Contest: Win 1 of 2 BlackBerry Q10's from BlackBerry and Canadian Reviewer

By Corey Herscu

BlackBerry has been taking a lot of flack lately. A lot. Botched product launches, missed release dates, and increasing scrutiny on their future; it's enough to annoy anyone, and rightfully so. 

But there are always two sides to every story. What many don't realize is that until the 'closed' sign formally appears on the doors of BlackBerry's offices in Waterloo the company continues to operate valiantly.

Despite all the negativity, there are still hundreds of dedicated employees going to work everyday hustling along towards a common goal: giving BlackBerry the second wind it so rightfully deserves.

So, over the last few weeks, I have been pondering what we at CanadianReviewer.com can do to lift people's spirits; aside from the  positive vibes and happy sentiments I try to put out through our own social channels. Then it hit me: why not run a contest? 

Rather than giving away a shiny new Android device to use BBM on, let's focus on one of the best devices to ever come out of Waterloo: the kickass QWERTY-featured BlackBerry Q10! Powered by BlackBerry 10.1 out of box (and 10.2 now available for update), the Q10 combines the award-winning functionality of all-things BlackBerry, with, of course, BBM the way it was meant to be: BBM voice, BBM video, BBM channels, etc. not the scaled down version now available on Android and iOS.

For our lucky readers, we have two to giveaway!

Here is how you can win:

1. Leave a comment on the blog stating your favorite thing about BlackBerry. Get creative. We read every single comment. 

2. Tweet out "I want to win a #BlackBerryQ10 from @BlackBerry and @CReviewer"

3. Must follow @CReviewer on Twitter and Like us on Facebook

4. That's it. That's really all. 

This contest is open for one week and available to anyone in North America. We will announce the winners next Friday November 1.

Two winners will be chosen at random via tweets/comments/likes. Duplicate entries will be voided.

Good luck to all who enter!

Rogers to exclusively launch the HTC One mini on November 4th

The HTC One is the best phone many of you don't already own. Arguably the best built Android phone to ever hit the market (and most comparable to the iPhone in design) and offering the best sound in its class, Rogers has announced today that they will launch a smaller iteration of this popular smartphone. Packed with a 4.3-inch display and powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core 1.4 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, the Ultrapixel camera and similar aluminum and plastic construction, the HTC One mini is truly a condensed version of HTC's flagship One.

Launching exclusively with Rogers on November 4th. Stay tuned for pricing when it is known.

Rogers, Bell, and TELUS confirm that they will carry the iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini with retina

As expected, and following their norm, the big three have all confirmed their intentions of selling all the new iPads (mini, mini with retina, iPad 2 and iPad Air) off-contract with corresponding data plans starting in November.

Stay tuned for confirmed plans and pricing as it is announced.

BlackBerry announces roll-out of OS10.2

Exactly a week after officially launching it coinciding exclsusively with the Z30, BlackBerry has announced the official roll-out of their latest OS iteration, version 10.2.

The update will come through for users in Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, with other countries to follow and will be available for the BlackBerry Z10, Q10 and Q5.

New features included in OS10.2 include:

Priority Hub

BBM Video with Natural Sound

Instant Previews of BBM, SMS and Email from any app 

BlackBerry Keyboard

Copy and Paste Enhancements 

Faster, Easier Sharing 

Lock Screen Notifications

Reply Now 

and

Calendar Enhancements

We've been playing with 10.2 for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. Once you've updated, leave a comment below letting us know your thoughts!

[via BlackBerry Blog]