If there's one thing that really gets our engines revving, it's numbers and quantifiable data. We might be nerds. As with the previous weeks of Talk Mobile, we're rounding out the week with a survey to compile that data we so love. Week four was all about platforms - not what makes Android better than iOS or BlackBerry 10 better than Windows Phone - no, it's about how we can make them...
I have been a physical keyboard user for a while now. It's one of the reasons I love BlackBerry and when news of a full touchscreen device was on the way I was excited to see what BlackBerry would bring to the table. Seeing glimpses of the keyboard made me hopeful that I could finally make the step forward to going full touchscreen. Boy was I wrong. Read my journey on why I chose...
When it comes to the BlackBerry ads being run in North America, there has been plenty of talk about how they could be better improved. Now, I'm not overly familiar with how ads are run in Taiwan but one video posted in the CrackBerry Forums from BlackBerry Taiwan certainly got my attention for several reasons. It hooked me by playing off a 'The Devil wears Prada' story line, then got...
Reading over Kevin’s recent from the editor's desk about looking back, it triggered a memory. As a writer, there are posts and stories I’ve started only to be forgotten and abandoned because of work, life, or other interruptions thrown my way. It’s not an uncommon occurrence, so I rummaged through an old notebook from the time of Hurricane Sandy and discovered a partially completed post...
This morning Nokia reported its financial results for the June quarter. Overall, Nokia is hanging in there. The company is seeing much stronger results from its ownership in Nokia Siemens Networks, while the business of making phones has not yet returned to profitability. As far as Lumia goes, Nokia managed to sell 7.4 million of these Windows-based smartphones compared to 5.6 million...
Following up on the results of CrackBerry's Mega BlackBerry Survey, the next area to deep dive into is the section of questions directed at PlayBook tablet owners. With official word coming during BlackBerry's recent earnings report that the PlayBook will not be receiving an update to BlackBerry 10, the active PlayBook community on CrackBerry pretty much went into a rage. On the...
Yesterday we saw that the very popular cross-platform mobile IM app WhatsAppupdated its pricing model for the iPhone. What was once a $0.99 download is now a free download. But it’s only free for the first year, after which the subscription to keep using it costs $0.99 per year. Is this a good change for WhatsApp? And what does it mean for BlackBerry’s potential to gain customers on...
I have been on vacation for the last two weeks so I've been spending a bit of time catching up on the forums the last few days. One thread I came across earlier caught my eye and really got me thinking. I know the CrackBerry community are a creative bunch, so when the question What cool things can I do with my Z10 was brought up I expected nothing but some great answers. "Buy 99...
The results are in from our Mega BlackBerry Survey, and we're combing through the data and bringing you back the results in a meaningful way. We already took a look at customer satisifaction levels for the Z10 and Q10, which overall were pretty positive. Next up, we're looking at what your most and least favorite features of BlackBerry 10 are so far. On the survey we asked this as an...
Over the last week there has been quite a bit of chatter about price cuts happening on the Z10. To recap what’s happening here, both AT&T and Verizon have lowered the 2-year contract price of the phone to $99 while some retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy have dropped the price to $49. There are a few things worth pointing out here. First of all, it’s very normal for the big...
It's always great to see the community sharing their stories about BlackBerry. Be it their devices, something in their lives, accessories or apps - we love it all. Some of you may know Jared from across any of our Mobile Nations site. He took a bit of a hiatus for some family time but dropped by the forums today to leave us a quick post. After some long sleepless nights, Jared made the...
As a part of our chat with BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins following this year's annual general meeting, we touched on what's going on with Z10 and Q10 OS updates, in particular those that should be rolling out through American carriers. The day before, AT&T finally got around to sending out 10.1 out to Z10 owners, but we're still waiting on Verizon. Thorsten said he was "absolutely...
Following on our initial reaction, we’ve had a little bit of time to digest everything that’s been said at BlackBerry’s annual general meeting. For me, the highlight was the three-phase schedule that Heins outlined. A lot of BlackBerry users are tired of waiting for this, that, or the other thing, and placing the platform’s progress on this kind of timeline provides a perspective we can...
The video above is from July 16, 2012... following our trip last year to the BlackBerry AGM. It's a good primer, getting ready for our post AGM 2013 content.
Here in the UK, like in many countries now, we have a choice of three BlackBerry 10 smartphones - the Z10, Q10 and Q5. Which one you use is clearly down to personal preference but I thought I would take a few minutes just to share my own thoughts and preferences as to why as a die hard QWERTY keyboard lover I now favor the BlackBerry Z10 with its on-screen keyboard as opposed to the...
The interwebs have been buzzing over Sharknado - a made for TV movie that premiered on SyFy last night. The premise of the film was about a tornado that hit Los Angeles, hurling hundreds of man-eating sharks into the city. Sound legit, right? With the star power of Ian Ziering (Beverly Hills 90210) and Tara Reid (American Pie) Sharknado was an unexpected Twitter hit ringing in nearly 5,...
Earlier this week independent analyst Ed Zabitsky of ACI Research launched coverage of BlackBerry. He has a strong buy rating on the stock and a $20 target price. It’s worth pointing out that Zabitsky is not your typical analyst. Not only because he runs his own firm and doesn’t do any trading or investment banking for clients. But also because he picks stocks almost exclusively based...
Today in Waterloo, BlackBerry’s CEO presented a message that I feel was very consistent with everything they’ve been saying to date. While this may not have helped the stock much (it’s up marginally today), I think it’s at least positive to see the consistency. Specifically, there are a lot of people who feel that BlackBerry should get out of hardware, or that BlackBerry should put...
Touchscreen keyboards are the de facto standard on smartphones now - so what's with the diehards that won't let go of their old-school BlackBerry devices?
Normally, it's not in my nature to go laughing at things on Kickstarter even though there is some pretty funny stuff that shows up on there. But earlier today, a press release went out making some pretty bold claims that were slightly amusing when you consider what the project really is. It's called Keasy and according to their press release, they're looking for funding for the nail in...
Take the survey and you could win a $100 Best Buy Gift Card!
We examined cross-platform apps during our last Talk Mobile week, and specifically the Android app player in BB10, but now that we’re looking at social apps, I want to zoom in on BlackBerry Messenger’s impending move to Android and iOS. I’ll be honest: my BBM usage is relatively low because being able to communicate cross-platform has nudged me in the direction of Google Talk in most...
Friday was pretty depressing for anyone who has been in the bull camp on BlackBerry stock. We were disappointed with financial results that included only 2.7 million BlackBerry 10 devices shipped. But the silver lining was the obvious revenue growth they’re starting to see. In case you forgot, or never noticed, revenue for the most recent quarter was $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion...
The Dirty R is the little green icon in BlackBerry Messenger that shows your message has been read, but you never get a reply. It’s easy to take this personally, depending on the message; “Why are you ignoring me? Was what I said not important? Not interesting? Are you too busy to deal with me? What is it that takes precedent over me?” Sure, those questions might seem like clingy and...
We're kicking off social week on Talk Mobile, and alongside that we'll have some discussions about the particular aspects of BlackBerry Messenger. Today, we're digging into PIN numbers and how that frames the BBM proposition.