I've used a handful of phone keyboards -- the physical kind -- on slab-type handsets that come close to the BlackBerry phone, but not close enough. I've also tested one or two keyboards on clamshell-type phones that actually are rather good. But for me, these clamshell keyboards, which are in landscape mode, aren't as easy to hold and use as the slab-type keyboards which actually have less space.
I suggested an idea to the CMO Site, for which I occasionally write, about analyzing BlackBerry's marketing strategy. If the idea is approved, I'll discussed Alicia Keys as one part of the blog.
@Alan well said. I was thinking the same thing about Alicia Keys as creative director. It seems like a nice nod to her hard work in the music industry but I don't see how she'll contribute to the success of the newly-named company.
As I've written numerous times on Internet Evolution, I generally carry a BlackBerry Bold -- because no other phone comes close to the quality of a real keyboard for typing messages longer than a sentence or two -- and an Android phone with a large screen for everything else. Of course, most people don't do this.
As I've also written in the past, I've known the RIM/BlackBerry crew since the company just sold mobile data (Mobitex) middleware. When I visited RAM Mobile Data (another name from the past) to see the first BlackBerry alphanumeric pager (a thick, clunky, clamshell-type device) that used RadioMail, I thought it was the start of a revolution.
Unfortunately, Mike Lazaridis, who was brilliant at understanding creation of the mobile e-mail market, couldn't seem to grasp the ramifications of the next generation of phones -- the iPhone paradigm. And, pride entered into that, too.
I do remember picking Blackberry for an enterprise a number of years back. There were a few years were IT had such an easy time picking an enterprise level mobile solution. Blackberry was so far ahead of the rest of the pack - remember Symbian, the Palm Pilot and Windows CE - that IT had it easy. Blackberry was secure, the most stable and the customers welcomed the devices. Oh - how the mighty have fallen - so many lost opportunities for RIM.
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Has China stolen a march on the West, developing an Internet architecture that is not only based on IPv6, but is also inherently secure from both internal and external attack?
Recently, the Obama administration has been of two minds where privacy rights are concerned. On one hand, you have an administration that vowed to veto CISPA and mandated open data for government websites. On the other hand, you have an increasingly out-of-control Department of Justice on a fishing expedition at AP and demanding legislation to let the FBI wiretap private, encrypted communications and levy fines if a company fails to comply.
The apartment and house sharing service, Airbnb, now requires members to verify their identities by demonstrating a presence on the web, and by either scanning a government ID or entering detailed personal details. Other enterprises should take a close look at Airbnb's verification policies.
Facebook advertising is a lightning rod. It seems neither brands nor consumers are 100 percent happy about the social media site's policies, placement, or procedures. But the real controversy about Facebook ads and promotions is over whether they work.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
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