Banks Turn Phone Into New Automated Teller

Fathers, lovers, etc. lost in omnipresent gratification of data

(NEWSER) - Once upon a time, a professor says, we “put up” with the piecemeal flow of information “because we had to,” but now that the world is at our fingertips, it’s hard to resist. Just ask the dad who let a bathtub holding his daughter overflow because he was playing chess on his iPhone. “Dude, this is not appropriate,” he recounts his interior monologue. He then entered a move with one hand and turned off the water with the other. More»

(NEWSER) - For BlackBerry users, the lure of the iPhone can be hard to resist, despite the Apple device's lack of a keyboard and AT&T-only service policy. The Wall Street Journal followed five BlackBerry users who switched to the iPhone and charted the highs and lows: All of them said they adjusted quickly to typing on the screen, though some said they were typing slower. Several complained about the iPhone's inferior battery life, and others wished they still had BlackBerry's IM service. More»

Maker RIM will instead focus on business customers

(AP) - Struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said today it will cede most consumer markets after failing to compete with flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. Instead, RIM said it will return to its roots and focus on business customers, many of whom prefer BlackBerrys for their security. RIM has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years, and RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said a turnaround required "substantial change." More»

The Bold 9900: 'Does Anybody Care'?

(NEWSER) - There’s a new BlackBerry on the market, but the “the question is: Does anybody care?” Apple and Google dominate the market, and things are “not looking good” for Research in Motion, which just laid off 2,000 people, writes David Pogue in the New York Times . That aside, how’s the new Bold 9900? “Gorgeous,” and the thinnest BlackBerry yet, with a “comfortable” keyboard and a “beautiful, responsive touch screen.” It’s a great phone—yet it’s not enough to compete with iPhone or Android. More»

Changes follow 12% drop in revenue

(NEWSER) - Research In Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry phones and tablets, is deleting about 2,000 names from its employee email list. The company announced it will cut the jobs—about 11% of its workforce—and reorganize its executives in order to better compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Droid, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»