Some business customers invited to test new BlackBerry 10 platform

If you're lucky, you may be one of the 120 select customers from 64 Fortune 500 companies to beta test the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which is set to make a worldwide debut on the 30th of January. The new BlackBerry Hub experience is waiting for your reactions.

The by-invitation-only program starts today and includes participants from financial, government, insurance healthcare, manufacturing and media. It is design to give early adopters a real-life experience on the new BlackBerry 10 platform from Research in Motion, who introduced the BlackBerry in 1999.

“Beginning today, RIM will be visiting some of our enterprise and government ‘early adopters’ and getting them started with the BlackBerry 10 platform,” said Robin Bienfait, Chief Information Officer, Research In Motion. “At RIM, we’ve seen the power of our new enterprise mobility management solution first-hand, and we are thrilled to share BlackBerry 10 directly with these leading organizations.”

The testers will be able to use the key features of the new platform, such as BlackBerry Balance, the BlackBerry Hub, a new messenger and explore the dedicated BlackBerry app store, which is expected to contain around 100,000 apps ready at launch.

According to RIM, getting the new devices in the hands of its best and largest enterprise customers was an important step, as the launch draws closer.

The new BlackBerry 10 devices are expected to have Near Field Communication, or NFC capability, as "BlackBerry Tag" was announced by RIM in January in a BlackBerry OS 7.1. update. This technology will allow content sharing with a simple tap between two NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones.

RIM is also counting heavily on the new devices having the Federal Information Processing Standard in place, which also known as FIPS 140-2, a requirement for highly sensitive information. RIM says this certification will help government agencies deploy the BlackBerry 10 smartphones from the day of launch.

According to the BlackBerry Blog, a touchscreen model is expected to be shown at launch, but physical keyboard lovers shouldn't be worried, as a QWERTY model should be coming soon after the Jan. 30 unveiling.

The new devices will be based on an operating system built around features from QNX Software Systems, an automotive industry software maker, who BlackBerry acquired from Harman International Industries in April 2010. In September 2010, the BlackBerry Playbook was announced, along with a new QNX operating system.

We'll learn more about pricing, carriers and availability at the January launch.

Video: BlackBerry Fans Visit RIM HQ to Sneak a Peek at BlackBerry 10

Tips: 10 ways to use BlackBerry Bridge with your BlackBerry Playbook

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Samsung Galaxy S III, Motorola Photon Q near perfection

I have been in smartphone wonderland for the past few weeks. C Spire Wireless took me there with the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola Photon Q. Both of these devices are on C Spire's 4G LTE network.

I could stop right here and say these smartphones are what dreams are made of, but you need to know the details. With one in each pocket , I found myself reaching for either the Galaxy S III or the Photon Q, depending on what I was doing.

Galaxy S III close to perfect

To keep it simple, the Galaxy S III is just plain nice. The spacious 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display makes other devices seem small, including my iPhone 5, which did grow in height from the previous iPhone models.

This fine example of a smartphone runs Android 4.0.4, also know as Ice Cream Sandwich. It has been working out and shaping up since the Galaxy S II appeared about a year ago.

The Galaxy S III can be packed with 32 gigabytes of memory, compared with 16GB for the S II, and has beefed up to a dual-core 1.5 gigahertz processor, compared with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor in the earlier version. If you need more storage space, the Galaxy S III can accept a 64GB SD Card, where the Galaxy S II was maxed out at 32GB.

The rear camera remains at 8 megapixels, just like its earlier sibling, but the front camera specifications is down slightly from 2.9 to 1.9 MP. But that shouldn't affect the Galaxy S III Burst Shot feature, which allows 20 continuous shots in a few seconds.

The Galaxy S III is full of cool technology, such as the S Beam feature for transferring photos, video and other documents just by placing it against the back of another Galaxy phone. Even cooler than that is the Smart Stay technology, with keeps the screen from dimming as long as you are staring at the display.

One of my most-watched area of emerging technology is Near Field Communication, or NFC, and the Galaxy S III has it on board, unlike the iPhone 5. By using Samsung's programmable NFC TecTiles stickers and the free TecTile app, this phone can perform all sorts of actions when it comes close to a sticker.

It's as simple as programming a sticker to change a setting, set an alarm or open your social media page. Just place the sticker in a convenient place and a tap will perform the action. You can have some hi-tech moments with the Galaxy S III by getting a package of five TecTile NFC stickers for $14.99.

The Galaxy S III also supports motion gestures to make a call by bringing the phone to your ear or scrolling quickly to the top of a list by tapping twice on the top menu bar.

This device is about as close to perfect as you can get in a smartphone.

The Motorola Photon Q means business

Some smartphones just feels good in your hands and you expect to have a good experience. That's the feeling the Motorola Photon Q gives the user.

This was C Spire's first 4G LTE device when it arrived on the shelves in September featuring a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch touchscreen and 8GB of memory. I'll bet customers were not disappointed.

The first thing you'll notice is the extra ounces in weight that comes from the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. If you do a lot of text messages and accuracy is of utmost importance, the QWERTY keyboard is spacious with five rows of keys that includes a dedicated numbers row.

The keys are outlined with LED lights in low-light situations, which makes them easy to see and gives a nice glow to the keypad. My typing accuracy increased on the Photon Q's keyboard when compared with similar efforts on digital keyboards.

Because the Photon Q seems geared toward the enterprise user, it has business-ready security and encryption for protecting emails, contacts and appointments.

Just like the Galaxy S III, the Photon Q also joins a growing list of smartphones with NFC support to share links, apps using the Android Beam feature.

Android devices gaining market dominance

The Galaxy S III and Photon Q for $199.99 under contracts are good examples of why recent research reports show that the Android platform now owns 72.4% of the smartphone market. While Apple's iOS holds second place, the iPhone is simply being outnumbered by compelling Android devices. It's yet to be seen if the recent Windows Phone 8 platform and the new BlackBerry 10 debut in January will slow down the Android march to dominance. Samsung, Motorola and HTC are strong contenders as Android gathers market share.

Both of these devices run on C Spire's 4G LTE network, which is available in 31 Mississippi markets, with plans to add another 6 by year end. The high-speed 4G network is now the standard and almost a must-have for downloading apps, music, books and other data-intensive functions and services.

If you're looking for smartphones near perfection, look no further than the Galaxy S III and Photon Q. I also like the iPhone 5, minus a few software glitches. I can vouch for these and we'll see how Windows Phone 8 devices are received and keep our fingers crossed for the BlackBerry 10 platform.

These devices should hold you for a while, or at least until the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes along.

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BlackBerry 10 launch set for Jan. 30; new smartphones unveiled

The BlackBerry 10 interface will include a new feature that will divide the screen into a "Personal" and "Work" display of apps and data.

The BlackBerry 10 launch is scheduled for Jan. 30, where Research in Motion, the smartphone's maker, will unveil the first two BlackBerry 10 Smartphones that will run on the new platform.

This is what a lot of BlackBerry fans have been patiently waiting for, as the iPhone, Android devices and now Windows Phone 8 devices, chip away at the loyalty of RIM’s customers.

The two devices expected to be announced have been rumored to be a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard model. The latter will soothe the fears of a lot of diehard BlackBerry fans, since the famous BlackBerry keyboards have been one of the reason for the device's popularity over the years.

According to RIM, the BlackBerry 10 will “create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs” using an approach called BlackBerry Flow that will be unlike any other smartphone in the market.

Other new key features likely to found on the new platform include a new keyboard that will “learn how you write and adapt to how you type” and a feature to balance your personal and business apps and data.

The launch will happen simultaneously in multiple countries. More details will available at the event.

More: BlackBerry 10 to debut new apps

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BlackBerry 10 developers hard at work on apps for new platform

As we wait on the BlackBerry 10 platform to arrive sometime early in 2013, Research In Motion says the developers are hard at work creating apps for the new upcoming devices.

Developers have been issued 5,000 BlackBerry Dev Alpha test devices to put their apps through the paces on various BlackBerry 10 projects. We can expect apps from Cisco, Foursquare, Sencha, Gameloft, HalfBrick Studios, Madfinger Games, Funkol and others when the magic time comes.

The developers are hoping to create BlackBerry 10 apps that will entice customers to take a closer look at the new platform.

“The Weather Network is excited to develop for BlackBerry 10," said Gita Ashar, Director of Mobile and Emerging Technologies for Weather Network. "The innovations in the operating system will provide our existing loyal consumers and new consumers an application that is as stunning as it is informative, helping users to plan for anything.”

The developers will work with BlackBerry WebWorks and will use HTML5 and CSS in building apps for the new BB 10 platform.

I know of several die-hard BlackBerry fans that are among the 80 million users that RIM announced in its latest quarterly report. They are patiently awaiting the new devices that are expected in the first quarter of 2013. One in particular is fearful of losing his BlackBerry contacts if he switches to an Android device or the iPhone.

The delay of the BlackBerry 10 devices could turn into a big headache for RIM. The competitors are full steam ahead with innovative hardware that would leave less opportunity for any excitement in the BlackBerry arena.

The Samsung Galaxy S III had been around since May and doing very well in the marketplace. Now we have the iPhone 5, which is setting sales records, despite mapping software woes and other issues being reported by customers.

Next up will be Microsoft and their partners as they roll out new Windows Phone 8 devices later this month. The Nokia 920 and 820, the HTC 8X and 8S and the upcoming Samsung ATIV S are all on deck with Microsoft's unique tiles-based interface. It'll be interesting to see if the Windows 8 devices gain acceptance with consumers.

From the Android camp, the LG Optimus G is likely to draw some excitement, as the specs are pretty impressive with a 13 megapixel camera on the Sprint Nextel version.

All of these devices are likely to attract some BlackBerry fans that are tired of waiting on something new, although some will tough it out. I have one friend who is thinking about leaving her beloved BlackBerry for the Galaxy S III.

The other nightmare for BlackBerry could be the rumored Samsung Galaxy S 4, which could also arrive in the first quarter of 2013. I would think the folks inside the walls of RIM would certainly want to be ahead of this threat with their new BlackBerry 10 platform, along with some outstanding apps.

Let's hope that when the new BlackBerry 10 platform finally arrives, it will be worth the wait.

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