Millions of BlackBerry users cut off for third day

LONDON (Reuters) - Millions of BlackBerry users around the world were left without text communication services for a third day on Wednesday as Research in Motion struggled to fix what it said was a switching failure in its private network.
Users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India suffered patchy email service and no access to browsing and messaging, ratcheting up negative sentiment towards a company already losing market share toApple and Samsung.
RIM, which had said on Tuesday that services had returned to normal, said later the problems had actually spread beyond EMEA and India to Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
"The messaging and browsing delays ... were caused by a core switch failure within RIM's infrastructure," it said. "As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service."
The service disruptions are the worst since an outage swept north America two years ago, and come as Apple prepares to put on sale its already sold-out iPhone 4S on Friday.
"It's a blow upon a bruise. It comes at a bad time," said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist at Nomura.

Sony says to recall 1.6 mln LCD TVs globally

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp will recall 1.6 million of its Bravia brand LCD televisions worldwide after several incidents of TV sets emitting smoke or parts melting due to faulty components, a company official said on Wednesday.

The 11 incidents all took place in Japan, but the faulty parts may affect TV sets sold around the world, the company said in a news release.

There have been no reports of injuries or of damage to anything other than the televisions, Sony said.

The televisions subject to recall were manufactured in 2007 and 2008 and were mostly sold in Europe and the United States, although some were also sold in Japan and other parts of the world, a Sony spokeswoman said. The company will issue an advisory to customers on its websites and by e-mail.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Edmund Klamann)

iPhone 4S

Speculation continues to swirl around the next iPhone, and now an analyst claims he has new information about the highly anticipated smartphone from Apple.

It will be called “iPhone 4S” when it’s released in September, according to Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek. He adds that Apple will announce “distribution deals for the iPhone with Sprint and T-Mobile in time for the holidays.”

In addition, the new iPhone will have a dual-core A5 processor under the hood, helping it keep up with numerous dual-core smartphone competitors already on the market such as the Motorola Atrix 4G and HTC Sensation.

Misek added that the iPhone’s design will remain the same except for “minor” cosmetic changes, but he did write that its front and rear cameras will be improved to an unspecified extent.

If you’re looking for higher speed, you’ll have to settle for HSPA+ connectivity; Misek says there won’t be any LTE support for the iPhone yet, because the anticipated LTE chipset from Qualcomm “is currently not achieving yields sufficient for inclusion” in the next iPhone.

AT&T Pantech Pocket very wide smartphone

AT&T today official announced a new midrange smartphone that dubbed the Pantech Pocket. This Pantech smartphone has presented at CTIA 2011 that held on October 11-13 at San Diego, California, USA.

The Pantech Pocket is supports UMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, and HSPA+ mobile networks. The Pocket is runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS and boasts a 1GHz single-core processor, 600MB flash storage, and a 2GB MicroSD card bundled (up to 32GB).

Pantech Pocket Android smartphone has a 4-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 600 x 800 pixels, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording.

Other features of Pocket is including 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, accelerometer, proximity sensor, MicroUSB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. New Pantech Pocket measures 114.7 x 78 x 11.3 mm and weighs about 130 g.

BlackBerry Tag to enable NFC sharing in BlackBerry OS 7 smartphones

RIM has unveiled new BlackBerry tag feature at the GITEX conference in Dubai. This would let the BlackBerry smartphone users with NFC to share their contact information, documents, URLs, photos and other multimedia content by simply tapping their BlackBerry smartphones together.

The BlackBerry Tag would also enable friends to instantly add one another as contacts on BBM easily with just a tap. This uses Near Field Communications (NFC) and it would be supported in the BlackBerry Bold 9900/ 9930 and BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 BlackBerry OS 7 smartphones.

BlackBerry Tag feature would come with the next BlackBerry 7 OS update. The BlackBerry Tag APIs would also be released for the developers in future to incorporate the tap to share feature in the BlackBerry Apps.

Samsung Galaxy R now available in India for Rs. 27438

Samsung announced Galaxy R that is the stripped down version of the Samsung Galaxy S2, this July. The phone is now available from Flipkart in India. The Samsung Galaxy R has 4.19 inch (480 x 800 Pixels) Super Clear LCD display and it is powered by 1 Ghz Tegra 2 Dual Core Processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS. It has 5MP auto focus camera with LED Flash and HD (720p) video recording and 1.3MP secondary camera.

It is 9.5 mm thick and weighs 135 g. Other features include Stereo FM Radio with RDS, 3.5mm Ear Jack, 1GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory that is expandable up to 32 GB with MicroSD. The connectivity features include Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, USB 2.0 and it comes with an 1650 mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy R is now available from Flipkart for Rs. 27,438. It is pricey for its features while you could get the Samsung Galaxy S2 for less than 30k.

BlackBerry Curve 9360 Hands-On Photos

Here are some photos of the BlackBerry curve 9360 which has an 2.44 inch display, QWERTY keyboard and an Optical track pad. The device was launched last week for Rs. 19, 990. It runs on BlackBerry OS 7 and it is powered by 800 MHz processor. It has 5 MP camera with flash, Face detection and image stabilization, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB eMMC that is expandable up to 32 GB with MicroSD. It comes with 1000 mAh battery.

For more pics

Travel Without Print Out Of E-Tickets

 

• Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) - The printout in standard specified Performa containing reservation particulars, and instructions for use which can be used by the passenger along with the relevant authorizedIdentification, as travel authority for performing the journey.

• Virtual Reservation Message (VRM) - A screen-shot of the e-ticket displayed through laptops/palmtops/Mobile phone is referred as Virtual Reservation Message (VRM).

• ERS/VRM along with any one of the eight prescribed ID proofs in original and the indication of the passenger(s)' name(s) in the Reservation Chart will authorize the passenger to travel.

Which Smartphone is the Most Secure?

These days, it is almost impossible to meet someone who doesn't own a cell phone. More specifically, smart phones, whether it be the trendy iPhone, corporate favored Blackberry or modern Windows Mobile, almost everyone has joined the smart phone frenzy -- and with good reason. A smart phone offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary phone.


Clearly, there is a need for greater protection of cell phone software and greater awareness of cell phone vulnerabilities from owners, especially when it comes to what kind of operating system you are using. There are unique differences and threats specific to each smartphone. Here are some important key points that consumers should consider to protect their mobile-operating systems.

No 3G Web Browsing Possible With Amazon's New Kindle Touch

Amazon confirms that its touchscreen Kindle e-reader--expected to reach consumers next month--won't support Web browsing over its 3G wireless connection.

"Our new Kindle Touch 3G enables you to connect to the Kindle Store, download books and periodicals, and access Wikipedia--all over 3G or Wi-Fi," an Amazon "official" explained in one of its customer forums.

"Experimental web browsing (outside of Wikipedia) on Kindle Touch 3G is only available over Wi-Fi,"the official wrote, but added, "Our Kindle Keyboard 3G will continue to offer experimental web browsing over 3G or Wi-Fi."

According to the moderator of a Kindle users forum in the United Kingdom, Amazon recently changed the 3G Touch's product description to state that Web browsing could only be done via the device's Wi-Fi connection. However, when customers called customer support, they received conflicting answers. That made it necessary for the clarification by the Amazon official.

The clarification cost Amazon some orders for the Touch, which will be selling for $149. "No 3G browsing; order canceled...," Curtis Yee declared in the Amazon forum. "Now I have to cancel my Touch 3G for Wi-Fi only version," lamented Emilio L. Maranon III in the forum. "Just found out this...," wrote Jian Fang. "On my way to cancel my Touch 3G..."

Kindles and Web Browsing

Web browsing on the Kindle has been an issue with the device since it was introduced. Surfing the Net with earlier versions of the device was like swimming under water with cement shoes. It wasn't until Amazon incorporated a Webkit browser into the third generation of the e-reader last year that browsing became something to be used rather than something to be avoided.

Amazon announced the touchscreen versions of its Kindle e-reader last week, along with the Fire, a color tablet ($199), and a new button version of the Kindle for $79. While the Fire has garnered much of the limelight from those introductions, the Touch--the Wi-Fi-only version, not the 3G version--could hit a real sweet spot in the market.

While the $79 Kindle is cheaper, the Wi-Fi Touch's more intuitive touchscreen probably will be more attractive to consumers. In addition, moving through an e-book by touching it is also closer to what a reader experiences with a paper book--a bonus when trying to wean dead-tree readers to new-fangled e-readers.

The device's $99 price puts it in impulse-buy territory for some gift-givers. Of course, Amazon isn't doing early gift shoppers any favors by waiting until November 21 to release it.

Battery life should also be a selling point of the Touch. It's rated at two months, twice as much as that of the $79 model, and has twice the storage capacity of its lower-priced brother,--4GB compared to 2GB--or 3000 books versus 1400 books, although it's doubtful that many folks are going to store even 1000 books on an e-reader.

How about the high-end Touch with 3G? At $149, it's getting close to the Fire. That's too expensive for users looking for a basic e-reader. Those who want more functionality will be more likely to cough up the additional $50 and go for the Fire.