Hasta La Gadget!

After BlackBerry types lay eyes on the 8900, the same question immediately gets asked time and time again: “Why would I buy a Bold over this?” Indeed, it’s hard to argue that the 8900 isn’t the better looking handset, but for now, the Bold gets to lord its fancy-schmancy 3G radio over the 8900’s technologically inferior head. That might just be where the rumored 9300 “Gemini” comes into play, though, which — according to Boy Genius Report — will feature a larger, higher-res screen than the 8900’s already amazing display, a beefy processor, a slightly more “rounded” keyboard, and most importantly, quadband EDGE plus triband HSDPA. There isn’t any solid information on a release window for this one yet (we’d doubt that even RIM has an answer for that one at this point), so if you had a Bold in mind, don’t feel bad about pulling the trigger — yet.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Rumored BlackBerry 9300 “Gemini” appears, Bold gulps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Friends — the Engadget Podcast is here for you once again. It’s time to kick off your shoes, twist your hat sideways, whip the tie across the room, and settle in for some good old, homespun tech punditry. Join Josh, a newly-healthy Paul, and Nilay as they whisk you away to the promised land of gadgety goings-on. Today you can hear the boys discuss Windows 7 SKUs, rap about Nüvifone developments, answer reader questions, and so much more. Strap in for the most thrilling ride you’ll ever take. Ever.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: 4 Minutes

00:01:09 – Engadget’s recession antidote
00:04:35 – Buy this book: Chris Ziegler’s ‘T-Mobile G1 For Dummies’
00:06:23 – BlackBerry Blowout: Storm vs. Bold vs. Curve 8900
00:16:45 – Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass
00:35:10 – Windows 7 multitouch: it’s a gimmick (for now)
00:47:08 – Toshiba TG01 GUI, video playback demoed on film
00:53:45 – Garmin, ASUS form partnership for phones, nuvifone G60 first model
01:03:54 – Reader questions

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 132 – 02.06.2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Remember that settlement RIM reached with the Ontario Securities Commission yesterday? Well, details of the arrangement have emerged, and Reuters is reporting that in addition to over $90 million CAD being repaid, the company’s co-CEO will be stepping down from its executive board as part of the deal. Jim Balsillie will reportedly have to fork over $5 million CAD (~$4.1 million USD) and his position on the board for at least 12 months — though we’re not sure if he intends to return (or if he’ll be welcomed back).

[Via BlackBerry Cool]

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM’s co-CEO Balsillie stepping down from board as part of backdating settlement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gearing up to close another chapter in its tale of cooked books, RIM announced this week that the company and “certain of its officers and directors” have reached a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission over backdating stock options. Those certain officers are more than likely co-CEOs Jim Balsillie, who also serves as a director, and Mike Lazaridis. Both men were fingered in a report last month that suggested the commission would seek a record-breaking $100 million fine. The deal is still subject to approval by a panel of OSC officials, who are scheduled to meet on Thursday. No word on what penalties they’ll incur, but we’d be surprised if RIM didn’t manage to skirt at least some of that record-breaking amercement.

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM reaches settlement with Ontario Securities Commission over backdating shenanigans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

In a recent interview with Elevation Partners’ Roger McNamee, the Palm investor explained that Palm knew it had to step up its game after RIM launched the BlackBerry Pearl, which he described as “the first real consumer electronics product in the smartphone category.” The Pearl launch served as the coming out party for the BlackBerry brand among consumers as RIM began stepping up its advertising, and the product’s narrower hardware design was a noticeable break with the staid stylings of previous BlackBerry devices.

Indeed, back in November of 2006 as Palm rolled out the somewhat consumer-focused Treo 680, I wrote a Switched On column noting that the Pearl broke with the evolutionary path that RIM had been on and served as an example for the kind of hardware shift Palm needed to make.

Palm finally answered the Pearl with the Centro, a compact, inexpensive, and successful smartphone that has apparently served as the final resting place of the original Palm OS architecture. However, between the release of those two devices, the entry and subsequent SDK of Apple’s iPhone proved a far more significant turning point in the evolution of consumer smartphones. The iPhone’s resonance and popularity have provoked responses from many competitors, but there is a particular contrast in the flagship CDMA touchscreen handsets released by RIM and Palm — the other two smartphone developers that grow their own operating systems — since then.

Continue reading Switched On: With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm

Filed under: Cellphones

Switched On: With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments