Tag: RIM

There's probably never going to be a tablet that unseats the iPad, just as there never was an iPhone killer or a serious iPod competitor. But that doesn't mean that some companies won't make great products and fantastic business decisions. Case in point is RIM, which yesterday announced that the forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook will support Android apps. There are some caveats, of course. For ...

RIM has decided to pull all BlackBerry apps designed to help drivers avoid sobriety checkpoints, in response to a request filed by four Democratic Senators. Thus far, at least one app has already vanished from the BlackBerry App World, a fact that drew praise from New York Senator Charles Schumer. "RIM's decision to remove these apps from their online store proves that when it comes to drunk ...

A group of Senators is asking Apple to remove from its App Store all apps designed to help drunk drivers avoid checkpoints -- apps that the politicians consider "harmful to public safety." In a letter, four Senators -- Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Tom Udall (D-NM) -- argued that apps that help drivers avoid speed traps, sobriety checkpoints and police ...

Research in Motion is urging BlackBerry users to disable JavaScript on their smartphones after a major vulnerability was exposed at this year's Pwn2Own hacker challenge. According to the company, the security hole could allow a hacker to gain access to the device's data if a user stumbles upon any "maliciously designed" websites. The vulnerability only exposes data stored on a user's media card ...

RIM may have resolved its BlackBerry issues in the Middle East and Indonesia, but the company's negotiations with India seem to have hit a wall. Today, the smartphone manufacturer reiterated that it cannot allow the Indian government to monitor corporate e-mails sent from Blackberry devices because, according to RIM, the technology simply doesn't exist. "We can't give a solution for enterprise ...

Many BlackBerry owners bemoan -- and remain ignorant of -- their devices' various messaging and keyboard settings. BlackBerry does, however, offer an impressive variety of shortcuts and alternative options, although those features are located within an extensive and disorganized menu arrangement. When sending messages, typing purists may want to manipulate the AutoText predictive text and spell ...

RIM has agreed to block porn sites on all BlackBerry devices within Indonesia, as part of the government's ongoing efforts to rid its country of online smut. In a statement released today, RIM confirmed that it's in negotiations with local service providers to find a "prompt, compliant filtering solution" before the government-imposed deadline of January 21st. If the company does not comply ...

Tech-related comedy is usually painfully awkward (e.g., any number of 'I'm a Mac' spoofs), but the BBC's sketch comedy 'The One Ronnie' may have pulled it off in a recent skit. Comedians Harry Enfield and Ronnie Corbet delightfully take on the tech industry's obsession with fruit, and throw in a few dongle, Windows and Microsoft jokes for good measure. ...

It might not be enough to make BlackBerry the must-have smartphone platform, but RIM has scored a major victory by finally bringing the Amazon MP3 store to its devices. Users will be able to buy and download music over Wi-Fi and 3G, and share tracks using BBM. The app is in beta right now, but you can download it here to give it a whirl. ...

RIM just announced that the latest version of its Facebook for BlackBerry app (version 1.9) is now available in the BlackBerry Beta Zone. The update brings a number of new features, including a dedicated inbox for Facebook messages (if you prefer to keep them separate from your primary BlackBerry inbox) and the ability to search for users and pages. You'll be able to quickly view mutual friends, ...

What makes the iPad superior to every other tablet on the market? According to Steve Jobs, it boils down to one thing: size. During yesterday's earnings call, Apple's CEO, as you'd expect, spent a lot of time talking about how Apple's products are way better than anything else mankind has ever known. RIM's business model, according to Jobs, is intrinsically flawed, leading him to conclude that ...

BlackBerry's long-awaited Style 9670 smartphone will finally hit stores this Halloween, according to an announcement from RIM and Spring issued this morning. The Style, which will be available in either Steel Grey or Royal Purple, offers users what Spring VP of Product Development Fared Adib calls a "compact flip form factor," as well as a full QWERTY keyboard. As Engadget explains, the ...

It was really a matter of when, not if, RIM would throw its hat into the tablet arena with a BlackBerry branded device. Now the fun and games iPad has an appropriate foil in the all business BlackBerry PlayBook. The 7-inch device runs an "amplified" (to use RIM's marketing speak) version of BlackBerry OS with multi-tasking, a WebOS-like app switcher and a brand new WebKit browser with support for ...

BlackBerry's App World is finally leaving beta status. Now live and available for everyone, the App World 2.0 shift features a variety of beneficial (and overdue) upgrades and services for app shoppers. The alterations include the institution of a more flexible pricing scheme, the welcome arrival of wireless and credit card billing options, and the introduction of 'Top 25' app lists, which users ...

We all know that iPhone users struggle to place or receive calls on their smartphones -- except, apparently, when said calls are of the 'booty' variety. According to a recent survey from OKCupid, iPhone owners, on average, have more sex partners than either Android or BlackBerry owners. In a survey of 9,785 smartphone users, OKCupid's team of statisticians found that the typical male iPhone ...