Foul Tech Sours

The market for mobile media devices is growing rapidly, therefore creating a lot of competition amongst big name companies.  Whether dealing with tablets, hybrid PCs, laptops, or smart phones, it is impossible to ignore the constant battles between who has the best qualities, who has the most functionality, who has the better bang for the buck, etc.  Although larger companies that own most of the market share for these types of devices, such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, have access to funds for research development and even failure, several smaller companies may find it harder to support several successful mobile projects at a time. It is not uncommon that when people hear "Blackberry", they automatically stick up their noses; the company is seen as inferior and behind the times, and is often frowned upon for not being as quick, as innovative, and as compatible as other company's platforms.  Although they may not have been doing well in the mobile device industry ov...

Since the release of the new BlackBerry Z10 in late March, BlackBerry (formerly known as Research In Motion or RIM) has taken a huge leap back into the competitive world of smart phones. While the BlackBerry Z10 has several new features that are considered foreign on previous BlackBerry devices, there are several features that remain on the device that are unique to BlackBerry.  Specifically, BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, is a popular messenger tool used by millions of active users everyday.  I personally believe that it was probably one of the best features provided on older BlackBerry devices. It has been announced that BBM will become a multi-platform, stand alone application on iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich devices beginning this summer.  The improved BBM application on the new BlackBerry 10 platform is rather impressive, offering new modern features such as video chat, screen sharing, voice capability over wifi connections, and social application integration...

I am one of the few people I know that was actually excited about the release of the Blackberry Z10 in the United States last Friday. I believe that there is a smaller demand for the Blackberry device because it was evident that, at one point, they were not keeping up with the fast paced world of smart phones. This was due largely in part to the release of the Apple iPhone, and in my opinion, the fact that the original co-founders have been running the company for the last 30 years. When running a company in an industry that is advancing at such a fast pace, it is important to remain current and to make it a priority to, at minimum, keep up with competitors. Granted, Blackberry (which I think was still Research In Motion at the time) released two touch screen Blackberries, but made very little improvement to the interface and OS overall. The retirement of co-founders and co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie has given the company an opportunity to move away...