News

Announcing BBX – The Next Generation BlackBerry Platform

BlackBerry BBX, the next generation mobile platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, was introduced to developers during the General Session Keynote at BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011. BBX combines the best of the BlackBerry platform and the best of the QNX platform to to connect people, devices, content and services.

Development environments supported by the BBX platform include HTML5 with BlackBerry WebWorks, Adobe AIR, Native C/C++, and the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps. Apps built today for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will also run on BBX.

Additionally, BBX will include the new BlackBerry Cascades UI Framework for advanced graphics, also demonstrated during the General Session Keynote. BBX will also extend the core BlackBerry DNA of collaboration, communication and immediacy, with familiar “Super App” capabilities such as deep integration between apps, always-on Push services, BlackBerry security, the BBM Social Platform and much, much more.

Specific details regarding BBX products and availability will be provided at a later date, so stay tuned for more information in the future.

Exciting times lay ahead in the BlackBerry camp.

Posted by: James

BlackBerry DevCon 2011 starts today – BBX unveiling?

Today sees the start of BlackBerry DevCon in the USA. Now if you are not a BlackBerry user you more than likely have no interest in this whatsoever. However, it is here that we expect to see the future of BlackBerry Smartphones running QNX. The new OS, called BBX should be demonstrated although as a release is some way away I am guessing there will not be any hands on time but maybe the new OX will be displayed in glass cases like when the PlayBook was released.

Co- CEO Jim Balsillie said in a recent article, "We’ve leapfrogged everyone with what we’re announcing [on Tuesday] and you’re going to see it on display."

Hopefully we should also get some final announcements on version 2.0 of the PlayBook OS as well as an update on Android applications running on the tablet.

Although we cannot be there in person we will be reporting on the news so stay tuned later in the day.

Posted by: James

White BlackBerry Curve 9360 coming soon to Orange

We mentioned just a week or so ago that the BlackBerry Curve 9360 was available on Orange. I have just seen on the ‘coming soon’ page that they also are expecting the white version which looks rather cool.

Available from free on contract and £249.99 on pay as you why not stand out from the crowd and be unique with the white variant?

We will have a full review of the new Curve on the site in the next week or two. In the meantime there is a reminder of the devices specs below:

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast 140: Thanks Steve

The whole team is back together this week to say their bit for Steve Jobs. Blackberry comes under fire as even James was upset by the outage during the week. Matt and Tracy return from a jaunt abroad with tales of high adventure and low trousers.

Grand Theft Auto III on Android

If you are a fan of the gritty sand-box style action game "Grand Theft Auto III" From Rockstar Games, and you have one of the following Android devices listed below, then you are in for a treat very soon. Rockstar Games is reportedly going to port their award-winning and highly successful game to a limited amount of Android devices. It’s pretty amazing to think that one of the most advanced PS2 games is now playable from a device that fits in your pocket. That just gives us a bright vision of the future where we can experience holographic virtual environments projected onto our retinas.

Okay, so that’s probably still a ways off, but you can’t blame me for being forward thinking. I will have no problem with being lost in a virtual "Elder Scrolls 10" on my "Samsung Galaxy Nexus Prime 12 SE" when I am in my 80’s.
Here’s a list of compatible Android devices:

• Droid X2
• HTC Evo 2 (Probably the EVO 3D, or is it some unknown future device?)
• LG Optimus 2X
• Motorola Atrix
• Samsung Galaxy S2
• Acer Iconia
• Asus Eee Pad
• Motorola Xoom
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Posted by: Gareth

Motorola Fire available now

The Smartphone Centre have dropped us a line to let us know that the Motorola Fire is now in stock. Seeing Android phones in this form factor is becoming a little more common now and the Fire looks to be pretty decent with the added bonus of a low price tag at just £159.95 inc vat & delivery.

Never compromise individuality with the Motorola Fire. A touchscreen plus QWERTY keypad for easy use. Powered by Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) for quick web access and a long life battery that won’t want to stop.

The Motorola Fire has a sleek, modern design and a sophisticated finish. It’s full QWERTY keyboard and 2.8″ touchscreen display provide the perfect combination of tools for emailing, texting and browsing the Web. Users can stay in constant contact with friends and family through the world’s leading social media applications.

As with all our smartphones, the Motorola Fire is SIM Free and Network unlocked. We also offer FREE UK Delivery.

RIM address the BIS outage – Video

It has been a rather rocky and somewhat embarrassing week for Research in Motion. Unless you had your head buried in the sand you will be aware that BlackBerry Smartphones in much of the world have been without data for three days. Here in the UK the Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) was restored early this morning so users are pretty much back to normal.

RIM have today released a video where Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis explains and apologizes about the issues they have been having.
Many have criticized RIM for not being more open and forthcoming with the BIS problems, so it is encouraging to see the main man hold his hands up and say they are sorry and are doing everything they can to fix the problem.

You can see the video below:

Motorola announce the Motorola Lapdock 100

Remember the laptop dock that you could get for the Motorola Atrix? Well yesterday in the USA Motorola announced an new improved Lapdock, the 100.

The main issue we had here with the Atrix one was its cost. It was so expensive it was ridiculous. Motorola are saying the Lapdock 100 will be more affordable which is good news.

The problem is that it was announced as coming to some U.S carrier but no mention of the UK so we will have to wait and see what happens.

It looks alright though.

You can see more details below:

Capped contracts on Tesco Mobile

I saw a TV advert last night for Tesco Mobile. Now not only was it a very nice advert but the fact they are offering capped contracts stood out for me. What a superb idea. Do any other networks offer this? If so then I have never seen it marketed.

In this day and age most children, maybe 10 years and up, carry a mobile phone. I would imagine that the majority of these kids use PAYG which in itself is the near perfect solution as you don’t want the little angels running up high bills. However, surely having a contract with a cap on the maximum usage would be an easier option. No more topping up and chances are you may well get a better deal on a contract than PAYG in terms of monthly allowance. One of the benefits is that switching to Tesco’s capped contract is that it is sim only meaning if you have an unlocked phone or one running on O2 it is just a case of putting the new sim card in and away you go. With the option of a 12 month or rolling 30 day contact it couldn’t be easier.

So i just thought I would highlight Tesco Mobile to you if you are a parent. It may not be the perfect solution but looking at the Tesco Mobile website it looks pretty attractive.

You can see some more details below:

Vodafone reduce the price of the iPhone 4S

What nice people Vodafone are. They have lowered the upfront cost of getting an iPhone 4S on contract. In addition there are some other benefits which you will see detailed below.

Data Test Drive
All new and upgrading consumer pay monthly customers will be able to use as much data as they like, for whatever they like, for three months so they can fully explore what the latest version of Apple’s iPhone can do.
Vodafone’s Data Test Drive is designed to give customers the confidence to experiment with their new iPhone, get to grips with the new features in iOS5 and explore all the apps that are available for it. At the end of the three month period we’ll let the customer know exactly how much data they’ve used and whether the price plan they have chosen suits their needs.
Buy Back
We will buy back a customer’s current handset – up to the value of £270 – and guarantee to match the best price available today. Customers can bring their old phone back, or send it to us and in return we’ll give them a new phone at a reduced price, a high street voucher or cash.
Collect in store
Our customers lead busy lives and may not wish to wait for their phone to arrive at their home.  They can choose to collect the iPhone4S in a store convenient to them – we’ll let them know when it’s there.

The new plans are set out below – those highlighted have been lowered: