The latest Nielsen survey released shows some pretty amazing trends in the cell phone industry. First to note is that smartphones now account for 50% of all phone purchases in the U.S., marking a 38% increase over last year at this time. According to Nielsen, this growth is attributed to increasing smartphone adoption, with more than two thirds of the phones purchased in the last three months being smartphones.

What could be considered even more of a telling sign of things to come are the numbers per platform. Android remained unchanged with 48% of the market share, with iOS coming in at 43% and the remaining 9% comprised of RIM, Nokia and Microsoft. The increase of iOS and the unchanged share of Android smartphones in the survey show that these two powerhouses form nothing short of a duopoly in smartphone purchases, in the U.S. RIM slipped to an all time low of 5% with all ofthers comprising the remaining 4%.

While Android is at the top and iOS is steadily coming up behind them, what does this leave for RIM, Nokia and Microsoft? Will they be able to survive the loss of so many new customers? Do they have something up their sleeves to turn things around or are we destined to witness their collapse in the cell phone industry? Which OS do you use and are you tempted to try anything else? If so, which ones?

Give us your thoughts below!

Source: Nielsen Survey

Research In Motion – or blackberry as most of us know has had to cut Jobs by 2,000 people. They did this move to stay current, fresh, and well to stop the bleeding of users not flocking towards their devices. These cuts were the second line of cuts, which were done to help reallocate, and restructure the company.

RIM as you well know has been losing customers by the boat load, flocking towards iPhone, and Android…Why? Simple APPS! RIM has been very slow to adopt new ideas such as apps and UI changes, let alone touchscreen and fast smoother phones.

RIM is hoping to attract users by their new system QNX. You can find the QNX on the sluggish but nice Blackberry tablet. (I know it is sluggish – played with it at Sprint last night). But problem is that most blackberry users like the blackberry for it’s simple and dependable OS, QNX is not tested, and therefore not tried and true.

With more layoffs possible RIM is hoping for a small miracle to get them through, but one thing is for sure, if they don’t change the writing is on the wall. So what are your thoughts PPCG, is Blackberry QNX system the life changing force to save the company? Will it bring RIM back to the front lines of cell phones? Tell me below!

Source: Mobiledia

WOOONELLY! Looks like the Cell Phone Gods have blessed Sprint customers! This document says it was last updated on July 22nd, so if that is true then this should give all you Sprint (and not Sprint) customers something to look forward too! It is always changing so please take this with a grain of salt but it looks to be a lot of phones! We are going to list them all out for you in a lovely bullet list…. Why? Because I want to and I like to break it all down for you!

• Samsung D600: Also known as the Conquer 4G, it’s currently slated to arrive August 21st.

• BlackBerry Bold 3: Also known as the Bold 9900/9930.
• Kyocera KYC5120: No word yet on exactly what this handset may be, but the fact that it’s due to replace the aging Samsung Intercept suggests that the 5120 is an Android phone of some kind. May be due on September 9th, which is a couple of days earlier than the previously-leaked September 11th launch. It’s worth mentioning that September 11th is a Sunday, which is the day of the week that Sprint normally launches phones on
• BlackBerry Curve 4: We’ve known this handset as the Curve 9350 and Apollo in the past. Also reportedly due to hit Sprint on September 9th.
• Motorola XT603: Mysterious device that may hit Sprint on October 2nd
• Motorola MB855: Also goes by the name Photon 4G, coming July 31st.
• Sprint M650: Said to be the Huawei M650, another smartphone that we know little about as of now. Reportedly coming on October 30th.
• ZTE V55 tablet: Sounds like a tablet, no? Not much is known about the device, but it could be launching in the first quarter of next year.

But WAIT! That’s not all for the next Quarter we get word that Sprint is going ot be launching their NEW Direct Connect push to talk network! This is to replace the old and dieing iDEN network set to be killed off in 2013!  Their Direct Connect is Sprints vision to grow PPT to 2.7 Million miles up from the 908,370 square miles iDEN covers now. The first two handsets, the Kyocera DuraMax and DuraCore, will feature a rugged construction and will be out later this year along with a Motorola-made smartphone. Sprints Official News Brief is below – enjoy the reading!

So with all this great Sprint love how does this make you feel??  Yea well for me I feel good knowing the Now Network is stepping up and going to release an onslaught of devices, even if it is Blackberrys, and Android (now WP7 love)… But you know they start somewhere and finish with the best plans, and now phones! Tell me what you think PPCG Sprint Lovers!

Source: Phonedog

Sprint Prepares for 4Q Launch of Sprint Direct Connect with Feature-Rich, CDMA Handsets

First phones come packed with broadband capabilities and next-generation functionality; New phones will operate on push-to-talk footprint that’s triple the size of Sprint’s current one

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), July 25, 2011 – Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced the initial phones it plans to deploy in the fourth quarter when the company launches its next-generation, push-to-talk service powered by Sprint’s broadband CDMA network. The new service – Sprint® Direct Connect – will deliver higher bandwidth capacity to keep up with customers’ data demands and is expected to extend the company’s push-to-talk coverage to almost triple the square miles of the company’s current push-to-talk offering.

The Sprint Direct Connect phones to be introduced this fall will be the Kyocera DuraCore and the Kyocera DuraMax. As previously announced, a third handset — a Motorola smartphone — will be described closer to the launch of Sprint Direct Connect. The devices will feature most of the capabilities available on current Sprint push-to-talk phones plus next-generation, push-to-talk applications and functionality. Specific availability dates and pricing for each device will be released later.

“Sprint is thrilled to launch Sprint Direct Connect with a strong starting lineup of phones,” said Fared Adib, Sprint vice president of product development. “These devices represent the new gold standard in push-to-talk technology.”

Devices in 2011

Kyocera DuraMax brings customers advanced technology wrapped in a rugged exterior with a clamshell form factor. It offers military-grade durability, including water resistance when submerged up to one meter for up to 30 minutes. DuraMax comes with an integrated 3.2-megapixel camera and camcorder. The 32GB expandable microSD memory card slot provides the storage capacity required to manage large files on-the-go. Additional key features include:

* 2.0-inch QVGA TFT main display
* Military standard 810G specifications for dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, blowing rain and immersion
* Encased in rubber, non-slip Dura-Grip® material for sure hold and extra durability
* Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology
* 2.5mm stereo headphone jack (supports PTT headsets)
* 1GB microSD memory card
* Large-font menu option
* GPS navigation enabled
* Supports SMS and MMS messaging and third-party data applications

Kyocera DuraCore is an affordable, high-impact solution for a mobile workforce that relies on push-to-talk. Additional features of this rugged, clamshell-style phone:

* Military standard 810G specifications for dust, shock and vibration
* Encased in rubber, non-slip Dura-Grip material for sure hold and extra durability
* Bi-directional speakerphone
* Bluetooth wireless technology
* 2.5mm mono headphone jack (supports PTT headsets)
* Large-font menu option
* GPS navigation enabled
* Supports SMS and MMS messaging and third-party data applications

In addition to Direct Connect® and group calling options, the devices are expected to enable Land Mobile Radio (LMR) interoperability, simultaneous data and push to talk, and availability notification. In early 2012, Sprint Direct Connect will offer additional capabilities, including international push-to-talk.

Sprint continues to involve developers in the creation of new applications through its Sprint Gets Rugged application developers program. The program provides information, support and tools needed for developers to port applications to Sprint Direct Connect devices and to create innovative applications.

Sprint Gets Rugged application developer program also will be featured at the Sprint Open Solutions Conference, Nov. 2-4, in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information or to register for the conference, please visit http://developer.sprint.com/devcon2011.

More information on the Sprint Gets Rugged application developers program can be found at http://developer.sprint.com/SprintGetsRugged.

Better Coverage and Capacity

Sprint Direct Connect marks a tangible initial benefit of Network Vision, Sprint’s blueprint to deploy a cost-effective and innovative network. Announced in December, Network Vision is expected to consolidate multiple network technologies into one seamless network, resulting in enhanced coverage, quality and speed; better network flexibility; reduced operating costs; and improved environmental sustainability. The plan includes a complete upgrade of Sprint’s wireless networks accompanied by changes in device chipsets and network infrastructure.

The expected benefits of Network Vision to Sprint’s push-to-talk customers will be wide-ranging:

* Push-to-talk coverage footprint is planned to increase to nearly 2.7 million square miles and is expected to cover a population of 309 million (with the addition of 1xRTT and roaming coverage) – an increase from the iDEN network’s 908,370 square miles covering a population 278 million.
* In-building coverage is expected to improve significantly through investment in the most advanced CDMA technology and radio equipment.
* Voice and data capacity is expected to increase significantly as Sprint will be able to fully leverage its industry leading spectrum holdings in 800MHz, 1.9GHz, and – through its relationship with Clearwire – 2.5GHz.

“Our customers are asking for broadband push-to-talk now,” said Paget Alves, president-Sprint Business. “We’ve seen steadily increasing demand for faster data speeds, better and broader coverage, and more applications on push-to-talk devices. Sprint Direct Connect is designed to solve for all three and is expected to come with sub-second push-to-talk call setup time initially in Sprint CDMA Rev. A (3G) coverage areas. Sub-second call setup is expected to expand across the United States with the implementation of Network Vision.”

During the nationwide implementation of Network Vision, Sprint expects to continue operating the iDEN network at current best-ever performance levels. As the customer base shifts to more broadband-centric push-to-talk applications on the CDMA network and Sprint launches Sprint Direct Connect, iDEN cell sites are expected to be phased out in 2013. Sprint account executives will work with customers to provide a smooth transition with personalized upgrade assistance. Sprint also plans to offer current Nextel Direct Connect customers attractive device pricing to help transition to Sprint Direct Connect.

RIM has appeared in the news quite a bit lately. Well today, some new photos of the BlackBerry Monza, or Monaco as it’s known for now, have showed up online in a Greek Blackberry forum. With the promise of some hands on video coming soon, this is the most activity we have seen from the handset since the device simulator was leaked not too long ago and the Sprint inventory image that appeared at the end of June.

These new images don’t really show us anything new about this device, but they do hint that there is recent activity surrounding the device. The BlackBerry Monza will most likely run BlackBerry OS 7 and will have a row of physical buttons under its assumed 3.7-inch display, similar to Android and WP7 devices. Aside from that, rumors have said the device will be powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset. So although it may not be the fastest smartphone on the market, it should be no slouch.

Here are the new images:

Both Monza and Monaco are codenames that signify different carriers the phone will land on. From what we’ve heard and seen so far, Verizon Wireless will get the Monaco while the BlackBerry Monza is said to be the global GSM version.

The Monza/Monaco will have a steep challenge of refreshing RIM’s touchscreen slate smartphone lineup, which some might see as tainted after the whole Storm series. The Monza looks like it will at least be able to somewhat match up with the competition as far as specs are concerned, but OS 7 will still be more or less the same experience as we’ve been seeing on Blackberry devices for the last few years now. If you are looking to get one of these and are expecting a giant change in user experience then you may want to hold out until next year when RIM brings us dual core devices that can handle the QNX operating system found on the PlayBook tablet.

Do you think this device has potential in today’s market?
Is this a viable option for corporate users mostly, or do you think that Blackberry as a business man’s device is a thing of the past?
Will this be enough to keep RIM going, until they implement OS7 next year?
Anyone out there waiting on this handset to arrive? (It’s just us geeks here, you can be honest.)

source: greekberry (Google translated)

A recent interview with Verizon Chief Marketing Officer Marni Walden provides some information on what the future holds for BlackBerry devices at Verizon Wireless. This interview confirms the upcoming arrival of three new RIM devices with the carrier later in the year.

For a while it seemed Big Red was relying heavily on RIM for it’s Blackberry devices, especially with the beginning of the Blackberry “Touch” and “Storm” series. However, since then things have gone quiet on the Blackberry front with the carrier, as they moved their focus almost entirely toward Android and the iPhone. But with this latest news, it seems they may be rekindling their partnership a bit.

The BGR interviewed Verizon Wireless CMO Marni Walden about these new devices and what she had to say was quite interesting. Much of their discussion was focused on 4G, Android, iPhone, and Windows 7,however they did eventually make their way into discussing Blackberry devices coming this year. Marni pretty well confirmed the launch of 3 new Blackberry devices this year.

Walden said, “RIM is still very, very important in the enterprise space. It does resonate in some of the consumer space as well, particularly with BBM. We’ll have three devices this year that we will bring to market with RIM. We’ll continue our partnership and it’ll be important for now going forward.”

Will one of them be a 4G LTE PlayBook?
Is there a CDMA Torch 2 coming to VZW?
The BlackBerry Bold 9930 is likely to be one of them.
What are your thoughts on the other two?
Hit up the full interview at BGR and let us know what you think.

source: BGR

RIM (Research in Motion) recently recalled around 1,000 Blackberry PlayBook tablets due to some devices having a defective build of the operating system. Most of these were unsold units and were at Staples stores thankfully, and not in the hands of consumers.

Some Staples stores were made aware of the issue sometime last week and were told to pull all the affected serial numbers off of their shelves. The few devices sold did cause those consumers to be unable to setup their new PlayBook. Were you one of those few users? Click here for the list of serial numbers affected.

Source:  Apple Insider via Engadget

Blackberry Playbook owners will have access to Angry Birds soon on their devices. This is one popular game that features birds destroying pigs with the help of a slingshot, if you aren’t familiar with the title. Angry Birds is very popular among several operating systems including iPhone OS, Android and Symbian.

The new game will be available soon, in addition to the 3,000 apps already available for the Playbook. There is no official date so all we can do is wait. Some tech journalists have mentioned that the current apps available lacked many features and functions that just don’t work right. How do you think Angry Birds will play out if other games don’t work right?

Do you own one of these? Do you think the Playbook functions well when playing games? We want to know what you think and if you think Angry Birds will be a good addition to this device? Leave your comments in the box below.

Source: Reuters & Intomobile

The moment so many Blackberry users have been waiting for has finally arrived. Well, not exactly. The announcement is here, but youll still have to wait a few more months for the devices to hit your local carriers.

RIM has officially announced the new Blackberry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, which feature the traditional front facing keyboard, touchscreen, 1.2 Ghz processor, and OS 7.

Pricing and availability to be released at a later date.

Press Release

RIM Introduces New BlackBerry Bold Smartphones

New BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Smartphones are the Thinnest and Most Powerful BlackBerry Smartphones yet, Featuring the Renowned BlackBerry Keyboard Together with a Brilliant Touch Screen and the New BlackBerry 7 OS

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled two new BlackBerry® BoldTM smartphones. The high-performance BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature a stunning and iconic design that integrates an incredibly easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard with a brilliant, high resolution, capacitive touch screen. These exceptional smartphones are built on a new, performance-driven platform powered by the BlackBerry® 7 operating system and designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity for users around the world.

“The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones and BlackBerry 7 OS are inspired by millions of customers around the world who want the ultimate combination of performance, functionality and style,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “These fully-loaded and beautifully crafted smartphones offer a highly refined user experience with blazingly fast performance, a brilliant touch screen and an outstanding typing experience.”

Thin, Sleek, Iconic Design

Distinguished by an iconic design and the industry’s best keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature the premium materials and finishes that characterize the BlackBerry Bold line. Both models have a lustrous exterior with a brushed stainless steel frame and a high-gloss glass-weave backplate. They are also the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones yet, at only 10.5mm. The quality materials and optimized design of the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones are instantly evident when held in the hand.

Performance-Driven

These BlackBerry Bold smartphones are built on a new performance-driven platform featuring a 1.2 GHz processor, Liquid GraphicsTM touch screen, and support for high speed 4G/HSPA+ wide area wireless networks.
The Liquid Graphics touch screen, a key new feature powered by BlackBerry 7, delivers fast, smooth performance for highly responsive touch-based navigation, web browsing, pictures, video and graphics intensive games*. Offering up to 60 frames-per-second performance with instant UI action/response, Liquid Graphics gives customers a visually rich and immersive experience that’s responsive to the touch. In addition, the smartphones feature brilliant displays with an eye- popping 287 dpi to deliver crisp, stunning visuals.

The new platform also provides support for 4G networks; the 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity, and the 9930 supports CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA+ global roaming on GSM/UMTS networks.

NFC

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that will enable many rich and exciting experiences. Through NFC, users will be able to, for example, pair the BlackBerry Bold to an accessory or read information such as a web link from smart tags by simply tapping their BlackBerry Bold to an NFC tag (eg. Smart Poster).

Augmented Reality

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature a built-in compass (magnetometer) to support location-based services and augmented reality. APIs will allow third party developers to take advantage of the new functionality within their applications. The new smartphones will also include Wikitude, the leader in mobile augmented reality, which overlays contextual information on what the user sees through the smartphone’s camera viewfinder.

HD Video

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones support up to 720p HD video recording and playback. Users can easily share their videos directly from the smartphone or sync videos, as well as music and photos, to their computer using Media Sync in the BlackBerry® Desktop Software.

BlackBerry 7

The BlackBerry 7 OS is designed to power the new performance-driven BlackBerry Bold platform. It provides an easier and faster user experience with improved browsing, voice- activated searches, the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, as well as additional personal and productivity apps out of the box.

The BlackBerry Browser has been significantly enhanced in BlackBerry 7. In addition to the general performance gains of Liquid Graphics, which helps deliver faster rendering and seamless panning and zooming, the BlackBerry 7 browser includes a new JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler to improve the load time speed of web pages. The new browser also includes support for additional HTML5 elements, such as HTML5 Video.

Building upon the Universal Search feature introduced in BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry 7 expands the capability to include voice-activated search. This new capability makes it even easier and more convenient to search for content on the smartphone or web.

BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® BalanceTM, which separates personal content from corporate content on the smartphone, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the handset for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps while satisfying the very real need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls such as wiping only corporate data from the handset or blocking work related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.

With BlackBerry 7 on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, users will also get the full version of Docs To Go® with all “premium” features enabled out-of-the-box so that users can easily work with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone. Docs To Go also includes a native PDF viewer.

Availability

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer.

For additional information please visit www.blackberry.com/touchbold

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Specifications

• 115 x 66 x 10.5 mm, approximately 130 g
• 2.8″ capacitive touch screen display – VGA (640×480), 287 dpi resolution
• Ultra-easy QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad
• 1.2 GHz Processor, 768 MB RAM
• 8 GB on-board memory, plus microSD slot supporting up to 32 GB cards
• NFC technology
• 5.0 MP camera, supports 720p HD video recording
• Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor
• Built-in GPS / aGPS
• Dual-Band Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5 GHz
• Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
• Wireless Network support:
  • 9900:Tri-BandHSPA+,Quad-BandGSM/EDGE
  • 9930:Dual-BandCDMA/EV-DORev.A, Dual-BandHSPA+,Quad-Band GSM/EDGE
• 1230 mAh removable, rechargeable battery
• BlackBerry 7 OS

Credit: CrackBerry

Recently the Investors notated shares of Research In Motion Ltd. this past Friday and the numbers do not look too good. Several people are now worried that even though Blackberry plans to release more new devices, will it stop their declining sales in the U.S. or will the changes help the company grow again?

The shares were down $7.94, or 14%, to $48.65 on the Nasdaq Stock Market as of last Friday. Not only are RIM executives worried about the decline in the U.S., they are also seeing declines in Latin America as well as other international areas.

RIM’s latest launches, the Blackberry Torch and the long awaited Blackberry Playbook weren’t as successful as RIM had hoped for. RIM seems to be struggling with keeping up with consumer preferences, especially since the iPhone and several successful Android phones. RIM is said to have reached out to app developers and made several recent acquisitions of software companies to address shortcomings and make the changes needed. Several consumers and RIM followers have begun to question whether RIM is doing all they can or not. With the shares on a consistent decline, it doesn’t seem like so or maybe they aren’t trying hard enough.

So what does the future hold for RIM? We aren’t sure but we do know that next week they are said to be releasing a brand new BlackBerry Bold at an annual conference that will be held in Orlando, Fla. Some also expect several new touch-screen BlackBerrys and new versions of the Playbook in coming months. The best part, Blackberry 7.0 is also coming soon and it will include an enhanced Web browser, new smooth and fluid touch interface and improved graphics for gaming and other cool features. Are you excited?

What do you think about the current situation? Is it too late for RIM to come back? Do you think the future with the new devices and changes will be good? Let us know if you care to comment. Leave your comments in the box below.

Source: WSJ

Most of us have heard different rumors and positive/negative descriptions of the Blackberry Playbook lately. Amongst these reports, RBC Capital Markets General Manager Mike Abramsky said that the first day of PlayBook sales were indeed successful. He mentioned the sales likely exceeded analysts’ expectations stating that RIM may have moved about 50,000 PlayBook tablets on launch day alone, including pre-order sales.

The analyst and his team did heavy research to come up with the estimated number of around 50,000 sold at launch day. Believe it or not, most of the stores called actually sold out of the Playbook and some are still unable to stock their shelves. Best buy alone holds stock at 180 additional locations in 10 major U.S. cities. They have the 16GB PlayBook listed as unavailable at 13% of stores, while the 32GB model is listed as unavailable at 87% of stores and the 64GB model is listed as unavailable at 91% of the locations viewed.

Abramsky also noted that the PlayBook may have outperformed first-day sales of Motorola’s XOOM and even Samsung’s popular Galaxy Tab. He also believes that RIM is on track to sell 500,000 PlayBook tablets in its first quarter of availability. Does this surprise you or is it what you expected? Let us know what you think.

Several users who purchased one have said great things about it. They love how different the UI is, how fast and smooth it runs as well as how easy it is to hold. Others, maybe those who haven’t even played with one, have negative things to say about it. Did you get one for yourself? We want to know your opinions. Leave your comments in the box below.

Source: BGR

The technology group Ovum is predicting that by 2016 Android will drive the smartphone market growth by double. The predictions see Android owning 38% of the market, Apple owning 17.5 and Blackberry holding 16.5%.

What is really interesting about this report is Microsoft’s very own Windows Phone 7 holding 17.2%. Way better than RIM?! Ovum is claiming that Windows Phone 7 will be the third place winner in the cell phone wars. Mostly due to the partnership that has been established with Nokia.

However, Ovum points out some potential rewards to the Nokia/Microsoft deal but also some risks. Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach states in the research release: “For Microsoft the deal provides a committed handset partner that has the potential to make Windows Phone a mainstream smartphone platform. The risk to Microsoft is that other handset makers may choose not to compete with Nokia and may turn their backs on Windows Phone.”

While we share all the small frustrations of Windows Phone 7, this report is a friendly reminder to some of the potential that it has in store for users. Who knows, if Microsoft and the carriers can get the update process down pat but if they can this looks to be something good for Microsoft! Then again, if you’re still in the not-so-smart-iverse, you can always get a T-Mobile prepaid cell phone to satisfy your woes.

Tell us PPCGeeks does this surprise you? What do you think of the idea of Windows Phone 7 being third? Is this really a shocking news fact for you, and who knows maybe they will surpass Apple and be in a number 2 spot. Really only time will tell. Tell us your opinion below keep it nice and clean though guys.

Source: wpcentral.com

Keith Pardy, the head of marketing for Research In Motion will be leaving the company in six months for personal reasons. This makes us wonder what changes will take place, if any, and is this a good or bad thing for RIM? They will soon launch their Blackberry Playbook tablet so this notice of resignation comes as a huge surprise to RIM right before the launch.

Sources point out that the BlackBerry brand, which was once equal with Apple’s has recently withered while being under Pardy’s stewardship, according to a January ranking from Brand Keys consultancy.

“The brand’s been losing resonance over the past few years. It does not have the brand cachet to engage consumers the way an iPhone does,” Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff said.

RIM has consistently announced the PlayBook, keeping it fresh in our minds but also took their time to announce release dates or even pricing. While RIM’s still teasing us, Apple has already announced and released a second generation iPad since the Playbook was announced back in September. The iPad 2 will be shipping later this month, maybe even before the PlayBook. Come on RIM, speed up!

Nobody is saying Pardy’s departure will in fact have an impact on the success of the PlayBook and we hope it doesn’t. He was very experienced in marketing and hopefully already had the plan laid out for the PlayBooks success.

Whether it hurts the Playbook or not, I’m more concerned with RIM as a company. Marketing does play a big roll in your success and spreading the word. If they haven’t been doing such a good job lately, what will they do to change it? Do you think this will hurt RIM or make them work harder to succeed? Let us know what you think in the comments box below.

Source: Reuters

RIM has a new program that could save you money on your next device, “The Trade Up Program.” It’s very simple. Purchase a new smartphone and RIM will give you up to $120 for trading in your old one. How nice does that sound? Are you interested? Keep in mind, this is a limited time offer so hurry while the deal lasts.

There are limitations as to what devices are available and acceptable. Users will be allowed to upgrade to one of six BlackBerry models from various carriers and must be turning in one of only five devices on RIMs list. That’s either going to make you happy because you have the ones listed or mad because you don’t have any of them.

The process is simple and we’ll even help you get started. To learn all about it, click here. To start trading in your device, click here.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments box below.

Source: RIM
Via: BGR

Not long ago our Blackberry writer informed us in this article (click here) of the Storm 3 possibly being available soon. We weren’t sure what to believe because of the rumors going around that the production on these devices had come to a halt. Well the rumors are back but this time they are saying the production is going forward at RIM.

A tipster has just recently told N4BB that the BlackBerry Monaco, which could be the ‘Storm3′, has in fact headed into the production lines. Also spreading is the rumor that RIM has dropped the SurePress touchscreen technology from the Storm series. The Monaco is also rumored to have a 3.7-in touchscreen, trackpad, 512MB RAM, OS 6 and possibly a 1GHz processor.

Are you an owner of the Blackberry Storm 1 or 2 and really love your device? If so, maybe you’re in luck for a third series to come out soon. For now the rumors are all over the web so all we can do is wait for RIM to officially announce what their plans are. Until then, leave your comments in the box below or jump into our Blackberry section here on the forums!!

Source: N4BB

Image: Intomobile

We’ve tried to keep our Geeks up to date on the tablets as much as possible, even the unreleased ones such as the Blackberry PlayBook. Here is a cool video of the PlayBook showing the tablets HTML5 and Flash video abilities.

The walkthrough demos several games, videos and websites that all use the aforementioned technologies. You can tell that the videos are very rich and clear when watching the clip. While playing videos there is no need to launch external players.

I’m sure with CES right around the corner you will find us sharing more information on the Playbook very soon. For now, let us know what your thoughts are on the Playbook having full flash capabilities at release date.

Source: BGR

As most of you may already know, Blackberry has been reaching out to 4G LTE device manufacturing ideas but now there are a few things holding them back. Apparently the project has not gone much beyond the early developmental stage. Reports suggest that RIM doesn’t believe that an LTE Blackberry offering is cost effective at this time.

Rumors suggest that the chip to add LTE support is where the real expense is and this is what’s causing the hold up. Other rumors suggest reasons for the holdup include the fact that Blackberry is not yet that battery efficient as well as thinking that the penetration of LTE isn’t yet great enough.

Sources say that while Monaco and Onyx II are still coming, neither of them will offer LTE support. Most would expect that the developments in LTE chips could allow RIM to leverage their early development efforts for the release of a potential LTE offering as well as increase their market share. We will keep our ears open to hear what RIM has to say beyond this point.

For now, what do you think about this? Are you a blackberry addict who refuses to switch and is waiting on 4G to be available on your device? If so, does this change your mind about having a blackberry?

Source: Fudzilla

The race for the lead is on! Numbers are increasing consistently and Nielsen has the results spreading around the web like wildfires. According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40%) makes it the leading OS among recent acquirers. This is the most recent recording available.

When it comes to overall consumer market share, according to Nielsen, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is (26.1%) putting it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. In other words, RIM remains statistically tied with both Apple for first and Android for third. Did you expect to hear that?

We can tell from these results that all three smartphone OS leaders – Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android are benefitting from strong demand for smartphones. In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone. Guess we can say the world is relying more on technology in phones these days. Would you agree? Let us know what you think about these results.

Source: BGR & Nielsen

Looks Like everyone is posting their Q3 reports this week. First it was Microsoft, now HTC is reporting gigantic numbers this morning, including 3.3 BILLION in revenue. This is doubling the amount of phones shipped in 2009 to bring them to about 25 million total phones on the market! Not too bad for company who just 3 years ago went public.

On top of the news, HTC expects Android to keep going strong and yes, those huge numbers do seem to be Android related. They also seem to think WP7 will be doing well, although they had nothing significant to say on that matter. Launching five new design phones on a new OS shows their commitment though.  HTC is in position to continue to explode! They now rival Samsung for #4 maker in the world, falling behind Nokia, RIM and Apple.

HTC Says in the report:

“We believe the overall pie is still big enough to have at least three to four tier-1 players enjoy the growth momentum,” it said, adding that it saw “tremendous opportunities” for customers to be able to integrate other Microsoft services into Windows Phone 7 devices.

“HTC said that it also expects its fourth quarter gross profit margin to be around 30 percent”.

What do you think of HTC phones, knowing that HTC is primarily a Hardware developer and not into the OS themselves to much? Is there a phone that you like better that you wish HTC would learn from?   Do you think the overal pie is big enough for 4 major players or do you think something is going to come crashing down on any of them? Let us know your thoughts on best phone manufacturer and why you think that!

Source WPCentral.com and Reuters.com

The leading market research company, The NPD Group, has announced that Android has surpassed Apple’s OS market (primarily being the IPhone) to be now only behind RIM in the mobile market. Based on unit sales to consumers last quarter, the Android operating system moved into second place at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (at 36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (at 21 percent).

So what does this mean now that the grasshopper OS, being popularized for only two years, has surpassed its Apple predecessor which has had a year head start over it. More importantly, what does it mean for “Big Giant” RIM, whom held the market by storm for years now, seeing smaller, younger OSes gobbling up their market share.

Another important figure is that according to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

Tell us your thoughts!

According to the NPD group, a large majority of Android Sales are in part due to the release of Verizon Wireless’s DROID, Incredible, and T-Mobile’s frontrunning of the MyPhone and older Android devices.

Android Shakes Up U.S. Smartphone Market

First quarter 2010 information from The NPD Group’s Mobile Phone Track reveals a shift in the smartphone market, as Android OS edged out Apple’s OS for the number-two position behind RIM.

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, May 10, 2010 – The Android operating system (OS) continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple for to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD’s wireless market researchreveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (21 percent).

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”

Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

“Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry’s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices,” Rubin said. “Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.”

The continued popularity of messaging phones and smartphones resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones, despite an overall drop in the number of mobile phones purchased in the first quarter. The average selling price for all mobile phones in Q1 reached $88, which is a 5 percent increase from Q1 2009. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $151 in Q1 2010, which is a 3 percent decrease over the previous year.

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically-representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. Note: Sales figures do not include corporate/enterprise mobile phone sales.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information,contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.

ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, has released their latest study yesterday, which shows common trends in the US Wireless Market for the first three months of this year. According to the study, Verizon holds the most market share at 31.1%, while At&t is second with 25.2% and Sprint and T-Mobile both had around 12% each. For device manufacturers, Motorola and Samsung took the top spot with 21.9% each, then LG with 21.8, and finally RIM and Nokia with 8.3%.

They also did a study to compare how people use their phones. While actually talking on the phone wasn’t measured, the other results seemed pretty standard. 63.7% of users use SMS/MMS, 30.1% surf the web, 28.6% downloaded apps, 21.8% played games, 18.7% accessed blogs and social networking sites, and 13.2% of users used their phones to listen to music.

How do you think this compares to the latest satisfaction surveys by ChangeWave that we reported on yesterday? At&t is clearly in 2nd place for market share, and yet, according to the ChangeWave study, they have some of the most dissatisfied customers and the highest dropped call rates. Some of these results seemed to be skewed a little, as we talked about on the Podcast last night. I’ve been an At&t user for almost 2 years now, and I previously had Sprint. My customer satisfaction has been about equal for both companies and my dropped call rates have been about the same. What’s been your experience?

Source: ComScore via DSLReports