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Gadgets RIM

Blackberry PlayBook 3G Version Launching In March?

A number of Blackberry Playbook variants are speculated to launch in the next few months. Firstly, a Wi-Fi only version of the Playbook tablet is expected to launch soon after RIM’s financial year ends in February this year. Besides this, 4G LTE and WiMax variants are also learned to be in the pipeline.

Now another source has claimed that Research In Motion is also gearing up to launch a 3G variant around the end of March or in April. According to this source – apparently a Blackberry administrator who is in the know about RIM’s plans – this device could launch well before the 4G LTE variant launches – presumably in April this year.

Do note that we still do not have anything official at this point in time about either the 3G or 4G variants. So, take this with guarded skepticism for the moment.

Categories
Mobile RIM

Blackberry Dakota Features And Picture Revealed

Boy Genius Report has some interesting scoop that gives us details about the next generation Blackberry device. Called Blackberry Dakota, this will be a Blackberry OS 6.1 based phone that will come equipped with a number of powerful features. The phone is expected to carry a 2.8″ 640×480 capacitive display, a 5-Megapixel camera with HD video recording, flash and image stabilization, 4GB storage along with 768MB RAM.

There are a lot of additional features like a microUSB port, magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity sensor and support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G mobile hotspot. In case you are wondering what this new smartphone from Research In Motion will look like, here is a leaked snapshot as published on BGR

Blackberry Dakota

If these leaked specifications are true, then we should be seeing a device that is considerably better than the latest release. Do you like Blackberry Dakota? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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Mobile RIM

Blackberry 4G Phone Launch Delayed Because Of Battery Issues?

There have been rumors in the past that Research In Motion could be working on a 4G LTE variant of their Blackberry models in order to gain greater foothold in the American market. However, those plans seem to have suffered some setback according to sources.

We hear that RIM has been having trouble keeping the cost of producing such a device under check. The high cost is being attributed particularly to LTE chips. However, that is just one concern.

There is word that regardless of the costs, the phone could still see delay because of the company’s trouble with developing a reliable battery that can work long enough. The company is expected to take some more time to sort out these issues which means a 4G LTE capable Blackberry handset is still a long time away.

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Gadgets RIM

Blackberry PlayBook Launch In March 2011?

So it looks like Research In Motion’s Blackberry Playbook may not be actually shipping this year or soon after the new year begins. Statements from RIM co-founder Jim Balsillie and a spokesperson have together offered a good deduction of the possible launch date of the upcoming Blackberry Playbook.

During the fiscal Q3 conference call, Balsillie noted,

“We’re committed to ensuring the BlackBerry PlayBook is enterprise-ready for launch. […]The PlayBook is expected to begin shipping in the United States in the first quarter of 2011”

In addition to this, a RIM spokesperson had said,

“There are no PlayBook revenues included in our Q4 guidance, and we expect the first revenue impact from PlayBook will be in RIM’s first quarter”

RIM’s fiscal calendar for this year closes on February 26, 2011. That leaves March as the only month in the first quarter of next year when the PlayBook could be available. Incidentally, the Apple iPad is rumored to become available exactly a month later in April. Given that Apple traditionally announces new products a fortnight or so ahead of launch, it is quite likely for Steve Jobs to be making his iPad 2 presentation very much during PlayBook’s initial days.

We wonder if this is going to play a huge factor in the success of the device then!

Categories
RIM Software and Apps

Build Apps For Blackberry Tablet OS – Win A Free PlayBook

Research in Motion is undeniably late to the tablet game. But that doesn’t mean that the company does not have enough armor to fight its rivals. One critical advantage seems to be its incredibly easy app development procedure. The Blackberry Tablet OS SDK supports a number of technologies like Adobe AIR, Flash and HTML that developers who already have applications in these technologies can easily port them over to the new platform.

RIM has also released a PlayBook simulator for Windows, Mac and Linux which means developers on all these platforms can build and test applications that they may submit to the Blackberry App World for inclusion. And that comes with a reward. RIM has announced that developers who get their apps for Blackberry Tablet OS submitted and approved to the App World before the launch of the tablet in North America will win a free PlayBook.

You can check out the complete terms and conditions for the offer on the Blackberry website here.

Categories
Gadgets RIM Software and Apps

Blackberry PlayBook App For Fantasy Football- Video Demo

After years of being known as the business phone guys, Research In Motion has been desperately trying to get mainstream. The launch of PlayBook, the recently unveiled tablet computer, is in this very direction and the company has tried to marry business with entertainment with this new launch.

Now folks at Universal Mind have given us a sneak into what the new Blackberry SDK can offer. The company has released a video demo of their upcoming Fantasy Football app for Blackberry Playbook that, from the preview, looks pretty neat. According to a post on the company’s blog, the new Blackberry SDK is integrated with Adobe Flash Builder which makes it easy for a developer of Flash based games to easily make a Playbook-compatible version of their applications.

“It was entirely built using Adobe Flash Builder and the BlackBerry SDK. The workflow allowed us to deploy a working tablet application in days with full touch and gesture interactions that you would expect in a tablet device.

The framework SDK is integrated into Flash Builder which made for a very familiar dev environment. Compiling the application and deploying it to the PlayBook Simulator is quick and easy with multiple ways to see your application in a working environment. Without a actual device in hand we relied on the Simulator to test all the interactions, so it was a key piece of the workflow.”

If not for anything else, the video demo is a wonderful advertisement for the capabilities of the Blackberry SDK that should really get a lot of developers interested in this platform. Check out the demo embedded below.

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Apple Gadgets RIM

iPad Vs. Playbook – Web Browsing Experience Compared

So here we are with one more comparison video pitting one new gadget on the block against the hyped Apple device in the market. This video has been produced by the folks at Research In Motion and so the disclaimers about the obvious bias towards the Playbook has to be factored in.

But putting aside all of that, the comparison video below is a good indicator of how good the Playbook that runs on a 1GHz dual core processor fares against the iPad that runs on a single core processor. Not just that, the Apple iPad naturally doesn’t come with Adobe Flash and that is obviously a downside. But what’s interesting is that even alternate open standards like HTML5 seem to perform better on the Playbook when compared to the iPad.

Check the video below and draw your own conclusions.

[via]

Categories
Gadgets RIM

Blackberry Playbook Video Demo

Research In Motion’s Blackberry PlayBook is the next big launch in the tablet space and could definitely be a hot commodity at least among users who already flaunt a Blackberry. At the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie noted about a new module cavity in the device that could be used to pack additional features for WWAN and NFC in the near future. In fact, Balsillie went so far to suggest that “we’d be fools not to have it in the near-term, and we are not fools.

So while the anticipation stays high for this upcoming tablet computer, folks at Engadget have managed to get hold of a nice and short video demonstration of the PlayBook in action. The tablet comes across as pretty responsive and seamless which is a great platform to watch videos or surf the web. Check out the video below and let us know what you think.

[via]

Categories
RIM Software and Apps

Kik Messenger For Blackberry Removed From App World

Research in Motion has announced that the company has removed the popular Kik messenger from the App World following a number of issues withthe application. In a statement, the company said,

“RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service and, following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World. RIM is actively reviewing the issues and potential resolutions, and is also continuing its discussions with Kik.”

There is no word on the potential cause for the removal. While it is possible that RIM sees the Kik messenger as a threat to their own Blackberry Messenger, it is also possible that the Waterloo based company sees Kik’s contact farming strategy a bit on the grey side. Anyway, we hear that the two companies are still talking and so a resolution should be offered soon enough.

Categories
Mobile RIM

Now Buy Blackberry Torch For $99 At AT&T Stores

Blackberry Torch is a good piece of gadget. The phone comes with a 3.2″ WVGA touchscreen with 480×360 pixel resolution, a 512MB internal flash memory with 4GB storage, a 5-Megapixel camera and runs on the new Blackberry OS 6. However, Research in Motion does not seem to have sold too many handsets. You will remember that in mid-August this year, Amazon announced a major drop in prices selling the phone at $99 instead of the regular $199 price point. Now, three months later, network carrier AT&T too has announced a similar price drop.

Starting now, Blackberry Torch will be available for $99.99 at the AT&T stores. While this is indicative of the lackluster performance of the Blackberry model, this is in no way an indication of the model being a flop. It is worth noting that the holiday shopping season is just around the corner and AT&T would be pretty keen to stock the best of gadgets during this period to maximize their sales. It is then logical that the company is looking at emptying its stocks of Blackberry Torch well on time to begin the sale of these new gadgets