BlackBerry maker reports 1st-qtr results as questions grow about RIM's future

Research In Motion will provide an update on upcoming layoffs and may possibly reveal more details about the new BlackBerry 10 when it releases quarterly financial results after the market closes Thursday.

RIM is facing the most difficult period in its history. The company that fathered the ground-breaking BlackBerry in 1999, is weighing all options with a team of bankers it has hired as its market share is eroded by Apple's iPhone and devices running Google's Android operating software.

On Thursday, RIM will offer an update on its restructuring plan, which includes significant layoffs. The Canadian company is trying to save about $1 billion this year.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek expects RIM to cut about 6,000 of its roughly 19,500 employees this year.

Even with the launch of the a new operating system for BlackBerry 10, many believe it's too late to reverse RIM's fortunes after the company failed to heed the onslaught of touchscreen phones, like those made by Apple Inc.

And there are concerns that a shift from a physical keyboard on the new phone could alienate its hardcore base, which detest touchscreen technology. So much rides on the success of the new phone, that CEO Thorsten Heins has said the company's turnaround hinges upon it.

Boosted by overseas growth, RIM had 78 million worldwide subscribers as recently as last month, but Misek expects the company to start losing subscribers — two to three million a quarter. He'll be watching Thursday's comments to see how many subscribers RIM has kept.

Analysts polled by FactSet on average expect Research In Motion Ltd. to report a quarterly loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $3.08 billion. In the same quarter a year ago, RIM earned $695 million, or $1.33 per share, on revenue of $4.9 billion.

Source

BlackBerry Curve 9320

BlackBerry has launched its latest budget friendly smartphone named as BlackBerry Curve 9320 shipped with its latest operating system. This phone is re-molded version of latest Curve 9220. The phone runs latest Blackberry 7.1 operating System and also include a built in radio which is rare in BlackBerry devices. 
This budget friendly phone has key hardware improvements like repositioning of the headphone jack which makes much easier to pocket the phone with headphone attached. The new and the attracting feature for the youth is the BBM app shortcut key that lets you chat in real time or share pictures, videos and files.. It spots a 3.2 megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom, LED flash . The sleek design and the curve style of separated, lozenge-shaped keys are back, making it easy to peck out a message. With the Wi-Fi hotspot feature on the Cure 9320 smartphone, user can share Wi-Fi Hotspot with up to five devices at once. The phone comes with 1450mAh Li-Ion battery and claimed to offer up to 7 hours of talk time or up to 30 hours of FM radio or music playback with headphones

Video Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Design

Size and weight

(including battery)

Height 109 mm / 4.29 in

Width 60 mm / 2.36 in

Thickness 12.7 mm / 0.5 in

Weight 103 g / 3.63 oz

Colour options

Black/Grey

Navigation

QWERTY keyboard

Optical trackpad

Send, Menu, Back and End keys

Keyboard

35 - key, backlit narrow QWERTY keyboard

Dedicated keys

Send, End (Power), Menu, Escape, Camera (user customisable, convenience key), Volume Up/Down (Fwd/Rwd for media, Zoom for camera), Mute (Play/Pause for media), BBM (user-customisable, convenience key), Top Lock

Display

Resolution

qVGA 320 x 240 resolution

Screen type

164 ppi transmissive TFT LCD

Screen size (diagonal)

2.44" diagonal

Operating system

BlackBerry software/OS

BlackBerry 7.1

Performance

Processor

806 MHz

Memory (RAM)

512MB

Storage (eMMC)

512MB

Expandable memory uSD

Hot swappable Micro SD - up to 32GB uSD card (optional)

Power

Battery

1450 mAH removable/rechargable cryptographic lithium cell (J-S1)

Battery life

Talk time: Up to 7 hours (GSM®), up to 7 hours (UTMS®)*

Standby time: Up to 18 days (GSM®), up to 18 days (UMTS®)*

Music playback time: Up to 30 hours*

Power adapter

+5V DC / 500 mA AC power adapter

SIM interface

Supports 3V/1.8V SIM

Camera

Camera

3.2 MP Extended depth of field camera

Video recording

4x digital zoom

Flash

Image stabilisation

Geotagging

Multimedia

Headset

3.5mm stereo headset capable

Mediaplayer supported formats

MP4, M4A, 3GP, 3GP2, M4V, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP3, FLAC, OGG, AAC, AMR, WAV, MID, bmp, jpg, gif, png, tif, wbmp

Handheld multimedia apps/services

Music, video, pictures, podcasts, ringtones, voice notes, camera, video camera, voice notes recorder

Digital rights management (DRM)

OMA 1.0 forward lock

Windows Media DRM 10 (Janus) support for both audio and video

Voice input/output

Voice input/output

Integrated speaker and microphone, hands-free headset capable, Bluetooth headset capable, integrated hands-free speakerphone

Pre-loaded applications

Pre-loaded applications

Alerts and notifications

User-configurable

Notification options are user-configurable

Notifications

32 polyphonic ringtones – MIDI, MP3, WAV

Vibrate

On-screen or LED indicator

Connectivity

Wi-Fi enabled

802.11 b/g/n enabled

3G networks

Yes

GPS

Autonomous and assisted GPS ready

GPS enabled

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 2.1 with support of the following Bluetooth profiles

Headset Profile (HSP)

Hands-Free Profile (HFP)

Address Book Integration using AT commands

Address Book Integration using OBEX (Object Push)

Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)

Dial-Up Networking

Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP / AVRCP)

Serial Port Profile (SPP)

Secure Simple Pairing (SSP)

A/V Remote Control Version 1.3

Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP)

FM

Local FM radio reception capable

System and support

User interface

Intuitive icons and menus

Streaming protocol support

HTTP progressive download

Real-time streaming protocol (RTSP)

Desktop apps/services

BlackBerry Desktop Software (including Media Sync for transferring music, photos and videos)

Ports

USB port allows charging and data synchronisation of the device with a USB "A" to micro-USB "B" cable

Keyboard security

Password protection, keyboard lock and sleep mode

Networks

Network - bands

SKU1 UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1, 2, 5/6)

SKU2 UMTS: 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1, 4, 8)

GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS Networks

UMTS / HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps (Category 6)

UMTS / HSDPA: 7.2 Mbps (Category 7)

Radio specifications - network

Power Class:

850 (GSM) – Power Class 4; 850 – Power Class E2

900 (GSM) – Power Class 4; 900 – Power Class E2

1800 (DCS) – Power Class 1; 1800 – Power Class E2

1900 (PCS) – Power Class 1; 1900 – Power Class E2

UMTS: Power Class 3

Transmitting frequency:

GSM 824-849 MHz; GSM 880-915 MHz: DCS 1710-1785 MHz; PCS 1850-1910 MHz

IMT (2100) 1920-1980 MHz; 1700 AWS (1700) 1710-1755 MHz

Receiving frequency:

GSM 869-894 MHz; GSM 925-960 MHz; DCS 1805-1880 MHz; PCS 1930-1990 MHz

IMT (2100) 2110-2170 MHz; AWS (1700) 2110-2155 MHz

Radio specifications - Bluetooth

Single band support: ISM 2.4 GHz

Power Class: Bluetooth Class 1

Transmitting and receiving frequency: 2402 to 2480 MHz

Wi-Fi specs

Cisco CCX Certification

Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry Internet Server

Direct IP web browsing over Wi-Fi

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos

Samsung launches the new Dual SIM Galaxy Ace Duos (SCH-i589) Smartphone. The samsung Galaxy Ace Duos looks similar to the original Galaxy Ace and supports GSM +CDMA  networks . The Galaxy Ace runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread   with 3.5” display and powered by 832 MHz processor which offers users fast data processing and ability to use multiple applications at the same time. The device has a EvDO Rev A capability which enables data to download at super fast speeds of 3.1Mbps over CDMA network The Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos is a powerful device which provides auser-friendly and comfortable experience with 5 MP camera to catch the very special moments of your life with a good picture quality. The users can downloadup to  250,000 + applications. Galaxy Ace Duos comes with a powerful battery which allows the user to enjoy 7 hours of talk time

Video Review

Specifications

GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2

small

3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100

BODY Dimensions 112.7 x 61.5 x 11.5 mm

Weight 122 g

  - Touch-sensitive controls

DISPLAY Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Size 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches (~165 ppi pixel density)

Multitouch Yes

  - TouchWiz UX UI

SOUND Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones

Loudspeaker Yes

3.5mm jack Yes

MEMORY Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB

Internal 3 GB storage, 512 MB

DATA GPRS Yes

EDGE Yes

Speed HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps

WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

Bluetooth Yes, v3.0 with A2DP

USB Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA Primary 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, autofocus

Features Geo-tagging, smile detection

Video Yes, VGA@30fps

FEATURES OS Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)

CPU 832 MHz

Sensors Accelerometer, proximity, compass

Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email

Browser HTML

Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS

GPS Yes, with A-GPS support

Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator

Colors White

  - Dual SIM (dual stand-by)

- MP4/H.264/H.263 player

- MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player

- Organizer

- Document editor

- Image editor

- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,

YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration

- Voice memo/dial

- Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh

Stand-by Up to 520 h (2G) / Up to 410 h (3G)

Talk time Up to 16 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 6 h 30 min (3G)

Nokia 808 PureView

Nokia’s incredible 808 PureView smartphone, with its 41-megapixel camera, has been given what appears to be a firm release date here in the UK. It comes from Amazon, where the phone has just been made available for pre-order, and it’s supposed to be headed our way on June 30.


That means if you open your wallet right now, it could be with you this weekend or first thing Monday morning. You’re going to have to really stretch out your wallet though, as it’s two pence shy of costing £500.


That’s a lot of money for any piece of new tech, but when a phone is £10 more than the similarly brand-new-and-exciting Samsung Galaxy S3, it’s going to be an even harder purchase to justify.


The 808 PureView is very special though, mainly because of the amazing camera. At 41-megapixels, it eclipses every other camera phone available, and most DSLRs too. It shoots 1080p video and is the first device to use Rich Recording technology to produce distortion-free audio. The camera is also equipped with a xenon flash, zoom, autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens.


Nokia’s PureView phone has a huge array of features and user-definable controls, with everything from a choice of automatic or manual modes, HDR shots and a choice of scene modes, to different picture resolutions for different functions. A 5-megapixel shot is fine for sharing on Facebook, for example.


It’s the camera and the PureView technology you’re paying for, as otherwise the phone isn’t all that special, with a 360 x 640 pixel, 4-inch screen and a single-core 1.3Ghz processor.

Review

Google Nexus 7

The Nexus 7 tablet has been made official during the opening keynote presentation at Google I/O, confirming months of speculation. But instead of taking on the might of Apple’s iPad, it has been designed to beat the one tablet that has taken the US market by storm — Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

The Fire uses a modified version of Google Android as its operating system, but then leads users into Amazon’s suite of online services, including its application store, streaming movies and music downloads. For this reason, it’s sold cheaply in America, costing just $199.

Google’s Nexus 7 is the result of a joint project with Asus, and it features a 7-inch screen with a 1280 x 800 high definition resolution, plus it’s powered by the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but there’s no 3G.

There’s also no rear camera, but a front camera lens is provided for video chats, and the battery is expected to provide 300 hours of standby or nine hours of video playback. It uses the latest version of Android, 4.1 Jelly Bean, which was also announced during the keynote.

Google will pre-install its Chrome web browser, which is freshly out of beta, Google Currents, Google Maps and an optimised version of its YouTube client too. It’ll also provide total access to Google Play, allowing users to purchase apps, movies, music, magazines and eBooks directly from the tablet.

This is the exact approach Amazon took with the Fire, and it has also allowed Google to offer the Nexus 7 at a reduced rate. Google has also decided to release the Nexus 7 in the UK, something Amazon hasn’t done with the Fire.

The Nexus 7 tablet is just £159 for the 8GB version or £199 for the 16GB tablet, and it’s available for pre-order through Google Play today. If you take the plunge, it’s said to be ready for delivery sometime in July

The Google Nexus 7 features a 7" IPS display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. The tablet is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chip with 1GB of RAM and 12 core ultra-low voltage nVidia GeForce GPU. It comes with Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity and Google Wallet preinstalled. Sadly, there isn’t a 3G model available, but obviously keeping the price as low as possible was key here. That's also the reason there isn't a camera at the back, and only a 1.2MP front-facing snapper. However, it's capable of shooting 720p video.

iPad 3

The third-generation iPad; iPad 3 is a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. The third-generation iPad adds a Retina display, the new Apple A5X chip with a quad-core graphics processor, a 5 megapixel camera, full HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation, 4G (LTE) and Siri. It shipped with iOS 5.1, which serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations, and web content.

Video review

SPECIFICATIONS

9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support

Optional LTE connectivity (data only)

Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the 3G model only)

Apple A5X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor

PowerVR SGX543MP4 quad-core GPU

1GB RAM

iOS 5.1 with iCloud support and activation

16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage

Weight of 652 grams (662 grams for the LTE version)

Bluetooth 4.0

11,560 mAh battery

Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor

Compatible with every iPad and iPhone app without any modifications

The cheapest version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone

5MP auto-focus camera

1080p video recording at 30fps

VGA secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls

Four and five-finger gestures

1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $39), 720p video streaming

Supports magnetic cases

Blackberry Bold 9900

BlackBerry is a line of smartphone devices developed and designed by Research In Motion (RIM). The first BlackBerry smartphone was released in 1999.  The latest BlackBerry 7 devices were announced in the Fall of 2011.

BlackBerry devices are smartphones, which are designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, cameras and much more. They are primarily known for their ability to send and receive (push) email and instant messages while maintaining a high level of security through on-device message encryption. BlackBerry devices support a large variety of instant messaging features, with the most popular being the proprietary BlackBerry Messenger service.

BlackBerry 7 OS: The new BlackBerry operating system has a stack of new and improved features, from that new-fangled NFC payment technology, to voice-operated search functions and a faster web browser. There’s also something called Liquid Graphics, which essentially makes your images super-clear and super-crisp and makes the whole ‘getting around your phone’ thing much easier.

2.8-inch Touchscreen and QWERTY Keyboard: The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the first of the Bold brethren to sport a full QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen. The touchscreen is ultra-responsive and easy to use, as is the spacious four-row keyboard that lies beneath.

Slim, Industrial Bodywork: The BlackBerry Bold 9900 boasts premium styling and a tiny waist. The 10.5mm framework makes the Bold 9900 the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone to date, while the stainless steel chassis brings an industrial twist to the standard Bold design.

5 Megapixel Camera: The 5 megapixel comes loaded with features to improve picture and video quality. An LED flash sits snugly on the back panel and allows users to flex their snapping skills day or night. There’s also HD video recording at 720p for those wanting to turn their hand to videography.

Video Review

Specifications

24-bit display

Processor: QC 8655 1.2GHz

Memory: 768MB RAM, 8 GB eMMC

Expandable memory: Up to 32 GB uSD card(optional)

Capacitive touch screen

Optical trackpad

ESC key to the right of trackpad

Menu key to the left of trackpad

35 key backlit keyboard

Dedicated keys: Send, End (Power), Menu, Escape, Camera (user customisable, convenience key), Volume Up/Down (Fwd/Rwd for media, Zoom for camera), Mute (Play/Pause for media), Lock (top center)

5 MP camera

HD video recording (720p)

4X Digital Zoom

Flash

Face detection and Image Stabilisation

Geo-tagging

Zero shutter lag

Multiple scene modes

1230 mAh removable/

rechargeable lithium-ion battery

GSM Talk Time: up to 6.3 hours

GSM Standby Time: up to 12.8 days

UMTS Talk Time: up to up to 5.9 hours

UMTS Standby Time: up to 12.8 days

Audio Playback Time: up to 50 hours

Video Playback Time: up to 7.4 hours

3.5mm stereo headset capable

Integrated hands-free speakerphone

Wi-Fi: 802.11 2.4 GHz b/g/n, 5GHz a/n

Wi-Fi® access to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server

Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Internet Bundle

Direct IP web browsing over Wi-Fi

Integrated GPS

Video formats: .mp4, .m4a, .3gp, .m4v, .avi, .asf, .wmv

Audio formats: .mp4, .m4a, .3gp, .m4v, .avi, .asf, .wma, .mp3, .flac, .ogg, .aac, .amr, .wav, .mid

Picture formats: .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .png, .tif, .wbmp

Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia Lumia 800 (codenamed 'Sea Ray') is a Windows Phone-OS powered smartphone, first unveiled on 26 October 2011 at the Nokia World 2011 event. It was Nokia's first mobile phone to run the Windows Phone OS and marked the company's shift of focus in favor of Windows Phone for its premium priced phones.

Lumia 800 shares its design with the previously released Meego-based Nokia N9. The outward differences are one added physical button dedicated to the camera on the right side of the phone, and a dual LED flash moved directly above the Carl Zeiss camera lens. Despite a similar exterior, the Lumia 800 has a different interior than N9. Lumia 800's chipset comes from Qualcomm, whereby N9 is based on a Texas Instruments chipset and CPU.

Like the N9, it has a convex curved Gorilla Glass AMOLED PenTile screen with a ClearBlack antiglare filter. The screen diagonal is 3.7 inches (800 x 480 pixels) compared with 3.9 inches (854 x 480 pixels) for N9, to conform with the Windows Phone specifications list, which includes three capacitive softkeys placed under the glass. A trough-colored unibody shell is made from polycarbonate plastic.

Nokia outsourced the production of its Qualcomm-based Lumia 800 to Compal Electronics. According to Nokia, this was due to time constraints and Compal's experience with the chipset. Future models, starting from Lumia 710, would be built in a Nokia factory, according to the same source. Devices for the European and Northern American markets are configured, tested and packed by Nokia's factory in Salo, Finland.

On January 9, 2012, Nokia Lumia 900 was announced as a parallel model with a gyroscope, LTE support, a larger display, front-facing camera for video conferencing, and its main (back) camera improved for focus and color balance.

Video review

Specifications

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-819 HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - For Canada
		HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-801 CV
	Announced	2011, October
	Status	Available. Released 2011, November

BODY	Dimensions	116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 76.1 cc
	Weight	142 g
		- Touch-sensitive controls

DISPLAY	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass
		- Nokia ClearBlack display

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	16 GB storage, 512 MB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class 33
	EDGE	Class 33
	Speed	HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual-LED flash,
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	No

FEATURES	OS	Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon
	CPU	1.4 GHz Scorpion
	GPU	Adreno 205
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML5, RSS feeds
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	No
	Colors	Black, Cyan, Magenta, White
		- MicroSIM card support only - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Document viewer/editor - Video/photo editor - Voice memo/command/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1450 mAh (BV-5JW)
	Stand-by	Up to 265 h (2G) / Up to 335 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 13 h (2G) / Up to 9 h 30 min (3G)
	Music play	Up to 55 h

MISC	SAR US	1.27 W/kg (head)     1.08 W/kg (body)
	SAR EU	0.94 W/kg (head)

TESTS	Display	Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal)
	Loudspeaker	Voice 60dB / Noise 59dB / Ring 61dB
	Audio quality	Noise -87.3dB / Crosstalk -87.8dB
	Camera	Photo / Video
	Battery life	Endurance rating 35h