Tag: Mobile Tech

BlackBerry OS 6 Coming in Q3 2010

According to Engadget, RIM will be releasing BlackBerry OS 6 in Q3 2010. Although RIM’s BlackBerry phones are still the kings of the business world, they’ve been losing market share in the consumer smartphone space, where Apple’s iPhone and various Google Android devices are dominating. One of the biggest deficiencies in BlackBerry OS is its web browser, which is primitive and clunky compared to the WebKit browsers on Android and iPhone. OS 6 will address the browser issue and more. Here’s more from RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis courtesy of Engadget:

Lazaridis said that the company’s all-new WebKit-based browser is part and parcel with 6, pointing out that the rendering engine will have implications throughout the platform and the apps that run on it, not just on the browser alone; in other words, we wouldn’t expect a release of a WebKit browser from these guys for OS 5.0-based devices. Speaking of OS 5.0, the intention is that every device in RIM’s portfolio will eventually run 6, but not everything in the market today will necessarily be upgradeable — Lazaridis says that they’ll “do [their] best,” but he’s not making any guarantees.

If the site’s release date is accurate then RIM will still be in trouble in the consumer market. The company’s OS updates have been rolled out at a glacial pace, while Apple and Google have been rapidly improving their respective operating systems. I still expect RIM to dominate the enterprise market for a few years, but I doubt it can take market share back in the consumer space.

Any thoughts on the release of BlackBerry OS 6?

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PadCast: EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich Talks iPad, DLC, E3, and More

EEDAR vice president of analyst services Jesse Divnich is the latest RPad.tv PadCast guest. My favorite analyst in the business discusses all sorts of videogame topics, answers reader questions, and reveals the super power he covets in this clip. Here’s the laundry list of talking points:

  • The Nintendo 3DS
  • Whether the PSPgo is a dead system
  • How awesome Sony’s E3 press conference would be if it were hosted by Kevin Butler
  • How the Apple iPad impacts the gaming market
  • Whether investors and venture capatilist have cooled on the console market in light of the hotness of mobile and social gaming
  • Whether Sega, as we once knew and loved it, is gone forever
  • DLC trends
  • E3 2010 predictions
  • What’s coming on 10/10/10
  • What super power he would chose and why

Give it a look, give it a listen, and leave any comments you have below.

Win an HTC Evo 4G From Sprint

Sprint Premier customers have a chance to win an HTC Evo 4G before it comes out. If you’re a loyal Sprint customer and lusting for some Android-WiMax action then check out this contest. Ten lucky winners will take home an Evo 4G, while four finalists will win a trip to a city that has Sprint 4G service (Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, or Maui).

Are any of you Sprint Premier customers? If so, are you going to enter the contest? I used to be Sprint Premier, but left the company for T-Mobile…and am totally pleased with my decision. I love underdogs (T-Mobile), but can’t back a loser (Sprint).

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BlackBerry 9670 Spotted: OS 6 CDMA Flip Phone (?!?)

Boy Genius Report has posted pictures of the BlackBerry 9670 — a CDMA clamshell phone running BlackBerry OS 6.0. Using CDMA tech means it will be headed to Sprint or Verizon in America. Here are more details from the site:

The BlackBerry 9670 is a CDMA device packed to the brim with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera (a first!), Wi-Fi, a 360×480 internal display, huge external display, trackpad, OS 6.0, microUSB port, microSD internal storage slot, Bluetooth, and a metallic finish casing.

I really have to roll my eyes at RIM on this one. A flip phone? Really?!? I’d quote the Black Eyed Peas and say that the company is “so 2000-and-late”…but it would be more accurate to say that it’s stuck in 2002. The smartphone market is currently dominated by candy-bar and slider phones. I don’t hear anyone clamoring for the return of clamshell phones. Perhaps RIM thinks the Motorola RAZR is still cutting edge. *sigh*

Perhaps I’m wrong about this one. What do you think of the design? Do flip phones have a place in 2010?

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BlackBerry 6.0 Screens Unearthed: Too Little, Too Late?

Boy Genius Report has posted a bunch of screens of an early version of RIM’s BlackBerry 6.0 software. The site claims to have seen the OS in action. BlackBerry fans will want to check it out, as the OS looks like a much-needed advancement. While RIM is still king in the business world, its OS is laughably crude compared to modern, consumer-oriented operating systems iPhone OS, Android, and WebOS. Meanwhile, RIM’s competitors have made significant strides in the enterprise space.

BlackBerry 6.0 is expected to launch on a new phone this summer.

If you get a chance to check out the screens, I’d love to know what you think. Will BlackBerry 6.0 be enough for RIM to stay competitive in the consumer space? Or will the company continue to get trounced in the consumer market while slowly losing ground in the business space?

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The Ethics of Gizmodo’s iPhone 4G Scoop

First off, I want to make it clear that I really enjoyed Gizmodo’s coverage of the next Apple iPhone. For those of you not familiar with how it went down, the site acquired an iPhone prototype that was lost at a Bay Area bar. It pounced on the opportunity to write a story and produce videos on the biggest Apple scoop of the year. That all seems normal, right? Where it gets murky is the fact that Gizmodo paid money for the iPhone prototype.

According to Edible Apple:

Gawker editor Nick Denton said that the company paid $5,000 for the device, with some reports claiming that additional fees were to be paid if certain traffic goals were met.

That’s a pretty hefty sum, but considering the tremendous amount of traffic the story has generated, it’s probably worth it…until California law is considered. The Guardian noted this tidbit of California civil code that can be applied to the situation (the iPhone situation, not Jersey Shore‘s The Situation):

Any person or any public or private entity that finds and takes possession of any money, goods, things in action, or other personal property, or saves any domestic animal from harm, neglect, drowning, or starvation, shall, within a reasonable time, inform the owner, if known, and make restitution without compensation, except a reasonable charge for saving and taking care of the property.

Obviously the person that “found” the iPhone prototype is in the wrong, but is Gizmodo also in the wrong for buying the device? The Guardian cited California Penal Code 496 PC:

This means that even if you weren’t aware at the time that you received the property that it was stolen (but later learned or suspected that fact), you must immediately contact the owner of the property or the police to avoid prosecution.

The bad news (for Gizmodo) is that the law seems to be against them. The good news is that Apple has had a tough time suing bloggers in the past.

I want to know what you think about the whole deal. Was Gizmodo merely doing its job? Or did the site cross a line?

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Things I Missed While in Asia: MacBooks and Pokemon

There were so many excellent things I didn’t get to write about while I was in Asia. The two biggest — at least, that I can recall — were Apple refreshing its MacBook Pro line and Nintendo announcing Pokemon Black/White.

As for the new MacBook Pros, the 15- and 17-inch models get some excellent Intel i5 and i7 processors, while all models get new Nvidia graphics chips. Sadly, the 13-inch model doesn’t get any i5 love. I suppose that just makes my decision easier though. Ha!

The new Pokemon games promise to be the biggest leap the series has taken in a long, long time. From what I’ve seen and read, the differences should be plentiful, but the core gameplay will remain. Considering that this is one of my favorite series of all time, I’m super excited for this.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what you thought the biggest news was while I was hopping around Asia.

Steve Jobs Pitches Tent Poles: Apple Announced iPhone OS 4

As many of you know, Apple announced details on iPhone OS 4, which will be available in Summer 2010. There are several new features included in this release. The bigger ones have been dubbed “tent poles” (which makes me laugh…even though it shouldn’t). Here are the major features and my take on them.

Multitasking — This is way overdue. As wonderful as the iPhone UI is, the lack of multitasking is a deal breaker for some users. Apple promises that its implementation of multitasking will be intuitive and natural. Considering how easy-to-use the iPhone OS already is, I’m sure that will be the case.

Folders — This isn’t a big deal for me, since I usually only keep three pages of apps on my phone. However, I know a lot of people with ridiculously cluttered iPhones. For users like them, this is a godsend.

Enhanced Mail — This feature is also overdue and most welcomed. I’m currently juggling three email accounts that I use frequently. There are two other ones that I use every week or so. For business users, being able to sync to multiple exchange accounts is extremely powerful. Come to think of it, I use the Exchange method for syncing my Gmail contacts. Should I get a job at a company that uses Exchange (i.e. most places), it would be excellent to have both.

iBooks — Some people are thrilled with this feature, but not me. I will not read books on my iPhone. If I had an iPad, I probably wouldn’t read them on it either. I love the E-Ink display on my Amazon Kindle. It’s so easy on the eyes and comfortable to view for hours. I don’t understand people that prefer a backlit LCD/LED screen over E-Ink for reading.

Game Center — Achievements for iPhone games? Sure, why not?!? I know a few of you are Xbox 360 Achievement whores. Having those type of rewards implemented in the iPhone games ecosystem would make things more addictive and keep people playing. At the very least, I’m sure it will be a much smoother and more interesting implementation than what Nokia tried to do with the N-Gage platform.

Enterprise Features — RIM is the undisputed king of business smartphones with its BlackBerry line. Along with multiple Exchange account support, these features should have RIM more than a little scared. In the short term, BlackBerry will still dominate enterprise use, but its OS is falling way behind iPhone, Android, and others.

Some of you already started talking about iPhone OS 4 in Coffee Talk, but I’d love to continue the conversation here. What do you think of iPhone OS 4’s features? What tent poles excite you the most (*snicker*)? Are any of the minor features (spell check, enhanced wallpapers, etc.) interesting to you? Do you think not being able to multitask on devices before the iPhone 3GS is the real deal or a cheap way to get people to buy new iPhones/iPods? Chat it up at your earliest convenience (please)!

iPhone OS 4 Details Coming April 8, Predictions Wanted Now!

Apple will be revealing details on iPhone OS 4 on Thursday, April 8. Millions of iPhone users around the world will be psyched to learn about all the new features coming to their beloved handsets. Until then, I want to hear your predictions! What do you think Apple is unveil on Thursday? Multitasking? The ability to blend and run Crysis at the same time? Let me know (please)!