Review TechRadar: Phone and communications news 08-24-2013

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In Depth: The 10 moments that defined BlackBerry's rise and fall Aug 24th 2013, 12:20, by Simon Hill Once a pioneer and leading light in the smartphone market, BlackBerry is in a potentially terminal downward spiral. The Canadian company, formerly known as RIM, established an iron grip on the enterprise and successfully bridged the gap from pager, to handheld computer, to smartphone. In the last couple of years Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform have taken over with a combined market share that tops 90 percent. Struggling to arrest a declining user base, amid poor sales of its latest devices, we are now hearing that BlackBerry might sell up. What better time to look back at the company's rollercoaster ride over the last three decades? 1984: The formative year A couple of engineering students, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, founded Research In Motion in 1984 in Waterloo, Canada. The first few years saw the company developing wireless data technology using the Mobitex standard. RIM enabled wireless communication for point-of-sale terminal equipment, and worked on modems and pagers, paving the way for mobile devices in the future when they were still confined to the 1992: Jim Balsillie joins Taking a 60 percent pay cut, mortgaging his house, and sinking £160,000 of his own money into RIM James Balsillie bet big on the company when he joined in 1992. He brought the hard-nosed business sense that would complement the engineering skills of Lazaridis. The two would go on to serve as co-CEOs of RIM for the next two decades. 1998: the first BlackBerry The RIM 900 Inter@ctive Pager launched in 1996. It was a wireless two-way pager which flipped open to reveal a tiny keyboard and an even tinier display. It enabled peer-to-peer messaging, could send faxes, and provided delivery and read receipts. It was also capable of sending and receiving email, but its successor in 1998, the RIM 950 Wireless Handheld was really the first BlackBerry. Sporting a patented keyboard design that made it easy to type with your thumbs, the BlackBerry name came from the appearance of the angled keys. Rave reviews helped RIM to establish a number of important partnerships with companies like IBM, BellSouth Wireless (later Cingular and then AT&T), and Rogers Cantel. The BlackBerry email service followed in 1999, and then the company listed on the NASDAQ, raising over £150 million. Sales went through the roof and rapid growth followed. 2001: NTP sues RIM for millions A major patent infringement lawsuit was brought against RIM by NTP and the jury initially ruled in NTP's favour and awarded £21 ($33) million damages. RIM fought it, but would lose further ground in the battle and eventually have to settle for £390m ($612.5m) in 2006, although the legal case did highlight the growing popularity of the BlackBerry brand. In fact, such was its power the The U.S. Justice Department decided to weigh in, warning against a network shutdown because of the government's reliance on BlackBerry. It had a positive side too: the BlackBerry network provided backup communications in the aftermath of 9/11 after the phone systems in New York and Washington D.C. couldn't handle the demand. By the time the case was settled in 2006 RIM had almost 5 million active BlackBerry subscribers and net income of £240 million for the year. 2006: The CrackBerry craze Initially popular with the business community, by 2006 RIM was attracting major mass market attention. The 7100 "Charm" series marked a new focus on consumers and more features followed in the "Electron" and "Pearl" releases, including cameras, navigation, and chat features. Dubbed "CrackBerry" in the US because of its addictive nature, the BlackBerry brand was riding high and it looked like nothing could stop the keyboard revolution. 2007: The world at its feet Apple launched the iPhone at the start of 2007 and it was set to compete with the BlackBerry Pearl, released the year before. The Pearl was the first BlackBerry with a camera and a media player and was seen by many as the right move to bring RIM's products closer to the consumer. The BlackBerry 8800 series and the entry-level Curve would follow later in 2007 to further this claim, with RIM becoming the most valuable company in Canada. With 10 million subscribers by the end of the year, there was no sign of concern about the iPhone's potential as a BlackBerry killer, with RIM clearly feeling that functionality was still the most important element to the smartphone buyer. 2008: A Storm begins to brew Android launched quietly towards the end of 2008, and hot on its heels was RIM's first touchscreen device, the BlackBerry Storm. It was up against the iPhone, the HTC Dream, and the Palm Pre. It would be fair to say that the Storm did not compare favourably, with reports of glitches, sluggish performance, and a poor touchscreen experience. The hugely successful BlackBerry Bold launched the same year, and RIM hit its all-time highest estimated worth at £49 billion. 2011: Not from the 'how to make tablets' PlayBook The iPad's success pointed to the potential of the tablet market and RIM decided to produce a tablet of its own. Sadly, the PlayBook was doomed from the start, largely due to a lack of apps and a clunky interface, and at release it didn't even have an email or a calendar app. The form factor, with a 7-inch display flanked by a large bezel, also came in for criticism, although it would prove successful for Amazon and Google in the months to come. 2011: The 'BlackBerry riots' and worldwide outages In the summer of 2011 riots swept across England and BlackBerry Messenger was apparently used to organize them, with the televised media keen to highlight the role RIM's devices played in, with it transpiring that 37 per cent of the UK smartphone market in poor urban areas had BlackBerrys. Worse was to come as severe outages for BlackBerry services hit in October 2011, leading to an unprecedented video apology from Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. This was small comfort to millions of BlackBerry subscribers who were left without internet access, email, or BlackBerry Messenger service. An offer of free apps as compensation for those affected was met with widespread derision. 2011: The BlackBerry 10 delays begin Lay-offs, a high profile open letter from a BlackBerry insider criticizing the lack of strategy, the outages, and delays to the new platform all contributed to the pressure that saw Co-CEOs Lazaridis and Balsillie finally step down to make way for Thorsten Heins. The last roll of the dice was BlackBerry 10. Originally set to launch in 2011, it was delayed into 2012, and didn't actually arrive until January 2013, when BlackBerry subscriptions had started to decline as users got to the end of their two year contracts and PAYG options from other handset makers became more attractive options. Launching on the touchscreen Z10, which was soon followed by the more traditional keyboard-toting BlackBerry Q10, the new platform invited an inevitable "too little, too late" verdict from many quarters. The BlackBerry subscriber base peaked at 80 million in December 2012 and the new platform has not arrested its decline. The company is now estimated to be worth less than £3.5 billion, which isn't an insubstantial amount by any means. With a special committee formed to find a buyer able to salvage the power of BB10, it could be that BlackBerry lives to fight another day - otherwise we'll have lost one of the innovators and drivers in the early smartphone market. Our Phones and Tablets ed Gareth Beavis asks: How the hell did BlackBerry last this long? BBM for iOS and Android user manuals bumble about online Aug 23rd 2013, 19:46, by Michael Rougeau It's been a long time coming, but BlackBerry Messaging looks ready to ripen on iOS and Android. The company formerly known as Research in Motion published the manuals for BBM on iOS and Android online before promptly taking them down, reported Pocketnow, a sign that the material is ther, just that BB isn't ready to send it on its merry way. Those who caught a glimpse say the manuals featured instructions for sending text messages, voice messages, locations and photos, as well as instructions on how to change statuses and profile pictures, among much else. The site reported that screen sharing, voice communication, and video will be there eventually as well, though not at first. All signs point to BBM Earlier this year word was BBM would arrive on iOS and Android by the end of the summer. Earlier this month BBM for Android entered internal beta at BlackBerry, and in July a BB exec said it would arrive on Google's mobile OS by the end of September. This month a press release even claimed that BBM for Android will arrive "soon" - but only on Samsung's Galaxy S4, and only in Africa. There's been even less word on BBM for iOS, but all signs seem to point that both versions of the BlackBerry Messaging app are well on their way. Whether anyone still cares is a different question, and one that will only be answered when it finally comes out. Could BBM on iOS actually save BlackBerry? TechRadar asks the important questions. Tizen OS might manifest during Samsung's Oct. dev conference Aug 23rd 2013, 18:54, by Michael Rougeau It's been a long time since we received any official word on Tizen, the open source smartphone OS based on Linux. Unofficial word will have to do, then, and the blog Tizen Indonesia has just that. Samsung will launch Tizen officially at the company's first global developer conference at the end of October in San Francisco, according to the site. However, given all the times we've expected Tizen to be right around the corner and not heard a peep, we'll believe it when we see it. Conflicting reports We've asked Samsung to clarify whether Tizen will indeed launch in October, and we'll let you know if they give us anything concrete. As early as fall 2012, we thought Tizen was about to drop, as sources were claiming Samsung's first Tizen phone was due "in the near future." Turns out their definition of "near" may be different from ours, since it's been a year with nary a peep on the Tizen front. Reports last month claimed that Tizen will launch anywhere from IFA 2013 in September to this year's holiday season, a much longer wait than we would have thought even at our most pessimistic. It's definitely still happening, unless Samsung has changed its tune since July, when the Korean company and Intel (another Tizen proponent) announced a $4 million (around £2.7 million, AU$4.3 million) app incentive for Tizen developers. It will be interesting to see what kind of results they got when the OS finally launches. We'll keep our eye on October, but won't hold our breath. While Samsung may turn to Tizen, the HTC One has finally launched on Verizon! Will Sony be riding the waves at IFA 2013 with a water-resistant Honami? Aug 23rd 2013, 18:13, by Chris Smith Sony looks certain to abide by its recent preference for making mobile gadgets resistant to the wet stuff, judging by a Twitter teaser posted to the social network today. The Japanese company is expected to unveil its next flagship device, '"Honami" (alternately the Xperia i1 and Xperia Z1) at an event prior to the the IFA tech show, which gets underway in early September. With that in mind, the company tweeted: "About to make a splash... #bestofSony," accompanied by a photo of a slim device submerged in liquid. Of course, if the new Xperia arrives able to withstand the odd accidental dunk in the toilet bowl, it wouldn't be a surprise. Both the Xperia Z and Xperia Z Ultra were also IP57 and IP58 certified, respectively. 4K making the headlines? Indeed, unless the device becomes waterproof to 200m or something equally ridiculous, the phone's resistance to the elements is unlikely to be a headline-maker when it's likely announced on Sept. 4. The Xperia Z1 has been tipped to tout a powerful 20-megapixel camera and the ability to capture 4K video support, which would make it the first smartphone to boast that functionality. It's also expected to arrive with a 1080p, Full HD 5-inch display (or Reality Display as Sony likes to call it). Judging by these reportedly leaked test photos, Honami's 20-megapixel camera might be pretty special. iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C allegedly appear in side-by-side comparison snaps Aug 23rd 2013, 18:04, by Matt Swider If Sept. 10 is too long of a wait to see how the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C look next to each other, leakers are more than happy to help spoil Tim Cook's surprise with a sneak peek. Side-by-side photos of what are billed as the two forthcoming Apple smartphones appeared on the website of known Apple leaker Sonny Dickson. "You're looking at our most extensive iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C part leak yet," claimed Dickson on his blog. There are a total of 68 photos of the nearly complete iPhone hardware, with up-close pics of what he alleged are parts like the screen, back housing, SIM tray and front and back cameras. It's what's on the inside that counts Dickson admitted that while nearly everything is intact, both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in these photos are missing the all-important logic board. That means there's no photographic evidence of the full iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C specs in these new pics. Nevertheless, previous rumors fill in the gaps, pointing to a speedy Apple A7 processor for the iPhone 5S. That's a step up over the A6 SoC used in the current iPhone 5. The higher-end smartphone is also said to contain a fingerprint sensor and NFC technology, but it may stick with the 1GB of RAM and an aluminum body. This is where the cheap iPhone is said to differ. Instead of an aluminum frame, it will reportedly be made of plastic to bring the cost down. Internally, the iPhone 5C specs are thought to resemble the iPhone 5. All eyes on Sept. 10 These latest iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C pap snaps offer a clearer view of what Apple's next device will look like, far better than the quality of the blurry snapshots from factory floors in China. However, we won't know the final specs of the two smartphones until the expected launch event on Sept. 10. On that date, we're bound to find out all of the vital details, including how much the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will cost. With so many leaks, Apple may surprise us with a "one more thing" iWatch on Sept. 10 too. Apple vs Samsung judge wants no more delays, retrial moving full steam ahead Aug 23rd 2013, 17:02, by JR Bookwalter Despite Samsung's recent attempts to delay a November retrial to resolve two lawsuits with Apple, the federal judge overseeing those cases says enough is enough. Foss Patents today reported that Judge Lucy Koh is ready to wrap up a pair of Apple vs Samsung lawsuits once and for all, clearing the way for a limited damages retrial scheduled for November. A case management order filed Thursday evening effectively denies two Samsung motions which would have held up the resolution of its most high-profile legal scuffles with Apple in California. Apple's legal team was quoted as saying "[t]his case is within striking distance of a true final judgment," and it appears that Koh agrees with that sentiment. Monkey wrenches According to the report, a pair of Samsung motions filed in July were little more than a method of throwing "a monkey wrench or two into the works of Apple's pursuit of actual, enforceable remedies for infringement." The first motion attempted to convince Koh that Apple violated court orders by seeking "vastly greater damages" for the 13 infringing products that are the focus of the November retrial. Samsung also filed a motion seeking a new trial to determine its liability over U.S. Patent No. 7,469,381 - better known as the "rubber-banding" patent, and one that has racked up a number of Apple victories all around the globe. Koh's case management order sets a jury trial for Nov. 12, with a pre-trial conference to be held Oct. 17; Samsung will also get one last shot to derail the retrial during a motion hearing to be held in early October. Sony sets a date: Find out when you can buy the new PlayStation 4! Fighting Talk: Please, please Samsung: don't screw up the Galaxy Gear! Aug 23rd 2013, 16:21, by Phil Lavelle I'm excited. Really excited. I'm looking at my watch constantly – not because I'm counting down to something, but because I'm trying to get my money's worth before it gets chucked. Because I just know that in the next few months I'm going to be waving my left arm around like a newly engaged bride waves her finger about, showing off my Samsung Gear smart watch and inviting (if not subtly, then with a smack in the face) people to say 'Ooooh, what's that?' Yes, I'm traveling ahead in time and jumping the gun, I know, I know. But we're all aware it's coming and, along with the rumoured Apple iWatch, it's going to be a great time for wearable tech, and as a mad runner, I can't wait to replace my Jawbone UP with something that not only keeps a track of every pace but also gives me discreet alerts and adds extra functionality to my tablet and smartphone experience. Don't look back in anger I shouldn't need to be excited though - we should have loads of smart watches on the market already, with the market littered with concepts that petered out into abject failure. The obvious one: the Pebble. Pebble fans are a diehard lot, and you won't find many that will admit they may as well have changed their Kickstarter funding into coins and thrown them into wishing wells, although that probably would have yielded the same result. I'm talking from experience here. I bought a Pebble earlier this year. It was one of those moments when I sat on eBay with a glass of wine (times three) and days later a plain cardboard box turned up. Not only did it look clunky and horrible, but the integration with apps was awful. You'd get numerous notifications, but only the top one would work and the screen was pretty crap. It went back on eBay the next day. Clock up the miles But why has it taken even this long? The idea of a smart watch on a wrist has been around for decades. So why has it never really taken off. Does it mean even the technology behemoths of Apple and Samsung are doomed to fail? The biggest chance came from LG about three years ago. Never known for being too conservative, the LG GD910 (and what a slick name) was when the firm was arguably going through its wackiest phase. See through keypads, widescreen slabs and then a watch phone. But it was totally screwed up by two things: firstly, the fact that you could get yourself to Disneyland for the same price and secondly, you couldn't actually use the damned thing without fingers as small as pins. It wasn't a smart watch (i.e. a device that complements the phone) but a watch phone. A watch. And a phone. In one. Independent of anything else. It meant that texts, calls and some of the other tasks you need a larger screen with were just useless. And it ran LG's proprietary OS. Pointless. Yuk. So now it's all change. It's the chance to make things that look sleek, fit as neatly on the wrist as a standard digital timepiece, but one imbued with the best bits of our favourite gadgets. Like most boys, I have a dream of looking like Dick Tracy with a cool little timepiece that secretly lets me do more than tell what o'clock it is. Trouble is, the current crop leaves the user looking less Tracy and more just Dick. Don't screw it up, eh? I've reviewed dozens of phones and tablets for TechRadar over the years – each time putting them through their paces in the most unbiased, rigorous way possible. But as well as being a professional, I have a love/hate relationship with tech, and that's what these columns are all about: the passionate howlings of a true fanboy. Tell me why I'm right, wrong or a hopeless idiot in the comments below or by tweeting @techradar or @phillavelle. Analysis: Ballmer leaves Microsoft. But in what shape? Aug 23rd 2013, 14:42, by Dan Grabham So the recent Microsoft reorganisation really was Steve Ballmer's last throw of the dice. In the biggest news to hit the PC industry for some time, the CEO has decided now's the time to go. But in what shape does he leave the company? Ballmer is a sales guy, so figures first. Microsoft recorded a whopping $77.85 billion in revenue, with operating income at $26.74 billion during the financial year just passed. That's not the earnings of an unsuccessful company, and Ballmer has played a role in Microsoft's rise and rise that only William Henry Gates III can better. Microsoft: emphasis on Start Screen shackled Windows 8 I'd be surprised if Ballmer wouldn't have wanted to stick around at a successful Microsoft, so there are several possible conclusions – firstly that he was pushed. Secondly, he doesn't want to stick around for the long haul and wants to go fishing. Thirdly, that he doesn't think the future for Microsoft is that rosy. Finally, and most unlikely, he could have been at odds with its new direction. This final point is a little moot. Microsoft was clear in its One Microsoft vision statement that it wants to be more of a "devices and services" company. Ballmer played a big part in this reinvention. But certainly this news puts question marks over the wisdom and reasoning of removing key personnel during recent times, most notably head of Windows Steven Sinofsky late last year just a month after the release of Windows 8 and the so-far, so fail Windows RT. Lost confidence The aim of the reorganisation was to be more siloed, more able to react to developments in the industry. Microsoft has long lacked the ability to be lithe and react quickly - exactly the opposite of key competitors like Google. It didn't put much stock in smartphones until it was a bit too late, the same with online cloud services and tablets. Microsoft now has sizeable offerings in these spaces, but they often don't hang together as well as the competition. This is not an organisation that can't make money, but it is one that is losing some confidence from customers. And, crucially, investors. As the Associated Press succinctly put it in its article about the Microsoft reorganisation, "During Ballmer's reign, Microsoft's stock has slipped by nearly 40 percent even as the company's annual revenue has roughly quadrupled from $20 billion to nearly $80 billion." A lot of people are still buying PCs. A lot of people are still buying Windows and Office. We and many others love Windows Phone and it is destined for a decent third place behind iOS and Android. Office 365 is a really compelling offering. Despite the Xbox One shenanigans, it'll still sell bucket loads of consoles. Windows 8.1 release date, news and features But investors clearly haven't been impressed over recent years by Microsoft's pace compared to Google and Apple. And Microsoft hasn't helped itself through several big booboos that have not endeared it to the public, analysts press and investors – but have been music to the ears of rivals. Although it will come good and the idea has merit, the Ballmer/Sinofsky tenure has seen Windows now transformed into a confused and conflicted operating system with huge numbers of terrible apps – not least those from Microsoft itself. Efforts in the tablet market have been a disaster. Surface Pro is a thoroughly decent mobile PC, but Surface RT has been so poorly marketed, received and thought-out that it is impossible not to wonder how a company with such a wealth of resources can get something so very wrong. Added to which there were numerous foot-in-mouth moments like his criticism of Dropbox and denouncement of the iPhone. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U What the new guy needs to do The CEO of the new One Microsoft needs to clear up the mess of the Windows/tablet strategy and capitalise on Microsoft's other strengths. Clearly Steven Anthony Ballmer feels he's not the right guy to do it. "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time," he says. It's probably for the long term good of the company that he's stepping out before Microsoft is too far into its new era. Whoever picks up the baton will take charge of one of the most remarkable and profitable companies the world has ever seen, yet one that has multi-billion dollar challenges ahead. A new broom could be the very best thing for it. But, whoever it is, they probably won't do this. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc EE 'confirms' it's picking up Sony Xperia Z1 Aug 23rd 2013, 11:15, by Gareth Beavis EE has dropped a big hint that it will be stocking the much-rumoured flagship smartphone from Sony, with a retweet likely confirming specs too. The Sony Xperia Z1 / Honami / i1 has been touted around the internet's delightful echo chamber for some time, and looks to be a big player in the cameraphone war raging through the smartphone landscape. But EE's Twitter account looks to have confirmed that it will also have 4G on board (which is hardly a shocker), but also means that it's likely to have a CAT 4 LTE chip on board to make use of EE's double-speed 4G network. Of course, we could be reading too much into all of this, and it could be the work of an over-zealous Twitter handler for the network, but it seems that the new flagship handset, which is set to debut at IFA, will be coming to the UK. The Sony Xperia Z1 is set to pack a 20.7MP camera with new lens technology, according to multiple sources, and will use a number of features from Sony's technology stable to improve the screen, music and camera technology. We'll be there front and centre at IFA 2013 as whatever Sony is going to show off gets unveiled – join us right here to get all the information, or just to look at exciting pictures. Your call.

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