Hasta La Gadget!

During MWC 2014, BlackBerry unveiled two handsets, the BlackBerry Z3 and the BlackBerry Q20. Given the way BlackBerry has been naming their handsets, we guess we’re all pretty much used to referring to them by their name and model number, but apparently for the BlackBerry Q20, BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen decided to remind everyone that the handset will actually be named as the BlackBerry Classic.

Now Chen has tossed that name around for a while but everyone had assumed that “Classic” was just a codename for it, like how the BlackBerry Z3 is known as Jakarta, and how we have also come across devices codenamed “Kopi”, “Cafe”, and “Cyclone”. The folks at N4BB have since confirmed this with BlackBerry who has confirmed that the Classic name is here to stay.

In fact we can’t say we’re too surprised especially given how Chen has lauded the handset, claiming that it will appeal to BlackBerry loyalists and old-school fans who appreciated the way BlackBerry has designed their handsets in the past. Based on what we know so far, especially since there haven’t been any photos, the BlackBerry Classic will feature an integrated trackpad and a tool belt of buttons, similar to what they have done in the past with devices like the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

This definitely sounds like an old-school BlackBerry handset, albeit with BlackBerry 10 running under the hood. We’re not sure if this is the direction that BlackBerry should be heading, but perhaps in a world full of touchscreen smartphones, perhaps a little old-school is needed. The BlackBerry Classic is expected to launch in the fall of 2014, so we guess we will have to wait until then to see how well-receive it is. In the meantime what do you guys make of the BlackBerry Classic moniker, yay or nay?

BlackBerry Q20 Will Be Officially Known As The BlackBerry Classic , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, BlackBerry,

Ah, France, the land where your boss is no longer allowed to contact you by email once you have clocked out from the office. Of course, a whole lot of that remains as theory, as enforcing it is going to be a whole lot trickier than expected. While Japan is the country with the highest number of vending machines per capita, this does not mean that other countries, too, are able to have some of the more unique vending machines to serve the masses. Take France for example – Operator Free Mobile, famous for their extremely cheap phone contracts, will enable one to pick up a contract from a vending machine kiosk in a matter of minutes.

Such a machine will follow up your registration by spitting out a mini-, micro- or nano-SIM card that has already been activated, where all you need to do then is to place it into an unlocked phone and you’re good to go. Of course, this is not the first SIM card vending machine in the world, but it happens to be a unique one simply by the fact that it offers an all-inclusive, ready-to-go package from a major mobile carrier. That ought to count for something, no?

France Offers Phone Contract Via Vending Machines , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, sim,

If you happen to be in possession of an Android-powered device that is capable of accessing the Google Play Store by default, then here is some good news for you in terms of security, where it ought to be able to give you a greater peace of mind, too. It does seem as though Google’s Android mobile operating system is about to be even more resistant to malware, and the best part of it all is, you do not have much to do in the first place. In the past, whenever you were about to install an app that hailed from questionable sources, a red flag will come into play, but this time around Google has improved things by a whole lot to have Android check up on your apps after installation.

The reason behind this is simple – it is entirely plausible (and human) for anyone to download apps of questionable quality and content prior to Google’s verification feature going live in 2012. This translates to a wayward app sneaking its way through, and as Google continues in their quest to learn more concerning mobile malware, they would be able to start cleaning up the mess of yesteryears automatically. Android Security Engineer Rich Cannings did admit that majority of Android users will not receive such a notification that they have a wayward app on-board, but at least we have a greater peace of mind now, considering how devices that still have Android 2.3 running on them will be able to gain that security feature.

Google Expands Security Services For Android , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Android, Google,

For long it has been rumored that LG is working on its own system-on-a-chip a.k.a SoC based on ARM architectures. A few months back it even got a name, Odin. Its believed to feature a big.LITTLE configuration with four 2.2Ghz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.7GHz Cortex A7. Apparently based on the 28nm manufacturing process, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is reportedly going to handle production. Latest rumor suggests that the LG Odin process might be entering into the mass production stage “soon.”

Despite rumors that the homegrown SoC is expected to enter mass production in the near future, rumor has it that LG won’t be using it in its next flagship. Since most of its rivals have now come out with their flagships, all eyes are on LG to see what it comes up with in the G3. LG hasn’t confirmed which chips its going to opt for as far as its next flagship smartphone is concerned.

The delay in Odin’s mass production is attributed to LG facing issues with final design. It is now believed that the company will first test the waters with its new chip in low-end smartphones, and that it doesn’t want to take such a big risk with its 2014 flagship. LG Odin powered smartphones might show up in the market in the second half of this year.

LG Odin Processor Expected To Enter Mass Production ‘Soon’ , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, LG, LG G3,

It was in the August of 2013 when Microsoft began to roll out versions of its Bing apps which it developed over time for Windows 8 all the way to the Windows Phone platform. Among the first apps that were released include Bing News, Bing Sports, Bing Weather and Bing Finance, before they were accompanied by the likes of Bing Travel, Bing Food and Drink, Bing Health and Fitness, and the recently discontinued Bing Flight Price Predictor. Well, it seems that there are new updates for the entire range of Bing Windows Phone apps, appearing on smartphones sans the “Bing” name in their titles.

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Microsoft Updates Bing Windows Phone Apps, Removes “Bing” From Their Titles, Too original content from Ubergizmo.