Another survey says more than half want an iPhone 5 for Christmas

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 13, 2012

After getting off to a shaky start, more than half of consumers shopping for a smartphone plan to buy an iPhone 5, according to a new Wall Street survey. Likewise, Twitter chatter indicates a growing number of Internet users hope to find Apple’s new handset under the Christmas tree.

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster told investors Thursday that 53.3 percent of a group polled Wednesday said they plan to purchase the iPhone 5 over the next month. That number is just slightly below the 54.9 percent found in mid-October, following the new smartphone’s launch… Read More

 

RIM lost Nokia suit, now faces BlackBerry ban

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 28, 2012

An interesting opportunity has presented itself to Microsoft following news that Canada-based Research In Motion has lost a legal dispute with Nokia over wireless technology patents. As a result, RIM could see BlackBerry handsets banned unless it agrees to pay royalties to Nokia. As things stand, Nokia has already filed cases in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom to enforce the ruling, a move that could see all Blackberry smartphones removed from store shelves.

“In order to enforce the Tribunal’s ruling, we have now filed actions in the US, UK and Canada with the aim of ending RIM’s breach of contract”, Nokia said in a statement. If the courts enforce the sales ban, consequences for the ailing BlackBerry maker could be devastating while opening door to Microsoft’s Windows Phone becoming the #3 mobile platform… Read More

 

IDC: Android and iOS to surpass BlackBerry in enterprise this year

By Cody Lee on Nov 28, 2012

According to a new study by market research firm IDC, the iPhone will combine with Android handsets to overtake BlackBerry’s enterprise marketshare for the first time ever this year. This is a major threat to RIM’s struggling mobile platform, which has been using its popularity in the enterprise market to stay afloat as its consumer sales have plummeted… Read More

 

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board drops BlackBerry for iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 21, 2012

Last month, the U.S. Immigration and Customer Enforcement agency and government consultant Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. both announced plans to drop BlackBerry smartphones and deploy iPhones and Android devices instead. The Pentagon is also prepping to deploy Apple’s and Google’s platform.

The Defense Department is conducting search for a contractor that will build a system to manage and secure a fleet of 162,500 iPhones, iPads and Android devices. And now, rubbing salt into the wound, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board confirms it will be making the switch.

In a document posted last week to a federal website, the agency dissed BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, writing its devices have been “failing both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate”. Ouch! Read More

 

The Pentagon plans to deploy iOS and Android devices

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 29, 2012

In a new report from The Washington Post based on a document by the Defense Department, the Pentagon is reported as tapping contractors as it preps to deploy at least 162,500 iOS and Android devices, potentially expanding to up to eight million devices. It’s another blow to Canada-based Research In Motion, which despite its single-digit smartphone share in the United States still enjoys a relatively large, albeit diminishing following amongst governmental agencies. This would mark the first time the Pentagon opened its network to iPhones and Android devices… Read More

 

Another blunder for RIM as government agencies dump BlackBerries for iPhones

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 22, 2012

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry not that long ago was the dominant smartphone platform. Due to its incompetent management all too easily waving off the iPhone threat, which along with Android went on to slaughter the BlackBerry in the consumer space, RIM has now sought a retreat in big corporations and government agencies – its only remaining strongholds.

The problem is, the enterprise market is now dropping BlackBerries in droves and governments around the world are following suit. The latest example: both the U.S. Immigration and Customer Enforcement agency and government consultant Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. are dropping a total of nearly 50,000 BlackBerry handsets in favor of iPhones and devices powered by Google’s Android software… Read More

 

The BlackBerry stigma: folks no longer wield BlackBerries with pride

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 16, 2012

It’s just sad that such a great company can become so disillusioned and lost in time. Apparently, as reported by The New York Times, BlackBerry devices have become a magnet for mockery and derision from iPhone and Android owners. Worse, people apparently suffer from shame and public humiliation because their BlackBerry cannot do cool things like iPhones and Android devices.

Now, I use both the iPhone and an Android device and it never even crossed my mind to judge someone by their smartphone, even if that’s apparently how some bosses behave these days. As a result, people are becoming increasingly wary pulling their BlackBerries in meetings (I’m not making this up).

Remember, stylish (and mostly black) BlackBerry phones with their clickety-clack keyboards used to be a status symbol of the high-powered and the elite. What a difference a few years make… Read More

 

iPhone share rising, everyone else looks flat or down

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 2, 2012

Analytics firm comScore is out with new research data concerning the mobile landscape in the United States during August. Good news for Apple: the iOS is on the rise among smartphones, going from 31.9 percent during the three-month period ending in May 2012 to 34.3 percent in June, July and August.

During the same timeframe, Google’s Android went from 50.9 percent to 52.6 percent smartphone market share. Better still, Apple grew at a faster clip than Google. Microsoft’s Windows Phone, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and Symbian? All losing ground… Read More

 

RIM confirms new phones, BlackBerry 10 OS is essentially complete

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 14, 2012

Good news for fans of Research In Motion: the embattled BlackBerry maker may soon see some much-needed light at the end of a long tunnel as the company has confirmed putting finishing touches on the way overdue BlackBerry 10 operating system. RIM also has some new phones and they’re all done, too.

Yesterday, RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins agitated spirits with news that his company is actively seeking partners to license BlackBerry 10 software, which was unveiled three months ago. It would mark a significant departure for RIM as the company never allowed a third-party to make BlackBerry-certified handsets.

Today, Heins reveals a couple more tidbits on the state of the BlackBerry platform… Read More

 

RIM confirms plans to license BlackBerry 10 OS to others

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 13, 2012

According to Bloomberg, Canada-based maker of BlackBerry handsets, Research In Motion, will be licensing its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system to a smartphone manufacturer, Bloomberg reports. Apparently the company is evaluating options as we speak, considering how other companies may be able to use it in a range of products. This is the last nail in the coffin of RIM as we used to know it… Read More

 

Samsung could buy RIM to rival Apple in enterprise

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 8, 2012

Canada-based Research In Motion is declining rapidly. Its ailing BlackBerry platform has been reduced to a single-digit market share, it has a $1 billion backlog of unsold tablets and smartphones, corporations are abandoning their phones in droves and the BlackBerry 10 operating system has been delayed until 2013.

In between staging stupid stunts and fighting Apple over Nano SIM, the embattled company found time to replace its co-CEOs with a new guy, Thorsten Heins, who is shedding jobs left and right as creditors and advisers plot possible scenarios, including selling off its server messaging platform and the BlackBerry hardware biz… Read More

 

Siri-like voice assistant turns up in latest BlackBerry 10 alpha update

By Cody Lee on Jul 21, 2012

No matter what your opinion of Siri is, you have to admit that it has really sparked an interest in digital assistants. Voice commands and recognition obviously existed long before the feature, but not like this.

And you don’t have to look any further than the competition for proof. Shortly after Apple unveiled its Assistant last fall, other manufacturers started beefing up their voice technology. Samsung, for example, now has its S-Voice, LG has Quick Voice, and there are several others bubbling up… Read More

 

Android is still losing one-third of current users to the iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 17, 2012

A few interesting observations from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster’s note to clients (via Fortune), issued this morning. Munster conducted his annual cell phone survey and found out that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of polled respondents would pick an iPhone as their next handset. Only one in five (19 percent) plan to go with Android and just 2.5 percent, or one in forty, will stay loyal to their BlackBerry, a result of RIM’s downturn.

What’s more, 51 percent of respondents who planned on making the iPhone their next smartphone (whether current iPhone users or not) said they were waiting for the next iPhone… Read More

 

The exodus begins: corporate America abandoning BlackBerry for iOS and Android

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 9, 2012

As Research In Motion’s woes deepen amid lay offs, outrageous losses five times bigger than projected and news that its long-expected BlackBerry 10 software won’t arrive until next year, a significant number of high-profile and profitable corporate customers are readying contingency plans, a tell tale sign that, unfortunately, the window of opportunity for the BlackBerry as we know it is closing fast… Read More

 

Octopus Keyboard now available on Cydia

By Jeff Benjamin on Jul 2, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s here. After much anticipation, Octopus Keyboard is now available on Cydia.

As we first previewed a couple of months ago, Octopus Keyboard imitates the BlackBerry 10 keyboard on iOS. Be sure to check out our video walkthrough for a high level synopsis of how it works.

Once you’ve done that, head over to Cydia, and add the necessary repo to download Octopus Keyboard now. Or you can wait a while for it to appear on Cydia’s default BigBoss repo.

Check inside for our hands-on video walkthrough of the final version of Octopus Keyboard… Read More

 

iPhone’s share in US nearing 1 in every 3 smartphones

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 2, 2012

Research firm comScore is out with a new survey of the United States smartphone market and the numbers paint dire picture for everyone but Apple and Samsung. More importantly, data shows that the iPhone’s growth during the three month average period ending May 2012 outpaced Android, with Cupertino’s market share approaching 1 in every 3 smartphone subscribers… Read More

 

iOS in the lead with nearly two-thirds of mobile web share in June

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 2, 2012

Research firm NetApplications yesterday issued a new mobile web usage share report which outlines mobile and tablet operating system share trends for the month of July 2012. iOS leads the pack in mobile web share and by a huge margin, too. The numbers also paint an alarming trend for RIM, which is now heading to a zero market share as the ailing BlackBerry maker struggles to turn its fortunes around… Read More

 

Is there any hope left for Nokia? (probably not)

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 15, 2012

It’s not a typo: I really meant Nokia, not RIM. Look, the writing’s on the wall. In the first quarter of 2012, only Apple and Samsung reaped benefits of the 41 percent year-over-year growth in the smartphone biz.

Together, the two frenemies accounted for 55 percent of global smartphone shipments in Q1 and an astounding 90 percent of the profits.

Apple shipped 35 million iPhones in Q1 while Samsung recorded 43 million global shipments. None of this is surprising. What’s stunning is how sharp Nokia’s decline is. Of all companies, beleaguered RIM, whose Q1 shipments dipped 20 percent, may soon surpass Nokia… Read More

 

iOS apps running on BlackBerry PlayBook and Windows box

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 13, 2012

Developer who goes under a code-name “Businesscat2000″ posted something really interesting-looking on the CrackBerry forum, an app player of sorts which can run native iOS apps on Research In Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

The program is demoed runnin a number of popular iOS apps and games, such as Tom Tom, Super Monkey Ball, Tiny Tower, Sushi Cat, iFart and more. It’s also available for various other platforms, including Windows. Two more videos are right after the break… Read More

 

RIM’s backlog hits $1 billion worth of unsold BlackBerrys and PlayBooks

By Christian Zibreg on May 29, 2012

Just as we thought things couldn’t get any worse for the embattled BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, more bad news hits the wires on a daily basis.

It’s been revealed today just how unimpressed customers are with RIM’s current lineup of BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet, as these two product categories now commanded a staggering backlog of $1 billion in unsold inventory in the last quarter, up from $618 million a year earlier… Read More

 
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