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We’re all about to find out ‘what’s next’ for BlackBerry. Today, May 14th, in Orlando is where all the festivities will be unveiled. Rumours are that there will be a plethora of announcements, possibly new BB10 devices (like the entry-level R10), tablet updates and deeper BBM integration. Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of BlackBerry, will take the stage at 9:00am EST and we’ll update you as the event unfold:

With Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 Lumia 925 announcement today, the company also declared that the new Smart Camera app would come to all Lumia smartphones. This update is known as “Amber” and is part of the upcoming GDR2 update that will be available starting in July. This will also bring double-tap to wake support, plus FM radio support to every Lumia, but not the recently release TELUS and Koodo Lumia 620 as it doesn’t have an FM radio.

The Lumia 925 is the latest flagship smartphone to join Nokia’s lineup. After extensive leaks online, Nokia has shed the polycarbonate design from previous devices and has come to market with an all-aluminum gem.

Much of the specs are the same as the Nokia Lumia 920, namely the 4.5-inch (1280 x 768 resolution) display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 2,000mAh battery, 8.7MP camera and a 1.2MP front-facing camera, but there are some notable differences. The aluminum makes Lumia 925 much lighter, coming in at 139 grams and only 8.5mm thin (Lumia 920 was 185 grams and 10.7mm thin).

Nokia says the Lumia 925 differs from any other previous Windows Phone 8 devices because it has “the most advanced lens technology and next generation imaging software.” The camera is an 8.7MP Pure View and they’ve included “Nokia Smart Camera mode” – something they say will come to all Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones – and allows users to “capture ten images at once and edit the pictures with options like Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus for creating the perfect high quality image.” This is tech from their purchase of Scalado (same company that powers the BlackBerry 10 camera features).

The LTE-enabled Lumia 925 also has wireless charging, but you’ll need to purchase a separate cover that attaches to the back – this is available in white, black, yellow, and red. As for a Canadian release – no word yet. The Lumia 925 will launch in June in UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and China for 469 EUR ($600), then in the US at T-Mobile, followed by “a number of other markets.”

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has not shied away from the camera since its first turn, emerging several times to show off the diminishing size of its GS4 legacy.

Here it is again, posing with a ruler this time. At first glance, without scale, the Galaxy S4 Mini looks remarkably like its larger sibling, but its feature set belies a handset that is slightly less high-end. First, there is a bit more space above and below the 4.3-inch screen than on the GS4, which has a most minimal of bezels. Second, it appears the type of plastic used is slightly different, with a slightly altered textured pattern.

The rumours specs of the Galaxy S4 Mini also put it squarely in the mid-range: a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.6Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8-16GB internal storage, and a camera of between 5- and 8MP.

Facebook updated its iOS app today to make saving and sharing photos easier. The app recently saw a significant performance boost alongside the addition of Chat Heads, so this release is more of an iterative move than a splash maker.

Also on board are performance improvements, especially when it comes to loading events. Facebook has become the de facto social event planner, so it’s good news to see a previously-slow feature significantly quickened. You can also make edits to Places check-ins, a little-used feature that Facebook is trying to grow out.

The main improvements here, however, are to do with photos. When clicking on a photo, users will not see three dots at the bottom of the screen. This lets you share, save or report the photo, a much-requested addition.

Facebook also changed the app’s icon on iPad and iPhone, with a chrome ring around it, though we’ve heard it was altered by mistake and will be reverted to the old version in due time.

Download Facebook for iOS.

Via: TNW

Recently, Google transferred its Play Store app review credentials to Google+, ensuring that so-called “real people” were providing feedback to apps. Google’s real name policy ostensibly improved the quality of Google+ posts, but potentially limited the amount of discourse, due to lack of anonymity, the community engendered.

Now, after rolling out the ability for a small number of developers to respond to reviews, Google has opened up the floor to everyone. Devs can post public responses to specific problems or compliments, and can continue the discourse through email if the issue persists.

This is a great way to provide feedback to consumers concerned about a specific feature or bug, and can take a 1-star rating and turn it into a 4- or 5-star.

Have you ever posted a review and had a developer respond to you? Did it encourage you to improve the app’s rating?

Source: Android Developer Blog

BlackBerry Live 2013 is a day away and the company will be announcing “what’s next.” If you can’t make the physical event, BlackBerry has you covered in several angles. First, they’ll be live streaming the keynote starting at 9:00am via blackberrylive.com. It’s expected that Thorsten Heins, CEO of BlackBerry, will talk about “the power of true mobile platforms and how BlackBerry innovations in mobile computing, platform management and BlackBerry 10 are empowering the future of mobile,” plus announce tablet plans, and possibly new BlackBerry 10 devices.

If the live stream is not your thing, but checking out the party is, then BlackBerry will also be live streaming the Alicia Keys – their new Creative Director – “Keep Moving Experience” that will feature Alabama Shakes, Miguel, Maria Gadú, and Cedric Gervais. In addition, there’s the official BlackBerry Live Conference App that can keep you up to date with all the session breakouts and keynote agenda.

Hopefully we’ll get an update on sales numbers for BlackBerry 10, with the inclusion of Q10 results. At last count there were just over 1 million units shipped, plus the company recently passed the 100,000 available app milestone.

We’ll bring you all the details as they happen.
Source: BlackBerry Live 2013

Google I/O is going to have a very different feel from previous years, at least when it comes to product announcements and, potentially, giveaways. The conference has always focused on developers, but there was an expectation from the outside community that big new hardware would be floated alongside a new version of Android, for example.

Google’s new joint head of Android and Chrome, Sundar Pichai, spoke to Wired over the weekend and downplayed any big product announcements for the three-day conference.

“It’s going to be different,” he said. “It’s not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system. Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things. We will show how Google services are doing amazing things on top of these two platforms.”

While this doesn’t remove the possibility of a new product, or at least a refresh of an existing one, it minimizes the likelihood of the rumoured Motorola X-Phone or a Nexus 5; we’re much more likely to see a LTE-enabled Nexus 4 or updated Nexus 7 tablet.

With hardware not a major focal point of the conference, it looks like Google will announce a unified messaging service called Hangouts, which will unite the current Google Talk, Google Voice and Google+ Messaging into one hub on Android and the web. Also likely is Google Play Games, a new match-making and synchronized saved game service.

There’s also a good chance we’ll see a new version of Android, version 4.3 Jelly Bean. Pichai told Wired that he wants to slow down the considerable pace of Android development from a consumer perspective by releasing major versions less frequently, while focusing on small iterative updates that are easier for hardware manufacturers to implement. Now that versions of Android above 4.0 make up more than 50% of devices there is a since that developing for the platform is not only easier but more enjoyable.

“We are thinking about how to make Android handle updates better,” said Pichai. “We see ways we can do this. It’s early days. We’re talking with our partners and working our way through it. We need time to figure out the mechanics, but it’s definitely an area of focus for me and for the team.”

With Google I/O only two days away, there is a lot of speculation as to what we’ll see. Perhaps more important than that, however, is what we won’t see.

Source: Wired

Earlier reports of LTE coming to Fredericton, New Brunswick were correct. TELUS announced today that those visiting or residing in the area will be able to connect to their LTE network, thus giving them faster upload and download speed (expected average of 12 to 25 Mbps). TELUS’ LTE coverage reaches about 24 million Canadian, or about 70% of the population. Looking at the map also sees future expansion that will triple the LTE coverage in the region.

Source: CNW

Nokia is set to showoff “what’s next” for Lumia tomorrow. Nokia previously provided a 21-second teaser video that showed a glimpse of this device, namely the camera features, but today famous device leaker evleaks has revealed what the Nokia Lumia 925 will look like. The specs are sparse, but clearly taking its design from earlier Lumia flagships, this Windows Phone 8 powered 925 steps it up with a metal (reportedly aluminum) casing. The Nokia Lumia 925 has been known as the “Catwalk.”