That's right, there's a new smartphone coming to market - two actually - and they're not from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Palm, RIM, nor any of the familiar old diehards - not even Apple. No, this one is from Velocity Mobile.
Who? That's what I said.
Formed by Invantec and some folks from Microsoft, this new dialer in the great, big smartphone conference call in the wireless skies is set to give its forerunners a run for their money. With the new Velocity 111 (which looks a lot like a BlackBerry) and Velocity 103 (which looks a lot like an iPhone), Velocity plans to improve on what's been working so well for its competitors and getting rid of all that doesn't meet up. It will have more icons and interfaces familiar to Windows PC-users and promises to be the most customizable smartphone yet.
As might be expected, both devices will be running Windows Mobile 6.1.
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).
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.
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.
We're all used to the typical promotion where you get a free cell phone in exchange for signing up for a set period of service. So it should come as no surprise that the same phenomenon has begun with the product representing the evolution of the cell phone - the smartphone.
CNET reported today on the Samsung BlackJack II being offered for free on Buy.com for anyone signing up for a two-year AT&T contract. While not the fastest or easiest phone to use, the Samsung BlackJack II nonetheless has some impressive qualities, including:
a GPS
a 2- megapixel camera
and AT&T HSPDA network support
Researching this phenomenon further, I found that Buy.com actually offers several smart phones for free with activation, including:
From here, I checked into how commonly this phenomenon occurred at competing cell phone and smart phone vendors and found that everybody's doing it. In addition to more of the aforementioned brand names, I also found all sorts of other smartphones (such as Sony Ericsson, Nextel, and Nokia) offered for free by all the major carriers:
AT&T (and the former Cingular)
Verizon
T-Mobile
and Sprint
Now there's a way that people on a limited budget can still afford to get a smartphone of their own (though maybe not the latest and greatest model), just by signing up for the wireless service they're going to need to get anyway.
To boot, most of the participating smartphone vendors will even throw in free shipping with the deal.
With such great deals flooding the net, and every phone manufacturer and wireless carrier competing for your hard-earned dollar, we may soon see the day when you never have to pay to obtain a smartphone again.
Late last year, RIM (Research in Motion) announced the development of a new software application that makes it easier for people to access the popular social networking site Facebook on their BlackBerry smartphones.
Although it is true that Facebook is already accessible through the BlackBerry web-browser, this new application not only allows users to view and send messages, photos, Wall posts, and pokes but it pushes all notifications of notes received from friends and associates on Facebook directly to a member's BlackBerry. It also lets users:
take and upload photos to Facebook - captions and tags included - directly from their BlackBerry as well as manage photo albums and events;
invite friends and review and manage new friend requests;
compose, read, and reply to emails without even being online;
scroll through notifications, notes, and messages the same as they do with emails;
enjoy quick and easy access to a range of Facebook's most popular features.
Facebook members can now download the program for free directly from their Facebook account. Read the full announcement on Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones right here.
Starting off the new year with a new ring tone, Consumer Reports Magazine printed as its January 2008 cover story, an in-depth review of the very best (and not so great) smart phones on the market today.
Cited in the report are some of the most promising innovations currently available in cell phone technology, including:
more keyboards - and most especially QWERTY keyboards that allow for the easiest in text messaging (currently the 2nd most common use of cell phones after voice phone calls)
dual-connection phones - able to operate on both a telephone and a Wi-Fi network;
more music features -MP3 players are now expected to be a staple of almost of all cell phones on the market, though only the best allow for functions like stereo sound and digital downloads via Wi-Fi
and better cameras - again, nearly every cell phone nowadays is expected to have at least a 1 megapixel camera built in, but only the best go as high as 5 megapixels and include advanced features like zoom, auto-focus, brightness controls, and high-grade lenses
Exactly a year ago, it was a big surprise to many smart phone users and technology aficcionnados that the RIM Blackberry only rated 7th in that particular Consumer Reports study. And at the time, the Apple iPhone hadn't even come out yet. So now that the Apple iPhone is on the market, how has the Blackberry fared in this year's report?
Alas Research in Motion is still taking a backseat to newer and more popular technology as the Consumer Reports reviewers and editors rated the iPhone superior to all competitors, including the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl, due in large part to the iPhones innovative interface and long talk time (8.25 hours). Check out this iPhone vs. Blackberry review to find out how these 2 smart phones stack up against each other.
Check out the cover story in the Consumer Reports, January 2008 issue and read about the latest and most exciting innovations in cell phone technology, as evidenced in products like the iPhone, BlackBerry, HTC Touch, T-Mobile Wing, Palm Centro, and LG Voyager.
