The Fall of Blackberry

Just a few thoughts today:

1) RIM should've never started the Wake-Up campaign without releasing Blackberry OS 10 first.

2) The Wake-Up campaign would've been more effective and successful if they had released their OS 10 first - they could've said something like, "Our operating system is awesome! Everyone, wake up! There are something else than just iPhones! This is amazing. You can check out flagship device in a store near you today!" But instead, they had a embarrassingly stupid campaign with no substance to back it up.

3) They were too slow into the game. I feel like they should've released even the Blackberry OS 10 back in 2009, when the iPhone had some traction but not a lot, Android was still crap and they could've very well competed with Windows Mobile 6.1/6.5. Trying to say, Hey! Look here! We have something too! now is too late. 

4) Sure, Blackberry can make the most beautiful operating system that rivals Android or iOS. But seriously, no one's going to switch over. They might be like, "Oh hey, that's cool!", but quite frankly, they're probably too accustomized to their respective operating systems. The exact same thing happened with Windows Phone 7. People were impressed with its looks and fluidity, but really, hardly anyone switched over and started using a Windows Phone 7 their daily driver. 

5) Blackberry is an incredibly timid company. Instead of pushing Blackberry OS 10 out strong and firm to the public, they decided to provide the press with sample devices to see how they like it. Sure there is an advantage to this - they can get opinion on their stuff before releasing it. But that, on the other hand, also shows that they're not confident of their operating system being a success with the masses. Instead of saying, "Hey, look, here's our brand new operating system that is going to change everything", they're essentially saying, "Here's a sample of the phone! Let me know how I can change it to suit your fancy!" now. 

I can foresee Blackberry OS 10 being a failure. 

Until then, we shall see. 

Author's Note: This was originally published on my personal website, Forwarded.

My Website 

BlackBerry Employees Threatened Over London Riots

Hackers have made it clear to RIM BlackBerry that releasing details about the London Riots to the authorities will result in them 'regretting it'.

BlackBerry Messenger, the private group messaging service installed on all BB devices has been widely accused as one of the triggering pieces of tech helping to enflame the London Riots. The service has boomed with popularity as unlike Twitter and Facebook all the messages sent are private. The media or Police can't do a quick Google search to find out what people are saying and where it's all going down. A group calling themselves 'Team Poison' would rather RIM kept it that way.

The hack appeared briefly on the company blog: blogs.blackberry.com reading “Dear Rim; You Will _NOT_ assist the UK Police because if u do innocent members of the public who were at the wrong place at the wrong time and owned a blackberry will get charged for no reason at all”. The hackers claim to hold information about RIM employees and are prepared to publish them online. They continued “if u assist the police, we _WILL_ make this information public and pass it onto rioters…. do you really want a bunch of angry youths on your employees doorsteps? Think about it…. and don’t think that the police will protect your employees, the police can’t protect themselves let alone protect others”.

This comes after BlackBerry released a statement claiming the company is “engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can”. I'm sure that the Police would love that to mean giving them a feed of all BB Messages, in reality I doubt it will be anything like that.

Other social networks seem to mainly being used for good. The @riotcleaup twitter profile and riotcleanup.co.uk have been helping people find local areas to meet up and help with the clean up operation after last night. The majority of people seem to be disgusted by the actions taking place. Maybe I'm just not following all the hooligans though. 

@techByJack

CES 2011 Wrap-Up

I was lucky enough to attend CES 2011 this year in Las Vegas, Nevada. I got the chance to see numerous amounts of gadgets from all perspectives including getting one on one demos with some of the latest gadgets soon to come in the year 2011. Although I felt overwhelmed with the amount of 3D Televisions and tablets, I witnessed . It was overall a great experience; I also was able to meet lots of well-rounded individuals. 

Day 1 started with keynotes from Verizon CEO, Ivan Seidenberg introducing Verizon’s new LTE network which could be the new home of the iPhone later this month. CEA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro also gave a speech addressing the current state of the CE (Consumer Electronics) Industry. Later on Audi AG Chairman of the Board of Management, Rupert Stadler, gave a speech on leadership and Samsung President, Boo-Keun Yoon demonstrated the new portfolio of Samsung.  I also got hands-on with various companies. 

Day 2 was filled with a slew of keynotes during the morning; including various CEOs. I got a lecture on the newly announced Yahoo Connected TV; similar but not better than the Google TV. Yahoo Connected TV has one special feature that Google TV doesn’t it allows you to interact with your television with quizzes about the segment your currently watching; don’t it would be a use of most consumers. I also got hands-on with one of the very few 4G MiFi’s, Clear Spot 4G, only $45 dollars a month for service including unlimited data; a good deal. Also you have two options; first option you can either purchase (for $199) or lease (for $6/month) device and pay the monthly plan for $45/month or the second option you can receive the device for free of charge and pay your monthly fee of $45/ month but your bound by a 2-year contract; neither option offer a pay-as-you go option. 

Day 3 I got the opportunity to test ride in a concept car of General Motors, the en-v, which is an all electric vehicle specifically designed for the Shanghai Expo. There has been no set date/year for production of the en-v for the public. I also got a very well presented demo of the BodyGuardz which is a screen protector designed for the whole body of your device. Another one on one demo I received was with the Blackberry Playbook, something that can really compete with the Apple iPad; contains a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 5MP rear-facing camera and 3MP front-facing camera. 

  Day 4 I found a really cool backup service, clickfree, very unique from the other backup solutions that I’ve used, not only does it backup on schedule without hassle. Another feature that most of us run into is that when you do a backup its wipes current information on your hard drive with clickfree it doesn’t alter any of the current files on your hard drive. 

I really enjoyed CES 2011, it has been a great experience for me and the TekSocial website. This CES  was certainly the year of the tablets and 3D televisions. Hopefully I will be fortunate enough to attend next year and provide more coverage for TekSocial.com. For your enjoyment I’ve included all the coverage of my CES Experience below. An lastly I uploaded all the pictures’ I took at CES 2011 to my Flickr. 

10 Biggest Tech Failures Of 2010

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Better Battery Life: Smartphone Data 3G vs WiFi

Smartphones have become fairly mainstream recently and all I hear is how WiFi kills your battery and how 3G is slow (in most city areas). While both statements above are true, you can get the best of both worlds.

WiFi is often disregarded by mobile users unless they are at home and have a charger nearby. The sole reason being, it can drain your tiny smartphone battery quickly if not used correctly. Although this is a downside, WiFi is far more efficient than 3G when it comes to downloading and extended mobile browsing. Another thing that most people don't realize is that 3G draws more juice than WiFi when actually being used, communicating with the tower is no small task for your handheld device. In city areas it's even worse, everyone connecting makes the network slow which in turn lengthens the amount of time your phone needs to hold a solid connection with it.

Enough with the technical stuff, you obviously just want a fix.

The answer is fairly simple, to get the best out of your phone turn WiFi on when updating applications and watching YouTube videos. (This also will save you precious MB's with the new Data caps! :))

As soon as you are finished with your data hungry task, flip it off and carry on with your day! Leaving WiFi on keeps your phone searching for a network as you roam about during the day. The scanning and analyzing of local WiFi networks is what chews up your battery like a rottweiler. To make it simple for you lazy people who didn't want to read or are not sure when to switch it up, I made an easy to use chart :D Click to view it big! (Note: I am no artist)

At a glance you can tell when to use WiFi and when to use 3G!

Helpful Tip - If you have an Android phone make a widget (like the one below) on one of your homescreens so you can flip it on and off quickly and easily.

thejustinmurphy.com