Day: August 16, 2011

“Only yesterday we found out, Google has purchased the Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. However, it doesn’t stop Motorola from launching the DEFY’s successor, DEFY+. The device features similar exterior and capability to withstand extreme condition as the DEFY. The DEFY+ packed with a 3.7-inch Gorilla Glass display (854 x 480 resolution), a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, 2GB internal storage which expandable up to 32GB, and a 1GHz processor. It would run on Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS. The device will be available in Asia, Europe, and Latin America by Fall.” via slashphone.com

“Having used and reviewed a LOT of BlackBerry Smartphones over the years, it only took a few minutes with the Bold 9900 in hand to realize this is the best BlackBerry RIM has built. Within the BlackBerry family of smartphones, the Bold brand is positioned as the premium offering, representing the best of everything BlackBerry, and more than any Bold before it, the 9900 lives up to its name.” Read more here:

“Today’s big news is of course Google’s acquisition of Motorla’s mobile phone division, Motorola Mobility. The deal is worth a very cool $12.5 billion, which works out at somewhere around $40 per share. It comes in the wake of Motorola posting a net loss for Q2 of $56 million. Even so Google will be snapping them up and turning them into “dedicated Android partner”.
Google’s Larry Page was gushing about Moto:
Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers. Google isn’t in fact merging Motorola with Google to act as a hardware division for Android, rather Google will be operating it as a separate concern. Motorola will of course continue to license and produce Android handsets as you would expect. If you were wondering how such news would be taken by other manufacturers, particularly Motorola’s competitors in the world of Android then you may be a little surprised, not only by their tone, but also by the fact that they all seem to be reading from the same press release (literally).
For example, Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO, said “We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem”. All very well and good, but what did Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson’s President, have to say? Well he said “I welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners”. I’m beginning to see a pattern emerging here so let’s turn to LG’s CEO Jong-Seok Park for his view “We welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners”. It’s good to see they are all reassured, even if they do sound like Stepford Wives.
So why would these competitors of Motorola be happy that Google has snapped the company up? Well Google isn’t just buying a manufacturer, it is also acquiring the patents that Motorola holds. That is a very potent patent portfolio, a real war chest should Google need to defend Android or even go on the offensive. Android partners are unlikely to bear the brunt of any such assault of course. No, that sort of offensive would likely be saved for the companies behind certain other platforms …
Motorola holds more than 14,000 patents, with another 7,000 or so pending. With those patents under Google’s control the likes of Microsoft and Apple might be feeling a little uneasy at the possible litigation they may face should Google decide to go on the warpath, and why wouldn’t Google? Apple and Microsoft have both been leaping to the lawsuit in order to pressure Android, perhaps Google has decided it is time to fight fire with fire?” via mobile-review.com

Powered by the next-generation BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry® 7, a performance-driven operating system designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity, BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 will go on sale in Sprint Stores, Sprint Business Sales, Telesales at 1-800-SPRINT1 and online at www.sprint.com beginning on Sunday, Aug. 21.
BlackBerry Bold 9930
BlackBerry Bold 9930 boasts the thinnest design and widest QWERTY on a BlackBerry smartphone for $249.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement.
At just 10.5mm thick, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 smartphone is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone ever. It features a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen display, the widest QWERTY keyboard available on a BlackBerry smartphone and a trackpad for easy navigation. BlackBerry Bold 9930 also offers Near Field Communications (NFC) support for a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance.
BlackBerry Torch 9850
BlackBerry Torch9850, the first all-touch BlackBerry smartphone for Sprint customers, will cost $149.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement, after $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1.
The sleek BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone features a spectacular, new 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, and trackpad for easy navigation.
Both smarpthones feature Liquid Graphics™ technology, a key new feature powered by BlackBerry 7 to deliver incredibly fast, smooth performance and a highly responsive touchscreen experience. They also offer 1.2GHz processors, 5MP cameras and are World Phone capable.
Key features of both BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 include:
BlackBerry® service with access to up to 10 supported business and personal email accounts, plus BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for corporate email installations
DataViz Docs To Go® Premium suite preloaded, for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from anywhere
BlackBerry App World™, the official app store for BlackBerry smartphones offering customization, fun and productivity
BlackBerry® Playbook™ support with BlackBerry Bridge™ (Bridge is available as a free download on BlackBerry App World)
Augmented Reality using the built-in compass (magnetometer) to support augmented reality applications
BlackBerry 7
BlackBerry 7 introduces a next-generation BlackBerry browser with a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is up to 40 percent faster than BlackBerry® 6 based smartphones and up to 100 percent faster than BlackBerry® 5 based smartphones2.
BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® Balance™, which separates personal content from corporate content, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the smartphone for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps, while satisfying the need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls, such as wiping only corporate data or blocking work-related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.
BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 require activation on one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge – a savings of $39.99 per month versus Verizon’s comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web or $9.99 per month versus Verizon’s 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)
BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 also offer World Phone capability for international travel to nearly anywhere in the world. Sprint customers have the power to make or receive phone calls in more than 200 countries and access to BlackBerry® data services, including email, apps and web browsing in nearly 155 countries. Customers can check the Sprint Worldwide Coverage and Rates page to check coverage in the specific location they plan to travel and find voice, text, and data rates. They also have the option of using a third-party SIM for international voice and data services.