BlackBerry 10 Home Screen Unveiled

RIM's Head of Software Portfolio, said the BB10 interface is built around fluid gestures and swipes, rather than lots of individual taps to get into and out of different apps and functions. It is also being specifically designed to allow BlackBerry owners to get to the stuff they want by using just one hand or a single thumb, he said.

First up, the BB10 homescreen -- it's out with app icons, and in with four large panes which are full, active apps meaning they will change as their content changes. To fully dive into one of these homescreen apps you just tap on the relevant pane.

From this homescreen, swiping to the right takes you to a traditional icon-centric view app view, while swiping to the left brings up a unified inbox view which collates all your communications -- from emails and IM to calls, tweets, Facebook updates etc -- into one uber feed.

Bhardwaj said key gestures, such as swiping to the left to get to this one-stop-shop inbox, aren't restricted to the homescreen but can be deployed wherever you are in the OS.

The most distinctive gesture in BB10 is what Bhardwaj described as "a looking type gesture" or "glancing across" to other content off screen.

This gesture is triggered by holding your thumb down at the bottom right hand corner of the screen which shrinks the view, bringing up a margin at the right hand side where notifications are displayed. Swiping or dragging your thumb further to left brings even more content on screen -- such as your inbox, an attachment or an open app.

BlackBerry Crash Continues To Affect Millions

BlackBerry users across the world have been left without email or text services for a second day due to an unexplained fault.

Customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina have now reported problems with their devices.

They have been venting their fury at the lack of service on Twitter and other social networking sites.

BlackBerry Crash Continues To Affect Millions

One customer tweeted: "You realise that sending a letter in a bottle and putting it in the Thames is more reliable than a BlackBerry ."

Another joked: "What did one BlackBerry user say to the other BlackBerry user? Nothing."

The server problems are believed to stem from a data base in Slough and started on Monday morning.

However, it is not known what specifically caused the fault.

Manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) had given the all-clear on Tuesday morning after the first problems.

But they struck again later, leaving users unable to access emails or the internet or use messaging services.

RIM said in a statement: "Some users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, India, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are experiencing messaging and browsing delays.

"We are working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused."

Regular voice-calling services appear not to have been affected, and the problem seems to be limited to personal rather than business contracts.

Mobile operators in the UK including T Mobile and Orange posted messages on their websites referring customers experiencing difficulties to the manufacturer.

Vodafone said: "Research in Motion (RIM) is currently investigating the issue as a priority to restore services as soon as possible."

TV critic Ian Hyland tweeted: "All we need now is for i-phones to start playing up and we'll have the dream headline: 'Apple and Blackberry Crumble.'"

SOURCE: Sky News