Although the option to disable automatic OS updates on BlackBerry 10 has been in place since BlackBerry 10.2, it seems as though a lot of folks missed when it was added. In the CrackBerry Forums, I’ve read several posts from folks claiming they were ‘forced’ to update to BlackBerry 10.3.1, which arguably caused issues for some, and I can understand that feeling to a certain extent.

Rather than debating whether or not the updates were ‘forced’ or whether it was just a case of not knowing the option was there, it seems best to just inform everyone of the option and how to go about enabling and disabling automatic updates. It’s a fairly simple process and there’s not a lot to it so, let’s just get right to it.

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After a small version bump earlier this week, Nemory Studios have pushed out a larger update to the native BlackBerry 10 Instagram app Inst10 that brings along with it some significant additions. Going from version 1.0.300.1 to 1.0.400.1, this release sees the addition of multiple account support, the ability to change themes without restart, multiple BlackBerry Hub notification improvements and much, much more!

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EE today unveiled Film Club to offer new and existing customers to rent a single title from WuakiTV for just £1 each week. This new service replaces Orange Wednesdays, which closed last month.

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The last time that BBM was updated BlackBerry gave us two new subscription options – both which will be a nice little earner for them. Option one is ‘No Ads’ which is pretty self explanatory and will cost users $0.99 per month. But it’s the second option I’m more interested about and that’s the ability to have a custom BBM PIN – for $1.99 per month.

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With a market capitalization of $751 billion (and possibly a trillion in a few years), Apple attracts attention every time it launches something… anything, really.

The past year was very positive for the Cupertino behemoth. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus dominating the news before and after launch, it was a year of strong financial performance and increasing market momentum.

When I look at Apple overall, I see a company that has been able to grow its brand and market share by marrying software, ease of use, and elegant design – but ultimately by selling hardware. The nice shiny objects are what get consumers’ attention. This can be seen by looking at the level of replacement sales that Apple’s iPhone upgrades have generated. In years where improved software and services were introduced alongside changes in design, replacement sales have been greater. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple played the “larger screen” card that many have been waiting for, and the mix of replacement cycles from previous iPhone models, as well as conversion from Android, have been amazing. This upgrade cycle technique has worked well for them, but it’s a strategy with a finite horizon, since all hardware – even Apple hardware – is subject to eventual commoditization. It’s an unavoidable truth for any manufacturer.

Apple certainly understands this and, on top of delivering value through the ecosystem and software, is planning for growth in other areas with different revenue opportunities. Apple Pay is at the top of their list. Another important new area will be a music pay-for-service (as opposed to a live-stream service) that would leverage the 2014 acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics.

It’s an approach that asks, more urgently than ever: “How do we add value to the hardware – value that doesn’t necessarily come from the hardware itself?”

This impacts the consumer decision matrix when considering the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Will a person buy the iPhone 6 because of Apple Pay? Perhaps not today, but in a year’s time – when Apple Pay is everywhere, when the consumer better understands the value and perceives the convenience – absolutely. This will cement the relationship that people have with Apple, and drive revenue to Apple from sources other than the consumer.

I believe that Apple will continue to build value into their platforms – and consumers will perceive that value coming not only from cool hardware, but from the full range of great services that run on a seamless platform, regardless of which one of their portfolio of Apple devices they may be using. This is how Apple will continue to drive increasing user loyalty.

Through their partnership with IBM, Apple is also moving in a more distinct way into the enterprise. While Apple’s products have been used in the enterprise for years, most of them make their way there through the backdoor of “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD). With IBM, Apple can more effectively penetrate IT departments without having to compromise their “consumer first” focus. Rather than trying to do it alone, Apple looked for a well-established brand in the enterprise market that has the trust of many CIOs. Moving deeper into the enterprise will increase sales volumes, with less seasonal influence and price sensitivity, and also increase the amount of time users spend on their devices.

In the midst of all this, there is the wearables-unknown represented by the Apple Watch. While today’s consumers might say they are not interested in wearables, we know that Apple can create new markets. Both with the iPhone and iPad, Apple reinvented markets that existed previously in smartphones and tablet PCs. Apple has been clever in emphasizing the design of the Apple Watch. This will allow for a wider addressable market than focusing on tech alone. It also aligns nicely with Apple’s ability to deliver technology in a seamless way, making its gadgets more appealing to consumer segments that are not “into” technology, per se. For example, consider the adoption of the iPad by customers over 50. While the attention is on sales, and the crystal balls are out as we determine volumes and replacement cycles, I would argue that what Apple Watch will do for Apple, beyond additional revenue, is much more interesting and will have longer impact. The Apple Watch should:

• Lock in the most valuable consumers more securely.
• Help Apple understand more about these consumers by spending almost 24 hours a day with them. The battery charge time is about the only time you will not wear it. As Mr. Cook recently stated, he takes it into the shower with him!
• Make Apple Pay even easier, driving usage.
• Offer more revenue opportunity to developers, solidifying Apple’s leadership in the app store business.
• Give Apple a hook into the ecosystem for users who might have a smartphone on a different OS, but want Apple Watch. In France, for instance, 63% of consumers on an Android smartphone would change their OS for a wearable device. Yet, our study says only 16% of French iOS users are willing to leave the Apple ecosystem.
• Apple Watch might also become a “hero” product for Apple, allowing more flexibility on the iPhone pricing, especially in emerging markets. This way, Apple could have its cake and eat it, by maintaining the prestige of the brand while driving iPhone into even more pockets.

Do I expect Apple to actually make a car? I don’t. It won’t go that far. But I do think they want to be in our cars, and they are presently working toward that goal. While CarPlay hasn’t taken off as fast as some expected, do I believe Apple will control my dashboard? Absolutely.

Apple is all about my user experience. As their customer, Apple wants to further expand that connection with me into my car, home, work, and leisure and learn more about what I do. With that new understanding, they can perfect the devices and services they offer. That’s the core difference between Apple and Google. Google wants to know more about me so they can perfect their search and advertising technologies. That’s not what Apple does. Apple uses knowledge about me to make and sell more and better devices to me, to perfect the software and services that motivate me to use the products I have, and to expand my portfolio of their products.

Unlike its competitors, Apple OS doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but has long been an integral part of the consumer platform mix. They haven’t merged iOS and MacOS – some say they will, and some say they won’t. They’re making it very simple for consumers to move painlessly from one to the other. All consumers care about is that the experience they get – phone, tablet, Mac – is very similar. It’s enriched and takes advantage of the unique design elements of the different products, but rarely requires me to learn something that feels foreign.

Apple has always sought to sell more devices to the same household, rather than one thing to everyone. They don’t want to become a mass-market brand, but they do want to sell me as many pieces of the platform as I will buy – the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. This has made for a very loyal, committed, and engaged customer base. It’s a customer base that drives multiple kinds of revenue and produces excellent ROI. It also distinguishes Apple from virtually every one of their competitors, although others are trying to adopt some of the same strategies. This allows them to deliver value through software and services, and not just hardware. While this approach is a harder sell for the mass-market consumer, the higher-end consumer appreciates and values it.

Apple continues to confound pretenders to the throne. No other technology company has ever built a more valuable, more engaged set of customers.

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In a new interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about a wide range of topics, including the Apple Watch, Apple’s new campus, and Steve Jobs’ legacy.

Cook talked about Apple’s work on the Apple Watch, and the world that it will be released in. Comparing it to the iPhone, Cook notes how important developers have been to the success of that device, and thinks they’ll play a similar role in the success of the watch. He also talked about expectations for the watch, and addressed criticisms about the device’s lack of purpose.

From Fast Company:

Yes, but people didn’t realize they had to have an iPod, and they really didn’t realize they had to have the iPhone. And the iPad was totally panned. Critics asked, “Why do you need this?” Honestly, I don’t think anything revolutionary that we have done was predicted to be a hit when released. It was only in retrospect that people could see its value. Maybe this will be received the same way.

On Apple’s upcoming Campus 2, Cook said that it’s important for Apple employees to be together, and how critical that is to the company culture of informality:

It’s critical that Apple do everything it can to stay informal. And one of the ways that you stay informal is to be together. One of the ways that you ensure collaboration is to make sure people run into each other—not just at the meetings that are scheduled on your calendar, but all the serendipitous stuff that happens every day in the cafeteria and walking around.

He also talked about the legacy of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and the importance of change:

We change every day. We changed every day when he was here, and we’ve been changing every day since he’s not been here. But the core, the values in the core remain the same as they were in ’98, as they were in ’05, as they were in ’10. I don’t think the values should change. But everything else can change.

You can read the entire interview over at Fast Company.

Source: Fast Company

The official Audible app for Windows Phone has been updated to version 9.0.1. No, we’re not in April. This release is a fairly substantial update to the app by Amazon, bundling a bunch of improvements to enhance the audio book experience.

Yes, this does seem to be the previously discovered beta release merged into the official Store version.