RSS

BlackBerry’s fight even harder in emerging markets

15 May

q5With BlackBerry announcing its new Q5 smartphone, it’s clear the company is looking to shore up its offerings in emerging markets. The device, which features a QWERTY keyboard and runs the latest BlackBerry 10 operating system, will be available in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America as early as July. While the company hasn’t yet announced pricing, the Q5 is intended to be a low-cost option for people who obviously don’t have as much disposable income as people in the West.

It’s a necessary move. Emerging markets have largely kept the company aloft over the past few years while its popularity swan-dived in more developed countries.

However, with the dual competitive reality of Google’s Android and Chinese phone manufacturers in these markets, the question quickly becomes: will the Q5 be enough? Read the rest of this entry »

 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 15, 2013 in africa, android, Google, mobile, nokia, RIM

 

Ubisoft’s Watch_Dogs already thought provoking

14 May

watch-dogsI had the chance last week to see a preview of Ubisoft Montreal’s newest big-budget game franchise, Watch_Dogs, and boy is it looking good. The game, scheduled for a November release, appears to mix all the best parts of Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Splinter Cell, which should be no surprise given that those last three are all Montreal creations.

Watch_Dogs stole the show at the last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, where it was unveiled, not just because it’s an entirely new property, but mainly because it looks like it’s going to capture the zeitgeist of the super-connected era in which we live. Protagonist Aiden Pearce is a vigilante who can hack into the central operating system that runs near-future Chicago, and in doing so can control much of the city itself and access information on its inhabitants.

The idea, according to the game’s designers, is to have players think about how far they want connectivity to go. Read the rest of this entry »

 
1 Comment

Posted by on May 14, 2013 in ubisoft, video games

 

Netflix is going to need a lot of exclusive shows

13 May

house_of_cardsI’ve had a few intriguing chats recently with David Purdy, Rogers’ senior vice-president of content, about the status and prospects of Netflix. They were good conversations because they were very level-headed, which is contrary to a lot of the conventional wisdom flying around out there, which surmises that cable companies must surely view Netflix as the devil incarnate – a bitter rival to be crushed and destroyed.

There’s certainly no doubt that traditional television providers are threatened by the over-the-top provider, which is why, according to Purdy, they’re all looking to duplicate its services. But I found it interesting how he views the company overall.

“Right now it looks and smells very much like a premium pay service, like The Movie Network,” he said in an interview last week. Read the rest of this entry »

 
11 Comments

Posted by on May 13, 2013 in netflix, rogers

 

Rogers roaming rate slash a welcome move

09 May

rogers-communications-2It’s not every day that Canadian wireless customers get good news, but today happens to be one of those with Rogers announcing that it is cutting its U.S. roaming rates. Customers can now buy roaming packages that supply 50 megabytes of data per day for $7.99, which is a 20-per-cent cut from the previous $10.

The company says the 50 MB is double what the typical subscriber uses per day in Canada. That’s likely true, although it’s a bit of a misnomer in that people usually need their phone’s data more when they’re not at home and therefore able to access email and other info over wired connections. Ultimately, it’s not that hard to crack 50 MB while traveling.

Nevertheless, it’s still a welcome move because roaming is quickly approaching affordability – with a little planning and forethought, Rogers customers can now visit the U.S. without breaking the bank. Read the rest of this entry »

 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 9, 2013 in mobile, rogers

 

Who’s going to make Ubisoft Toronto’s five projects?

08 May
Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher is going to have lots of company at Ubisoft Toronto soon.

Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher is going to have lots of company at Ubisoft Toronto soon.

Last week, I paid a visit to Ubisoft Toronto to get a look at how the studio’s first big game, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, is coming along. The game, which is looking excellent so far, will not only represent the new operation’s coming-out when it launches in August, it’ll also be the biggest profile release yet to come out of Toronto, and possibly Ontario.

Despite developers crunching to get Blacklist done, attention at the studio is already starting to shift to future projects. With a mandate to create 800 jobs by 2020 in exchange for more than $260 million in tax credits, Ubisoft Toronto can ill afford any down time.

In that vein, I sat down to chat with studio director Jade Raymond about the studio’s future. I haven’t been paying attention to dedicated gaming sites for the past little while, so the conversation took a turn for the surprising in short order. Read the rest of this entry »

 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 8, 2013 in ubisoft, video games

 

Yes, Poutine Soda really is that disgusting

07 May

poutine-sodaIf there’s one thing I love more than anything else on the planet, it’s got to be poutine. French fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds – is there anything that is worse for you, but also so damn good at the same time? Its unhealthiness actually makes it even more appealing. It’s like the secret ingredient, along with the main three, is danger, as in what you’re putting your heart into every time you eat it.

It was probably only a matter of time, then, before someone tried to take all that dangerous goodness and put it into liquid form. Score one for Seattle-based Jones Soda, which has done precisely that.

Poutine Soda is the company’s newest concoction, meant to celebrate its Canadian roots and to boost its profile in its native land. I came by a couple of bottles over the weekend and gave it a try. So what’s the verdict? Oh yes, it is absolutely horrible. Read the rest of this entry »

 
3 Comments

Posted by on May 7, 2013 in poutine

 

There may not be a market for a mid-range iPhone

06 May

iPhonesWith Apple signalling that it won’t be releasing any new products till the fall, the cottage industry that is speculation about the company’s imminent moves has taken a hit. The normal rash of stories trying to guess everything from what kind of watch Apple is working on to how much integration the iPhone will have with cars has slowed lately, even though the company has its annual Worldwide Developers Conference coming up in a month’s time.

The slowdown hasn’t affected some analysts and media, though, with All Things D picking up a report from J.P. Morgan analysts who believe Apple isn’t planning to release a cheap iPhone. Rather than a $200 iPhone, the company is likely thinking of a mid-range device that would sell for around $350, they say.

Their logic is based on two facts. For one, the company has historically avoided catering to the low-end by releasing mid-range iPods and iPads (the Mini) after initially commandeering the high end. And secondly, there’s a big chunk of the mid-range market that is there for the taking. Read the rest of this entry »

 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 6, 2013 in apple, iphone

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 4,154 other followers