Bold move or suicidal jump? BlackBerry maker Research in Motion kicked off its global launch of new handsets on Wednesday by announcing the company is changing its name to match that of its once-iconic brand, a move that seemed to impress more people than the actual handsets it introduced. It remains to be seen if BlackBerry’s big bold move will be enough to get smartphone users back on its side, but clearly the company isn’t afraid to roll the dice and see where it takes them.
Research in Motion No More: Company Rebrands as BlackBerry
Yesterday was the big day for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, as the company finally launched its new devices powered by BlackBerry 10. To solidify the new platform’s commitment, CEO Thorsten Heins announced [1] that RIM is changing its name after nearly 30 years to match that of its once market-leading smartphone. “From this point forward, we are BlackBerry,†Heins announced. “One brand. One promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.†The company won’t start shipping its latest handsets until mid-March here in the U.S., by which time other countries, including our neighbors to the north in Canada, will have already tired of them.
Backblaze Mobile for iPhone Brings Cloud Access to Mac Files
Online backup service Backblaze announced [2] an upcoming new addition to its product lineup with Backblaze Mobile for iPhone. Available in “just a few short weeks,†the iOS app will allow Backblaze users to access, download and share files backed up from your Mac or Windows system with anyone. Best of all, Backblaze Mobile for iPhone is absolutely free. To be notified when the app hits the App Store, head over to the Backblaze Blog and sign up with your email address.
Apple Releases SMC Firmware Updates for MacBook Battery Issue
MacRumors is reporting [3] that Apple posted three different SMC Firmware Updates on Wednesday night â€" one each for the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Although the release notes don’t specify which models the updates are intended for, an intrepid forum member took a peek inside the files and found they’re meant for models released from mid-2010 through late 2011, so if you have anything newer or older, don’t be surprised if the update doesn’t work. According to Apple, the update “addresses a rare issue on some Apple notebooks where a battery that has accumulated more than 1000 charge cycles may unexpectedly shut down or stop functioning.â€
Twitter Introduces Larger Photos, Video Content to Web View
The Twitter Blog announced [4] a couple of changes to its web-based service on Wednesday aimed at improving media viewed on profiles and search results. Clicking photos in those places will now pull up an even larger version of the image than before, all without leaving the page. Media galleries also now include videos from Vine, YouTube, Vimeo and other partners whose videos appear in expanded tweets. While it’s nice that Twitter adds such functionality, how many of us are really using the web-based Twitter in the first place?
FxFactory Adds Bounce, Shatter Transitions from Nattress
Noise Industries is back with two new sets of FxFactory video transitions from partner Nattress, this time for Final Cut Pro 7 or X, Motion 4 or 5, Adobe After Effects CS5 or higher and Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. Bounce Transitions [5] is a set of four fun and bouncy transitions that use realistic motion algorithms for a natural bounce or spring movement. Shatter Transitions [6] is a package consisting on two plugins: Shake N Shatter and Shatter Basic, each of which create dynamic transitions that break apart outgoing video or bring together incoming video. As always, free trial versions of both plugin packages are available from the Nattress website and OS X Lion or OS X Mountain Lion is required to use them in FxFactory.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter [7]
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Other articles:
Links
- ^ CEO Thorsten Heins announced (blogs.blackberry.com)
- ^ Backblaze announced (blog.backblaze.com)
- ^ MacRumors is reporting (www.macrumors.com)
- ^ The Twitter Blog announced (blog.twitter.com)
- ^ Bounce Transitions (www.nattress.com)
- ^ Shatter Transitions (www.nattress.com)
- ^ J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ News (www.maclife.com)
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