Postmedia Network Inc. is taking another step toward better engaging audiences through new media with the Friday launch of a free application for Android-powered smartphones. Having already made its chain of newspapers, which includes The Gazette, available through mobile-enabled websites and with apps for tablets such as the iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad, this latest offering is another example of Canada's largest publisher of paid English newspapers responding to technological trends. Android is an operating system designed by Google Inc. on smartphones made by companies such as HTC, Motorola and LG....read more

It seems that the upcoming launch date of the iPhone 5 is looming closer. After the CEO of Orange, France spilled the beans on the impending release date of the iPhone 5, Case-Mate, the smartphone cover manufacturer published a page on their website which shows a refreshing new design of the upcoming Apple iPhone. However, shortly after the page surfaced, the case manufacturer pulled the page off their website. According to a report by BGR , Case-Mate had published a page with six different types of covers for the iPhone 5. Rumours are circulating that Apple intends to out an iPhone that is slimmer and wider than...read more

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and e-Reader Tracker, media tablet shipments have increased worldwide by almost 90 per cent on a sequential basis, and year over year by about 300 per cent in the second calendar quarter of 2011 to 13.6 million units. Because of the strong performance that leads to a positive outlook for the gadget for the second half of the year, IDC made a forecast of 62.5 million units being shipped all over the world. This projection is definitely higher than the previous forecast of 53.5 million units. The shipments of media tablets in the...read more

This week marks the inflection point at which consumers are backing off from asking “When is the iPhone 5 release date” in favor of asking “Where can I see pictures of the iPhone 5 prototype” in a tradeoff which, for the moment, bought Apple some additional time as it continues to drag its heels. The prototype incident also has the benefit of taking coverage and attention away from rising rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy S2. Tired of waiting for the iPhone 5 to finally reach the market (here’s more on the iPhone 5 release date), and thinking of going with an S2 instead? Oh right, Apple...read more

With the BlackBerry® News app, all the content you care about comes right to you, hot off the press, and in one convenient place. The BlackBerry® News app also makes it really easy to discover great new content. The more you use it, the better it gets at suggesting the kinds of things you like to read, do and use. And when you find something you want to share, that’s a snap too, whether it’s by email, SMS or BBM™. The BlackBerry® News app: Let your news find you. New features added for 7.0:• UI enhancements• Provides an indicator for new content since last update• Article...read more

Foursquare has added photos inline with checkins in an update to its iPhone application Tuesday. The new version adds color to the activity stream and refreshes the look and feel of the app. With the update, Foursquare for iPhone users will now see friends’ photos and checkins coupled together in the activity stream — just as they would on Foursquare.com. Users can even select “here now” to view all the photos and shouts from friends at the same venue in a single stream. “Commenting on a friend’s night out? You’ll see all the other photos and comments as you’re composing...read more

Now that you have a spare moment to catch up on your pleasure reading, prop up your feet to this week’s features roundup.This week we gave some love to LinkedIn, demonstrating how to optimize the service for your job hunt. We examined the ethics surrounding government social media censorship. And we studied the effects of computer vision syndrome.Heavy stuff, huh? Not to worry! We’ve also collected photo-inspired iPhone cases and taken washing machines to the digital age — the perfect balance of insightful and quirky resources to top off your week. Happy reading! by Stephanie Buck read more

This case popped up recently and looked like it had a chance to be something unique. While it borrows heavily from the Zagg mate, it makes a few improvements and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Let’s take a look at the Aluminum Keyboard Buddy case for it iPad 2. This keyboard for the iPad 2 is sold as a case, but it’s not truly a case. Rather, it is more of a smart-cover-enabled clam shell with a keyboard included. The iPad sets, face down, into the tray of the keyboard with the edges coming up to enclose the sides of the iPad. And here we see the first issue with this keyboard. To place the iPad 2 into the...read more

The latest reports and rumors in the world of Apple purport that the company is planning a media event for September 7 and may unveil a free "iCloud iPhone" alongside its standard iPhone 5. Japanese tech news site Kodawarisan (English version) says that Apple will announce its new lineup of iPods at the September 7 event. That's around the same date that Apple typically shows off its new iPods, though last year the company kicked off the event slightly earlier in the month, on September 1. Kodawarisan listed the date as September 8, but as MacRumors points out, that date is according to Japanese time, so September...read more

Now you can run your favorite third-party apps — and switch between them instantly — without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily. This smarter approach to multitasking is available only in iOS 4. Switch between apps quickly. The multitasking user interface allows you to quickly switch between apps. Just double-click the Home button to reveal your recently used apps. Scroll right to see more apps, then tap one to reopen it. No need to wait for the app to reload.And pick up right where you left off. Apps can remember where you left off. So when you...read more

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well according to the developers of a new iPhone camera app, you could write an encyclopedia on the few seconds that occur before the shutter capturers the moment in time. The Glmps app for iPhone aims to capture the magic of those few seconds that occur before the photograph is actually taken. You know, everyone getting into position, shuffling around, hiding their double chins and perfecting their slimes. The Glmps app, which is pronounced glimpse, captures the "serendipity" of these moments by starting to record video as soon as you activate the camera app on...read more

Amazon’s upcoming Android-powered Kindle tablets are coming soon, with industry reports, rumours, presumptions and prognostications suggesting the tablets will be sold at extremely competitive pricing, with app and digital media sales to bring in the real profits. Amazon’s supposed tablet plans sound a bit like the games console industry - sell the consoles below cost and make the bulk of profits from sales of games and associated online services. It’s supposed to be the way razor blade companies made their fortunes from disposable blade head attached to razor handles you kept on re-using…...read more

Apple is Getting Ready for the iPhone 5 Launch One of the biggest Chinese newspapers, China Times, reported this week that Apple has received a shipment of 400,000 iPhone 5 smartphones, that are to be tested before the release of 4,000,000 units this September. This article suggests that the big launch will take place in the second week of September. Rumors from other iPhone publications and websites, like iPhone Italia, who heard this from an undisclosed executive at Swisscom, point towards a more exact release date, it being September 5, which is also Labor Day in the U.S. this year. A major product launch...read more

The Solutions Showcase is a virtual exhibition hall where you can explore new products and services from Research In Motion and participating BlackBerry partners. View product demos, see best practices in action and download relevant product and service information. Each partner has something unique to offer, so be sure to visit each and every one. See solutions in actionYour virtual exhibit hall regularly features new presentations and demonstrations. •visit BlackBerry or BlackBerry partner booths•ask questions of subject matter experts•network with your peers•download product specific info•see...read more

As the release of the iPhone 5 nears, The Wall Street Journal reports Apple’s 25 million iPhone 5 plan. Apple is gearing up for the release of the iPhone 5 by preparing 25 million iPhone 5 phones. Apple has been placing huge bulky orders of iPhone 5 necessities such as cameras and batteries. Apple has been pressuring manufactures to speed up production, but the iPhone 5 is both “complicated” and “difficult to assemble” which is why Apple has forwarded their release date. The reports by The Wall Street Journal has also rumored that the iPhone 5 will include a new model of the wireless...read more

The latest BlackBerry development kit looks to have some pretty awesome APIs and tools that developers can use to make the next generation of BlackBerry apps. Some particularly interesting APIs include the magnetometer APIs which allow for better navigation apps, as well as augmented reality and gaming. The Native Window API lets developers overlay a native window such as a camera or video view finder, or web browser. This sort of API is a great help when creating augmented reality apps. Also of great relevance are the NFC APIs which will allow developers to read the NFC chip to communicate with other NFC-enabled...read more

People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, iPad 2, the new iPod touch, or Mac over Wi-Fi. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun. One-tap simple.FaceTime works right out of the box — no need to set up a special account or screen name.And using it is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and...read more

Largest Global Launch of BlackBerry Smartphones Ever With More Than 225 Partners Around the World Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to launch 5 new BlackBerry® smartphones based on the BlackBerry® 7 Operating System (OS). RIM, in conjunction with carriers and distribution partners around the world, is rolling out two new BlackBerry® Bold™ models and three new BlackBerry® Torch™ models, all running the powerful new BlackBerry® 7 OS. The launch of this family of handsets will be RIM’s largest global launch ever and more than...read more

Featured Report: 42 Web CMS Vendors Compared (free sample) The official e-mail went out to Google Apps administrators this week: As of August 1, Google will only support modern browsers across Google Apps. For Internet Explorer 7, Safari 3 and Firefox 3.5, this means the end of the line. The move is reminiscent of one made in February in which Google dropped IE 6 support. Companies like Atlassian and Salesforce.com followed suit, the latter claiming the following in a mass e-mail: “Multiple security vulnerabilities in IE6 have been exploited over the years. The most recent attacks against Google, Yahoo,...read more

If you’re running an online business, you’re not alone. Millions of other online entrepreneurs are out there trying to earn livings. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to get educated about search engine optimization (SEO) and social media. You also need to know how to design your site to be as conversion-friendly as possible. If terms like “SEO” and “conversion rate” throw you off, take heart: It’s easy to get on track. You can get started right this second by reading through the following tips. Keep it Simple Drawing visitors to your site is just the first...read more

Can Google compete in social? Google has a pretty large task in creating a successful social network. This isn’t the first time the company has tried to do this either, but early buzz about Google+ has been fairly positive, though there is certainly some negative out there too. Google has its work cut out for it competing with the monster that is Facebook in the social networking space, even though Google says it’s not really a Facebook competitor. Right. Google has plenty of obstacles to overcome if this is going to be a huge success. Here are some of them. 1. Most people don’t want to...read more