Hasta La Gadget!

BlackBerry’s effort to extend its messaging service beyond its own failed hardware has finally come to fruition. After some awkward false starts, plus a detailed leak, BlackBerry Messenger apps for iOS and Android will soon be available for download at the respective app stores, allowing members of those more popular ecosystems to do… well, chat-related things that they could largely do already, except now through BlackBerry’s BBM servers. The company has confirmed that the Android BBM app will launch at 7AM ET on Saturday, while its iOS equivalent will be available beginning at 12:01AM local time (in each market) on Sunday. More details at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: BlackBerry

Even if you don’t feel like coughing up the cash for either the iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s, those eligible for an update (that’s if you own an iPhone 4 or up, or an iPad 2 onward) can at least console themselves with iOS 7, which debuts today. Gone is the skeuomorphic design of the Forstall era, and in its place is a flatter interface that promises an entirely new experience for iOS devotees. As such, developers everywhere have been scrambling to get their apps redesigned to match the new mobile OS out of Cupertino. While we can’t possibly cover every update, we’ve compiled a quick list after the break of the more substantial app revamps that have come our way.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Evernote, Flipboard, Foursquare, Shazam, Vimeo, Mailbox, Twitter, OpenTable, Simplenote, about.me

We swear, we won’t be giving you the blow-by-blow on every single app that gets updated for iOS 7 today, but this one seemed like a biggie. Amazon just announced that its Kindle reader for iOS has received a major redesign, with fonts, menus and other details retooled to match the flat, streamlined look of iOS 7. Additionally, version 4.0 of the app brings “Collections” to make it easier to categorize books, magazines or whatever else you’ve downloaded. Other than that, Amazon’s media alert is basically a recap of what the app does, so rather than rehash all that, let’s cut straight to the screenshots, shall we? You can find those below; we’ll just show ourselves out while you take a look.%Gallery-slideshow88696%

Filed under: Software, Amazon

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Source: iTunes

You can upgrade your iPhone and iPad now with iOS 7. You probably have a lot of questions about it—here are all the answers you need.

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Get your motor running, head out on the highway – and download some software. Apple’s big iOS 7 update is now available to all, or at least to anyone with an iPhone 4 or higher, iPad 2 or above, iPad mini or 5th generation iPod touch. The big question will be whether people are as quick to update to iOS 7 as they have generally been with less extreme mobile OS changes from Apple.

iOS 6.1 and 6.12 both saw very fast adoption rates from users in U.S. and Canada, according to Chitika, and generally speaking, Apple iOS device owners switch over to the newest OS version pretty quickly, thanks in part to Apple’s update mechanism which pushes new software over-the-air to all devices at the same time, regardless of carrier.

iOS 7 is different because of how much it changes everything. The look of the OS is entirely new, from the ground up, and there are also many differences when it comes to how features work and what’s involved in navigating around your device. As I noted in my review, iOS 7 is definitely going to take some getting used to, even if the changes it implements are mostly very much for the better. To get started with your own update, check the “General > Software Update” section in your iOS Settings for over-the-air, or plug into a computer with iTunes installed to get it wired. Apple could be facing lots of demand, so don’t be surprised if it takes a little while to find and download the update. The best advice is to just keep trying if you encounter errors.

It’s always interesting to watch the adoption curve when Apple updates its mobile software, but this time around it should be even more so. Word of advice to those with less tech savvy friends and relatives who might be caught unawares with the update today: you could be fielding a lot of tech support calls. Rest assured that most of that will be due to shock, since overall iOS usability is actually improved with this update. You can also direct anyone you know tentative about the update to the User Guides Apple has published on the iBookstore.

We’ll be checking in with the usual sources to find out more about iOS 7 update adoption in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.