New York, NY and Waterloo, ON – Business – Updated – The Blackberry 10 is out! ooVoo, one of the largest independent social video chat provider with 66 million registered subscribers, and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that ooVoo will bring its next-generation HD video communications service to the BlackBerry® 10 platform.
The Blackberry 10 Livestream
The product launch can be views online at Blackberry Launch.
Blackberry 10 Business and Fun
BlackBerry® World™ storefront (formally BlackBerry App World™) for BlackBerry 10 will offer one of the most robust music and video catalogs in mobile today. The new BlackBerry World will include an extensive catalog of songs as well as movies and TV shows, with most movies coming to the store the same day they are released on DVD, and next day availability of many current TV series. The competitive offering will feature content from all major studios, music labels and top local broadcast networks. Customers will be able to preview tracks and access the content using multiple payment options.*
“Music and video content is an integral part of a rich mobile experience. People want easy and convenient access to their favorite music, movies and TV shows wherever they are,” said Frank Boulben, Chief Marketing Officer at Research In Motion. “RIM is committed to working with content providers to bring the best, most up-to-date content to our customers with BlackBerry 10, and to make it easy for them to get what they want.”
The video download and rental section in BlackBerry World will initially be available in the US, UK and Canada. Varying by region and distributor, customers will have access to movies from the following studios and independents: 20th Century Fox, Entertainment One (eOne), Lionsgate, MGM, National Film Board of Canada, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (US), Starz Digital Media, STUDIOCANAL, The Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures (UK), Warner Bros. Customers will also have access to TV shows from the following broadcasters and studios: ABC Studios, BBC Worldwide, CBC/Radio-Canada, CBS, DHX Media, ITV, National Geographic, NBCUniversal (UK), Nelvana, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (US), Starz Digital Media, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Univision Communications Inc, and Warner Bros.
The BlackBerry World storefront’s DRM-free music download section will feature an extensive catalog from all major and independent labels including: 4AD Records, Domino Recording Company, finetunes, Matador Records, [PIAS] Entertainment Group, Rough Trade Records, Sony Music Entertainment, The Orchard, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, XL Recordings and Zebralution. The music section will initially be available in 18 countries: Canada, USA, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
The BlackBerry 10 platform allows the ooVoo service to easily integrate with voice, video and the remarkably fast BlackBerry 10 browser, which will give BlackBerry 10 customers a multiplatform solution for video chat and instant messaging with friends, family and colleagues. With ooVoo, up to 12 contacts can connect at the same time, allowing customers to stay connected and share experiences.
“ooVoo serves more than one billion minutes of video each month to subscribers. By bringing ooVoo HD video chat to the BlackBerry 10 platform BlackBerry 10 customers will be able to video chat and share videos anytime with the millions of ooVoo’s daily active users on virtually any mobile or desktop platform,” said Jay Samit President of ooVoo.
ooVoo will be integrated into the basic calling functionality in BlackBerry 10, making it easy for customers to flow directly from a voice call to an ooVoo video call. ooVoo’s cloud-based service provides remarkable video quality. BlackBerry 10 customers will be able to chat cross-platform, and take advantage of the social features that ooVoo provides, for free.
“As a leader in communications, we understand the importance of bringing people together in an innovative way that is easy to use,” said Martyn Mallick, Vice President Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion. “ooVoo will be a fantastic choice for BlackBerry 10 customers looking for a multi-user video communications service that can connect them to their contacts on virtually any computer or mobile device, and we are pleased to work with ooVoo to help bring their service to our customers.”
ooVoo’s innovative Watch Together™ feature allows customers to have group video viewing experiences within video calls. ooVoo’s customers can incorporate video calling with friends and family into their daily lives by, for example, bringing friends along on shopping trips through ooVoo to get real-time opinions on choices, or mommy group members showing the latest happenings – whether milestone or mysterious spots – for opinions in real-time.
Pricing and Availability
ooVoo is a free service, and will be offered for BlackBerry 10 smartphones on the BlackBerry® World™ storefront later this year.
