Looking at some of their recent acquisitions and careers sites, it seems they are moving in that direction. A few examples

Gist

Tungle

Jobs At BlackBerry

Even better than a trip down to New York or the new BlackBerry Bold 9900s that we picked up there, thanks to the party my girlfriend finally switched to a BlackBerry. I predict my monthly sent text messages to drop to zero now that she is on BBM.

Checkout my previous post about the BBM Party in NY and the BlackBerry Blog’s recap of the night. Also thanks to RIM’s Luke Reimer for interviewing us and the Edelman crew for putting together such a great contest/event.

Using the App World download reports, I found that my stats are similar to Ebscer’s, though with a smaller proportion of downloads in Canada.

32% of Temp Notes downloads were in Canada, 22% in the United States, 9% in Mexico, 6% in the UK, 2% in India, 2% in UAE, and 83 other countries each with less than 1% of downloads.

(based on 3327 downloads from App World)

Before I explain further, I should probably explain how I typically listen to music. I listen to a small number of songs (typically less than 10) on repeat for days on end. Repeatedly. Until I am completely sick of the songs, then move on to the next crop of songs. My sister can attest to this. I subjected her to the same three songs while driving from Toronto to Montreal, and back.

So BBM Music is kind of perfect for me. I pay a small monthly fee to listen to a few songs over and over, then dump them for a few more songs when I get sick of them. Now when I hear a great song on the radio or from a friend simply I fire up BBM Music, add it to my list, and am listening to it instantly.

Before when I liked a song I would check it out on iTunes/7digital, and try to decide whether I wanted to own it or not. While not a big purchase decision, it certainly took more brain power than adding the song to my BBM Music.

Making BBM Music even better is my new Jawbone JAMBOX. The JAMBOX is the portable wireless speaker that connects to devices over bluetooth. With it, I can listen to my songs from BBM Music out loud with the JAMBOX’s fantastic sound quality and keep my BlackBerry on me (rather than stuck in a speaker-dock). It is a perfect solution for me.

Check out Jawbone’s JAMBOX and RIM’s BBM promo videos below:

Even better: the JAMBOX works with my PlayBook. Hopefully BBM Music makes its way over to the PlayBook someday soon!

Nearly two weeks into January downloads have leveled off from the Christmas spike at roughly 40 downloads per day.

There must have been fair number of PlayBooks under Christmas trees this year! I know I personally was responsible for three PlayBook Christmas gifts. Seeing the bump in downloads has definitely increased my motivation to finish up the two new PlayBook apps I have been working on. My plan is to get them finished before the PlayBook 2.0 update is released, but February 7th is the deadline to submit apps to be approved before 2.0 goes out to the public so it might be a bit tight.

“popular social networking sites like Twitter®, LinkedIn® and others” (from the press release)

So where is Facebook?

It could be the case that Facebook integration was just not ready in time for the CES preview. But I think there must be more to this omission. Facebook is known to be very fickle about providing access to their users’ data, their recent spat with Google as the prime example. Another example is Apple’s failed attempts to partner with Facebook for integration into the Ping social network and iOS.

Perhaps RIM is stuck negotiating the integration with Facebook, holding it up too long to be included in the initial release of 2.0. For business users the lack of Facebook will be a non-issue, but for personal usage this will be a glaring omission.

I won’t go into all the features here, check the press release I linked to above. Here are some of my favourite improvements:

• Messages app has multi-tasking email capabilities with quick switching for referencing emails while composing new ones
• Contacts app has social integration with LinkedIn and Twitter (more networks coming) to create richer contact profiles, and this extends to the Calendar and Messages apps
• Remote Control over BlackBerry Bridge allows you to control your PlayBook from your BlackBerry (keyboard input, mouse control, gesture support, and PowerPoint remote). Perfect for when have your PlayBook connected to an HDTV or when you want to use a physical keyboard. See my old post asking for this feature here: Remote Control of PlayBook via BlackBerry Bridge
• View on PlayBook over BlackBerry Bridge allows you to open links, pictures, videos, emails, etc on your PlayBook from your BlackBerry. So if you are looking at something on your small BlackBerry screen you can easily push it to your PlayBook’s screen instead
• System wide AutoText (contractions, double space for period, auto replacement, common errors) and a Contextual Prediction bar above the keyboard to quickly input words without typing them
• Docs To Go (Office-compatible suite) improvements with critical features that were missing and a new Print To Go app for printing documents to your PlayBook
• BlackBerry Video Store (my old post speculating on the implementation of this)
• Zinio magazine reading app for PlayBook (old post about this app coming soon)

Here is RIM’s video preview of the PlayBook OS update, with Jeff Gadway and Michael Clewley:

There is a ton of great stuff coming for PlayBook users in February. Though we had to wait a while for this update, I think it was worth it for RIM to take the time to really develop a strong update that is going to renew enthusiasm for the platform. I am hoping RIM is holding back a few surprises to announce when the update is officially released in February, but we’ll have to wait and see.

No information on when, or even if, RIM will release this in any markets. I see there was a rumour Sprint in the US would release a white 9860 back in October, but their website only has it in black.

As Sian and I finished up our last exams of our university degrees RIM held a contest called #BBMUglySweater. To enter the contest you needed to download the BBM Avatar Maker app to your BlackBerry, create an avatar of yourself wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, and tweet it to @BlackBerry on Twitter.

As luck would have it, Sian and I both won the contest and were offered the opportunity to attend a BlackBerry party in New York City with four friends, and we would receive new BlackBerry Bold 9900s at the party. An offer we could not refuse!

After finishing our last exams in Ottawa, we drove to Toronto to pick up our friends. With the five of us squeezed into my tiny Saturn we set out for New York City at 4am the day of the party. As we crossed the border, we left the border guards amused that we were driving so far in such a small car for a single night in New York. The drive proved uneventful, though we did get to sample a number of American McDonalds locations as we made our way to New York. BlackBerry Traffic led us through the Lincoln Tunnel, and into my first experience driving in New York traffic.

We squeezed in some brief sightseeing before heading to the Aspen Social Club for the #BBMUglySweater party. There was a line out front when we arrived, though it went quick since it was an invite-only event. In the club there were a few big HDTVs with PlayBooks attached to showcase some of the latest PlayBook games (such as Angry Birds which Rovio released that day). They also had the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones on display and were demonstrating some of the latest apps such as BBM Music.

The party was a great time and we met some interesting people there. This event also helped switch Sian away from her broken down iPhone to a new BlackBerry Bold 9900. Though we did not get a sneak peak at the PlayBook 2.0 OS at the party, from talking to the RIM employees at the party who all had 2.0 on their PlayBooks, it sounds like PlayBook owners are in for a real treat when that launches in February.

Also not on display at the party was Porsche Design BlackBerry P’9981 smartphone (an awesome twist on the typical BlackBerry design in my opinion). However it makes sense they would not have it there since it is not yet on sale in the US or Canada. Perhaps sometime soon there will be another Fan Night event for the P’9981 when it officially launches in North America. RIM/Edelman: feel free to invite me ;-)

The #BBMUglySweater event was a great chance to see the latest BlackBerry devices in action and it was interesting talking to some of the team behind these products. My friend from New York even got some technical support on a problem his BlackBerry had from one of the BB7 Product Managers in attendance.

At the end of the event we picked up our swag bags and new Bold 9900s, and set off for a night in New York City. Our trip was brief and hectic, but definitely worth it!

Here are Sian and my winning #BBMUglySweater avatars:

I am hoping they have one of the special limited edition Porsche Design P’9981 BlackBerry smartphones on display, a special version of the Bold 9900 designed by the Porsche Design Group.

Being back in Toronto tonight, I dug out my stash of old BlackBerrys. From left-to-right: 8700, Storm 9500, Bold 9000, Bold 9700, and my current Bold 9900

Speaking of the latest BlackBerry apps, one of my favourite apps BlackBerry Travel just sent me my pre-trip brief:

I always find it interesting to see which of my blog posts get the most search traffic. Currently, by a wide margin, a post I wrote about RIM’s unreleased bluetooth keyboard for the BlackBerry PlayBook is the most popular.

Though RIM still has not released the keyboard, I did get to try it out recently at the BlackBerry Innovation Forum held in Ottawa on November 22nd. The presenter Paul Steel showed it to me after the presentation, and I was quite impressed.

Rather than make a standard keyboard like most tablet makers have, RIM included a trackpad for cursor control on the PlayBook. The trackpad also supports the PlayBook’s gesture controls.

In addition, rather than using AAA or AA batteries, it has a rechargeable battery embedded inside of it which can be charged using a BlackBerry standard Micro USB cable (same as a PlayBook). They designed the keyboard to be the same size as a PlayBook, however it is amazingly thin (about half the thickness of a PlayBook – just barely thick enough for the Micro USB connector)

Mr Steel also mentioned that it seems the keyboard is quite water-resistant. A fact he discovered by accident when a glass of water was spilled directly on his keyboard during a presentation.

RIM will also be releasing a case that will hold both the BlackBerry PlayBook and the bluetooth keyboard, the case looks a lot like the current Convertible Case that RIM sells, though slightly thicker to hold the keyboard.

Judging by the traffic my blog post has been getting there is some pent up demand for this keyboard. RIM, if you are listening, please get this keyboard released ASAP (and feel free to send me one).

When you change from homescreen to homescreen, a different icon disappears each time. It seems to be pretty random, with third-party and Apple apps all taking their turn. It even happens when you pop open a folder.

This is just the latest in a string of problems my iPad now experiences. My iPad is now excruciating slow and it is rare that an app doesn’t crash crash at some point while I am using it.

Bonus screenshot, another bug my iPad has run into:

BusinessWeek had an interesting article about two companies with products that aim to replace the traditional online “captcha” (that squiggly word you have to decipher before completing an action on many websites). In typical online fashion, these methods mix advertising and mini-games together to try to defeat bots and spammers.

On one founder’s inspiration to make a better captcha:

“Paxton first got the idea for the company in 2007 after a friend—he swears it wasn’t him—failed to score Hannah Montana tickets because scalpers’ software programs were able to sneak past the ticketing site’s captcha system and buy up many of the seats.”

I too have become fed up with traditional captchas. Many times I have come across captchas too hard to decipher (on Gmail especially). As well, a past web project of mine which used a captcha on the signup form was recently cracked and the site is now filled with spam.

What I am looking for in this call is some indication of how RIM is coming on the transition to the next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system. 2012 will be the do-or-die year for RIM, consisting of:

• BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0
• BlackBerry tablet(s) with cellular connectivity
• BlackBerry 10 and new smartphones running the new OS
• BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, enabling management of iOS and Android devices (in addition to BlackBerry devices)

With the RIM’s stock seemingly hitting new lows it could be any day that a company swoops in and acquires RIM before this transition is complete. My hope is that this does not happen, and we get to see if RIM can pull off the BlackBerry 10 release successfully.

The key indicator in the call will be whether they are still on track for launching BlackBerry 10 in a timely manner, and whether they can give some more specific dates for PlayBook OS 2.0 and the other releases. Analysts are already rooting against RIM, RIM needs to give them something solid to show they are still on track.

In one of RIM’s “BlackBerry Enterprising Minds” videos which was created before the BBX name was announced in October, it looks like RIM had already planned to follow version 7 with version 10 of BlackBerry OS:

You can see smartphones listed as running bbOS 7 (which is on current BlackBerry smartphones) and a tablet running bbOS 10. Could be a coincidence that they used these two numbers in this concept video, but it is also likely that the name BlackBerry 10, or at least the version number 10, was planned before they had were blocked from using BBX as the name.

See the full video that the screenshots are from below:

7-inch tablets occupy a tenuous slice of territory in the user experience landscape:

• On the one hand, the devices are too weak to support easy, pleasant, and efficient use of the broad range of user interfaces optimized for other form factors. 7-inch screens are too small to easily browse full websites, and yet too big to carry with you at all times like a mobile phone.
• On the other hand, they are strong enough to provide good usability when designs are optimized for the 7-inch platform. The screen is large enough to show pretty pictures and full-color illustrations, and it can also support fairly efficient navigation and other user actions. When designed right, the 7-inch user experience is richer and more pleasant than a mobile phone UX.

Using both a BlackBerry PlayBook and Apple iPad regularly, this is an issue I am very familiar with. For me, the PlayBook is my preferred device 9 out of 10 times. That 10th when the iPad would be better always comes down to needing a larger than 7-inch screen size for specific content.

When on the go the PlayBook is perfect. Small enough to carry in hand or a jacket pocket, without needing a bag. But when I am lounging around at home and browsing a big website, the 10-inch screen of the iPad is simply more comfortable.

In the future I imagine screen size won’t even be an issue. Ideally a device’s screen size will adjust to the content and situation, growing and shrinking as needed. It becomes small enough to fit in any pocket, but when you pull up a web page, the screen has the ability to stretch to the optimal display size based on the content. A hybrid device, which at the core is a smartphone, but transforms into a tablet when necessary.

Some early movement towards this vision can been seen in Asus’s often mocked Padfone, an Android smartphone that docks into tablet shell. Not a great solution yet, it is a step in the right direction. We don’t need both a smartphone and tablet, they may as well be the same device.

Here is a video from mobile interface designers T.A.T called “Future of Screen Technology”, which shows their vision of this. See a device stretching for content around the 25s mark:

I set out to grab a few 16Gb PlayBooks, how could I not at $199? I arrived at Best Buy several hours early (thought they opened at 8am) and decided to wait it out. By 10am, there was a crowd of 60+ people waiting behind me, some had been waiting nearly as long as I had. Then Best Buy completely screwed us over.

A Best Buy employee opened the door at 10am, and without a word walked away, leaving the crowd to rush into the store. Logically I led the crowd to the tablet section, where the PlayBook is typically stocked. When we arrived in the tablet section the Best Buy employee there informed us that the PlayBooks were actually in a cage at the checkout. By this time everyone who had been lined up early was stuck at the back of the store, letting the people who had arrived hours after us get to the checkout first.

To make matters worse, Best Buy decided not to limit the number of PlayBooks per customer. So to the dismay of the crowd of 60+ people, only 10 or so people ended up with all of the PlayBooks. One woman bought eight PlayBooks. Rather than control the situation, Best Buy screwed over the first people in line by not telling us they were at the front of the store. Then they ignored the protests of the crowd and went on to sell all of the tablets to a limited few (who did not deserve them).

I guess I know where I won’t be doing the rest of my Christmas shopping!

For anyone still looking to pick up a BlackBerry PlayBook with the $300 discount, head over to ShopBlackBerry.com to get one for as low as $189 if you use this discount code: 09OLTY12. Hurry up though, this deal ends December 1st.

“50% off!”

“fly to Ottawa for $44!”

How do they get away with these misleading advertisements? If you have ever tried to take advantage of these deals, it quickly becomes obvious that they do not live up to the hype. Recently Porter sent me a nice letter for being a long time loyal customer, with an “exclusive” discount code of 50% off. I won’t even get into the sham of them telling their loyal customers that the discount code is exclusive, when they are running an identical promotion publicly. Here is the deal I got during this sale:

The Deal
$44.50 – Ticket (50% off)
$61.29 – Taxes and Fees (7.6% off)
$105.79 (32.2% off)

Without Discount
$89 – Ticket
$67.08 – Taxes and Fees
$156.08 

The trick to these deals is that the 50% off only applies to the airfare, not to the long list of fees and taxes that they tack onto your bill afterward. My 50% off ended up being only 32.2% off. That $44 flight to Ottawa? $105. I may have saved $50, but if this were a true 50% off sale shouldn’t I only be paying $78?

While it seems petty to complain when I am indeed getting a discount, it still leaves me feeling ripped off when I enter into the transaction with such high expectations based on their false advertising claims.

Isn’t it time airlines started advertising the final price of tickets, including the tax-and-ludicrous-fees in the advertised prices?

Ticket and Total Price (left: with 50% discount, right: no discount)

Breakdown of Taxes and Fees (left: with 50% discount, right: no discount)

]]> http://www.willw.net/the-sham-of-porters-promo-code-discounts/feed/ 0 http://www.willw.net/the-sham-of-porters-promo-code-discounts/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/willw/~3/xodPuWwBC1M/ http://www.willw.net/bloomberg-tv-app-coming-to-blackberry-playbook/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:58:00 +0000 Will Robertson http://www.willw.net/?p=729436654 Continue reading →]]>

“At this time, our technical team is working to produce an App for the BlackBerry PlayBook platform.”

This is great news for PlayBook users. Bloomberg TV has fantastic content and, if the app is similar to the website and iPad versions, it will be available on-demand and streamed live.

I’ve enjoyed using the iPad version since it was released, you can check it out here: http://www.bloomberg.com/mobile/tv

Can’t wait to get this on my PlayBook, and I hope this means Bloomberg is also working to bringtheir BusinessWeek+ and Radio+ apps to PlayBook too.

On October 28th I had the opportunity to attend AndroidTO, a conference put together by Toronto’s Android community for all Android developers and enthusiasts. Though I am definitely no Android enthusiast, I was curious to check it out after dabbling with the Android OS and apps on my BlackBerry PlayBook.

The event was an impressive show, with separate tracks for developers and professionals. I stuck to the professional side, since the content was focused more on mobile industry in general, with a slight emphasis on Android. The speakers were very interesting and I definitely learned a lot from them.

While I do not plan on getting an Android phone any time soon, since my next upgrade will likely be the first smartphone RIM releases with BBX on it, it was fun to try out the latest Android phones. Rogers was a sponsor of the event and had their various Android devices on display, including the new Motorola RAZR (a new Android slab phone, not the classic flip phone) and a variety of Samsung, HTC, and LG devices. The most impressive was the LG Android phone. I am not certain which model it was, but besides the questionable 3D camera and 3D apps, the device was quite nice.

Sony was also a sponsor of the event to promote their new Android tablet. One Sony rep’s pitch of their tablet focused on the its infrared remote control app, which makes the tablet a universal remote compatible with any device that uses IR for remote control. He said stand-alone highend universal remotes typically go for $100s, so why not spend a bit more and get a full featured tablet too? I wasn’t convinced, but it is indeed a handy feature. I bet Sony will be pushing the tablet alongside their HDTVs with this festure highlighted.

The event was a great demonstration of the power of Android. There are so many different companies with big bets on Android, with many of them there at the event. From the device makers like Sony and Samsung, wireless carriers like Bell and Rogers, and developers building apps for Android, all of these groups have a lot riding on the Android ecosystem. With so many different companies backing the Android movement, its not hard to see why the usage of the operating system has seen such explosive growth.