Vodafone creates new integrated partner programme

Mobile, fixed and IT partners together in converged programme, focusing on increased sales of more products and services across a greater number of business customers

Vodafone has launched a new partner programme that brings together mobile, fixed and IT services channel partners.
The operator made the announcement to 160 partners at an event today at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.
The new Vodafone Partner Programme, which will consist of around 300 mobile and 100 fixed line partners, will be powered by “substantial investment” in The Vodafone Sales Academy training programme and online sales and services tools.
It will focus on developing the capabilities of partners to deliver more Vodafone products and services to an increased number of UK business customers.
As part of the launch of the new programme, Vodafone is offering a promotion that it said will reward partners with a competitive line rental offer, an offer in terms of line transfers and a competitive rate from landline to Vodafone.
The new programme will run alongside the operator’s current partner programme, which divides dealers into platinum, gold and silver tiers.
Vodafone is spending more than £900 million on its UK network over the next year, which it said will enhance its voice and data infrastructure and create an advanced IP network.
It said this, along with its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1 billion last July, means its partners will now be able to offer customers a truly converged fixed and mobile service, enabling more businesses to find better ways of working.
Vodafone UK head of partner services Rob Mukherjee (pictured) said: “With the acquisition of CWW we were able to accelerate our vision of creating a truly integrated fixed, mobile and IT services partner programme. We will continue to work closely with our partners on the new Vodafone Partner Programme to maintain a long-term focus that greatly benefits all parties involved, especially customers.
“We’re looking forward to making this transition with our partners and this event marks the beginning of our journey.”

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Nokia sees Lumia sales surge 32pc in Q2

Shipments of smartphone range  hit an all-time high, but manufacturer’s mobile business still posts a loss of €32 million

Nokia saw sales of its Lumia smartphones rise 32 per cent to 7.4 million units in Q2, but the manufacturer still made a loss of €32 million in its mobile business.
Despite the rise in quarterly shipments, it was down 27 per cent year-on-year from the 10.2 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2012.
Overall, Nokia shipped 61.1 million devices in the quarter, down a percentage point sequentially and 27 per cent year-on-year. Feature phone volumes were down four per cent from Q2 and 27 per cent from last year to 53.7 million units.
Sales were down six per cent from the previous quarter and 32 per cent from the same period last year to €2.72 billion, with smartphone sales static quarter-on-quarter and down 24 per cent from Q2 2012. Feature phone sales fell 12 per cent sequentially and 39 per cent year-on-year to €1.4 billion.
Nokia, which made a profit of €4 million in Q1, made a loss of €32 million in this latest quarter. However, this is still a significant improvement from the €364 million loss made a year ago.
The average selling price (ASP) of its smartphones fell 18 per cent sequentially to €157 while there was also a fall of seven per cent in the ASP of its feature phones to €26.
On a group level, Nokia made a profit of €303 million, up 67 per cent from the €181 million profit it made in Q2. In the same period last year, it made a loss of €325 million. Sales were €5.7 billion, down three per cent sequentially and 24 per cent year-on-year.
In Q3, Nokia is expecting higher mobile sales compared to Q2 due to the wider availability of its Lumia smartphones.
Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop (pictured) said: “We continue to focus on delivering meaningful differentiation to consumers around the world. We are very proud of the recent creations by our Lumia team, from the Lumia 520 – our most affordable Windows Phone 8 product which has enjoyed a strong start in markets like China, France, India, Thailand, the UK, the US and Vietnam – to the Lumia 1020, our star imaging product which we unveiled to the world last week.
“Overall, Lumia volumes grew to 7.4 million in the second quarter, the highest for any quarter so far and showing increasing momentum for the ecosystem. During the third quarter, we expect that our new Lumia products will drive a significant part of our Smart Devices revenue.”

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HTC unveils new compact ‘HTC One Mini’ smartphone

Brand awareness at all time high following HTC One launch – prompting the new lower priced “family” addition Mini 


HTC has unveiled a new smaller and more affordable version of the HTC One, the ‘One Mini.’
The aluminium device goes on sale in August  follows the “success” of the Taiwanese firms flagship HTC One device which launched in March and is currently its largest ranged product, sold in 181 countries and through 583 networks..
The Mini runs on Android 4.2.2 and uses a Micro SIM, and includes a 4.3 inch HD (720×341) touch screen, around half an inch smaller than its predecessor. (pictured below – Mini left)

HTC One Mini (left) measures 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm
HTC One (right) measures 137.5 x 68.2 x 9.3mm

Features include a dual core processor 1.4GHz (Qualcomm 8930 Snapdragon 400 series) Ultra-Pixel camera (1.2 megapixel front facing), 1080p full HD video recording, latest version of HTC Sense, 4G compatible, WiFi, GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Colour variants include ‘Glacial Silver’ and ‘Stealth Black’.
The device also includes 16 GB internal storage – half that included on the original, and uses a 1800mAh battery providing up to 13.27 hours talk time, and a standby time of up to 692 hours.  Beats Audio, HTC BlinkFeed, BoomSound (front facing speakers) found on the HTC One are also present.
NFC connectivity and the infrared port included on the HTC One have been omitted to accommodate the smaller design.

HTC One Mini between BlackBerry Z10 (left) and iPhone 5 (right)

HTC director of commercialisation product management Graham Wheeler Wheeler described the device as having “all the key pillars” of the One, but in a smaller package.
He added the handset will be priced “two price points” beneath the HTC One and be aimed at a wider addressable market – but still remain a high-end device
Wheeler said: “We really had a great run in terms of the overall affect the HTC One has had on the company.
“We wanted to extend the device family and our addressable market, by launching the mini and taking the key pillars that we talk about on the HTC One and put it together in a smaller package and a more value orientated price point.
“For a device that offers no compromise on experience, it really does offer a great value experience to the consumer.”
HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou added: “The HTC One mini embodies everything that makes the HTC One a success on a smaller but equally eye-catching scale.”

The HTC One Mini  is 9.25mm thick

Brand Awareness: “All time high”

Wheeler also revealed during a preview of the handset, HTC’s brand awareness is at an all time high, on the back of the HTC One, prompting the Mini addition.
He claimed awareness for the brand was current above 80 per cent (although refused to provide comparative details), with its “younger” targeted audience around 87 per cent (again refusing to provide a comparison).
He also claimed 94 percent of HTC One owners would recommend the brand,” with the number of people intending to buy HTC in the next six months doubling.
“Our brand awareness is at an all time high, and the intent to buy is now almost double since the HTC One launched.”

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Virgin prices BlackBerry Q5 at £20pm for existing customers

 

MVNO’s customers using its other services will pay £5 a month less and receive 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data, as well as unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin users

Virgin Media has announced that its TV, broadband and home phone customers can get the BlackBerry Q5 with a bundled deal starting from £20 a month.

The MVNO’s existing customers who choose the smartphone will get £5 off their mobile tariff, unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin Media mobiles and insurance worth £799 a month.

The Starter tariff costs £20 a month for these customers and comes with 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data. Calls to UK landlines are included in the total minutes.

The most expensive tariff, VIP, costs £30 a month for existing customers and offers unlimited mobile minutes, landline calls, texts and data. All are subject to customers signing up to a 24-month contract.

Non-Virgin Media customers will receive the same allowances but pay £5 a month more.

Twelve month contracts are available and cost £10 a month more. Alternatively, the Q5 costs £259.99 on prepay.

The Q5 follows the Z10 and Q10 smartphones to run the BlackBerry 10 platform, which launched in January.

Similar in appearance to the Q10, it has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. It features BlackBerry Time Shift, which lets users take a range of photos and choose the best one, and BlackBerry Story Maker to enable users to create a story and join together multimedia into a film.

It also includes BlackBerry Messenger, which since the launch of the new platform, lets users have video conversations and share screens.

Virgin Media director of mobile Jamie Heywood said: “We’re delighted to offer the BlackBerry Q5 smartphone on our market-leading VIP tariff. There are even more incredible deals, exclusively available for Virgin Media broadband and TV customers, who won’t find a better offer elsewhere.”

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TalkTalk Mobile slashes cost of low-end Huawei smartphones

It is offering the Huawei Ascend Y210 from £1.25 on contract and the Huawei Ascend G510 from £2.50 on contract

TalkTalk Mobile has reduced the contract cost of several Huawei smartphones by 75 per cent.
From today (July 18) the Huawei Ascend Y210 is available from £1.25 on contract with no upfront cost for the first six months, £5 thereafter. TalkTalk’s ‘Small Plan’ includes 100 minutes, 250 texts and 100MB of data.
The entry-level smartphone was released in March and runs the Android operating system. It has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, two megapixel camera and 256MB of internal memory that can be expanded by a further 32GB with a microSD card..
The Huawei Ascend G510, which has a 4.5 inch screen and 1.2GHz dual core processor, costs £2.50 for the first six months and £10 thereafter on the Small Plan. The Medium Plan, which comes with 300 minutes, 3,000 texts and 500MB of data, costs £3.75 on contract.
The Huawei Ascend G330, which has a 4 inch screen and five megapixel camera, costs the same as the Ascend G510 and comes with BBC iPlayer and EA Games preloaded.
TalkTalk mobile director Dan Meader said: “It’s amazing that TalkTalk customers can now enjoy all the benefits of a smartphone, like being able to check emails and look up maps on the go, for less than it costs to catch a bus in most parts of Britain.
“This is another example of TalkTalk and Huawei working together to bring lower prices and better value to British customers.”

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MMS music campaign leads to surge in music sales

Record label Virgin EMI MMS campaign to  promote Swedish DJ track  inspires chart topping results

Music track ‘Wake Me Up’ from Swedish DJ Avicii has today (July 17) topped the iTunes download chart  thanks to a unique MMS marketing campaign.
Record label Virgin EMI partnered with EE, Vodafone and O2 joint venture firm Weve, to send out 100,000 animated MMS messages to music fans.
Customers were selected based on their Weve profile – indicating they would like to receive marketing around dance music.
Messages were sent out at 8am on Sunday, which when opened activated the song as part of a ‘wake me up campaign’ planned by independent media agency the7stars.
Weve said the campaign received its highest ever ‘click through rate’ with 9.8 per cent of people receiving the message going on to listen to the track.
Customers can then click on a link to be directed to the iTunes store where they can download the track. A second campaign to promote the same track will kick off at 8am this Saturday.
Weve marketing director Tony Moretta said: “It’s fantastic to see a major entertainment company like Virgin EMI recognise mobile as the first screen for marketing engagement with key demographics, and that the immediacy and relevance of mobile messaging can really drive consumer behaviour in a big way

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New BlackBerry A10 handset details leaked online

Leaked internal memo appears to show  full specifications of new BB10 handset (full details enclosed) 

BlackBerry is readying the launch of its next BB10 smartphone, the ‘BlackBerry A-10′, according to a leaked document posted online this week (see attached image below).
The post, which appeared on the dedicated BlackBerry news website ‘CrackBerry’, shows a slide said to have come from the Canadian firm, listed as ‘confidential’ and should only be shown ‘under NDA’.
The slide provides full specification of the next instalment, which follows the Z10, Q10 and Q5 all released this year.
Features according to the document include a five-inch screen, NFC, 4G capability, BB10.2 OS, 16GB internal memory expandable by 64GB, 8 megapixel camera (2 megapixel front facing), quad core processor.
BlackBerry declined to comment on the story, stating it does not comment on rumour or speculation.

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Banking apps vital to m-commerce take-off

Research has found UK smartphone users would feel more confident paying for transactions 

using their mobile if they could do so using an app from their bank

Smartphone users in the UK would feel more confident buying goods and services using their mobile if they could do so using applications provided by their bank, research has found.

The Future Foundation report, ‘M-commerce: what consumers want from financial institutions’, found 57 per cent of UK respondents would trust an application provided by their bank to pay for items via their device.

The research also found over 50 per cent of UK respondents are already buying goods on their smartphone.

However, the appetite to manage finances using a mobile is greater elsewhere in Europe than in the UK. Over half of smartphone users in Spain and Germany, 53 per cent and 54 per cent respectively, want to use their phone to research, and organise their finances, while only 48 per cent of UK consumers want to do the same.

Smartphone shoppers in all three countries said they would buy higher-value items if their bank created an app for them to do so.

Mobile payments technology provider Monitise said: “Consumers place a high degree of trust in their bank’s brand and like all payments ecosystems it is this collaboration to create and share in a bigger prize that will be most successful.

“The winning solutions will be built on these partnerships within digital payments and we are very encouraged to see banks, mobile operators and retailers beginning to work together for the consumer.”

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Affordable Mobiles ad banned for misleading delivery claims

The ASA said it was “concerned” to find Affordable Mobiles had incorrectly advertised the 

HTC One silver as in stock and available for next-day delivery

The advertising standards authority (ASA) has banned an advert from mobile phone retailer Affordable Mobiles after it founds claims of next day delivery were “misleading”.

The online retailer, owned by B2B dealer A1 Comms, displayed an advert on its website which said the silver HTC One smartphone was is stock and that anyone who ordered it before 7PM would qualify for free next-day delivery.

The ASA investigated the advert after a consumer complained they had not received the product within the specified delivery time.

In its defence, Affordable Mobiles said the HTC One in silver was in “short supply” due to high demand when it was first released, and that they “had struggled to obtain large amounts of stock for many weeks.”

The retailer said terms and conditions stated the products were subject to availability and that customers would be notified within two days if a product they had ordered was out of stock.

However, the ASA upheld the complaint, saying it was “concerned to note that it was possible for items to be displayed as “in stock” and available for next day delivery, even when the stock in question might not be sufficient to fulfil existing orders.”

The body ruled the advert must not appear again in its current form, and told Affordable Mobiles products should not be displayed as “in stock” or available for next day delivery if they are not.

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ZTE Geek U988S is the first Tegra 4 phone; device is coming to China Mobile

On the lookout for a new smartphone

We've all been there. That glorious time when we're out on the market, looking for a flashy, new smartphone to replace our hugely outdated device. It's a time of joy, excitement and discovery! But even in a saturated and booming market, such as the smartphone one, it's quite surprising how finding what's best for you may prove to be so difficult. My personal experience from a few weeks ago was particularly challenging.

Let me give you some background first.

I'm a long-time iPhone user who recently decided that the moment has come to move on to a more “flexible” and “open” experience. Naturally, there's only one mobile OS that comes to mind in such a case nowadays - Android. Having gotten used to the 'it just works' type of user experience with my iPhone, though, I didn't simply want an Android device. I wanted a high-end, polished product that aimed to deliver a feature-rich, yet streamlined package, so that's why I didn't waste much time choosing and went straight for the Samsung Galaxy S4. After all, how could you go wrong with one of the very best Android handsets out there? The Galaxy S4 has a super high-res screen, awesome camera, future-proof processor... I've made a true no-compromise decision, right? Well, it turns out I was wrong, and while I'm absolutely not trying to convince anyone that the Galaxy S4 isn't a good product, I'll just speak my mind as to why I decided to change it for a seemingly inferior smartphone. And boy am I happy I did so.

Defaulting to Android - not always a good idea

It's not that I wasn't happy with the GS4 at first, but as time went by the joy of getting my hands on this cutting-edge device started to make way for that nagging feeling that you have when you don't belong. Such was my relationship with Samsung's finest. Aside from the few technical issues I had with the phone, such as its poor outdoor visibility and occasional stuttering, the real problem for me was the lack of attention to detail in those areas that I really cared for. Truth be told, I love smartphones, but I rarely play games, watch full-length movies, or use other heavy-duty apps on them. That's mainly because I don't have the time, and when I do have time for some entertainment, I usually prefer the comfort of my desktop. So, my smartphone usage is mostly limited to calling, texting, email, browsing, social networking, as well as the occasional ebook reading and YouTube video watching. Of course, I also use typical smartphone tools such as the calendar, notes and navigation. As you can see, one can argue if I can really call myself a heavy user, as I mostly stick to the basic neсcessities, but the important thing is that I do use them a lot, and I really demand that those core smartphone features are executed as well as possible.

It turned out that the Samsung Galaxy S4, as powerful as it is, is actually the exact opposite of what I needed. Crammed with all kinds of features and options, this is a smartphone that is a jack of all trades, but master of none. While it can run the heaviest 3D games out there, its homescreen UI often stutters. While there are more than five ways to dial a contact, the phonebook itself is a mess. Battery life is also spectacularly short, despite my relatively modest needs. And, of course, while the screen is very big... the phone itself is also very big (just like any other Android flagship), which is definitely not a plus. Encased within a few thin pieces of plastic and full of UI inconsistencies, I realized that there's not much for me in the GS4 beyond its status of a cutting-edge device, which is why I made the decision to jump the Android ship about a month after I got on board. The ability to play various 3D games or install hundreds and hundreds of apps wasn't enough to keep me there, because I rarely took advantage of it.

But where to? “I should probably go back to my iPhone and hope that Apple's going to shake things up with iOS 7 and the next iPhone.” Such was my thinking back then, but then iOS 7 came along and I was somewhat disappointed by the new design direction and the lack of new jaw-dropping features. The redesign was obviously the thing Apple hoped to wow us with, but for me, it didn't work. My anticipation for Apple's upcoming smartphone software was quickly drowned in generic-looking icons and buttons that didn't look like buttons. Oh dear, I needed a new smartphone, but didn't have an idea which way to go.

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iPhone 6 M design release would prompt hate mob

One of the most important factors to think about when it comes to the iPhone 6 expected to be announced in 2014 is the design, and if Apple ever decide to release the shape we have here for you would surely get the hate mob on its back.
We know for sure the iPhone 5S will be coming around September time, but as for the iPhone 6 this we are sure will come some time in 2014. The iPhone 6 M concept design shown below is just pure crazy and even looking at it for 20 seconds sends shivers down our spine, might as well call it the iPhone 6 Sci-Fi.
The iPhone 6 will most definitely come with a specs bump and the design will be dramatic, but please Apple do NOT go this far.




This mentalist iPhone 6 concept mock-up was designed by M, and funny enough this Apple smartphone is called the iPhone 6m. The corners have been removed to provide a wacky shape that looks nothing like the iPhone, ok we want change but this would be the wrong change.
Futuristic yes, classy no! The sharper angles on this design looks ghastly and we would love to know if you agree or not, the iPhone 6m does not have the physical Home Button and the volume and power buttons   have been replaced by sensors, which is a move Apple should consider


Getting rid of the buttons in favor of sensor buttons is a must; the iPhone 6m is also said to feature dual face speakers, four speakers in fact with two on the front and two on the bottom
.


Other specs on this new concept include an 18-megapixel camera on the rear, 20 percent thinner than the iPhone 5, new panorama feature, special low-light mode and something called ring flash for cool lighting effects.
  ? Would you like the official iPhone 6 shaped like the 6m concept    

.

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Apple Offering Select Premium iOS Games (And One DJ App) For Free

 

 

Without much fanfare and many suspecting that Apple is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the debut of the App Store this week, the company has decided to offer 5 premium games and 1 premium app for free and are listed below:

Infinity Blade II - “Can you unlock all the mysteries and successfully wield the power of the Infinity Blade in this timeless swordplay adventure?”

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP - “an exploratory action adventure with an emphasis on audiovisual style”

Tiny Wings and Tiny Wings HD (for iPad) – “You have always dreamed of flying — but your wings are tiny.”

Badland - “Award-winning atmospheric action adventure platformer”

Where’s My Water - “Each level is a challenging physics-based puzzle with amazing life-like mechanics.”

Traktor DJ for iPad and for iPhone - “The world’s #1 pro DJ software brings high-impact DJing to iPad”

More premium apps are expected to go free this week, with updates as they come in. Previously, these listed apps have never been offered for free, with Traktor DJ being the most expensive at $19.99 for either iPhone or iPad.

 

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Deal: CineRAID CR-H212 USB 3.0 Dual 2.5-inch Bay Silent Hand Held RAID Enclosure – $20 After Rebate + Coupon Code

 

Newegg is currently offering the best deal ever on a RAID-capable 2.5-inch dual-bay USB enclosure in the CineRAID CR-H212 portable enclosure. The enclosure features support for multiple RAID and drive modes perfect for SSD use, such as RAID 0/1/JBOD/Normal drive access modes with SATA 6.0/3.0 Gbps support and powered USB 3.0 support for maximum portability without the need for an external power adapter, though the enclosure does include a DC input for such an adapter if necessary

Newegg is currently offering the best deal ever on a RAID-capable 2.5-inch dual-bay USB enclosure in the CineRAID CR-H212 portable enclosure. The enclosure features support for multiple RAID and drive modes perfect for SSD use, such as RAID 0/1/JBOD/Normal drive access modes with SATA 6.0/3.0 Gbps support and powered USB 3.0 support for maximum portability without the need for an external power adapter, though the enclosure does include a DC input for such an adapter if necessary.

The enclosure is worth its $49.99 sticker price, but the additional mail-in rebate via prepaid card means that cheap portable RAID arrays are a realistic possibility now and explains the three per order limit on the deal, something unimaginable just a few years ago. In addition, a new coupon code brings the deal all the way down to $20 with code EMCYTZT3749.

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iPhone electrocutes bride-to-be, Galaxy S4 injures teen

A couple of recent incidents have seen phones catching fire or delivering electrical shocks while in a pocket or charging, injuring a Swiss teenager and killing a 23-year-old Chinese iPhone owner.
In Abu Dhabi, Sarah Shurrub, the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S4, awoke in the small hours to look after her toddler and found the charging phone burning, Emirates 24/7 reports.
No other damage was caused in the incident, which occured last month. Samsung has agreed to replace the phone.
More recently, Swiss teenager Fanny Schlatter was shocked when her S4 caught fire in her pocket -- the melted phone pictured above -- leaving her with second- and third-degree burns on her thigh, according to L'Essentiel.

Chinese woman electrocuted 

And in a separate tragic incident, 23-year-old flight attendant Ma Ailun was electrocuted in her Xingiang home while answering her iPhone 5 after getting out of the bath, Reuters reports. She was due to marry next month.
Ma Ailun's family say the phone and accessories were bought in an official Apple Store. Apple says it will investigate the incident.
A shock of 36V can kill, but mobile phones alone can't generate anything like that kind of level. A damaged charger can -- like any damaged electrical device -- produce a shock though. We're pretty fond of you guys, so don't handle your gadgets with wet hands, keep an eye out for damage, and don't forget to insure your stuff.
Stories of phones exploding or catching fire have been with us since phones first met pockets, but it's worth pointing out they're not always what they seem. Sometimes people just don't want to hold their hands up and say, "Yup, I put my phone in the microwave."
Has your phone ever spontaneously combusted or broken in an unexpected manner? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

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India may ban Android over adult content

With instances of frisky content allegedly available for free via Android applications in India, the country's Telecom Minister, Kapil Sibal, has reached out to the media for suggestions on how to deal with the issue:

“I want you people to suggest how can we close it. If we want to close it, you will attack us. I want all the media to come together and tell the minister how to deal with it so that if I do something about it, you don’t attack me” 

This comes after the Indian government recently came under fire for censoring certain websites for their adult content. With porn already endangered, it does appear that an extreme measure such as an eventual ban on Android is not out of the question, or so it seems.

Groundless? Google seems to agree. According to Indian iGyaan, a spokesperson for Mountain View stated that its policies do not allow any content that contains nudity or any sexually explicit material on its Play Store:

“Google Play developer programme policy does not allow content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child pornography; […] Similarly for Android, we offer content filtering. Google Play requires developers to label their applications according to the Google Play ratings system, which consists of four levels"

If that is indeed true, then the culprit has got to be third-party app stores that are known to host content indiscriminately of its nature – an issue, however, hardly warranting the ban of the world's most popular mobile OS in the third biggest smartphone market

Source: iGyaan

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BlackBerry reportedly cutting Q10 and Z10 production by 50%

It seems that the hits just keep coming for BlackBerry. The company was already in a troubling position after it watched Android, iOS, and even Windows Phone eclipse it in the marketplace. By the time BlackBerry 10 made its debut, the company was fighting an uphill battle. Its latest earnings reports were disappointing, and now it seems that the company has had to cut production of handsets by 50%.

The news is coming from Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek who is saying that BlackBerry has had to cut production of the Q10 and Z10 handsets from 2 million devices per month to just 1 million per month. Apparently, this is a reaction to "poor May Q sell-through", although Misek had expected the move sooner, because BlackBerry had raised build plans even after seeing the troubling May numbers. 

Recently we've seen the BlackBerry Z10 price being cut, but CEO Thorsten Heins has brushed that off as being a normal part of the device life-cycle. With the next flagship BlackBerry A10 expected in November, it's far too early to be slowing production in preparation for a new device, so it will be interesting to hear what Heins has to say on the production cut news.

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iLuv MobiOut Bluetooth speaker hands-on

 

It’s a hot summer day and all you want to do is just sit by the pool and listen to some of your tunes. Well, it’s not like you can bring any speaker near the water, seeing that most of them wouldn’t handle splashes all that great. Fear not though, because the iLuv MobiOut Bluetooth speaker allows you to listen to your favorite tunes without any worry about it getting damaged due to splashes of water from all of the people diving into the pool.

In terms visuals, there isn’t anything to spectacular with the iLuv MobiOut’s design, since it follows the rectangular frame of most other speakers in the same segment. However, what separates itself from the crop is the splash-proof and rugged element of the speaker. Sporting a rubbery finish, the iLuv MobiOut is able to withstand some minor drops and splashes, which would otherwise do detrimental damage to other speakers.

Along the top surface, we have useful dedicated buttons that provide us access to different functions – like power on, volume control, track forward/reverse, and pause/play. Meanwhile, hidden behind a flap in the rear that prevents any damage from splashes, we spot its other ports and switches. Interestingly, it features a full-sized USB port that provides us with the usefulness of charging devices on-the-go with its Jump-Start Technology. However, the downside is that the MobiOut isn’t able to pump out any audio while it’s juicing something.

Pairing it to a Samsung Galaxy S4, the iLuv MobiOut’s volume output is only marginally better than the smartphone. Sure, there’s a little bit of bass that accompanies the output, but it’s simply lacking the commanding audio quality to make it suitable for outdoor usage. Instead, it’s ample enough to fill the air of smaller sized rooms – whereas, if it’s used outside or in open areas, it’s going to have a tough time dispersing its audio.

If we are to base everything strictly on audio quality, the iLuv MobiOut is rather expensive at $119.99. It simply pales in comparison to other speakers in the same category! However, some people will surely appreciate its other qualities – like its built-in battery, rugged design, and splash proof nature. Still, it’s worth mentioning that it’s not totally water proof, which means that you wouldn’t want to dunk this one under water

source: iLuv

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