PDA SmartphonesLatest PDA Smartphones best deals and news updated hourly

RIM has moved to quash claims it’s exiting the consumer smartphone business following comments from its CEO on a dismal earnings call.

Newly-anointed CEO Thorsten Heins claimed the company would focus on the business sector following its $125 million (£78 million) loss, but RIM has told TechRadar that this is only part of the story.

Patrick Spence, SVP and MD of global sales and regional marketing for RIM, said:

"The claim that RIM has said it will withdraw from the consumer market is wholly inaccurate.

RIM giving out BB 10 devices in May
2,000 prototype handsets to be distributed at BlackBerry World

"Whilst we announced plans to re-focus our efforts on our core strengths, and on our enterprise customer base, we were very explicit that we will continue to build on our strengths to go after targeted consumer segments.

"We listed BBM, as well as the security and manageability of our platform, amongst these strengths."

Twitter back up

Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations for RIM, backed up the comments on Twitter, stating: "@BlackBerry remarks were wrongly interpreted. We are not leaving the consumer market."

RIM also told TechRadar that the company planned to boost sales of its current crop of BlackBerry 7 smartphones by ‘incentivising’ sales of the range – which we hope means a drop in some of the eye-watering contract prices.

The firm stated it has new BB7 phones still on course to launch in 2012, and was still looking to bring a new wave of BlackBerry love to the market through its overhauled BlackBerry 10 operating system, although it did not give details on when the range would be launching.

View more at TechRadar: All latest Mobile phones news feeds

• >> Use stylus pen to prevent scratches on the screen of your mobile & Tablet.
• >> Sensitive tip of the stylus pen gives you smooth navigation.
• >> Keep your mobile & Tablet free from fingerprints on the screen.
• >> Easy to use for ladies having long or artificial nails.
• >> Specially designed for All touch screen mobiles & Tablets.

Product Description
Features: >> Use stylus pen to prevent scratches on the screen of your mobile & Tablet. >> Sensitive tip of the stylus pen gives you smooth navigation. >> Keep your mobile & Tablet free from fingerprints on the screen. >> Easy to use for ladies having long or artificial nails. >> Specially designed for All touch screen mobiles & Tablets. >> Available in different colours. >> 6 Months Warranty >> Universally Compatible? iPad? Xoom? ICONIA? Flyer? PlayBook? Compatible… More >>

• Remote control distance: Up to 10m
• Scissor-Switch keyboard provides you with very comfortable and pleasing typing experience
• Short-cut keys is especially designed for Apple iPad 1/2
• Ultra-slim design with 78 keys
• Ultra-slim design with 78 keys Noiseless design

Product Description
This Ultra-Slim Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard is especially designed for iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, iPod Touch, PS3, PC, Mac, Symbian & Windows Mobile Phone…… More >>

Ultra thin Slim Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Keyboard Keypad for iPad 16GB 32GB WiFi, iPhone 4 4G 3G 3Gs Sony PS3 Smart Phones PC & Mac Laptop Desktop Netbook HTC Nokia Sony Ericsson Motorola Samsung LG Blackberry Mobile Phones

• Firmly stick on your windshield or clipped to keep your device secure and on hand, comes with foam grip to prevent your device from scratches.
• You can use this holder without removing your Mobile’s cover/skin. Adjustable arm for best viewing angle. Joint design for different angles adjustment.
• This holder can easily be installed on windscreen without requiring any tool.
• Convenient, reliable and easy to use. This holder can held this device plus any other device within the width of 45mm to 105mm.
• Comes with Free Car Charger, 100% Fit, no phone included.

Product Description
This very easy to install suction cup car mount holder keeps your device safe and secure from jerks and bumps and provides complete safety to your phone from sudden breaks or when the car turns at steep corners. Its holder provides a more secure position and its joint design allow you to adjust your device to different angles for very pure driving convenience. Foam grip provides extra security to your device and prevent it from scratches. The side button gives you… More >>

Mobilizers: 2 in 1 In Car Windscreen Suction Mount Holder Cradle With 360 Degree Rotation + Car Charger Kit For For All New Models Including Samsung Galaxy 3 Apollo i5800, Galaxy Ace S5830, Galaxy Ace 2, Galaxy Europa i5500, Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S I9000, Galaxy S2 II I9100, Galaxy Mini S5570, Galaxy Note I9220, Galaxy Portal i5700, i5800, i8700, Galaxy W, Nexus S I9020, I9023, Omnia 7 Windows, S5230, S5233, S8500 Wave, S8530 Wave II, S8600 Wave III

Do you know what the number one cause of business failure is? Success.

For every firm that goes to the wall because it simply couldn’t bring in enough cash, there’s another firm that got really big and then blew it.

Firms blow it in several ways. Some of them get stuck in a rut, so convinced that their way is the right way, the true way and the only way that they don’t spot fitter, faster competitors until it’s too late.

More opinion
Get more opinion from TechRadar

Others overstretch themselves, forgetting what they’re good at and chasing market sectors far beyond their core skills. And others release really crappy products.

RIM, it’s safe to say, has done all three.

RIM’s denying that it’s pulling out of the consumer market, but there’s no doubt that its business isn’t exactly having a purple patch just now. It’s losing enormous amounts of money, and many of its products are duds.

So what caused the nosedive, and can RIM pull out of it?

Where have all the good times gone?

RIM’s story is one of two parts. There’s the pre-iPhone bit, and there’s the post-iPhone bit. The pre-iPhone bit was the golden age, with everybody in a suit toting a BlackBerry so they could keep in touch with their all-important emails.

I had one, and it was brilliant: at the time, there wasn’t a better phone for email addicts.

The problem was that RIM did what many innovators do. It stopped innovating. That wasn’t a problem initially, but then Steve Jobs decided that Apple could do a better job.

The iPhone, as we all know, was a huge success – but when it was launched, RIM executives genuinely believed that Apple was playing an elaborate joke. It’s not possible to build a phone that good, they thought, and spent the next couple of years proving it by making phones that weren’t as good as iPhones.

Meanwhile Apple made the iPhone more and more attractive to businesses, chipping away at RIM’s core customer base. RIM’s response?

Make a crappier iPad that doesn’t work properly without being paired with a BlackBerry phone. That worked really well, and helped turn RIM’s financials into the black comedy they’ve become.

According to new boss Thorsten Heins, "We believe that BlackBerry cannot succeed if we tried to be everybody’s darling and all things to all people."

Unfortunately trying to be all things to all people has been RIM’s exact strategy for more than five years. I hope the promises of a renewed focus on business customers aren’t just PR waffle, because focus is exactly what BlackBerry needs if it’s to avoid becoming a footnote in tech history.

The problems aren’t insurmountable. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple the firm was a basket case, but the combination of a simplified product range and really, really good products made Apple what it is today. That’s one Apple thing RIM really ought to copy.

View more at TechRadar: All latest Mobile phones news feeds

• The Sony MDR-EX50LP earphones have a 9mm neodymium magnet and high-density acoustic resistance to deliver clear, powerful sound with deep bass.Theseheadphones include a 1.2-metre cable with a cord slider to give you more freedom of movement.  These super
• 3g) from Sony come with 3 ear buds for optimal comfort and a perfect fit
• 12 month UK manufacturer’s warranty included

Product Description
Sony MDREX50LPB in ear deepbase blk MDREX50LPBAE Headsets Microphones Headphones Microphones… More >>

Sony MDREX50LPB Mid-range In-ear Headphones with Deep Bass – Black

• Remote control distance: Up to 10m
• Scissor-Switch keyboard provides you with very comfortable and pleasing typing experience
• Short-cut keys is especially designed for Apple iPad 1/2
• Ultra-slim design with 78 keys
• Ultra-slim design with 78 keys Noiseless design

Product Description
This Ultra-Slim Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard is especially designed for iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, iPod Touch, PS3, PC, Mac, Symbian & Windows Mobile Phone…… More >>

Ultra thin Slim Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Keyboard Keypad for iPad 16GB 32GB WiFi, iPhone 4 4G 3G 3Gs Sony PS3 Smart Phones PC & Mac Laptop Desktop Netbook HTC Nokia Sony Ericsson Motorola Samsung LG Blackberry Mobile Phones

Sony XPERIA S Sim Free Mobile Phone
by Sony Ericsson
(6)

Buy new: £459.99 £386.00
13 used & new from £359.99

(Visit the Bestsellers in SIM-free Mobile Phones & Smartphones list for authoritative information on this product’s current rank.)

View more at Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Electronics > Phones > Mobile Phones & Communication > SIM-free Mobile Phones & Smartphones

• CPU : All Winner A10 – 1.2GHz / GPU: Mali 400 MHz dedicated Graphics Processor
• WORKS WITH SKYPE VIDEO CALLING
• Genuine UK Android Market with hundreds of thousands of apps / games etc
• Super Clear and responsive 5 point touch capacitive screen – no stylus required
• Compatible with latest Flash Player and BBC iPlayer etc

Product Description
The latest generation android tablets are here showing an astonishing array of features built-in. Our M009S Capacitive tablet comes with a 7″ screen – that most popular of sizes, offering a good balance between desktop space and portability.
The capacitive touchscreen offers smooth performance coupled with the ability to “pinch to zoom”. No need for a stylus here – finger touch is preferred.
The new, A10 processor offers 1.2GHz frequency coupled with a 400MHz ded… More >>

NATPC M009S 8GB Capacitive Android 4.0 , 7″ , 1.6 GHz Super Slim Android Tablet PC with Responsive Capacitive Screen – Flash Player 11.1 – Compatible with BBC iPlayer / Youtube / Amazon Kindle / Facebook – HD 2160P – now with 8GB Storage and SKYPE VIDEO calling

Have you ever tried to save money and decided to start making your own lunches rather than buying the same old processed rubbish? 7DiM has, and they are, for want of a better word, lush.

Mobile phones and tablets don’t eat though (imagine if they did OMGTHATWOULDBESTUPID!) – yet there are thousands of Galaxy S2 owners desperate to cram an Ice Cream Sandwich down the virtual gullet of their prized Android device.

Samsung’s been hard at work to bring the latest version of Android to its flagship device (called Ice Cream Sandwich, if you’re confused) and just a few weeks back confirmed that it would be chucking it out to all and sundry week commencing March 19.

That date came and went, and the SIM free Samsung owners are still waiting. But those with a Galaxy S2 courtesy of O2 or Three aren’t – they’ve already got their update.

So, to try and put this simply: Samsung creates update. Update sent to networks to fashion properly. Networks push out update. Samsung still hasn’t. Confusing.

The world’s first elephant

We don’t like to target a specific brand over and over again (although if you speak to some of our commenters, we’re obsessed with loving/hating Apple/Nokia/Android) but Samsung sent out a release this week that claimed it had a video of the ‘world’s first elephant using a Samsung Galaxy Note’.

To which we replied: "You’ve resurrected the world’s first elephant? Was it a bit hairy? How did you do this – genetic engineering? Reanimation? Cloning?

"Sorry, but this is a MUCH bigger story than the fact it could use a Galaxy Note. Although it does call into question whether the pachyderm lineage has become less advanced over time if the world’s first ever elephant could use electronics that didn’t even EXIST at that time."

We then put our mind-expanding thinking tablets into our eyes and ruminated… "Could this go even further back in time? Does this horse have a pulse? No? Can we still hit it?"

Our pictures should tell you the conclusion we reached.

Oh, and here’s the video if you’re that bothered:

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBrmaE82uY4

Black(Berry) and blue

We’re not usually ones for writing anything that even resembles news, but having been on both BBC 5Live and BBC News today *cough*alsoavailableforweddings*cough* we thought we should mention the fact RIM accidentally smashed a big hole in its money store and forgot to plug it – leading to a dip in profits of nearly $1 billion.

So it seems likely the smartphone manufacturer will return to the business sector, where it made its name as the businessman’s companion that didn’t have to be hired as a secretary so the wife wouldn’t find out.

We think RIM has missed a trick here. Branch out, you little Canadian tinker – make toilets or cat pyjamas or follicle bleaching kits – just don’t get into bed with the Cupertino brand. We couldn’t stand the fruity puns.

PICTURE

Quite apt, don’t you think? We’re taking this to mean McDonald’s is going to mount a hostile takeover of the brand and start offering the McStorm 9950 in the near future.

You can probably think of a better caption-based pun. Tweet us on @TR_Phones and @TR_tablets and we can take your ideas and pretend we wrote them.

View more at TechRadar: All latest Mobile phones news feeds