RIM’s new BlackBerry phones faring well with enterprise, consumer adoption slow

Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry 7 smartphones are seeing strong initial sales among businesses looking to upgrade from older BlackBerry smartphones, however consumer sales have been weak according to Canaccord Genuity. In a research note, Canaccord analysts Mike Walkley and Matt Ramsay found during channel checks that upgrade sales of BlackBerry 7 devices in North America were quite strong with enterprise customers in August. Specifically, Verizon Wireless saw strong Bold 9930 upgrade sales among its substantial enterprise customer base, while AT&T and Sprint saw mixed sales. T-Mobile’s $300 Bold 9900 has not been selling well according to Canaccord’s checks. Read on for more.

 

SOTI Pocket Controller Pro v8.50 Adds OS 7.0 Support & More

SOTI has updated their popular Pocket Controller Pro app to v8.50 this week. This new version mainly brings OS 7.0 support but they have also thrown in a bunch of extra goodies. They added gesture support including keyboard shortcuts and zoom.

 

 

• Support for BlackBerry OS 7.0 In our commitment to the BlackBerry platform, SOTI is proud to support all of RIM’s latest smartphones. Native 7.0 support means better application performance on BlackBerry’s latest devices.
• Pocket Controller-Pro now supports gestures! You can now perform gestures using your mouse or touch screen monitor! Swipe, scroll, and navigate your BlackBerry exactly the same way as you do with your touch-screen BlackBerry smartphones. SOTI Pocket Controller Pro for BlackBerry now gives you 100% of your device’s touch screen experience on your desktop!
• Cut, Copy and Paste using Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V! Additional keyboard shortcuts have been added to save you time. You can now use your keyboard to Cut, Copy and Paste on the BlackBerry using the normal shortcut keys that you’re familiar with on your desktop.
• Automatic Zoom! SOTI has added the ability to see the entire BlackBerry when you first connect to your device.
• Pocket Controller-Pro now has an Exit option! By popular demand, you can now easily exit the BlackBerry application when you’re not using Pocket Controller-Pro and also prevent it from starting up at boot time so it doesn’t use any system resources improving your BlackBerry’s performance and boot time.

You can pick up the free trial of SOTI Pocket Controller Pro on their website after which you can get a license for $35.95.

via:cb

Perfecto Mobile for BlackBerry allows developers remote access to BlackBerry 7 smartphones for app testing

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

While RIM offers developers access to BlackBerry smartphone simulators, for some developers out there testing their apps on real devices offers a much better analysis. For this, Perfecto Mobile has launched MobileCloud for BlackBerry. A service that offers developers remote access to any number of BlackBerry 7 devices on different carriers for which they can test out BlackBerry 7 applications on.

“Real world testing can make all the difference for application developers. MobileCloud for BlackBerry will enable our application development community to quickly and easily test their apps on live BlackBerry 7 smartphones on different networks around the world from the convenience of their web browser,” said Tyler Lessard, Vice President of Global Alliances & Developer Relations, Research In Motion.

The service offers you a free 2 hour testing trial period, after that — it will cost $4 USD plus tax per hour. However, having your app work as expected when finally released is priceless compared the amount of time you’d spend on support emails and other issues that arise with having not test an app fully. If you’re interested in learning more, you’ll find the full press release past the break.

RIM Makes BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 & 9370 Official!

In one fell swoop RIM has introduced the new BlackBerry Curve lineup. Today’s announcement includes the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360, and 9370. They do not mention the differences between the models but obviously there is GSM and CDMA models but maybe the third is for T-Mobile AWS 3G since it is not the all touch Curve that has also been rumored.

About availability of these devices here is what RIM has to say:

Package Tracking for BlackBerry updated to v6.0 – Adds a ton of carriers

When I know I have a package coming, or if I’ve sent something important, I always have to stalk track it to see when it’s arriving. Package Tracking for BlackBerry is a great app for staying on top of deliveries while on the go. Recently updated to v6.0, Package Tracking now can track packages shipped through 44 carriers (when it first launched only 5 carriers were available). The design has been upgraded and the app is now available on most BlackBerry smartphones. You can pick this handy app up on sale for $2.99 right now (reg. $3.99) for your BlackBerry or for $2.99 for your PlayBook.

More information/purchase Package Tracking for BlackBerry[qrcode pix=120]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/Package_Tracking[/qrcode]
More information/purchase Package Tracking HD for BlackBerry PlayBook[qrcode pix=120]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/Package_Tracking_HD_PB[/qrcode]

 

via:cb

 

Google’s Motorola buy could spell trouble for Android partners

By now, you’ve no doubt seen the news: Google intends to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. What this will do is not only give Google access to Motorola’s vast patent library consisting of nearly 25,000 patents, but it will also give Google an end-to-end hardware and software strategy with smartphones, tablets and even with Google TV. The thing is, Google didn’t need to buy Motorola. Google could have just licensed the patents from Motorola. Google bought Motorola because it felt like control of the Android experience was slipping away. It’s apparent that one Nexus-like device from Google a year won’t be enough — MOTOBLUR has probably given Andy Rubin ulcers — and it’s apparent that a company that’s leading in many areas of the smartphone arena wants to control that entire experience. Open or not, it is Google’s, after all. Smartphones and tablets are also going to be the biggest categories in technology for the foreseeable future, and if you think Google is just going to play around with that, well, you obviously haven’t seen the company’s recent moves.

Read on for more.

Press Release: RIM Announces BlackBerry Management Center for Small Business

In efforts to continue to embrace new users and attract even more business users, RIM has announced that they will be launching a BlackBerry Management Center to cater to small business’ of under 100 users, like our Company ( Night Hawk Computers ). The goals of this are to make it easier for small companies to manage not only business owned, but also personal BlackBerry devices. The cloud styled service will allow users to back up their devices, wipe remotely including the SD card, reset passwords, and more with ease, and the best part is that it is a free online service for the users.

Press Release

Are you checking your BlackBerry all the time? You're not alone

It’s no secret that people get easily addicted to their smartphones. Heck, our site IS called NHC Blackberry Alliance after all! Recently a study on this growing trend was conducted by a team at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT) and Intel Labs. Users in the US and Finland were studied and the results show that users obsessively check their devices for email, social media, and news all throughout their waking hours. It was found that typical checking lasts less than 30 seconds, often involving nothing besides simply unlocking the device and accessing one application. And when applications are integrated, for example augmenting the user’s contact list with a foursquare type app, the user began repeatedly checking that application.

Riots in London fueled partly by messages sent via BlackBerry Messenger

 

A few short years ago, if a riot broke out somewhere in the world, you found out about it the next morning when your newspaper was delivered, or on the 6 o’clock news. Nowadays, news spreads at the click of a button, with millions of smartphones connected to Twitter and Facebook. Riots in Vancouver less than two months ago were seen almost instantly through pictures and videos as people used smartphones to record what they saw and upload to social networking. As a result, police were able to apprehend many people who were involved in the looting and destruction.

This weekend rioting again broke out, this time in London. Stemming from a peaceful protest over the shooting of a man named Mark Duggan, things quickly escalated and the gathering erupted into violence. As seen in Vancouver, the destruction and looting was spread across social media and in moments the whole world knew what was happening, including pictures of the people responsible.

20,000 Jamaican teachers to get BlackBerry smartphones in new partnership with RIM

Research In Motion has teamed up with the Ministry of Education to provide approximately 20,000 teachers in Jamaica with Blackberry smartphones for the new academic year. The Canadian High Commission is supporting the initiative, which is aimed at improving communication and increasing technology awareness.

Under the partnership with RIM, the company will be making two of its newest technologies available to teachers – the Blackberry Mobile Voice System, which will reduce costs by having one phone extension for multiple numbers; and the Blackberry Pushcast to enable distribution of content such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, or audio files.