Posts tagged BlackBerry
RIM needs to fix its tech roadmap
Jun 21st
By Kye Husbands
I just returned from a trip to California, home to some of the biggest companies in the world – Google, Apple, Facebook, eBay, NetFlix, Zynga to name a few – and it was an enlightening trip to say the least.
While en-route, I observed what appeared to be an abnormally high number of people that were all part of the white head phone wearing, or white AC cord charging tribe. It seemed like everyone was part of the – you guessed it – Apple tribe.
Like any good business person, we want numbers; after all, numbers don’t lie. So while waiting for my connecting flight in the Dallas airport (Major international hub by the way) I decided to move my analysis from anecdotal to empirical. In other words, I was determined to get some metrics to share with my team and prove my observation right or wrong. So I literally used the time (4 hour stop over) to count the type of smartphone devices people were using. Read the rest of this entry »
Startup lessons from Tungle.me founder Marc Gingras
Jun 15th
By Alexandra Reid
The Canadian startup community rang in another win recently as RIM, the maker of BlackBerry phones and the new PlayBook tablet, acquired calendar and scheduling application Tungle.me.
RIM’s move to incorporate this new tool, as a continuation of its “development by acquisition” strategy, was essential because of the criticism RIM received for releasing its PlayBook prematurely, without native email, calendar and contact applications. While there is no official word that RIM will integrate Tungle into its tablet, industry experts expect it as a necessary move to compete with Apple. Read the rest of this entry »
BBM for iPhone? Yup –it’s called iMessage
Jun 13th
By Kye Husbands
The title alone should send a few shivers through the RIM camp and rightfully so. BBM is the glue of the BlackBerry experience today and iMessage, just announced by Apple at WWDC today, threatens to rip that badge of honor right off – literally and figuratively.
So what is iMessage from Apple?
It’s a new push notification messaging service, which is clearly a full-on competitor to our dear RIM (”Canadians I’m talking to you”). The service will work on any iOS device.
Read the rest of this entry »
Why BlackBerry 9900 is dead in the water
May 10th
By Kye Husbands
Okay, maybe that wasn’t necessary, but so is this device.
RIM announced the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry 9900 series at BlackBerry World 2011 in Orlando this week with the 9900 being the HSPA version and the 9930, its CDMA cousin.
The BlackBerry 9900 series are evolutionary devices for RIM and look like you’ve seen them already. As a matter of fact, a 1st generation BlackBerry Bold could easily be mistaken for this new device before looking under the hood. Read the rest of this entry »
Wind Mobile close to announcing Playbook support
Jan 26th
Wind Mobile’s product line may soon be a lot more appealing to businesses and consumers alike.
Wind is close to announcing support for Research In Motion’s Playbook tablet and several new Google Android devices, Wind chairman Anthony Lacavera says. I chatted with Lacavera at a Wind event in downtown Toronto, where the company was announcing its BestConversationEver.ca contest and charity donations. Read the rest of this entry »
Most BlackBerry owners not concerned about government negotiations
Nov 10th
After a series of governments threatened BlackBerry bans, Research in Motion (RIM) negotiated to avoid service cut-offs. Canadians are split on whether the devices are actually now less secure or not.
In a poll conducted for ITBusiness.ca by Delvinia Data Collection, about six out of 10 BlackBerry owners say they feel their smartphone has about the same level of security. About one-third of respondents felt their device was “slightly less secure” and just under nine per cent felt it was “much less secure.”
Will Motorola’s Droid Pro replace the BlackBerry for businesses?
Oct 29th
This week Motorola announced their new cell phone, the DROID PRO. It is being targeted as a business cell phone or the next productivity powerhouse. Motorola Mobility CEO said that business users will drop their BlackBerry phones for the new Droid Pro. Quite a bold statement for a phone that has not been released as yet. 
While we cannot predict how this phone will perform here in Canada, we can review its features and investigate whether the phone is indeed suited to be the Business Productivity powerhouse as suggested by Motorola.
Video Blog: Windows Phone 7 vs Google Android vs Apple iOS
Sep 16th
Although Windows Phone 7 (WP7) is yet to launch, the videos below are an excellent side-by-side comparison of the user experience on your – soon to be – WP7 device, the Apple iPhone 4 running iOS and Google’s Nexus One running Android. 
We look at the main operating system first and everything from answering calls to receiving text messages and pictures on the WP7, to a browser comparison video of the three platforms, followed by an early look at WP7’s email client and how it compares to Android and iOS.
Read the rest of this entry »
BlackBerry ban unravels handset’s ‘monopoply’ on mobile security
Aug 9th
Carmi Levy
I feel more than a little sorry for Research In Motion these days. Not only is the BlackBerry maker being pressured as never before in the market by the ever-sexy iPhone and the rapidly-evolving Android, but it’s also facing a kind of political pressure that no other handheld vendor has had to face. Yet, anyway.
RIM is being pushed by governments in a bunch of places, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and India because they want to give their law enforcement agencies greater power to snoop on citizens’ conversations. This weekend, according to Saudi government sources, RIM caved to government demands and agreed to install what officials there call “a server” within Saudi’s borders. This would allow law enforcement officials to monitor BlackBerry-based messaging traffic.
Call me a cynic, but that’s the deal when less-than-democratic governments bump up, hard, against advanced communications technologies that defy their desire to keep a lid on free speech. This kind of thing goes back a long way. For example, in 1989, the Chinese government limited access to fax machines to keep dissidents from reporting about the Tiananmen Square Massacre. In the Internet Age, national firewalls and tight e-mail restrictions have also been the tools of choice of autocratic governments everywhere.
iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android now in HP-Palm’s sights
Apr 30th
I guess it’s innemitable. With recent announcement of Hewlett-Packards purchase of Palm Inc. the idea of a “iPhone killer” will eventually surface.
Of course, why would HP bother to snap up the ailing mobile device pioneer if it doesn’t have Apple’s top selling smart phone in its sights?
Actually, HP is gunning for more — the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phones and Ipad’s market share.
During HP’s media briefing on Wednesday, Todd Bradley, executive vice-president of the personal systems group at HP, assured Pre and Pixi users are safe for now as he expressed support for Palm’s, critically acclaimed WebOS.
Bradley also revealed what the public could expect in the very near future from the HP-Palm union. Read the rest of this entry »
