Playbook’s Sr. Product Manager Ryan Bidan seems to stand behind the decision that the device will be shipping without independent calendar and e-mail features. He states the device is a “great standalone tablet” with just using WIFI and “this is not a device that is reliant on a Blackberry.” This still doesn’t address the concerns of the Playbook missing many of it’s popular BlackBerry features such as calendar, e-mail, blackberry internet and messenger services without a tethered BlackBerry phone.
This may be addressed in firmware update after the launch of the device but would have prevented the 1Q 2011 release date of the Playbook to include these on day 1 without being tethered to a Blackberry. Another consideration is that keeping personal data secure to the phone allows for non-secure data to be on the Playbook and this added benefit may be to prevent the data from being publicly accessible which has long been one of RIM’s strongholds in the market of keeping data secure.
Posted by: Gareth
Not satisfied with one operating system? How about two? That’s been done. Three? Okay! The current concept device of the Evolve III Maestro only runs Windows 7 and Meego however they are reported to be delivering Android as the third OS when hitting production. Which version of Android is still being debated but 2.2 on the specs below will be whizzy. Version 3.0 is mentioned in the video but not confirmed.
The Maestro will have:
- Intel Atom N475 CPU (although a dual core Oak Trail update may be in the works)
- 2GB of RAM
- 32GB solid state disk
- 10 inch display
- WiFi
- 3G
- weighs 1.8 pounds
Check after the break for some videos:
If you are a fan of having a white smartphone and you are in the market for a new BlackBerry why not consider the White Torch 9800 from Vodafone? The device has shown up on the Vodafone website as ‘coming soon’ over the last few days.
Now I may be wrong but I don’t recall seeing the white version for sale on any of the other UK networks so if you have to have it then head on over to the Vodafone site.
You may want to read our extensive BlackBerry Torch 9800 review before making up your mind. You can do so by clicking here.
Posted by: James
If you’ve been following the iPad2 rumours this week you may have also seen that there are rumours to suggest that the iPad 2, and indeed all future iOS devices, will not have the ever-present Home button.
Initially this sounded like a ridiculous notion. iOS devices only have a few hardware buttons and the Home button is used for so many things, not only for switching between an Application and the homescreen but also, more recently, invoking the task list for the multitasking support. So not only does the removal of the Home button sound like a bad idea, it also would seem to be impossible with the current user interface. To me this seemed like one of those made-up daft rumours.
HOWEVER. Just a few days ago Apple released iOS 4.3 Beta 1 to developers. Along with some minor changes including full screen iAd support and new FaceTime and AirPlay support there’s a couple of more significant changes that do lend support to a possible removal of the Home Button:
The iPad 4.3 beta 1 iOS software now has multi-touch gesture technology. This means you can use four or five fingers to:
So what do you all think? Personally I like the comfort of a physical home button and, having used the features in iOS 4.3 Beta 1 I have to say I’m not totally convinced. There are bound to be some apps out there that use multitouch that are going to get confused and you’ll end up closing them. At least it can be switched off.
Time will tell.
Posted by: Matt
It’s that time again when I find an iPhone game that really gets me addicted. Real Racing 2 has been out a couple of months or so and although quite expensive (£5.99) it is well worth the money.
I have the original Real Racing on my iPad and still play it but now the new version is out for the iPhone I decided I had to part with my money as I knew it would be excellent.
I’m not going to waffle on about it any more. Check out the video demo after the break and then enjoy the game when you purchase it for yourself. I’m confident you will?
These Flip cameras have been around for a while. Their compact, no-nonsense design coupled with decent quality recording and relatively low price has made them quite popular and they are offered for sale on a wide range of stores in many countries. I’m sure this is a trend fuelled by the likes of YouTube and the rapid expansion of other social networking vehicles. You can even design your own Ultra HD now with customisable colours and even upload images to be printed on the case.
New UltraHD Family
The world’s best-selling shoot-and-share video family – the Flip Video UltraHD – now offers two new models with even more reasons to own one. For the first time, the UltraHD line offers personalization through the Flip Online Store (TheFlip.com) with thousands of designs for users to create a video camera showcasing their own personal style. Along with always-on image stabilization and newly enhanced 720p/60 fps video quality, the new Flip Video UltraHD 2 hour also features a new slimmer design that fits easily in a pocket or purse. The UltraHD 2 hour is the first Flip video camera to feature FlipPortT – a proprietary Flip-designed connector enabling new add-ons options as part of the newly announced Designed for FlipT accessory program.
Review coming up over the next week or so, for now you can check out the unbox below.
BGR have had a goldmine of a scoop lately, leaking the Curve, Bold and Torch models of RIM’s lineup. They’ve rounded it off with images and specs of a third successor to the Storm. The first two iterations brought a quirky, clicky touchscreen which didn’t really take off as much as RIM would have hoped; maybe a name rebranding will help wash away the poor reception of the Storm? Codenamed the Monaco or Monza , it has the same 1.2GHz processor as the leaked Torch 2, and a nice 3.7″ touchscreen.
There’s no information as of yet whether that SurePress screen will stay, but the other specifications are pretty tasty – click through to see them.
We posted earlier today that BGR.com had reportedly got the specs of the next BlackBerry Curve and it was seem that they have done the same for the next BlackBerry Torch.
If the photo here is correct there are not any noticeable changes on the outside of the device but when it comes to the inside we can expect some impressive improvements, although certainly not groundbreaking. It would just bring the Torch inline with all the other smartphones out there right now.
BGR has reported the the Torch 2 can be expected in Q3 although we have no official word from RIM.
See the alleged specs after the break:
BGR.com has posted yet another new BlackBerry on their site, this time the BlackBerry Dakota which could be the perfect BlackBerry for millions of users. The Dakota is rumored to be of a Bold form factor but this time with a touch screen. That sounds pretty perfect if you ask me.
The Dakota allegedly comes sporting a mobile hotspot, HD video recording and BlackBerry 6.1
You can see the full specs after the break:
The guys over at Boy Genius Report appear to have scored a bit of a scoop – information about the next generation Blackberry Curve codenamed Apollo – including the image on the right.
According to BGR the new device is going to have a 480×360 screen, a 5-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band HSPA 7.2Mbps radio with NFC capabilities.
Other highlights include Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, 512MB of eMMC, 512MB of RAM, a 1050 mAh battery, a Tavor MG-1 800MHz CPU all running BlackBerry OS 6.1 and squeezed into a unit just 11mm thin.
For the full article head over to BGR at http://www.bgr.com/2011/01/13/exclusive-next-generation-blackberry-curve-appears-brings-specs-with-it/#
Posted by: Iain
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