play books

There may be life in the BlackBerry PlayBook yet.

Research In Motion's tablet saw a surprising jump in shipments in the fiscal third quarter, with the company sending out 255,000 units in the period. In the last quarter it shipped 130,000, only slightly less than the 150,000 it shipped a year ago.

So what gives? Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka said during an investor conference call today that there was strong "promotional activity" in North America, with RIM seeing some success with the Wi-Fi and 4G versions of the PlayBook in North America and … Read more

Research In Motion's BlackBerry 10 is no PlayBook, and that's a good thing.

There's concern that RIM's next-generation smartphone operating system may fall flat on its launch, an expectation driven largely by the example of the company's critically lambasted tablet. AllThingsD, citing an analyst from Wedge Partners, says the same issues that hamstrung PlayBook sales will hurt BlackBerry 10's prospects as well.

The comparison is an easy one to make, but I don't buy it.

Of course, RIM and BlackBerry 10 face more than their fair share of challenges, and it remains to … Read more

Google Play Books for Android is a free application that allows you to purchase books and read them on your electronic device, i.e. mobile phone, tablet, or computer.

The plain gray interface isn't very exciting, but it did prove very easy to use. A prominent Menu button gives access to the settings and allows you to change the screen view. To start reading, you just choose a book and it automatically starts at the beginning or, if you've use the app to read the book before, to the last page you were reading. For those who like … Read more

Blackberry PlayBook owners will see a small bump in features and capability with its next OS update to PlayBook software 2.1.

Among the changes available for the Wi-Fi tablet are security features that let owners lock down all data with enterprise-level encryption, not just corporate secrets.

RIM also shares a new version of the BlackBerry Bridge software that lets PlayBook owners access typical phone features; now when you pair a BlackBerry smartphone with a PlayBook tablet, you'll be able to send SMS texts from the PlayBook. You'll need to download the new Bridge app from BlackBerry App … Read more

After a long wait, Research In Motion has unveiled its 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook.

The device will be available to Canadian customers first and come with 32GB of storage. If LTE is not available, the tablet will "automatically adjust to connect on HSPA+," RIM says. The tablet will be available to Bell, Rogers, and TELUS customers in Canada.

The 4G LTE-equipped PlayBook comes with the same 7-inch display as its predecessor, and includes both front- and rear-facing HD video cameras. HDMI out and stereo speakers are also included. On the software side, users can expect the same operating … Read more

A 10-inch BlackBerry tablet has surfaced on the Web.

User "vuhai6" on Vietnam-based forum Tinhte has posted several images (Translate) of what is purported to be a 10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The device looks to have the same design as its currently available 7-inch counterpart, but according to the poster, could support 4G networking.

Speaking of 4G, the poster also shows images of a 4G 7-inch PlayBook. Although it's not immediately clear where the images were taken or when, the person claims to have obtained them from someone else.

Rumors have been swirling for months that RIM … Read more

Even Tim Cook seems to be hinting that a new phone is right around the corner. But it may frustrate people updating from an earlier device, as trusted news source Reuters is reporting that the new device will boast a smaller 19-pin dock connector. What will that mean for compatibility with older accessories, like speaker docks? A headache.

Also on today's show, the youngest child in the MacBook Pro line may get some love from Apple soon; Nokia's mathematicians may have figured out a novel way to save the company; and the BlackBerry PlayBook isn't dead, and … Read more

Consumers still interested in Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook may get a chance at the long-awaited 4G model.

The new model tablet is expected to launch in Canada through Bell and possibly other Canadian carriers on July 31. Citing an internal document from Bell, blogging site MobileSyrup says the tablet will be priced at $549.95.

The specs revealed by the document point to a 7-inch 1,024x600-pixel display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage.

Running BlackBerry OS 2.0, the tablet will offer a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p videos and … Read more

With unprecedented losses, evaporating market share, and enough competitive pressure to smash it into irrelevancy, you'd think Research In Motion would show a bit of urgency.

In fact, it's showing quite the opposite.

Rather than rush out a half-baked product, the company said last week that it would push back the debut of BlackBerry 10 from later this year to the first quarter of 2013. Company executives say they believe the extra time will pay off with a more complete product.

"Doing it right is more important than doing it fast," Richard Piasentin, RIM's managing … Read more