Hasta La Gadget!

The first quarterly earnings report post-Wake Up Call have just been published for Canada’s own Research in Motion, and while the cash is still flowing, investors and analysts alike aren’t feeling too rosy about the future. Despite Q2 revenue of $4.2 billion and a GAAP net income of $329 million, RIM’s stock plummeted nine percent following the news. Why? That reality was at the lowest end of estimates, and as we’ve seen, it takes a blowout quarter to please the folks on Wall Street. Nevertheless, the company’s touting a subscriber base that ballooned 40 percent year-over-year (surpassing 70m total), and while it’s quick to trumpet the rollout of seven new smartphones, not a one of them managed to astound the QNX-desiring critics. The report also notes that 10.6 million handsets were moved in the quarter, around $780 million was invested as “part of a consortium of companies that successfully bid to acquire intellectual property assets from Nortel,” and it’s forecasting that BlackBerry smartphone shipments in Q3 will grow between 27 percent and 37 percent compared to Q2. Sadly, the company only “shipped” 200,000 PlayBook tablets, with the prevailing thought being that it actually sold far fewer. Moreover, nary a forecast was given for future PlayBook sales.

As for thoughts from the head honcho(s)? Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, stated that “overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older models,” further noting that his firm will “continue to build on the success of the BlackBerry 7 launch to drive the business as we focus our development efforts on delivering the next generation, QNX-based mobile platform next year.” Next year is a long, long way away, though, and there’s no doubt whatsoever what kind of competition will be in place by the time 2012 rolls around. We’ll be hopping on the analyst call here in a few, and you can look beyond the break for any notable mentions.

Continue reading RIM’s Q2 earnings report: $329 million in net income, not enough to fend off critics

RIM’s Q2 earnings report: $329 million in net income, not enough to fend off critics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Googles‘ powers of perception have become a little more perspicacious, thanks to a new update for Android users. With version 1.6, tourists can use their smartphones to take a picture of a given area, while Google’s visual search app works in the background to identify any notable landmarks, paintings or other objects. If it picks up on anything of interest, it’ll automatically notify the user, instantly endowing him or her with gooey chunks of knowledge. It seems like a pretty user-friendly refresh, though things will really get interesting if faces ever get involved. Hit up the source link below to download the update for yourself.

Google Goggles Android update makes your vacation photos slightly more interesting originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the LG Marquee’s gearing up for its coming out party. We first caught wind of the Optimus Black clone when it surfaced in blurrycam form at a Radio Shack briefing, running what appeared to be vanilla Android, and branded for the Now Network. Well, thanks to a leaked press shot over on PocketNow, we can clearly see that the device is, indeed, sporting a lightly-skinned version of the pure Gingerbread experience, with Sprint ID replacing the browser in the phone’s launcher. Cosmetically, you’ll also notice the new grey-colored chassis has a striped band sweeping down the battery cover, although the camera placement remains similar to its European cousin. Aside from that, the only other notable difference is in the design and arrangement of the capacitive buttons. The specs seem to fall line with its elder LG stablemate, as the handset packs a single-core 1GHz processor, 2 megapixel front-facing / 5 megapixel rear cameras and 4-inch NOVA display. The only question that remains is whether you’re willing to forgo impending beastliness for elegance this October when it’s rumored to launch.

Update: Sprint’s made it official. The LG Marquee’ll be available for pre-order online on September 20th, and will go on sale October 2nd for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract.

Continue reading LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official)

LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, LG’s gone ahead and made the successor to the Optimus One all official-like. The device you’ve previously known as the Univa (E510) has been renamed as the Optimus Hub, and it’s set to arrive in Italy next month for €199 off-contract. The specs remain the same since we first peered at the handset, though we’re now able to fill in some additional gaps. First, the camera has received a bump to 5 megapixels, and while the phone’s ability to record video still tops out at VGA (640 x 480), it’ll now capture up to 24fps (rather than 18fps with the Optimus One). Sadly, an LED flash remains absent from the scene. This Euro version features quad-band GSM support, although its 3G connectivity is limited to the 2100 and 900MHz bands and HSDPA caps out at 3.6Mbps. HDblog (based in Italy) was fortunate to get some hands-on time with the device, and even if you don’t speak Italian, it appears to operate quite well — just take a peek after the break. How will it compare to offerings from Huawei and ZTE in the battle for your hard-earned coin? That folks, remains to be seen.

Continue reading LG Optimus Hub officially outed as successor to Optimus One dynasty (video)

LG Optimus Hub officially outed as successor to Optimus One dynasty (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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