Iphone, Blackberry | featured news

So many consumers are opting to buy older iPhone models that some analysts wonder whether Apple has lost its ability to create new versions that dazzle. How strange to think that Vicki Macchiavello's decision to buy an iPhone after years of using a BlackBerry could be bad news for Apple.

With the BlackBerry Z10 poised to make its U.S. debut later this week, it's comments from CEO Thorston Heins about the iPhone that have generated buzz. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Heins discussed the importance of staying on top of smartphone advancements, citing Apple as an example.

The phone once coveted by the elite and the powerful is becoming an object of ridicule as Androids and iPhones corner the smartphone market.

Some 84 percent of iPhone users said they would pick iPhone also when they replace their cellphone, while 60 percent of those using Android smartphones said they would stick with phones using the same software, says a research firm.

Repairs to Android phones cost wireless operators billions, revealing a potential downside to the rapid expansion of Google's mobile operating system. A study by wireless services firm Wireless Dat Service, or WDS, found hardware failures are more common on Android devices than on Apple's iPhone or Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled a new operating system Tuesday in hopes of grabbing some attention away from the iPhone and Android phones.

The BlackBerry has left a bitter taste in the mouths of its users. Trying to make amends for massive outages last week, Research In Motion on Monday promised BlackBerry users free premium apps and a month of technical support. But the apology is unlikely to placate miffed customers, many of whom are considering whether to part with the tarnished brand in favor of more popular devices such as Apple's newest iPhone.

Your iPhone has a feature called auto-correct and that's fine, dandy and useful — except when it results in humiliation and canceled dates.

Police said they helped Apple investigators search a man's home here recently. They were reportedly looking for a prototype of the next iPhone that an Apple employee left in a bar in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood, according to CNET. Apple had contacted the police claiming the prototype is invaluable, the report says.

Verizon and Intuit announced Thursday that they are teaming up to introduce a mobile payment system that will let customers swipe their credit cards with their smartphones. Verizon will sell the Intuit Reader smartphone accessory in its retail stores. The Reader plugs into the audio jack of most Android phones, BlackBerrys, the iPhone and the iPad.
The product rollout is intended to make it easy for small-business owners and others to process mobile payments, likely boosting sales of smartphones.