You’ve got to give it to BlackBerry for sticking to its guns.

Close to 5 months after re-branding itself from Research in Motion to BlackBerry and unleashing the first BlackBerry 10 devices into the world, the Canadian company is still showing no signs of the demise that many have gleefully foretold, even turning a profit of US$94 million in Q4 of 2012.

At its annual BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando earlier today, BlackBerry unveiled the new BlackBerry Q5 smartphone (pictured above), a QWERTY device (similar to the Q10) aimed at the company’s strongholds in emerging markets such as Indonesia. …

For BlackBerry die-hards who are still firing away e-mails everyday on their phone’s keyboard, the new Q10 is the device they’ve been waiting for.

This is the one with the familiar, easy-to-use keyboard and it is built like a solid and dependable – if rather less sexy – corporate tool that many had first come to know BlackBerry for. …

Ask anyone who just bought a newfangled smartphone in recent weeks, and chances are he might take out a Samsung, HTC or Apple gadget from his pocket.

What’s the future then for the forgotten BlackBerry, once a must-have for corporate workers, but now a laggard in the smartphone wars?

In the last quarter, the company sold just 6 million phones – the lowest in years – but it managed a profit of US$94 million. Even better yet, it managed to sell a million of the new Z10 touch-screen phone, which BlackBerry has pinned much hope on.

Techgoondu got in touch with Hastings Singh, BlackBerry’s vice president and managing director for South Asia (picture above), to look for signs of a turnaround in 2013. …

Come March 7, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry’s attempt to claw back market share from iOS, Android and perhaps even Windows Phone will officially begin on our tiny island, beginning with its Z10 smartphone.

Is it enough to inspire BlackBerry fans who have been waiting with baited breath to upgrade? …

When the folks from BlackBerry brought out Alicia Keys as a global creative director at their big launch on Wednesday, you know they were pulling out all the stops. …

Yet another year filled with surprises and no less interesting technology products and services has passed us by, perhaps too fast for some of 2012′s winners and not too soon for the strugglers.

The past 12 months have seen a great variety of tablets, from the Google Nexus 7 to Apple’s iPad mini, while Microsoft and partners tried their best to jump on the mobile bandwagon by bringing touch screens to everyday PCs with Windows 8.

In many ways, the much-talked about convergence of computers and mobile technologies has brought about some of the keenest competition that hasn’t been seen in years.

That’s not even mentioning the other big headlines of the year, like Facebook going public, Apple and Samsung’s courtroom joust and in Singapore, the arrival of cheap and fast fibre broadband.

Now, just hours away from 2013, users could well be staring at another year of great tech gadgets, sometimes frustrating technologies that fail to live up to expectations, and oh, winners and losers, definitely. Here are eight trends to look out for in the new year. …

Research in Motion (RIM) has opened a new service centre at The Cathay in Singapore to ramp up after-sales support to customers, as the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 operating system looms.

Opened yesterday, it promises minor repairs in just four hours and up to a day for more serious problems. It even features a dealer’s section to help BlackBerry dealers gain the expertise they need to in turn service their customers. …

Most IT head honchos would cringe at the prospect of allowing employees to use their own personal devices for work. After all, that means giving up the tight control that employers have always had over devices that connect to corporate networks, while facing the risk of corporate data falling into the wrong hands through lost or stolen devices.

Yet, more employees are yearning to use their own personal devices for work. A survey by VMware revealed that over 50 per cent of employees in Singapore already use their own devices for work-related purposes, whether their companies have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy or not. …

When Research in Motion (RIM) executives took to the mic to serenade their developers in a sleek music video, it was a moment that either betrayed their desperation, or showed a brave appeal to trust the Blackberry maker despite its evaporating market share.

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It’s Formula 1 weekend in Singapore so we thought we’d check out a pair of Ferrari-branded headphones and earphones.

Not everyone’s an F1 fan, but I guess the prancing horse logo and fire engine red will likely fire up their appeal to many lifestyle-minded users. At least, that’s what British manufacturer Logic 3 hopes. …