Apple released its third-generation iPad on March 16th and I purchased mine one day later on the 17th. There were no lines at my local Best Buy when I went to buy the new model. In fact, there were still more than 100 new iPads in stock when I picked up my iPad more than 36 hours after it was released. The store was eerily quiet. It felt nothing like an Apple launch. (more…)

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its forthcoming major update to its Windows Phone platform — Windows Phone 7.1 “Mango.” We gave you live coverage of the event as well a hands-on look at the update, and now that the dust has cleared we can finally sit down and collect ourselves. In short, Mango looks awesome. We’ve seen plenty of promise in the Windows Phone platform right from the start, but we also thought Microsoft rushed the OS to market — understandably — and a lot of key features an...

Paul Bryan, Microsoft’s senior director of business experiences product management for Windows Phone, has written a blog post that details Windows Phone Mango’s business productivity features. The update, which will be discussed in deeper detail during a press conference in New York City on May 24th, will include pinnable email folders for quick access from the homescreen, conversation view in email, server search, and a new Lync application for business chat users. Bryan also said there will be a...

In a note to investors on Friday, Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek claimed knowledge of Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone. While most are now in agreement that Apple will not unveil its new iPhone until September this year at the earliest, thereby breaking its annual summer release cycle for the first time, the feature set coming in Apple’s next iPhone remains a topic of debate. Misek’s channel checks found that the next iPhone will be called the “iPhone 4S,” and it will...

Apple’s iOS platform is now on its fourth iteration and from the second it was announced, iOS has been arguably the most cohesive and advanced mobile operating system in the world. That’s not to say iOS is perfect, as competing operating systems like Android have greatly accelerated their advancements in near light-speed fashion. With Apple’s next version of iOS due to hit in the coming months, here’s what we have to see in iOS 5. (more…)

In a recent blog post, Google Software Engineer Stanley Chen revealed the latest addition to Gmail’s feature set, Smart Labels. The new labeling system, which can be turned on via the Labs section of Gmail, tries to help you automatically organize incoming email. “Smart Labels automatically categorizes incoming Bulk, Notification and Forum messages, and labels them as such,” reads the announcement. “‘Bulk’ mail includes any kind of mass mailing (such as newsletters and pr...

Via a blog post today, foursquare founder Dennis Crowley announced an updated version of his company’s software that will be available to users “late tonight.” Reminiscing about his company’s past, present, and future, Crowley admits that he and his team have not been able to “expand the foursquare experience as much as they hoped to” over the last year. But that all changes today. Focusing on discovery, encouragement, and loyalty, foursquare will deploy several new featur...

A new report suggests Apple will unveil the next version of its mobile operating system at a media event early next month. German Apple enthusiast blog Macerkopf.de cites a trusted source in claiming that Apple will reveal iOS 5 and new MobileMe features in early April. The timing of the rumor is in line with Apple’s announcements in years past; Apple held its iOS 4 event last year on April 8th. Among the more anticipated changes expected in iOS 5 is a completely revamped notification system. We have d...

As with several desktop and mobile platforms, Twitter is being out-tweeted on Windows Phone 7. Subjectivity aside, third-party Twitter clients often provide a great deal of functionality omitted from Twitter’s official clients. Such is the case with an independently-developed app that is quickly becoming the go-to Twitter experience on Windows Phone 7 devices. Beezz already provides a host of great functionality left out of the official Windows Phone 7 Twitter app, and a major update will add nearly...

The list of things that enterprise calendaring systems (e.g. Microsoft Exchange) can do that Google Calendar can not do is getting shorter and shorter. Today, the Big G announced a new feature it is folding into its online Calendar implementation: optional meeting attendees. As Google explains:Guests’ roles in meetings tend to vary as well. Some people have to be there to lead the meeting or help make decisions, whereas others are gathering information they may be able to digest just as well via the note...

If you’ve heard about the Kik messaging app, or as some would call it, “the new BBM”, you probably sat at the cool-kid lunch-table at school. Kik, a multi-platform messaging app designed to do one thing — communicate instantly and effortlessly with buddies — has absolutely exploded over the last few weeks. Originally on track to launch an innovative (and pretty cool) music-sharing, remote-controllable service, Kik soon found themselves creating a messaging app with some of their ...

Nokia and the Symbian Foundation announced Monday some major changes surrounding the open source Symbian OS. First and foremost, the Symbian Foundation will no longer be responsible for OS development as of March 2011. Instead, Nokia will take on the task, leaving the Foundation responsible for licensing the software to manufacturers and other partners. Nokia says the move will allow it to issue updates more efficiently. As other manufacturers continue to look elsewhere, Nokia says it is still committed to th...

Last night, Google announced the addition of a Priority Inbox to its Gmail email service. As Google explains:Priority Inbox splits your inbox into three sections: “Important and unread,” “Starred” and “Everything else.” As messages come in, Gmail automatically flags some of them as important. Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most (if you email Bob a lot, a message from Bob is probably important) and which messages you open ...

I wanted to share some amazing news with you all.I am happy to report that BGR has been acquired by MMC. Moving forward, CEO of MMC Jay Penske and I are partners on BGR, and I couldn’t be happier. This will allow BGR to grow enormously. From a more comprehensive and diverse editorial staff — all the way to the relaunching of BGR as BGR.com with new features and functionality, the site will advance dramatically and continue our mission: to break the biggest stories in this category possible. I ...