BlackBerry CEO John Chen has denied he would exit the smartphone business if it remains unprofitable for the Canadian company. His new statements come less than a day after being quoted by Reuters, which he now says took his words out of context.
Here’s the original article :
Well, Chen is now being more specific: “I want to assure you that I have no intention of selling off or abandoning this business any time soon. I know you still love your BlackBerry devices. I love them too and I know they created the foundation of this company. Our focus today is on finding a way to make this business profitable.”
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that Chen is not denying his previous statement. Yet what he said before is not exactly something new: BlackBerry wants to be profitable in the smartphone business, and just like any other company, will consider all its options if it can’t pull that off. It would be asinine not to.
“We will do everything in our power to continue to rebuild this business and deliver devices with the iconic keyboard and other features that you have come to expect from this brand,” Chen added. “Rest assured, we continue to fight. We have not given up and we are not leaving the Devices business.”
See also – BlackBerry confirms sponsored content in BBM Channels, promises no ads in BBM chats and to respect user privacy and BlackBerry changes approval date for its BlackBerry 10 app incentive program, enrages unpaid developers
Pi-Bot teaches students about robotics and C programming
Engineering education startup STEM Center USA has created a Kickstarter campaign for Pi-Bot, an affordable Arduino-based robot that you can use to teach students how to build their own robots and program in C.
While the Pi-Bot might sound like it uses a Raspberry Pi computer, it doesn’t. It’s named after the mathematical constant because of the shape of its chassis.
Pi-Bot comes with a complete kit for assembling and programming the robot, as well as a manual and curriculum for students. The device includes a four-speed gearbox, a light sensor and an ultrasonic sensor.
If you’re interested in fiddling with the Pi-Bot, you can pick one up for a pledge of $75 or more. STEM Center expects to begin shipping the first units out in June of this year.
➤ Pi-Bot: The Next Great Tool in Robotics Learning Platforms [Kickstarter]
Google announces Android Wear 2.0, including a legit keyboard and better complications
At its IO conference today, Google announced Android Wear 2.0, the biggest update to its wearables platform yet.
First up, any watchface will now be able to show information “from any app.” Basically, it’s Google’s take on the Apple Watch’s complications.
Google is also including two keyboards; you can use either handwriting or a full-fledged QWERTY keyboard. It also implements Smart Reply to provide contextual answers to messages without requiring you to type anything.
Finally, Google is untethering your watch from your phone with standalone apps. That means LTE-enabled watches will let you run apps without having your phone nearby – like the Samsung Gear S2 – and even regular smartwatches can connect to apps on their own if there’s a Wi-Fi connection nearby.