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  • RIM Launches MyBlackberry Forum


    RIM has launched a RIM-operated community forum for BlackBerry users.

    MyBlackBerry is akin to a bulletin board and is intended as a place were any BlackBerry users can share tips, stories, review apps and discuss their handsets.

    RIM has said that it will keep tabs on what goes on with the intention of learning what’s working and what’s not for Blackberry users.

    This is undoubtedly a good idea – not least because BlackBerry’s App World store has not enjoyed the success of Apple’s App Store.

    With the aid of feedback from MyBlackberry, perhaps the Canadian company will be able to rectify complaints such as the store being hard to navigate and confusion over apps.

    It might be an idea that Apple could adopt since there are plenty of iPhone users that would be willing to talk about their apps.

  • WCell Joins Mobile VoIP App Market


    WCell International has announched that its VoIP calling platform is now available for download on a variety of mobile operating systems, including BlackBerry, Java, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

    The Hong Kong-based application for mobile devices is awaiting approval by Apple for listing in the iPhone App Store.

    WCell claims it offers comparable or better voice call quality than its many competitors in the mobile VoIP applications world.

    The company says it does this while also delivering cost savings against market leaders such as Skype.

    It is planning to differentiate itself from the big names such as Skype, fring, Nimbuzz and Truphone by targeting retail handset sales.

    WCell wants to have 10 million paying customers of the service by November this year.

    Ish Paneet Singh, vice president at Wcell International, said that Wcell’s pay-as-you-go rates are at least 60 per cent cheaper than Skype’s.

  • Standard Smartphone Charger Gets Green Light in Europe


    European smartphone users are to get a standardised charger following an agreement between handset manufacturers that control 90 per cent of the region’s mobile market.

    From next year, new phones will be sold with the charger but will eventually come without one – significantly lowering manufacturing and shipping costs.

    The phone makers – Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments – announced their plans on Monday through the European Commission.

    The accord finally ends the long-running debate over doing away with the waste and cost of having to change charger whenever buying a new phone that have been rumbling on for years – in Europe at least.

    Following the announcement, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said: "People will not have to throw away their charger whenever they buy a new phone."

    The chargers will be usable only on data-enabled phones that access the Internet, going beyond voice calls and SMS.

    Nearly half of the 185 million estimated mobile phones projected to be sold in Europe 2010 are expected to be data-enabled – and compatible with the charger.

    Verheugen said the it was assumed the new European initiative would have a knock-on effect globally.

    Consumers will gain from being able to borrow someone else’s charger – regardless if they have an iPhone, Blackberry or Nokia.

  • iPhone 3GS Enters Smartphone Wars


    Apple launched has its new iPhone 3GS with demand expected to be strong for the handset in the US and seven other initial launch countries.

    However, with a smartphone market also offering new handsets from Palm, RIM and Nokia, to name but a few, the landscape has changed considerably since the original iPhone hit the market two years ago.

    For the third consecutive year, lines formed outside stores as people waited for the chance to buy the newest iPhone.

    Unveiled earlier this month at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the iPhone 3GS is described by Apple as "faster and more responsive" than the original iPhone, with more battery life and close to double the storage.

    If the length of the lines was less than previous iPhone launches then Apple’s decision to allow for advanced iPhone 3G S orders with home delivery could have played a part in that.

    So too could the current economic climate – or maybe it’s just that people are spoilt for choice when it comes to buying a new smartphone?

    Among the iPhone 3GS’ rivals are Palm’s Pre, RIM’s BlackBerry Storm, Nokia’s N97 and upcoming phones powered by Google’s Android or Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating systems.

    But with the US smartphone market growing 68 per cent last year – and growth of 20 per cent projected for 2009 – consumer appetite for these high-end devices is still strong.

    A key differentiator is likely to be apps – and Apple already leads the field in that respect by a considerable distance.

    RIM captured a 55 per cent slice of the US smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, while Apple had around 20 per cent.

    However, Apple’s App Store has 50,000 applications available – far ahead of what’s on offer at BlackBerry’s App World, Palm’s App Catalog, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Catalog and Google’s Android Market.

  • XCast Extends IP Videomail to BlackBerrys


    XCast Labs has extended its IP videomail services to BlackBerry devices.

    Consumers and enterprise users who own a BlackBerry Curve, Pearl or Storm, are now able to receive video messages from anyone with a videophone or Softphone application.

    The SaaS digital voice and video solutions provider also delivers traditional voicemail to BlackBerry devices either as an MP3 attachment to email or via RSS feed.

    XCast Labs CEO, Cliff Rees, said that for videomail, the XCast server analyzes the Blackberry firmware and type of device.

    It then automatically provides a link to videomail that corresponds to the particular device model and firmware from which the request was generated.

    Rees said that analysts Gartner has forecast that enterprises in North America will be supporting more mobile phones than desktop phones by 2011.

    While most users will still also have a desktop phone, mobile phones would become more prevalent and replace desktop voice hardware to become the primary device.

    Rees said that integrating video functionality with Blackberry devices is a critical milestone for XCast.

    "Since the advent of mobile computing, the BlackBerry has been recognized as the PDA of choice for corporate end-users," he said.

    "With continued consumer adoption and migration to these and other smartphones, our users will have access to the highest quality video messaging."

  • RIM Crossing Categories and Borders With Blackberry Tour


    RIM is boosting its Blackberry range with a new 3G dual-mode handset aimed at both its core executive users and the wider consumer market.

    Candy-bar shaped and with a full keyboard, the Blackberry Tour will launch with Verizon and Sprint in the US and Telus and BCE’s Bell unit in Canada.

    Ever-mindful of the fact the line between corporate and pleasure smartphone use is blurring, RIM has pitched the Tour between the consumer-oriented BlackBerry Curve and the corporate-focused BlackBerry Bold.

    The smartphone is intended as a "world phone" – providing voice and data services on networks outside a user’s home operator network – which has great appeal to business travellers.

    For this reason it supports 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad.

    For the consumer market, the Tour has all the multimedia features of the Curve, including a 3.2 megapixel photo and video camera with flash and media player.

    The phone is also preloaded with DataViz Documents to Go, allowing users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset.

    RIM has been left in the shadows recently – as Palm and Apple grab the spotlight with the launch of the Pre and the iPhone 3Gs.

    It will be interesting to see how its latest Blackberry offering fares as its rivals continue to encroach on RIM’s traditional enterprise stronghold.

    The BlackBerry Tour is expected to be available this summer. Pricing still to be announced.

  • Smartphone Ownership Now "Mandatory", Not Techie Toy


    Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago – at least in the US.

    That’s the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

    It says the devices are no longer a status symbol or techie toy but have become mandatory equipment for belonging to society.

    David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, told the paper: "The social norm is that you should respond (to an email) within a couple of hours, if not immediately.

    "If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail."

    The report comes, conveniently, as research shows that 41 per cent of consumers will make a smartphones their next mobile device.

    As a result, smartphone volumes will grow to 38 per cent of all handsets by 2013, representing the largest growth opportunity within mobile devices.

    This makes the smartphone category the most important competitive battleground in wireless today, according to the Yankee Group study.

    It also shows that trends within the smartphone ecosystem are profoundly impacting the power dynamics between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators.

    Traditionally, operators have had the upper hand when working with device manufacturers to bring a new device to market, but the power dynamics are shifting.

    With more competitive entrants, tighter budgets and increased consumer expectations, OEMs and operators need to work together, on equal ground, to thrive.

    Chris Collins, Yankee Group senior analyst, said the release of the Palm Pre spotlights the changes in the OEM-operator dynamic.

    "Sprint and Palm are two companies desperate for a blockbuster hit," he said. "And as such, they are either the perfect – or worst possible – partners for one another.

    "The fate of both companies relies on the success of their alliance around the Pre."

  • iPhone Has "Changed Dynamic" of US Smartphone Market


    Worldwide smartphone shipments grew 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest quarterly market overview by Canalys.

    However, Pete Cunningham, senior analyst with Canalys, told smartphone.biz-news the North American consumer market saw shipments rise in Q1 2009 by 22.5 per cent year-on-year.

    He said North American market growth was being helped by the smartphone’s shift into the mainstream.

    RIM, which was instrumental in the development of the enterprise smartphone market, still dominates but the emphasis is changing.

    "The smartphone market in the US has grown up predominantly as a professional-focussed market," said Cunningham. "But since the iPhone launched, the dynamic has changed.

    "Now smartphones are pushing into the consumer space and that’s aiding the growth."

    The analyst said he was confident smartphone shipments would continue to grow in North America, although he predicted the rate would slow slightly.

    Pete Cunningham, senior analyst with Canalys

    He expected the Palm Pre, due to be launched on June 6th, to do well, as would the anticipated update to the iPhone.

    Cunningham said that in EMEA smartphone shipment growth was 3.4 per cent in Q1 2009.

    He said the bulk of growth was in Western Europe where operators were really pushing vendors to drive consumers towards smartphones.

    There was also growing reluctance from the majority of operators to subsidise high tier proprietary operating systems.

    "They are looking for vendors to support open platforms," he said. "There has certainly been momentum gathering in this since the beginning of the year which has caught some vendors out."

    Among them is Sony Ericsson, according to Cunningham, with the majority of the phone maker’s offerings having proprietary OS rather than open platforms.

    However, he said that moving forward he was confident the Western European market would continue to grow, especially with the prospect of a number of high profile launches imminent, including the Pre and upgraded iPhone.

    Another factor that has been evident in the smartphone market is the practice of carriers agreeing "super exclusive" partnership with high-profile handset makers.

    In the UK in 2008, this included Vodafone and the Blackberry Storm,T-Mobile and the Google G1, O2 and the iPhone.

    Cunningham said this was likely to continue with the Palm Pre expected in Europe shortly after its US launch.

    "The drive behind this is partly because operators are trying to focus on customer retention," he said. "And to do this they need high profile devices."

    Another key feature in the smartphone market has been the growth in sales of touchscreen devices, shipments of which nearly doubled in Q1 2009 compared with a year ago, according to Canalys.

    Cunningham said the success of the Nokia 5800, which had a "tremendous" first quarter, had really helped boost the technology.

    However, he expected to see a lot more QWERTY keyboards on upcoming models – and touchscreen/QWERTY offerings like the Nokia N97 and Palm Pre.

    "I would not be surprised if we saw more of this combination," he said.

    "A touchscreen is great for browsing but, especially with the growing demand for social networking, a keyboard is very good for text entry.

    "Software keyboards are sometimes not so great."

  • Smartphone Sales Keep Growing As Mobile Market Suffers


    Smartphone sales grew 12.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 despite sharply falling sales of mobile phones generally – down 9.4 per cent year-on-year.

    Leading the charge in high-end device sales were RIM’s Blackberry handsets and Apple’s iPhone, along with a number of other touchscreen phones, according to research firm Gartner.

    Sales of RIM handsets totalled 7.23 million in Q1, or 19.9 per cent of the smartphone market, up from 13.3 per cent in the same period last year.

    Over the same period, the iPhone’s market share more than doubled from 5.3 per cent to 10.8 per cent, with sales of 3,94 million devices.

    The growth makes Apple the third-largest smartphone maker in the world and gives it twice as much share as HTC.

    Nokia remained the leading maker of smartphones in Q1 but saw its market share drop to 41.2 per cent from 45.1 in Q1 2008. It sold 14.99 million devices, up slightly from 14.58 million in the same period last year.

    The Finnish giant’s smartphone sales were helped by the introduction of its 5800 device into more regions.

    Nokia started shipping its 5800 touch screen smartphone at the end of 2008.

    Overall Smartphone sales were 36.4 million units, which accounted for 13.5 per cent of all mobile device sales in the first quarter of 2009 compared with 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2008.

    However, worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 269.1 million units in Q1 2009, a 9.4 per cent decrease from the first quarter of 2008.

    Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, said the positive performances by RIM and Apple showed that services and applications are now instrumental to smartphones’ success.

    She said that much of the smartphone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touchscreen products, both in midtier and high-end devices.

    "Touch for the sake of touch was enough of a driver in the midtier space, but tighter integration with applications and services around music, mobile e-mail, and Internet browsing made the difference at the high end of the market," she said.

    Symbian accounted for 49.3 per cent of worldwide smartphone operating systems (OS) market share in the first quarter of 2009, but this was down from 56.9 per cent share in the first quarter of 2008.

    Nokia maintained its leading position in the overall mobile market, although its market share dropped to 36.2 per cent from 39.1 per cent a year earlier.

    Samsung’s market share rose 4.7 percentage points to 19.1 per cent and Gartner said the announcement of its first Android-based product, the i7500, will help Samsung in a highly competitive second half of 2009.

    LG’s market share increased slightly to 9.9 per cent, with the company benefitting from a very strong portfolio of touchscreen, messaging and imaging devices.

    Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, said there are some signs of a recovery in markets such as North America and China.

    But she said that overall sales in the first quarter of 2009 registered the biggest quarter-on-quarter contraction since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001.

    "This was also the first time the market contracted year over year during the first quarter, a period traditionally helped by strong seasonality in the Asia/Pacific market," she said.

  • HP and RIM Announce Strategic Alliance to Mobilize Business on BlackBerry


    RIM and HP are partnering together to offer Blackberry business users some features which they say will allow mobile workers to increase their productivity levels.

    Among the first applications and services for the smartphones is printing service that enables users to easily print to the nearest printer.

    Called CloudPrint for BlackBerry, it will allow users to store and print documents, photos and web pages while traveling using the smartphone.

    The service is printer-agnostic and driverless and requires simple Internet access.

    Another offering will allow the management of companies’ BlackBerry smartphone deployments to be outsourced.

    HP and RIM plan to design and launch other offerings targeted at the growing number of global mobile employees.