‘Phone News’ Archives
Author: sarah Published: May 22nd, 2013
The Blackberry Z10 will be getting keyboard shortcuts just like the Q10.
In an interview with Omio at Blackberry Live 2013, Blackberry’s Vice President, User Experience, Don Lindsay, said, “One of the challenges I gave to the design team is, what’s the equivalent to a short cut on a touch display.
“Things like peek are allowing us to actually find and discover new ways to deliver the equivalent value of a shortcut, but through an entirely touch interface.
“This is an area that we are going to continue to expand the gesture language to find more short cuts, more ways to actually achieve tasks in a faster and simpler ways – using just touch.
“With physical keyboards, we’ve always supported shortcuts, that has been in place with BlackBerry for many many years.
“In BlackBerry 10.1, on the physical keyboard, in the contextual menu, we now show the keyboard shortcuts.
“Now the challenge is: how do we do the same thing, but with gestures.”
Omio asked “if there could be a combination of gestures, which could act as a keyboard shortcut?”
He said, “One of our guiding principles in the creation of BlackBerry 10 was one handed operation.
“One handed operation has led to decisions such as the placement of the top most item [in the BlackBerry Hub], by default, is in reach of my thumb.
“That fulfils our principle of one handed operation.
“Our design [rules] goes a little bit further than that, it actually says: we must deliver great one handed operation, but it can be more powerful with two hands.
“This is an acknowledgement of, are there ways in which we can interact with two thumbs or two fingers, that can be faster – than just a single finger [or thumb].”
Omio then asked “what short cuts from the Q10 keyboard could be taken across to the full touch screen BlackBerry Z10?”
He answered, “We’re at the point now where we’re trying to see, first of all, what needs to be recreated.
“One of the request we often get is the ability to scroll a list to the top, quickly.
“With our physical keyboards, we have ‘T’, which is a keyboard shortcut for the top, and ‘B’ for bottom.
“The team is now looking at, is there an equivalent to the command to go to the top of the list.
“They’re looking at, is there an intuitive gesture, to get to the top.
“The common ones on the Q10 are F for forward a mail; R for reply.
“Those are the higher priority candidates for us to see, can we do better in this space.
“If we can deliver that kind of efficiency, BlackBerry users will appreciate it.”
Excited your Blackberry Z10 will be getting Q10 keyboard shortcuts? Let us know through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: BB10, Blackberry, Blackberry 10, Blackberry Q10, Blackberry Z10, Don Lindsay, keyboard shortcuts, Q10, Z10
Category Phone News |
Author: sarah Published: May 15th, 2013
A recent study reveals that the resale value of the iPhone is higher than Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
According to AppleInsider, “The inaugural report shared with AppleInsider compared U.S. eBay auction prices for the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II , a method that looks to determine the current consumer climate for Apple’s handset.
“According to analyst Gene Munster, the index is “a pulse on what consumers are willing to pay for unsubsidized phones in the US.”
Munster wrote, “The key takeaway from 8 weeks of data is that the iPhone is holding slightly more of its value compared to the top two Galaxy phones.”
AppleInsider adds, “Despite being 46 percent more expensive than the Galaxy S III, Apple’s latest iPhone 5 shed 11.2 percent of its value compared to 13.7 percent for the Samsung smartphone.
“Interestingly, the highest performing handset in the focused study was the iPhone 4S, which managed to lose only 7 percent of its value over the two month period. Coming in second was the iPhone 4, which lost 8.8 percent, followed by the iPhone 5. Median iPhone 4S pricing wen from $349 in March to $312 in May, while the iPhone 5 fell to $465 from $535 over the same period.
“Samsung’s Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II were the biggest losers, dropping 13.7 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Median pricing for the S III fell to $320 from $360 over the eight weeks, and the Note II moved from $550 ro $444.”
Munster adds, “We believe that the iPhone aftermarket price should continue to decrease as we approach an iPhone 5S launch which we expect at the end of the month of September.”
Would you buy a second-hand iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy smartphone? Let us know through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: apple, Apple iPhone 4, Apple iPhone 4S, Apple iPhone 5, resale value, samsung, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung Galaxy S3, second-hand
Category Phone News |
Author: sarah Published: May 14th, 2013
Aside from the Blackberry Q10 and Z10, the Canadian phone maker has now unveiled the Q5. It has also revealed the new smartphone’s specs and features.
On the official Blackberry blog, Blackberry talks about “the evolution of the classic BlackBerry Keyboard.”
It says, “The BlackBerry Q5 features a classic BlackBerry Keyboard with discrete keys that has been re-engineered and elegantly designed to help you type fast, accurately and with the least amount of effort. Plus with Instant Action shortcuts you can type to perform tasks faster. The BlackBerry Q5 smartphone gives you the best of both worlds – a classic QWERTY keyboard for optimized communications and a 3.1” touchscreen for all the rest.”
The Q5 allows users to “create the perfect shot with BlackBerry Time Shift mode and Story Maker.”
It says, “Create the picture perfect shot with BlackBerry Time Shift mode, then create and share your story, weaving together your photos, videos and music into a movie with BlackBerry Story Maker.”
The handset allows users to “share and be seen with BBM Video with Screen Share.”
It says, “Instantly switch your BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) chat to a BBM Video conversation and catch up face-to-face. You can even share your screen, whether it’s a photo, a page in the browser, an idea, or a view from your camera.”
Another feature will allow users to “stay close to what’s important to you with BlackBerry Hub.”
It says, “With BlackBerry Hub, all of your messages and social conversations are only one swipe away. There’s no need to stop what you’re doing. Simply peek into the BlackBerry Hub from anywhere with a swipe to effortlessly flow in and out of your messages and conversations.”
Lastly, it says “BlackBerry World delivers a rich, thriving app and content ecosystem.”
It adds, “Discovering and sharing great apps and content is easier than ever with recommendations based on similar purchases, and access to more than 100,000 apps on the BlackBerry World storefront.”
Can’t wait to get your hands on the Blackberry Q5? Let us know through a comment on our Facebook page.
Tags: BB10, Blackberry, Blackberry 10, Blackberry Q5, Q5
Category Phone News |
