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With the blackberry Curve outselling iPhones in the US, one might start to wonder why Google seems to be putting so much emphasis on the iPhone, and not developing an all out Google App for Blackberry Curves and other Blackberry devices. The Blackberry Curve was the best selling consumer smartphone in Q1 2009, and 3 of the top 5 smart phones sold in the US are Blackberries. Moreover, the Blackberry’s image is more that of a business professional or enterprise smartphone.
Talk about good timing, on the yesterday’s news that RIM’s Blackberry beat out iPhones, Google announced that it is currently testing out a new service that will directly push Gmail messages, Google Calendar and Contacts updates to Blackberry devices.
Specifically, this new Google Apps-BlackBerry service will enable users to:
receive Gmail messages on their BlackBerry email client, to appear as if these messages came from their organization’s Google mail account
access corporate Google address list
synchronize contacts and calendar items between their BlackBerry devices and their Google Apps account
Although it may seem to be Google’s direct attack on Microsoft’s enterprise clout, it may be awhile though before Google manages to pose a threat to Microsoft due to some limitations of their BlackBerry service. PC World particularly notes that:
calendar items can only be synchronized from the server to the user’s phone, meaning it’s not a two-way synch
only 250 Google Apps users can use per BlackBerry Enterprise Account, additional 250 users would require additional BlackBerry Enterprise account
awkward formatting of calendar items in user’s BlackBerry inbox, including improperly displaying images
limitation in mail search capability to only within the past month. older messages can only be searched by logging into a separate Google Mobile App client
These limitations though are understandable since the Google BlackBerry integrated services are still in beta stage. Expect Google to come up with improvements and remedy these minor flaws. Enterprise application service is something that they have been trying to break into, and using the BlackBerry platform is a good way to renew their enterprise computing strategy.
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Motorola Xprt: Excellent Blackberry Alternative
The XPRT has the features and the keyboard to please any business or IT professional, but its small display will turn off multimedia junkies.
If you feel sure you’ve seen the Motorola XPRT ($130 with a two-year contract from Sprint; price as of July 14, 2011) somewhere before, that’s because it is essentially Sprint’s version of the Motorola Droid Pro for Verizon. The design is slightly different and, of course, you’ll find Sprint branding and apps all over it, but the XPRT keeps everything we love about the Pro. If you’re an Android fan who needs BlackBerry-like functions, you’ll be happy with the XPRT.
(Editor’s note: Parts of this review were taken from our Motorola Droid Pro review
Familiar Design
If you glance at the XPRT, you may well mistake it for the Droid Pro–the two phones are nearly identical. If you look more closely, however, you’ll notice some differences. The XPRT is a little squarer (literally, not figuratively!) at the top; it has chrome trim around its front; and it has a soft rubberized battery cover rather than a plastic back like the Droid. I definitely prefer the XPRT’s subtly textured battery cover to the Droid Pro’s; it feels higher quality.
The touch HVGA display is the same size (3.1 inches) and has the same resolution (320 by 480 pixels) as the one on the Droid Pro. Unfortunately that translates into a fairly small, low-resolution screen for a high-end smartphone by today’s standards. It’s adequate for viewing your inbox or doing casual Web browsing, but you won’t want to watch movies or play graphics-heavy games on it.
Beneath the display are the typical Android touch-sensitive buttons: Menu, Home, Back, and Search. The left spine of the XPRT houses the volume rocker and the micro-USB port. On the right spine, you’ll find a shortcut button that you can customize for whatever you need frequent and quick access to. To set it up, you just go to Settings, Applications, Quick launch. I programmed this button to launch my inbox.
Aside from these additional features, the user interface is almost identical to the Motorola Droid 2’s. Yes, regrettably, the XPRT ships with Android 2.2 and not the most recent version, 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Like other Motorola phones we’ve reviewed, the XPRT incorporates a not-very-impressive 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash. Motorola’s camera user interface isn’t my favorite, but you do get a good number of scene modes and effects, plus face detection and geotagging. In my indoor photos, colors looked washed out and details were fuzzy. My outdoor photos fared slightly better, but they weren’t especially strong. The camcorder is mediocre, too: My 720-by-480-pixel-resolution videos looked somewhat fuzzy, though the camcorder function is acceptable for capturing short clips.
For your multimedia needs, you get the standard Android media player, which supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, H.263, H.264, and MPEG-4 video and music files.
Performance
Call quality over Sprint’s 3G network in San Francisco was quite good. My friends on the other end of the line reported that my voice sounded loud and clear, with no distortion or static.
Sprint’s 3G coverage in the South Park neighborhood of San Francisco was reliably good. PCWorld’s mobile site launched in 9 seconds, and our full site launched in 43 seconds. As we grow accustomed to 4G speeds, this loading period may seem slow, but it’s pretty fast for a 3G network.
Bottom Line
Blackberry Possibly Putting Itself Up For Sale
BlackBerry is currently in the process of exploring “strategic alternatives” for the company, which may include putting it up for sale.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, as part of a five-person committee, will look at a number of options including joint partnerships or alliances, as they attempt to raise stock value and increase sales of the company’s new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
“During the past year, management and the board have been focused on launching the BlackBerry 10 platform … establishing a strong financial position, and evaluating the best approach to delivering long-term value for customers and shareholders,” said Timothy Dattels, chairman of BlackBerry’s new committee. “Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”
Said Heins in a release to the Canadian Press.
The announcement caused BlackBerry stock to jump more than 6% in early trading. This news comes on the heels of rumors that circulates late last week about BlackBerry’s board and executives warming up to the idea of potentially taking the company private. BlackBerry’s transition to a new operating system and a new line of smartphones has been the subject of investor scrutiny. Going private would shield BlackBerry from further scrutiny as the new phones struggle to gain traction with consumers.
Timothy Dattels, who is a senior partner at TPG Capital, will be heading the strategic review. Dattels joined BlackBerry’s board last year and had this to say in the same release:
“Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”
While Heins has repeatedly stated a preference for creating and selling new products rather than selling the company, he has publicly stated that no option is off the table at this point.
Play Your Music Wirelessly With The Blackberry Music Gateway
What is Blackberry Music Gateway?Previously, we had to connect our devices to a speaker through a cord to hear the music. This, many times, prevented us from being able to charge said device, go in the other room to answer an email with it, or do other things with the device being used. Cords were a way that tied down that device, forcing you to interrupt the music session when needed. While this may be just fine for someone blasting music to their own delight at home, for individuals at parties, this just isn’t acceptable. Blackberry Music Gateway solves this problem by allowing individuals to have a device connected to their speakers, sort of as a connection portal (or Gateway) that connects the device holding the music, with the gadget playing the music.
The good thing about this device is that you don’t need to own a Blackberry to connect to it. As long as your mobile devices support bluetooth or NFC, you can easily pair it with the Gateway and blast your music wirelessly. And yes, when I say “mobile devices”, it includes your laptop as well.
How Do I Set it Up?First off, you need to ensure that you have your device connected before connecting to the speakers. To do this, ensure that your Gateway is in some sort of power source. This can be a laptop if you are on the go (through the USB port), your car headphone jack, or even an outlet if you’re stationary. From there, you should see a light on.
You should expect to see either a blue, red, or green at any time through the life of your Blackberry Music Gateway.
Green always means that it’s powered on.
A red light always means you don’t have a connection. If it’s flashing quickly, this should be an alert to you that you lost your connection. If blinking slowly, this simply means you haven’t attempted a connection just yet.
The next color is blue, if this is blinking fast, then good news, you’re connected. If not, then it’s still good news, this means your Gateway is playing a song/sound. If mixed with red, this means it’s currently attempting to connect.
After the Gateway is plugged to a power source, press the top of the Gateway device, you’ll then have to go on to your Blackberry (or any other mobile device) and activate Bluetooth. Once Bluetooth is activated, you should be able to see the name “BlackBerry Music Gateway” in the list. At this point, once it is selected and paired, the light should be Blue.
To pair with NFC, Near-Field Communication, power the Gateway on, press the top of the Gateway, and activate NFC on your BlackBerry. From there, tap the Blackberry on top of the Music Gateway to activate.
My Experience with Music GatewayDuring my week with the Blackberry Music Gateway, I found it to be a device fitting for a get-together or even while on the road. When testing it out on multiple platforms (in the car, through a television, and traditional speakers), I found it to be quite useful. iPhone and Mac games were able to have a more amplified sound when being hooked up to the speakers, increasing the gaming experience. When testing it on the Blackberry, that’s where I truly was able to appreciate the freedom of not being tied down by cords when listening to music and doing other tasks.
ConclusionDo you need a Blackberry to get the best experience? No, not at all. RIM found a great way to make this platform-blind. Consumers will still not have the device on mind though due to the Blackberry name. Many will say, “I don’t have a Blackberry, so why would I need the Blackberry Music Gateway”. This wasn’t necessarily done on purpose or by accident by RIM, the device is made for Blackberry devices. The ability to work on other devices is just coincidence. That being said, paying $50 to not be tied down to cords while using your Bluetooth device is still something I see as not a bad purchase. Let’s just say, once Apple introduces a NFC iPhone, you’ll probably appreciate the purchase even more!
The Blackberry Music Gateway is sold on the RIM website for $49.95.
Ari Simon
Ari Simon has been a writer with Make Tech Easier since August 2011. Ari loves anything related to technology and social media. When Ari isn’t working, he enjoys traveling and trying out the latest tech gadget.
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Here’s What The Latest Google Ad About Apple Iphones Is About
But what does the video have? Well, the video does show both Apple iPhone 14 and Pixel 7. But the role of the iPhone is to lament over the features that it lacks. And while iPhone states all that it does not have, Google Pixel 7 Pro offers consolations.
Google’s Ad Made Apple iPhone Complement the Pixel for Being Feature-packed
The ad starts with Google Pixel asking its iPhone friend if it is feeling alright. To that, the iPhone responds that it has just turned 14. Here, the ‘#BestPhonesForever: Plateau’ video makes it clear that the iPhone character in the video is iPhone 14.
Nonetheless, Apple iPhone continued saying that it started to notice things differently after turning 14. It says that when it was Pixel’s age, it was shown off to its friends. Here, the video is referring to iPhone 7, which was a major success. To be exact, Apple has sold 159.9 million units of iPhone since its launch.
Moving on, Apple iPhone in the video further said that it did not get the same treatment when it turned 14. And after saying all of this, the iPhone character of the video starts to complement the Pixel phone. The Apple iPhone in the video praises the Pixel phone for having superior image capabilities.
And if you asked me, the iPhone character of the video is quite right. Pixel phones do come with superior camera capabilities. The iPhone 14 Pro Max ranks 8 in DXOMARK, while the Pixel 7 Pro is ranked 6. For those wondering, DXOMARK gives expert reviews on the latest smartphones and ranks their camera.
Gizchina News of the weekGoogle Thinks Apple’s Only Show-Off Feature Is iMessage
When it comes to consolations, the Google Pixel phone in the ad says that Apple iPhones are ‘legendary.’ But if you analyze the video, that’s just one of two good things Google says about the iPhone. The second thing that Google says is that iPhones have ‘blue messages.’ With it, Google referenced iMessage.
The iPhone in the video attempts to showcase its worth by saying that it was the most popular device for over a decade and that people wait in line to purchase it. But as it was trying to say those, its battery died, and there was no Lightning charger in sight. So, the conversation in the video ends abruptly.
With that, Google is showcasing its Pixel phones for having USB-C, which is now considered to be a universal charging standard. Although, that comparison factor could soon change with iPhone 15. The latest reports say that Apple will integrate USB-C into the iPhone 15 series.
However, In Reality, iPhone 14 Series Is More Successful Than Google Pixel 7 Series
While the video made by Google is clever, the actual performance numbers will tell you a different story. In fact, you will mock Google after seeing them. To fill you in, Google shipped around 9 million Pixel smartphones last year.
On the other hand, Apple has shipped 70 million iPhones in just the Q4 of 2023. That’s a massive difference. And if that’s considered, it becomes clear which phone is better. But still, the video does make it clear that it’s put in a mocking tone. You can check it out by yourself here.
Esa Pushes Ahead On Starlink
ESA pushes ahead on Starlink-GPS style hybrid network for the Moon
An incredible network of lunar satellites, ringing the Moon and powering a telecoms and navigation system there, is another step closer to reality, the European Space Agency has announced today. The ESA’s Moonlight plan would address one of the growing areas of concern as humanity plans a crewed return to the lunar surface, delivering stable communications between teams and back with mission control on Earth.
Currently, communications between the Moon and Earth are fairly bottlenecked. The Moon itself blocks radio signals, which means that any probe, spacecraft, or crewed mission to the far-side of Earth’s satellite is cut off from direct transmissions to and from us.
China’s Chang’e-4 lander, for example, relied upon a relay satellite in the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrangian point. That satellite, Queqiao, effectively acts as an intermediary, taking communications from the lander and then relaying them to Earth. What the ESA has in mind, though, is considerably more complex – and more powerful.
A series of satellites positioned around the Moon could blanket it in coverage, both for communications and for a GPS-style navigation system. It would avoid the need for lunar missions to establish a relay of their own, or use high-power transmitters capable of reaching Earth independently. As a result, the ESA suggests, future missions could be even more accessible.
“Using a shared telecommunications and navigation service would reduce the design complexity of future individual missions and make them lighter, freeing space for more scientific instruments or other cargo, making each individual mission more cost-efficient,” the Agency points out.
“Lowering the ticket price to lunar exploration could empower a wider group of ESA member states to launch their own national lunar missions,” it’s suggested. “Even on a relatively low budget, an emerging space nation would be able to send a scientific CubeSat mission to the Moon, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
To begin with, the ESA plans to demonstrate the potential of such a system with the Lunar Pathfinder comsat. Set to launch by the end of 2023, it’ll establish an orbit around the Moon and deliver navigation and data relay information. The goal is positioning accuracy of around 100 meters, though future satellites could halve that or better.
The ESA is also providing NASA with the ESPRIT communications module for the upcoming Artemis program. Moonlight will tap technologies from both those projects, to build out a lasting network for the Moon.
It’ll take a while, unsurprisingly, for that to be realized. The ESA has just inked deals with two consortia – one led by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, working with Airbus and others; the other led by Telespazio, working with Inmarsat, Canada’s MDA, and others – to figure out the logistics and details.
“A robust, reliable and efficient telecommunications and navigation system will make the dozens of individual missions planned for the Moon more cost-efficient and enable smaller countries to become space-faring nations, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers,” Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at the ESA, said today of the agreements.
NASA’s Artemis mission aims to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon by 2024. It also intends to build a Lunar Gateway, a new space station positioned near the Moon, which would act as a staging post both for lunar descent and – in future – missions further afield to Mars and other planets in our solar system.
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