smartphone

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of the most memorable moments from BlackBerry Live 2013 was when CEO Thorsten Heins jumped into a special Bentley luxury auto tricked out with BB10 software. That's why I decided to see what the fuss was all about personally.

Luckily BlackBerry was thoughtful enough to provide the premium car for display on the BlackBerry Live show floor. And yes, after spending a short time behind the wheel of this fine automobile, I can report it's a sweet ride. Specifically I'm speaking to the Bentley's smooth integration of phone features, though the vehicle'… Read more

At today's Google I/O developers' conference in San Francisco, Google announced that it would release its own variant of the previously unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.

For the most part, the device will remain largely the same. It will feature 4G LTE and 16GB of storage space.

However, the handset will offer a skinless Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Nexus experience, it will come with its bootloader already unlocked, and users will receive system updates as they come in.

This unlocked GS4 version will be available starting June 26 and will work on AT&T and T-Mobile … Read more

Samsung took home almost all of the profits generated in the Android smartphone world last quarter, according to a report today from Strategy Analytics.

For the first quarter, global Android smartphone profits totaled $5.3 billion. Samsung captured a hefty 95 percent, or $5.1 billion, of that amount. Strategy Analytics senior analyst Woody Oh pinned Samsung's success on an "efficient supply chain, sleek products, and crisp marketing."

Second place LG Electronics snagged 2.5 percent of Android's global earnings and is far behind Samsung in the volume of its smartphone devices. Samsung could even use … Read more

Prepaid smartphone sales are starting to become more popular, according to new data from market researcher NPD Group.

NPD released on Wednesday a study that found 32 percent of all smartphone purchases came from prepaid devices during the first quarter. During the same period in 2012, that figure stood at 21 percent.

Although "postpaid" devices, which are subsidized but can lock customers into a long-term agreement, are still most popular, NPD believes the prepaid jump is due to consumers finding more value in older devices that can still hold up well in today's crowded smartphone space.

"… Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. -- More news rolled out of BlackBerry Live 2013 today, including the company's plans to offer BlackBerry Messenger to Android and iOS devices.

The BBM platform will hit these products by summer, but best of all, the service will be offered as a free download. The BlackBerry CEO sounded very excited about the move, a first for the service. He said, "It's a statement of confidence. We are confident time is right for BBM to be independent."

Those are bold words indeed and certainly a great tactic to lure users back to BBM. The … Read more

ORLANDO, Fla.--At BlackBerry Live 2013, the phone maker announced that it would roll out BB10.1 software to its Z10 handset. The upgrade will also include access to the Skype video chat application.

BlackBerry also handed out the Z10 device to attendees here at the BlackBerry Live show so many folks no doubt will be able to enjoy the fresh infusion of software. Stay tuned as he get hands on with our upgraded Z10.

The Nokia Lumia 925 is the second flagship phone Nokia has added to its Lumia lineup in a week. While the Lumia 925 shares many key specs with the Lumia 928 -- screen size, processor, and camera resolution -- it sports a metal design and, crucially, will be available outside of the U.S.

It's due to go on sale in the U.K., Europe, and China starting in June, with an estimated price of 470 euros before taxes -- expect that number to vary wildly once local taxes are applied.

Following its global debut, the 925 will alight … Read more

The highly anticipated and hotly rumored Motorola X phone may have just popped up in FCC filings earlier this week.

According to the paperwork, the Motorola device includes the model number XT1058, and supports earlier rumors that the X phone will be available on AT&T.

For one thing, the handset is enabled for a GSM network, and it appears to be operating on 1900/850 bands -- both factors are indicative of an AT&T device.

The report also notes that the phone has 4G LTE and NFC capabilities.

Ever since Google acquired Motorola, talk of the … Read more