January, 2013

• 30 January

  Research In Motion is no more: “We are BlackBerry”

  

  The company formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM) will take on the more recognisable name of its product range and be known as BlackBerry going forward. BlackBerry CEO Thorstein Heins in New York. (Credit: Joseph Hanlon/CNET Australia) “From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry,” CEO Thorstein Heins announced during an event to showcase the …

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• 30 January

  Official Stratego game debuts for iPad

  

  Remember Stratego? It’s the classic capture-the-flag boardgame. And it’s now available for iPad. Why just iPad? I’m not entirely sure. Granted, the board would be cramped on an iPhone or iPod Touch screen, but I’ve seen plenty of other games work around that. (Monopoly, anyone?) That curiosity aside, Stratego for iPad does a fine job recreating the original while adding …

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• 30 January

  U.S. Cellular dials up $300 rebate for new family plans

  

  U.S. Cellular is offering a limited time “Family Switcher Bonus” for new customers who activate at least two lines on a Family Plan. The deal, which runs through April 1, provides consumers with a $300 MasterCard debit card. The catch? At least one of the new lines must be a smartphone. Related stories U.S. Cellular pushing ahead with 4G LTE …

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• 30 January

  BlackBerry UK boss won’t talk iPhone in shambolic interview

  

  As BlackBerry 10 arrives today, BlackBerry-builder Research in Motion has the opportunity to get us excited about the new software — and has already made a right mess of it, ducking questions about the iPhone and failing to find a single interesting thing to say. BlackBerry boss Stephen Bates appeared on breakfast television and radio to talk up the next …

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• 30 January

  Carriers throw support behind new BlackBerry 10 smartphones

  

  Minutes after BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins introduced the two new BlackBerry smartphones, U.S. carriers began releasing statements to officially back the new devices. Verizon was the first to announce it would sell the touchscreen BlackBerry Z10 and Q10with QWERTY keyboard, going so far as to attach a price — $199 on contract. Big Red also said it would exclusively sell …

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• 30 January

  Smartphone growth slowing? Not according to Qualcomm

  

  What smartphone market weakness? Many questions have emerged about slowing growth in the global phone market, but chipmaker Qualcomm doesn’t appear to be having any problems. Related stories: Qualcomm CEO details a ‘born mobile’ world at 2013 CES Qualcomm debuts chips with 75 percent better performance Uh-oh, Windows RT, Samsung’s got second thoughts How Microsoft became a control freak with …

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• 30 January

  BlackBerry Z10 smartphone spec battle

  

  If you’re wondering just how well the new BlackBerry Z10 stacks up against the smartphone competition, wait no longer. We’ve compiled the key speeds and feeds of RIM’s latest touch-screen handset along with the iPhone 5, HTC Droid DNA, and Nokia Lumia 920. In a nutshell, the BlackBerry Z10 can certainly hold its own in terms of raw hardware and …

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• 30 January

  BlackBerry Q10 may hit market in April

  

  Now playing: Watch this: BlackBerry Q10; the keyboard lives 2:09 BlackBerry’s highly anticipated smartphone with keyboard may hit the market in April, the company’s chief executive said. Thorsten Heins, speaking during a Q&A with reporters following the company’s BlackBerry launch today in New York, said the timing for the Q10 depends on testing. Either way, it appears the device will …

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• 30 January

  Here’s how the Z10, Q10 get BlackBerry back in the game

  

  After years of anticipation, frustration, and delays, Research In Motion (now re-branded BlackBerry) finally lets BlackBerry 10 loose. So now what? That’s the question a lot of folks in the industry are asking now that BlackBerry is just days (or months, depending on the region) from competing in the market with its first legitimately new product in more than a …

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• 30 January

  Three Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets expected next month

  

  Three new Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets could be about to arrive as Samsung makes plans for trade show MWC next month — but the Samsung Galaxy S4 almost certainly won’t be there. Clues pointing towards three new Galaxy Tab Android tablets have been spotted in user agent profile code by Indian blog Techkiddy. The logical place for them to take a …

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