Even though much of the current talk with BlackBerry centers around the Priv, the company’s first Android smartphone, BlackBerry didn’t forget about its own operating system, BlackBerry OS 10. As such, the company revealed that a slew of paid apps will temporarily go free.
Because the apps belong to BlackBerry OS 10, the promotion is only valid for smartphones running that operating system. In other words, the offers are valid for the Z10, Q10, Z3 (Leap), Z30, Q5, Passport, Passport Silver Edition, Classic, the Porsche Design 9982, and the Porsche Design 9983. In addition, according to BlackBerry, the availability of these free apps depends on your device and country, so it seems that this isn’t a universal promotion.
Regardless, there are some compelling apps being offered for free, such as PaperPusher Scanner, which lets you scan documents and save them onto your phone or send them to others, and Super Street View, which offers BlackBerry OS 10 users a third-party client for Google Street View. Here is the full list of apps:
- ODF Office
- Instant – Track Device Usage
- Wherels
- PaperPusher Scanner
- Super Street View — Powered by Google
- Metal Pixels
- CineTV10
- PhoneFinder — Locator + Device Protection
- Penzus Clock
- Evolution Web Browser with Ad Blocker
- I’m Free — Quit Smoking
- Penzus MMS
- PicturePush
- Recycle Bin 10
- Penzus Fortune
- Easy Task
- TapCam Timer Camera
- Brick Breaker Anubis
- Privacy Suite Pro
- Camera Pro
If you’re interested in any of the aforementioned apps, you have until December 26 to download them for free, after which they will go back to their respective prices.
BlackBerry has reason to be festive, with the company recently reporting two consecutive quarters of increasing revenue, the first time BlackBerry has experienced such a phenomenon in two years. In addition, BlackBerry CEO John Chen reported the first 30 days of Priv sales as “quite positive,” which means the company could remain in the hardware business for the foreseeable future.