Archive for September 25, 2015

It Seems That #DieselGate Is Evolving Quickly

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 25, 2015 by itnerd

The fallout from the Volkswagen diesel scandal appears to be spawning some new developments:

Expect to see more developments on this story because it is far from over. Finally, a quick reminder. If you want a more detailed overview of dieselgate, click here.

BlackBerry’s Earnings Disappoint…. Shares Nosedive… & An Android Phone Is Coming

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 25, 2015 by itnerd

Today is not a good day for BlackBerry. They posted [Warning: PDF] their their Q2 numbers and they don’t look good. Here’s the highlights, or low lights as the case may be:

  • They reported $51-million (U.S.) of net income for the three months ended Aug. 29. That’s better than the net loss of $207-million a year ago. But it fell short of adjusted expectations with a posted loss of $66-million or 13 cents per share. The street was expecting 9 cents per share.
  • Revenue dropped 46 per cent to $490-million. That is well below analyst estimates of $611-million.

The net result is that BlackBerry shares were down almost 5% in pre-market trading, but have recovered since. Maybe the news of an Android powered smartphone is helping them. Called the BlackBerry Priv, its first BlackBerry smartphone that will be able to run Android as well as BlackBerry 10:

Priv will be the solution for smartphone users who are learning daily of the lack of privacy they have on their current devices. Priv will be the answer for former BlackBerry users who miss the physical keyboard but needed apps. And, we’re responding to current – and prospective – BlackBerry users who need it all: choice, innovation, security, privacy and productivity.

What’s unique about our Android phone is that we are collaborating with Google to bring the best of BlackBerry security and productivity to the Android ecosystem.

It should be interesting to see if this helps or hurts BlackBerry as I expect that there are some BlackBerry loyalists who are having a heart attack because of this news.

iPhone 6S And 6S Plus Sales Begin World Wide

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 25, 2015 by itnerd

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launch day has officially arrived on planet Earth and many people are in line for Apple’s newest iDevice as evidenced by these Tweets. Plus there’s the annual iPhone drop test that takes place every time Apple puts out a new iDevice:

Why people would stand in line, pay all that money for an iPhone and drop it is beyond me.

Another tradition that happens on this day is Canadian carriers e-mailing me with their launch day details. This year, Telus was first in line with this:

“The day has finally arrived! The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the most advanced iPhones ever, are now available for purchase online at telus.com/iPhone and in stores across Canada. iPhone 6s 16GB will be available starting at $400 and iPhone 6s Plus 16GB will be available starting at $530, both on a two-year TELUS Your Choice plan. The iPad mini 4 16GB is also available at TELUS today, starting at $100 and the iPad mini 4 64GB will be available starting at $210, both on a two-year TELUS Easy Tablet offer.  iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s will also be available. For additional product and pricing details, visit telus.com/iPhone or telus.com/iPad.

Value-added perks make TELUS the best national carrier for the iPhone. TELUS is the only carrier to offer AppleCare+ with flexible monthly payment options which extends coverage from the original purchase date to two years – including coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage. We also have something for customers who want to take their iOS skills to the next level: our unique Learning Centre Specialists are ready to teach new TELUS iPhone and iPad owners how to get the most out of their shiny new devices through free and customized one-on-one training sessions.”

I’ll update this story with the details that other carriers send me.

So, are you lusting for a new iPhone? Or are you sitting this out. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.