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Since the original iPhone, there have been countless phones which on paper, and in user experience can offer similar, and sometimes better performance than the Apple-made smartphone. If it wasn’t for my heavy investment in the App Store and iTunes, I’m pretty sure I’d be rocking a Samsung Galaxy Nexus right now. However, there’s never been an instance…
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You’ve heard of Match.com, right? It’s a dating site much like OkCupid or eHarmony, and from the bowels of the website’s collective online dating profiles, a company called Zoomerang harvested an interesting bit of data regarding who gets laid and which phones they own. In Canada, mind you.
According to the study, BlackBerry users are the least likely to hook up on the first date, scoring just 48 percent of the time. In Canada, mind you — you know, where RIM is based. Meanwhile, Android users seem to know their way around a pair of pants, hooking up on 62 percent of their first dates. iPhone users fall smack in the middle, with a lead-off home run 57 percent of the time.
That said, Android users are also the most likely to use a dating website at 72 percent, while only 58 percent of iPhone users and half of BlackBerry owners go to dating sites. Canadian Android users are also the most likely to have a one-night stand, at 55 percent. That compared to the 50 percent of iPhone users and 47.6 percent of BlackBerry users who would would hit it and quit it. Meanwhile, iPhone owners are the most likely to start a relationship with someone they work with.
Of course, as PhoneArena points out, switching from a BlackBerry to the Galaxy Nexus probably won’t make a difference. The research is correlative. Still, something can be done now that we know who scores and who needs to update their hardware.
(For Canadians only)
Pro Tip: Once a connection is made, put your phone down for a while. Unless of course you’re installing the OhMiBod app.
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Microsoft and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) are teaming up today on the public release of BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365, a name which surely Microsoft itself had a hand in creating. The new service will allow corporate customers to manage their deployed BlackBerry devices using Exchange Online, the hosted version of Microsoft’s messaging platform.
The addition comes at no extra cost to current subscribers of the Office 365 suite or the standalone Exchange Online offering, and supports any BlackBerry devices, whether on a business or consumer data plan.
Once enabled, the managed BlackBerry smartphones will be able to sync with Microsoft Exchange Online email, calendar and organizer data. BlackBerry Balance, a new technology that helps admins manage the corporate data on the device, while leaving personal data untouched, will also be available with this new offering. I.T. will be able to manage the phones using a web-based console, but employees will have access to self-service tools for password and device resets, remote lock and remote wipe functions.
BlackBerry Business Cloud Services is live now in 50 countries. More info is here.
Partnerships like this are one of the reasons why some mobile industry insiders believe that RIM could be a viable acquisition target for Microsoft. The companies are already working so closely together to integrate their technologies, and both share a similar end user customer base: the enterprise market. Reports that RIM has even engaged in takeover talks with Microsoft emerged in December, but nothing has yet to come of that. Instead, the company’s recent moves like the co-CEO step-down and (misguided) statements from new CEO Thorsten Heins (“I don’t think any drastic change is needed”) imply that company is attempting a turnaround, not putting itself on the auction block. At least for now.
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It’s only been one full day since former COO Thorsten Heins has taken the top spot at RIM, and we may already be privy to the company’s game plan for the next 15 months. According to reports from BGR‘s always-willing sources, RIM is hard at work on a series of new product launches that will culminate with the launch of their first BlackBerry 10 device in the latter half of this year.
For a company that gets nearly consistent praise for their physical QWERTY keyboards, they’re taking a risk by making the all-touch BlackBerry London the first BlackBerry 10 device to be pushed out the door. The London is reportedly on track for a September launch despite the kerfuffle surrounding their 4G chipsets, but a release so late into 2012 will pit RIM against a crop of strong competitors.
The London’s September launch should be followed by a hybrid touch/keyboard device (along the lines of the Bold 9900) roughly a month later. There have also been internal rumblings about a BlackBerry 10-powered QWERTY slider handset (a new Torch?), which is rumored to be released in Q1 2013.
Of course, RIM plans to ship a few new BlackBerry 7 devices between now and when their platform makes its long-awaited debut. Enter the EDGE-only BlackBerry Curve 9230 and the HSPA-friendly Curve 9320, neither of which will likely turn many heads when they see the light of day.
Along with RIM’s spate of new smartphones, a revamped BlackBerry PlayBook is also said to be in the works. The jury is still out on design and dimensions, but the new PlayBook is expected to sport a 1.5GHz processor, an NFC chip, and support for 42Mbps HSPA+. This itself isn’t much of a surprise — former co-CEO Jim Balsillie confirmed the existence of a refreshed PlayBook to the Wall Street Journal yesterday — but it’ll be interesting to see if this one fares any better than the original.
Some of the info matches up to previous leaks, and so far the new RIM seems centered around two things it can’t afford to bungle: the revival of the PlayBook and (more importantly) the BlackBerry 10 launch. Let’s take the Blackberry 7-powered Curves out of the equation for right now, as no one expects those to turn things around for RIM.
Credit where credit is due, taking a more restrained approach to product launches strikes me a smarter move than what they’ve done in the past. RIM’s devices releases have are often lumped together — consider this triple whammy of AT&T BlackBerrys from August, and this pair of new handsets from November. Staggering these new releases gives these devices room to breathe and hopefully hit their stride before being joined by other models.
Still, a thoughtful release timeline won’t mean anything if the products themselves aren’t up to snuff. One real fear I have is that BlackBerry 10 won’t be enough of a step forward, even after they’ve spent all this time on it. The new CEO doesn’t do much to assuage my concerns — Heins noted yesterday that he didn’t see much need for a “drastic change” for the company, though others may see it differently (quick aside: RIM’s stock has dipped yet again).
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Consider this just a quick follow-up to yesterday’s early morning post confirming the end-of-life status for the Blackberry Torch 9810. As we said yesterday, we’re not terribly sad or surprised to see it go and more importantly, we’re not sure more than 5 of you will even notice. Still, pulling a phone off the shelf after just eight weeks has to tell… Read more
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