BlackBerry 10 QWERTY handset on the horizon

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RIM is ramping up its BlackBerry 10 preparations renaming its app store, inviting developers to enter the app revenue guarantee and allowing the most dedicated to sign up for the Dev Alpha C handset.

The latest news was announced at RIM's BlackBerry Jam event in Asia, where it was confirmed that devs who had submitted two or more apps would be ranked by a series of criteria, with the top 1,500 getting priority on the Dev Alpha C unit.

The Alpha C will be the first Dev handset to sport the famous BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard, and it may give us some idea of what the first consumer handset will look like – which due to land in early February 2013.

Research in Motion has given out over 7,500 handset to developers in a bid to encourage as many as possible to build apps for BB 10 – something the BlackBerry brand is sorely in need of.

A whole new world

We already know that the App World will be given a facelift to bring it more in line with the experience we get on Apple's App Store and Google Play, and RIM has now revealed its new name: BlackBerry World.

The removal of "App" from the title shows the firm's new direction of offering more than just applications in its store, with movies and music likely to feature.

Developers keen to guarantee themselves $10,000 (around £6,100/AU$9,500) of app revenue can now sign up for the incentive, with the Gold APK being released on December 11, providing everything required to complete apps before the January 21 deadline.

We've spoken to RIM and once the Dev Alpha C units arrive we will get hands on with the device to bring you all the latest from the new keyboard offering.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/blackberry-10-qwerty-handset-on-the-horizon-1116126

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HTC hopes to turn its dwindling market share around with 2013 marketing blitz

HTC has appointed a new chief marketing officer in a bid to turn its dwindling market share around. It's planning an entirely new strategy, dubbed Marketing 2.0 internally, which will be implemented next year.

HTC knows it has got to do something about its position in the market, which has been steadily declining ever since Samsung became de facto king of the Android smartphone. Its plan involves a marketing blitz, which it has named Marketing 2.0 internally, as it has obviously found out being “quietly brilliant” just isn’t enough.

To herald this new beginning, HTC has appointed Benjamin Ho as the new head of Marketing, and he will join the company in January. Former marketing boss John Wang will leave the company, while Jason Mackenzie — who has been looking after marketing and sales strategy — will now solely focus on sales.

Ho comes to HTC from Far EasTone Telecommunications, where he was VP of Business Strategy and Marketing and prior to this, he was CMO at Motorola Asia. When he arrives at HTC, his first project will be Marketing 2.0, which according to HTC is designed to “refocus [the company’s] efforts around holistic marketing and mass-market brand outreach.” Just in case you don’t speak Marketing Fluff, this means HTC wants a broader, everything matters strategy, presumably feeling its current approach is too niche or abstract.

HTC has captured business headlines recently due to its poor financial performance, having posted a fourth consecutive loss during the third quarter of this year. According to Interbrand, HTC’s brand value has fallen by 24-percent this year, but it remains the number one Taiwanese brand name, beating Acer and Asus. Samsung, however, was listed as one of Interbrand’s top rising brands of 2012, gaining 40-percent brand value over the previous year. The Korean firm has also been linked with a rebranding project, set to be revealed during CES 2013, but it may not be as grand as many initially thought.

As for HTC, it has signed a joint patent licensing deal with Apple, is still hanging on to fifth position in IDC’s global smartphone market share report and has recently launched the exciting Droid DNA with Verizon. It’s not all doom and gloom, so maybe a new marketing play will help turn things around in 2013.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/htc-planning-marketing-blitz/

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Microsoft breaks the silence, says Windows Phone 7.8 will be along in early 2013

After months of silence, Microsoft has spoken about the Windows Phone 7.8 update, confirming that it's still being worked on and that it's scheduled to arrive early next year.

Microsoft has finally provided a few more details on Windows Phone 7.8, the update designed to appease Windows Phone 7 device owners who won’t be receiving an upgrade to Windows Phone 8. However, although the news confirms it’s still being worked on, there’s no exact launch date.

Windows Phone 7.8 was announced alongside Windows Phone 8 in June, but when the new software was released at the end of October and Microsoft did not mention it at all, we questioned what was going on. Microsoft promised new information “in the coming weeks,” and here we are.

Terry Myerson, Corporate Vice President of Windows Phone, has now covered the topic on the official Windows Phone Blog. We already know WP7.8 will bring the new Start screen to older devices, but now we also know it will feature new themes and 20 different accent colors, plus the chance to make the Bing Picture of the Day your lock screen image. Microsoft has also provided some extra security with a new passcode system too.

If you’ve been following the Windows Phone 7.8 story, then you’ll recognize most of these features from a late-October leak, however there has been no confirmation of Xbox Music, SmartGlass or the possibly Lumia-specific Bluetooth media transfer feature.

So when is it coming? If you’re heading out to buy a new Windows Phone 7 device, which Nokia still produces, then in the near future it should come with Windows Phone 7.8 already installed. Myerson explains that these cheaper devices are “incredibly important for broadening the reach of Windows Phone across the globe.”

As for the update, it’s not coming until “early 2013,” confirming Microsoft’s split strategy rumored in mid-November. So, that’s a five month wait between announcement and now, plus at least another month until it’s even slightly likely to appear? That’s pretty slow, Microsoft. The post says it’s working with networks and hardware partners to get the update approved, so it can be on as many devices as possible early next year. How early is early? Only Microsoft knows, but with the Apollo Plus Windows Phone 8 update rumored to be up for discussion at Mobile World Congress 2013 — which begins on February 25 — it’s logical to expect more information then.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/microsoft-says-windows-phone-7-8-will-be-released-in-early-2013/

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Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 7.8 update in early 2013

Just as its previously teased, Microsoft officially announced the eagerly awaited Windows Phone 7.8 update is going to see the day of light in early 2013.

The guys at Redmond didn't specify an exact date of the launch, but we now know for sure that Windows Phone 7.8 won't be coming for Christmas.

In the announcement at its official blog, the company re-confirmed some of the new features that will come as a part of Windows Phone 7.8.The new available colors for the UI theme were mentioned (bringing the total to 20). The additional Exchange security enhancements and ability to resize the Live tiles were also revealed, but are nothing new.

There was nothing mentioned on the rumored update that was said to follow Windows Phone 7.8 on legacy smartphones, though.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/microsoft_to_launch_windows_phone_78_update_in_early_2013-news-5139.php

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RIM loses patent dispute with Nokia, may have to pay royalties on Wi-Fi handsets

Nokia wins patent dispute against BlackBerry

Think Apple and Samsung are the only two phone companies battling it out in patent disputes? Think again. A Swedish arbitrator has just ruled in favour of Nokia against RIM, claiming the BlackBerry maker owes Nokia royalties for every Wi-Fi enabled smartphone sold.

The arbitration proceeding was initiated to try and extend a 2003 patent deal between the two companies to include devices with Wi-Fi.

In the end though, the ruling fell in Nokia's favour. "RIM is liable to pay royalties and damages to Nokia for its ... sales of any subscriber terminals (handsets or tablets) ... compatible with the WLAN standard," the ruling stated.

There doesn't seem to be too much wriggle room for RIM to get out of this one. The ruling can't be appealed, which means that the Canadians either need to reach a royalty agreement with Nokia, or risk having an injunction put against all their products.

Tough timing

The ruling comes at an inopportune time for the Canadian company, just months away from releasing its long awaited BB10 operating system.

With so much riding on the new platform's success, analysts are expecting the company to reach a royalty agreement with Nokia relatively quickly to enable the smoothest possible launch for BB10.

Via: Reuters

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/rim-loses-patent-dispute-with-nokia-may-have-to-pay-royalties-on-wi-fi-handsets-1116086

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Think you’re colorblind? There’s an app for that

A recently announced app challenges users' vision through a series of color blindness tests.

Mobile developers have created apps for virtually every need imaginable. From the common to the obscure, if you’re looking to solve a problem chances are you’ll find an app to fit your needs. Well, the mobile industry can now add another notch to its belt. EnChroma has just unveiled the first scientifically validated app to test for color blindness among users. The test, which is suitable for both adults and children, is free for Android and iOS platforms and can also be taken online. 

EnChroma’s test is based on a certain type of image known as a pseudo-isochromatic plate. This image consists of a random pattern of dots that vary in color and brightness. These variations exist to hide simple geometric patterns in the image, such as a circle, square or diamond. The only way the user will be able to spot these shapes is to be able to distinguish the colors from one another. The test starts out fairly simple, but the shapes get more difficult to pick out as the challenges progress. The colors are contrasted in the early stages, but as users move forward the shades become more closely matched and the shapes become ambiguous. Coming from someone who scored in the perfect color vision category, it’s somewhat of a struggle toward the end.

Beside the shapes is a sidebar with meters measuring deficiency in the four different categories: Protan/ L-Cone Deficiency (red and green), Deutan.M-Cone Deficiency (a different shade of red and green), Tritan/ S-Con Deficiency (yellow and blue), and Confidence (black and white)

The app provides the user with a diagnosis of their performance immediately upon completion. If a user shows any deficiency, it will specify what type and to what extent when necessary.

Like the images in the test, color blindness can come in different variations. According to EnChroma, about 10 million Americans and 284 million people worldwide have trouble distinguishing red and green colors. Many of these people do not even realize they are colorblind, EnChroma revealed in a written statement.

“In the diagnosis of poor color vision, the standard testing method requires a trip to the doctor’s office,” Don McPherson, PhD, vice president of products at EnChroma said in the statement. “Not only is it scientifically backed, it’s free to take and is easily available at your fingertips.”

According to Enchroma’s VP of technology Andrew Schmeder, more than 1,000 people have tested their vision since the test became available last week.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/colorblind-theres-an-app-for-that/

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Ballmer: Microsoft selling four times as many phones as last year

Thanks, W8

Microsoft held its annual shareholder meeting this morning and while we're sure it was exhilarating to hear CEO Steve Ballmer rattle off cash flow figures, there were some interesting tidbits to pick up.

Notably, Ballmer told the gathered group that Windows Phone 8, though young, is already helping the Softies sell four times as many phones as it did this time last year.

What Ballmer didn't specify was exact figures - something we've been lacking from the company in general when it comes to its new Windows 8 platform and the hardware packing it.

We learned Tuesday that Microsoft has managed to sell 40 million Windows 8 licenses since the OS's debut Oct. 26, but other than that, the numbers for devices like the Surface tablet are missing.

Growing

Ballmer also reported that the number of Windows 8 PCs has grown to 1,500, with new devices scheduled to go on sale "in the coming weeks."

He claimed that the Windows Phone Store has more than 120,000 apps and that soon the company will hold 46 of the top 50 apps people use.

Windows 8 is apparently also outpacing Windows 7 upgrades and with all the mud being slung at W8 from nearly every angle, it's good to hear some positive news coming out of Redmond.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ballmer-microsoft-selling-four-times-as-many-phones-as-last-year-1116066

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