• BlackBerry Messenger Coming to iPhone on April 26

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, iPhone, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Social Networks No Responses

    RIM was looking for a way to expand its BlackBerry Messenger platform to iOS and Android devices, with a release coming soon in the App Store. RIM apparently wasn’t happy about the hundreds of apps clearly inspired by BBM available for iPhones and iPads, and decided to develop a version of Messenger that doesn’t have all the features available to BlackBerry owners, but still allows iOS users to communicate with their friends and family. A compromise, that is, to have BlackBerry Messenger available on as many platforms as possible.

    A poster on MacRumors Forums now suggests BlackBerry Messenger for iOS may be launching in the App Store on April 26. At a “social media conference” in Toronto, RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie allegedly revealed that BBM and “other services” will come to the iPhone on April 26 through the App Store. Balsillie also confirmed that they plan to release an update “this summer” with a new notification system, which may or may not suggest RIM knows something about iOS 5 and the improved notifications Apple has been rumored to be working on. But, then again, it is unclear why would RIM know about such an important aspect of iOS and Balsillie’s statements might just be speculation on his side.

    Right now, we have heard that Android is definitely a go. But again, we’re not sure on timing, though our sources are confident that it will launch some time this year. RIM chose Android first because of the fact that it could develop and integrate something like this much easier with an open platform, but the plan is to build and deploy an iOS version at some point as well.

    So it is possible that in the next few days an Android version of BBM will be unveiled, with the iPhone app scheduled for a late April launch. The rumor hasn’t been confirmed by RIM, but chances are they are really looking for a way to rise among the competition in the App Store (made of apps like WhatsApp, Textie and Ping) by releasing an iOS counterpart of BBM, which counts millions of users worldwide.

  • Siri Virtual Intelligence to Play Major Part in iOS 5?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, iPhone, Rants & Raves, Rumors 1 Response

    With the news that Apple’s already addressed summer developer conference as a software-related show focused on Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5, TechCrunch chimed in with new purported details regarding the next major version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Author MG Siegler claims that WWDC will only see a preview of iOS 5 come June 6, with the final code slated for a Fall launch. Then he added:

    A year ago, Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant startup that had released a very cool iPhone app. The Siri team and technology are now said to be a big part of iOS 5. The use of Siri’s artificial intelligence and assistance technology is said to be deeply integrated into the OS for all the different services offered. And the team is now putting the finishing touches on the elements that will be demoed at WWDC, we hear. This tech may also be opened to developers for use in third-party apps — though that information isn’t quite as concrete.

  • Apple to Open Giant Apple Store in Jerusalem, Israel for ‘Symbolic Reasons’?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Rants & Raves, Rumors No Responses

    According to the Jerusalem Post Apple is looking to open a 5000 square-meter store in Jerusalem, Israel. The report claims this store will house the “Apple Digital Library.” Apple is yet to house an official store in Israel and the reason for the location being Jerusalem is for “symbolic reasons.”

    The directors of Apple in Israel recently toured the site and reportedly said they wanted to bring the country’s largest Apple store to Jerusalem for symbolic reasons. According to city planners, the area at the western entrance to the city will become the hi-tech economic center of Jerusalem due to the high-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv train and the light rail, both of which have stops there.

    How apple could manage to fit such a large store in such a small area which would make it among the world’s biggest?

  • iPhone 5 to Launch Early 2012? WWDC 2011 Will be Software Only?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, iPhone, Rants & Raves, Rumors 1 Response

    The iPhone 5 puzzle has received a few new pieces and they both point to the product launch not taking place at this year’s WWDC. Jim Dalrymple – usually accurate – from The Loop claims that no hardware will be unveiled at the World Wide Developers Conference: no iPhones, no iPads, no Macs. But how could Apple kill their annual summer iPhone launch?

    Apple’s apparent focus on software in its WWDC announcement backs up what my own sources are saying about the annual conference. That is, expect a software show in 2011, not a hardware event.

    As the guys at 9to5mac address the issue, Apple typically sticks to patterns such as new iPods every September, new iPhones in June, now new iPads in March, and major Mac upgrades around October. This year is already different. Based on Apple’s WWDC press release and rumors from last week, Apple won’t be holding their annual March-April iOS preview event. The WWDC invite clearly says Apple will preview the next version of iOS.

    Apple even introduced a new Verizon iPhone 4 in January of this year and it only launched last month (February). Apple is also expected to release a white version of the iPhone 4 next month. These two iPhone 4 upgrades seem to allow Apple to push back the launch of their next-generation handset. Afterall, how could they release updated iPhone 4s in February and April then a whole new device in June?

    If it’s not coming at WWDC when will it? The usually well-sourced Macotakara.jp claims that the iPhone 5 is yet to hit the full production stage and says that the iPhone 5 will go into mass production late in 2011 for an early 2012 launch. This would be around a year after the Verizon iPhone 4 launch, creating a new pattern for iPhone launches. The site reiterates earlier claims of a new, aluminum enclosure which is possibly taking longer to produce. A chinese site recently claimed the new iPhone would go into production in Q3 of this year – backing up an iPhone-less WWDC.