If, like me, you’ve been looking for BBM on the App Store on via Google Play you may be wondering what’s going on… repeated searches yield no results yet it’s supposed to be there by now right?
Well yes, BBM should have been available for both iOS and Android by now but before the BlackBerry guys could make the official version available apparently ‘someone’ allowed an unreleased version of the Android app to be leaked online and according to the official BlackBerry blog, that unreleased version caused some ‘issues’. As a result the rollout of BBM to Android and iOS is now on hold…
Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.
Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.
As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.
That’s a bit of a mess then. Hopefully they’ll have that all resolved quickly.
Posted by: Matt
Hyperkin will soon be launching the RetroN 5, a games console that plays NES, SNES, Genesis and GBA cartridges all in one convenient console. The US and European consoles will be released at the same time with the price points of $99.99 in the US and ?89.99 in the European territories.
Hyperkin explains the delay in release was due to several key modifications made to the console shown at E3. The shell design was changed to allow for better ventilation, as well as accommodations to use the Sega Power Base Converter allowing users to play Master System cartridges on the console.”
Below is the press release:
Leading video game peripherals company to release the RetroN 5 during holiday season.
EL MONTE, CA (SEPTEMBER 2013) – Hyperkin has set December 10, 2013 as the official release date for the RetroN 5. The RetroN 5 plays NES, SNES, Genesis and GBA cartridges all in one convenient console. The US release will coincide with the European release, with the MSRP set at $99.99 in the US and ?89.99 in the European territories.
Hyperkin explains the delay in release was due to several key modifications made to the console shown at E3. The shell design was changed to allow for better ventilation, as well as accommodations to use the Sega Power Base Converter allowing users to play Master System cartridges on the console.
All versions of the RetroN 5 will come with an AC adapter with four variable head sockets to fit multiple regions with the voltage ranging from 110 to 240 volts.
Hyperkin also confirms that the release date of October 31, 2013 listed on Amazon was a placeholder, and that Amazon has been contacted to correct the release date.
“Retron 5 will be the most amazing classic game console.” said Steven Mar, Hyperkin’s Executive Director. “We thank everyone who has been patient and supportive of Hyperkin during development.”
For more information or media requests, please contact: [email protected]. Follow Hyperkin on Twitter and like their Facebook page for the latest news and information.
Posted by: Gareth
It was announced at the BBLive event in Orlando back in May of this year but finally, this weekend, we’ll see BBM arrive on Android and iPhone. Starting tomorrow Android gets BBM followed by the iPhone version on Sunday. Both versions will be available free in the respective app stores.
The timing of the release coincides with BlackBerry announcing record losses and that they are cutting their workforce by around 40%. Many news sources are speculating that the release of BBM on rival platforms will be the solution to some of BlackBerry’s issues, however, we believe that, if anything, BBM finally going to other platforms will merely remove another barrier for BlackBerry stalwarts to move to another device.
Update: BBM for Android and iOS has been halted, more info can be found here.
Microsoft has today announced that the Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview is now available to customers using Windows 7. Building on the strengths of IE10, Internet Explorer 11 offers users the best browsing experience for Windows, bringing incredible speed together with advanced web technologies perfect for touch.
Having released the IE11 Developer Preview for Windows 7 in July, today’s release invites a broader range of tech enthusiasts and consumers to download and experience IE11 for Windows 7 as part of the final stage of previews before general availability later this year. IE11 for Windows 8.1 will coincide with the general availability of Windows 8.1 which starts at 12:00am, October 18th, in New Zealand).
A new video has been created to coincide with the Release Preview. In the video Microsoft takes to the streets to find out exactly what people think about Internet Explorer and discovers that when it comes to IE, there are still some misconceptions floating around out there. But as you’ll see, actually using IE11 and Windows 8.1 was enough to change a few minds.
Posted by: Matt
What are we referring to when we use the phrase superzoom? What we’re talking about are photographic zoom lenses, manufactured for use with a 35mm camera and featuring an unconventionally large focal length – typically more than 5×. Superzoom lenses have improved significantly over time, with models now on the market boasting over 15× abilities, but they weren’t always so gargantuan. Continue Reading »
Gareth and Matt enjoy a warm and fuzzy recollection of days gone by in this the latest instalment of the Retro Tech Addicts podcast.
In this week’s show we talk our first digital cameras, Steve Jobs returning to Apple and a sweet new device from HTC
Gareth whips out a bunch of his recent pickups including some Indy games, a rarity for the Atari Jaguar, an Amstrad portable and a classic Palm.
Police in Miami found a car matching the description of one involved in a robbery. The suspect got out of the car and ran, but was ultimately caught and arrested. Now imagine if that robber was using your identity.
That’s the exact scenario former NFL running back Najeh Davenport faced earlier this month. The suspect turned out to be a man named Damian Coleman. He showed police Davenport’s driver’s license, and several media outlets, including NBC, initially reported Davenport had been arrested, only to learn later his identity had been stolen. Continue Reading »
Last week I had my first meeting with the Lenovo as a member of the LNVO INSDRS program. As I blogged earlier, this was an opportunity for me to meet with fellow INSDRS and to get some hands on time with some interesting Lenovo products. Over the coming months I’ll be getting the opportunity to unbox and review many of the Lenovo products and I’m starting here this week with the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13.
The Yoga 13 was released late last year and is a laptop/tablet hybrid Ultrabook. Upon initial inspection the Yoga 13 looks just like any other laptop/Ultrabook. Sure it’s slim and light and has a discrete and attractive appearance but it’s not until you bend the hinged screen back past 180 degrees that you realise that this is something a bit different.
Folding the screen past the 180 degree mark feels so unnatural at first, years of laptop use just tells you that it’s so wrong! However, taking it past that point and all the way around to the 360 degree point reveals the Yoga 13 in it’s tablet format for large, 13.3 inch, touchscreen computing.
One neat thing about the IdeaPad Yoga 13 is that the screen can be positioned in several ways, from conventional laptop style to tablet and tent and stand modes in between. There’s good flexibility there and flipping the screen past the 180 degree point disables the keyboard and trackpad and puts you firmly in touchscreen mode.
In terms of specification there’s a range to choose from with Intel i3, i5 and i7 models, 4 or 8GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB SSD drives. All have a 13.3″ 1600×900 touchscreen display and weigh in at just 1.54kg.
We’ll have a more detailed review soon, once I have had time to use the Yoga 13 more extensively. This will be the first Windows PC that I have owned in quite some time so it may take a little getting used to! In the mean time we have the obligatory unboxing video for you below.
Microsoft’s recent announcement that it is set to release its shiny new, HD-ready Xbox One console on 22 November is merely the latest chapter in a long story of video gaming. What begun in 1967 with the world’s very first video console, the so-called ‘Brown Box‘, seems light years away from our modern day world of internet gaming, ultra HD TV and wireless controllers. It is an intriguing story that has taken on many forms over the years.
What is certainly clear is that the trajectories of video gaming and television evolution have always made for extremely happy bedfellows, major innovations such as the advent of ultra high definition TV coinciding almost precisely with similarly generation-defining changes in the gaming industry.
The aforementioned launch of the world’s very first games console coincided with the advent of colour TV the same year, two events that undoubtedly changed the course of home entertainment forever. The ability to record television onto videotapes was realised in the early 1970s, meaning mum and dad could record their favourite TV programs whilst the children played the new Atari Pong.
The 1980s was, arguably, the golden era of video gaming, Nintendo emerging as market leaders and revolutionising gaming forever with their original NES console. This came about at the same time as cable TV, a multi-channel approach that led the way towards on-demand TV and the viewing public’s appetite for crystal clear, ultra HD technology.
The following decade witnessed change and innovation on a grand scale. Video games progressed in earnest from a one-game-built-in type formula to having multi-game cartridges available to play on them. The 90s was the era of the PlayStation, Megadrive, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64. It all coincided wonderfully with the creation of CRT, or cathode ray tube, TV. It was this technology that begun to see television screens grow in size, changing the way both programme viewers and hardcore gamers experienced their respective mediums. The decade was bookended by the launch of the PS2, the first console to be able to play DVDs. It was the very same year that digital video recorders hit the market.
It wasn’t until the turn of the 21st century that HD TV truly took off. Microsoft’s original Xbox set the precedent for high quality graphics that appeared crystal clear on this exciting new television technology. LED-based HD TV followed soon after, unleashed on the world at the same time as the Xbox 360 and PS3, both consoles capable of internet gaming and the very first for truly HD graphics capability.
The worlds of TV and gaming truly merged for the very first time in 2007 when Apple launched ‘Apple TV’ and several years later Microsoft got in on the act by allowing 360 users the option of streaming films using Netflix.
And so we arrive in the present day, with the Xbox One about to be released. Times, oh they have changed. LG’s 84″ ultra HD TV has been reinventing how we both watch TV and experience video games for several months now, but understandably this kind of technology is available for a price.
What trajectory the worlds of gaming and TV take from here are anybody’s guess, but what’s certain is that one day current technologies that still seem almost unthinkable now will appear somewhat obsolete.
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