BlackBerry’s latest casualty: Two unreleased phones
2013 continues to be a downer year for the company formerly known as Research In Motion. The Wall Street Journal has just uncovered a tidbit in BlackBerry’s latest earnings report that states two unreleased phones had to be cancelled due to poor sales of its existing handsets. Apparently code-named Cafe and Kopi, they were slated to be sold as budget phones for emerging markets but had to be nixed to “mitigate the identified inventory risk.” This comes on the heels of BlackBerry’s announcement that it’s partnering up with FoxConn for device manufacturing and canceling its annual conference in order to save costs. It all seems rather dire, but the Wall Street Journal also reports that the company is still working on a couple of higher-end handsets internally code-named Ontario and Windermere. Whether or not those phones will see the light of day, however, remains to be seen.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: CNET
Source: Wall Street Journal
Apple bought Catch and Broadmap in 2013, beefs up its note-taking, cartographical chops
Apple’s bought plenty of companies this year, and while the number they bought is known, all the names are not. Today comes secondary confirmation of two more firms acquired by Tim Cook, as 9to5Mac and AllThingsD cite unnamed sources that BroadMap and Catch were taken into the Cupertino fold earlier this year. Apple, for its part has issued its standard non-confirmation confirmation of the story, stating that it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Both acquisitions make sense, however, given that the technologies they bring dovetail nicely with existing Apple products. The headliner here is the acquisition of Catch, builder of a note-taking productivity platform not unlike Evernote. Catch has similar capabilities, with cloud syncing, image capture, voice recording and text notes all baked in, plus checklist creation, reminders, and collaboration features, too. Having such features in Notes for iOS and OSX would be pretty nice, no?
As for Apple’s other recently revealed acquisition, BroadMap? Its specialty is in dealing with massive amounts of mapping data and geographic information systems. Those strengths seem a natural fit given the still-fairly-daunting hill for Apple to climb before its cartography app catches up with Google’s behemoth.
Source: 9to5Mac, AllThingsD
Cloud.TV puts Dayframe Prime and HD Widgets on Sale for a Dollar
We are pretty sure that pretty much everyone owns HD widgets. It has hit ever special and promo I can think of over the years since it was launched. It is a great collection of customizable widgets that also pack in a series specifically for the bigger screen phones and tablets.
Dayframe Prime on the other hand hasn’t made its rounds too many times just yet. There is a free version of this app available too. In a nutshell, it is an app that turns your device into a living photoframe. We don’t just mean the photos in your device either. Dayframe connects to Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, Dropbox, Flickr, Twitter, 500px and many others. Giving you a WIDE variety of images to be displayed. Dayframe Prime is the add-on pack for the free version that adds in even more customizations like creating playlists of photo streams, app timer, brightness timer and more.
Dayframe Prime will be $4.99 when it goes fully out and has been on an early bird special for $2.99 for a little while. For Christmas though, Cloud.TV has put the app up for just $0.99. You should check it out. It would be a great app to have running on a tablet sitting out for your friends and family to see. Just be sure to keep your feeds appropriate for grandma.
Dayframe free – Play Store Link (must be installed to get Dayframe Prime)
Dayframe Prime – Play Store Link
HD Widgets – Play Store Link
FYI – They just made the change, so the price might not reflect just yet.
Square Enix set to bring Final Fantasy VI to Android
Square Enix is gearing up to bring another Final Fantasy game to the mobile space with Final Fantasy VI. The first trailer for the next mobile iteration has recently made its way to Youtube. In typical fashion all the wording is in Japanese. It is definitely exciting for both Final Fantasy fans and RPG lovers a like. The title was said to be coming out this winter and technically they still have a another couple months before Spring kicks off.
We are willing to bet that it will land in Japan first and then the rest of the world. Most likely pulling in the same price tag as the rest, $15.99. At least you have a chance to pick up the II – V for half off right now.
Hopefully once FFVI is out of the way, they can work on FFVII. That is one that I remember most and certainly loved.
Via Phandroid
Apple Begins Preparing First Mac Pro Orders for December 30 Delivery
As noted by a number of MacRumors forum members and Twitter users, Apple has begun preparing a number of stock Mac Pro configurations for delivery starting on December 30. In addition, many other users are seeing their credit cards charged and order statuses changed to “Preparing for Shipment”. The new status indicates that orders cannot be canceled or changed and are in the final stage before the new Mac Pros are handed off to delivery companies.
Although the majority of users’ reported dates appears to be December 30, a small number of users are also reporting that their deliver dates are December 27. Both dates would squeeze the new Mac Pros into Apple’s self-imposed December release date for the new professional desktop computer.
It appears that the first shipments of the Mac Pros are all stock configurations, as it has thus far been unclear if custom configurations have been shipping out to users. Since online ordering has been available, the shipping estimates have slipped into February 2014, with demand outstripping supply.
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Sony starts rolling out Android 4.3 to the Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z
Sony started delivering Android 4.3 updates to the shiny new Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra last week, and today it’s rolling out those improvements to (slightly) older devices. The Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z are all getting both Google’s not-quite-newest OS as well as a host of improved Sony apps, including Smart Social Camera and Walkman software. Xperia Tablet Z owners may appreciate the update most of all — they can implement restricted profiles that give users private settings and storage. Sony hasn’t said how long the upgrade will take, but don’t be surprised if your Xperia gets a gift of its own this holiday.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Sony
Via: Android and Me
Source: Sony Mobile Blog
Oppo R1 smartphone arrives in China with a bright camera and high style
It’s tough to stand out in the mid-range Android crowd, but Oppo may have found a way to separate itself from the pack. Its newly launched R1 smartphone carries a gold-effect metal frame that adds a touch of class around the 5-inch screen. Camera quality may also lure in a few buyers. The R1 carries a bright 8-megapixel, f/2.0 aperture shooter like that in the R819, and there’s an upgraded 5-megapixel camera at the front. No one will mistake Oppo’s latest hardware for a flagship, though. There’s a modest 1.3GHz, quad-core MediaTek chip inside, and neither the 720p display resolution nor the 16GB of non-expandable storage will please video lovers. The real obstacle for some may be the price — the R1 sells for ¥2,498 ($411) in its native China, which is a lot to pay when the Vivo X3 offers slightly better performance in a slimmer design.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: GSM Arena
Source: Oppo (translated)
Apple/Microsoft ‘Rockstar Consortium’ Considering Patent Sale [iOS Blog]
In 2011, Apple teamed up with companies like Microsoft, Ericsson BlackBerry, and Sony to form a consortium to purchase a collection of 4,000 patents and patent applications for $4.5 billion from Nortel, a communications company that went bankrupt in 2009.
The team of companies, called the “Rockstar Consortium,” is now holding discussions on a potential sale of a portion of those patents, reports Bloomberg, after attempts to land large licensing deals for the patents have failed.
The group, called Rockstar Consortium, has recently been in conversations with possible buyers about the patents, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Rockstar, which also includes BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY), Ericsson AB and Sony Corp., has had little success in landing large licensing deals for the patents, three of the people said.
Back in 2012, Nortel’s portfolio of patents was highly sought after, with the Rockstar Consortium entering into an ongoing bidding war with Google, another technology company that was also after the patents.
A buyer, or several buyers, could acquire Rockstar’s patent portfolio excluding those involved in the lawsuits, two people said. Because Rockstar bought the Nortel patents at a high price and doesn’t want to sell them at a loss, the deals could be structured to take advantage of any future financial gain enjoyed by the buyer, the people said.
Another scenario would involve a third party joining the consortium to dilute existing investors, without involving a sale of particular patents, said one of the people.
According to Bloomberg, several of the patents have already been sold and earlier this year, reports indicated that the consortium filed suit against Google, Samsung, HTC, Huawei, and others for patent infringement on the Nortel portfolio. Apple and other Rockstar Consortium shareholders were reportedly not involved in the decision to sue.
The patents currently for sale are not the patents involved in the October lawsuit.
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Facebook for Windows Phone 8 now lets you pin chats and events to the home screen
Windows Phone-toting Facebook users no longer have to worry about missing an important conversation or party update. A revamped Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 lets socialites pin seemingly any Facebook content to the home screen as a Live Tile, including chats, events, groups, pages and photo albums. The app’s redesigned main Live Tile also shows wall updates, and Microsoft has spent time bolstering both the language support and overall performance. Whether or not you need to watch your friend activity like a hawk, there’s enough here to justify swinging by the Windows Phone Store for an upgrade.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Facebook
Via: Windows Phone Blog
Source: Windows Phone Store
Cardstock icon designer offers new Allure pack free as a Christmas Gift
You might not be all that familiar with Nathaniel Webbs name, or even his developer name artvandelay440, but you might be a fan of the Cardstock or Spectra icons he has produced. Right along side a few others from his developer page. His latest icon pack is called Allure, and as a special treat he has offered up the 400+ icons (with masking) to the community for a holiday gift.
The pack is prepackaged in a simple apk that you install like any other sideloaded app. Head to your launcher settings and apply the new Allure set and you are all done. To get these, you will need to visit his G+ Page for the link. Be sure to give him a high five and a thank you for such a generous offering for the holidays.
AIVAnet 