Elecite are back with a new theme and this one is inspired by the HTC Sense UI. The theme is very attractive as well as interactive with tri-screen animations on all supported devices.
After downloading the theme, you’ll notice that sliding to the right brings up a dedicated media screen with pictures, music and media buttons and photos. Sliding to the left will display today section for calendar, call log and messages. These features make this theme great for those who use their BlackBerry media functionality to the fullest. Hitting the menu button will bring up a list of 5-6 quick-launch icons such as Options, MemoPad and so on.
Another favorite included in this theme is the dedicated weather slot in the middle and 4 customizable icons.
Our Rogers ninja, RogersDude69, is reporting that Rogers has been giving their employees extra incentives to sell HTC Android devices. Apparently, Rogers is running internal contests where you sell 5 and get 1 free. While this isn’t necessarily news, and Rogers often runs these contests, it comes along with a recent statement from the president of Rogers Communications’ wireless business, Rob Bruce.
Rob Bruce, said he expects that phones with full slideout keyboards, as well as those based on Google’s Android operating system, will chip away at the dominance of RIM’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone.
Speaking at an investor conference, Bruce said the so-called QWERTY slider devices made by manufacturers such as Samsung and LG Electronics “are peeling off the low end of the smartphone market right now and in effect putting pressure on that duopoly.”
He characterized Android-based phones that are making their way to store shelves as the “other major vector” in challenging RIM and Apple for dominance of the lucrative smartphone market.
BlackBerry Cool readers are well educated when it comes to the various operating systems out there. So I put the question to the readers:
Can RIM and BlackBerry learn anything from the Android platform?
Research and consulting firm IDC have put together the top selling smartphones in the United States in the second quarter of this year. The list counts vendor sales to carriers and channels (sell-in) rather than sales to end users (sell-through). Further, these numbers are based on preliminary data; IDC will finalize its numbers at the end of this month.
RIM dominate the list holding the number 1 spot, as well as the 6th, 5th and 3rd. RIM’s device strategy, while it may frustrate developers in that it requires apps to be ported several times after development, it is definitely working from a sales perspective. In the end, RIM’s core business is to manufacture and sell smartphones, and in this regard they are clearly succeeding.
For those of you that thought yesterdays photos of a virtual BlackBerry OS running on a Windows Mobile HTC Touch Pro were fake, the video above should put you at ease. As someone that has been using the BlackBerry Storm for awhile, the concept of navigating the BlackBerry OS with a stylus doesn’t seem too weird. Of course, the whole WinMo thing makes me feel dizzier than Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo. Keep up the good work, Ronen!
Here’s a brief rundown of the week that was from your friendly family of bloggers in Ottawa, Canada. Below you’ll find news from our WinMo and mobile entertainment blogs, with a bunch of great BlackBerry Cool content after the jump.
Fellow Viigo partner, Jakajima, has recently published a white paper that aims to establish a system for objectively comparing smartphone OSes. “An innovative tool to benchmark Smartphone Operating Systems” puts a Nokia E61i, HTC S710, Blackberry 8800, Palm Treo 680, and a Sony Ericsson P990i device under the magnifying glass (the iPhone was released while testing was already underway, so couldn’t get in). The testing system is called the High Contrast Consumer Test, which involves getting first-time users to carry out real-world tasks in line with the smartphone’s specialties.
The testers are dubbed as “extreme”, in that they’re gunning for one particular kind of usage. By submitting smartphones to extreme users of various levels of knowledge, the HCCT is able to gage the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of using each OS. This is just a pilot project to set the groundwork, so we’ll have to sit tight until the labcoats have another go with the fully polished rubric. In the meantime, check out what are supposedly the top 24 smartphone features for professional users, in order of importance…
Twenty years ago today, the Global System for Mobile communications was signed in as a wireless standard which would blanket Europe and put an end to a few niggling incompatibility issues. Little did those 15 operators in Copenhagen realize, by 2007 there would be 2.5 billion people using GSM technology. 1.2 million new people connect to the GSM network every day, and at the given pace, 4 billion people will be cruising the GSM airwaves by 2010.
Ten years ago today, High Tech Computer began their business of quietly outsourcing to the likes of Microsoft for their Windows Mobile devices. Now HTC is the quintessential innovator in smartphones and Taiwan’s most profitable listed firm after weighing in at $1.34 billion in sales over the last three quarters. To commemorate their birthday, HTC cut the ribbon at a new world-class headquarters in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Happy birthday to these two mammoths of the wireless industry. Hope you have as much fun as these guys.
BlackBerry’s browser has stepped up to the plate for a round of fisticuffs in an InformationWeek comparative review. The contenders were the Palm Treo 755p, the BlackBerry 8300, the HTC Wing and (cue dramatic lightning) the iPhone. In the end, the iPhone ends up on top, citing big screen, full-bodied page viewing, and more prominently, eschewing the reliance on menu-based browsing as deciding factors. BlackBerry’s browser hasn’t ever received top marks for browsing, with most folks opting for Opera Mini instead. The potential for tabbed browsing in the next BlackBerry browser update is promising, but is that enough to make mobile web surfing an enjoyable rather than a bearable experience?
As much as phrases like “the interface is discoverable at a level almost below conscious thought” reek of Apple fanboyism, it can’t be denied that web browsing on an iPhone with swooshy finger motions makes sense for mobile, and chewing through long menus, a relic of the desktop interface, doesn’t.
Dopod, the Asian carrier recently acquired by HTC, is now going to be supporting BlackBerry Connect. They’re going to be the first in Asia to carry the service, which may combat a noticeable lack of interest by many. For now, the 838Pro (Dopod’s brand of the Hermes) will be the only one sporting Connect 4.0, with more undoubtedly on the way. Dopod’s not carrying any BlackBerrys yet, so any foothold RIM can get in an exploding Asian market is vital while there’s still room to squeeze in, even if it’s only as software to start. With most of Dopod’s devices running Windows Mobile, and a wide reach spanning India to Australia, RIM has some catching up to do out in the south Pacific.
Fellow 
Twenty years ago today, the Global System for Mobile communications was 
BlackBerry’s browser has stepped up to the plate for a round of fisticuffs in an 
Dopod, the Asian carrier 
