Posts Tagged ‘Element’

First Images of the BlackBerry Storm3 Slider

March 3rd, 2010 BBerryNews

BBleaks got the first images of the upcoming BlackBerry Slider, and while it’s not confirmed legitimate, it seems to have all the branding and makings of a BlackBerry. From the blurry images, we can see that the device has a trackpad, but we can’t confirm the touchscreen element but BBleaks seems pretty sure of it. This definitely looks like the device we heard about earlier from BGR, with the following specs:

  • It’s a portrait-oriented slider. While most people assume a device with slideout keyboard would end up being something like HTC’s devices, we’ve been told this particular handset is more like the Palm Pre in terms of layout.
  • The phone will run BlackBerry OS 6.0
  • The rumored device will 100% support Wi-Fi 802.11n
  • The resolution unfortunately has not improved, it is still 360×480.
  • No word on if this will have a touch screen, but we’d assume so, and our source alluded to this possibly being what the rumored BlackBerry Magnum/Dakota evolved into. Not saying there won’t be a Bold-like device with touchscreen, optical trackpad, and physical keyboard, but this might be released first.
  • If it does have a touch screen, this could in fact be the mythical BlackBerry Storm slider — picture a Storm 9520 with a slide up Bold-esque keyboard.
  • The phone will not be a Verizon exclusive — it’s supposed to be a GSM/HSPA device.

What are your thoughts on a BlackBerry Storm slider? Is it something you’ve been waiting for, or is the hardware design turning you off?

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2010



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BlackBerry Storm2 and Storm game Revball now available

November 18th, 2009 BBerryNews

Nickel Buddy are really cool BlackBerry game developers because they’ve been putting out quality games specifically with the BlackBerry Storm in mind. The latest is called Revball and it’s a paddle ball type arcade game.

While the game is available for the Storm2, it doesn’t use the multitouch feature which is a pretty key element of the device. As a Storm2 user, I’m always on the hunt for content that uses its unique features, but a Storm game is good fun regardless.

Revball is $4.99 and there is more information available on the purchase page.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009



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Smartphone research comparing iPhone and BlackBerry often flawed

September 15th, 2009 BBerryNews

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The research behind iPhone and BlackBerry comparisons that is making its way into the mainstream media is almost always flawed. The media loves to talk about the prolific nature of the iPhone and how technologically advanced its users are, while almost implicitly ragging on BlackBerry.

A recent study claims that iPhone owners are much more likely to download apps and get involved with social networking than their BlackBerry-owning counterparts.

The study shows that about 72% of iPhone users are likely to have downloaded at least 10 third-party apps, but 73% of BlackBerry users have picked up five apps or less. The researchers add that iPhone owners are more willing to buy their apps than BlackBerry owners.

When it comes to downloading third party apps, this study failed to recognize that bulk apps, shouldn’t be recognized as multiple applications. They are essentially the same app, templated and replicated by changing a few small pieces of data. This is where RIM shines in that App World isn’t filled with the same amount of useless garbage.

With regards to social networking, the researchers found that roughly 71% of Apple users have a Facebook account versus 44% of BlackBerry users. Twitter follows a similar trend with 26% for iPhone versus 15% for BlackBerry.

Social networking discrepancies is a demographics issue, not a device issue as the research implies. While BlackBerry is moving its focus to the consumer market, it still has years of enterprise users behind it and this could be skewing the numbers. In the end, we all know that the BlackBerry is an incredibly powerful social networking tool. Whether or not the older BlackBerry demographic is using these services is another matter.

One element of the research that I find particularly flawed, is the research that says 83 percent of users prefer apps that cost below $5. This is a consistent mistake that researchers make. They think that just because you have asked someone what they want to pay for something, that that information is somehow valuable. The truth is that everyone wants to pay the minimum, and if possible, get it for free. The reality of the situation is that if your app is well designed and provides a tangible benefit to the user, the $5 benchmark is meaningless. Just look at TetherBerry, it’s a $50 application that is one of Mobihand’s best sellers.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

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