As I noted previously, I ordered the BlackBerry Q10 off contract via Amazon primarily out of nostalgia, because I think this is going to be the last widely available North American BlackBerry device with a keyboard.
There’s been plenty written about the possible consequences of using a charging/sync cable to connect your smartphone to an unknown power source while on the road. Security-conscious travelers fear their cable could be used for illicit purposes by a jerry-rigged charging port which secretly pulls data from their phone while it is charging. Enter the Data Sync Blocker.
I’ve been eyeing the no-contract pricing on the BlackBerry Q10, and last week the non-contract price suddenly plummeted from $599 down to $399 for both AT&T and Verizon, so I bought one. As of now, the price on Amazon continues to fluctuate between $399 and $ 599 — likely because of some type of demand pricing algorithm Amazon uses.
Flow is a task and collaboration app which previously had been available online or via an iPhone app. Flow introduced an iPad version in October 2012. Now in March 2014 comes Flow for Android. The application itself has undergone a re-design since its launch in 2011.
Google announced it has reduced pricing for supplemental storage for its Google Drive (As well as Gmail and Google+ Photos which both draw from the same storage bucket). Whereas the monthly fee for 100 GB used to be $4.99, the new price is $1.99/mo.
Effective today, Apple has shortened the amount of time you can take to return an iPhone you’ve purchased from them. Previously you had 30 days to decide whether to keep your phone; now the return limit is 14 days – which coincidently or not seems to line up with the average wait time to purchase a new iPhone model.
As anticipated Apple just released iOS 7.1 for iPhone and iPad. This update includes several feature enhancements to Siri, iTunes Radio, Calendar as well as the new CarPlay feature which transfers your iOS display to compatible in-car displays. The download is a little over 200 mb in size for those who’ve stayed current on iOS 7. More details on the fixes and features below.
You suddenly realize your bottle opener is missing in action. You’ve recently spent several hundred dollars on new dental work, so opening a cold one with your teeth is not advisable. What to do? Three words. Happy Hour Timepiece. If you guessed bottle opener on the back of a watch strap – then move to the head of the class.
Color Cables is an Indiegogo campaign running through midnight April 6, 2014. Their goal is to raise $20,000 with which they hope to offer cables for charging and synchronizing your MicroUSB and iOS (30 pin and lightning) devices. But these are no ordinary cables; according to the company each cable glows, is colored, and won’t tangle.
Support scams have graduated to another level. If you use Skype, you’ve undoubtedly run across random scam messages which claimed you had a virus or other security issue. In some instances, a Skype call would claim to be Microsoft support; in both cases the goal was to get you to pay the scammer to fix a non-existent problem.
Apple announces CarPlay which makes extensive of their Siri voice control software to control your iPhone 5 (or higher) while driving. Available on select cars (initially Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, and Ferrari) in 2014, the system will allow hands-free control of your iPhone and important apps such as phone, music, maps, messages as well as select third-party apps.
In an email sent to users, multi-platform instant messaging application maker imo announced they will discontinue support for third-party networks and instead focus attention on their own communication platform. imo has applications which operate on iPhone , iPad. Android and the web. Prior to this change, they would allow users to connect to multiple messaging services.
Remember that crazy funny video featuring Jeff Gordon pretending to take an unsuspecting used car driver on a wild ride? For a little while some people thought it was real but it turned out to be a viral ad for Pepsi Max. One journalist in particular – Travis Okulskiski of Jalopnik – was particularly doubtful that the original was genuine.
The Google Now Launcher has been updated and is now available for all Nexus and Google Play Edition devices. From my perspective the advantage of this “stock” launcher is being able to swipe right to access Google Now cards that give you just the right information, at just the right time.
If you’re an OS X 10.9 user and have not done so – now is the time to hit the “Software Update..” button. Apple just pushed out release 10.9.2 which is a critical security update that patches a vulnerability which could allow a third party on a shared wired or wireless network to intercept your bits and bytes. Additional info via MacRumors
LinkedIn today announced an expansion of their Influencer program that will now allow members to create longer form posts that exceed the standard 700 characters allotted regular members. This expanded feature now lets members to treat LinkedIn as a type of professional blog to showcase their technical knowledge. Posts become a part of their LinkedIn profile.
According to researchers from security firm IOActive, the popular home automation product known as WeMo might be susceptible to some surprising security vulnerabilities. IOActive says a rogue user could remotely control attached devices, install malicious firmware, and remotely monitor your activities. The firm issued a critical security advisory recommending unplugging affected WeMo products.
Skype audio seems to blow away voice quality on any similar VOIP solution yet I’ve been a big Skype user. It mostly seems like a relic of the past which is largely used for communication between users in different companies. Skype users have long complained that in the era of multiple devices that Skype is far behind because it doesn’t synchronize alerts between all devices.
Interesting quote of the day from BlackBerry CEO John Chen, who is quoted as implying that apps don’t matter, that BlackBerry could be the Porsche of smartphones. Does history teach people anything? Perhaps I’ve been dozing the past two years as BlackBerry market share has completely nose-dived – largely due to a lack of applications.
If you’re a BlackBerry Messenger (aka BBM) user on iOS or Android, then the newest update – version 2.0 – is going to bring some welcome enhancements. Beginning today you can participate in BBM voice calling, BBM Channels, location sharing (powered by Glympse), pictures, voice notes, attachments and even DropBox. BBM groups can now be up to 50 people in total size. More info – BBM
Tired of big bulky wallets? Need a wallet that will last for more than 6 months? All-Ett makes ultra thin durable wallets which are crafted from either nylon or leather. Their newly released KeepSafe RFID wallet claims to protect your RFID enabled cards by creating an effective radio barrier protecting your confidential data inside your All-Ett wallet.