BBM is now officially out on Android and iOS though its the launch is low key. The sad thing is that its not available to Nigeria on the Google Play Store.
I got a mail from Blackberry informing me of the availability of the BBM app shared below.
Unfortunately, the BBM app is not available in Nigeria which is surprising. The reason for this is still not clear but we'll get to the bottom of this.
......More to come
Lenovo, the world's top PC vendor depending on which market research firm you trust most, is reportedly interested in taking a closer look at the beleaguered Canadian phone maker.
Limited details are available right now, but the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday that the Chinese PC company has signed a non-disclosure agreement to look at the smartphone maker's books.
However, the news (or at least the suspicion) shouldn't come as much
of a surprise to anyone following the ongoing (albeit downhill) saga for
BlackBerry.
Speculation arose earlier this year that Lenovo was interested in taking over the company formerly known as Research In Motion. Yet nothing concrete occurred beyond those reports.
Despite major marketing blitz for the BlackBerry Z10,
a collapse seemed all but inevitable for BlackBerry in the face of
Android and iOS (and slowly but surely, Windows Phone) conquering the
global mobile market.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based operation put itself on the market in August, which was followed by a preliminary $4.7 billion buyout deal with Fairfax Financial Holdings in September.
Despite the possibility of being sold for parts, BlackBerry issued an open letter
to customers and partners earlier this week, reassuring that it's "here
to stay," asserting that the company has "substantial cash on hand and a
balance sheet that is debt free."
(Culled from ZDnet)
The Start Button is Back!!!
One of the major features of the recently released Windows 8.1 is our beloved 'Start' button which has been the hallmark of navigation in all Windows based systems right from Windows 95. I bought a laptop for my dad some months ago, running on the Windows 8.0 and I literally needed a GPS to navigate through the laptop. I'm not an just average PC user, I work on different OSes on a daily basis but the new Windows was not it for me till I did some tweaking to get a third party Start button.
The notable changes are as follows
- The Start Button to classic desktop :):)
- Old apps, like Photos and Music, have been enhanced with new designs and features.
- improved help and tooltips functionality
- A more comprehensive seach
- Multiple application view
- improved help and tool tips functionality
However, the old problems such as limited Win 8 apps, navigation on non-touch PCs still exist. It might not seem like much of a change to a non-Windows 8 user at first glance, but this update is a welcome development.
Verdict: The Windows 8 was designed to work across smartphones, tablets and PCs hence, its more of a touch based OS. For the best user experience, a touchscreen laptop is recommended ( but they dont come cheap)
It's an open secret that Blackberry have decided to offer their BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on Android and IOS platforms, and was scheduled to be launched in the summer. Unfortunately, the anticipation of BBM fans have been worn by the inability of RIM to meet up with the scheduled launch date, though there are reports that BBM for iOS and Android devices is due within days.
With their seeming inability to meet up with he launch date and expectations of many fans, I seem to wonder if they're ready for the competitive world messaging apps. While Blackberry are still busy with BBM beta testing, their rivals have been their major rivals have been improving their apps.
Whatsapp have added new features such as ability to send multiple multimedia files (e.g up to 10 pictures) at the same time, this is not available on the current BBM, which only allows you to send one picture at a time. They also launched the Voice feature for sending voice messages which is similar but not as sophisticated as the already available BBM Voice.(Note: Whatsapp has over 300m users)
WeChat is another major player in the messaging world with over 300 million users primarily in Asia and has been re-branded for the international market. WeChat has similar features with Whatsapp but the Shake feature on their app is real cool.
Viber is another strong player in the messaging world with over 200 million users and offers texting, voice and video calls on mobiles and now on PCs.
You'll agree with me that BBM with just about 55 million users have a lot of catching up to do, and further delays in the launch will not help their quest to be the No. 1 Messaging App. Also the current BBM features are pretty much basic and can be provided by almost any of the apps mentioned above. Blackberry needs to give the BBM app a 'Waoh factor' to enable it standout.
Only time will tell if BBM's move into the competitive world of messaging apps was worth it.
