An electronic components company Hon Hai, let out a brief report saying “RIMM to Launch Own Tablet in Late 2010.” The report confirms that RIM has placed an order with the supplier for 8.9″ displays for use in a tablet. According to Hoovers.com, “Hon Hai Precision Industry may be the biggest electronics company you never heard of. The company, more commonly known by its trade name, Foxconn, is one of the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturers.”
When we last wrote about the idea of RIM releasing a BlackBerry tablet, the comments lit up with a lot of users against the idea. The general sentiment was that RIM needs to stop following in Apple’s footsteps, and innovate within their own field of expertise. Even Mike Lazaridis wasn’t keen on the idea of a tablet, saying he didn’t see the need considering the netbook was available.
At this point we can’t say if these displays are meant for a tablet, or some other project RIM is toying with. Would you buy a BlackBerry Tablet?
RIM just announced their acquisition of QNX Software, a company specializing in in-car infotainment. To get a better idea of what they do, just watch the above YouTube clip. In the product demo, they use an iPhone, but I guess that will be changing soon enough. If this acquisition is a means to get more connectivity with a BlackBerry and a car, then we should be seeing some interesting new software. Currently, RIM’s automotive offerings extend to the Visor Mount and some other Bluetooth accessories, but the major integration is through third parties. Given many states and countries are now implementing hands-free laws, this might also have influenced RIM’s decisions.
Elecite have a new theme called Blue7, inspired by the new Windows Phone 7 interface. The latest Blue7 theme features 4 large screens for quick access. Blue7 also gives you a large time and date reference, as well as it’s designed to show off any wallpapers you may have. With 11 customizable icons, a weather slot and 15 quick access icons, Blue7 gives you quick access to everything you may need.
Loopt for BlackBerry has been updated with a new Pulse tab. The new tab brings event info from Metromix, Zvents, and SonicLiving and combines it with places info from Zagat, Citysearch, Tasting Table and more.
Other additions to the Loopt app include:
Loopt Pulse is even better at helping you plan your next move with new Events info from Metromix, Zvents, and SonicLiving.
Listen to music clips from concert Events and RSVP to see who else is going on Facebook!
Search for Events and Places by date and distance around you, your friends, or specific places.
Share button on Events and Places to share them with friends.
Ping your friends directly from the Friends list to quickly find out where everyone is!
This latest update of Loopt for BlackBerry is available to U.S. users on the BlackBerry Curve 8520, 8530, 8900, BlackBerry Bold 9000, 9700, BlackBerry Tour 9630 and BlackBerry Storm 9530 & 9550. The previous version of Loopt is still available for legacy devices such as the 8330. To see if your device is supported and get Loopt, visit loopt.com using your BlackBerry browser.
RIM have announced that they’re launching official BlackBerry Developer Groups in Toronto, Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires.
The Toronto, Canada group will have its first meeting on April 21st.
The Tel Aviv, Israel group will have its first meeting on May 11th.
The Buenos Aires, Argentina group will have its first meeting on April 15th.
Just because RIM have an official group, doesn’t mean you can’t start your own. I would encourage all BlackBerry developers to use social media and network a group together to complement the RIM Developer Groups. Consider bringing in other app platform developers and even other tech community members. In Ottawa, Canada, our informal BlackBerry Developer Group really benefited from a presentation by the Open Data Ottawa initiative. Open Data is about unrestricted access to city controlled data, in a format easy for Internet and smartphone applications to consume.
We’ve talked about SmrtGuard a lot here on BlackBerryCool and I’ve personally met their CEO Rob Kao on a number of occasions at conferences and in New York. He’s a true entrepreneur with a lot of interesting things to say about BlackBerry and business in general.
Rob Kao is an entrepreneur — make no mistake about that. He took what was a limitation in the BlackBerry world and built a product to fill the void. All this during the worst global recession since, well, ever.
The first thing that struck me about Rob and his story is the absolute resolve he has at making a product that changes with the needs of his customers and partners. The second is the tireless effort that he has expended over the past 14 months building SMRTGuard into a fledgling and respected player in the data protection business on BlackBerry and Android.
I’m not sure if Rob thought of himself as an entrepreneur before this venture but it is easy to see that he has been bitten by this affliction and life as he knew it is over. Welcome to the club buddy!
