don’t have any current plans to support BlackBerry devices, including PlayBook.” And the now Microsoft-owned Skype, which was available for BlackBerry 7 devices, has yet to make an announcement about its availability for BlackBerry 10.
We knew a bit about RIM’s efforts to deliver a next-generation contact manager. Early last year, it acquired Gist, a hot Seattle startup that was founded by T.A. McCann, to integrate the disparate elements of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and the company’s identity platform, BlackBerry ID.
Today, RIM gave us a sneak peek into the fruits of these efforts; the BlackBerry Hub.
Patrick Murtha, RIM’s Director Portfolio Product Strategy, describes the BlackBerry Hub, simply, as “a single place where you can access all of your messages…that will be just a single gesture away”.
RIM has posted a video on BlackBerry Hub, you can view it below.
Related: Is BlackBerry 10 Without Skype a Dealbreaker?
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