Nicholas Kolakowski

Research In Motion’s next-generation operating system for its BlackBerry devices is no longer BBX. Now, the QNX-based platform is BlackBerry 10. That renaming allows RIM to sidestep an increasingly thorny trademark battle with Basis International Ltd., which markets business software and claims the “BBX” name. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico […]

Amazon’s Kindle Fire will contribute to reduced iPad sales in December, according to a new analyst report. “With our expectations for a new iPad launch during the March quarter leading to potentially lower inventory levels combined with increased competition from the $200 Kindle Fire,” T. Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, wrote in a […]

Asus is expecting to ship about 6 million tablet PCs in 2012, according to a new report in DigiTimes. That’s a significant rise from 2011, when the company shipped approximately 1.8 million tablets. It also seems wildly optimistic, given the anemic sales of non-iPad tablets over the previous year. However, Asus and other hardware manufacturers […]

Microsoft will unveil its Windows 8 App Store at a San Francisco event Dec. 6. The actual storefront will launch with Windows 8 sometime in late 2012. It will reportedly feature both free and paid applications. In creating the portal, Microsoft is following in the footsteps of Apple, which integrated a similar application store into […]

Apple has failed to have Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets banned in the United States, in a legal ruling that could have broad implications on the two companies’ worldwide battle. Apple’s filing earlier this year with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California argued that Samsung’s mobile devices closely copied the iPhone […]

Initial reviews of Amazon’s Kindle Fire have focused on the tablet’s consumer appeal, and no wonder: with a user interface that gives equal weight to streaming video and e-books as it does to apps or document storage, the device is basically a handheld vending machine for bestselling books, television episodes and the latest movies. Many […]

Although 2011 proved to be a dynamic year in mobility, in broad strokes it certainly hewed to the expectations of many analysts. Google Android continued to gain market share, as predicted, while Apple’s iPhone remained a potent force in both the consumer and business realms. Microsoft’s Windows Phone struggled to gain users, and Research In […]

Dell is discontinuing its Streak 7 tablet, a few months after killing the smaller Streak 5. Together, that means the end of the manufacturer’s first foray into Android-based tablets. “Streak 7 is no longer available online,” read a new note on Dell’s Website, “but you can browse our other mobile devices for similar products.” Those […]

Microsoft’s week saw a burst of month-end numbers, which in turn offer a portrait of the company’s current mobile and browser efforts. According to analysis Website StatCounter, the combined versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer held 50.66 percent of the U.S. browser market at the end of November, a noticeable uptick from 46.11 percent in October. […]

Amazon’s Kindle Fire will ship 3.9 million units in the last quarter of this year, according to a Dec. 2 note from research firm IHS. That will give it 13.8 percent of global media tablet shipments for the quarter, placing it behind Apple’s iPad “A competitor has finally developed an alternative which looks like it […]

Research In Motion is taking a substantial charge against its PlayBook inventory, a decision that could have significant repercussions on the company’s bottom line. The write-down will total $485 million, or $360 million after applicable taxes, according to RIM’s Dec. 2 statement. “The Company now believes that an increase in promotional activity is required to […]

Acer expects ultrabooks to drop in price around 20 percent early next year, according to company president Jim Wong. Wong is quoted in Taiwanese publication DigiTimes Dec. 1 as saying that ultrabook prices will drop to around $500 in 2013, thanks in large part to an influx of the super-thin laptops from various manufacturers. Acer […]