Tag / New York

BlackBerry 10 launch liveblog: full-touch Z10 and QWERTY Q10 shipping this week in UK and Europe
It’s been a long time coming, but today is the day that RIM steps into the future as they prepare to unveil their new – and heavily delayed – BlackBerry 10 platform and devices. Rumour has it that we will see two devices today – one with RIM’s iconic QWERTY keyboard and one with just touch input – and further leaks suggest that we could even see devices on store shelves within the next 24 hours. Whether or not this turns out to be the case, RIM’s New York launch event starts at 10am ET/3pm GMT, and we will be blogging it live on this very page. Join us then to find out what RIM’s been working on.
All times are in GMT
This event has now finished
14:58 Let’s go!
15:00 Things seem a bit late starting, but the live stream is available here.
15:01 The apps seem to be popping up already. Here’s evidence.
15:04 According to TechnoBuffalo, the Z10 is already in Phones4U. We’ll be hunting it down tomorrow.
15:06 Things are kicking off! They flashed up the already-announced software stuff and now a broadcasting guy is showing global launches.
15:08 Now they’re showing business people (including EE’s Olaf Swantee) talking about what they love about BB10.
15:09 What seems evident is that carriers and businessmen love BB10, but will consumers?
15:10 I love rhetoric questions.
15:10 Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations (and this guy) says there are no devs in Antarctica. I need to prove him wrong.
15:13 “Honk if you want BlackBerry 10!” says this guy.
15:13 Now there’s a guy who made a song called No Sleep ‘Til BlackBerry 10. I kid you not.
15:14 Now random guy is talking to CrackBerry Kevin, the guy who said he wouldn’t cut his hair until the launch.
15:15 THEY ARE CUTTING KEVIN’S PONYTAIL.
15:16 Here’s Thorsten Heins, sounding German.
15:18 “Innovation is at the heart of RIM. Now finally, here we are!” Thorsten gets applause.
15:19 They keep saying BlackBerry 10 is here, but they’re not actually doing anything.
15:20 Are you hyper-connected socially? BB10 is for you!
15:21 It is ‘built to keep you moving’.
15:23 We can confirm Thorsten did just say ‘internet of things’.
15:23 Thorsten’s thanking the QNX guys, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
15:26 RIM is killing the RIM name. RIM is now BlackBerry, making the BlackBerry. Finally they are making sense.
https://twitter.com/reckless/status/296640579809452032 https://twitter.com/jwherrman/status/29664072226479718415:28 BlackBerry’s new stock symbols are BBRY and BB.
15:29 NEW PHONES. Z10 and Q10.
15:29 The Z10 has a 356ppi 1280 x 768 4.2″ screen with a textured surface for comfort.
15:31 The Q10 has a physical keyboard. That’s literally it.
15:32 It does, however, have a glass weave cover. Nobody knows what that is, but it sounds weavy.
15:34 Some guy called Vivek is showing off the Flow multitasking and Peek notifications while watching a video of a German car.
15:37 Vivek and Thorsten are making vacation jokes in the Hub (the one with the notifications).
15:38 BB10 can link contacts together automagically, just like every other platform in the world.
15:38 Thorsten is literally clapping louder than the entire audience.
15:40 The new prediction-heavy keyboard looks cool, and is modelled on the BB QWERTY.
15:41 The default email signature seems to be “Sent from my new BlackBerry Z10”. UGH. I WILL NOT READ YOUR EMAILS WITH THAT KIND OF ADVERNATURE.
15:43 Balance lets you have work and personal profiles. Thorsten’s talking about the boring business security stuff.
15:56 We’re back! WordPress decided to do some server maintenance. Here’s what we missed.
https://twitter.com/Xavdog/status/29664685873287577615:56 And camera stuff, new third party apps (70k total) and Story Maker. STORIES.
15:58 The review embargo has been lifted. Here’s Joshua Topolsky’s.
16:02 Over 1k top apps are on BB10. Massive punch aimed at Microsoft.
16:03 There’s Rdio, SoundHound, EA, social stuff and other stuff, but no sign of Spotify. Dealbreaker for many.
https://twitter.com/jesusdiaz/status/29664967541352038516:06 You can also get movies, TV and music from BlackBerry World.
16:07 Insert generically intensely soundtracked content advertising video here.
16:08 All four US carriers are getting these. Insert Thorsten clap.
16:09 The Z10 is available tomorrow in the UK in basically every store. I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow.
16:10 Chemistry, that is. Might find the phone after.
16:10 Another big announcement from Thorsten is impending!
16:11 “We’ve created a new positiion at BlackBerry. A Global Creative Director!
16:12 It’s Alicia Keys.
https://twitter.com/LaughingStoic/status/29665215499798937616:15 Thorsten Heins is officially freakishly tall. Either that or all his employees are diminutive.
16:16 Alicia wants to “bridge the gap between the work phone and the play phone”.
16:17 Her job is to persuade Neil Gaiman to use BB10. There’s a video on it.
https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/29665301550559232116:20 It seems Alicia is starting in the office on Monday. Nice few days off.
16:20 Thorsten’s wrapping things up, so I will too. Thanks for joining us!
16:21 The press get a Q&A session, but I get to go and eat some crisps now. I’ll be getting some hands-on time tomorrow.
16:21 See you next time!

Microsoft Windows 8 launch liveblog
As Microsoft prepares to unleash Windows 8 upon the world tomorrow, a number of launch events are scheduled around the world, but the largest of them all takes place in New York this afternoon. We’re expecting to hear news of Surface and Windows, while numerous new high-profile applications for the Windows Store are likely to be unveiled. For all the news as it happens, join us right here for all the news as it happens.
All times are in BST
This event is now finished
15:30 Let’s do this.
15:40 While we wait for things to kick off, why not watch our Windows 8 overview?
16:08 Just a few minutes to go now…
16:09 Plenty of time to get some beef Hula Hoops.
16:16 We should be live now. If you want to watch along with us then the kind folks at Microsoft have provided a stream.
16:19 Starting with a video: The World Is Ready.
16:21 Steven Sinofsky is up, talking about building on the success of Windows 7.
16:22 They’ve sold over 670,000,000 licenses.
16:23 2PB of data added to SkyDrive every month.
16:24 Now talking about the advances in technology since Windows 95 came out.
16:25 Windows 8 is reimagined for the next billion users.
16:26 Windows 8 will be available at 12:01am tomorrow in every time zone.
16:27 8 was built on the foundations of 7.
16:28 Cold boots on new PCs in 10 seconds.
16:29 1,240,000 hours of testing in 190 countries.
16:30 Designed for touch and to be alive with the activity that matters most.
16:31 1,000 devices have already been certified for Windows 8.
16:32 There will be new Ultrabooks today, with some sporting touch screens.
16:33 Moving on to the Windows Store, officially opening today.
16:34 Hundreds of new apps every day, with the rate increasing each day.
16:35 231 markets for the store. Largest app selection at opening of any app store.
16:36 Now we have Windows Retweet RT, featuring Office 2013.
16:37 Windows RT currently supports over 420,000,000 peripherals, including mice, keyboards and printers.
16:38 Now there’s an advert featuring Best Coast and guitars.
16:39 Mike Angiulo and Julie Larson-Green on stage to demonstrate.
16:41 They’re just taking a look at the core. I think we did that better, but they’re not doing too badly.
16:44 The desktop is now even better. Run it side by side with Store apps.
16:45 Now talking about SkyDrive and Windows Phone.
16:47 They’re showing off the HTC 8X, a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 (with stylus!) and an Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook.
16:49 Touch notebooks start at just $499/£400.
16:51 “So many apps.”
16:52 Showing off Hulu with snapped email. Into the Wikipedia app (via Store) with the video still playing. Search is universal.
16:53 Julie’s using Urbanspoon now. Sharing is easy, and now exploring NY with Bing Travel.
16:55 Jetpack Joyride is available on Windows 8. Goodbye productivity.
16:56 Now they have the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, Dell XPS tablet and Samsung Ativ Tab.
16:57 Swapping now to the Asus Vivo Tab RT and Microsoft’s own Surface which gets a rapturous applause.
16:59 Ballmer alert.
17:00 He’s looking intense and talking about the benefits of a Microsoft account.
17:01 Biggest Windows ever with ARM and tablets included.
17:05 New Office “works great with a stylus”.
17:06 Great support from media outlets for apps. IE10 sites can be pinned.
17:07 MSN is the first site to be designed for Windows 8 and IE10.
17:08 SkyDrive is great for documents, while Outlook and the new Skype app are great for communication.
17:09 Rich entertainment experience with the Xbox brand, including free streaming music.
17:10 “Windows uniquely gives [businesses] the tools they need.”
17:11 Similarities to Windows Phone are positive – with live tiles, Microsoft Accounts and SkyDrive. More on that on Monday.
17:11 He said developers. Be warned.
17:12 Ballmer on 670,000,000 Windows 7 PCs: “That’s a very large number, even in the world of very large numbers.”
17:13 “Windows 8 PCs really are the best PCs ever.”
17:14 “Windows 8 brings together the best of worlds: PC and tablet; work and play.”
17:15 And that’s a wrap.
17:15 A whole load of uniformed people went on stage, music started playing and the lights dimmed. I can’t be the only one that was scared of a dance there.
17:15 And that’s all folks! We’ll be back on Monday for the Windows Phone and Android events!
17:16 Thanks for joining us!

HTC Windows Phone 8 event liveblog: 8X and 8S unveiled as Microsoft’s Windows Phone flagships
September’s been a pretty crazy month of announcements, and now HTC are trying to impress us with their showing in New York. New Windows Phone 8 devices are expected, although an updated One X is also rumoured. Whatever happens, we’ll bring you the latest news here!
Continue reading →

Motorola set to unveil Droid Razr HD at New York event: Stream it live at 2PM EDT/6PM GMT/7PM BST/8PM CEST
In what is supposedly the day’s main event, Motorola and Verizon have a big announcement planned. We expect to see the Droid Razr HD tonight, but Motorola’s stream page promises a few surprises. If you want to see things happen, tune in below at 2PM EDT/6PM GMT/7PM BST/8PM CEST or whatever time it will be for you. Can the Google subsidiary live up to their showstopping promises?
Via The Verge Forums

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop talks Lumia and Windows Phone
At Nokia’s Lumia unveil in New York today, The Verge got an interview with their CEO Stephen Elop. In the video below, Josh Topolsky probes Elop regarding their launch strategy for the 920 and 820, how Lumia 900 owners should feel after being told that their devices were obsolete and would not get Windows Phone 8 just months after launch and whether the PureView branding is being diluted with the 8.7MP sensor in the 920, compared to the 41MP 808 that pioneered the branding. Elop’s responses in the interview are intriguing, and you can watch the video below.
Source The Verge

iPad 3 rumours suggest the obvious
Rumours are abound that Apple have begun to produce the next iPad, imaginatively named the iPad 3. Bloomberg are saying that 3 knowledgeable people claim that the device will come with a quad-core A6 processor, a high definition ‘Retina Display’ and support for LTE. This is all set to hit stores in March or April and, from the award-winning iPad 2, this stuff just seems like a natural progression for Apple. The company are set to hold an education event in New York next week, where textbooks for iPads are expected. A cheaper ePad has been speculated by some forum posters on The Verge and none of this stuff sounds too far-fetched to me. We will find out what Tim Cook has up his sleeve in due course, but no Apple launch would be complete without crazy speculation, would it?