Dolby sues RIM and tries to halt BlackBerry and PlayBook sales

Dolby announced on Wednesday that it has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Waterloo, Canada-based Research In Motion in the U.S. and in Germany. The suit seeks the recovery of financial damages resulting from RIM’s infringing products, and it also looks to halt sales of multiple BlackBerry devices. The patents in question cover “highly efficient digital audio compression technologies” that minimize storage space occupied by high quality audio files. Dolby claims that RIM uses these technologies in its BlackBerry smartphones and its PlayBook tablet, but it does not pay Dolby licensing fees as all other major manufacturers do. “Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby’s technology,” Dolby EVP and general counsel Andy Sherman said in a statement. “We have a duty to protect our intellectual property.”

Continue reading via BGR

A quick look at the BlackBerry Torch 2

We've already seen the BlackBerry Torch 2 in photos courtesy of Mr. Blurrycam, but a little birdie from Negri Electronics was kind enough to send over a pre-release device for us to get under our own glass for a little photo shoot. Though it has a virtually identical form factor to the original, the Torch 2 bumps the specs in almost every department from the camera to the RAM. Oh, and it's running the next-gen BB OS 7 -- which is really OS 6.1, and still lacks any QNX DNA. Read on past the break for a full preview of this yet-to-be-announced slider, and some glorious HD video if the beautious shots aren't enough to whet your BBM-hungry appetites.

Read the full preview over at Engadget

Whats your favorite mobile game?

I’m sure you’ve been in this situation: the class lecture seems to be dragging on forever while the monotonous droning of your professor is wearing thin on your patience. Or you're in meeting number three of a five meeting day, and your boss has used the word "synergy" 15 times already. Or your pastor is embarking upon a full exploration of the old testament. And as eager as you are to soak in the mind-numbing academic babble/workspace confab/religious edification, the siren call of your cellphone is far too appealing to ignore. You’ve got video games in there, after all! Glorious, wonderful, fun-packed games! So, unable to withstand the beckoning lure of digital entertainment, you discretely slip your headphones on beneath your hood, quickly dial down the brightness of your screen to avoid detection, and settle in for a pleasant distraction.

full article at G4

Sprint delays Blackberry PlayBook 4G launch

Yet another bit of bad news for BlackBerry PlayBook enthusiasts: The launch of the device on Sprint’s network may be delayed indefinitely.

A leaked internal Sprint memo sent out to the company’s many retail stores announces the delay of the PlayBook, with the official release date “to be communicated as soon as it is available.” First reported by BriefMobile, the memo gives no reason for the delay.

via Wired Gadget Lab

Microsoft got Nokia, are they now slowly going after BlackBerry? Microsoft and RIM announce partnership

Steve Ballmer made an appearance today at BlackBerry World 2011 and after briefly pimping Windows Phone live on stage, announced a partnership between Microsoft and RIM to integrate Bing into BlackBerry products. In addition to making Bing the default search and map provider for all BlackBerry devices going forward, the services will be added at the OS level instead of being bundled as a series of apps. This will provide features ranging from voice and location-aware search to panorama stitching. It also suggests that we'll likely see another iteration of the BlackBerry OS beyond version 7 -- based on QNX, perhaps? -- sometime before the holidays.

via Engadget

RIM announces the BlackBerry Bold (Touch) 9900 and 9930

We've seen it photographed, videotaped, and even, briefly, up on RIM's own website. Now it's up there to stay, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (aka the Bold Touch) have been made official as RIM kicks off BlackBerry World in Orlando. As expected, the phone packs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor that has only a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen with a 287dpi pixel density to worry about. On the back is a five megapixel camera and inside is 8GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion) and NFC circuitry. At 10.5mm it's RIM's thinnest handset yet, featuring a stainless steel circumference and a fiberglass back, while up front of course it makes room for a full QWERTY keyboard. The 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity to get its 4G on, while the 9930 is the world variant, adding dual-band CDMA and quad-band GSM to the mix, and both do 802.11a/b/g/n along with Bluetooth 2.1. Both, quite naturally, include the new BlackBerry 7 OS, including a faster browser and voice-activated search. Another picture and full specs are listed after the break, which will have to do you until this handset releases sometime in the summer, meaning this could be your next great beach accessory for those working vacations.

via Engadget

RIM introduces BlackBerry OS 7

Included in the company’s barrage of press releases this morning, Research In Motion officially announced BlackBerry 7. The new smartphone operating system — formerly known as BlackBerry 6.1 — brings HTML 5 and a new Just-In-Time (JIT) JavaScript engine to the browser, along with BlackBerry Balance support, enhanced universal search, and a new “Liquid Graphics” theme. BlackBerry 7 will debut on the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 — the company did not, however, mention if older hardware would be upgraded to the new code.

via BGR

TUJ says: Unfortunately for current BlackBerry users, your phones will not be eligible for an upgrade.

A review of the BlackBerry Playbook

The words "play" and "book" are a bit of an odd choice for RIM's latest attempt at consumer relevance, a tablet that, at its core, runs one of the most hardcore and industry-friendly operating systems known to man. The OS is QNX and the hardware is, of course, the BlackBerry PlayBook. It's an enterprise-friendly offering that's also out to conquer the consumer tablet ecosphere, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the BlackBerry handsets that have filled the pockets of corporate executives and BBM addicts around the globe.

Read the full review after the break.

via Engadget