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Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

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Posts by Simon Sage

Research shows Android keeps climbing, BlackBerry keeps shrinking

comScore today published their research results for the U.S. smartphone market in November, and it’s more of the same: RIM’s share of the pie keeps getting smaller, and Google’s keeps getting bigger. The changes since October weren’t really significant, but the course remained consistent. The BlackBerry smartphone OS market share dipped 0.6% since last month, leaving BlackBerry with 16.6% total, while Android and iPhone climbed 0.6%, claiming 46.9% and 28.7% respectively. In terms of manufacturing hardware, Samsung is still king of the hill, with 25.3% of all mobile phones sold … Read more

Android-devour4 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Quad-core Acer Iconia Tab A700 shows face prior to CES

We had heard last month that Acer was going to pump out a pretty impressive tablet called the A700, and now it’s looking more likely than ever that we’ll see a big unveiling at CES. After some lucky Russians got their hands on one, we can confirm that it will have a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen, and a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. All of the usual inputs that were on the original Acer Iconia Tab A500 are there, like full-sized USB, microSD memory card slot, microUSB, microSD memory card … Read more

Acer-A700 1 years ago

Simon Sage

What to do with your new BlackBerry

If you got a PlayBook for Christmas, there’s not much to do but download apps, but for those that just got their first BlackBerry smartphone, there’s a lot more to wrap your head around. I actually just bought my mom her first cell phone for the holidays (a Curve 9300 on Mobilicity), and even after a solid afternoon of tutoring, it felt like there was a lot more to cover. Hopefully I’ll be able to pass on some essential basics and the offer the first steps to advanced usage in … Read more

BlackBerry-9930 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Android and iOS games from Gameloft on sale for $0.99 a pop

Gameloft, a big-name developer for Android and iOS, are putting a big portion of their games on sale for the new year. For the iPhone and iPad, they’re offering 21 titles, including Tom Clancy’s Rainbox Six: Shadow Vanguard, The Settlers (a personal favourite), Splinter Cell: Conviction, and lots of others. The Android Market sale is just kicking off today, and includes many of the same titles. Their latest premium Android game, Modern Combat 3, will be $0.99 for today only starting at 10 AM PST, so better hurry if you’re … Read more

Android-Gameloft-sale 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Spoiled kids don’t get iPhone for Christmas, disown parents on Twitter

An interesting thing happened on Christmas Day this year: thousand upon thousands of hopeful children didn’t get an iPhone under the tree. While some were still happy to get anything at all, others gathered the shattered remains of their dreams, and cast the biting shards out to Twitter, saying things like “No Iphone. I hate my dad.“, “My parents are the worst mother Fucking parents in the world fuck you mom and dad for not getting me a Iphone. FUCK YOU. FML. #Iphone“, and “Didn’t get the iPhone for Christmas … Read more

attitude 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Leaked Windows Phone update roadmap points to Apollo and Tango

A snipped from a Microsoft readomap has leaked out, giving us a release timeframe for the next Windows Phone updates, Tango and Apollo. The description for Tango confirms that it will center on enabling entry-level handsets, and should be landing in the second quarter of 2012. Apollo will follow up in Q4 of next year, aiming for competitive high-end handsets. The info is from October, so release targets may have been pushed back, but this should give you a pretty clear idea of what 2012 is looking like for Windows … Read more

roadmap 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Top 10 BlackBerry PlayBook apps – Holiday Edition

Now that the holiday season is starting to wind down, it’s time to get comfortable with the new gifts. A popular one, mainly thanks to its attractive (if inconsistent) $200 price point, is the BlackBerry PlayBook. Over the summer I had slapped together my top ten favourite apps at the time, but since then, selection has vastly improved. There are still some favourites on there that have managed to hold onto their spots, but a solid half of my current top 10 BlackBerry PlayBook apps are new entrants. New, bewildered PlayBook … Read more

BlackBerry-Apps 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Best Buy after Christmas sale includes tons of free phones on contract

Verizon’s after Christmas sales were a little ho-hum, but you might find Best Buy’s a little more exciting. They’re offering a wide range of devices across all the major U.S. carriers, and the phones are all free with a two-year contract. From Verizon, you’ve got the Samsung Stratosphere and HTC Droid Incredible 2; from AT&T, there’s the HTC Inspire, BlackBerry Torch 9810, and Sony Ericsson Xperia Play; from Sprint there’s the LG Marquee; finally, T-Mobile is offering the LG myTouch T and Q, and the HTC Wildfire S. Best Buy’s … Read more

BestBuy-3day 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Verizon’s after Christmas sale – $20 – $80 off pre-owned smartphones and tablets

Verizon has a few sales on certified pre-owned smartphones and tablets going until this Thursday, December 29. Verizon has knocked $80 off the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, asking $349.99 on a two-year contract for the 16 GB model, or $449.99 for the 32 GB version. Verizon has also reduced the price of the HTC ThunderBolt by $80, and is now $69.99 on a two-year commitment.  The Samsung Continuum, Verizon Jetpack LTE hotspot, and Samsung Fascinate have all had their on-contract prices slashed by a modest $20, but they’re all free … Read more

Verizon-websale 1 years ago

Simon Sage

Volkswagen turns off BlackBerry e-mail service overnight

If you work at Volkswagen in Germany, your BlackBerry e-mail starts coming in 30 minutes before your shift, and 30 minutes after, thanks to a new union agreement. Senior staff are exempt from the new rule, who likely need to be accessible around the clock, though standard phone functions will still be available for everybody during off-hours. This is a very progressive move, and shows how we might be able to reign in the always-connected lifestyle BlackBerry, and now smartphones at large, are promoting. The responsible thinking goes, “just because … Read more

vw_wallpaper 1 years ago

Simon Sage

RIM hit with BBM trademark lawsuit [Update: RIM responds]

RIM recently had to change the name of their upcoming platform update from BBX to BB10 due to a preexisting trademark, but it looks like one of BlackBerry’s more well-established features may be coming under similar fire. BBM Canada is a non-profit business intelligence company that has been around since 1944 gathering TV and radio metrics for advertisers, and CEO Jim MacLeod says “we want our name back”. MacLeod had previously offered to rebrand BBM Canada, so long as RIM covered the cost, but after several failed attempts to meet … Read more

bbm-logo3 1 years ago

Simon Sage