| BlackBerry publishes open letter, says BBM for Android to launch within days Oct 15th 2013, 02:54, by Juan Carlos Torres No one can deny that BlackBerry is in hot water. That is, no one except BlackBerry itself. In an open letter to customers and partners published in 30 news outlets in 9 countries, the Canada-based company is basically coming out to say that it’s fine and financially stable. 
BlackBerry admits that it has been the subject of many headlines recently, most, if not at all, quite unflattering. Sales of its new BlackBerry 10 devices have performed quite poorly. Its BlackBerry Messenger app for Android and iOS has been delayed almost indefinitely. Rumors abound regarding the company’s plans to sell itself or parts of itself. Despite all these, BlackBerry is claiming that it is doing just fine. In order to dispel what it calls “noise and confusion”, BlackBerry put out a letter reassuring its remaining believers and fans, not to mention investors, that everything is alright and that the company is here to stay. Despite having to lay off a third of its workforce, it claims it has substantial cash in its balance sheet and no debt. Furthermore, BlackBerry has many strong businesses, ranging from security to device management to mobile messaging platform, with around 6 million Android and iPhone users eagerly awaiting the BBM app. On that note, BlackBerry says that the app, which was delayed because of, according to the company, the huge popularity of the service and the leakage of a pre-release version, will be launching in “within days”. Whether those days range in single, double, or triple digits is still left to be seen. The question now is whether it will still matter at all. SOURCE: Reuters |  | Marvel announces two games coming soon to Android Oct 15th 2013, 02:24, by Juan Carlos Torres It will be gaming season soon and Marvel won’t be missing out on the chance to expand its presence in the fast-growing mobile gaming market. At the New York Comic Convention, the comics publisher announced two games that will soon be making an appearance on Android. 
People will probably be more familiar with Marvel: Avengers Alliance, a turn-based social network game that has been quite popular on Facebook. The game will soon be updated to incorporate themes and characters from the upcoming “Thor: The Dark World” film. But probably of more interest is the announcement that the game will finally be heading towards Android next month. Previously, the mobile version of the game has only been available on iOS. 
Marvel has also announced a relatively new title called “Marvel Run Jump Smash!” The game is basically a side-scrolling runner that should be familiar to many Android gamers. The game, which according to Marvel is quite a hit in Korea, stars popular Marvel characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Black Widow, with more to come. Hit the trailer below to watch your favorite Avengers in all their running and tumbling and cutesy glory. Marvel: Avengers Alliance is scheduled to hit Google Play Store on November 21 and will probably be available for free just like the iOS versions. There is, however, no set date for the launch of Marvel Run Jump Smash! but it should probably happen around the same time. SOURCE: Marvel (1), (2) | | Google Mobile Meter rumored to give rewards for using mobile tracking app Oct 15th 2013, 01:50, by Juan Carlos Torres It is no secret that Google wants to be the world’s repository of knowledge and, for whatever reason, apparently that will soon include our mobile usage data. But worry not as Google is rumored to have rewards in store for those who opt to do so with an upcoming “Mobile Meter” app. 
The details are still rather vague at this point, but the one thing that’s sure is that Google wants to monitor the mobile behaviors of users. And not just Android users but iOS users as well. As expected, Google refused to comment on speculation and rumors. And if this rumor pans out, it might not be something Google would want to shout out to the whole world, given the possible ramifications of such a program. The program is, fortunately, totally optional. And, according to the tip, the data collected will be anonymous. But given Google’s not so stellar track record of keeping things private and anonymous, it doesn’t really spark much confidence. And it’s not like Google isn’t already collecting data via its other apps and services, or, quite sneakily, in some Android settings. So this new Mobile Meter app makes one wonder what kind of data Google is actually looking for. Of course, the other big question in our minds is what kind of rewards they have in mind. The compensation should at least be substantial, considering how much of your private life you are potentially handing over to Google, and to whoever happens to get their hands on that data by other means. VIA: Engadget | |
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