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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement drop Blackberry for iPhone, employees get early Christmas bonus
RIM may be banking on the release of BB10 and new devices to rejuvenate the flagging brand, but the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) isn't waiting around, opting to end their contract after eight years together. ICE stated that RIM "can no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency," and that it intends to purchase over 17,000 iPhones for its personnel at a cost of $2.1 million. Android was also interviewed for the role, but the agency decided that currently, Apple's closed ecosystem was the best choice, offering "reliable, mobile technology on a secure and manageable platform." While this isn't the first group (or likely, the last) to drop the Blackberry, we're wondering if the remaining million government customers in North America will stay loyal after this official stamp of disapproval. We imagine employees from other agencies might also care to make a case for switching -- nothing to do with free iPhones, of course.
RIM taps 7Digital to power official BB10 music store
RIM is already well acquainted with 7Digital thanks to joint efforts on smartphones and tablets, and now its chosen the firm to power the official music store of BlackBerry 10. Not only does 7Digital bring its tech and catalog of downloads to the table, but the duo are promising to integrate the service with BB10 to provide features including recommendations and social integration. When RIM's fresh slate of devices launch next year, folks in the Americas, Australia, Europe, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa will be able to purchase tunes from the new storefront.
Editorial: Betting on BlackBerry (or hoping)
Carrying a BlackBerry Storm requires a certain capacity to face scorn with pride. You have to have a thick skin for pity, too. Also condescension. And incredulity. BlackBerry's reputation is in the gutter, but that's better than being down the sewer, which it was before RIM started showing prototypes of the BlackBerry 10. On the strength of an undeniably cool interface, the BlackBerry brand has clambered back up to ground level, where it sits in delayed-launch limbo. RIM is smartly spending the extra time exposing BB10 prototypes to the smartphone-using audience (and, crucially, app developers). It is not only to escape scorn, pity, condescension and incredulity that I place an emotional bet on BlackBerry 10. More objectively, there appears to be clear and careful thought to identifying how current models fall short in today's smartphone landscape (admittedly obvious), assessing weaknesses in Android/iOS experiences, and targeting an imaginative feature set to both loyal and disenfranchised users. It starts with a newly holistic approach to the mobile work-life balance. And there is that amazing camera thing.
Refresh Roundup: week of October 8th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 8th, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Samsung confirmed its Canadian release date for the Galaxy Note II, Alcatel took the wraps off of its first Windows Phone and it was revealed that T-Mobile will no longer openly market the iPhone in conjunction with its BYOD value plans. 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 October 8th, 2012.
T-Mobile's holiday roadmap leaked: LG Optimus L9, HTC Windows Phone 8X spotted
According to a leaked roadmap on TMoNews, the magenta carrier appears to have a few tantalizing offerings coming its way this holiday season. A curious BlackBerry handheld dubbed the Armstrong, a color refresh of the Samsung Galaxy S II, a possibly Android-flavored Huawei Summit and the LG Optimus L9 are all slated to launch just on or before Halloween. Going into the next month, we see the HTC Windows Phone 8X making the pre-Thanksgiving cut with a potential debut of November 14th. Notably absent are the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Nokia Lumia 810, but that doesn't mean they won't be there when December rolls around. Of course, this info didn't come through official channels, so we wouldn't bank on any of the handsets as holiday gifts just yet. Still, its nice to know they're coming, and you can get the full details on these and other devices at the source.
Rogers, CIBC may launch Suretap NFC-based payments on October 15th, require a unique SIM
Rogers and Canadian bank CIBC struck a deal for NFC-based mobile payments back in May, long enough ago that it was starting to fade out of the public consciousness. The alliance may be near refreshing our memory with a commercial launch in the cards. MobileSyrup has reportedly scored internal documents that has the two launching their e-commerce collaboration on October 15th under a slightly catchier Suretap name. Unfortunately, the text also suggests that the initial launch will require at least as much hoop-jumping from customers as for the original Google Wallet plans. Avoiding a traditional wallet will demand a BlackBerry Bold 9900 or Curve 9360 on Rogers, a CIBC MasterCard, nearby stores with PayPass terminals, a CIBC app and now a special NFC-enabled SIM card -- a set of criteria that disqualifies almost everyone, especially when there's supposedly a $50 ceiling on transactions. It remains a step forward for mobile payments in a country that has had very few options to start with, but we'd only anticipate widespread adoption once there's a much wider selection of devices and banks.
BlackBerry rep shows off L-Series smartphone, forgets it's meant to be a secret (video)
While the rest of us are chasing after dev phones and blurrycam shots, BlackBerry representatives in Mexico seem to be happy to wave honest-to-goodness L-Series handsets around on video. Website Hola Telcel filmed the sequence after the break, in which we're given a shaky tour of BB10 -- including the camera app's interesting "best shot" feature -- but with virtually no attention given to the hardware itself. Nevertheless, we can just about make out the previously-noted design, with the screen panel sandwiched between slightly rounded matte black plastic top and bottom parts, and a big silver BlackBerry logo emblazoned across the bottom. Also, unless we're reading way too much into it, the way people hold the device suggests it could be nice and thin.
RIM opens BlackBerry 10 app submissions
Any BlackBerry 10 developers sufficiently entranced by their Dev Alpha units can now make good on the work they've accomplished so far. As promised, RIM is accepting app submissions for the platform ahead of its launch early next year. Fast-acting teams who jump in today should see their titles at the front of the queue when BlackBerry App World starts supporting the modern platform. They'll have to focus on full-touch hardware rather than mixed QWERTY and touch devices, however. There's no guarantee that RIM will see a flood of apps after opening its doors, but the company reminds us that there's incentives to move quickly -- 10,000 incentives, in fact.
RIM's PlayBook disappearing from online retailers in the US
If you want to get your hands on RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, you might be running out of time. It seems that the QNX-based device is no longer available in the US from retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, RadioShack and Staples, with Amazon and RIM's own online store being the exceptions. We're wondering if this means newer PlayBooks are in the works -- we've already seen updated 4G LTE models out in the open and recent OS updates indicate the company hasn't given up on the much-maligned PlayBook. Potential upgrades include the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS, and hardware improvements wouldn't be a bad idea (Perhaps a flip-out keyboard addition a la Microsoft Surface?). In any case, RIM might want to move fast if it wants any chance of competing in the increasingly crowded tablet space.
Interbrand: Apple, Amazon, Samsung fast becoming brand darlings, ousting crusty traditional labels
Interbrand likes to give the world's top companies a brand value, or a mix of their on-the-ground fiscal performance with an estimate of the premium they can ask through name alone. While there are a lot of traditional names in the consulting company's 2012 list, the surprise this year is just how aggressively technology has invaded the top of the charts. It's a good year to be a part of the mobile ecosystem: a very profitable Apple was by far the fastest grower and clinched second place in the list behind only Coca-Cola, while Kindle Fire creator Amazon (20th place) and Apple's frequent rival Samsung (ninth) also shot past brands as big as Disney and Toyota. A special nod goes out to 69th-place Facebook, whose IPO this year and its recognition put it past companies like Porsche almost overnight. Not everyone in technology came out a winner -- Microsoft, Nokia and RIM were among those that took a bruising -- but Interbrand's rankings hint that it's better to be making tablets than designer handbags.
BlackBerry PlayBook 2.1 update goes live with SMS, portrait email
RIM's attention around its QNX-based platforms might revolve around BlackBerry 10 as of late, but don't think that it's leaving BlackBerry PlayBook users behind. A PlayBook 2.1 update is rolling out today that fills in some of the gaps left by 2.0 earlier this year. Habitual messagers can now start SMS text messages directly from the tablet when tethered through BlackBerry Bridge; they also get overdue support for a portrait view in email, calendars and contacts. If communication isn't the cornerstone of your life, you'll still find a few niceties such as Android App Player support for the camera and in-app purchases, device encryption that extends to personal data and wireless printing beyond the local network. For now, you'll have to be an owner of the original, WiFi-only PlayBook to leap on the 2.1 train today -- those who sprang for the usually carrier-bound PlayBook 4G LTE should get their upgrade within a month.
ComScore: iPhone grew to 34 percent US share in a pre-iPhone 5 world, Android still on top at 52 percent
Apple is all too used to the rumor cycle affecting its sales: the company just saw a dip in sequential iPhone shipments this spring as customers waited for what would ultimately become the iPhone 5. If you believe ComScore's US smartphone market share estimates, though, Apple wasn't the worse for wear this August. While the iPhone was in the doldrums this spring, it jumped almost a whole point versus an already positive July to hit 34.3 percent; we're wondering if last-minute discounts played a part in keeping iPhone 4S sales healthy. Google didn't have much to fear and saw Android climb to 52.6 percent, even if its ascent wasn't as rapid as that of its Bay Area neighbor. RIM took the brunt of the losses and dipped to just 8.3 percent of the market in what's increasingly a two-horse race, although Microsoft's Windows Phone held its ground at 3.6 percent. The wider US cellphone market tells a familiar story, with Samsung on top. There's signs that the narrative is very close to changing, however: LG and Apple are now close enough, at one point's difference, that Apple could seize second place by the time we see ComScore's figures for September. Before interpreting Apple's performance as some sign of a wider reversal of fortune, just remember that most of its challenges are on the world stage. There's no guarantee that the Android-focused markets beyond American borders have been as receptive to iPhone price drops and updates.
Rogers LTE hits 18 new regions, delivers speedy data in Saskatoon
Rogers promised that October 1st would be a grand day for its LTE expansion plans, and we're now learning that it might have been underpromising to overdeliver later. The carrier just flicked the 4G switch for 18 cities and regions, or eight more territories than it had promised just two weeks ago. Most of the coverage still focuses on the southern tip of Ontario, including London, the Oshawa area and RIM's hometown of Waterloo, but there's a much more trans-Canada bent to the official deployment. Western cities like Saskatoon and Victoria now fit into Rogers' LTE map beyond a previously announced Edmonton, while the Quebec rollout is going past Quebec City to include Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. All told, the one day of growth is enough to supply Rogers LTE to almost 60 percent of Canada's population -- a convenient figure when one of the year's more important LTE smartphones just became available less than two weeks prior. [Thanks, Jon]
BlackBerry 10 L-series tutorial videos surface online, give a literal peek at the future (video)
Those of us who've used a BlackBerry PlayBook will be familiar with the inevitable first-boot tutorials showing how to navigate the swipe-driven interface before we're let loose. Thanks to a series of demonstration videos leaked by BlackBerryItalia, it's apparent that we won't escape that educational process on BlackBerry 10 devices, either. The four clips show the basics of what we know the gesture experience will be like on full-touch L-series phones, including the signature BlackBerry Peek to check notifications and the unified inbox. Anyone looking for a direct clue as to what production BlackBerry 10 hardware will entail might be frustrated, mind you -- the rendered phone appears to be a placeholder rather than the L-series or a Dev Alpha B, and the device name is censored in an attempt to protect the source. That said, the clips provide a very straightforward explanation of the new interface concept and give us one more indication that RIM is closer to launch.
Facebook Messenger for BlackBerry reaches App World, sates compulsive chatters
If you own a BlackBerry, it might not have been immediately apparent that Facebook Messenger has been an option since October; unlike with Android or iOS, you had to track down the download on Facebook's website. We don't know why it's been kept out of a more accessible channel, but that ends today with Facebook's chat-focused app arriving on BlackBerry App World like most any other title. There don't appear to be any new tricks included with the expanded availability, although we'd say that the wider exposure is enough of a highlight for an audience that just needs to get by until BlackBerry 10. Those who don't use BBM for all their instant messaging can find what they need at the source link.
RIM: first BlackBerry 10 devices to focus on mid-range and up, entry-level may be ready in 2013
RIM's Q2 earnings details have had a common theme of a silver lining to darker clouds, and that edge may have grown a bit brighter with hints of the company's longer-term BlackBerry 10 roadmap. When asked about the release strategy, CEO Thorsten Heins said that the first BB10 devices would focus on both the mid-range and high-end of the market, a bit wider than the chiefly high-end approach that has been rumored so far. While shy on details, he confirmed that the full-touch smartphone would have a screen with an HD resolution -- that's higher than on the iPhone 5, the executive was eager to point out. More intriguingly, Heins teased the prospect of an entry-level BB10 device arriving as soon as 2013. Although development was in the early stages, the new starter phone just might be ready next year if all goes well. There's a lot of questions left to answer about RIM's strategy, so we won't get too excited yet; even so, the statements are signs that the BlackBerry designer doesn't want to leave any product gaps open for very long.
RIM posts Q2 earnings: $2.87 billion in revenue, softer $235 million loss
RIM may have given us hope that its transition to BlackBerry 10 has turned a corner, but that doesn't mean the dark clouds have entirely broken just yet. The company's second fiscal quarter saw it generate $2.9 billion in revenue, a slight gain over last quarter, while it posted a net loss of $235 million -- again better than expected, but not the best news it could deliver. Waterloo's main challenge was holding on to its smartphone base. While RIM did expand the total BlackBerry user base to 80 million, its phone shipments dropped from 7.8 million to 7.4 million and were braced by shipments of just 130,000 PlayBooks, or half as many tablets as were delivered in the spring. The sunshine is mostly found in the total picture. RIM says it's still on track to deliver the first BlackBerry 10 phones in early 2013; while the smartphone maker is bracing for an operating loss in its ongoing third quarter, the higher revenue and reduced losses suggest to CEO Thorsten Heins that RIM is getting its fiscal house in order before BlackBerry 10 (hopefully) renews interest. Full details of the company's financial performance are available after the break.
The Engadget Interview: RIM's T.A. McCann on how BB10 is going social
In case you missed Thorsten Heins keynote yesterday, RIM's betting on BB10 becoming the next big thing in mobile computing. Part of Thorsten's plan to put BB10 on top involves deep integration of third party social apps like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare into the new OS. BlackBerry has always been a productivity platform first and foremost, but with RIM touting BB10's abilities as a social platform, we wanted to know more about the plan to make it happen. So, we sat down with T.A. McCann, RIM's VP of BBM and Social Communities, to find out how he's going to reach his CEO's goal of a flowing, social OS and the challenges of getting there.
RIM pledges ongoing support for BlackBerry devs by serenading them (video)
They're gonna keep on lovin' yoooouuuu.
