Posted on April 10, 2007, at 10:58 am .
Maybe Palm’s head-honcho wasn’t bluffing when he was talking about focusing on improving Palm instead of selling it to the highest bidder. Word from the Boy Genius Report via a helpful-hinter has Palm developing a version of the Palm OS that is based on a Linux Modular monolithic kernel. Details are sparse (what’s new there?), but some information has come to light:
- PalmOS 5 devices (currently the latest version) will still be released later this year
- Devices based on the Linux kernel should be released by the end of the year.
- The OS is separate from the Access Linux Platform, it is Palm’s own homegrown OS.
- Palm will not license the OS to other manufacturers
- It is highly likely that the new OS will use Opera as its default browser, given the recent agreement between Palm and Opera.
The Opera thing makes sense, and that’s not a bad move for the Treo-makers since Opera’s proven itself to be a pretty solid and reliable browser. I’m just wondering, though, if there’s going to be any apprehension when it comes to adoption.
Continue reading ‘Linux OS on its way from Palm’
Posted on April 10, 2007, at 10:00 am .
Break out the violins, pals. I’m going to depress you with more talk about us Canadians and the battle we’ve got going on with the data pricing available to us. Fellow blogger and fellow Canadian Thomas Purves has just pieced together a nice little package for us to give a once over in regards to what he calls the “travesty of Canadian mobile data rates”.
Canada, as it turns out, is worse than third world countries when it comes to our pricing – and that just blows my mind. Check out these numbers and the coinciding chart after the jump. Maybe some folks will finally understand where we’ve been coming from all this time.
500MB is about 100 minutes of usage at a Canadian Carrier’s maximum (advertised) download speed of 700kB/s (your mileage will vary, International carriers are typically twice or four times faster). 500MB is not a lot of data in the grand scheme of things, a few GB could make a better example but in that case the red bars would be completely off the charts.
If you don’t live in Canada but you or your small business depends on mobile connectivity or net neutrality in general, don’t come here.
Continue reading ‘Canadian data pricing woes’
Posted on April 10, 2007, at 9:45 am .
I don’t know if it is (I hope not, at least), but Phil Wolff over at the Skype Journal appears to disagree. We’re all aware of the 24/7 connectivity that owning a BlackBerry brings, and the incessant checking for emails may slowly be turning those little notes into the new form of instant messaging. The article cites companies like Google and Yahoo who’ve implemented IM systems into their emailing services, but you know what, I still don’t see emailing replacing the original IM.
Now that Google, AOL, and Yahoo! are blending IM into their webmail services, you should be able to tell if someone is getting your message right now. You still won’t know if it was lost in a massive inbox or misfiled in a spam bucket. And it won’t apply to people outside your hosted mail service. But it works and will increase its reach.
Continue reading ‘Is email the new IM for BlackBerry users?’
Posted on April 10, 2007, at 8:33 am .
A topic that’s near and dear to most of our Canadian readers is the cost of data pricing and it’s ridiculousness. Well, looks like Verizon’s customers might be joining our choir thanks to the company’s recent raise in PDA data and voice bundle prices (thanks, Engadget). Looks like they’re not so unlimited anymore. According to the source, Verizon’s now limiting their “unlimited” plan to 5GB and only to Internet browsing, email, and intranet access. And there’s more.
We now have price increases for those Verizon PDA data and voice bundles. Check it: 450 minutes for $79.99 per month, 1,350 minutes for $109.99 and 4,000 minutes for $169.99 (all plans have “unlimited” data and night and weekend minutes).
Just in time for that new Cyclone to hit the shelves, right?
Posted on April 10, 2007, at 7:46 am .
I love it when companies constantly try to improve. There’s no resting of laurels going on for Flowfinity who’ve just launched Flowfinity Actions 5, the “latest and most innovative version of a multi-purpose wireless application designed for coordinating both people and information”. The new service from Flowfinity makes some solid usage of the BlackBerry, and provides solutions for managing everything from projects, to sales, to compliance issues. Seems like a pretty solid offering.
“Flowfinity Actions 5 combines the best of both worlds for businesses needing wireless solutions,” said Dmitry Mikhailov, CEO of Flowfinity Wireless. “As an out-of-the-box application, businesses can deploy quickly and get results immediately. As an extensible and adaptable application, businesses can integrate with enterprise systems to maximize business value and long-term impact.”
To learn more about Flowfinity Action 5, check out its official site here.
Continue reading ‘Flowfinity Actions 5 launches’
Posted on April 10, 2007, at 7:30 am .
So yesterday we let you know about ICQ and AIM becoming available for the BlackBerry (and Windows Live Messenger has been added into the fray since). We’ve received a bunch of emails from various tipsters, but a couple were more helpful than others. BBCool contributor and Forums moderator Jibi (with the assistance of another user, jungleland), have put together a great guide for all of the clients, and you can check that out here (all information’s been confirmed by the Boy Genius).
Take a sneak peak at the FAQ about the clients after the jump, it’ll hopefully clear some things up for you.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerry IM’ing questions answered’
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 11:35 am .
Who’s been waiting for AIM on their BlackBerry? Who’s been waiting for ICQ? Wow, that’s a lot of hands. Well, guess what, folks? We’ve heard rumblings, but now we have cold, hard URL’s to share thanks to our good, good pal Paulbbc.
The BlackBerry offerings for both of these popular messaging apps seem to be clambering for the doors and ready to be scooped up by eager beavers such as yourselves. Hit this link and get excited for AIM and this one for ICQ.
I’m having a little trouble with installation, so maybe they’re not completely set for deployment yet, but I’m on it, folks. We’ll keep you in the loop. Just wanted to let you know what’s up.
Thanks, Paul.
Continue reading ‘AIM and ICQ available for BlackBerry?’
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 8:58 am .
We rarely say “hello” to our Croatian fanbase, so… hello. Our new pal Marko from our Croatian contingent has supplied us with some news regarding the BlackBerry 8800 in his neck of the woods. As of April 5th, the device is available from VIPnet network, part of Austrian carrier Mobilkom and a Vodafone partner. Marko’s been kind enough to provide us with some pricing.
Continue reading ‘Croatia gets its hands on the BlackBerry 8800′
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 8:35 am .
Anyone else remember a couple weeks back when Palm was all but sold? Well, Palm chief Ed Cooligan must be a sailor, as it looks like the captain wants to go down with his ship. The CEO said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News that he’s ignoring any calls regarding Palm’s buy-out, focusing instead on improving the sales of it’s Treo devices.
“I can’t sit here and worry about that,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg at Palm’s Sunnyvale, California, headquarters.
“I can only worry about how the business is performing and what can we do as a team to do better, to get our products out faster, to drive for higher reliability, to grab more market share.”
Continue reading ‘No hand-out for Palm just yet’
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 8:26 am .
Looks like our boys in blue have done it again. Even with the bad news that was their Q2 results from late last September, analysts are still saying that RIM will be looking at strong year-end results.
These numbers’ll be presented during their traditional conference call on Wednesday, but the Globe and Mail has some insight for us already.
RIM is now worth in excess of $27-billion, more than each of its three major Canadian carrier partners: BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. or Telus Corp.
…The consensus on the Street is that RIM will post earnings of $3.21 a share for its fiscal year just ended and $4.40 a share in the next fiscal year, representing a 37-per-cent increase.
And an analyst is looking at RIM’s stock hitting the $175 mark in no time. I remember back in September when we were looking at numbers around $80-90. I don’t think I’m not the only one kicking myself right now.
Continue reading ‘RIM’s year-end results looking impressive’
