This morning we took part in a great session with the man who created BBM, Gary Klassen. The moment Gary started talking we knew this was something Karl and I were going to be interested in. Gary told us how BBM came to be and those lucky accidents that happened to create what is BBM.
Gary made a few awesome points about mobile and there was some great discussion regarding why mobile is so different compared to the computer. “People are going to laugh at us in 10 years. Look at all your cards in your wallet. You need a ticket to get on a plane?”, Gary noted. “Soon all of this will be on your smartphone. It’s still a bit of a ways away, but it’s coming”. We all think of these technology troubles all the time. And soon someone is going to come along and fix these problems.
We had a chance to talk to Gary after and we’re planning on meeting him for a coffee when we all get back to Waterloo!
Watch for us tonight as we take part in the BlackBerry Tweetup at 6:30pm!
Day 2!
Too bad this thing isn’t outside, our tans aren’t that great yet. Today was full of awesome sessions, meeting great people and demos of some great things to come for BlackBerry!
We’re heading to Universal Studios now for the Keep Moving Party, hosted by Alicia Keys. We get to see one of our favourite bands play as well, Alabama Shakes! Yee-haw!
Photos to come tomorrow from tonight!
BBM FOR BLACKBERRY EVERYONE! What a way to start off the conference! This morning BlackBerry CEO, Thorstein Heins, announced a few awesome new products and services that look pretty dandy! The new Q5, which is geared towards a customer looking for a BB at a lower cost-point. BlackBerry Channels, which is a cross between Twitter and BBM. And finally, the long awaited BBM news.
BlackBerry Messenger will now be available on all platforms (this summer)!
People have wanted this forever, and now you’ll finally be able to BBM your hipster boyfriend who won’t get rid of his iPhone!
Right before this announcement was made, Alicia Keys, the Creative Global Director of BlackBerry was on stage talking about what she has been up to with BlackBerry (still haven’t seen her at Beertown yet *sad face*).
Today Karl and I are hitting up some sessions here at #BBLive on some mobile development and marketing. Looking forward to learning more!
It was very uplifting to be there this morning for these announcements. I think today is a real turning point for BlackBerry. Good things to come…good things to come.
Ahhhh..the sunshine state! Karl and I will be heading to BlackBerry Live on Monday/Tuesday to take in the festivities of everything BlackBerry.
We will also be participating in the BlackBerry Meetup, where we will be handing out our AppPads to people and getting users to come up with app ideas for BB10. The best one will receive a BlackBerry prize pack!
So we’ve got our SPF 120 packed, speedos and margarita glasses packed, we’re ready to feel the heat!
It was quite the (Hipster) David vs. (Witty) Goliath at the Communitech and City of Kitchener MicNite that took place on the 3rd floor of the Simpson Block in Kitchener last night. A total of 11 companies pitched, some creative, some serious, some out of the ordinary. But it came down to the final two - Dandy & Groupnotes. The Groupnotes team have had their fair share of pitch wins in the past, which gave some good competition for Dandy. Unfortunately, Dandy fell short, and Groupnotes took home the BlackBerry Z10 and silver mic. Congrats!
Below is Dandy’s clever pitch, involving all the HYPERDRIVE companies’ names. Awesome, right?!
Dandy’s Tribute to HyperDrive…in the style of Def Poetry Jam
Blackberry, iPhones, and Androids. Since their Inception, Mobile voids, they’ve fill in our lives. Yet, with respect the best apps haven’t come yet. App ideas we’ve all had, some bad,some Well Read enough to change the world.
Grab an pen and pad, pull up an Easel and Explore Ideas for that will hit the charts and soar. Share these ideas, and we, the community, will choose their destiny. The Cream, it Pumps Up to the top. The posers? Likely not. A launchpad for those with game and a graveyard for the lame.
Names, tag lines, and icons have Bean Evolving. OpeningDoors for those with talent to earn respect, money and gallant.
Okoi, Oikoi…so as a Group, take Notes. Dandy needs your vote. Those in my Views with IQ, get ready to make some noise As our team, quite very, wants the free BlackBerry.
First off, thanks to everyone who came out last night! It’s unreal how much support we received from you all. Truly appreciate it. Now let’s show everyone else what they missed!
Congrats to Ivan from Will Pwn For Food on the Championship Belt, you looked like a natural in it :)
Also a huge thanks to Mike Farwell for the intro he did for us…
And a massive thanks to Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool for making us look super bad ass and walking up with us and intimidating the judges. Fitz is fighting this weekend in Moncton for the Canadian Middleweight Championship belt! We wish him all the best!
We saw something really cool the other day…Dandy in action! Check out the student’s App Idea pitches from our DandyCam! We were impressed. Congrats to Dr. Recipe on the win!
