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17
April
2013
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Blaq for BlackBerry 10 now available for $2.99
As promised, Blaq for BlackBerry 10 is now available to download for an introductory price of $2.99. The Twitter application, which became one of the most popular PlayBook apps when it was released in 2011, has been completely redesigned for the Z10 and Q10.
One of the biggest advantages over the stock BlackBerry 10 Twitter app is multi-account support, allowing community managers and power users to follow all the action. The app support real-time streaming through Twitters firehose API, so updates happen in realtime over WiFi. Theres also active frame support so youll see mentions and tweets even when outside of the app, and Blaq promises to sip battery while in the background.
Another advantage over the stock Twitter client is a gesture-based workflow that feels more intuitive and altogether smoother.
At $2.99, the app is priced right under the psychological barrier to many mobile purchases, but the improved experience should be worth the investment.
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11
September
2012
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By Daniel Bader on September 11, 2012 at 2:10pm in Mobile News
Nokia has always maintained that it isnt giving up on its legacy Lumia devices once Windows Phone 8 is released. To that end, the company is promising an upgrade to its entire legacy Lumia line, including the 610, 710, 800 and LTE-powered 900 to Windows Phone 7.8.
These improvements, along with exclusive apps available onto to Lumia devices, will give Nokia an edge against its competitors and hopefully assuage some of the bad sentiment felt towards them as they prepare to release the Lumia 820 and 920. The companys City Lens app is available today out of beta, and theyll be bringing the very cool Cinemagraph app to older Lumias.
Such improvements include:
- A new Start screen look and feel, familiar from Windows Phone 8, giving you a whole new look the moment you unlock your phone
- Ringtone maker app to selected markets to create a personal ringtone
- Contact share app updated to support sharing over Bluetooth in addition to SMS and email
- Bluetooth file transfer to send media files via Bluetooth from your Lumia device to any other phone
These arent huge changes, but Nokia is also bringing some of the camera Lenses shown off at the Lumia 920 demo to its existing products. While not all of the performance improvements will be present WP7.5 is hobbled with much older hardware the company is promising to bring as much functionality as possible to existing products.
No word on when these updates will roll out, but its more than likely they will hit the streets shortly after the launch of Windows Phone 8 at the end of October.
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16
August
2012
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The wireless adoption rate in Canada has continually increased over the years. According to the CWTA (Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association) there was over 26 million Canadian wireless subscribers in 2011, up from about 12 million in 2002. Projections are that well hit 30 million by 2014.
A new survey has been conducted by Presidents Choice Services (PC Mobile) and Leger Marketing that shows a growing number of children packing themselves with a mobile phone. The survey was completed online by 1,500 Canadians and asked what is the best age to give children their own phone? The results revealed that 52% believe the right age is between 13 to 16, while 31% thought upward of 17 years or older, and 10% believe its those in the 9 to 12 age group. Probably the most revealing stat is that 48% of parents with children aged 11 and older now carry a cell phone.
Here are some other findings from the survey, specifically on mobile etiquette and safety.
33% said they set ground rules, such as no talking while driving or walking;
32% limit use to where its appropriate;
27% use password protection;
18% program emergency contacts into phones and discuss when and how to use them;
12% try to conceal their phones in public;
9% set parental controls on devices; and
8% use GPS to track the whereabouts of family members.
Source: CNW
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23
July
2012
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Samsung has surpassed their own record and has announced that their newest flagship device the Galaxy S III has reached 10 million in sales in less than two months. The device, which is designed for humans, runs Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and was originally released on May 29th in London, then gradually launched in 145 countries with availability across 296 carriers worldwide. The Canadian release kicked off on June 27th from various carriers including Rogers, Bell, TELUS, WIND, Mobilicity, SaskTel and Videotron.
According to the report in the Korean publication Yonhap, Samsung is seeing about 190,000 GS III sales each day, thus smashing the previous record of the Galaxy S II hitting the 10 million mark in 5 months after launch.
No word on specific country breakdowns were you part of the 10 million?
Source: Yonhap
Via: TNW
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16
July
2012
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The new iPhone is all but certain to have a 4-inch screen, but newly-leaked front pieces for the black and white versions seems to confirm that Apple will be moving the FaceTime camera to the middle of the headpiece. Since the iPhone 4, the FaceTime camera has been offset left of centre, disrupting the otherwise-symmetrical face of the phone.
The parts, obtained by Apple.pro, suggest that Apple is unifying the design of the iPhone with that of the iPod Touch, which introduced a centred FaceTime camera in its fourth-generation model two years ago. It has yet to receive a design refresh since then, but the new iPhone is expected to encroach on the iPodfs thinness title later this year.
While itfs possible these could be fake, theyfre too evolutionary to be the work of a great artist. As we saw previously with the mockups of the new iPhone, people love to speculate on what new versions of the device will look like. At this point, unless another iPhone-left-at-a-bar situation repeats, wefre waiting until at least September for the announcement.
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10
July
2012
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RIM had another opportunity to convey its consistent message today since the announcement of a BlackBerry 10 delay and its first quarterly loss. The companys Annual General Meeting (AGM) is happening now in Waterloo, Ontario, the companys home town and, at least for now, the countrys tech R&D centre.
Much of what was said during the AGM was a repeat of last weeks PR blitz, in which Thorsten Heins and Andrew Mcleod ensured us that despite a delay in BB10 coming to market, the fundamentals are assured in the world of RIM. Heins reiterated that the delay was not due to any fundamental problems with the OS, but a code integration problem. There are millions of lines of code that the company has to adapt to be compatible with their existing network architecture, and they want to get it right the first time. No compromise has been a line used again and again to describe BlackBerry 10 and it was repeated many times during the meeting today.
But there will continue to be challenges. Heins expects the company to lose money for the next few quarters, as they continue their difficult transition. This includes cutting 5,000 jobs and selling a corporate jet in an effort to cut $1 billion in annual operating expenses. The company will first release a touchscreen-only device, followed shortly thereafter by a Bold-like BB10 product with a QWERTY keyboard. We can also expect a Torch-like slider at some point, but details remain very thin.
Many shareholder questions were aimed at Heins ability to operate a company of this size and importance to the Canadian economy. There are a lot of very disappointed, and angry, investors who have lost a lot of money to RIMs sliding share price. The company aims to continue pushing BB7 very hard in the run-up to BB10. Heins reminded us that BlackBerry owns the QWERTY keyboard space and that many Fortune 500 companies are among the 78 million active BlackBerry users. To boot, there are 56 million active BBM users.
An important thing to note is that RIM is exploring licensing options for BB10 including, it seems, BBM. That might lead to yet another round of BBM for iOS and Android rumours, but the consensus seems that RIM is being very careful about its most lucrative and consumer-facing brand.
The company is already entrenched in its recovery phase, having already saved $300 million of its desired $1 billion. With remaining employees working six days per week, and a sell-off of important assets, by the time the dust settles this will be a very different company from the one we see now.
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