Hasta La Gadget!

While the focus might be on Android and iOS at the moment, let’s not forget that as far as smartphones are concerned, RIM’s Blackberry devices used to reign supreme. However lately the company has taken quite a bit of hits, although many are hoping that the upcoming Blackberry 10 OS and its accompanying devices will be amazing enough for RIM to regain some market share. Verizon appears to be rather supportive of RIM’s efforts, and when asked about the possibility of keeping their options open when it came to operating systems apart from iOS and Android given the whole Apple versus Samsung legal battle, Verizon’s CFO Francis J. Shammo was quoted as saying not to count RIM out yet as there was a chance that they could come into the marketplace with an innovative product. We guess this isn’t too surprising since Verizon did confirm they would have Blackberry 10 devices on hand at launch in 2013.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon’s CMO confirms that the carrier will offer Blackberry 10 devices at launch, Blackberry 10 demo video surfaces, shows off app switching and swipe gestures,

If you’re a Blackberry loyalist and you’re wondering what is it about Blackberry 10 that makes it so special, or what can it do that will make you want to stick around, you’re in luck as a new Blackberry 10 demo video has been released which shows off app switching along with some additional gestures. We have to admit that it looks pretty smooth based on what we’ve seen so far, but given that the video was recorded in June and only released in September, it’s hard to say if we’re looking at an early build or perhaps a build that’s further down the line. Either way if it’s an early one, its smoothness and its looks are certainly promising, so if you still feel that Blackberry is still the platform of your choice, check out the video above to see what you can expect from Blackberry 10.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HTC not opposed to the idea of licensing Blackberry 10, Blackberry 10 expected to launch with more apps than any other first-generation mobile operating system,

We know that RIM is not adverse to the idea of licensing out its Blackberry platform. After all given the state that they are in at the moment, having big name manufacturers churn out Blackberry devices could help them cover more market share, but who would be willing? It has been rumored in the past that Samsung might be interested, but according to Mobile Today, it seems that HTC could be a candidate. They quoted HTC’s Director of Product Management for EMEA, Graham Wheeler, who said:

“I don’t have any knowledge but that is not to say we are not looking at it. But from my point of view we are not saying we are closed to a new operating system. We will review each one to make sure it’s the best for our customers.”

Of course this is far from a confirmation that we will be seeing HTC Blackberry devices in the future, but it’s interesting to note that HTC does not seem opposed to the idea. After all, they have created phones that run on both Android and Windows Phone, so creating Blackberry devices will not really be that much of a stretch. What do you guys think? Would you like to see HTC make Blackberry handsets in the future?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Blackberry 10 expected to launch with more apps than any other first-generation mobile operating system, Verizon’s CMO confirms that the carrier will offer Blackberry 10 devices at launch,

Most of the time, we see smartphone manufacturers marketing their devices toward young adults. That may all be changing soon, as a new Nielsen report says that teenage smartphone owners are growing faster than any other age group in the United States. Nielsen posted the results of a July 2012 study today, in which it found that 58% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 now claim to own a smartphone.

That’s up from only 36% who claimed they owned a smartphone in July 2011, so we’re seeing some pretty significant growth there. Of course, teenagers have a ways to go before catching up to young adults aged 25 to 34, as 74% of them say they own a smartphone. Still, teenagers are by far the leaders in “smartphone adoption,” so it may not be long before we see teenagers overtake young adults as far as smartphone ownership goes.

As for smartphone sales overall, it doesn’t come as much of a shock to hear that Android is still in the lead. As of this July 2012 study, 51.8% of smartphone owners were using an Android handset, and three month acquisitions for Android were sitting at 58.6%. Apple is still in a strong second place position, with 34.3% of all smartphone users owning a handset running iOS and 33% of three month acquirers going for an iPhone over the competition. Once again, BlackBerry is slipping, with only 8% of smartphone owners rocking a BlackBerry handset, and only a measly 2.7% of three month acquirers opting for a BlackBerry smartphone.

Smartphone adoption in general grew too, with 55.8% of mobile subscribers now using a smartphone instead of a feature phone. That’s hardly a surprise though, considering that we don’t see too many advertisements for feature phones these days. What do you think of Nielsen’s latest snapshot of US smartphone users? Are you surprised to see that smartphone adoption among teenagers is growing as quick as it is?

Number of teenage smartphone owners jumps year-over-year, claims Nielsen is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s hardly a secret that RIM is suffering in a big way, and the company is hoping that the eventual release of BlackBerry 10 will be able to pull it out of this rut. RIM has been given a glimmer of hope in the form of a Verizon announcement, with the company’s chief marketing officer Tami Erwin telling CNET that Verizon will offer at least one BlackBerry 10 device when the operating system launches.

Details are pretty slim at this point – as in essentially non-existent – but at least RIM can count on support for Verizon from day one. This is part of Verizon’s plan to offer consumers more choices when it comes to smartphone operating systems. Erwin says that no carrier wants to become “deeply tied” to one or two operating systems, so as a result, Verizon is trying to increase the scope of its offerings by welcoming Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 with open arms.

As many of you already know, BlackBerry 10 is currently scheduled to launch sometime in early 2013. RIM is shooting for a quarter 1 2013 release, but with BlackBerry 10′s history of delays, it wouldn’t surprise us to see the OS pushed back even more as we approach the end of the year. Indeed, BlackBerry 10 has been hit with a few delays since it was announced, so while we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a Q1 2013 release, it may not be the best idea to get your hopes too high until we’re closer to BlackBerry 10′s expected launch window.

RIM is planning to offer a more modern touch-based BlackBerry 10 device first, before launching a device with a full QWERTY keyboard. Since Verizon says that it will have a BlackBerry 10 device at launch, it seems likely that the device Erwin is referring to is that all-touch handset. In any case, having Verizon’s support from launch day is a big win for RIM, so lets hope that with Verizon backing up it, the struggling company can move some units.

BlackBerry 10 will be available at Verizon on launch day is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.