BlackBerry Messenger 7 out of beta, brings BBM voice, New Emoticons and more

RIM Released BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) 7 beta last month that brought new features including option to make free voice calls over WiFi, new emoticons, BlackBerry ID Integration and more. BBM voice lets you initiate a BBM Voice Call directly or switch over to one from a BBM text chat. It also has split screen feature to chat while talking .

New features in BlackBerry Messenger 7

Facebook app for BlackBerry updated to v3.3, bring in BBM integration & more

The Facebook for BlackBerry app has received an important update which brings in loads of new features including deep BBM integration.

With this update, the Facebook for BlackBerry app has moved up to version 3.3 and bring in options like PIN sharing, Un-Friending too.

The new features that arrive with the Facebook for BlackBerry App 3.3 are:
 

BBM Integration – Facebook 3.3 allows you to discover and add BBM friends and initiate BBM chats right from within the Facebook for BlackBerry app. You can now easily share your BlackBerry PIN with Facebook friends and discover which of your Facebook friends also have BBM. By simply clicking on the new BBM Icon within the Facebook app, you can invite a friend to become a BBM contact and then launch a BBM chat right from within the app.

Galaxy S VI with a breakthrough of unbreakable screen

Samsung Electronic's much anticipated Galaxy S VI expected to be launched in April 2013 may come with a breakthrough unbreakable screen, according to a Reuters report.

SamMobile, a prominent Samsung-related blog recently broke the news of Samsung Galaxy S IV, codenamed as 'Project J' with the April, 2013 launch hint.

Reuters adds that Samsung, a major backer of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, is a frontrunner in developing unbreakable screens, as OLED panels can replace glass substrate with plastic material. Down the road, mobile gadgets could be flexible as well as unbreakable.

"Eventually, they'll have unbreakable and flexible displays. Either the Galaxy S IV or S V will have unbreakable and even possibly flexible and foldable displays by 2014. That's going to be a game-changer," said Mark Newman, an analyst at Stanford Bernstein in Hong Kong.

Telcos to physically verify SIM buyers address

MUMBAI: Buying a sim card, hitherto a fairly painless task, is set to get more complicated. In a high-level meeting convened by joint commissioners Himanshu Roy and Sadanand Date on Monday, the police laid down a new rule: that subscribers' addresses be physically verified before they are sold a sim card by mobile companies or retailers. They also suggested a number of additional security measures such as the setting up of CCTV in shops and recording the voices of subscribers when their sim cards were activated.

"A huge number of sim cards are being bought under fictitious names to carry out terrorist activities in India," said Roy. "We asked mobile service providers to follow the telecom ministry's stringent guidelines prescribed on August 9, 2012."

Cops rue cell service providers' laxity 

Joint police commissioners Himanshu Roy and Sadanand Date on Tuesday briefed mobile service companies on the government guidelines to prevent misuse of sim cards. The meeting was attended by the representatives of over a dozen mobile service providers.

Google Android powers 68% smartphones sold in 2012: IDC

WASHINGTON: Google's Android operating system will power more than two-thirds of smartphones sold worldwide in 2012, and will remain the dominant platform for at least the next four years, a survey showed Tuesday.

The survey by the research firm IDC showed Android will be the platform for 68.3 percent of smartphones shipped in 2012, far ahead of 18.8 percent for the iOS platform used on Apple's iPhone.

"IDC forecasts Android to be the clear leader in the smartphone mobile operating system race, thanks in large part to a broad selection of devices from a wide range of partners," the market tracker said.

"Samsung is the leading Android smartphone seller though resurgent smartphone vendors LG Electronics and Sony, both of which cracked the top five smartphone vendors during the third quarter, are not to be overlooked. IDC believes the net result of this will be continued double-digit growth throughout the forecast period."

Galaxy S III outsells Apple iPhone 5 in UK

For a seventh consecutive month, the Samsung Galaxy S III is the most popular smartphone in the United Kingdom. The data compiled by uSwitch is based on live searches, pre-orders, as well as postpaid sales.

Curiously, Apple's current smartphone flagship is not even second. The iPhone 5 is outperformed by its predecessor, whose lower price and improved contract offers helped it remain appealing. The Samsung Galaxy S II completes the quartet at the top.

Jelly Bean update is now available on AT&T Galaxy S III

AT&T owners of the Galaxy S III, rejoice! The wait is finally over - the Jelly Bean update for your favorite droid is now available.

Unfortunately, there is no over-the-air option for now, and you will have to use Kies to get the update. Just install the latest version of Samsung's proprietary software, connect your Galaxy S III and check for updates. It should be there waiting for you.

After the update procedure is done, your Galaxy S III will be running on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and the latest TouchWiz UI on top of it. If you want to learn about every new feature coming with the update just head over to our review.

This makes AT&T the third major US carrier to release Jelly Bean to its Galaxy S III units, after Sprint at the end of October and T-Mobile last month.

Verizon is the last one left, as the procedures required to approve the update for distribution are obviously more tedious at the Big Red. We are hoping they will be over soon, though.

Cracking News- Nokia sells its HQ in Finland, to stay there on a lease

Nokia's financials aren't what you'd call great lately, and as a result the company is selling its headquarters building in Espoo, Finland for €170 million.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, but the company has no plans to move out afterwards. Instead it will lease it back and continue its operations there. The building offers 48,000 square meters of office real estate and has been housing Nokia's HQ since 1997.

Here's what the chief financial officer of Nokia, Timo Ihamuotia had to say.

We had a comprehensive sales process with both Finnish and foreign investors and we are very pleased with this outcome. As we have said before, owning real estate is not part of Nokia's core business and when good opportunities arise we are willing to exit these types of non-core assets. We are naturally continuing to operate in our head office building on a long-term basis.

Nokia is obviously in dire need of money and is trying to cash in on just about everything valuable it holds. In June the company sold its Vertu subsidiary and now its the HQ turn to go. Hopefully, the cash will help the company continue normal operating until the WP investment pays off. That Q4 report will make for a pretty interesting read.

Apple iPhone 5 to hit 55 more countries this month

Apple is expanding the iPhone 5 availability to 55 new countries this month. On December 7 the Apple's thinnest and lightest is coming to the Samsung's homeland - South Korea.

A week later, on December 14, the iPhone 5 will land in 33 more markets. Those include Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

December 21 is when another wave of countries will get to join on the iPhone 5 fun - Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam.

The iPhone 5 is already available in 47 countries and with these new addition the list grows to 102, making this the quickest rollout of any iPhone to date.

9 out of 10 smartphones sold in China are powered by Android

China is a very important market for smartphone makers and mobile software developers with its vast cellphone user base. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that there are nearly 1.1 billion cellphone subscribers as of October.

Moре importantly, according to a report by Analysys International, 9 out of 10 smartphones purchased in Q3 2012 was running Android. Apple's iOS had 4.2% market share, while Symbian accounted for 2.4% of all purchases.