Phones

There’s no denying that the HTC One is a seriously nice piece of Android hardware. Unfortunately, though, there’s also no denying that it could use more endurance. Thanks to the process known as undervolting though, we can at least get an hour of additional endurance. Here’s how. Read the rest of this entry »

This time last year, the death knell was sounding loudly for Research in Motion. Its market share was in steep decline, its product lineup was stale, and all it had to show for its future was a prototype and the promise of an often-delayed new operating system. Just 12 months later, the company has changed its name to BlackBerry, debuted a new OS in BlackBerry 10 and launched two new smartphones, the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10. A third device, the BlackBerry Q5, is set to hit emerging markets later this year.

During his keynote speech at BlackBerry Live in Orlando, CEO Thorsten Heins said the company was well on its way to its most successful year yet. While he didn’t say that BlackBerry is back in the driver seat for the mobile market, Heins believes his company is well on its way. BlackBerry has also said its latest smartphones have resulted in the most successful launches in company history. But is that really the case? Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

Android and Apple’s iOS continued their dominance of the smartphone market in the first quarter of 2013, accounting for a combined 92.3 percent of all smartphone shipments. But of the two, it was Google’s Android that captured the most market share, with Apple seeing its grip loosening ever so slightly.

According to market analyst group IDC, 162 million Android handsets were shipped in Q1 compared to 90.3 million units shipped in the same quarter last year. The increase resulted in a rise in Android’s market share from 59.1 percent in Q1 2012 to an impressive 75 percent in Q1 2013. Of the innumerable smartphone makers that use Google’s operating system, it was Samsung that saw the most benefit. According to IDC’s numbers, the South Korean electronics giant took home 41.1 percent of the total Android market share. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

It’s been roughly five months since BlackBerry debuted the QWERTY keyboard-equipped Q10 during a New York press event, yet word from carriers has been slim to none about release dates or pricing. But that changed a bit today, when BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins announced that U.S. consumers will begin getting the Q10 later this summer.

Each of the Big Four carriers confirmed the announcement by putting up their own coming soon pages for the handset on their individual sites. The Q10 will be the second BB10 device available for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon following the Z10 and the first available for Sprint. The late summer availability isn’t exactly the April time frame Heins promised back in January when the phone was debuted, not does it match up with rumors that the handset would land on T-Mobile in May. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

ORLANDO — BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins gave a glimpse into where he sees the company’s BlackBerry 10 operating system going, how the company is performing and if he still thinks tablets are a fad. During a Q&A session at the company’s BlackBerry Live event, Heins said the company is on the starting grid in terms of its position in the smartphone market.

“Twelve months ago, I was told we would be out of business in two quarters. It didn’t happen,” Heins said. “We managed the company through a very, very difficult time. And what we did in parallel is we innovated. We are confident in the future of BlackBerry 10. We think we have something that is different and better and it has a future. We built BlackBerry 10 because we believe in this vision of mobile computing.” Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

ORLANDO — Rumors that BlackBerry was working on a low-cost handset aimed at emerging markets held true this morning as BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins unveiled the company’s new Q5. Previously rumored to be called the R10, the Q5 sports many of the same specs that the rumor mill spurted out earlier this month. The handset, like the more up-market Q10, packs a physical QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch display and BlackBerry’s BB10.1 OS. But that’s about where the similarities end.

The most recognizable difference between the Q5 and the Q10 is that the Q5 uses a plastic chassis rather than the handsome metal and glass weave found on the Q10. The decision was clearly meant to keep down cost, but it makes the handset feel rather chintzy. Material aside, the Q5 will be available in black, pink, red and white. The Q5 also comes equipped with a 3.1-inch LCD display rather than the AMOLED screen found on the Q10. And while colors on the Q5 were less vibrant than those seen on the Q10, the Q5′s screen appeared slightly brighter than the relatively dim Q10. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

LONDON — The Nokia Smart Camera app has a ton of new features, but it’s simple enough that there won’t be a huge learning curve for new users. Rather than providing a ton of options that need to be selected before a picture is taken, users take the Smart Camera capture first, then select from a variety of different options. The Nokia Smart Camera app always saves the original pictures, so users can go back to old smart camera pictures and create new outcomes using the different features of the app. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Daniel Berg on Twitter or Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

ORLANDO — BlackBerry is finally bringing its BlackBerry Messenger app to Android and iOS this summer. The feature, which has been exclusive to BlackBerry since its inception, allows for messaging between BlackBerry users using their individual BlackBerry usernames. The latest iteration of BB Messenger, which debuted on the BlackBerry Z10, includes a host of new features including voice chat and screen sharing. 

“We want to offer this pure mobile service to everyone,” BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said. According to Heins, the software will initially launch with messaging and group chat features in tow. Additional features, including BBM Voice, screen sharing and video chat, will come later. BlackBerry also announced that its new BBM Channels feature will also make an appearance on the Android and iOS versions of BBM. Channels allows BBM users to create large-scale chat rooms where they can edit and publish content and share it with fellow subscribers immediately. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

ORLANDO — BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has announced that BlackBerry 10.1, the first update to the company’s BlackBerry 10 OS, will be coming to the touch screen-equipped Z10. The update carries with it a host of improvements to the operating system including the usual system improvements and bug fixes, as well as some interesting upgrades.

One of the biggest additions to the operating system is its new HDR camera mode. The feature allows users to shoot two photos at once, one in HDR mode and a separate in standard shooting mode. BlackBerry reps said the reason for the dual shooting mode is because most users don’t know when using HDR mode is appropriate and when it isn’t. By building two shooting modes into the HDR mode, users will be able to capture an image in HDR and standard mode and then choose which photo looks best.
Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

ORLANDO — BlackBerry is kicking off its BlackBerry Live event with the debut of its newest handset, the BlackBerry Q5. The third of the company’s BlackBerry 10-powered devices and the second to sport a QWERTY keyboard, the Q5 is a budget-friendly answer to the similarly equipped Q10. The device will be available in black, pink, red and white.

The Q5 is meant for release in emerging markets and will be made available through international carrier partners later this year. BlackBerry hasn’t released exact specs for the Q5, but it has said that the phone will launch with BB10. That means users will be able to access such features as Active Frames multitasking, the Time Shift camera mode and instant search capabilities.  Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Dan Howley on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.