September 12th – September 18th

• iPhone 5 to have radical new design according to Case-Mate images
• Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-post-PC era
• Motorola DROID BIONIC Review
• Despite owning just 1% of enterprise market, Gmail deemed ready to take on Microsoft
• ‘Other designs are possible’
• iOS 5 beta 8 coming this Friday, GM on the 23rd, iPhone 5 launch early October as rumored?
• Microsoft Windows 8 launches to developers this week, loaded with new features [video]
• Apple’s iPad 2 and new Windows 8 tablet face off in 11-minute video
• iPhone 5 will have larger display and wider home button, leaked screen protector suggests
• BlackBerry Torch 9850 review (Verizon)

September 5th – September 11th

• Adobe finally brings Flash to iPhone and iPad
• Motorola DROID BIONIC hands-on
• BlackBerry Torch 9850 review
• iPhone 5 pre-orders now available at Deutsche Telekom
• First image taken with iPhone 5′s 8-megapixel camera possibly uncovered
• Microsoft continues to profit off Android
• iPhone 5 manufacturing kicks off without iOS 5, report claims
• New .xxx top-level domain ushers in a new era of Internet porn
• RIM may be rushing BlackBerry Colt QNX phone amid weak BlackBerry 7 sales
• With or without AT&T/T-Mobile merger, analyst says Sprint already lost

August 22nd – August 28th

• RIM’s QNX phones are going to be amazing
• Exclusive: HP EVP Todd Bradley looking to jump ship for CEO role elsewhere
• Upcoming Amazon tablet to undercut Apple’s iPad
• Exclusive: Verizon passes on GALAXY S II, but ‘similar’ Samsung phone launching soon
• Here’s Steve Jobs’s resignation letter to Apple and you
• Sprint to offer iPhone 5 in October, WSJ reports
• Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook takes his place
• HTC’s September 1st event to feature only Windows Phone Mango devices: Eternity, Omega
• New images of leaked parts reveal iPhone 4S antenna, iPhone 5 case back
• Carriers seeking an alternative to Apple, Google may turn back to BlackBerry

August 8th – August 14th

• Facebook stole every contact and phone number in your phone – here’s how to undo the damage
• RIM’s first QNX phone revealed: BlackBerry Colt to launch in Q1 2012
• BlackBerry Bold 9900 review
• Here’s the full change log for iOS 5 beta 5
• Dear tablet makers: You’re doing it wrong
• First Google Ice Cream Sandwich devices may launch in October
• How to make Apple’s OS X Lion less horrible
• Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ images and details revealed
• HTC to make ‘major news announcement’ tomorrow morning
• Apple iPhone 4S and iPad 3 production slated for September, report claims

August 1st – 7th

• Apple iPhone 5 to launch in October in Canada
• Here’s the full change log for iOS 5 beta 5
• Telus roadmap reveals release dates for BlackBerry Bold 9900, Torch 2, SE Urishi, more
• Why I’m excited for the BlackBerry 9900
• Purported iPhone 5 spy shot reveals sleek, slim design [updated]
• How to remove your private info from all background check sites
• Do these photos reveal Apple’s new iPhone 5 design?
• Sprint’s Galaxy S II dubbed ‘Samsung Epic Touch 4G,’ launches in September
• Apple iPad 3 to launch at current price points as iPad 2 is discounted, discontinued
• Apple’s iPhone 5 update may be ‘bigger than expected’

July 25th – July 31st

• Exclusive images of AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II revealed
• AT&T preps for early to mid-September iPhone 5 launch
• 40% of Android phones are returned? ‘Absolutely ridiculous’
• HTC Puccini, the company’s first 10-inch tablet, uncovered
• iPhone 5 image supposedly surfaces
• Motorola PHOTON 4G review
• Motorola DROID 3 review
• Thoughts on Apple’s new MacBook Air (mid-2011)
• Does Apple have any interest in buying Barnes & Noble?
• Ultimate hack: LulzSec may have duped British authorities into arresting innocent man

July 18th – 24th

• Apple to launch low-priced iPhone for $350, iPhone 4S/5 end of summer
• Apple’s full change log for iOS 5 beta 4
• ‘Anonymous’ hackers to FBI: There is nothing you can do to stop us
• Fake Apple Store customers furious, employees don’t care
• OS X Lion 10.7.2 around the corner?
• T-Mobile says G-Slate is 200% faster than iPad 2, 300% faster than XOOM
• RIM to discontinue Wi-Fi BlackBerry PlayBook?
• Samsung Galaxy S II to launch in U.S. in August
• Apple releases iOS 5 beta 4
• New MacBook Airs, Mac minis, Apple Thunderbolt Display revealed as Apple Store goes down

July 11th – 17th

• Inside RIM: An exclusive look at the rise and fall of the company that made smartphones smart
• Apple releases iOS 5 beta 3 to developers [updated with full change log]
• Judge finds HTC guilty of infringing two Apple patents; could mean trouble for Android [updated]
• HTC says Apple should compete fairly in the mobile market, not sue every vendor in its way
• Microsoft shows off Windows 8 tablet concept
• iPhone 5 to land on Sprint and T-Mobile, analyst says
• Google+ is a sausage fest according to third-party user stats
• Motorola DROID 3 hands-on
• Netflix beats Hulu Plus in social streaming showdown [infographic]
• Android users buy the iPad over Google-powered tablets

July 4th – July 10th

• The BlackBerry PlayBook is my favorite tablet
• Why Apple’s iPhone 5 will be available on all U.S. carriers this year
• Is Apple’s iMessage the start of something bigger?
• Samsung Galaxy S II teardown reveals major redesign, cutting-edge tech
• Apple iPhone 5 be thinner, lighter than current model according to WSJ
• Apple becomes latest ‘Anonymous’ hacker target
• Sony to launch PlayStation 4 in 2012, report claims
• Next-generation iPhone for China Mobile spotted
• Apple to launch ‘iPad 2 Plus’ with better display this year, analyst claims
• Android market share jumps as BlackBerry slides; smartphones now owned by 1 in 3 Americans

June 28th – July 4th

• Open letter to BlackBerry bosses: Senior RIM exec tells all as company crumbles around him
• RIM responds to open letter published by BGR
• More letters to RIM; employees rally alongside anonymous exec
• Teenage girl in China offers to sell virginity for iPhone 4
• Google’s first Ice Cream Sandwich phone to be manufactured by Samsung, possibly dubbed ‘Nexus Prime’
• When will Verizon’s blistering 4G LTE slow down?
• HP TouchPad review
• LulzSec’s last lulz: Malware for all those who downloaded hackers’ final plunder
• Google+, Google’s answer to Facebook, is finally here [video]
• Microsoft to unveil new Xbox at E3 2012

June 20th – 26th

• Apple iPhone 5 to be major update after all; announcement and availability in August?
• LulzSec and Anonymous unite to wage cyber war on U.S. government
• RIM is black-burying carriers with half-baked BlackBerrys
• Microsoft vs. Apple infographic details rivalry from inception to global domination [updated]
• China Mobile worker outs iPhone 5, due in September
• iPhone 5 to launch in September, iPad 3 to feature better display, report says
• AT&T intros $50 unlimited GoPhone plan
• Full change log from Apple’s iOS 5 beta 2 release
• Apple releases iOS 5 beta 2 [updated]
• And the best-selling smartphone at AT&T and Verizon stores is…

June 13th – June 19th

• Exclusive: Google Nexus 4G detailed – 720p display, 4G LTE, Android 4.0
• How Apple stole notifications from Android and beat them with iOS 5
• HTC Sensation 4G review
• HTC EVO 3D review
• BGR Interview: Verizon Wireless CMO Marni Walden on Android, Apple, tablets and new BlackBerry phones
• Apple Store employee moves to create union
• RIM’s sixth-largest investor to dump its entire stake
• Barnes & Noble ‘All-New NOOK’ review
• Apple may offer unlocked iPhone 4 handsets starting Wednesday
• New HP TouchPad video highlights webOS 3.0 features

Look, people that know me know that I’ve been a BlackBerry fan from the beginning. The entire reason BGR was started was because I was breaking information on upcoming BlackBerry devices, mainly because I was obsessed with RIM and wanted to share that information. As we’ve all seen, however, RIM isn’t the market leader any longer. The company really isn’t innovating, and even worse, it’s not even competing with the titans of the smartphone space now: Google and Apple. All three companies have different product strategies, with Google and RIM being the most similar — they view devices as products, and features as check lists. Apple views devices as windows, and features as end-to-end experiences. Hit the break for the rest.

The real problem with RIM is that it hasn’t innovated for years. In that time, RIM’s entire product portfolio has been arguably lackluster, reduced to meaningless hardware upgrades and meaningless software upgrades. The company has tried to right its path by transitioning to QNX, an OS it purchased that will not only run the company’s tablets but smartphones as well in the next year to two. And the PlayBook by itself isn’t a bad product — but compared to the iPad, it’s a non-starter. RIM’s BlackBerry OS 7 (also known as BlackBerry OS 6.1, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 6, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry OS 5, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.7, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.5, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.3, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.2, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.0…) isn’t an overhaul, but just another stop-gap solution until QNX.

So the question now becomes: if a company that hasn’t shown any leadership in the smartphone space hasn’t caught up to where it needs to be today, then how will it ever catch up? As it stands, RIM offers decent hardware with borderline-terrible software. In the future, judging from the PlayBook, RIM will offer decent hardware with mediocre software.

A high-level source at RIM told me that co-CEO Mike Lazaridis’ biggest fear was Apple creating a BlackBerry Messenger competitor. Today, Apple introduced iMessage, an app and service that not only looks better than BlackBerry Messenger, but probably works better as well. RIM’s push email and corporate integration pitch is losing steam, and the company pretty much just got out-fruited. We exclusively reported the company was planning on launching an Android and then iPhone BlackBerry Messenger app, but that was supposed to be at least 3-4 months out for Android, and possibly a year for iOS.

I’m sad. Sad because RIM doesn’t get it — and I’m not sure it ever will get it — and sad because RIM had the opportunity to once again be that innovator that it was in the past. It’s still possible… but with each day, each press conference, and each product introduction from elsewhere in the tech community, that chance looks smaller and smaller.

You know what was the other thing Mike Lazaridis is scared of most from Apple? A hardware keyboard on an iPhone. Shit.

Today is the day that Apple CEO Steve Jobs and other executives will unveil the next advancements out of the industry’s leading innovator at WWDC 2011. While Apple has already announced that the company will be talking about three different main products — iOS 5, iCloud, and Mac OS X Lion — the fact is, Apple once again could possibly change (and influence) the entire way we use computers and mobile devices. Let’s look at iCloud, for example: if Apple is able to transition the device-centric approach to how we work with information and apps to a task-centric approach where the PowerPoint presentation you’re working on is what matters, and not what computer or tablet or smartphone you’re editing it from, that in itself a huge move forward in computing. Other companies have been trying to accomplish this for years, but we having a feeling that Apple is about to show us the beginnings of something so seamless, it really could find mass adoption, unlike most current solutions. Add in music, photos, videos, and your documents, and you should be able to pick up any computer or device and have access to all of your information and data from wherever you are. Coupled with a rumored Airport Extreme and TimeCapsule refresh in which the devices will run iOS and a feature an A4 or A5 processor, and all of your data could sit on one of your own devices and it would use your own internet connection to serve up your files directly to you. Lastly, what if iCloud allowed you to just walk up to any iOS or Mac computer and let you sign in, sit down, and practically act as if though it was your device or computer? What if Apple then implements this using NFC in the next iPhone — just place your iDevice next to a Mac computer, and it will instantly be transformed into your computer. Hit the break for more!

In iOS 5, Apple is rumored to have drastically redone a major pain-point for users: notifications. Though I’m sure Apple will show off redone notifications in iOS 5, I think it will be much, much more that that — iOS 5 will be the biggest change since the introduction of iOS in 2007. While Mac OS X Lion is all about simplifying and taking advantage of all the innovative things Apple has done to get rid of the frustrating experience of using a computer, I think iOS 5 will be about making iOS even more powerful, and a platform that will be capable of one day being a standalone computer operating system. Also, what if Apple decides that they’ve had enough with 3rd parties making messaging systems? They never introduced a real version of iChat, what if they created their own messaging network, not unlike BlackBerry Messenger? They have to see how valuable and useful all of these messaging services are. Additionally, iOS 5 should eliminate the need to sync your device — it’s all tied to your iCloud account. Your device is backed up and synced wirelessly, applications update in the background, OS updates are delivered wirelessly, and if you ever lose or replace a device, just sign in, and all your data is populated and everything is back.

With Mac OS X Lion, Apple will introduce features that make the Mac even more enjoyable to use. It will make people look back on the fact we had to save files — really, if you think about it, it’s insane that we’re forced to manage the data on a computer and make sure it’s saved and backed up — and make them feel like we were all living in the stone age. The entire philosophy of Apple is to offer the user a window and let everything else melt away and get out of the way. OS X Lion does that more so than any other OS X release, and it makes computing easier and more enjoyable for everybody.

I know Apple set expectations that we won’t be seeing any major hardware announcements, but a part of me does think it’s possible we’ll see an iPhone announcement of some sort. A guy can dream, right?

May 30th – June 5th

• Microsoft strikes deal to acquire Nokia’s phone business for $19B, insider claims
• Chinese boy sells kidney to buy an iPad 2
• Motorola DROID X2 review
• With possible Nokia deal, Microsoft could try to become the next Apple
• BlackBerry Bold 9900 won’t launch until September
• AT&T CEO: Our 4G LTE network is 2-3 years behind Verizon’s [updated]
• LG Revolution review
• HP Veer 4G review
• Motorola XOOM 2, Slimline smartphone, Tracey XL watch phone and more leaked
• Steve Jobs to unveil iOS 5, iCloud, OS X Lion at WWDC next week