Tag Archives: RIM

Computers

RIM renames store to BlackBerry World as more content is added

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Research In Motion has renamed its web store BlackBerry World, as it gets ready to add more content ahead of the launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

RIM recently announced that users will soon be able to download videos and music from the store in addition to applications, and the naming change reflects that shift as the company transitions to BlackBerry 10, according to a blog posted on Monday.

The store was previously called BlackBerry App World.

The change will happen on the web storefront first and will then be rolled out to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry smartphones in the coming weeks, according to RIM.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Computers

RIM at CES: 5 things to know about BlackBerry 10

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Research in Motion is at CES this week talking up BlackBerry 10, the company’s smartphone refresh set to debut January 30. Despite five years of floundering behind Apple’s iPhone and Google Android devices, RIM is generating interest in BlackBerry 10 with a slick, touch-centric smartphone OS with interesting features such as an adaptive keyboard and WebOS-like interface.

Many critics and analysts see BB10 as RIM‘s last chance to maintain relevance in the smartphone world. Once the top smartphone maker in the U.S., RIM‘s current market share has slipped to just 7.3 percent of American smartphone users, according to metrics firm comScore. That’s a loss of 9.3 percentage points from November 2011, when comScore reported the company had 16.6 percent of the U.S. market. RIM in December also said that for the first time in its history the company lost one million users in a single quarter.

But the gloom and doom of RIM‘s recent years may soon be behind it if the BlackBerry 10 rollout is a success later in January. It’s not yet clear when new BlackBerry devices will become available, how much they will cost, or which carriers will offer them, but that should all become clear on January 30. Until then, here’s a look at some of things RIM has been talking about at CES and what you should know before the BlackBerry 10 launch event.

Six handsets slated for 2013

We already know that RIM on January 30 will unveil the first two smartphones built for BB10: one touchscreen and one physical keyboard device. Later in the year, RIM has another four BB10 devices planned, reports Fierce Wireless after speaking with the company’s chief marketing officer, Frank Boulben, at CES. It’s not yet clear what the specs will be for the upcoming BB10 devices.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Linux

Components Growing

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Looking past the irony that QML will be available for all platforms but WP8 in the short-term, and Nokias previous involvement in the development of QML, it is nice to see the platforms being created.

The last in the row is Ubuntu Phone, others are Jolla’s Sailfish, RIM’sBB10 Cascades, KDE’s Plasma and Nokia’s Components for Harmattan and Symbian. Qt seem to unlock the future UIs for devices.

What is striking is the interaction patterns being established. Nokia Swipe, Sailfish as well as Ubuntu Phone seems to rely heavily on swiping from the sides of the screen. This is, in my experience, the key to a truly one-handed device.

Using Android, you are constantly forced to hold the device inawkwardangles or use two hands to reach the home button, be it physical or on-screen. Swiping with the thumb is always possible when using one hand (as long as you have an opposable thumbs), while the two-handed user can swipe using the index finger without feeling hindered by the interface.

From a development perspective, it is interesting to see how the different QML Components are shaped. Ubuntu seems to have some interesting ideas for theming going on, and the other platforms have their own strong points.

One interesting comparison is to look at the API for a single component. Comparing the CheckBox elements of Ubuntu Phone, BB10, Harmattan, Symbian and Plasma gives the following API (only looking at the properties and signals that I regard as relevant to the comparison in question).

Properties

  • text (BB10, Symbian, Harmattan, Plasma)
  • checked (BB10, Symbian, Harmattan, Ubuntu Phone, Plasma)
  • enabled (BB10, Harmattan)
  • pressed (Symbian, Harmattan, Ubuntu Phone, Plasma)
  • hovered (Ubuntu Phone)

Signals

  • onCheckedChanged (BB10, Symbian, Harmattan, Ubuntu Phone, Plasma)
  • onClicked (Symbian, Harmattan, Ubuntu Phone, Plasma)
  • onPressAndHold (Ubuntu Phone)

Where does this leave us? For all platforms, one can use the checked property and its onCheckedChanged signal to act. The rest is in up in the air. Ubuntu Phone seems to split the text from the checkbox while the others keep them together. The enabled property is missing from most platforms. Here, even Symbian and Harmattan, both from Nokia, seems to differ.

Still, as the concepts seems similar, the work to create a cross-platform set of components wrapping the components of each platform should not be an impossible task (looking at checkboxes only, that is). Hopefully the end result will not be a too fragmented API landscape and the involved parties will work towards a common setup of basic properties and signals.

Either way, I’m happy seeing that 2012 was a bad year, 2013 looks very exciting. Seeing all these innovative phone user interfaces being created with QtQuick, I’m happy to work at a company innovating in the automotive space using the same technology.

Disclamer! These findings are based on the API docs only. Feel free to correct me by commenting.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Planet KDE

Computers

Why 2013 is RIM's BlackBerry year

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As we look ahead to 2013, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the new year provides an unprecedented opportunity for Research in Motion to make a huge comeback.

This is largely because the market is dominated by two platforms: Android, which is seen as an unsecure malware magnet, and iOS, which comes from a firm that has never learned to spell “IT.” In fact, Apple’s biggest failures were Lisa and the Apple Server, both created on Steve Jobs‘ watch (Lisa was even his product, initially) and both targeted at the IT market.

While phones and tablets are largely a consumer play, they are increasingly being used for business. Even in a BYOD world, IT still has a great deal of say about the hardware connected to its networks and services. As we start 2013, and as RIM brings out its next-generation products, the company will stand alone as the only mobile solutions provider focused on IT first and the needs of users later.

RIM will still need corporate and consumer users, but given the threats the company faces, this differentiator could drive the back into market. Let’s look at a few other reasons why.

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Source: PCWorld

News, Politics, Government

Why RIM Should Call Amazon, Stock To Reach $20

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By Richard Saintvilus, ContributorImage via CrunchBase Sell-side analysts have a tough job. If you want to generate some hate mail, say something slightly bearish about a popular stock such as Research In Motion – it matters not if it’s true. Last week, RIM’s stock plummeted 22% on the heels of the company’s third quarter earnings results. But was […]
Source: Forbes Latest

Computers

RIM licenses Nokia technology to settle patent claim

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Nokia has signed a new patent license agreement with Research In Motion, which will end all existing patent litigation between the two companies.

RIM will make a one-time payment and ongoing payments to Nokia, but the specific financial terms of the agreement are confidential, Nokia said in a statement on Friday.

The deal seems to have come together quickly.

In November, Nokia asked a California court to enforce an arbitration award that could have prevented RIM from selling products with wireless LAN capabilities until the companies agreed on patent royalty rates, according to documents obtained by IDG News Service.

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Source: PCWorld

Computers

After BlackBerry 10, RIM will let customers cherry-pick services

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Research In Motion will let its customers pick and choose individual BlackBerry services such as security and mobile device management after it introduces the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 platform next month.

Thorsten HeinsThorsten Heins

Offering different tiers of service and letting users choose from a menu will help to better suit the needs of individual customers, President and CEO Thorsten Heins said during announcement of RIM‘s fiscal third-quarter financial results last week. For example, smaller businesses may only need basic BlackBerry e-mail capability and not more advanced services, he said.

Today, RIM‘s services come in a bundle and are paid for monthly, either directly or through a carrier. Enterprise customers who use several services will continue to generate monthly services revenue for RIM, while some consumer BlackBerry users won’t pay anything, Heins said.

RIM will add a variety of new services, including mobile device management for BlackBerry and other devices, when it comes out with BlackBerry 10, Heins said. Enterprises will be able to buy a “platinum” package with all of them or just choose a selection of services.

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Source: PCWorld

Computers

RIM reports falling phone sales ahead of BlackBerry 10 launch

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Research In Motion reported falling unit sales and revenue in its third fiscal quarter as it geared up for the introduction of its BlackBerry 10 OS next month.

RIM posted a profit of US$14 million, or $0.03 per share, from continuing operations in the quarter that ended Dec. 1. It sold 6.9 million BlackBerry phones, down from 7.4 million in the previous quarter, and just 255,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

The company expects to lose money in the current quarter and warned sales of its current products, based on BlackBerry 7, could be hurt as customers hold off for BlackBerry 10 phones. RIM will continue to consider price incentives on BlackBerry 7 devices and services to maintain its subscriber base and drive adoption, the company said in a news release.

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Source: PCWorld