Not that we didn’t see this coming after RIM’s acquisition of Viigo back in March, the BlackBerry maker has decided to end of life the Windows Mobile version of the application. As of right now, you can no longer download Viigo for Windows Mobile and support will be killed on July 21st.
Windows Mobile
Best Buy To Offer Kin One For Free, Kin Two For $50
We haven’t talked much if at all about the Microsoft Kin One or Kin Two, however, Best Buy has dropped their respective prices to $0 and $50 on two year contracts which make these devices a bit more interesting by way of being incredibly inexpensive. Not only do the Kins cost less than most smartphones or even feature phones, Best Buy’s pricing puts them into the range of standard mobile phones… You remember, the ones that you used to just make and receive phone calls on back in the day.
Microsoft must have spent a pretty penny on marketing of the Kin One and Kin Two because you see commercials for the devices during any network programing that has a target audience remotely close to the demographic MS is going after with the Kins. It will be interesting to see how well the Best Buy does with these devices. I’m guessing pretty well.
[Via Engadget]
Android Aims To Knock Apple From The Top Spot In U.S. Based Mobile Web Traffic… The BlackBerry’s Decline Is Telling
When it comes to U.S. based mobile web traffic there are really only two players in the game. The iPhone sits atop the hill with over 40% total share and Adroid is right on the iPhone’s heels just a few percentage points behind. The other dogs in the race, Palm and Microsoft, simply don’t hunt and what’s really telling is that the BlackBerry, even though it’s the number one smartphone in America, has seen a ridiculous decline since October, 2008 when it was just a few points behind the iPhone.
[Read more…] about Android Aims To Knock Apple From The Top Spot In U.S. Based Mobile Web Traffic… The BlackBerry’s Decline Is Telling
Is Microsoft Soon To Release A Zune “Phone”?
The Microsoft Zune is undergoing scheduled maintenance that started early this morning at 1:00 a.m. EST. This isn’t terribly big news unless you are a Zune user. 3 phone profiles being found in the Zune.inf file of the maintenance release, is, however, kind of big… Especially since Microsoft has repeatedly stated that they had no plans to add mobile phone to the Zune since before the original Zune came out.
[Read more…] about Is Microsoft Soon To Release A Zune “Phone”?
Windows Mobile Expected To Account For 40% Of The Smartphone Market By 2012???
I just heard some unbelievable spin coming out of Microsoft this morning. They expect Windows Mobile to account for 40% of the global smartphone market within the next four years.
Did Microsoft make a bid for Research in Motion or Apple recently? If not, this is the most ridiculous thing that I’ve heard all day. Granted, today isn’t even half over yet, but, still.
Depending on whose numbers you look at, Microsoft has less than 13% of the global smartphone market now. Apple and Research in Motion are growing by leaps and bounds and lets not forget about Linux based mobile operating systems. I know Linux isn’t big here, but, it is getting big about everywhere else.
For Microsoft to be able to pull off an additional 27% of the global market share in the next 4 years they are going to have to come up with an OS better than the BlackBerry OS and better than the iPhone OS. Unless they do a do-over, I doubt that Microsoft could even make Windows Mobile stable within the next 4 years, let along out shine RIM or Apple.
[Source]
HP Is Coming Out With New BlackBerry Killers… The Old Ones Did So Well…
New Rule: If the name of your company isn’t Apple, you cannot use the word “killer” when describing your new mobile device, especially if it is targeting the BlackBerry.
HP is coming out with a “killer line” line of BlackBerry hunting iPaqs according to Gene Wong, vice president of marketing of HP’s handheld global business unit.
HP, if you want to come out with a new smartphone to atone for that last batch of crap you put out, no one is going to blame you. The wireless industry is a big one and I can understand you want to get a piece of it. You’ve got to, however, stop comparing yourselves to the BlackBerry because you set expectations you can’t possibly meet primarily because your devices run Windows Mobile.
Try saying that you want to be the Treo Killer, or the Moto Q Killer. The first thing you should remember when setting goals is to make sure they are attainable.
[Source]
The At&T Tilt, a.k.a. HTC Kaiser, Will Support BlackBerry Connect
For those of you that like the way that the BlackBerry sends and receives email but still want to use the a Windows Mobile device, you may be happy to hear that the soon (we hope) to be released AT&T Tilt, known as the HTC Kaiser in Europe, will support BlackBerry Connect.
There still is no official word on when the AT&T Tilt will be released, however, HTC has a getting started guide for configuring BlackBerry Connect on the device up on their site.
[Source]
Motorola Q 9m Now Available On Verizon’s Site
If you take a look at Verizon’s site you will see that the new Moto Q 9m is now available. It will set you back $249 with a 2-year contract.
Why are we talking about a Windows Mobile device on a BlackBerry blog? Well, it just seems like the Motorola Q is the most popular Windows Mobile device over the last year or so, at least in the United States. I don’t know the exact sales numbers, however, when I think of Windows Mobile devices, the Motorola Q is the first one that comes to mind. I think the Treo is still more recognizable but the Palm OS still resonates with me whenever it pops into my mind.
My guess is that the Moto Q is one of the BlackBerry’s biggest competitors Stateside.
A Lot Of Verizon Subscribers Want A Verizon BlackBerry Curve
One of the most popular posts here on RIMarkable over the passed few months was one where we asked how long it would take for a Verizon BlackBerry Curve to hit the street. To date that post has 41 comments which is a bit more than the average but nothing out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary are the number of people that are searching RIMarkable for Verizon BlackBerry Curve or sending emails asking if I know when it is coming out.
A lot of folks are looking for a Verizon BlackBerry Curve
Verizon BlackBerry Curve is searched for 9 times more often than any other carrier / blackberry model combo here on RIMarkable and I receive on average 20 to 30 emails a day asking if I have any information on when it is coming out. Whats even more telling is that the Google, Yahoo and MSN, are sending thousands of visitors here that are searching for Verizon Blackberry Curve and the device doesn’t even exist (yet) as far as we know.
A Verizon BlackBerry Curve would be a hit
If any of the 16 or so regular RIMarkable readers that aren’t related to me just happen to work in the marketing department at Verizon, you may want to tell someone that a Verizon Blackberry Curve, and probably a Verizon BlackBerry Pearl, would be a huge hit and may even clot some of that 25% of iPhone buyers you are speculated to be hemorrhaging to AT&T.
Will The T-Mobile Wing Give The BlackBerry Any Comp?
T-Mobile today launched the T-Mobile Wing, the first smartphone in the U.S. to come with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6. The latest BlackBerry to be released on T-Mobile was the BlackBerry 8800 and although it was named the 5th best product of the year, just isn’t as sexy from a consumer standpoint as the Wing.
My question to you is can the T-Mobile Wing give the BlackBerry any real competition?