The Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog
According to a three month ComScore study ending in January 2012, U.S. smartphone market share is really turning out to be a two pony race.
Google and Apple were the only platforms to increase market share with 2.3% and 1.4% gains respectively. Research in Motion and Microsoft were the biggest losers shedding 2% and 1%.
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[Read more…] about SMRpodcast #53: All The Comforts Of Home, But, With A Seatbealt In Your Tail
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]
Two months ago today Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7, the all new Windows mobile operating system that will be a lot more like the Zune than it is the current version of Windows Mobile. Windows Phone 7 isn’t an upgrade, but, a completely new direction in mobile operating systems for Microsoft. Even though Windows Phone 7 isn’t due out until the latter part of this year, I know all this because, to put it mildly, Microsoft has been hyping Windows Phone 7 up beyond all belief…
I’m not sure if RIM has noticed, but, a lot of BlackBerry users are dissatisfied with the BlackBerry, particularly the BlackBerry OS and its lack of general “coolness” when compared to… well… pretty much everything else. A real problem this year for RIM will be customer churn, as long-time, die-hard, BlackBerry fanatics that automatically update to the latest and greatest BlackBerry every couple of years, are increasingly looking at alternatives like the iPhone, Android, and even Windows Phone 7.
[Read more…] about Why Isn’t RIM Hyping Up The Next BlackBerry OS?
Microsoft has put out a video (that’s supposed to go viral) for Microsoft Office 2010 and several times in the video you can clearly see the actors using BlackBerry devices. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a big deal because a lot of people use BlackBerry devices, however, when you create a competing device, one that for years has been hammered by the BlackBerry, you would think someone might have thought to use a mobile device running Windows.
The video, which is supposed to play like a preview for an upcoming series of 24 or a trailer for a Jerry Burckheimer movie, although kind of cheesy, is actually quite well done. There is no doubt that Microsoft paid a pretty coin for this . Too bad for Microsoft, however, that Reasearch in Motion will get as much if not more publicity out of this for the BlackBerry as they themselves get for Office 2010…
In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft released the Zune HD today. I wonder how long it will be before they put a wireless radio into one of these puppies and call it a smartphone?
Word on the street is that presenter at a recent Microsoft event let it slip that the name Windows Mobile is being changed to Windows Phone. I recently posted this on Twitter, but, I’ve gotten so many directs and emails asking me about it that I figured I would write a post.
I originally heard this on the Inquirer.net and it is being echoed on sites like Mobile Crunch.
Microsoft used to have a program where they would reimburse employees for data plans on smartphones like the BlackBerry, Google Android devices, the iPhone, Palm Pre, and, of course, Windows Mobile devices.
Well in order to cut costs, Microsoft has decided to stop reimbursing employees for data on any devices that doesn’t run Windows Mobile, even of those employees that use their smart phone significantly for work.
My theory on why Microsoft would do this is that the flack they would take for continuing to subsidize Windows Mobile powered devices after cutting everything else would be far less brutal and embarrassing than the possible mass exodus of Windows Mobile users to other devices if employees had to pay for them themselves.
[Source]
