The RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 is now $99 with a two-year AT&T contract, when purchased from Amazon.com. The 50 percent price cut follows less than a week after the smartphones debut. – The BlackBerry Torch the smartphone that Research In Motion launched
with much fanfare less than a week ago, and which was supposed to help
it win back market share in North America by standing up to the Apple
iPhone and Android-running smartphones is now being offered for just $99.99 on Amazon.c…
Rumors of an Apple iPhone on Verizon Wireless are affecting the purchases of all consumers, states a new report. Among AT&T iPhone owners, 34 percent are waiting to upgrade to the iPhone 4 on Verizon. – Verizon Wireless customers do
indeed want an Apple iPhone, but they’re not the only ones, market research
firm Morpace reported in a new study out
this month. According to the firm, 34 percent of current AT amp;T iPhone owners
say they haven’t yet upgraded to the iPhone 4 because they’re waiting…
Apple iPhone executive Mark Papermaster’s departure was initially assumed to be due to controversy over the iPhone 4′s antenna rim design. But a Wall Street Journal article suggests Papermaster may have proven incompatible with Apple’s corporate culture, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs. – Controversy over the iPhone 4 including issues involving its exterior
antenna rim led to the recent departure of Mark Papermaster, Apple’s senior
vice president for mobile devices. At least, that was the initial assumption by
many media outlets. But a new report suggests Papermaster’s tenure with…
A ChangeWave survey of Apple iPhone 4 owners found satisfaction levels to be high, though still lower than those that greeted the iPhone 3GS. Major dislikes, additionally, shifted the onus from Apple to AT&T. – First came the news that Apples iPhone 4 was the companys most
successful launch ever, with customers scooping up more than 1.7
million handsets in just three days. “Antennagate” followed, with
customers complaining that when held in a certain way the “death
grip,” as it quickly became known …
The Clear iSpot from Clearwire is a mobile hot spot designed for Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. With Apple-like looks, it extends 4G coverage to up to eight devices. – Apple mobile products may currently be the exclusive offerings of the
AT amp;T network, but that hasn’t stopped Sprint-owned Clearwire from offering
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners a new connectivity option.
Clearwire on Aug. 4 debuted the Clear iSpot, a personal hot spot with quot;dedicated…
BlackBerry Torch 9800, RIM’s newest smartphone, has a delicate mission: retain RIM’s traditional corporate audience, while capturing consumer share from the Apple iPhone and Google Android. – When executives from Research In Motion took the stage in
New York City on Aug. 3 to introduce the BlackBerry Torch 9800, the companys
first sliding-keyboard smartphone with a capacitive touch screen, they
emphasized all the things designed to make the device particularly appealing to
consumers:…
A Web-based jailbreak for the Apple iPhone shows mobile devices’ vulnerability to remote exploits. – A new jailbreak for the
Apple iPhone has provided another example of remote exploits on mobile
devices, security researchers say.
According to security researchers, the JailbreakMe 2.0 exploit takes
advantage of two distinct vulnerabilities of free devices running Apple’s iOS. Now
officially
…
Research In Motion unveiled the BlackBerry Torch 9800, its first smartphone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard and capacitive touch screen, during a high-profile event in New York City on Aug. 3. The sliding form-factor and new BlackBerry 6 mobile operating system are designed to appeal to both RIM’s traditional business-user base, while also drawing in consumers who would otherwise consider the Apple iPhone or a Google Android device. For those consumers, the BlackBerry Torch includes features such as wireless music syncing, unified social-networking feeds and the ability to search sites such as YouTube. More business-oriented users may be interested in the multitasking operating system, notification previews that give more information about the latest messages and phone calls and Universal Search, which can search through all content on the device as well as the Internet. RIM is hoping the smartphone proves a hit when it’s released on Aug. 12. – …
Nielsen, on the eve of a RIM announcement, has found loyalty among U.S. BlackBerry users to be far lower than among Apple iPhone or Android users. Its message? RIM needs a hit on its hands. – Nielsen, the venerable ratings company, has a message for BlackBerry maker
Research In Motion.
In Nielsen-run surveys with U.S.
consumers regarding smartphone use, the company found Google’s Android
operating system to be the fastest growing in the last quarter faster even than
Apple iOS, runni…
Building up to its BlackBerry 6 OS rollout, RIM continues to share details in an effort to build excitement. Users can expect a new home screen design. – Research In Motion continues to work to build excitement
for BlackBerry 6, the newest version of its operating system, slated to
debut in the third quarter. Slicker than its predecessor, BlackBerry 6 is part
of RIM’s plan to more effectively compete against the Apple iPhone and the
growing numbe…
Beware, mobile bankers: Citigroup is encouraging Apple iPhone owners who downloaded the company’s mobile banking app to upgrade to a patched version after a security flaw was found. – Banking giant Citigroup and iPhone maker Apple are encouraging users who
downloaded Citi’s banking application for the smartphone to upgrade to a new
version after a security flaw was discovered in the application. The flaw
accidentally saves personal information, including access codes, bill pay…
Barnes & Noble’s free e-reader application for Android-based smartphones and mobile devices, Nook for Android, is now available. The online bookseller plans to update its Nook applications for the iPhone and iPad. – Barnes amp; Noble has released Nook for Android, its free e-reader
application for Android-based smartphones and mobile devices. The bookseller
also on July 22 announced plans to update its Nook applications for the Apple
iPhone and iPad as well as other platforms in coming months.
Nook
for A…
SAPs mobile strategy involves developing business apps for specific platforms such as Google Android and Apple iPhone. The company remains close-lipped about its Sybase acquisition. – Following SAPs acquisition of mobile-technology provider
Sybase, some have been wondering how the deal is going to
affect the companys mobile strategy going forward. While SAP executives are
remaining close-lipped about the deal itself, and their intentions with
Sybases assets, at least one was …
AT&T announced the results of its fiscal second quarter, which included revenue of $30.8 billion, net income of $4 billion and activations of 3.2 million Apple iPhones a record for the carrier. – AT amp;T’s second quarter numbers once again highlighted the importance of the Apple iPhone to its bottom line.
During the quarter, which closed June 30, AT amp;T saw consolidated revenue of $30.8 billion up 0.6 percent, or $194 million, from a year earlier and net income of $4 billion, the c…
Skype has released an update of its VOIP app for Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS smartphones running iOS4. The multitasking-savvy version lets users run Skype in the background, among other features. – Skype has launched a Version 2.0.1 of its VOIP (voice-over IP) software for Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS handsets running iOS4.
Released July 21, the newest version of the application plays to the operating systems multitasking capabilities, enabling users to run Skype in the background, as well…
FileMaker released two versions of its database product for the Apple iPad and Apple iPhone. – FileMaker is nudging the iPad and iPhone further into the enterprise space by bringing their database technology to the mobile devices’ users.
The company released FileMaker Go iPhone and FileMaker Go for iPad Tuesday, and the programs are now available through Apples iTunes App Store. With FileMa…
The Apple iPhone 4s antenna debacle prompted New York Sen. Charles Schumer to send a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, requesting that Apple take “swift action on this matter.” – As Apple executives prepare to discuss the antenna issues
surrounding their iPhone 4, the company is continuing to get pressure
from the outside to address customers concerns. The latest shot came
June 15, when Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, sent a letter to Apple CEO
Steve Jobs, pressing him to do…
Consumer Reports retested the Apple iPhone 4, this time with a “bumper” case on it, and found the bumper fixed the smartphones antenna issues. Still, the magazine said it was up to Apple, not consumers, to pay for such a fix. – Consumer Reports enginners have found that Apple’s iPhone 4, when
used with a rubber quot;bumper quot; that Apple sells for $29, do not have
reception problems related to the smartphone’s antenna.
In initial testing, the Apple iPhone 4 failed to receive “recommend”
status from the consumer wa…
Consumer Reports’ announcement that it can’t recommend the Apple iPhone 4 is the latest installment in a saga relating to the phone’s antenna. To make good with consumers, analysts say Apple needs to act quickly. – A year ago, Consumer Reports put the Apple iPhone 3GS at the top of its
smartphone rating list. The advertisement-free publication has been a champion
of consumers’ interests since 1936, and so while a significant accolade, it was
a surprise to few, if any, that the can-do-no-wrong Apple once aga…
Consumer Reports, a trusted source for much consumer advice, says that while the Apple iPhone 4 ranks high in a number of ways, it can’t recommend the smartphone due to its reception issues. – The Apple iPhone 4′s antenna problems are keeping Consumer Reports from
being able to recommend the smartphone.
Almost immediately after the much-anticipated iPhone 4 went on sale June 24,
buyers complained about poor reception when touching the device’s metal antenna
band, which runs along the…
