Tag Archives: RIM

Android’s US Market Share Nearing 50 percent in Latest Nielsen Report

Posted by on November 3, 2011 No comments

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Android continues to lead US smartphone market share, and the gap is growing according to the latest figures from Nielsen. For the third quarter of 2011 Android’s share reached 43 percent, up from 39 percent, compared to Apple’s 28 percent, which saw no change. Android saw its gains at the expense of RIM and Microsoft, whose dropping share combined for 25 percent of the smartphone market. Symbian and webOS featured such a small showing that Nielsen dumped them into the “other” category with 4 perent total share.

Nielsen reports 43 percent of all mobile phone users own a smartphone, with Apple ranking as the top vendor despite conflicting reports from other analytics firms.

[via Nielsen]

BlackBerry PlayBook Gets Buy 2, Get 1 Free Option

Posted by on October 30, 2011 1 comment

The BlackBerry PlayBook has been seen as a disappointment ever since its debut back in the days and even now when it’s priced at the very low $300, it’s still not selling. The thing is that RIM has been hit by a lot of problems recently, including a bad outage that resulted in a class action lawsuit in the US and now the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 is delayed… Thus, only a hot offer can save the device.

For example, buying two PlayBooks and getting one free is such an offer and it actually sounds pretty good. This is a business discount program, that allows a customer to buy two units of the 7 inch tablet and get one for free. The program takes place till December 31st and is only available to the US market at the time. We’re not yet sure that the $300 priced PlayBook enters this promotion, of if only the $500 one does…

The second option makes more sense and you must know that you’ll also get a premium accessory for free: your choice of a Black Leather sleeve, Charging pod or 6 feet HDMI cable. Let’s just hope that you won’t be buying this product as a memory of what RIM once was, since there’s a chance that this is their last tablet…


RIM literally giving PlayBook tablets away

Posted by on October 28, 2011 38 comments

Get one free offer goes live
RIM literally giving PlayBook tablets away. Tablets, BlackBerry, RIM, BlackBerry PlayBook 0

Back in September it was revealed that RIM was struggling with sales of its PlayBook tablet, with just 200,000 shipped to shops in the previous quarter, and now the Canadian phone giant has taken action - by offering free PlayBooks in the US and Canada.

The buy two get one free deal has gone live over on the North American BlackBerry websites and will, of course, be aimed at businesses rather than people looking to build room made out of PlayBooks.

Over here in Blighty, there's no sign of the BTGOF deal yet - but you can nab a free PlayBook through the Carphone Warehouse. If you sign up for a ?30 a month deal for a Blackberry Curve 8520 you'll get a free 16GB RIM Playbook, worth ?239, along with 100 minutes, 1000 texts and 1GB of data for your new smartphone.

Not exactly desperate measures but when you consider the PlayBook was touted as an iPad killer, not exactly the kind of form that its makers would have hoped for.

Earlier this month Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations and ecosystem development at Research In Motion, told Pocket-lint: "The number one reason the PlayBook hasn't sold as well as we expected is the lack of a native email client, the number two reason is there aren't enough apps."

RIM promised to put the latter issue right with the Android player in PlayBook OS 2.0 which was due to launch in 2011. However, earlier this week the company stated that PlayBook customers waiting for its 2.0 OS update will have to wait a little longer, as it will now launch in February 2012.

Not only that but the much sought-after BBM service for the PlayBook tablet has now been deferred, "to a subsequent BlackBerry PlayBook OS release".

Tags: Tablets BlackBerry RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM literally giving PlayBook tablets away originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:55:34 +0100

Millennial: Android Doubles iOS Impressions

Posted by on October 25, 2011 33 comments

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While Millennial is far from the end all be all in OS market share, it’s always interesting to see how Android web usage grows over time and how its numbers stack up to more elaborate figures. They found that Android is now doubling iOS in impressions with 56% to 28%.

It’s in line with reports from major analytics firms, having Android steadily outpacing iOS along with other competition. RIM was third with 17% and, as expected, Microsoft and Symbian both had 1% each. We’re kind of disappointed they weren’t wrapped up into the “other” category.

As for devices, Millennial is a bit misleading here. They have the “Apple iPhone” leading the pack with roughly 12%, though they’re likely encompassing all iPhone devices into one. We suspect they did the same for the Optimus series and the Motorola DROID series.

From there, the breakdown would probably look a lot more even. Apple also led OEMs overall with 23% while Samsung, HTC, RIM, Motorola and LG trailed with 16%, 15%, 11%, 10% and 9%, respectively. You can find more visuals at the link ahead. [Millennial]

BBX 2.0 Beta Gets Hands on Time on the BlackBerry PlayBook, Shows Android Apps in Action (Video)

Posted by on October 22, 2011 32 comments

If you’ve been following the RIM-related news lately, you must know that the Canadian company’s BlackBerry OS has now entangled with QNX OS for the PlayBook tablet with the result being the brand new BBX 2.0. The platform is now in beta phase, but that didn’t stop the guys of Macberry from getting a hands on video with the software.

There’s plenty of Android apps running on top of this OS, which is good news if you were craving for the Android experience on your PlayBook. The video shows a folder named Android Apps, that includes Gmail, Amazon Kindle, Google Places and a bunch more applications. They seem to be working great, considering they were ported and don’t run in their native environment.

The BlackBerry PlayBook is an unique device because it relies heavily on gesture control, much like the Nokia N9. Both these devices are rid of the burden of physical keys and all they require is a swipe to get around the menu. Couple that with RIM’s great hardware and we’ve got a solid product, that never quite took off sadly. The reason? The lack of standalone functions such as email or contacts, without having to sync with a BlackBerry phone… Maybe BBX 2.0 will fix all the wrongs and give the slate the sales it deserves.


RIM execs explain poor PlayBook sales

Posted by on October 19, 2011 No comments

Talk Android apps
RIM execs explain poor PlayBook sales. Tablets, RIM, BlackBerry, BlackBerry PlayBook, Android apps, PlayBook apps, Biz 0

Rim has acknowledged the two main reasons for poor BlackBerry PlayBook sales at the company’s Devcon event in San Francisco.

"The number one reason the PlayBook hasn't sold as well as we expected is the lack of a native email client, the number two reason is there aren't enough apps," Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations and ecosystem development at Research In Motion, told Pocket-lint and other journalists in a discussion about Android apps on the PlayBook.

The company has said it is addressing both problems with the new BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0?update due out in the coming months.

In the update, which was promised for the summer but yet to materialise, users will be able to run Android apps that have been ported across to the PlayBook operating system by developers keen to expand beyond the Google operating system.

What isn’t known, however, is the number of Android apps that will be available, what those apps will be, or even when the new service will go live. Saunders and Christopher Smith, senior director of BlackBerry development platform, seemed to be playing coy over adoption numbers and release dates when we questioned them.

As to what Google thinks about the move to allow Android developers the chance to create apps for the PlayBook, Saunders and Smith said they didn’t know, admitting that they "aren't having meetings with Google at all."

What they did confirm however, was that the Android player in the PlayBook OS 2.0 will just work, and that end users won’t know whether any given app is of the Android variety - when they download an app from the App World - until the Android Player launches.

"The apps will automatically appear in the App World as the PlayBook will automatically know what you can and can't run," confirmed Smith.

Tags: Tablets RIM BlackBerry BlackBerry PlayBook Android apps PlayBook apps Biz

RIM execs explain poor PlayBook sales originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:05:00 +0100

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 detailed

Posted by on October 18, 2011 No comments

Android arrives for developers
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 detailed

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has confirmed that it will be releasing a new operating system update for the BlackBerry Playbook?at the company's Devcon event in San Francisco.?

The new operating system update will be available to developers from 18? October, however no date has yet been given as to when the update will be available for consumers, said Research In Motion.

The Developer Beta for PlayBook 2.0 includes the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps and the BlackBerry Plug-In for Android Development Tools (ADT), allowing developers to quickly and easily bring Android applications to BlackBerry PlayBook tablets first promised earlier in the year for the summer.?

Android developers can also repackage Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook online by using the BlackBerry Packager for Android Apps.

The web tool guides developers through a step-by-step process, allowing them to test their apps for compatibility with the PlayBook, and repackage and sign their apps for submission to BlackBerry App World, all without downloading any tools.

The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Developer Beta also supports Adobe Air 3.0 and Adobe Flash 11, as well as WebGL - a new web technology that brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser without installing additional software. Developers will be able to generate rich, interactive 3D graphics within their BlackBerry WebWorks application.

RIM also announced the BlackBerry Open Source Initiative to port popular open source libraries to the BlackBerry PlayBook platform.?

RIM also showcased BlackBerry Cascades, a rich user interface framework coming to a future release of the Native SDK. Cascades unleashes a new breed of design centric mobile applications and provides developers with an exceptional feature set for creating visually stunning interfaces with custom layouts, animations, effects and 3D graphics.

These features, combined with a strong set of built-in core user interface components, will make it easy to build beautiful native applications with innovative user interfaces for the current BlackBerry PlayBook and future BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

Cascades is scheduled to be made available in beta later this fall.

Tags: Tablets BlackBerry BlackBerry PlayBook BlackBerry apps PlayBook apps Operating Systems

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 detailed originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:14:00 +0100

BlackBerry developers make more money

Posted by on October 18, 2011 No comments

Better than Android
BlackBerry developers make more money. Tablets, BlackBerry, Phones, QNX, BBX, BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM, BlackBerry apps, PlayBook apps 0

BlackBerry developers make more money according to Research In Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet.?

"If you put it on our platform, you'll make more money," execs were keen to tell delegates to the company’s developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

RIM says average BlackBerry apps are downloaded 43 per cent more often than an iOS app on Apple and 48 per cent more than the same app on Google's Android platform.

“13 per cent developers have made over $100,000 compared to 1 per cent of developers on the Apple App Store that have made more than $1000,” Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations at RIM told the crowd before adding that?BlackBerry App World is the second most profitable app store behind Apple’s App Store. ?

To put that in perspective BlackBerry 7 smartphones, according to RIM, generate 11x more money when looking at the average revenue per user over BB6 and BB5.

Tags: Tablets BlackBerry Phones QNX BBX BlackBerry PlayBook RIM BlackBerry apps PlayBook apps

BlackBerry developers make more money originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:23:00 +0100

BBX: The one future platform for all BlackBerry users, coming 2012

Posted by on October 18, 2011 No comments

New OS
BBX: The one future platform for all BlackBerry users, coming 2012. Phones, Tablets, BlackBerry, RIM, PlayBook, QNX 0

Research In Motion has announced BBX at Devcon in San Francisco on Tuesday as it looks to merge its phone and tablet operating systems together.

The new platform promises a single unified platform for the company’s smartphones, tablets, embed devices in cars, as well as enterprise, and cloud services.

“We will support all open source platforms on the operating system,” explained Dan Dodge the man behind QNX at Research In Motion.

The hope is that developers will be drawn to the open platform plugging a gap that RIM has struggled with to date.

Part of that shift to appeasing developers is to really embrace HTML 5 for apps rather than insisting developer build for a specific language.?

"We are really getting behind HTML5," said George Staikos, the man behind the company's browser technology at Research in Motion.?

The BBX platform will include BBX-OS, and will support BlackBerry cloud services and development environments for both HTML5 and native developers.

BBX will also support applications developed using any of the tools available today for the BlackBerry PlayBook – including Native SDK, Adobe AIR/Flash and WebWorks/HTML5, as well as the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps – on future BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

BBX will also include the new BlackBerry Cascades UI Framework for advanced graphics (shown for the first time today), and bring “Super App” capabilities to enable many advanced capabilities including deep integration between apps, always-on Push services, the BBM Social Platform, and much more.

RIM has said that contray to popular belief the company’s subscriber base is still growing at an incredible rate.

BlackBerry has rattled off a number of stats to let everyone know that it isn’t doing as badly as you might think.

According to the company’s CEO the company now has 50m BlackBerry subscribers, a 40 per cent increase on the figures from last year and has seen a 80 per cent increase in BBM users up to 50m from 28m last year.

The BB stands for BlackBerry, while the Q will stand for QNX.

Research In Motion has said that new smartphones with BBX will be here in 2012. What we do know however is that it will look like the PlayBook user interface.?

Tags: Phones Tablets BlackBerry RIM BlackBerry PlayBook QNX

BBX: The one future platform for all BlackBerry users, coming 2012. Phones, Tablets, BlackBerry, RIM, PlayBook, QNX 1 

BBX: The one future platform for all BlackBerry users, coming 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:58:00 +0100

Send Your APK to the BAR, Get Stuck Seeing Through Blackberry Goggles in App World

Posted by on October 18, 2011 No comments

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What a sad day for RIM: on the day the world will rejoice at the announcements of Android 4.0, the Nexus Prime and the Droid RAZR, they are peddling the Blackberry Playbook to developers by bragging about how it can run Android applications through Blackberry Packager for Android.

Sounds like a great idea. While I’m at it, how about I put a DVD into my VHS player and see if it’s compatible with Wii Bowling.

Rather than further dilute the equity of their brand by using partial compatability with other platforms as an enduring strength, perhaps they should invest that time into making their own product better. Maybe they’re just trying to buy time, but the fact that RIM is so happy that the Playbook can run an Android version of “Hello, World!” makes me think Blackberry is fairly close to saying, “Good Bye, World!”

Is Blackberry doomed? Beyond going Android and announcing the Google Nexusberry… can they be saved?

[Youtube via Engadget]