Nielsen: BlackBerry nearly a non-factor in Q2, Android and iOS take top spots

New numbers from Nielsen illustrate what has long been obvious to anyone who pays attention to technology: old feature phones will soon be a thing of the past. Nielsen reported on Thursday that two-thirds of new mobile phones purchased in the second quarter of 2012 were smartphones. What's more, Nielsen found that just under 55% of all U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones, meaning something that was considered a high-end item just five years ago is now commonplace. As far as smartphone operating systems go, Nielsen found that recent adopters over the past quarter unsurprisingly gravitated toward Android, which accounted for 54.6% of all new smartphone purchases, and iOS, which accounted for 36.3% of all new smartphone purchases. RIM's BlackBerry devices continued to lose market share during the quarter, as BlackBerry OS smartphones accounted for just 4% of all new smartphone purchases - just two quarters ago, RIM's share among new smartphone buyers sat at 15%.

BlackBerry PlayBook 4G seem ready for a release

 

Granted, we do know that the BlackBerry PlayBook did run into issues in terms of sales figures in the past, and beleaguered smartphone manufacturer RIM does not seem to be in too good spirits these days. There have been rumors in the past of the BlackBerry PlayBook 4G being launched, and in one of the more recent excerpts from RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, it does seem as though the BlackBerry PlayBook 4G is ready to rock and roll sometime in the future. N4BB and BB FR did spend some time with the tablet, where it sported 4G connectivity as well as software version OS 2.0.1.354.

Initial impressions pointed to a faster processor, and it could possible be a faster dual-core 1.5GHz chip that sees action. In addition, word has it that RIM has also begun to release such tablets to its corporate partners as well as other channels of distribution. BlackBerry Messenger does not seem as though it is installed on the tablet though. Do you think that the BlackBerry PlayBook 4G is going to be able to turn things around for RIM?

Samsung ChatON client for BlackBerry

Earlier this morning, we were wondering as to when BlackBerry Messenger for Android would officially hit the market, and since there were no forthcoming answers, it was time to exercise some patience. Samsung seems to be moving faster in this aspect by announcing the availability of their Samsung ChatON client for BlackBerry devices, which would more or less “complete the collection” as ChatON is already well and alive on iOS, Android and Bada platforms. The only missing party? Windows Phone. First unveiled by Samsung in August 2011, ChatOn advertises itself as a new multi-platform mobile messaging service that can send text, images and video clips not only between the company's Android- and Bada-powered smartphones, but also onto other platforms. With BlackBerry next in line to receive ChatON, one can make an intelligent guess that a Windows Phone version is not too far off in the horizon. Would you use a service like ChatON, or do you prefer to stick to other solutions like WhatsApp?

BlackBerry remains top smartphone in Washington

Research in Motion's BlackBerry operating system has gone from being a leading smartphone platform to the struggling OS it is today. While adoption rates may be slowing with consumers and businesses, the same cannot be said for U.S. Government workers, a new report claims. The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that nearly half a million federal workers, including President Barack Obama, are still using BlackBerry phones. That number hasn't dipped over the past few years despite RIM's plummeting sales. “We appreciate RIM's focus on security, which is paramount for government use,” said Casey Coleman, chief information officer at the General Services Administration. Some agencies are changing their policies and allowing workers to choose other smartphones, however, which may impact BlackBerry's government market share moving forward. Coleman added that other platforms are proving equally secure, and that the GSA places “a priority on adoption where appropriate of innovative new technologies.”

Apple and Google's OS share slides in March as BlackBerry shows narrow gain

The smartphone and tablet landscapes remained largely unchanged in March as far as operating system usage share is concerned. New data from analytics firm Net Applications shows that the collective operating system share owned by Apple's iPhone and iPad inched down to 59.87% in March from 60.59% in February. iOS's share had skyrocketed in February as it continued to gain after losing share ahead of the holidays. Google's Android smartphones and tablets dipped as well in March according to Net Applications's data, dropping to 18.66% from 19.02% in February. Symbian stayed flat at 2.77% in March, and the only mobile operating system to show gains during the month was RIM's BlackBerry OS, which climbed a fraction of a point to 2.21% from 2.15% in February.

BlackBerry Curve 9220 specs detailed, simulator available

RIM isn't feeling too good lately, but that won't stop it from readying the launch of new devices. And one of the company's upcoming devices is the BlackBerry Curve 9220. As its name suggests, the Curve 9220 is an entry level smartphone. A simulator for it has been released by RIM, which means the handset itself should be officially announced pretty soon. Feature-wise, the 9220 offers a 2.44 inch QVGA display, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity, 512MB of RAM, 512MB of internal memory, MicroSD card support, and a 2MP rear camera. Those who want the 9220 device simulator can get it here at RIM. According to previous rumors, the BlackBerry Curve 9220 should become available in mid-2102, running Blackberry OS 7.1.

BlackBerry PlayBook Twitter and Kindle apps on the way?

We all know that the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 update is arriving next week, but it looks like some long-awaited apps might be on the way as well. According to Best Buy Canada's product page for the PlayBook, it suggests that we might be seeing a native Twitter and Amazon Kindle app that will be released soon (possibly with the OS 2.0 update). In the description of the PlayBook, they mention: “Plug in to BlackBerry App World™ and read, write and game like never before. With thousands of apps for every use, you'll never run out of new and exciting options. Pick up Angry Birds or Cut the Rope, read the latest magazines, or connect online with Facebook and Twitter apps. With access to Kobo and Kindle, you can enjoy new late night reading without ever leaving your living room.” It could have been just a typo on the website, but Best Buy were the ones who advertised the OS 2.0 update as “coming soon” before an official release date was even given, so there's a chance that they could be on to something here. Well, the update arrives next week, so we shouldn't have to wait too long to find out. Stay tuned.

BlackBerry PlayBook OS confirmed for February 21st

Earlier this week we heard reports about the PlayBook OS 2.0 update arriving on February 21st, and it looks like the rumor has turned out to be accurate. According to reports online, in a webcast about “Developing native games with the BlackBerry NDK 2.0″, RIM confirmed the release date of PlayBook OS 2.0. Well, assuming that everything goes well and there aren't any problems with the rollout, we should see PlayBook OS 2.0 by next Tuesday. For those of you planning to pick up the BlackBerry PlayBook just because of the upcoming update, you should start shopping around for one by now. PlayBook OS 2.0 is said to bring features such as native calendar, email, and contacts apps, support for Android apps, and the usual host of fixes and tweaks to the operating system. Who is excited about the upcoming update?

BlackBerry dealt another blow as government agency opts for iPhones, Android

Government deployment of BlackBerry smartphones in the United States has been big business for struggling Canadian handset maker Research In Motion, but the tide seems to be turning toward Android and iOS. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said earlier this month that it would be ditching BlackBerry smartphones in favor of Apple's iPhone, and now the General Services Administration has added the iPhone and Android devices to its list of approved devices. The GSA, an independent 12,635-person agency that procures supplies and products for other federal agencies, spends upwards of $70 billion each year with contracted vendors. In addition to BlackBerry phones, Android devices and iPhones have now been approved for purchase by GSA staff in order to support “applications that can help them work more efficiently with customers like the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg Businessweek. It is not clear when the policy change went into effect.

HTC Sensation XL, Nokia C3, BlackBerry Torch 9810, Samsung Galaxy Mini discontinued by Vodafone UK

In the UK, Vodafone is set to discontinue four smartphones, according to SoMobile. These are the HTC Sensation XL, Nokia C3, Samsung Galaxy Mini, and BlackBerry Torch 9810. For the first three of those this undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that they'll all be getting successors announced at the end of this month in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress. The HTC One X should succeed the Sensation XL in the ‘huge smartphone' category for the Taiwanese company, while the recently leaked Nokia Asha 302 will pick up where the C3 left off. And the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2‘s pedigree is pretty obvious from its name. So we may safely assume that Big Red will sell these new handsets at some point.

BlackBerry 10 OS images leaked?

Keen on finding out what BlackBerry 10 OS is going to look like when it's released? Well, the folks over at CrackBerry claim to have landed themselves the very first snapshots of the upcoming operating system. Thanks to the leaked screenshots, we get to peek at its homescreen, icons, “widgets”, unified inbox and in-call screen. While the images look pretty interesting (I'm definitely reminded of iOS and Android), there's something peculiar about them. They appear to look like badly edited photographs, so we're not 100% convinced this is the new BlackBerry 10 OS. However, the images were reportedly taken from a 14-page PDF that was prepared by RIM's external ad agency partners as a BB10 briefing document so it could be screenshots from a rough document, or just something stitched together as a sample. But assuming that these images were authentic, there's a chance that the final product will end up looking very different. I guess we'll just have to wait and see when BlackBerry 10 OS is released later this year.

Leaked BlackBerry 10 images reveal home screen widgets, more

Research in Motion has already confirmed that BlackBerry 10 smartphones won't be shipping until late this year. Thanks to new images published by CrackBerry, however, we now have a preview of what's to come. The images have come from one of RIM's external ad agencies and highlight the much-awaited introduction of home screen widgets. The pictures reveal a number of changes, such as an updated Windows Phone-like icon tray that features dedicated call, search and camera buttons, quarter-screen widgets, iOS-styled folders and integrated video calling. Read on for more. The new BlackBerry 10 widgets were clearly designed in a post-Android world, drawing heavy inspiration from Google's operating system and Windows Phone's Live Tiles. The new folder icon looks to be inspired by iOS, showing a preview of the applications inside, and the Pictures icon shows previews of photos from the albums within. The calling screen displays the normal speaker, keypad, mute, add call and notes icons, and there is also a dedicated video chat button. There is no doubt that RIM has drawn inspiration from iOS, Android and Windows Phone operating systems, which isn't a bad thing at all. The BlackBerry 10 OS looks far more polished and fresh than RIM's current OS, but the real question will be whether it or not it's too little too late. The BlackBerry London will be the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to market, and as

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 said to launch on February 21st

When Research In Motion released its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the device had its fair share of problems. RIM promised an operating system update that would address these problems but the launch was delayed by several months. A new report from N4BB claims the official release of the PlayBook 2.0 update is set for February 21st, just over a week later than the company initially planned. The PlayBook OS 2.0 update will include native email, calendar and contacts apps, but unfortunately native BBM will remain absent from the tablet and can only be accessed through BlackBerry Bridge. Read

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 arriving next week?

Looking forward to PlayBook OS 2.0 for your BlackBerry PlayBook? According to rumors online you won't be waiting for too long, in fact we might be seeing the update as early as in a week's time. N4BB.com has reported that its sources have confirmed February 21st to be the expected release date of PlayBook OS 2.0. However, there's really no way of confirming the rumor besides waiting for the day to arrive or getting someone in the know to disclose that information. We've previously heard rumors about a February 17th release date, so this new date marks a slight delay for its release – but just as long as RIM sticks to its February deadline, I'm sure nobody will get too upset. The PlayBook OS 2.0 is supposed to turn the PlayBook into what it should have been when on launch day. It includes native email, calendar and contacts apps. BBM still won't be present (you'll need to use BlackBerry Bridge for that), but hopefully the support for running Android apps can make up for it. Who's still looking forward to PlayBook OS 2.0?

RIM's recent marketing blitz deemed a bust; BlackBerry 7 sales weakened in January

When new CEO Thorsten Henis took the reins at Research In Motion, he immediately pointed to the smartphone vendor's marketing strategy as an area the company needed to focus on if it hoped to regain share in key markets like the United States. The wheels on RIM's recent marketing efforts had already been set in motion, however, and early reports suggest that the increased volume of familiar BlackBerry ads aren't having the impact RIM was hoping for. Read on for more. RIM ramped up its marketing efforts in January, but the move does not appear to have paid off. “Our January checks indicated weak sell-through trends for the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones despite increased marketing efforts,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley wrote in a research note to investors late Wednesday night. “With very strong share gains for the iPhone 4S, increasingly price competitive Android smartphones, improving Windows smartphones, and strong sales of the affordable 7 inch Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, we anticipate increasing competition across all tiers of RIM's products in C2012.” As a result of weakening device sales and RIM's poor outlook for the current quarter, the analyst lowered his estimates for RIM's February quarter as well as the vendor's full fiscal year. And despite a new round of marketing that kicked off in February with RIM's “Be Bold” campaign, Walkley doesn't see much changing for the Waterloo, Ontario-based until late in 2012. “Given the strong share gains for Apple post the launch of the iPhone 4S and increasing Android and Windows competition in all price tiers, we believe BlackBerry 7 products will continue to struggle until BB10 products launch in late C2012,” the analyst noted. RIM expected to launch its first QNX-powered BlackBerry 10 smartphone - code-named the BlackBerry London - toward the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter. Walkley reiterated his Hold rating on RIM's stock and maintained his $15 price target.