Hasta La Gadget!

RIM promises to soothe BlackBerry app developers’ woes, says ‘we’re so there’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smartphone cameras are becoming increasingly powerful-many, in fact, are fully capable of taking very sharp and professional looking photos. But are these phones capable of holding their own against more sophisticated equipment? And which phone does it best? More »

The latest thrilling installment in BlackBerry’s Middle East saga has turned out not to be so thrilling after all. Having set an October 11 deadline for RIM to comply with its “telecommunications regulatory framework,” the United Arab Emirates is today reporting that the BlackBerry maker has managed to make the necessary changes with plenty of time to spare. Consequently, there’ll be no state-ordained curtailing of email, web, or BBM services within the UAE, which mirrors similar agreements that BlackBerry has managed to finagle with India and Saudi Arabia. Of course, the grand purpose of the UAE’s ultimatum was for RIM to allow the state access to encrypted messaging communications, and while the current announcement is pointedly missing details on what’s been done to appease the Abu Dhabi decision makers, we can’t imagine them giving up the fight without RIM making some type of concession. And the shady, undisclosed concessions happen to be our least favorite kind.

UAE says BlackBerry is now compliant with regulations, free to rock on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Late yesterday, Verizon and Motorola announced a new Android smartphone with a front-facing QWERTY keyboard, sleek black business-casual look and a 3.1″ multitouch multimedia screen. The Droid Pro is expected to attract a big chunk of Verizon’s existing Android and Blackberry high-end and business users when released in the coming weeks.

My first, beloved smartphone was a first-generation Blackberry Bold; for me, Motorola’s Droid Pro is clearly the handsomest Android phone I have ever seen. (Yes, I like it more than the R2-D2 Droid.) The major differences between the new Droid Pro and my old Blackberry Bold are Android apps and a touchscreen. As long as the Droid Pro’s keyboard is a champ like the Bold’s, the touchscreen isn’t too teeny and its yet-unannounced pricing isn’t too obscene, we can say that it’s improved in every way.

The Droid Pro’s specs are also impressive: Android 2.2., a 1GHz processor with 2GB of storage, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and support for both Exchange and Google email and calendar programs. It can act as a 3G mobile hotspot (although Verizon has disabled that functionality for current Droid users) or stream media from a server over a Wi-Fi network using the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard. Its 5MP camera can shoot still images and video, so you might even have something on your phone worth streaming back.

When the Droid Pro’s finally released, upgraders should make sure they don’t throw their old phones away: Verizon Wireless today announced a new trade-in/recycling program that will appraise your old phone, refurbish or recycle it and offer you a Verizon Gift Card. Even non-Verizon phones can be traded in, so network-switchers can take advantage of it too.

Price and release date for the Droid Pro have yet to be announced; when released, it will be available through Verizon Wireless’s online and retail outlets. You can fully expect that Verizon’s people will be happy to sell you one.

Image from Motorola.

See Also:

• Verizon Denies Tethering, Hot Spot Features to Droid Customers …
• Hands On With the Motorola Droid X
• Verizon Won't Offer Free Tethering, but Droid Hackers Might …
• HTC Droid Eris
• HTC 'Incredible' Android Phone Lands on Verizon
• The R2-D2 Droid Phone You're Looking For
• Reviled by Reviewers, BlackBerry's Storm Rages On
• Verizon + Skype Not Mobile VoIP Nirvana, But Closer
• Android Gains While iPhone, BlackBerry Lose Share
• Most Clicked Mobile Ads Aren't On Android or iPhone

BlackBerry OS? Dead! iOS? Dead! Symbian? Never stood a chance. Android’s exponential growth has today been illustrated by Nielsen‘s statisticians who present us with the above chart of recent US smartphone purchases. It shows that over the six months leading up to August 2010, 32 percent of American new phone buyers had grabbed themselves a device with Google’s OS on board, which is comfortably ahead of RIM at 26 percent and Apple at 25 percent. These results corroborate NPD’s figures on the matter — which peg Android at 33 percent of new US purchases — and reiterate the idea that Android is headed to a place whose name starts with D and ends with omination. One more chart showing total market share can be found after the break (hint: BlackBerry still reigns supreme overall).

Continue reading Android is number one OS among US phone buyers over the last six months

Android is number one OS among US phone buyers over the last six months originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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