It’s been buzzing for a while. Do or Die. Make or Break.
It was definitely more like GO BIG or go home last night at the launch party in Toronto – one of the cities chosen to simultaneously launch the highly anticipated Blackberry 10 (aka BB10, BlackBerry Z10) worldwide – other launch cities included New York, London, Paris and Johannesburg.
Aside from launching the BB10, RIM made several other surprising announcements at the press conference during the day including the immediate change for the company to now be known as BlackBerry. They also announced Grammy award-winning singer Alicia Keys as the Global Creative Director.
Media and industry insiders played with their new devices at the day long event which then turned into a big splashy party at night. Dubbed “The Fan Experience” the party VIPs included BlackBerry executives, partners, influencers and loyal BlackBerry users.
Local television and sports celebrities mingled in the crowd including Jamal Magliore, Tie Domi, and Pinball Clements. CBC hosts Steven & Chris were also on spotted. But the celebrity that wowed the crowd was a surprise performance by Flo Rida !
Quite a few BB10s were floating around in the crowd and while I was chatting with the a few revellers they all seemed to be quite blown away at what BlackBerry has unveiled. Everyone agreed that even though it took a while for BlackBerry to come out with something fresh, it was definitely is worth the wait.
BlackBerry announced that the Canadian market will be the first in the world to get the new BB10 – available February 5. Yeah! A nice nod to the home country. This is the largest global rollout of a new platform. You can find all sorts of details on the new device everywhere now on the internet.
If you’re thinking about getting a BlackBerry Z10, you can already pre-order yours with TELUS. It’s a bit overwhelming at my first try with the prototype back in early December but I know that once I get my hands on it, I won’t let go!
Good thing TELUS has one-on-one learning sessions! I’ve gone in and their experts take the time to help you get the best out of your device of choice. It’s a great resource to have and a big PLUS in the area of customer service! Anyway, I can’t wait to learn more about what I can do with this amazing device!
For more information visit www.telus.com
How about you? Are you a BlackBerry user or other?
Sounds like a fantastic launch party. The new BB almost makes me want to dump my iPhone. It’s great to see a Canadian company try to reinvent themselves – I wish them much success.