Blackberry shares plunge after $84m first-quarter loss

The figure was better than the $518m loss for the same period last year, but much worse than analysts' forecasts.
The company, based in Ontario, Canada, also said it would post an operating loss for the next quarter running to September.
Blackberry shares closed down 28% in New York.
Shipments of new smartphones increased, but Blackberry, which used to be called Research In Motion, did not release how many new handsets running the BB10 operating system were sold in the quarter.

Chief executive Thorstein Heins said the company was continuing to focus on the global roll-out of BB10 and was confident it would be a hit with customers.

"We are still in the early stages of this launch, but already, the Blackberry 10 platform and Blackberry Enterprise Service 10 are proving themselves to customers to be very secure, flexible and dynamic mobile computing solutions," he said in a statement.
He added that the group would be increasing investments to support the roll-out of new products and services over the next three quarters.
'Doesn't bode well' Revenue rose to $3.1bn in the quarter from $2.8bn a year earlier.
Analysts had been particularly keen to see the numbers for the new Z10 handset, as it was the first full quarter that the model had been on sale in the United States.
Blackberry launched two all-new smartphones this year, the touchscreen Z10 device, followed by the Q10, with a mini keyboard favoured by many Blackberry users.
Blackberry said that it had shipped 6.8 million phones overall in its first quarter versus 7.8 million in the same three-month period last year.
"It doesn't bode well for the initial Blackberry 10 launch, particularly the Z10. But even the outlook for a second-quarter loss doesn't bode well for the Q10 either," said Brian Colello, an analyst with Morningstar.
Blackberry has been battling stiff competition in the smartphone sector, and has struggled to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Daniel Ernst from Hudson Square Research said the company fell between two camps.
"They're not the high-end provider any more, they're not Apple. They're not the low-end provider, they're not Nokia. So they are in the middle and they do relatively low volumes," he said.
"It's difficult to make great margins on that kind of volume, so I would say the outlook is quite negative."

Microsoft backtracks on Xbox One sharing policies

(CNN) -- Reacting to "feedback from the Xbox community," Microsoft is appearing to reverse course and change two key components to policies for its new Xbox One video game console.

All disc-based games can be played without ever connecting online, and the 24-hour connection requirement has been dropped, according to an update to a May post concerning questions about the new device, due to be released this fall.

Additionally, there will be no limitations to using and sharing games, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business division, says in the post. People will be able to share, trade or resell their games in the same way they do for Xbox 360 games.

The changes indicate Microsoft is having second thoughts about some of its future plans with the Xbox One. The post read, "Update on June 19, 2013: As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One reflected in this blog. Some of this information is no longer accurate."

The company has been taking a public berating since it announced restrictions to used games and their requirement for an Internet connection. Consumers have been reacting with anger over the policies, but the tipping point may have been when Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Late Night," pointed out that only the PlayStation 4 could freely play used games, which created more confusion.

The flogging became worse when Sony took to the stage at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show and pointedly did not include such restrictions for the new PlayStation 4. A YouTube video produced by Sony made fun of the used-game restriction by showing how people could share games on the PlayStation 4 -- by just handing them to another person.

Fans air concerns about new PlayStation, Xbox

The new Xbox One used-games policy only affects disc-based games. Titles downloaded through Xbox Live cannot be shared or resold. Also, disc-based games must have the disc inside the console to play.

The changes being made also affect its proposed family sharing policy. Since Microsoft is allowing players to have the flexibility to use games offline, it will not be launching its family sharing plan, which would have allowed up to 10 family members to log in and play games from anywhere.

However, Marc Whitten, chief product officer for Xbox, told CNN the company still believes very deeply in its digital vision.

"So much of what we've built around our digital ecosystem still works," Whitten said. "It's what we building in how you can use your games. Our online vision and the Xbox One architecture really power the complete new experience in how the Cloud changes everything and we're massively invested in this."

He also said the flexibility the company added for physical-disc play will not change for the life of the Xbox One.

Whitten said there are no changes surrounding the addition of Kinect with the Xbox One. He said the company believes the motion sensor/controller is critical to building out the next generation experiences gamers are craving.

The Xbox One will cost about $100 more than Sony's PlayStation 4 ($499 versus $399), but officials at the Redmond, Washington-based company believe their console will be worth the value.

"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content," Whitten wrote in the blog post. "We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds."

Original Apple I computer up for auction

An original Apple 1 computer is up for auction at Christie's until July 9.

Apple fans are serious. They will line up for hours to buy the newest version of the iPhone and they'll pay a lot for a 37-year-old computer.

One of the few remaining original Apple I computers was put up for bids Monday, and auction house Christie's expects it to attract a winning bid of between $300,000 and $500,000.

Half a million dollars is a lot for a circuit board built in 1976 without casing, keyboard or monitor. In fact, that kind of money could buy you 250 MacBook Pros.
But, the Apple I isn't just any circuit board. It was the first product designed by Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) co-founder Steve Wozniak who built it in his partner Steve Jobs' parents' garage.
Only about 200 Apple 1 computers were ever built by Wozniak and Jobs. At the time, the design attracted the attention of Paul Terrell who owned a Silicon Valley store chain call Byte Shop. He bought the first 50 Apple I computers for $500 each and resold them for $666.66.
In May, an Apple I computer sold for $671,000 at a German auction house, Auction Team Breker. Last year, one sold for $374,500 at a Sotheby's auction.
Bidders have until July 9 to make an online bid at Christie's for the latest Apple I to go on sale. Other iconic computers from the 20th century, including a 1983 Apple Lisa computer, and a prototype of the first Macintosh laptop, are also included in the auction.

Attack of Galaxy S4 gadget spam

When the Galaxy S4 launched in April, Samsung sold one version of its flagship smartphone. Two months later, there are five S4 devices on store shelves.

 

There's the self-explanatory Galaxy S4 Mini. Then there's the Galaxy S4 Zoom, which marries a smartphone with a full functioning point-and-shoot camera. Samsung released the waterproof and dustproof Galaxy S4 Active. And let's not forget the Galaxy S4 Mega, which strangely offers a massive 6.3-inch display -- only with fewer pixels than the original Galaxy S4. (None have yet been announced for U.S. markets, but the prospect doesn't seem far fetched, either.)

Despite all these spinoff phones sharing the same branding, the Galaxy S4 Active is the only "S4" that bears any resemblance -- inside or outside -- to the original Galaxy S4. The Mini and the Zoom have very different designs, processors, displays, and cameras, and they feature varying amounts of storage and RAM. They're hardly the same phone at all.
From a pure hardware perspective, there's no logical concept or idea that really links these phones together aside from being Samsung products.
But from a business perspective, it all makes sense.




The Galaxy S brand sells. It is a trusted, established name among all consumers -- not just the nerds. And in the world of Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android operating system, brands are ultimately more important than the hardware itself. It's not unlike picking a car.
That's why Samsung is making a smart decision to cram as many products as it can under the wildly successful S4 umbrella.
Samsung is learning from its early mistakes: When the first generation of the Galaxy S was released to each major American carrier, it carried a different name and external design, despite the fact that each was built on the same internal components. That "variety" strategy was good for sales, but it was an incoherent vision for building Samsung's reputation.
And so it began unifying. By the time the Galaxy S II came around, there were still multiple versions, but they all carried the same name and same general specs. Last year it added the Galaxy S III mini to the lineup as an experiment. Apparently, it worked well enough to warrant even more spinoffs this year.
Samsung could have given each of its new phones a different name, spending millions of dollars on marketing. Or it could lean on what it knows to be successful.
Branding has always been important for Samsung, because it's a company that thrives on gadget spam. Every year, the company releases dozens of its generally excellent televisions, cameras and computers, but aside from four or five models that provide unique features, each one is only slightly different from the next.
It's a cynical approach, perhaps. But at the end of the day, the end goal is to make money. And if the products are strong, who really cares what they're called?
Then again, if Samsung misfires and waters down its brand with sub par products, it could matter a lot.

Twitter founder uses phone during takeoff

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey tweeted a number of Vine videos this past week documenting a drive through D.C., his walk through LaGuardia airport, and his plane taking off in San Francisco.

Wait, what was that last one?

Dorsey appears to have recorded the takeoff from his seat on the airplane -- which would be directly in conflict with what flight attendants always instruct passengers to do: power down anything with an on/off switch during takeoffs and landings.
Dorsey, who now is the CEO of mobile payments company Square, did not reply to requests for comment. But a possible rule change could mean that passengers no longer need to heed the warning anyway.
Currently the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits the use of most personal electronic devices on airplanes during takeoff and landings, or whenever the plane is flying lower than 10,000 feet. That goes for both commercial and private planes, although a catchall in the regulation says it's ultimately up to the operator of the airplane to decide what devices to prohibit.
The agency has long claimed that using those devices during takeoff poses a safety issue and that radio signals emitted from electronic devices could interfere with an aircraft's communications.
But FAA officials know that it's not only Dorsey who uses mobile devices when the plane is flying at low altitude. Sixty-nine percent of adult passengers reportedly use a portable device during flights and almost one-third of passengers say they have accidentally left their device on, according to a recent study by the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the Consumer Electronics Association.
The agency created a committee last year to test what kind of devices might be OK for passengers to use on board in those situations. A draft of the committee's report, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, recommends the FAA to relax its ban on using some types of personal electronic devices. This could apply to e-readers and MP3 players -- but not cell phones, which travelers still won't be able to use to make calls at any time during flights.



"The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft," said an FAA spokesman in a prepared statement. "That is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions."
The committee, which first met in January, was given six months to make its recommendations, but the FAA said it is willing to wait another two months for the safety assessment before moving forward.

Last week's news of a possible rule change is not too surprising. Julius Genachowski, who just recently stepped down as Federal Communications Commission chairman, publicly advocated for the FAA to relax its rules on electronic device use in the past while he was still at the FCC.
"It shows that people have an insatiable demand to be connected these days," said Michael Small, the CEO of in-flight Wi-Fi provider GoGo (GOGO). "In even those few minutes before takeoff they want to be on their device" he said.

Moving on from Google Reader

By Heather Kelly, CNN June 25, 2013 -- Updated 1348 GMT (2148 HKT) | Filed under: Web

(CNN) -- Next Monday, Google is officially shutting down its popular RSS feed reader, Google Reader.

The service's demise after nearly eight years has come as a shock to many who depend on it to collect news into one place from all the websites they love. Its end has created something of a gold rush among startups and other tech companies vying to take the tool's place.

Instead of just finding the closest thing to Reader, maybe it's time to change how you consume all that news. Looking at every single article for a source can be time-consuming, especially if you follow a huge number of sites, and a lot has changed since 2005.

But before trying anything, take a minute to download all your information from Google Reader now. Google Takeout bundles up your feeds, folders, followers and other data into a zip file that you can use later with other services. (Many of the tools we mention will import data automatically from Google if you sign up before Reader closes.)

Feedly adds Web version in new bid for Reader users

The replacements

Goodbye, Google Reader

Change isn't for everyone, and for people who rely on a comprehensive approach to seeing the day's news, finding the next best Reader imitator might be the best interim approach. There is already an overwhelming number of replacements that deliver straight RSS feeds. The best bets are Feedly, The Old Reader, NewsBlur, Aol Reader and NetVibes.

Some new tools were rushed on to beat the July 1 demise of Google Reader and are bound to undergo more changes and improvements -- some are still being created such as Betaworks' Digg Reader. However, the weak links could also end up abandoned in time, and you'll have to search for a home for your carefully organized RSS feeds again.

Think about what's most important to you. Are you primarily checking from a mobile device or from a regular Web browser, and do you need something that will sync across devices (some are only available as apps, others in browsers)? Is sharing stories important, or is reading the news a solitary activity? How important are images, cost, search features or the absence of ads?

Social suggestions

Twitter is a killer news source. Major news surfaces naturally on the social network; a chorus of links or commentary about important stories will likely make its way into anyone's feed, whether they're following news junkies or just friends.

The Discover tab shows popular links from your feed as well, but it's more effective to edit down whom you follow carefully or create custom lists for your various interests. You can follow your favorite news organizations or drill down by finding their Twitter accounts for specific sections or topics. If you like specific writers, follow them for their work as well as context on regular news or links to other writers they enjoy. Hashtags can be great for following news about a specific event or topic.

Facebook is a different creature when it comes to news. It is decent for finding recommended links, but the posts and banter are more personal, happy and less about the outside world. People sometimes avoid posting links or talking about major news stories that might lead to uncomfortable clashes with friends and family. (Clashes and the resulting conversations are among the best parts of Twitter and flesh out the big news stories.)

Fight of the aggregator

The RSS fire hose of news can be overwhelming for many people. A handful of clever tools do more than just show you feeds. They use your interests and some algorithms to figure out what types of articles and topics you will be most interested in and then serve up content that fits with your patterns. Articles are typically grouped by sections, such as sports or the stock market. The tools are big on sharing and use images heavily for a more magazine-like reading experience. Flipboard, Prismatic, Pulse and Zite (which is owned by CNN) are all popular options.

Come back for the longer reads

RSS readers are great because you can scan headlines and the first few sentences of articles and get the gist without having to read them, only going further if it's a topic about which you want to know more. The meatier content (feature stories, long and winding narratives, the New Yorker) deserves more than a glance, but deep reads are different from the quick scan. Save the things you want to dig into later, even offline, with tools such as Instapaper, Pocket or Readability. Apple's Safari browser also offers a Read Later button.

The direct route

Typing a news site's URL directly into a browser seems so passé. But when you just need a quick hit, going straight to a trusted local, national or international news organization might satisfy. Many organizations have their own stand-alone mobile apps on Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. One advantage of these apps is that you can set up push notifications so you know as soon as something important happens.

There is also Google News, which looks at all the news sources and arranges the breaking stories by popularity, highlighting the in-depth, opinion and featured stories on the topic. A neat visual take on Google News is Newsmap.jp, which Marcos Weskamp created before moving to Flipboard to work as a designer.

No news is good news

The true minimalists can avoid the noise by checking one or two outlets once a day, trusting that the major stories will be featured prominently. News.me sucks in your Twitter and Facebook feeds and turns them into digestible daily e-mails that summarize the most talked about stories of the day.

If you really want to check out, read the Harper's Weekly Review post, which is also available as a newsletter. Every Tuesday, it quickly and amusingly runs down the major stories that happened in the past seven days, with links in case you are intrigued and want to find out more.

Mix and match

There is no one-fits-all solution for how to consume news, and many people hack together their own custom systems from various sources. For example, some go directly to their bookmarked must-read sites in the morning, keep up on current news with Twitter during the day and soak in longer articles on commutes with tools such as Instapaper. Some multitaskers keep TV or radio news humming in the background while they go about their daily activities.

Google Reader was a great tool that will be missed, but its death is an opportunity to try new things and play with different apps, sites and tools for reading news online.