Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Apple is getting closer to launching the next version of the iPhone later this year. If the Cupertino, Calif.-based company wants to keep up with Samsung, Google and others, it needs to innovate. And fast. That’s where the tip of your finger comes in to play.
Michael Barrett, chief information security officer of PayPal, hinted that Apple and other smartphone manufacturers are going to incorporate fingerprint readers on their smartphones as part of new way to protect personal information. “It’s widely rumored that a large technology provider in Cupertino, Calif., will come out with a phone later this year that has a fingerprint reader on it,” he said.
This rumor has been around for a while, but it’s the first time we’ve heard an executive at a major company seemingly confirm it. “There is going to be a fingerprint enabled phone on the market later this year,” Barrett said during a keynote address at Interop. “Not just one, multiple.”
Apple’s purchase of AuthenTec is going to play a major part in this. It was a shrewd move that CEO Tim Cook made that has gone largely unnoticed. Not only will the technology provide Apple with a cool new feature designed to get away from passwords, but AuthenTec was a major supplier to Samsung. Cook simultaneously hurt Samsung, while helping Apple. Not bad for a guy who some have wrongfully said should lose his job, amid a steep decline in the stock.
Earnings and revenue have slowed drastically year-over-year, and though the third quarter may be the earnings trough as Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White suggests it is, Apple still needs to show to the market and consumers its products are “must-have.”
Apple needs a hit feature on the next iPhone to show that innovation is alive and well in Cupertino. Fingerprint scanning technology, along with an updated version of iOS 7, could be just that.
Source: BGR.com
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Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Announced today during BlackBerry Live 2013, BBM is set to go cross-platform this summer. That means BlackBerry, iOS and Android users will able be able to chat seamlessly over BBM very soon.
Cross-platform BBM is long overdue but is sure to make for plenty of happy BlackBerry users in just a few months.
The rollout will first include just chat, but soon to follow will be BBM Voice, BBM Video and even BBM Channels. Users on iOS and Android will get the same features of BBM that BlackBerry users already have so it should be pretty exciting. Best of all? It will still be totally free.
Plenty more on this to come soon so stay tuned!
Press Release
BBM for iOS and Android to Launch This Summer
WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – May 14, 2013) – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB) today announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), available to iOS® and Android™ users this summer, with support planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, all subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. BBM sets the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, engaging experience that includes delivered and read statuses, and personalized profiles and avatars. Upon release, BBM customers would be able to broaden their connections to include friends, family and colleagues on other mobile platforms.
In the planned initial release, iOS and Android users would be able to experience the immediacy of BBM chats, including multi-person chats, as well as the ability to share photos and voice notes, and engage in BBM Groups, which allows BBM customers to create groups of up to 30 people.
“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.
BBM is loved by customers for its “D” and “R” statuses, which show up in chats to let people know with certainty that their message has been delivered and read. It provides customers with a high level of control and privacy over who they add to their contact list and how they engage with them, as invites are two-way opt-in. iOS and Android users would be able to add their contacts through PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan, regardless of platform. Android users would also be able to connect using a compatible NFC-capable device.
BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps. Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are.
Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.
If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download in the Apple® App Store(SM) and Google Play store. Additional details about system requirements and availability will be announced closer to the launch.
Source: Crackberry.com
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Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
Well as if the hint of Skype from our BlackBerry Q10 review unit wasn’t enough, we just got word from BlackBerry that Skype will indeed be available for the BlackBerry Q10 at launch. With just about a week to go before the Q10 hits Canada, BlackBerry fans all over can rest easy knowing that we’ll soon enough be able to Skype on the go from the Q10.
We tested out the Android-ported Skype a bit during our review and couldn’t be happier that it’s finally landing on BlackBerry 10.
No word on if Skype will also be available for the Z10 as well, but we’d expect that to show up sometime around the release of OS 10.1 in the coming weeks.
Other apps such as Angry Birds, Box, Nobex Radio, Dropbox, USA Today, Press Reader, WSJ and Need for Speed Undercover will all be available for the Q10 at launch as well.
Source: Crackberry.com
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Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
If you’re in Canada it looks like the wait to get your hands on a BlackBerry Q10 won’t be much longer. We got word today that Rogers, TELUS, Bell and a handful of other Canadian carriers will be offering up the full-QWERTY Q10 starting May 1st. While pre-orders have been available for a few weeks now, just a few more days and you’ll be able to grab one for yourself in stores and online.
The Q10 will run you $199 on a 3-year term and will also be available on Virgin Mobile Canada, Fido, Koodo Mobile, and Sasktel. Best Buy, Future Shop, TBooth Wireless, The Source, Walmart Canada and WIRELESSWAVE will all sell the Q10 as well.
Still no word from WIND on a release date nor anything at all regarding the Q10 from Mobilicity.
Will you be picking up a Q10?
Source: Crackberry.com
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Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
While Windows 8 has a lot going for it, it’s also proven to be a very polarizing operating system that many users have criticized for departing too much from earlier versions. The most common complaint lobbed at Windows 8 is that it lacks the classic Start button that Microsoft users have long relied on as a central navigation tool. But with rumors percolating that Microsoft is considering dialing back some of the changes it made to Windows with the next major update to the operating system, Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder is encouraging the company to go all-out and bring back the Start button as a nod to users’ constructive criticisms.
“Numerous Start Button emulators with names like StartIsBack, Pokki, and StartMenu are proliferating — and many of them are free,” Gownder writes. “Yet I&O departments can’t support users easily with these emulators and would prefer a Start Button that’s simply part of the OS.”
Gownder also addresses potential concerns that Microsoft may have about selling its vision of touch-enabled PCs short by bringing back the Start button. In essence, Gownder thinks users will happily accept the return of the Start button and will be thankful to the company for taking their concerns into account.
“During the period when the Windows Store’s modern UI apps continue to grow in number and sophistication, Windows 8 users need to have the strongest possible Desktop Mode experience,” he writes. “Empowering users with familiar tools wouldn’t be a sign of surrender, but rather a sign that Microsoft listens to its customers.”
Source: BGR.com
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Thursday, April 11th, 2013
Have you received this email?
“Thought this was good info from the Gov’t of Canada ….if you have a cell phone.
REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
REMINDER….. all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and
you will start to receive sales calls.
…. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS!!
To prevent this, go to the following web-site for Canadian Telephone Numbers:
http://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/ and then click on English & then on “check my registration.”
Then click on “extend my registration”.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.
It blocks your number for five (5) years.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON.
It takes about 20 seconds. “
While this email states that you will be charged for the phone calls, it’s more or less a scare tactic by someone fed up with tele-marketers.
The website www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca is a legitimate website to list your phone number to help prevent telemarketers. You can verify this by visiting the CRTC’s website @ www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/info_sht/g9.htm
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