Ever since RIM released the OS 6.0promo video at WES 2010, many of us BlackBerry users have been slowly wasting away from anticipation. Lucky for us, the guys over at WJD Designs have created a fully functional BlackBerry OS 6.0 inspired theme that might actually help us deal with the wait. It is only available for Storm devices with OS 5.0 at the moment, but trackpad and trackball versions are coming soon.
In my honest opinion, this is the best and most accurate OS 6.0 inspired theme that I have seen so far. The best part is that you can get all of the functionality and features of this theme for only$2.99.
From the day the iPhone came out the lack of flash on the device that wants to replace your everything has been a sticking point for a lot of people. For Jobs this decision came down to six main reasons:
Flash is not an “open” platform
Flash does not represent the “full” web
He has an issue with reliability, security and performance
Battery life
Lack of support for touch devices
Sub-standard apps with a third party layer between platform and user
Now what does this mean to you as a consumer of Apple products and does this all really make sense? Right now it is a big deal to the average consumer, who will not be able to consumer a lot of content that is out there on the web for you to see. The lack of flash takes you away from web based games, interactive learning tools and pesky little ads. Jobs argues that the apps will be substandard because they are cross-platform developed and he says that the developers should just use Apple’s tools to create a native app. The problem with that is not all developers have huge resources at their disposal. If I was a flash developer already, the cost in time and finances to learn and program for the iPhone/Pad is huge. With that aside, in the long run I don’t see the lack of flash being a huge deal as more and more people will start to use HTML5.
My main issue with this really groups issues one, two, and five together. Apple is far from an “open” platform and if they were flash apps would be allowed in the app store, so I find this point highly hypocritical. Being a closed system like Apple is, they determine the quality of application they approve. So what is the problem with approving a quality application built in cross platform tools using flash? His issue with flash of touch compatibility I think is based on the fact that a lot of times you have to hover your mouse over content to interact with it and you simply cant do that with your finger and a touchscreen. He suggests web standards solve this problem, but a major component of many menus and images on websites is the Hover attribute in CSS that controls all of the dropdowns and rollovers. They are trying to define the “full” web and touch compatibility for you that may or not may be what the true definition of full is.
Although I may not agree with the decision, he does make a few good points. Security is a big problem. The major source of security threats is to browser plugins. That is the case because that is the main point your computer connects with the outside world and is exposed to these threats. Any layer of abstraction within the browser just creates more possible holes for hackers to try and squeeze through. This is especially the case with flash because of its ability to interact with your computer on a systems level and not just channeled through the browser. He also has battery life right, it’s common sense, static unchanging pages will take less battery than fully interactive sites, so on that Mr Jobs you are correct.
I just got an email from Apple stating the iPad 3g is now available online or at your local Apple Retail Store. There has been a lot news swirling around Cupertino, CA lately. Apple has historically tried to control the media frenzy around the first half of the year with carefully scheduled releases and announcements. A few months ago they announced the iPad, they then followed it up with the release of iPhone/iPod 4.0 announcement. This year, however, Apple has lost that control after Gizmodo “aquired” the iPhone 4g, which dominated news stories leading up to the release of the iPad 3g today. I would love to be a fly on the wall of the marketing meetings going on at 1 Infinite Loop. I digress, the iPad 3g is here while supplies last, are you going to get one, did you already pre-order one? If so let us know in the comments. Full specs after the jump.
Display
9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Wireless and cellular
Wi-Fi model
Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
Wi-Fi + 3G model
UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Data only3
Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
Location
Wi-Fi
Digital compass
Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
In the box
iPad
Dock Connector to USB Cable
10W USB Power Adapter
Documentation
iPad embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:
Arsenic-free display glass
BFR-free
Mercury-free LCD display
PVC-free
Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
Capacity1
16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive
Processor
1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
Sensors
Accelerometer
Ambient light sensor
Audio playback
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
User-configurable maximum volume limit
TV and video
Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable
H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Mail attachment support
Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
Languages
Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
Keyboard support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
Dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
If you’re looking for the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 device then you best be getting over to your local Bell store. The Messenger has been released and according to Bell’s website it shows it’s available on the following price plans:
3-year contract: $0.00 (promo price until June 30th with a $45 monthly Voice and Data plan)
2-year contract: $149.95
1-year contract: $249.95
No contract: $299.95
Specs of the Messenger has this loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5 (you can view and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF docs), comes with a 2.6-inch display (resolution of 320 x 320). In addition, has a full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera with video capabilities, Bluetooth, WiFi, built in GPS, full HTML browser, FM Radio, speakerphone, can hold up to 32GB with a microSD card. Overall dimensions are 115.0 x 59.0 x 10.8 mm with a weight of 108 grams.
Along with several in the industry, I think the BlackBerry Pearl 3G will sell quite well, provided that they keep the price point below $50. To that end, Telus announced the device today, and it is slated to launch in May (next month) for CAD $29.99 on a three-year contract. Telus plans to offer the 20-key "condensed QWERTY" version in black, but they're also picking up the pink color as a Telus exclusive (within Canada, most likely). Canadian users, does the price point (and device itself, of course) appeal to you?
A new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 is coming to Canada soon – the Samsung Messenger (GT-B7330) will be released by both Rogers and Bell. No official word on pricing yet but we have confirmation of dates: Bell will be released on April 28th and Rogers has pegged May 4th… then also released by TELUS later in the year.
Specs of the Messenger comes with a 2.6-inch display with a resolution of 320 x 320. In addition, this has a full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera with video capabilities, Bluetooth, speakerphone, can hold up to 32GB with a microSD card. Overall dimensions are 115.0 x 59.0 x 10.8 mm with a weight of 108 grams.
Wow! Take a look at this latest theme by theme master, Natemz. BBProZen certainly does pack a lot of punch. I love the gorgeous, 3-D like icons and the smooth style of this theme. Comes in 8 colors, for a variety of BlackBerry devices (links are listed below) for free, yes people you read that right…FREE.
Please thank Natemz for doing such awesome work and not charging a penny. However, if you really appreciate his work, feel free to send a donation his way. Paypal button is listed in the posts via the links at BlackBerryOS below. Enjoy folks!
Her Royal Oprah has launched mobile apps for BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), iPhone, Android and webOS, spreading her nubian dominion further into the realm of mobility. Because the twitter thing just wasn’t enough. The app allows the viewing of clips and previews of upcoming episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show, checking showtimes anywhere in the US, weekly polls, audio clips from Oprah Radio, articles from The Oprah Magazine, photo galleries, keeping tabs on @Oprah, and a bunch of other stuff.
While I’m not one to watch any Oprah (or cable TV for that matter), it’s pretty dang impressive that she’s get something out on all major platforms in one fel swoop, and I wish more app developers could pull off that kind of multilateral launch. Of course, Oprah does have economical resources comparable to a medium-sized African country at her behest. And hey, as it turns out, Oprah is approaching her final (25th.) season. Wow. Even if you don’t like her, that’s a pretty impressive haul. Download links are below, or go tooprah.com/mobile for a closer look.
Over the past few days we’ve been playing around the latest beta release of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. Many of the changes made are hard to appreciate without actually seeing the application suite in use, and for that reason alone we have assembled a massive gallery of screenshots. On the other hand, images can be meaningless without a bit of an explanation so we’ve put down a brief summary of our initial thoughts. You can check them all out after the jump.
Across the board, each application has had its UI completely overhauled as Microsoft has made the wise decision to redo the entire layout of the application suite. Instead of the awful configuration found in Office for Mac 2008, 2011 draws from both Office 2007 and Office 2010 for Windows. In fact, it did such a good job that we can’t think of a reason why someone who is used to one OS wouldn’t be able to jump into the other and get work done in Office. One of the main reasons for this is Ribbons. Microsoft has finally conceded that people don’t like using the attractive but horribly implemented Toolbox found in previous versions of Office for Mac. Yes, the option to use the Toolbox is still there, but it’s no longer nearly impossible to get away without using it. One nice thing we will say about the Toolbox is that if you’re heavily into incorporating multimedia into your documents, the Toolbox is now fully integrated with iPhoto, iTunes, Photo Booth and Garage Band. It works phenomenally well. Speaking of things working, Excel finally has working support for macros. We can’t even tell you how happy this makes nerds like us. But back to Ribbons. They just make life so much easier. Basically every option you could ever want to use is attractively presented to you through the ribbons. What this does is allow you to save yourself an awful lot of time navigating the menu bar, hence why Microsoft calls the Ribbon a “Fluent User Interface”.
Sadly there is a pretty big weak link in Office 2011: Outlook. It seems that Microsoft simply sacrificed brains for beauty. Don’t get us wrong. It’s definitely the best and most powerful email client we’ve ever used on OS X, but after using it for 10 minutes we honestly gave up on it. Why? Because it simply requires more work to get simple tasks done than on the Windows version. It sucks to say it, but given the choice between using the new Outlook for Mac and virtualizing Outlook for Windows, we’d go with the latter any day. We’ve got more that 50 screenshots lined up for your eyes to feast upon, so check them out, ok?
Wow I am really digging these two devices. The team at BBLeaks got a hold of some pictures showing of the white BlackBerry Bold 9700 and a unannounced crimson colored BlackBerry Pearl 9100. The white back on the 9700 looks awesome and the black lettering on white keys is hot.
It looks like both of these devices are headed to Rogers sooner rather than later. Best guess is we will hear something about them next week at WES.
The team behind the Pinwall BlackBerry social network just released a new app/service called Pinvote. The app lets you rate the attractiveness of pictures submitted by other users. Its as simple as that.
The only real twist is that you can buy credits which let you contact the person you rated on Pinvote. I am not sure exactly how that would play out but it sounds kind of creepy. Still if you are into this kind of thing check it out from your PC or download the app to your BlackBerry at www.pinvote.com.
26diggsdiggThe iPhone 4G? iPhone 4? iPhone HD? Simply "iPhone"? There's plenty we still don't know about Apple's upcoming handset, like the name for instance, but thanks to an unprecedented leakand a whole bunch of peripheral rumors, we've got just about the most info you could hope for going into a major Apple launch. Follow along after the break as we parse through what we know, what we've heard, and what we hope for in the next iPhone.
Industrial design
From all accounts, we're looking at it. The prototype Gizmodo obtained and which we scored photos of -- including a shot of one sitting near a locked down iPad -- is clearly Apple's, and according to John Gruber's sources, the "DVT" in its barcode means the phone is very late in its design cycle, and might even be exactly what we'll be seeing hit the shelves.
The phone sports an oh-so-familiar glass front, but instead of the rounded bezel there's a flat metal band running around the sides creating an ice cream sandwich of sorts. From the side the design is actually a lot like Nokia's N78, with some hints of Sony Ericsson C510 and T610 (one of the most famous examples of this sandwich aesthetic). Around back is the design's most interesting innovation, a flat, glass-like back. Apple has a 2006 patent for a "ceramic" enclosure that's highly durable, scratch-resistant and radio transparent, and the popular thinking is that this is being used here.
One very interesting aspect of the design are the very un-Apple-like vertical notches in the design, one on each edge. Some have thought that this might point to the non-final nature of the handset, but others are speculating based on the build of the device internally that two of the notches actually allow for side access to the battery, while the other two notches are there for aesthetic symmetry. With the MicroSIM card holder located on the side of the phone now, the paper clip-friendly hole on top would make for a convenient way to unlock the side. Meanwhile, Gizmodo has speculated that this hole could be for a noise canceling mic, another possibility, and their discovery of an "Authorized Service Provider Only" tab under the battery would seem to imply that it isn't user accessible.
The final tweak to the look and feel of the device are the all-metal side buttons. The mute switch, lock button, and volume buttons (now two separate circles instead of a rocker) are all silver colored now and made of metal. One potential for the newly separated volume buttons are as dedicated camera controls when the camera app is open, but that's just pure speculation.
While the looks are the first thing that strikes you, Apple's general design direction for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad has been a de-emphasis of form in an attempt to highlight and center the screen in the user's consciousness. The actual device should disappear. So, day to day, the biggest news for users might be the higher resolution screen that Apple is apparently using here. Gizmodo wasn't able to count the pixels, but also: they weren't able to count the pixels. The density is obviously very high. The screen is apparently slightly smaller, or maybe just narrower than the current iPhones, possibly lending credence to those leaked screens we've seen.
The most popular rumor about pixel density is John Gruber's report of 960 x 640, an exact doubling of the resolution in each direction (quadrupling the pixel count). The benefit to developers would be obvious: instead of reworking every pixel of their apps, they'd just look exactly the same to the user, with each pixel represented by four pixels, until they can rework the app for the new screen with some eventual SDK release. With 800 x 480 screens becoming popular over in Android land, it seems obvious that Apple needs to do something to stay competitive resolution-wise, and the boost in pixel density (330 ppi, the Kindle offers 167 ppi by contrast, and the current iPhone packs a mere 162 ppi) would be a real boon to folks who use the devices for heavy reading.
Cameras
The other huge improvement and change in the new iPhone is the addition of a front-facing camera, which is a near guarantee that Apple will be bringing a version of video chatting (and hopefully the whole multi-protocol, IM-tastic iChat AV suite) to the phone with iPhone OS 4. There's already plenty ofevidence of this within the recently released SDK, but given Apple's sometimes random-seeming camera axing (the iPad and recent iPod touch were both rumored to have some sort of camera), we're not going to believe this 100 percent until we're doing a video chat with grandma. Either way, the front-facing camera does seem a lock.
Around back is more good news: the camera lens seems to be larger, which would theoretically point to an improved camera, a sort of no-brainer for phone updates in this day and age, though it's hard to see Apple shooting up all the way to the 8 megapixel sensors we're starting to see from the competition. We've heard 5 megapixels as one possibility, which sounds more reasonable, but this could really fall wherever. Next to it is an LED flash, which will help for those dastardly low light situations that the iPhone so struggles with.
Internals
This is probably the biggest mystery so far. Gizmodo did a teardown of the phone, but since they didn't want to damage the insides, we weren't able to learn too much. The biggest question mark is if the phone is getting a version of the iPad's speedy, power-sipping A4 processor. Our guess would be yes, but there's nothing solid that's been unearthed so far to actually verify that assumption.
Storage is also a mystery, since the back of the prototype says "XX GB." Very unhelpful, but a bump seems a natural. We heard 80GB from our source, a number that's been bandied about unsuccessfullysince 2007. Since flash storage is typically sized in powers of 2 (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, etc.), it's an odd number, but it would make sense if Apple has somehow managed to find room for two flash chips and decided to pair 16GB and 64GB modules -- which would be much cheaper than a single 128GB chip. Typically Apple only has room for one flash chip in its iPhones, while the iPod touch can make room for two, but with all the internal rejiggering that's going on it's not out of the question.
One thing that's very obvious from multiple teardowns is that the battery is larger. Gizmodo pegs it at 16 percent larger, at 5.25 WHr instead of the 3GS's 4.51 WHr. Given that external battery packs are one of the iPhone's hottest accessory, it's obvious that people want more battery life, and hopefully a larger batter up against that higher resolution screen and faster processor can still win out in the end and improve usage time -- it's certainly done wonders for the iPad.
Like we mentioned before, the phone uses a MicroSIM slot now, instead of one of those old and busted SIM cards. What's the difference? Check out our handy guide and bask in the mind-expanding knowledge it provides. One thing it certainly doesn't imply is a move to 4G, since the iPad uses the same MicroSIM tech and it's a 3G device.
So, about that 4G. It seems incredibly unlikely at this point, but you can't really rule anything out, either. John Gruber points out that the "N90" in the prototype's barcode points to a "fourth-generation GSM iPhone," possibly differentiating it from some non-GSM version, though that's certainly a slim bit of evidence. Since AT&T's LTE network isn't as far along as Verizon's, if Apple were to build an LTE iPhone it would most likely pair a CDMA chipset for voice with an LTE chip for data (similar to the EVO 4G's approach to WiMAX) and bring it to Verizon, but apparently if such a handset exists, this prototype isn't it.
A regular 3G Verizon version of the phone also isn't strictly ruled out, there's just no hard evidence for it either. With LTE so near (Verizon plans to do data by the end of the year, with its first phones out in the first half of 2011) it seems silly for Apple to build a CDMA-only phone right now, particularly with how staunchly they've resisted moving to Verizon so far, but anything's possible.
Software
Despite the fact that the prototype wasn't actually running by the time Gizmodo got its hands on it, we actually know the most about the software the next iPhone will be running, thanks to a handy little iPhone OS 4 event Apple put on the other week. We won't rehash everything (check out our hands-on and feature breakdown for the full skinny), but the highlights should be enough to start the saliva: multitasking (sort of), enhanced mail (threaded messaging), Game Center (it's like Xbox Live), iBooks, App folders, and the all-important addition of Bluetooth keyboard support. If you're an optimistic type, you can add iChat on top of all that.
Of course, the iPhone 3G and 3GS will be getting most of these features (though the mega-addition of multitasking is being left out of the 3G), but it's clear that Apple is creating a "gradient" of sorts that slowly kicks out the old phones (the original iPhone and original iPod touch are being left out of the update entirely, for instance). We're guessing the 4th gen iPhone will lay claim to a few exclusive features, and as the software continues to progress it will fare better in feature exclusivity than its older siblings -- until the 5th gen comes along to usurp it, of course.
Release
In a sense this is a very predictable bit of all this: Apple's released three iPhones so far, two in June (the 2G and the 3GS), one in July (the 3G). We'd say that maps a bit of a trend, and we haven't heard anyone pin a launch outside of those two months. Our most recent rumor on this front is from Canada's SaskTel, whose CEO claimed a new iPhone was coming out in "the June time-frame." The statement was later "clarified" to be referring to openly reported rumors, not any sort of inside knowledge, but since June is before July, we're going to choose to believe it until shown otherwise.
In case you need a bit of added proof that this phone is right around the bend, Apple plans on shipping iPhone OS 4 "this summer," and the last time we got a big update (iPhone OS 3.0) it shipped two days before a new phone, the 3GS.
Wrap-up
So, plenty of facts remain to be uncovered, and we're sure Apple's eventual official unveiling of the next iPhone will be action-packed in its own way, but at least one thing's clear: there's almost no reason to buy a current-gen iPhone right now. Even if the 3GS is good enough for you, Apple might do a repeat of the existing retail configuration and bop that phone down to $99, the spot the 3G currently occupies.
And that brings us back to the name: if the phone isn't actually 4G it would seem silly to call it "4G," since "3G" meant a 3G network, not third generation. iPhone HD makes a lot of sense, given the upped screen resolution, but it's also a completely overused moniker on the market currently (even Apple uses "HD" to differentiate its iPad and non-iPad apps. One other possibility is just calling it "iPhone," and leaving it to us to figure out the generation based on specs (much with the old iPods, or Apple's Macintosh lines), but now we're just speculating.
If you’re looking for the latest 
A new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 is coming to Canada soon – the Samsung Messenger (GT-B7330) will be released by both Rogers and Bell. No official word on pricing yet but we have confirmation of dates: Bell will be released on April 28th and Rogers has pegged May 4th… then also released by TELUS later in the year.
Wow! Take a look at this latest theme by theme master, Natemz. BBProZen certainly does pack a lot of punch. I love the gorgeous, 3-D like icons and the smooth style of this theme. Comes in 8 colors, for a variety of BlackBerry devices (links are listed below) for free, yes people you read that right…FREE.
