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RIM loses in arbitration with Nokia, may have to pay royalties on BlackBerrys with WiFi
Nokia and RIM already have a troubled history whenever they come into contact, so it's no surprise that what truces they do have are fraying at the edges. Thanks to filings, we now know that RIM has lost a Swedish arbitration proceeding where it tried to extend a 2003 patent cross-licensing deal with Nokia to include WiFi devices; the wireless technology isn't covered, the arbitrator says, and RIM now has to either pay royalties worldwide or risk seeing its devices yanked from the market. Nokia isn't wasting any time pressuring the team in Waterloo into coughing up -- it's taking steps to enforce the decision in Canada, the UK and the US. RIM has so far turned down any comment, although it's more likely that their firm will cut a deal rather than risk a sweeping ban. Consider it another of the many hurdles for RIM to jump on the road to January 30th.
BlackBerry 10 L-Series phone surfaces in yet more leaked images
We may still be a couple of months away from its long-awaited release, but RIM's first BlackBerry 10 smartphone certainly doesn't seem to be shy of the cameras in the interim. Just last week, some photos turned up on the CrackBerry forums that offered a clear look at the new L Series model next to a BlackBerry Bold, and now another batch of images have made a brief appearance on Twitter before being promptly removed. Those latest, first spotted by TechSuplex, are unfortunately of the BlurryCam variety, but they do show the phone from a variety of angles, and the device in question was said to boot up in a snappy eight seconds. As CrackBerry notes, they also appear to be relatively recent, with the device sporting the new style icons that were just revealed this month. Hit the links below for a closer look.
BlackBerry Patagonia 9620 leaks, says hola Nextel
BlackBerry 10 may be just around the bend, but it seems that's not going to stop RIM from launching a new handset. A leaked document posted by Crackberry has revealed the specs of the QWERTY-toting BlackBerry Patagonia 9620 -- there's BB OS 7.1 running the show with a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor under the hood, mated with 768MB RAM. Par for the course, the display is a 2.44-inch, 480 x 360 affair, and you can also find 2GB of storage augmentable via microSD, a 5-megapixel rear snapper, GPS, WiFi and PTT support along for the ride -- if the source is to be believed. Info on pricing and the exact release date of the apparently budget smartphone is MIA as yet, but Nextel Mexico has it pegged for a December outing. You can sign up for a release notification if you're covered and can't curb your buying itch before BB10's entry-level offerings land.
Following the TSA's lead, the NTSB drops Blackberry for iPhone
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, may join the growing number of government agencies that plan to ditch the BlackBerry in favor of the iPhone. A notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website announces that the NTSB is working with Verizon Wireless to supply iPhone 5 handsets to the agency. In a PDF justification for the "sole source" declaration regarding Verizon and the iPhone 5, the NTSB says that the agency "requires effective, reliable and stable communication capabilities to carry out its primary investigative mission and to ensure employee safety in remote locations." The agency pointed out that BlackBerry handsets "have been failing both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate." The NTSB noted that iPhones are the best solution going forward as they are compatible with the agency's fleet of iPads and can be supported by the existing IT and messaging infrastructure in place there. The NTSB is getting a substantial discount on the iPhone 5 handsets in consideration of the expenditures already incurred to buy BlackBerry units from the carrier. This isn't the first government group to drop the BlackBerry. Earlier this year, the Defense Department announced it was accepting proposals for an iOS or Android-based software security system for mobile devices. This contract could eventually support up to 8 million devices, says a report in USA Today. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed in September that it would switch its 17,676 mobile users to the iPhone because the BlackBerry could "no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency"; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms made a similar move earlier in 2012. The Transportation Security Administration also announced in May that it would drop both BlackBerry and Windows mobile devices and replace them with Apple products in a deal worth $3 million. Despite these setbacks, beleaguered RIM says it still has "1 million government customers in North America alone who depend on BlackBerry, and more than 400,000 government customers worldwide upgraded their devices in the past year." [Via WSJ and USA Today]
The Daily Roundup for 11.20.2012
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Opera Mini for BlackBerry and feature phones catches up with download manager update
A mere six months since its last update to feature phones and Blackberrys, Opera Mini has refreshed itself again, this time offering up an improved download experience, both in regards to speed and file management. The new web browser is available to download now, with users able to pause and resume their downloads, customize exactly where files are saved and -- would you believe it -- download multiple files at the same time. But in all seriousness, it's hard to complain as Opera continues to roll out additional functionality for its data-savvy browser even on humbler hardware. Those looking for a quick install should point their phone's browser to m.opera.com.
The Engadget Interview: RIM CEO Thorsten Heins on BlackBerry 10, QWERTY keyboards and changing cultures (video)
January 30th, 2013 marks the beginning of a new era for RIM. It will put to rest those doubters who questioned whether the company could survive long enough to complete its painful transition away from BlackBerries past and onto BlackBerry 10. The question then becomes what the market will do with this wholly new OS -- whether RIM can be more successful at regaining its former smartphone stature than Microsoft has thus far proven to be with its own mobile OS reboot. If there's one person who has put more thought into that situation than any other its RIM President and CEO Thorsten Heins, a man who will be celebrating something else in January: his first anniversary at the top. How has culture changed at RIM over that year and what can we expect from the company in the weeks and months to come? Answers to those questions and more in our full interview below.
CIBC Mobile Payment App reaches BlackBerry App World for the rare chance you can actually use it
Rogers kicked off Canadian NFC mobile payments at the start of the month through what was mostly a ceremonial gesture -- until the CIBC app arrived, locals simply had to wait. It's at last time try some Suretap mobile shopping now that the CIBC Mobile Payment App has popped up in BlackBerry App World. As promised, the title will let Canucks tap to pay with a credit card (up to $50 at once) at the 17 store chains offering use of a MasterCard PayPass or Visa PayWave terminal. The catch remains the sheer number of conditions that need to be in place: on top of requiring an NFC-aware SIM card, a CIBC credit card and the right stores, the early software only works its magic with the BlackBerry Bold 9900; Curve 9380 support depends on a future update. Having the crucial app is still a step forward, and the handful of trailblazers can always recount tales of buying Timbits with their Bolds while those on other platforms have to sit tight until 2013.
Apple grabs more than 1,000 patents from Rockstar Consortium
Apple is beefing up its patent portfolio with the recent transfer of over 1,000 patents from Rockstar Consortium. The patent and patent application transfer was first reported by Yonhap News and confirmed by patent transfer records in the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Apple is a member of Rockstar Bidco, which outbid Google for a collection of 4,000 patents from Nortel. Apple along with Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson, EMC and RIM bid US$4.5 billion for the patent portfolio in July 2011. Apple provided $2.6 billion to buy the patents and patent applications. According to a report in Business Insider, Apple, Microsoft and Rockstar declined to comment on the news report. [Via Business Insider]
Gartner: smartphone sales up 47 percent in Q3, Android's OS market share increases (updated)
Third quarter figures from Gartner are out, reporting worldwide mobile phone sales slowed again in Q3 2012. Smartphones, however, showed a 46.9 percent increase in sales over the same period last year, with 169.2 million units sold. As you would imagine, Apple and Samsung sold the most, accounting for almost half of all worldwide smartphone purchases. Nokia sales declined during the quarter, and with only 7.2 million of its smartphones filling customers' hands, its ranking in this segment plummeted from third to seventh (although Gartner expects sales of the new Lumia devices should soften the fall in Q4). In contrast, Apple had a solid quarter, with sales up 36.2 percent year-on-year, which is expected to continue into the fourth quarter as the iPhone 5 launches in more markets. Samsung didn't do too bad either, increasing sales by 18.6 percent year-on-year thanks to its Galaxy range (although it's important to note this figure is for total phone sales, not just smartphones). In the OS wars, Android continued to grow its market share up to 72.4 percent, with iOS taking the second spot with 13.9 percent. Stalwart RIM made a leap into the top three with its BlackBerry OS, as aging Symbian saw its usage decline further. If you want to pour over the figures yourself, check out the source below. Update: We've tinkered with the post to remove some confusion between total mobile phone sales and smartphone sales. None of the figures have been changed.
BBM 7 beta is open now, adds Voice feature for free calls over WiFi
RIM's BlackBerry 10 launch isn't scheduled until January 30th, but BBM faithful can try out a new feature on their existing handsets -- voice calling. Brand new for BBM 7 it lets users bypass the text chat their thumbs have been used to and directly talk via the service, as long as they're connected to a WiFi network, no 3G / 4G allowed. That connection restriction takes some of the shine off, but BlackBerry users traveling to / living in far locales with minute-restricted SIM cards or less reliable infrastructure might make the most use of it. Voice allows for direct initiation of calls, switching from text chat to a call, using both in split screen and has an indicator to let users know when their friends are open for a chat. That's not the only BBM 7 upgrade however, as the service is now deeply integrated with one BlackBerry ID, which backs up their profile, groups and contacts for easy switching to a new device. Currently BBM 7 is available in beta for BlackBerry OS 6 or higher smartphones, with support for BlackBerry 5 planned "at a future date." If you're interested, hit the Beta Zone to sign up for access at the link below, or check out the press release after the break for more details.
BlackBerry 10 launch event to be held on January 30th
As RIM gradually inches towards the eventual launch of its new mobile OS, the company's now pinned down a concrete date for BlackBerry 10's full unveiling. It's the other side of 2012 and will happen "simultaneously in multiple countries around the world" on January 30th. No specifics on those lucky territories just yet, but RIM's official blog states that we'll hear availability (hopefully both prices and dates) for two new BB10 smartphones at the event. There's no full press release just yet, but you can see what CEO Thorsten Heins has to say about it after the break. Update: The press release is now out -- we've added it below.
Mobile Miscellany: week of November 5th, 2012
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Virgin introduced a WiFi calling service in the UK, a new smartphone leaked for Cricket and RIM announced a free app giveaway for Canadian residents. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of November 5th, 2012.
RIM plans 36-hour event giving away cash, PlayBooks to game developers porting to BlackBerry 10
While RIM has already taken to directly rewarding developers who write for BlackBerry 10 in order to stock up its app catalog, it's about to offer a slightly stronger incentive for the gaming crowd. An upcoming Got Game Port-a-Thon starting November 16th will give producers $100 for every game successfully ported to the upcoming platform, with the perks climbing the more titles make the leap. Three or more ports net a BlackBerry PlayBook, and the first handful who port five or more get a Dev Alpha device to test their creations in a truly native environment; particularly avid developers porting 10 or more games will even score a trip to the Game Developers Conference this March. The catch, as you'd imagine from the telethon-inspired label, comes from the fixed timeframe. There's just 36 hours open for submissions once the event starts, which will have most developers scrambling to get their code ready in advance. If RIM gets all its developer ducks in a row, however, we'll have no shortage of fun (or distractions from work) when the first BlackBerry 10 devices hit the shelves.
That's an affirmative on BlackBerry 10 security certification, sir
RIM may be falling out of favor with certain government departments, but it's not removing the earpiece or pocketing the shades just yet. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has granted the BlackBerry 10 platform FIPS 140-2 certification, which basically means data security and encryption are top notch throughout. All you need to know is government agencies, and others with confidential info, can brandish BB10 handsets without worry when they launch early next year. Another piece of good news for Obama -- we're pretty sure he's due for an upgrade about now.
Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone
When Google unveiled the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and a refreshed Nexus 7 in October, the moment was arguably the crescendo of a change in the Android ecosystem that had been building ever since Amazon's Kindle Fire first braved the marketplace in 2011. Along with a widely expanded Amazon lineup that includes multiple Kindle Fire HD models and a price-cut tweak to the original Fire, two of the largest players in the mobile world now have top-to-bottom device businesses built around selling at break-even prices and recouping their money through content. That might sound good on the surface, but it's a bad omen for competitors that genuinely can't respond in kind -- and it could erode some of the values of diversity and innovation that we're supposed to hold dear as technology fans.
Blackberry PlayBook 3G+ now available in the UK, 1.5GHz dual-core, 32GB storage
It was over a year ago now that we first heard about RIM's plans to release a 3G PlayBook, but it looks like it is finally here, popping up on the UK BlackBerry site. Of course, since then it's gone one better and delivered an LTE version, but if you're in the UK, and want a little PlayBook action with data to go, you can order one today. Much like its LTE sibling, it comes with 32GB of memory, and gets the same faster 1.5GHz processor too. (The original was 1.0GHz.) The kicker here? The price, at around £420 (about $690 by conversion) is only £30 ($48) shy of Apple's 32GB WiFi and cellular iPad mini (at UK prices). On a positive note, while RIM might have had the 3G model lingering for some time, it did beat its arrival projections by a few months. But, with the UK now enjoying LTE, perhaps those interested in a PlayBook might rather campaign for the faster model to be added to the roster, too.
Rogers and CIBC kick off Canadian NFC-based mobile payments with mini event (update: full details)
Rogers and its banking partner CIBC have been making much ado over bringing NFC mobile payments to Canada since the spring, but the companies have been mostly silent on actual availability and let a rumored October 15th launch date pass by without fanfare. The two partners are at last ready to swing into action, at least symbolically -- a photo-op at a Tim Hortons in Toronto on Friday will officially represent the first instance of their payment system being used in the wild. What we've seen officially and otherwise hasn't changed, which means that event star and triathlete Simon Whitfield will be using one of two NFC-equipped BlackBerry phones with a special SIM card while he buys a meal that we imagine involves coffee and maple-glazed donuts. Rogers hasn't said how soon the less sporty among us will be making payments, although the limited choices of phones (two) and carriers (one) will only give a handful of Canucks a chance to join in. Update: Just as Whitfield's coffee is cooling off, Rogers has given out full details: the CIBC mobile payment option will roll out later in the month to at least 2,300 Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada, with 3,000 more joining in by December. It's called Suretap, as the earlier leak confirmed, and there's no sudden support for Android, Windows Phone or other platforms until 2013. A total of 17 merchants using MasterCard PayPass and Visa PayWave will be eligible to start.
RIM's latest milestone: BlackBerry 10 now being tested by over 50 carriers
Not much is going to make us excited about the BlackBerry world until RIM's latest devices actually ship, but today's announcement from Thorsten Heins is certainly good news in that regard. Today, he revealed that BlackBerry 10 units are now in the testing labs of more than 50 carriers, a necessary milestone that suggests the first BlackBerry 10 devices are still on track for a Q1 2013 debut. Naturally, it's a shame that the company is going to miss the holiday season, but if you have a BlackBerry fan in your life, we suppose there's always room for an IOU in their stocking. In the meantime, you'll find the full statement from RIM's CEO after the break.
IDC: Samsung and Apple still kings of the smartphone market, Nokia loses top five spot to RIM
IDC's third quarter figures are in, complete with a few unexpected shake-ups. The entire cellphone market grew 2.4% over the same time last year, but smartphones drove the majority of that, showing growth of 45.3% and beating the analysts' expectations. Of the 179.7 million smartphones shipped, Samsung and Apple devices accounted for almost half of them, with the companies retaining their number one and two positions in the market, respectively. IDC notes that iPhone shipments didn't increase, but this is somewhat expected given the latest iteration was released only a short time before the end of the quarter. What we find particularly interesting is that Nokia was ousted from the top five smartphone players and replaced by RIM. Whether Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices will put it back in contention remains to be seen, as does the effect BB10 and RIM's new handsets will have on the market. ZTE finished fourth in the list thanks to increased sales in North America, with HTC rounding up the top five vendors with continued uptake of its power devices. With a bunch of new handsets coming to the table and the holiday season fast approaching, look out for even more surprises in the fourth quarter numbers, due early next year.
