Latest Gear Live Videos
Video: Blackberry Playbook shown off at TabLife
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Handhelds, Videos,
At a Rogers TabLife conference this past week David Neale from RIM provided a very interesting first look at their upcoming tablet, the BlackBerry Playbook. As he commented about the media skepticism on whether the recently announced tablet was up to par with the iPad and Android tablets, or if it even existed, he said "it does live!" The video presentation showed the fast processor, 1080p video, flash browser and multi-tasking. He also promised that the unit was not finished too and that it would be even faster. In the questions part of the interview he touched on the fact that the tablet is aimed at the "professional grade" audience. He also said security was a top concern, and that it would securely pair with BlackBerry smartphones via Bluetooth. He stated that 7-inches would be the form factor for the first instance, but that he could see more sizes coming in the future, and even devices with keyboards. Check out the video for more interesting tidbits from the 18 minutes presentation.
Read More 
| Vimeo
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RIM acquires TAT
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News,
Research In Motion announced today the joining of The Astonishing Tribe, or TAT, to their team. TAT has been involved in many mobile user interface designs, such as the original Android UI on the T-Mobile G1, and will be lending their artistry to the BlackBerry PlayBook and RIM's smartphone platforms. What does this mean for BlackBerry users? Well, judging by TAT’s previous design efforts they’re going to be some happy BBMers.
Read More | BlackBerry Blog
Beyond the iPhone: Why Paying Attention to the Diverse Mobile Devices and Channels Pays Dividends
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Software,
With more than 45 million smartphone and tablet users nationwide and ABI Research predicting that 6 billion mobile applications will be downloaded this year alone, businesses, especially those looking to reach consumers, have been frenzied about launching mobile offerings. In the past several years, much of the buzz surrounding the mobile space has been about the iPhone. With the debut of the iPhone 4 earlier this year, many businesses continue to focus their mobile strategy resources solely on this much-hyped operating system. In fact, a recent Kony Solutions survey of Fortune 500 corporations found that a staggering 85% of respondents ranked the iPhone as their top priority device for mobile support.
However, the current mobile landscape is quite fragmented - given the sheer number of handsets available to consumers - and the market isn’t necessarily dominated by the iPhone. A 2010 Gartner report estimated that the iPhone holds just 2.7% of the mobile market share. Notably, Android has surpassed Apple’s iOS, and comScore recently reported that RIM actually continues to capture the most smartphone market share (although Apple just announced that they've surpassed RIM for Q4 2010.) As such, the true market share of the iPhone doesn’t warrant the resources and strategy being dedicated solely to this device by Fortune 500 corporations, and companies in this position stand to lose more than 97% of mobile customers.
Android surpasses iOS and BlackBerry as the most popular smartphone OS
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Data acquired by Nielsen in this graph shows the past 8 months of Android‘s steady rise to the top as the most popular OS. While iOS took a major dive around June, and BlackBerry OS continuing to swerve in both directions like a drunk behind the wheel. This puts Android at 32% of new phone purchases, with Apple and BlackBerry closely tailing each other at 25% and 26% respectively. Though, RIM still remains in the overall lead, boasting the most users of their OS in the US market.
Click to continue reading Android surpasses iOS and BlackBerry as the most popular smartphone OS
Read More | Nielsen
BlackBerry Playbook: The RIM tablet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,
Today RIM (Research in Motion) finally introduced the world to the BlackBerry Playbook. The Playbook is a 7-inch tablet that RIM hopes will be a healthy competitor to the Apple iPad, and runs its own custom version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS.
The insides of this thing sound pretty good as well, and almost put the iPad to shame: a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, front and rear facing cameras that both support high definition, Flash 10.1 with hardware acceleration, HDMI out, USB, and HTML5 support. It’s got a widescreen 1024 x 600 display that supports multi-touch, and RIM was proud to announce that the Playbook will connect with BlackBerry enterprise servers right out of the box. Now, on paper this thing sounds powerful, but it’s really going to be the UI and user experience in software that will make or break this thing.
RIM says that the Playbook isn’t just for business, and that its OpenGL support is perfect for gaming. It also has e-reader capabilities, and a full web browser, as previously mentioned. Expect the BlackBerry App World to make an appearance here as well, along with in-app purchase integration that developers will be able to tap in to. RIM also says that the BlackBerry Playbook will be offerred in 3G and 4G models in the future.
BlackBerry Torch launches on ATT on August 12 for $199
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software, Videos,
This morning Research in Motion formally announced the much anticipated BlackBerry Torch (formerly the 9800,) and we must say, we’re kind of excited about it. The Torch has got a bunch of features that make it a formidable competitor in the smartphone space. Things like a full QWERTY keyboard portrait slider, 5 megapixel camera with flash, 3.2-inch touchscreen display (480x360,) 802.11n support, GPS, and much more. It’s got 4GB of internal storage and ships with a 4GB microSD card as well. 512MB RAM and a quad-band 3G radio that’ll let you use it across the world. One of the more interesting features is MEdia Sync, which lets you sync your content to the device right over WI-Fi. Oh, and did we mention that it runs the new BlackBerry 6 operating system? AT&T has got the exclusive on this one, and it launches in nine days on AUgust 12th, available for $199 with a two-year contract.
Wanna see it in action? Hit the break for a couple of BlackBerry Torch introductory videos!
Click to continue reading BlackBerry Torch launches on ATT on August 12 for $199
Read More | AT&T
A sneak peek at BlackBerry 6
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Software, Videos,
BlackBerry 6 is on track to launch later this summer, so Research In Motion (RIM) is aiming to get you hyped by releasing bits of information about the major revision to the BlackBerry operating system, slowly but surely. Today, we’ve got a video showing off the fluid BlackBerry 6 interface, giving us a look at some key features that have us pretty excited for what’s ahead. Hit the video above for a look at universal search, Social Feeds, the revamped WebKit-based BlackBerry browser, and more.
BlackBerry 6 OS shown at RIM WES 2010 keynote
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Software, Videos,
This morning at WES 2010, RIM finally took the wraps off of their upcoming BlackBerry 6 operating system, introducing it with the video you see above. While it’s easy to be captivated by the dancers, when you focus on the actual screen activity being teased here, you see that this is all focused on touchscreen gestures, but we are sure that RIM won’t be throwing away that true QWERTY keyboard anytime soon. Also, interestingly enough, the web browser got almost no play at all in the video. Maybe they’ve still got some work to do on that one. Still, it’s nice to see the company progressing and aiming to bring BlackBerry devices a bunch of new hotness in the near future.
Europe Chooses micro-USB Phone Charger Standard
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Peripherals,
We wish that other places were as up to date technologically as Europe. Sony Ericsson, Nokia, RIM, Apple and other companies have joined with the European Union to standardize a universal USB cell phone charger next year. Not only will it be easier to only have one charger, it will be good for the environment. Phones built with the new standard in mind should start hitting European shelves next year.
Read More | Yahoo!
BlackBerry Popularity Tops iPhone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
RIM has taken the top spot with its BlackBerry as the most popular smartphone in the first quarter of 2009. Their market share jumped 15%, giving it 50% of the market, while Apple and Palm each lost 10%. A study by NPD claims that aggressive promotions such as the “buy-one-get-one” Curve deal contributed to the popularity. The Storm came in third while the Pearl came in fourth. The G1 took the 5th spot. We expect that this may be a temporary position, as Apple will undoubtedly fight back.
[Editor: Oh, and of course, Apple didn’t do any sort of “buy one, get one” with the iPhone, which is certainly helping pad those BlackBerry numbers.]
Read More | Apple Insider
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