Wal-Mart to sell Blackberry Curve 8520 for $48.88
BlackBerry’s new Curve 8520 will be available at Wal-Mart stores in early August for the iPhone-undermining price of $48.88 with a two-year T-Mobile service contract. (T-Mobile stores will sell the phone for $129.99.) The phone, aimed at young social networkers rather than business people, trades off 3G speed for Wi-Fi and digital media support.
The 8520 comes with two gimmicks. One is an optical trackpad in place of the BlackBerry trackball found on the Curve 8300… Continue Reading
Nokia, RIM, Apple to standardize European phone chargers
Ten smartphone makers who control 90 percent of the European mobile market have agreed to ship a standardized charger with their phones starting next year. Gadget makers have talked about standardizing their chargers for years. This time, they have a plan to finally do it.
Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments announced their plans Monday through the European Commission. At first, new phones will come with the… Continue Reading
Roundup: 18 Android phones coming this year, MySpace hoping for innovation, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Google: Expect 18 Android phones by the end of the year — That number could be as high as 20, says Andy Rubin, senior director for mobile platforms.
News Corp. and MySpace execs say MySpace needs to innovate — During an interview at the All Things Digital conference (owned by News Corp., incidentally), MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta also discussed concerns that the site might lose its lucrative search deal with Google, saying the… Continue Reading
Roundup: An Apple netbook hoax, a BlackBerry sales victory, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Is this the new Apple netbook? — Cult of Mac published an image from “a trusted contributor.” But no, it actually turned out to be a student-created wooden model. Oops.
RIM’s BlackBerry Curve unseats Apple’s iPhone in sales – One of the big drivers of this victory? An aggressive “buy one get one free” campaign by Verizon.
FTC looks at overlap of Apple and Google boards — The question is whether those ties reduce competition between… Continue Reading
Roundup: New Android G2 makes an appearance, layoffs hit 300,000, Apple sales slowing
Here’s the latest action:
HTC’s G2 Android phone – Sites like Gizmodo are giving the new Android phone the thumbs up based on working demos available at the Mobile World Congress.
Hacking Caller ID – A service dubbed TrapCall from TelTech Systems of New Jersey lets people figure out who is calling them, even if that caller is trying to stay anonymous by using Caller ID. Now what will obscene pranksters do to hide?
Lots of cash, but no buying… Continue Reading
Roundup: RIM sales holding up, Panasonic buys Sanyo, TV sales slowing
Here’s the latest action
RIM offers good guidance: Research in Motion said the third quarter was weak but the fourth quarter is turning out better than expected thanks to sales of new BlackBerry models such as the Storm.
Twitpay lets you send money via Twitter: The social messaging service will let people send small payments. Now you can pay for someone else’s drinks using your cell phone.
Illegal downloads losing ground to legal music: Sales of legally downloaded songs are… Continue Reading
MySpace application helps Blackberry phones get more social
The MySpace application for Research In Motion’s Blackberry smartphones has been downloaded more than 400,000 times since it was introduced a week ago. The two companies claim this is an app download record for them. Its users have sent a total of more than 15 million messages and updated their statuses more than two million times so far, they say.
MySpace separately launched a mobile site specifically designed for Blackberry phones in early September, so I… Continue Reading
Roundup: Job report hurts stocks, BlackBerry reviews surface and more
Here’s the latest action:
Increase in joblessness spurs stock decline — After the Labor Department reported that applications for jobless benefits exceeded expectations, the Dow fell more than 80 points.
Reviews surface on BlackBerry Storm — CNET’s verdict: The touchscreen is nice, but corporate users are better served by the BlackBerry Bold.
AT&T funds privacy nonprofit — The Future of Privacy’s backing from the telecom giant is just one reason why GigaOM’s Stacey Higginbotham is skeptical that the nonprofit group actually… Continue Reading
Roundup: Yahoo, Apple pre-earnings reports, Akamai’s new ads, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Earnings: Yahoo may shortly be cutting employee compensation – This may be instead of or in addition to planned job cuts.
Earnings: Apple lowballs projections, as usual — Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog has a closer look at this historical trend.
Akamai launches ad targeting service — The content delivery network company has bought ad-targeting company Acerno for $95 million, as part of this new focus.
Research in Motion joins Blackberry cross-device application testing service — The service, DeviceAnywhere,… Continue Reading
Analyst: BlackBerry Bold is strong but ‘not a game changer’
The new BlackBerry Bold smartphone, which is widely seen as manufacturer Research in Motion’s attempt to steal some of the iPhone’s thunder, will be a “big improvement” over previous models, says Citigroup analyst Jim Suva. He and his team reportedly spent 12 hours testing the new phone and came away impressed.
Suva has predicted that the Bold will play a key role in RIM’s fortunes in the coming months. It’s already available in Europe, and will… Continue Reading
Agito Networks clears the way for enterprise WiFi phones
Agito Networks has figured out a way for enterprises to embrace WiFi based mobile phones even though wireless carriers haven’t made it easy to integrate WiFi with the cellular phone system. Thanks to its clever solution, the company is announcing today that it has raised $13 million in a second round of venture capital.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company hopes to make it easier for big businesses to adopt smart phones with WiFi access for employees who… Continue Reading
Roundup: Diving Dow’s depressing month, Microsoft virtualizes, and Xbox 360 price cuts rumors
Here’s the latest action:
Dow Jones has its worst June since Depression: U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst June performance since the Great Depression. Record oil prices, credit-market write downs and the the economic slump spooked everybody. Goldman Sachs told investors to sell GM stock, sparking a sell-off as crude prices rose again. The broader S&P 500 index fell 2.9 percent on Friday. The Dow is at… Continue Reading
BlackBerry adds Windows Live, releases Bold new device in quest to stave off iPhone
Updated with more info about the BlackBerry Bold
Microsoft and Research in Motion are partnering to bring Windows Live services to RIM’s BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to coming right after RIM’s announcement of the new BlackBerry Bold (implying, I guess, that the old BlackBerry was meek; it’s pictured to the left), this news seems to be RIM’s latest move to keep the BlackBerry competitive with Apple’s iPhone.
Basically, the deal means that BlackBerry customers will be able… Continue Reading
Finally, Apple announces iPhone — vows to leapfrog other smart phones
Updated
Apple has not let us down.
Chief executive Steve Jobs said the company will launch its own phone, dubbed the iPhone, and that Cingular Wireless will provide the phone service, ending weeks of speculation.
It will do much more than make calls and play music. It aims to be a full-fledged smart phone, and is underpinned with some elements of Apple software, such as its Safari browser, which could expose mainstream users to Apple’s eco-system in more… Continue Reading
Motorola buys Good Technology — to compete with Blackberry
(Updated with confirmation that Kleiner and others made money)
Motorola will buy Santa Clara wireless messaging company Good Technology for an undisclosed amount, in an effort to compete for big business clients.
Research In Motion’s Blackberry has dominated the corporate mobile email market, and Motorola’s Q device has failed to make significant traction. Moreover, Motorola’s rival, Nokia, bought mobile email provider Intellisync in February.
The market for wireless email has been brutal, with players like Visto, of Redwood… Continue Reading