**As published at RCR Wireless News**

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. appears to be putting the final touches on its rollout plans and the accompanying marketing blitz for its latest device.

The smart phone and enterprise mobility pioneer is holding an invite-only event in New York City next Tuesday where just about everyone expects it to launch a slider-style touchscreen device with a full QWERTY keyboard. Not only will the heretofore-called “9800″ or “Torch” deliver what analysts and many users have been clamoring for from RIM — a large touchscreen paired with one of BlackBerry’s wildly popular keyboards — it’s also set to mark the public debut of BlackBerry 6, it’s latest operating system. Continue Reading

**As published at digiday:DAILY**

Publisher: Rdio Price: $9.99 for unlimited web and mobile, $4.99 for unlimited web
Platform: iOS and BlackBerry
Advertising: None
Functionality: B+
Fun Factor: B
Overall: B+

Music has turned out to be a rather tough proposition on mobile. While apps like Pandora have soared in both popularity and revenue-generation capabilities, other apps like RealNetworks’ Rhapsody have garnered less favorable reviews and market penetration.

Still, there are a growing number of free and subscription-based streaming services to choose from, which makes the “music on mobile” market all the more compelling to participate in. Case in point: The Rdio app. Continue Reading

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

Nokia Corp. continues to buckle under the increasing might and will of its competitors in the smartphone space.

In a note to investors , the company downgraded the financial outlook for its devices and services division for the second (current) quarter and full year of 2010. The company said “multiple factors are negatively impacting Nokia’s business to a greater extent than previously expected.” While that may be true, it would be difficult to conclude that most of these “factors” have come as a surprise to the world’s largest manufacturer of cellphones. Continue Reading

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

Twitter Inc. just did the inevitable. Twice.

First it launched a geolocation-based service called Places. Then a few hours later, the entire service crashed and stayed down into the late hours of Monday night out on the West Coast.

The fourth day of matches at the World Cup was still hours away when the infamous fail whale appeared, so it would be hard to blame the world’s most unifying event for Twitter’s downtime. It’s also worth noting that Apple Inc. could take some of the blame since the impending onslaught of iPhone 4 pre-orders was due to begin any minute (or hour) when the site’s servers overloaded. Continue Reading

**As published at digiday:DAILY**

Publisher: StoryCorps; developed by Bottle Rocket Apps Price: Free Platform: iPhone
Advertising: None
Functionality: B-
Fun Factor: C
Overall: B-

With a mission that’s as large and as simple as recording America’s stories, it didn’t take much to convince me to give the StoryCorps app a go-round. I absolutely love StoryCorps’ premise — recording people’s stories, and getting them archived in the Library of Congress — but I wish the app provided a better window into the tens of thousands of interviews the non-profit group has already recorded.

This app does a great job of introducing the user to StoryCorps with a limited selection of clips from about 35 interviews, but the true value of StoryCorps lies in its rich vault of far more stories. While the website offers a full selection of stories, it would be great if the app could do the same. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SAN FRANCISCO – Although millions of fanboys and industry watchers have already seen what turned out to be the new iPhone 4 today, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs still had a few surprises up his sleeve to share during his keynote at the company’s annual developer gathering.

If there is any less excitement or anticipation for Apple’s game-changing mobile device, that sure wasn’t apparent this morning. Lines began forming around the building at 6 a.m. this morning and when the gates to the main hall were finally raised for Jobs’ keynote there was a mad dash for seats (press included). The whole experience felt very rock concert in typical Apple fashion. Continue Reading

**As published at digiday:DAILY**

Publisher: SocialScope, Inc  Price: Free  Platform: BlackBerry OS, iPhone and limited Android devices Advertising: None

Functionality: A+
Fun Factor: A
Overall: A+

Just when I think I’ve found my all-time favorite client for Twitter on my BlackBerry, an alternative jumps into my radar and I begin the evaluation process anew once more.

I can’t remember how long it’s been since I requested an invite to check out the beta for SocialScope, but I finally got a code via e-mail last week and was downloading the app on my BlackBerry minutes later. The company has seemingly made an early commitment to developing for the BlackBerry, as it lists a number of compatible RIM devices on its site; there’s also support for the Android-based G1 and the iPhone. Continue Reading