SmartPhones

RIM is finally putting out its first flip phone model Blackberry with the soon-to-be-released Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220. The new Pearl Flip promises all the same features and conveniences of the traditional candybar Blackberry in a more compact flip phone style. This in response, no doubt, to the statistics showing that 70% of smartphone users own flip phones, originally made popular by the industry-changing Motorola RAZR.

If the new Blackberry Bold is designed for the business customer, the Blackberry Pearl Flip (as with the original Pearl) is geared more towards the gadget-hungry consumer set. Also as with the original Pearl, the new Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 will feature the deft and dexterous SureType keypad.

On another note: RIM has also announced a partnership with AOL to incorporate AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Mail, and ICQ Services to future BlackBerry handheld devices, flip phone and candybar style alike.

Though the release date for the device is still under wraps, the price point looks to be $150 with a 3-year contract.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AOL, AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Mail, Blackberry, BlackBerry Pearl, Blackberry Pearl Flip, Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220, candy bar, candybar, flip phone, ICQ, Motorola, Motorola RAZR, RAZR, RIM, Sure Type, SureType

No doubt in an effort to compete with the likes of AT&T and its unlimited data plan for web access, Verizon Wireless released today, April 14, 2008, a new unlimited web data plan of its own.

Called "Verizon Wireless E-Mail and Web for Smartphone", the plan includes an array of attractive features:

• Unlimited data allowance for internet browsing and email access
• Support for up to 10 email accounts (including Yahoo!, AOL, and Windows Live)
• Familiar branded email interfaces

And all directly from your smartphone.

The plan may look familiar to BlackBerry users on the Verizon network, as it's already been available for them. But now users of other Verizon smartphone can enjoy the convenience as well, starting with:

• Verizon Wireless SMT5800
• Verizon Wireless XV6800
• MOTO Q9m

In line with the service's top competitor's rate, Verizon Wireless will be offering unlimited web and email access for smartphones for $29.99 per month (on top of any existing voice plan)

I wonder if this means Verizon will be changing its slogan to: "Can you read me now?"

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, Blackberry, e-mail, email, MOTO Q9m, SMT5800, unlimited data plan, verizon, Verizon Wireless, Verizon Wireless E-Mail and Web for Smartphone, web access, XV6800

Research in Motion (RIM) has now released a new software package for the BlackBerry for use in small and medium sized businesses. BlackBerry Professional Software, as it’s called, is primed to be a big hit, available for instant download by IT Managers with Administrator capabilities for email servers of companies using either Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino.

BlackBerry Professional Software comes bundled with a huge number of features and functionalities, far too numerous to list here, but with some of the most exciting utilities and capabilities including:

• selecting which company smartphones have browser access and restricting which sites can and cannot be viewed
• limiting long-distance calling to only approved numbers
• defining automated backup schedules

BlackBerry Professional Software has been put together so as to be simple to install and manage, with all sorts of step-by-step wizards at your disposal, as well as advanced security features (like end-to-end AES or triple DES encryption) and IT policies and commands (for imposing lockdown, wiping data, and defining and enforcing security protocols such as for using Bluetooth and voice calling).

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AES, Blackberry, BlackBerry Professional Software, Bluetooth, DES, encryption, IBM, IBM Lotus Domino, IT, IT Manager, Microsoft, Microsoft Exchange, Research in Motion, RIM, security, voice calling

Recently this blog reported on results of a study that showed the RIM Blackberry OS to be the "best" smartphone OS among industry analysts. However, according to an informal survey conducted by internet technology review stalwart CNet, the preferred smartphone operating system among consumers (or at least, CNet readers) is Windows Mobile.

Smartphones running Windows Mobile include the Samsung Blackjack, the Motorola Q (the top two tier-1 smartphones), as well as many manufactured by HTC, including the widely-popular HTC Tilt.

Based on pure market share alone, the study of 130 users showed Windows Mobile at 42.3%, RIM Blackberry at 19.2%, Apple OS X at 17.7%, and Symbian and Palm OS at 10%. Those are the stats for operating systems. As for smartphone manufacturers, RIM and HTC both took the lead, tying with a 19.2% market share each, Apple following close behind with 17.7%, Motorola at third with 11.5%, Palm at 10%, and all the rest (Nokia, Samsung, etc.) taking the remaining 22.3%.

Interestingly enough, the praise for Windows Mobile was balanced out (read: marred or tainted), however, by half of the respondents reporting complaints of the very same OS. Finally, a whopping 66% of CNet readers responding the survey said they would be likely to consider purchasing an Apple iPhone as their next smartphone, three times more than those who said they'd opt for the second place contender, the Blackberry.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, CNET, HTC, HTC Tilt, iphone, Microsoft, Motorola, Motorola Q, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Samsung, Symbian, Windows Mobile

The world leader in travel resources - AAA - is now accessible via the Blackberry, specifically the 8830 and the 8130. AAA Mobile, downloadable through the Blackberry's GPS app and powered by Networks in Motion, now makes the world's favorite handy devices even handier, adding the following of its services to its menu:

• TourBook Guide Travel Information
• Navigation
• Member Roadside Assistance

This makes the RIM Blackberry the first smartphone device compatible with AAA's award-winning local search and navigation applications. Even Blackberry users who aren't AAA members can still subscribe to AAA Mobile and get access to:

• audio/visual directions to any U.S. destination
• the locations of AAA-approved POIs (points of interest)
• the locations of Diamond Rated restaurants and hotels
• a searchable listing of more than 100,000 destinations that offer member savings to those who present their AAA or AAA Mobile card
• detailed maps of all of the above
• bookmarking features

The service also streamlines the process of using AAA roadside assistance by transmitting one's location via their GPS to the nearest AAA-approved responder.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AAA, AAA Mobile, Blackberry, Diamond Rated, directions, GPS, hotels, maps, POI, restuarants, RIM, TourBook Guide, Travel Information

A recent survey by Handango shows that smartphone users use their smartphones for far more than making and receiving calls and emails. It seems more and more people are using their smartphones more and more for entertainment purposes than in the previous two years when the devices were primarily used for professional and business purposes. Entertainment has just recently eked above business use 17% to 16% and looks only to be climbing higher from here.

Analysts attribute this shift to a shift in the predominant market for smartphones, that being from techies and executives to everyday consumers. The reining leader in the world of smartphones - still RIM, despite the big splash made recently by the Apple iPhone - reports that the 10 best-selling applications for their revered Blackberry includes:

• Ringtones and ringtone libraries
• Games (like Sudoku and Texas Hold'em)
• Instant messengers
• Travel assistants

And the Blackberry isn't alone in this. One of the main activities used on Windows Mobile Standard devices is the viewing of streaming media.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, entertainment, games, Handango, IM, instant messenger, iphone, RIM, ringtones, Sudoku, Texas Hold'em, travel assistant, Windows Mobile Standard

Demographics is big business in any industry and nowhere is that more apparent these days than in the smartphone market. The number of studies on what a person's choice of smartphone says about the person themselves is staggering.

A Verizon Wireless communications analyst released a report on what the type, style, preferred features, and common uses of smartphones says about the user, stating for example that a flip phone user likes being in control whereas a candy bar phone user likes to keep things simple.

Forbes, meanwhile, published a huge article on the personal significance of color choice in smartphones, noting that the most popular color for smartphones is blue, that red smartphones indicate outgoing, dramatic, and spontaneous personalities, whereas virtually nobody wants a yellow smartphone, though gold is another story altogether, suggesting a penchant for wealth, luxury, and prestige.

A story on MSNBC, meanwhile, looks at the correlation between brands of smartphone and personality types, noting for example that Blackberry users like staying in touch at all times, while Palm users enjoy multitasking, whereas iPhone users are avid multi-media hounds.

Pretty soon, it seems, a simple personality test will become the preferred method for shopping for one's next ideal smartphone. Ah progress!

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Blackberry, Forbes, iphone, MSNBC, Palm, Palm Treo, verizon, Verizon Wireless

Did you ever wonder who makes the best smartphones in the world? The answer to that question can't help but be subjective. However, if popularity among consumers is any indication of quality, then we can easily identify the top smartphone makers simply by looking at market share.

According to Canalys, a company that provides "expert analysis for the high-tech industry", the number one smartphone maker is Nokia, with a stunning 53% market share. To translate - that means more than half of the smartphones sold last year were Nokias.

That puts them leaps and bounds ahead of any other competition, even second place holder Research in Motion with just an 11.3% market share for its trendy and innovative Blackberry smartphones.

This all may come as little surprise to anyone paying attention to the smartphone industry. The shocker, however, comes when realizing that the far and away third place winner is Apple with only one smartphone to its name - the iPhone, of course - which, if you glance at your calendar, you'll notice only came out 7 months ago.

No wonder every smartphone maker in the world, including fourth place contender Motorola, are looking to the iPhone to give them a lesson in how to make the next best thing in smartphones.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, Canalys, iphone, Motorola, Nokia, Research in Motion, RIM

Insurance giants Aflac's "Technology Concierge", Margaret Genet, is beholden with the salubrious task of teaching executives how to optimize their use of mobile devices. With efficiency paramount in the business world, maximizing the efficiency of smartphone usage for business purposes, 21st century efficiency Genet is a specialist with authority in a subject that can make money for anyone who avails themselves of her wisdom.

Recently, CIO.com released an in-depth article on the most beneficial tips and tricks Genet knows for using the RIM Blackberry. Among the tips and tricks presented are shortcuts for:

• 7 typing functions (including several single-button solutions)
• 10messaging functions (both email and SMS)
• 10 attachments functions (5 for spreadsheets and 5 for presentations)
• 2 phone functions (including multitasking)
• 8 web browser functions (like handling bookmarks)

Additionally, the article lists two very simple tricks for more easily performing a couple of basic functions that have widespread, pervasive use no matter what you're currently doing on your Blackberry.

The first is to help you more easily put your Blackberry in Standby Mode so that none of the keys can be accidentally pressed. To accomplish this, just hold down the Mute button for a couple of seconds. Now you no longer risk unwittingly triggering a function that could later prove costly or embarrassing. To take your Blackberry off of Standby Mode and reactivate all the keys, just hold down the Mute button again for a couple of seconds.

The top tip of the bunch, however, is none of these so far mentioned. The #1 most useful piece of advice Genet has to offer Blackberry users is that 95% of all problems with the Blackberry - be it a full-on freeze or merely slower performance or malfunctioning keys or capabilities - can be resolved by simply removing the battery and SIM card, waiting several moments, then reinserting them. How's that for a quick fix?

For all the rest of the tips and tricks mentioned, read the full article on CIO.com.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Aflac, Al Sacco, Blackberry, CIO, CIO.com, Margaret Genet, Research in Motion, RIM, RIM BlackBerry

Which smartphone should you buy for 2008? Well, before you decide, take a look over on PCMag.com and read their latest roundup where the pros and cons of the following four leading smartphone operating systems out today are compared and contrasted:

• BlackBerry OS 4.3
• Palm OS 5.4
• Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition
• Windows Mobile 6.0

According to this handy cheat sheet to the best of the best of smart phones operating systems on the market, the cream of the current crop of smartphones running each of the four OSs examined is also listed and described, such as:

• the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320 - with unlimited WiFi
• the Palm Centro - a Palm Treo stuffed into a smaller and cheaper package
• the Nokia E61i - PC Mag's Editor's Choice for the top unlocked keyboard smartphone
• the AT&T Tilt/HTC 8925 - a combination of the some of the best mobile office and consumer entertainment features in one package

What was the winner? The BlackBerry OS. Find out why, and the good word on all the best of today's breed of smartphones and smartphone operating systems at PCMag.com

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, AT&T Tilt, Blackberry Curve, BlackBerry Curve 8320, BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry OS 4.3, consumer entertainment, HTC, HTC 8925, mobile office, Nokia, Nokia E61i, operating system, OS, Palm, Palm Centro, Palm OS, Palm OS 5.4, Palm Treo, PC Mag, PC Magazine, PCMag, RIM, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian, Symbian Series 60, Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition, unlocked keyboard, Wi-Fi, Wifi, Window Mobiel 6.0, Windows, Windows Mobile