Research In Motion (RIMM) has had an incredibly difficult time getting QNX-based devices to work with the company’s existing systems. The reason the BlackBerry PlayBook shipped without email and BlackBerry Messenger, among the other missing items, is because a QNX device won’t work on the company’s NOC like the older java-based devices. While email finally came to the PlayBook, the email app is a local client that doesn’t use RIM’s BIS or BES back-end. It will sync with an Exchange server directly and download mail from Gmail, but it is all done on the device and not through RIM’s famous back-end network like every BlackBerry before it. This will continue with BlackBerry 10, as we have reported in the past. More →
BGR exclusively reported early information pertaining to one of Sony’s biggest TV lineups in history — the XBR6, XBR7, and XBR8 — and now, a source close to Sony’s (SNY) manufacturing partners has given us details surrounding what could potentially be a category-changing television set from the Japanese vendor. According to our source, Sony is currently planning to introduce a flagship XBR LED TV that will be as large as 80-inches. While the size alone would be a big deal — it will be the largest XBR TV Sony has ever offered — we have been told that the real standout feature will be the display’s 4K resolution. The estimated retail price of Sony’s 80-inch XBR? Our source says it will be in the ballpark of $30,000, and we could see an introduction as soon as this coming holiday season. We’ll have more on Sony’s 4K plans soon.
According to a trusted AT&T (T) source, the carrier is currently planning to launch Apple’s (AAPL) next-generation iPhone during the third or fourth week of September, with an all-hands-on-deck policy in place for employees that will extend through to the middle of October. A second AT&T source confirms that a large training event for regional employees has been rescheduled from the first week of October due to a conflict with a “huge announcement.” Apple is expected to introduce the “iPhone 5″ alongside other new iOS devices at a press conference on September 12th.
BGR has confirmed with a trusted source that the rumored next round of layoffs that Research In Motion (RIMM) has been planning will indeed commence next week. Our source has informed us that RIM will reduce its workforce by 3,000 employees over the next couple of weeks, and that “people are terrified” at RIM because they don’t know who will be affected. Workers have been told that aside from employees working on BlackBerry 10, “no department is out of bounds” for this latest round of reductions. Our source went on to say that “employees packing their desks in anticipation” of next week. RIM provided BGR with the following statement:
UPDATE: RIM clarified that any layoffs that take place will be part of the 5,000 jobs RIM said it will eliminate by the end of the year. More →
IPhone activations at AT&T (T) grew by just 3% in the second quarter this year, and many industry watchers pointed to the flood of next-generation iPhone rumors as a likely culprit for the slowed growth. BGR has exclusively learned that this is not entirely the case, however, and the stalled iPhone sales at the nation’s No.2 wireless carrier may in fact be by design.
Updated with official statement from AT&T after the last paragraph. More →
We’ve been told by a source close to Samsung (005930) that the company will indeed be introducing a follow-up to the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note II, during its press conference on August 15th. The display is said to be thinner and taller, allowing Samsung to stuff a 5.5-inch screen into a phone that can supposedly be held by humans and not just 7-foot tall Gorillas.
The Financial Times reported earlier this week that carriers in Europe were starting to “stockpile” nano-SIM cards in preparation for Apple’s (AAPL) upcoming iPhone release this fall. It’s been rumored that the new iPhone will feature an even smaller SIM card than what’s used now, and we can confirm that the new iPhone will feature these tiny SIM cards called nano-SIMs. Multiple carrier sources have exclusively told BGR that Apple is supplying nano-SIM adapters so its carrier partners can test how nano-SIMs work on their networks in standard test devices before they are widely deployed when the new iPhone is introduced. This includes AT&T. On Wednesday, BGR exclusively confirmed that Apple’s new iPhone will feature 4G LTE, 1GB of RAM and NFC. We’ve reached out to AT&T for a comment and we’ll update this when we hear back.
There are several reports suggesting that Apple (AAPL) has begun final production of its next-generation iPhone already, but we have learned from a trusted source that this isn’t quite true. Apple goes through multiple stages before a product is manufactured, and two of these include the “engineering verification test” stage and the “design verification test” phase. Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone is currently in the EVT3 stage, the third revision of the engineering test stage, and has not yet entered the DVT stage. For reference, production of past iPhones was as follows, according to our source: More →
Amazon is working on not one, but two new Kindle Fire tablets that will launch in the coming months. Earlier reports suggested that Amazon will announce a new addition to its Kindle Fire lineup late next month and while we cannot speak to the timing of Amazon’s upcoming announcements, BGR has confirmed that Amazon is indeed finally readying the launch of its 10-inch tablet. More →
We have heard from a source that Apple will be introducing a TV SDK at WWDC next week. This would enable third-party developers to create software for Apple’s TV products. BGR reported late last month that Apple has plans to demonstrate an all new TV operating system during its WWDC keynote next week. For more information, head to our WWDC 2012 article.
UPDATE: Apple did not introduce a TV SDK at WWDC this year, though we’re told “it’s coming.”
Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III, went up for preorder on a number of U.S. carriers (like, all of them), but it’s been tough to pin down an actual launch date. We have confirmed that Verizon Wireless will be making the Galaxy S III available on July 9th.
BGR has learned from a trusted source that Apple is planning to demonstrate a brand new version of the Apple TV operating system next week at WWDC. This new OS is said to be much more feature-complete than the current OS that runs on the Apple TV, and is apparently the one that Apple’s upcoming HDTV will run. Yes, that one.
