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Need More to Fill Your BlackBerry Channels Fix

@MrBrennen — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:51:29 +0000

For those of you addicted to the channels of BBM you can get on Twitter and look at the tweets of @ChannelPin to get your fix. ChannelPin’s goal is to promote BBM channels and increase the exposure of your channel to the twitter-sphere. Since the announcement of the BBM channels at BlackBerry Live last week, they have exploded and you are able to get personal channels or interest specific channels to fit your needs.

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BlackBerry Jam Asia And BlackBerry Jam Europe Gets Dates

NerdoKimbo — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:41:12 +0000

BlackBerry Jam Asia is coming Sept 26-27 2013 in Hong Kong. BlackBerry Jam Europe will be happening in Barcelona January 14-15th 2014. That’s pretty much all the information that is available now.
But you can sign up for more details as they come, BlackBerry Jam Asia here, and BlackBerry Jam Europe here.

Source:BR

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Got a Telsa Model S? Control it With a BlackBerry Z10

@MrBrennen — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:31:42 +0000

In car integration is something that all smartphone users have been looking for since the first smartphone was released. There have been alarm systems with mobile phone integration and Onstar integration as well. Tesla has released an application that allows users to control their Model S from their Z10 or Q10.

Tesla had offered this app for the iOS and android platform but never developed the application for BlackBerry. Marcus Adolfsson moved the code over to the BlackBerry platform. The application is said to be as good as if not better than the iOS and Android counterparts.

Some of the features available in the App are:

Battery Level and Range remaining (ideal, rated, estimated)
Vehicle Status (Opened Doors etc)
Lock and Unlock Doors Sunroof (Close, Vent, Open)
Climate Control (Set temp, On/Off)
Honk Horn, Flash Light
Charging Status
Charge time remaining
Charging data (volt, amps)
Car Location on Map
Active Frame that shows Battery Level when app is minimized

With all of the features that are available in the app you would think that you would have to pay for this application but the app is free thru App World.

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BBM Money Registration Fairing Well, Over 60,000 Users Have Registered Since It Launched

NerdoKimbo — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:23:47 +0000

BBM Money launched less than three months ago in Indonesia and it has been gaining a lot of users. More than 60,000 people have joined, which has exceeded the original predictions. BlackBerry hopes to have 200,000 by the end of the year. Which is totally possible if people keep registering at that rate.

BBM Money is a real time payment app. You can send money to users on BBM and transfer money to accounts in real time. This is a joint venture between BlackBerry and Bank Permata (Indonesian bank).

More details below

BBM Money service exceeds 60,000 registrations within 90 days of launch

Service launched with BlackBerry creates low-cost customer acquisition opportunities for PermataBank

22nd May 2013. Mobile Money leader Monitise (LSE: MONI.L) has announced the early success of BBM Money, the P2P mobile payments service launched through its Joint Venture with Astra International (AGIT Monitise Indonesia) in partnership with Indonesian financial institution Bank Permata(PermataBank) and BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB). Since going live at the end of February 2013, the service has attracted more than 60,000 registered users towards its end of 2013 target of 200,000.

BBM Money gives BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) customers in Indonesia the ability to instantly create and access a Mobile Money account from their BlackBerry smartphone and make real-time payments to their BBM contacts who are also signed up to the service, at any time from wherever they are.

The simple and secure service also enables users to buy mobile airtime credit and transfer money to bank accounts.

Uniquely the service is integrated with BBM itself, allowing the user to be in a chat, make a peer-to-peer payment and return to the same conversation.

BBM Money can be used by consumers with access to the service regardless of whether they have a PermataBank bank account.

PermataBank Retail Banking Director Lauren Sulistiawati commented, “We are delighted with the level of customer adoption that we have experienced so far.”

“The popularity of the service is another indication that mobile plays a key role in the future of the banking and payments industry across Indonesia.”

“We have also been particularly excited by the way in which BBM Money has quickly opened up a new, direct route to new-to-bank customers.”

“The ability to engage with new customers and significantly lower the cost of customer acquisition is a real advantage for any financial institution.”

Calvin Lim, Director of AGIT Monitise, commented, “We are encouraged by the adoption trend and customer usage to date. The service can only become more popular as more functionalities are added in the near future.”

Indonesia has a mobile penetration of 111 per cent 1.

BlackBerry is the Number One selling mobile smartphone, constituting more than half of all smartphones sold in market.

Darren Sugden, CEO of Monitise Asia Pacific, said, “It is great to see such a positive early response to BBM Money.”

“As the first comprehensive Mobile Money service in the world to be integrated with any messaging platform, pioneering the approach of turning a social network into a payments network, BBM Money brings second-to-none convenience to Indonesian consumers and businesses.”

“The success of the service in a major world economy which is ideally suited to this type of innovation is a great example of how the financial industry can capitalise on the fast-growing mobile, payments and banking space to meet the day-to-day needs of the consumer.”

Alastair Lukies, Chief Executive of Monitise Group, said, “Monitise stands by its belief that the evolution of Mobile Money has the power to transform lives.”

“This is increasingly becoming a reality with the launch of mass-market services like BBM Money.”

“By working closely with our trusted partners we have created a service that meets the exact needs of consumers in this market whilst also supporting key strategic business objectives of the bank.”

“We look forward to continuing to help financial institutions move beyond mobile banking to enable their customers to also pay and buy via their phone.”

More information about BBM Money here.

Notes

1. Business Monitor International’s Asia’s Risk/Reward Ratings analysis for the telecoms sector

Source:BR

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OtterBox Acquires LifeProof

@sleepy2009 — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:17:26 +0000

“Our customers and our employees are the ones who have the passion for the brand that allows us to succeed. This passionate spirit motivates us to build better teams, better companies and ultimately, better communities. At the end of the day, that is our goal.”

FORT COLLINS, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OtterBox^®, the global leader in protection for handheld technology, today announced the acquisition of TreeFrog Developments Inc., DBA LifeProof^®. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Diego, LifeProof is an award-winning maker of protective cases and complementary accessories for smartphones and tablets.

Much like OtterBox, LifeProof is a rapidly growing, multi-million dollar business with a strong global brand, comprehensive product offering, impressive intellectual property and thriving company culture. Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof brand into the OtterBox family. More information about product availability and alignment will be determined at the completion of the integration.

“The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories,” OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas said. “Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually.”

A key driver for the acquisition is about creating customers who are passionate about the OtterBox brand. “Our strategy is to utilize our combined brand momentum, and world-class talent to create a great customer experience that generates OtterBox brand ambassadors for life,” Thomas said. “Our customers and our employees are the ones who have the passion for the brand that allows us to succeed. This passionate spirit motivates us to build better teams, better companies and ultimately, better communities. At the end of the day, that is our goal.”

OtterBox employs approximately 650 people worldwide. LifeProof employed approximately 250 people, who are now members of the OtterBox family and will remain in their San Diego location for the foreseeable future.

OtterBox has been a family-owned business since 1998. The financial details and terms of the agreement are confidential.

About LifeProof:

Based in San Diego, LifeProof designs, manufactures and markets cases for smartphones and tablets that deliver protection, style and functionality. LifeProof is built on the idea of giving everyone the complete freedom and confidence to use their mobile devices in any environment. Designed to defend against water, dirt, snow, shock and the hazards of daily life, LifeProof lets consumers use their mobile device every day, everywhere, and for everything, without worry.

For more information, visit lifeproof.com.

About OtterBox:

Founded in 1998, OtterBox creates premium technology accessories for smartphones, tablets and mobile devices. The top mobile device manufacturers, big box retailers and wireless services providers in the world value their partnership with OtterBox to increase device sales and to strengthen their own brand equity. OtterBox works endlessly to create a strong connection with consumers through first-class customer service, commitment to premium product quality and constant voice-of-the-consumer efforts.

OtterBox has been a five-time honoree on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the US, recognized in the Top 10 by the Forbes Magazine America’s Most Promising Companies list and is a repeat honoree in the Great Place to Work annual survey published by FORTUNE Magazine. The multi-million dollar company has global headquarters in Fort Collins, Colo. and offices in Boston, San Diego, Cork, Ireland and Hong Kong.

OtterBox is the No. 1-selling case for smartphones* and offers an extensive lineup of screen protectors, cases and other accessories that enhance various consumer lifestyles.

For more information, visit otterbox.com. We’ve Got Technology Covered.

Note:

*Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service/November 2010-December 2012

©2013 Otter Products, LLC. All rights reserved. OtterBox and all OtterBox logos, trademarks and symbols are the property of Otter Products, LLC. All other logos, trademarks and symbols are the property of their respective owners.

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Mobihand Gets Sold To OpenMobile Worldwide

NerdoKimbo — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:03:53 +0000

Back in Sept of last year, Mobihand went bankrupt. They shut down the app store that they had run for 8 years. And then nothing was said further about them, until now. OpenMobile Worldwide purchased Mobihand for $15,000. It was actually purchased through a bid, so if someone out there had the money and wanted to, they could outbid OpenMobile and own Mobihand instead.

Unfortunately, there are developers out there who are owed money from Mobihand that will likely never get. There was a period of time where you could try to get some of the owed money, but that has passed.

Source:BBC

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Casetop KickStart Project Shows Future of BlackBerry Accessories

@MrBrennen — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:23:06 +0000

There has been talk in the past about a dock that would turn your BlackBerry smartphone into a net book of sorts. This idea has been patented by Mr. Heins and when he decides to make use of the patent we will see the patent come to light. In the mean time, John Andrus of Livi Design, has launched the KickStarter project. This idea of mobile computing he has called Casetop.

Casetop offers a dock styled after a laptop which you can plug your laptop into mobile device into and give you all of the computing power you phone has as well as an 11.1 display and a bevy of different features packed into the Casetop.

The entry level for this product is around $250 which comes with one Casetop and 2 Frontbars. This is all contingent on whether or not Livi Design gets the funding that the need to make the product a reality. As it sits right now they are about $220K away from their goal.

Here is a video outlining the project.

Mobile Link

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Twitter adds new security by turning on two-factor authentication

@B_ren8 — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:04:22 +0000

If you are an avid Twitter user than I am sure you are aware of some of the most recent hacks the social network has seen. Large corporations like Burger King and McDonalds were the targets of some folks that were able to get past the security protocols and send out 140 character tweets of whatever they deemed fit.

There has also been more severe hacks, like that of Mat Honan of Wired, that was apparently all about gaining control of his Twitter account. Well today Twiiter has joined the like fo Google, Dropbox and others that offer a two-factor authentication to access accounts. Twitter has made it really easy to turn on the two-factor authentication, and have even included a nice little video to make it even easier.

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BlackBerry still on top with Vodafone in South Africa – but losing ground to Android and iOS

@B_ren8 — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:46:01 +0000

BlackBerry has touted their presence in emerging markets over the last few years. While market share in North America and Europe has gone the way of Android and iOS, BlackBerry has continued to prosper in markets like Africa. Recently Vodafone in South Africa released their numbers by mobile operating system, and there is no doubt that BlackBerry is still on top with 3.1 million phones.

While this is great news for BlackBerry, there is a down side to it all. The growth of Android and iOS on Vodafone in South Africa are surpassing that of BlackBerry. As you can see both Android and iOS have recently seen a growth of 200,000+ units over the last two months, where as BlackBerry has only seen a growth of 100,000 devices. Hopefully the introduction of BlackBerry 10 devices, like the lower cost Q5, into the emerging markets will aid in a rebound of growth for BlackBerry.

Via:BerryReview

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Application Resource Monitor for Legacy BlackBerry Devices Updated in the Beta Zone

@sleepy2009 — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:27:09 +0000

BlackBerry has released an update to their Application Resource Monitor for legacy BlackBerry devices. This update is currently available in the BlackBerry Beta Zone. What’s new? “When free memory gets too low, it could lead to a degraded user experience. Now, when memory reaches a permanent low level, Application Resource Monitor will provide you with a list of easy intelligent actions you can take to free up memory in one fell swoop. These actions include uninstalling unused applications, deleting or moving large media and document files, and deleting old text and email messages.”

Head on over to the BlackBerry Beta Zone for the update.

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