blackberry

First, you had to worry about BlackBerry Thumb. Now, according to one aesthetician, you should be concerned about BlackBerry Neck.

Yes, we said aesthetician, not chiropractor. Joanna Czech, who works at the Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa in Manhattan, alleges that all that BlackBerry-ing you're doing is giving your neck unsightly wrinkles. Which is bad for you, but good for her, as she's concocted a special $200 neck treatment that's supposed to reduce the lines that are allegedly forming from all that looking down to text, Twitter, and otherwise engage with the digital world.

Of course, if BlackBerry Neck is truly the latest tech-related affliction of these modern times, it stands to reason that anyone who regularly relies on iPhones, Android devices, or any other smartphone, tablet, e-reader, laptop, or MP3 player is also at risk of the condition. For that matter, shouldn't anyone who engages in such old-fashioned pastimes as reading newspapers or paperbacks or hanging their heads in shame over still having a Motorola Razr also be taking a closer look at their necks?

Nonetheless, Czech has dubbed her treatment the "BlackBerry Facial," a moniker that surely thrills the PR team at Research In Motion. … Read more

Confusion continues to be the rule rather than the exception for the Android tablet buying experience at stores in the U.S. That will keep Apple in control of the tablet market for the foreseeable future.

That lede may rankle Android enthusiasts. But let me begin with a vignette that illustrates the confusion that prevails with tablets other than the iPad.

A few tech blogs posted headlines on Thursday and Friday proclaiming that the Motorola Xoom had dropped to $500 at Costco.

I decided to swing by my local Costco in suburban Los Angeles Friday night to verify this, since … Read more

If you've been waiting to dump your BlackBerry for an iPhone because you don't want to give up the free BlackBerry Messaging service that allows you to bypass carrier text messaging, then the wait is over.

Earlier this week, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that its new iMessage feature that will be baked into the latest version of iOS software due later this year, will offer a similar messaging service that Research In Motion's BBM service offers.

In addition to seeing when and if messages have been received, just like BBM, iMessage … Read more

The Boy Genius Report has reported that the latest handset from RIM, the BlackBerry Bold 9900, will be delayed until September even though the initial launch was slated for summer of this year. We've yet to hear back from RIM to confirm this, however, so stay tuned for any updates.

The Bold 9900 has a similar design to the older Bolds, but with a sleeker and thinner form factor. The display is also now a capacitive touch screen, designed to take advantage of BlackBerry OS 7 that brings support for augmented reality apps via a built-in magnetometer.

It also … Read more

Microsoft announced today during a news event tied to a forthcoming Windows Phone 7 update that its Windows Phone Marketplace holds 18,000 apps.

While that's peanuts compared to Android Market's 200,000 apps and the iPhone App Store's estimated 500,000 titles, it appears that Windows Phone 7 may actually have a similar or larger haul than BlackBerry App World, depending on how you count.

RIM's online market hosts about 25,000 items, which is 7,000 more than the Marketplace. If we split hairs, 7,500 of those titles are visual themes and another … Read more

Stephane Richard knows a thing or two about the iPhone.

In addition to carrying one of Apple's iconic smartphones, Richard is also the CEO of France Telecom, whose networks carry traffic from more iPhones than any other carrier except AT&T. France Telecom, with its Orange brands, sells the iPhone in 15 countries.

"They just created smartphones with the iPhone," Richard said during an hour-long chat over breakfast at the W Hotel in San Francisco last week. "Everybody should be grateful to them to have put such a product in our market."

But, while … Read more

A mere two weeks after Twitter 2.0's arrival in BlackBerry Beta Zone, it looks like the newly refreshed client has emerged unscathed. Twitter 2.0 for Blackberry is official, and will be generally available in BlackBerry App World over the next 24 hours.

For those who weren't on the beta train, Twitter 2.0 boasts speedier and more streamlined Twitter Search via a single screen combining the Find People, Search, and Popular Topics functions, along with Trends and Saved Searches. For BlackBerry 6 users, Universal Search on your phone now pulls results from Twitter as well. And … Read more

Sony is firing up the PlayStation Network again and most of America should have access by now. But the Japanese government says it won't allow PSN back on in its country until Sony can ensure that it's triple-dog-super-secure. Which, uh ... I kind of want it to be that secure here, too, don't you? Plus, artists gets screwed by pirates AND the RIAA, the fascinating and potentially globally destabilizing bitcoin project, and the power of Prey gets back a man's laptop from hundreds of miles away. --Molly

BlackBerry users, your tweet game just stepped up a notch, as Twitter for BlackBerry version 2.0 is now available in BlackBerry Beta Zone. Thanks to a newly adopted "iterative development approach" at Research in Motion, this newest version comes to us less than a month after version 1.1 dropped.

The biggest improvement can be found in Twitter Search, which now combines the Find People, Search, and Popular Topics functions into a single unified search screen. Trends and Saved Searches are also tucked in there, making for a more streamlined search experience overall. And for BlackBerry 6 … Read more