Octopus Keyboard brings a BlackBerry 10 styled keyboard to the iPhone

By Jeff Benjamin on May 13, 2012

I may be in the minority, but I think RIM seems to be on the right track with their recently unveiled BlackBerry 10 operating system. There’s nothing in it exactly groundbreaking, but at least RIM appears to be building on a solid foundation for the future.

Whether or not BlackBerry 10 is enough to save the reeling company still remains to be seen, but at the very least it’s a good attempt by the Waterloo, Ontario based smartphone maker.

As a testament to how much better BlackBerry 10 is when compared to previous BlackBerry software, a jailbreak tweak has been created that actually emulates the functionality of a BlackBerry. Has that ever been done before?

Octopus Keyboard is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that seeks to bring RIM’s new gesture based predictive typing to iPhone users. The tweak is still in the early stages of development, but developer, Mario Hros, was kind enough to give me sneak peak of what he’s been concocting.

Take a look inside for a full video walkthrough of Octopus Keyboard in action… Read More

 

Android holds 51% of US smartphone market, iOS at 31%

By Cody Lee on May 2, 2012

ComScore is out with a new report this week regarding US smartphone platform marketshare for the March quarter. And the highly-regarded marketing research firm provides an interesting look at the current smartphone landscape by OS.

Google, as you might have expected, is still in the lead with its Android operating system. Apple’s iOS is in a [comparatively] close second, and RIM and Microsoft come in at a distant third and fourth. Keep reading for a full breakdown… Read More

 

RIM unveils new BB10 operating system

By Cody Lee on May 1, 2012

It’s pretty common knowledge that the smartphone space currently belongs to Android and iOS. The two platforms make up more than 70% of the market, which at one time belonged to the likes of Microsoft and RIM.

But neither company saw the iPhone coming, and both failed to respond quickly. Now they’re fighting for the crucial “third platform” spot. Microsoft with its Windows Phone OS, and RIM with its new BB10… Read More

 

RIM confirms it was behind recent ‘Wake Up’ stunt

By Cody Lee on May 1, 2012

Finally, all of the speculation can come to an end. Remember that ridiculous ‘wake up’ flash mob that hit an Australian Apple store a few days ago? Of course you do, we’ve been hearing about it nonstop.

Well as it turns out, Macworld was right. RIM was behind the whole thing. How do we know? Well, because the BlackBerry-makers just gave a statement to Macworld Australia confirming it… Read More

 

RIM posts BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server with enterprise support for iOS devices

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 3, 2012

The ailing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion today released the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion enterprise server software, first announced last November.

Among the features is built-in support for tablets and smartphones running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android software.

This is the first time RIM comprehensively supported iOS mobile devices in a major corporate enterprise server software. Read More

 

Apple’s iPhone beats BlackBerry in RIM’s home turf

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 22, 2012

Tapping IDC data, Bloomberg says Apple’s iPhone last year outsold Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphone in Canada, where the embattled BlackBerry maker is headquartered. The numbers say Apple shipped 2.85 million iPhones in Canada last year versus 2.08 million BlackBerrys.

Compare this to 2010 when the BlackBerry topped the iPhone by half a million. It gets even better as “this is down from 2008 when RIM out shipped Apple almost five to one”, the publication noted.
Read More

 

The BlackBerry loses another government agency to the iPhone

By Oliver Haslam on Feb 29, 2012

Research In Motion is having a bit of a hard time of late. Their BlackBerry brand of smartphones are seeing slower sales than the Canadian firm is accustomed to, and the company’s PlayBook tablet is floundering at best.

Business across the globe are dropping BlackBerry as their smartphone handset and business software provider in droves, and now it appears that there is another nail being driven into the RIM coffin, with the news that The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is dropping BlackBerry in favor of the iPhone.

The ATF’s Chief Information Office claims that the agency is going to “delete the BlackBerry form the mix,” which cannot be good reading for RIM’s latest CEO… Read More

 

The top 3 smartphones sold in 2011 were iPhones

By Jake Smith on Feb 24, 2012

The iPhone has seen an enormous amount of success worldwide. Apple announced during its fiscal Q1 2012 earnings report that the iPhone sold a total of 37 million units in one quarter. Ranked the third phone manufacturer in the world, Apple is continuing to sell an abundance of iPhones.

When it comes to iPhone sales in the US, Apple sold the top three smartphones in 2011, according to a new report released by ComScore. The iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4S found their way into the most hands of consumers… Read More

 

Halliburton to Switch Entire Company From BlackBerry to iOS This Year

By Cody Lee on Feb 6, 2012

Halliburton, based out of Houston, Texas, is one of the largest energy services companies in the world. It has operations in more than 70 countries and employs over 60,000 people.

Given that information, you can see why it’s such a big deal that the company has recently announced its intentions to ditch RIM’s BlackBerry platform in favor of the iPhone and iOS… Read More

 

RIM Looking into BlackBerry Messenger for Other Platforms

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 27, 2012

RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins may have inherited a sinking ship, but he seems determined to explore all avenues in his attempt to find an escape route for the ailing Canadian firm.

Having previously been very keen to keep its BlackBerry Messenger crown jewel as a key feature that is exclusive to its hardware, BlackBerry smartphones may not be the only ones to support it some time in the future. RIM’s new CEO outlined his company’s openness to such a move during an interview with CrackBerry.

If RIM was to license its SMS-like instant messaging system to third parties then it could stript the firm’s handsets of arguably their biggest feature… Read More

 

iPad Takes 96% of Tablets Activated in Enterprise, iPhone Takes 53%

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 26, 2012

Apple may appear to be the biggest tablet vendor on the planet with the company selling iPads hand over fist, but it seems that end-users are not the only ones taking a shine to the tablet.

According to new figures from enterprise mobile services vendor Good Technology, the iPad made up 96% of the tablets activated at the 2,000 companies that use its services.

The iPhone is proving popular in the enterprise also, with 53% of the smartphones activated being of the Apple variety… Read More

 

RIM’s Co-CEOs Step Down, Former COO Takes the Helm

By Cody Lee on Jan 22, 2012

Breaking news out of Waterloo, Canada tonight. Research In Motion’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have stepped down from their co-CEO roles. The company’s former COO, Thorsten Heins, has been tapped as their replacement.

RIM’s board of directors and major stock holders have been calling for the move for quite some time now. The company, which was once a major player in the smartphone industry, is now holding on to a dismal 6% of the market… Read More

 

iPhone Usage Dropped Almost 5% During December

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 7, 2012

Despite what is sure to be a record-breaking month for Apple’s iPhone sales, it appears that the handset’s usage share may have actually fallen by almost 5%, if new figures are to be believed.

Advertising network Chikita has released data based on the number of ad impressions across its network while highlighting the top smartphone makers in the arena, with the iPhone seeing a reduction in its share during December.

The big gains came from Android-loving HTC and Samsung during the same period… Read More

 

SMS on the Decline with iMessage and IM to Blame

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 4, 2012

This Christmas saw lower than normal numbers for SMS, according to new numbers released by Forbes. As is to be expected, certain times during the year cause higher than usual numbers of SMS messages to be sent.

Major sporting events are one cause, as is events Christmas and the ringing in of a new year. The numbers this year show that we sent less messages through the carriers’ SMS networks than we did last year, which will no doubt be a concern to those same carriers who have been overcharging us for years to send a few characters of text. Read More

 

Apple’s App Store is Worth More Than All of RIM

By Alex Heath on Dec 19, 2011

Things aren’t looking good for Research in Motion. The Blackberry makers have failed to produce a viable smartphone competitor for the market year after year, and stock has continued tanking to new lows.

With RIM’s stock reaching $13.44 per share, the total company value was at $7.04 billion as of last week. The App Store is worth $7.08 billion, making the entirety of RIM worth less than only one part of Apple’s business. Read More

 

10% of US Mobile Subscribers Own iPhones

By Oliver Haslam on Dec 5, 2011

A new survey carried about by comScore claims that only 1 out of 10 American mobile subscribers own an iPhone, with Apple’s handset reaching the 10.8% mark as of October 2011.

The survey also suggests that Samsung is currently the top OEM in the country, with their phones currently in the hands of a quarter of all cellphone owners.

In fact, of the top five OEMs in comScore’s chart, Apple sits fourth, behind Samsung (25.5%), LG (20.6%) and Motorola (13.6%). Canadian firm Research In Motion takes fifth place with an ever-decreasing share of the market. Not great times for BlackBerry fans at all… Read More

 

RIM to Offer Enterprise Tools for iPhone and Android

By Oliver Haslam on Nov 29, 2011

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That’s the approach BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is taking with its ailing smartphone market. The company has announced that it will be offering an easy way to get iPhones and Android users plugged into its enterprise tools.

The move by the once-dominant force in the business smartphone industry illustrates the relevance that Apple and Google have made in a sector that was almost entirely owned by RIM not that long ago.

Perhaps more importantly, this may well be the first sign of RIM trying to move away from offering hardware, in an attempt to concentrate on the software and security their past successes were built on. Read More

 

iPhone Owners Are More Loyal Than Android Owners

By Oliver Haslam on Nov 25, 2011

We love our iPhones here at iDB, and even if we do play with an Android or Windows Phone 7 device here and there, we always come back to our iDevices without fail.

According to a new study by research firm GfK, we’re not the only ones captivated by our fruity phones. The report claims that of the survey’s 4,500 participants across Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, the United States, and Japan, 84% of current iPhone owners said they would buy another iPhone in the next twelve months.

That number drops to a comparatively low 60% for Android users… Read More

 

VoIP-Based Services Like iMessage Reportedly Eating Carriers’ Lunches

By Oliver Haslam on Nov 19, 2011

With third-party instant messaging apps, Apple’s own iMessage, and VoIP services becoming more prevalent, it is to be expected that at some point mobile networks will see a reduction in revenue as people move away from using SMS and voice calling.

What we didn’t really expect is the move to start happening so soon. But according to one report, carriers are already feeling the pinch.

Research carried out by infrastructure solutions provider Mavenir Systems on behalf of mobileSQUARED suggests that carriers are already finding that third-party solutions are beginning to impact their business, and it’s only going to get worse for the bottom line… Read More

 

WhatsApp Now Sending 1 Billion Messages a Day, Gives iMessage a Mountain to Climb

By Oliver Haslam on Nov 3, 2011

WhatsApp, one of the most loved cross-platform messaging services, has reached a real milestone, with the news that its collection of apps are sending 1 billion messages per day.

Covering iOS, Android, and just about every other mobile platform out there, WhatsApp has one massive advantage over the likes of BlackBerry Messenger and iMessage, and that’s its cross-platform roots… Read More

 
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