BlackBerry Messenger coming to desktops

BBM was scheduled to launch on Android and iOS devices over the past weekend, marking the service’s expansion beyond BlackBerry’s own hardware. However, the release was quickly cut short due to technical issues with no word on when it might re-launch.

The company’s most recent setback clearly isn’t enough to slow down BBM’s expansion. The messaging service is one of the company’s few remaining valuable assets, and bringing it to desktop computers will help give BlackBerry an edge over competing apps like WhatsApp, which only works on mobile devices. The company still has to face off with iMessage, Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts, however, all of which work on both mobile and desktop, and have massive built-in user bases.

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BBM for Android leaks

BBM for Android leaks out, but you can't use it yet.
It appears that the service is still locked down on Android unless you're on "the whitelist", so if you don't have a whitelisted BBID then you'll get stuck on the setup screen and that will be the end of it.

You can download it anyway if you just want to check it out then let it rest as we await the real deal in the days to come.

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HTC One Max specs leaked!

One of the new photos reveals that the code name for the phone is HTC 8088, and it will support GSM and LTE pipelines. The handset is expected to come to market with a 5.9 inch glass with 1080 x 1920 resolution (FHD for those who like three letter abbreviations) and a quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. 2GB of RAM is on board along with 16GB of native storage. A microSD slot is available and a very un-HTC like 3300mAh battery powers the unit with the UltraPixel snapper, and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

A couple of photos showing off the One Max from up close have surfaced as well, with the About screen on the handset in one picture identifying it as the “HTC 8088.” The device in the new images matches up with what we’ve already seen numerous times before, including a square cutout beneath the camera that’s expected to house a fingerprint scanner. Also, it looks like HTC finally realized the importance of having the power button on the side, though it’s unfortunate it took a 6-inch device to help the Taiwanese manufacturer reach that conclusion.

The HTC One Max will reportedly cost $800 and launch sometime in October, and we can expect to see even more of the handset’s details leak in the coming weeks. Not that we need any more details at this point, but hey, they’ll keep everyone happy until HTC sees it fit to make an official announcement.

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Nexus 5 And Android 4.4 KitKat to be released next month

The physical details for the new Nexus phone have just about been confirmed in every detail thanks to some leaks at the FCC, but when it will launch and what features Android 4.4 – Kit Kat will bring to the table has not yet been determined.

The device, which will be manufactured by Korean outfit LG, will be the first to rock Android 4.4 KitKat, and with the chocolatey new version of the search giant’s mobile OS having just been officially announced, anticipation for its release, along with the new Nexus smartphone, is as high as ever.

A new tip received – which we’re taking with a large grain of salt – is advising that the magic date we’re waiting for will be around October 14th.

The features apparently to be delivered in Android 4.4 include :

* Firmware availability to older phones
* Fragmentation changes (screen resizing)
* Miracast updates
* New Gallery Visualisation
* New APIs regarding animations
* Change android default blue to other preset palette colours
* New notification widgets

Android KitKat 4.4 will likely be a relatively rudimentary update, but while it’s now official and with competitions rolling to promote it, we don’t really know as yet what it will include. Android 4.3, which itself has only been around a matter of weeks, wasn’t really anything to write home about, but even if we don’t see any major features with the next update, it will certainly offer an improved general user experience in one way or another.

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Surface 2.0 specs revealed

According to the report, the Surface 2 will run Intel’s latest line of chips, a Haswell based Core i5. In addition, the RAM will receive a considerable bump, being doubled 4GB to 8GB. The battery life of the Surface Pro 2 will go from the current four to five hours to up to seven hours. Finally, while the device will look similar to the current Pro, Microsoft has ‘refined’ the kick-stand that ships with the device.

But both are predicting it won't change much from current Surface Pro pricing, meaning it could start around $799 (U.S.) if Microsoft matches the recently reduced Surface Pro price.

Surface Pro 2 is expected to come with Windows 8.1 preinstalled. Like the first-generation Surface, it will offer users the ability to run existing desktop apps, as well as new Metro-Style/Windows Store apps.

Microsoft took a 900 million dollar write-down recently, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from dropping prices for the Surface RT and Surface Pro, along with its accessories, as of late. We learned recently that Microsoft had dropped the price of the Surface RT and Surface Pro by nearly $150. Microsoft also dropped the price of the Surface Touch Cover to $79. On top of that, Microsoft has also dropped the price of the Surface RT and black Touch Cover bundle by $50.

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