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.

Of course we learned just a few days later that a lack of demand was certainly not to blame for the surplus of inventory; after five years, Apple had finally managed to meet demand with a mobile product at launch. The Cupertino, California-based company sold more than 3 million third-generation iPads during the tablet’s first four days of availability, making the new iPad Apple’s second biggest product launch of all time behind the iPhone 4S, which sold more than 4 million units during its debut weekend.

I have never been an iPad user. I took possession of a first-generation iPad out of necessity — I had to know what I would be reporting on for the year to follow — but I rarely touched the tablet unless I had to test a new app or cover something else having to do with Apple’s slate. Light-duty media tablets simply did not appeal to me, and I maintained my indifference toward the category for the two years that followed. I have a drawer full of smartphones with screens that vary in size from 3.5 inches to 5.3 inches, an eReader, a lightweight MacBook Air laptop and a Dell desktop PC. I’m covered.

Even the BlackBerry PlayBook, my one-eyed man in the country of the blind, has sat untouched for several months since I purchased a Nook Touch from Barnes & Noble. While PlayBook OS 2.0 has brought a number of much-needed improvements to the device, reading eBooks was really the only function I could find that I continued to enjoy more on a tablet than on a laptop or smartphone. That experience is infinitely better on the Nook though, and my BlackBerry tablet has been boxed as a result.

So I bought a new iPad, and these are my thoughts after having spent the past month with it.

As was the case when Apple released its first- and second-generation iPads, reviews of the third Apple tablet were overwhelmingly positive. Despite conspiracy theories that run rampant on enthusiast forums and in the comments sections of news sites, this is not because of some elaborate scheme among the media and technology blogs to give Apple positive coverage. No, the truth is far less scintillating and scandalous: Apple makes products people like.

BGR reviewed the iPad in March and Editor-in-chief Jonathan Geller said the only real competition the new iPad has comes from its predecessor, the iPad 2, which is currently available for just $399. While low-end slates like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have been well received, I agree that these are not iPad competitors and I conveyed as much in my review of Amazon’s tablet last year. Apple CEO Tim Cook then confirmed the notion this past January, stating on an earnings call that the Kindle Fire had no impact whatsoever on iPad sales.

I am on record numerous times stating that media tablets have no place in my life. My opinion was that tablets, and the iPad specifically, do many things well but nothing as well as as one of several other devices I already own. You can watch videos on an iPad, but I would rather watch on a TV. You can work on an iPad, but I would rather use a notebook or desktop computer. You can quickly maneuver through dozens of gorgeous apps on an iPad, but I have smartphones packed to the brim with great apps. You can read books on the iPad, but I have a Nook Touch that lasts for more than a month on a charge, and is much lighter and more comfortable to hold than the iPad. For everything the iPad does, I already own something that does it better.

This is no longer the case.

Apple’s new tablet isn’t magical, but it certainly is amazing. The hardware is a feat of design and engineering that has no equal in the tablet space. Sleek and smooth, the case on the new iPad is very similar to the previous model, though it is slightly thicker to make room for a massive 11,560 mAh battery and a few other new components. The new dual-core A5X processor with quad-core graphics offers significant performance improvements compared to the iPad 2, which was already impressive, and iOS is as smooth as a modern mobile operating system can be.

But the new iPad won me over due to what essentially boils down to two things: the Retina display and the talent of third-party iOS developers.

Countless adjectives have been used to describe the Retina display on the new iPad. Amazing. Fantastic. Brilliant. Gorgeous. Vivid. Beautiful. Stunning. They’re all accurate.

The 9.7-inch, 2,048 x 1,536-pixel panel on the iPad offers better-than-Blu-ray resolution at a class-leading 264 pixels per inch. The pixel density on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is 149 pixels per inch, and while such comparisons are meaningless due to the user’s position relative to a television, a 42-inch HDTV with 1080p resolution offers 52 pixels per inch.

More than pixel counts, brightness measurements or any other specs on paper, the iPad’s Retina display is an experience. Nothing on a widely available consumer electronics device even comes close to offering the experience afforded by this amazing screen, and it may be some time before anything does. The color reproduction and clarity make staring at the Retina display like looking through a window, but the user has the ability to touch and manipulate the items that exist on the other side.

The iPad’s Retina display creates a new reality that the user holds in the palm of his or her hand — which brings me to apps.

Our world would be a very different place if Steve Jobs and Apple’s top executives had stuck to their original plan and confined third-party developers who wanted to address iOS to the Web. Apple’s mobile devices, and all mobile devices, would be infinitely less useful and a $20 billion industry responsible for creating more than 466,000 jobs to date would not exist.

The things these talented people have created for iOS are simply breathtaking. While fantastic apps exist for Android, Windows Phone, webOS and other platforms, the cream of the crop on these operating systems does not measure up to the look, feel or performance of top iOS apps. And on the third-generation iPad, the gap is significantly greater than it has ever been before.

Even apps from top developers that exist on multiple platforms offer far more attractive and often more enjoyable experiences on iOS, and especially on the iPad. Look at Netflix, Evernote, Hulu Plus, ESPN ScoreCenter, TED, Kobo, Pulse, Adobe Photoshop Touch or any one of a hundred other popular apps. These applications exist for the iPad and for Android tablets, but the difference between performance — and often, the look and feel — on the iPad and on Android devices is painful. There are several root causes of this disparity, but none of them matter even a little bit to the end user. All that matters is the experience.

These differences grow even more vast with the new iPad. Things aren’t just better on the iPad than they are on other tablets, they’re completely different. The impact of this next-level visual element cannot be overstated.

And the best apps the iPad has to offer aren’t just a cut above the rest now, they are jaw-dropping. There is nothing else in the world that lets people take in news and other content like Flipboard. There is nothing widely available to the mass market that lets people sketch and translate ideas onto “paper” like Paper by FiftyThree. Nothing even approaches these experiences. Not on a tablet, not on a smartphone and not on a PC.

This brings me back to the competition. On top of everything else, the third-generation iPad shows us exactly why Apple’s rivals are floundering and will continue to flounder unless they readdress the market from a smarter angle.

Apple’s competition has effectively gotten nowhere with their efforts to profit from the media tablet market Apple created. The first round of Android tablets was a bust because the user experiences these devices afforded were awful. Vendors scrambled to launch tablets similar to the iPad and the smartphone platform on which they based their efforts did not translate well at all to larger devices.

The second round of Android tablets offered a much better user experience, however these devices bring nothing new and desirable to the table where mass-market consumers are concerned. There is no valuable differentiation for average users, only a more complex and sometimes confusing interface, a weaker assortment of applications and a user experience that cannot match the iPad.

We’ve seen a few success stories, but to call them moderate is kind. With just a pair of niche devices as the exception — the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet — Apple sold more iPads during the new model’s debut weekend than most competing tablets will sell in a quarter, half or even a year.

Tablet makers are doing it wrong.

Now, the situation stands to get even worse. Vendors have been unable to create a tablet experience that consumers are willing to get behind en masse, so they now plan to compete not with products but with pricing. Companies have seen the success enjoyed by Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire, a specialized device, and they now hope to bolster sales by launching cheaper tablets. Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab models are about to hit the market with trimmed price points, and Google itself is said to be readying an own-brand tablet that could cost as little as $149. These devices may or may not perform well in terms of sales, but my concern lies elsewhere.

This path leads only to compromise, certainly not to innovation.

Why am I being so hard on Android tablets and the companies that build them? Is it because I do not believe top vendors like HTC and Samsung can compete with Apple in the tablet space? Is it because I enjoy seeing them fail? Quite the contrary, it’s because I want to see Apple’s competition succeed.

Apple’s new tablet is amazing, and it has proven to me that a tablet can indeed offer real value and utility where smartphones and traditional computers cannot. But the iPad is only one vision of a tablet.

I don’t want to see companies like Samsung and HTC try and fail to replicate Apple’s vision, and I certainly don’t want to see them do it repeatedly. I want to see them create their own unique visions of what a media tablet might be, and I want to see them launch products that are worthy of our attention — not because these new devices are like a cheaper iPad or like an open-source iPad, but because they are well-designed, well-made, useful and unique.

I want a tablet market, not an iPad market.

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 and functionality were missing as a result. Mango goes a very, very long way in bringing the emerging platform up to date, and Microsoft has named HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Acer, Fujitsu Limited, ZTE Corporation and of course Nokia as partners moving forward. Windows Phone 7.1 will be the launch platform for upcoming Windows Phones from Nokia, by the way, and Microsoft confirmed that Nokia has already built devices running Windows Phone 7.1 that are currently being tested in its labs. Mango will add more robust multitasking support, messaging threads, deeper social integration, a unified email inbox, voice-to-text and text-to-voice support, and about 500 other enhancements to the Windows Phone platform when it launches this fall. Hit the break for Microsoft’s full press release along with a video of some of the new features Mango will bring to the Windows Phone platform.

Microsoft Previews Next Release of Windows Phone

“Mango” to deliver smarter and easier communications, apps and Internet experiences and bring Windows Phone to more customers around the world.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 24, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today previewed the next major release of Windows Phone, code-named “Mango,” through a series of media events around the world. “Mango” will deliver more than 500 new features to push the boundaries of the smartphone experience around communications, apps and the Internet. The “Mango” release will be available for free to Windows Phone 7 customers and is scheduled to ship on new phones beginning this fall. More details on device update timing will be provided closer to availability. Windows Phone will also add support for additional languages, expand access to apps by launching Windows Phone Marketplace in new countries, and partner with new OEMs to enable expansion to new markets.*

“Seven months ago we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more,” said Andy Lees, president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. “With ‘Mango,’ Windows Phone takes a major step forward in redefining how people communicate and use apps and the Internet, giving you better results with less effort.”

Communications: Easier to Connect and Share

The smartphone experience can be complicated by a sea of disconnected apps and accounts as people attempt to keep pace with all the ways they communicate — from calls, texts, email and instant messages (IM) to status updates, Tweets, check-ins, photo posting and tagging. To help people stay on top of that growing complexity, the “Mango” release organizes information around the person or group people want to interact with, not the app they have to use.

•	Threads. Switch between text, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger within the same conversation.
•	Groups. Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles to see the latest status updates right from the Start Screen and quickly send a text, email or IM to the whole group.
•	Deeper social network integration. Twitter and LinkedIn feeds are now integrated into contact cards, and “Mango” includes built-in Facebook check-ins and new face detection software that makes it easier to quickly tag photos and post to the Web.
•	Linked inbox. See multiple email accounts in one linked inbox. Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest mail.
•	Hands-free messaging. Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support enables hands-free texting or chatting.

A Smarter Approach to Apps

Windows Phone will challenge the way people think about apps. Today their usefulness is measured by what can be done within the app, but Microsoft sees the promise of apps in how they can be integrated directly into the core experiences of the phone. In addition to making it easy to get timely notifications and updates from apps right from the Start Screen, the “Mango” release also will surface apps as part of search results and within Windows Phone Hubs. As a result, a useful app is more likely to be right there when needed.

•	App Connect. By connecting apps to search results and deepening their integration with Windows Phone Hubs, including Music and Video and Pictures, “Mango” allows apps to be surfaced when and where they make sense.
•	Improved Live Tiles. Get real-time information from apps without having to open them. Live Tiles can be more dynamic and hold more information.
•	Multitasking. Quickly switch between apps in use and allow apps to run in the background, helping to preserve battery life and performance.

Taking the Internet Beyond the Browser

In addition to including Internet Explorer, the “Mango” release will connect the power of the Web to the unique capabilities of Windows Phones, such as location awareness, camera and access to apps, to present a way of viewing the Web that is more localized, actionable and relevant.

•	Internet Explorer 9. A browser based on the powerful Internet Explorer 9 and including support for HTML5 and full hardware acceleration.
•	Local Scout. Provides hyperlocal search results and recommends nearby restaurants, shopping and activities in an easy-to-use guide.
•	Bing on Windows Phone. More ways to search the Web, including Bing Vision, Music Search and Voice so it’s easy to discover and decide.
•	Quick Cards. When searching for a product, movie, event or place, see a quick summary of relevant information, including related apps.

Strengthening the Ecosystem

The Windows Phone ecosystem has grown steadily since Windows Phone 7 first launched in October, with more than 17,000 apps currently available on Windows Phone Marketplace and Windows Phone handsets available from a range of partners worldwide, and Microsoft’s recently announced partnership with Nokia. “Mango” will further expand and strengthen the Windows Phone ecosystem through new partnerships with Acer Inc., Fujitsu Ltd. and ZTE Corp., which today announced plans to deliver new Windows Phone devices in markets around the world. Furthermore, Microsoft announced it will support additional languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish, and will greatly expand the list of countries where consumers have access to apps via Windows Phone Marketplace. As well, a beta release of the free Windows Phone Developer tools, which will be used to create the next generation of “Mango” apps and games, will be posted for public download to Microsoft’s website within 24 hours of today’s events. More information about what “Mango” means for developers, the tools and a link to the public download page is available at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2011/05/24/developer-news-beta-mango-tools-available-today.aspx.

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 added capabilities for IT departments, including complex password support, information rights management support, and the ability to access hidden corporate Wi-Fi networks. “This week, we expect to exceed 16,000 apps available in the Windows Phone Marketplace,” Bryan added. We’ll be reporting live from Microsoft’s press conference on the 24th.

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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 feature minor cosmetic updates, Apple’s A5 processor, better cameras and HSPA+ support. More interestingly, perhaps, Misek claims that the next-gen iPhone will be picked up by both Sprint and T-Mobile. Of course we already knew Apple was testing an iPhone compatible with T-Mobile’s network, but Misek’s note is the first confident claim that the device will launch on T-Mobile since our exclusive report. Regarding 4G LTE compatibility, Misek says the Qualcomm LTE chip Apple would use in a 4G model is not available in the quantities Apple would need for the huge production volumes that are expected. This claim jibes with earlier reports that Apple’s iPhone is not likely to support LTE until next year at the earliest.

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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.

For starters, notifications. This is a must, and Apple is well aware of that fact. How the company will end up integrating a revamped notifications UI into its almost clinically polished OS is up for grabs, though we could see Apple taking a page out of webOS’ book with unobtrusive yet meaningful notifications that peek out / push down into view, for instance. Apple did, after all, hire Palm’s webOS architect recently.

Apple really hasn’t let users customize their notifications settings at all thus far, and it might be time the company has a change of heart. It would definitely be a big surprise and an even bigger departure from Apple’s current philosophy, but a “profiles” type app that manages notification settings and options for all apps would be ideal. It might be similar to how RIM does it — set your custom notification tone, vibrate settings and more, all in the same app for anything you want to customize. Apple’s current setup is especially frustrating with hundreds of millions of iOS devices out there playing the same exact “ding” email alert tone. We get the branding aspect of it, but it’s time to let users customize their SMS, email, and notification sounds and settings.

Apple also has to open up access to its filesystem to be taken seriously as a viable modern-day smarphone OS. We understand that the filesystem is hidden so users don’t have to see it or manage what’s in it, and there are valid security concerns with giving apps the ability to write to any location, but a default or set list of locations all third-party apps could write and read to would be ideal. And the fact that Safari can’t upload a file from the iPhone itself is kind of insulting.

Additionally, we get the fact that iTunes is the preferred method of loading media to the device, but back to that filesystem… there is no reason why files like MP3 tracks or AVI video files downloaded from the device itself can’t be stored into some default location for later playback.

Apple is rumored to be switching to the cloud for a lot of its services, and we hope the company extends this concept to wireless device syncing. We should be able to enter our Apple IDs and have devices load our most recent backup over the air along with all our apps and settings.

An improved lock screen would be a welcome addition as well, with more information being able to be shown while the device is locked. This would save users the time it takes to unlock their phones just to see if they have a new email message waiting for them, and so on.

We’d also like to see a user-editable dictionary (we know it exists for some languages on the phone, but we’d like this to be universal and it needs to be reworked, too), the ability to use FaceTime over 3G, real gesture support and a few other improvements here and there.

Let’s be honest — none of these things are integral to the success of Apple’s next iPhone or any other iOS-powered devices. People will keep buying them either way because as a whole, they’re still amazing devices. But Apple is a company that got where it is by building incredible experiences and, often times, by leading instead of following. Apple’s iOS platform is now falling behind in several key places, including some areas of the overall user experience. For a company that puts so much time and resources into UX, I can’t help but wonder how much further Apple will let things slip before it reassumes a clear lead.

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 promotional email) and gets filtered out of your inbox by default (where you can easily read it later), ‘Notifications’ are messages sent to you directly (like account statements and receipts), and email from group mailing lists gets labeled as ‘Forums.’” Smart Labels can be tweaked and customized to fit your workflow and function in harmony with Gmail’s Filters. The new feature is available to all Gmail users immediately.

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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 features to its iPhone and Android applications (version number 3.0). Through a new “Explore” tab, users can input what it is they are looking for, getting recommendations from 4sq based on what’s around and where friends have visited. The company will try to encourage users to continue to explore their world with a revamped leader board. “You’ll see that we’ve replaced our old leader board (and its simple points system and Sunday night reset) with a sliding 7-day barometer of you and your friends,” writes Crowley. “Check-ins now trigger points for dozens of different types of actions.” Loyalty will be addressed by offering merchants additional ways to reward “swarms, groups of friends, regulars, newbies, or everyone.” Merchants will gain access to the new controls later this week. In closing, Crowley writes, “we’ve got really ambitious plans for the rest of the year and we’re excited to let you play with three big new pieces of the master plan.” Foursquare notes that an updated BlackBerry client is due out later this week — though it will not include many 3.0′s features — and that it is “working hard” on its Windows Phone and Symbian apps.

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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 discussed Apple’s notifications system several times on BGR, and we even said iOS notifications were “as disruptive as notifications on a mobile device can possibly be.” Apple is well aware of the problem, and the company hired Rich Dellinger last year — the man widely regarded as being responsible for the fantastic notification system found on HP’s webOS platform. Apple has not yet confirmed any details surrounding the next version of iOS or an event next month.

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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 all of the core features the app is currently missing. New features in version 1.2 of the Beezz app include:

• List support
• Option to open app directly to main timeline
• Favorites
• Saved Searches
• Old-style Retweet support
• New live tile, which will include timeline, mentions and DMs
• Picture Hub integration
• Internet Explorer integration (tweet a URL from within IE — very handy since there is no copy/paste yet)
• Bit.ly integration
• Conversation view

DevMob, Beezz’s developer, hasn’t yet given a time frame for the new update, but we can asure you that the team is hard at work prepping the new release. Hit the jump for a quick teaser video highlighting a few upcoming features and in the meantime, version 1.1 of the Beezz app is currently available in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace for free.

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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 notes. Without knowing which attendees are crucial and which are optional, it can be difficult to know which meetings you really need to attend.

With a couple clicks, you can openly communicate the importance of a meeting for each attendee. Click on the “Make some attendees optional link” above the guest list and then toggle the role of each attendee by clicking the icon next to his or her name.

The optional attendees feature should be rolling out to Google Calendar users shortly. Hit the read link to check out the official article.

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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 existing technology while the music service firmed up behind the scenes. After a pretty poor original launch (I tried Kik back then and the beta was definitely a beta — I uninstalled it soon after it was first installed), Kik stripped away almost everything until they ended up with one of the quickest and most reliable messaging apps around.

Kik has over 1.2 million unique users signed up, Kik CEO Ted Livingston told BGR yesterday evening. The company is expecting its user-base to cross the 1.75-million user mark any day. Ted even said that Kik had to charter a plane and load it up with extra servers to bring to their data center just to keep the service up and running to handle the influx of users. Kik’s growth is nothing short of remarkable, with a completely viral marketing initiative spreading like wildfire across Facebook and Twitter. What’s exciting is that Kik knows that their users expect an even better user experience, and even more features. Here is what Kik is planning on doing:

They have just submitted a new update for the app to Apple’s App Store which should fix any bugs, but more importantly introduce new privacy features. We’re told Kik will add the ability to opt-out of the service suggesting users to you (and you to other users) in addition to the ability to block users. Going one step beyond this, instead of introducing an accept/decline system for friend requests, Kik seems to have a pretty nifty solution planned. By default, you will be able to make it so that any user who you don’t manually add to your buddy list, won’t be able to message you. If they happen to get your Kik username and send you a message, you won’t get it. They’ll get an automatic response to their sent message that you have enabled a privacy feature and that you would need to message them first.

After solidifying the app and introducing these new privacy features, Kik plans to bet big on photo sharing. Sending pictures back and forth isn’t anything new, but it links in nicely with Kik long-term strategy — a desktop browser-based mobile community. Kik is touting a system they have created to let your phone sign you into Kik.com, thus accessing your buddy list, shared photos, and possibly even more down the road. It appears to be a pretty novel concept, just walk up to your computer, wave your phone back and forth, the system will authenticate you, and you’re off and running. All your buddies are there, you can chat, see your message history, photos, and other content in one place. We still don’t know how Kik plans to monetize their service. It would prove to be pretty difficult to start charging millions of people for a service that was free from the beginning, but mobile ads are certainly a possibility in our mind. Possibly a premium product with additional features? Who knows. All we do know is that with Android, BlackBerry and iPhone apps that can all talk to each other, you don’t have an excuse not to be on Kik.

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 the Symbian OS, which is currently the most popular smartphone operating system in the world by a wide margin. Hit the break for the full press release.

AMSTERDAM, SYMBIAN EXCHANGE & EXPOSITION (SEE), NOVEMBER 8, 2010 – Following a strategy review, the board of the Symbian Foundation has today decided to transition the role of the non-profit organisation. The foundation will become a legal entity responsible for licensing software and other intellectual property, such as the Symbian trademark. Nokia has committed to make the future development of the Symbian platform available to the ecosystem via an alternative direct and open model.

“The founding board members took a bold strategic step in setting up the foundation, which was absolutely the right decision at the time,” says Tim Holbrow, executive director, Symbian Foundation. “There has since been a seismic change in the mobile market but also more generally in the economy, which has led to a change in focus for some of our funding board members. The result of this is that the current governance structure for the Symbian platform – the foundation – is no longer appropriate.

“However, the platform enjoys strong support from some of the largest and most innovative device creators in the world. And we continue to see solid momentum behind the platform, with 25 percent of all Symbian-based devices shipping in the last 12 months.*

“I’m immensely proud of the work we’ve done at the Symbian Foundation. Perhaps most notably, in the last year we’ve delivered the biggest open source project ever in releasing the entire Symbian codebase under an open source license, and we did it four months ahead of schedule.”

The first phase of the foundation’s transition will involve a reduction in operations and staff numbers. By April 2011, the Symbian Foundation will be governed by a group of non-executive directors tasked with overseeing the organisation’s licensing function.

“Nokia remains committed to Symbian as the most used smartphone platform around the world,” said Jo Harlow, senior vice president, Smartphones, Nokia. “The Nokia N8 generated the highest online pre-orders we’ve ever experienced and we have a family of Symbian^3 smartphones including the Nokia N8, Nokia C7, and Nokia C6-01 which are available now, as well as the Nokia E7 which is expected to ship before the end of 2010. Nokia expects to sell more than 50 million Symbian^3 smartphones.”

The Symbian Foundation leadership team will work together with Nokia to ensure that the reduction in operations of the foundation will bring as little disruption to the ecosystem as possible. Further details of this process will be shared at a later date.

Today’s announcement does not affect the Symbian Exchange & Exposition (SEE 2010), which will commence on November 9th in Amsterdam. SEE 2010 will bring together attendees from over 55 countries to engage, exchange and explore opportunities offered by the Symbian platform. For more information about the event, visit www.see2010.org.

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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 and reply to (these are likely more important than the ones you skip over). And as you use Gmail, it will get better at categorizing messages for you.

The new feature has been rolling out to Gmail users since late last night. If you see “New! Priority Inbox” in the top right-hand corner of your Gmail window, you’ve got the new feature. Hit the jump to see a video explanation of just how the new inbox will improve your digital life (complete with Ragtime music).

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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 am the President, Editor-in-Chief, and General Manager of BGR, and will continue to run the business as well as the editorial aspects of the site — nothing will change there.

BGR was started by myself, Jonathan Geller, a little more than four years ago. In that time, it has grown from just a small passion project into a profitable, dominant online business that is ranked with some of the biggest sites on the web.  As I write this, BGR is, according to Technorati, ranked #49 out of every single site in the world. When I think back about how this was accomplished, and how with just a few great writers, and practically no infrastructure, we built something pretty mind blowing… I can’t wait to hit #1.

Thank you for making BGR your daily go-to for the latest mobile and gadget news, we will have more information over the coming weeks on what we are working on to make BGR better than ever. Press release is after the break!

- Jonathan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MMC ACQUIRES BGR.COM ONE OF THE LEADING DIGITAL CONTENT SITES IN THE WORLD

Boy Genius Report and Jonathan Geller join MMC, Jay Penske’s growing digital media and publishing network

LOS ANGELES – April 27, 2010 – Mail.com Media Corporation, (MMC), the digital media company that owns and operates the Mail.com portal and email service as well as a growing portfolio of lifestyle brands including, Deadline.com, HollywoodLife.com, Movieline.com and OnCars.com, announced today its acquisition of BGR.com, one of the top mobile/gadget sites in the world. MMC also begins a long-term, multi-year partnership with Jonathan Geller, the highly respected founder known as Boy Genius from Boy Genius Report.

Launched in October 2006, BGR.com has grown quickly to become one of the top three sites in the mobile category. Demonstrating its appeal to a broad audience that extends beyond mobile, Technorati also lists BGR.com as one of the Top 50 most influential content destinations in the world, across all categories.

Like many kids with a fascination for technology and gadgets, Geller owned his first cell phone from the young age of 10 years-old. At 17, he began writing for Engadget. Not long afterwards, he started BGR as a passion project that quickly transitioned into the “go-to” site for breaking news for mobile devices and gadgets.

Now reaching over 1 Million users per month, BGR.com is the leading source for breaking news and analysis on products in-market as well as prior to launch. The site has also broken the news first on almost every new BlackBerry handset. In 2006, BGR.com was the first to report on AT&T’s second half product launches before the news broke in mainstream media. Over the last four years, BGR.com has been the first to break news and provide exclusive content about many of the most significant product launches–months before the release and formal announcement.

Commenting on the move to MMC, Geller said “I’m excited to be able to partner with Jay Penske and MMC on the BGR property. I look forward to continuing to grow BGR globally with the support of MMC’s talented team and extended network. Our new platform will allow us to deliver the same high quality exclusive breaking news that we’re known for, but to an even larger audience. I’m also excited to have the opportunity to expand BGR beyond just the mobile category to reach a new core of ferociously dedicated readers”.

The impact of the expansion cannot be underestimated. RIM’s stock price increased by over 30% immediately after BGR.com broke the news of their new devices. Motorola’s stock price grew by 8% following BGR.com’s review of the DROID. Testament to the fact that the immediacy with which new media sites like BGR.com and Deadline.com, that break news and report on major events first, does in fact, move the needle in the financial sector.

“We’re thrilled to announce our acquisition of BGR, and partnership with Jonathan. Very much in the mold of Nikki Finke of Deadline.com, Jonathan has singlehandedly built an influential site with original content that appeals to an extremely engaged and loyal following in one of the largest and most exciting categories online–and he’s done it all before his 23rd birthday” said Jay Penske, the founder, Chairman and CEO of MMC. “I believe MMC is a perfect fit for Geller and BGR.com–because we provide the most original and conversational content on the web, and have the skill-set, infrastructure and reach to accelerate the scale of the BGR brand”.

About BGR.com

BGR, or Boy Genius Report as it was formally known, was founded by internet personality Boy Genius (Jonathan Geller). Starting off writing for Engadget and Engadget Mobile, the then anonymous blogger quickly gained a massive online following by constantly breaking stories in the mobile gadget space. With the rise in popularity of Boy Genius’ columns, a formal website became a necessity.

Visit BGR on www.bgr.com

Follow BGR at http://twitter.com/boygeniusreport

About Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC)

MMC is a leading digital media company founded by CEO Jay Penske in 2004. The company owns and operates Mail.com, a global multi-media publishing platform. In addition, MMC owns a unique portfolio of lifestyle brands that provide the web’s best original content in categories including entertainment, automotive, breaking news, tech/gadget, media, finance, health, beauty, style and sports. Mail.com, OnCars.com, Deadline.com, HollywoodLife.com, BGR.com, Movieline.com, Fan.com, are all part of the MMC digital portfolio.

Guest post by a “connect” in the wireless industry.

Absolutely dread going to your location wireless provider’s store and having to be social? If it’s one of your worst nightmares, hopefully this will help you change that. Here are a few tips that might help you get a better deal on a phone and keep the hurt off your wallet. After all, if you’re like us… you’ll be buying a new phone every 6 months anyways.

Do:

Buy at the end of the month or during bad weather. It’s funny, but the best time to buy a phone  is at the end of the month. Every store has a quota to hit and the sales reps are a lot more tempted to make a good deal if it’s the end of the month. They’ll most likely be offering better discounts to try and get those final sales for their quota. Also, on days when the weather is really bad, the store has probably been slow most of the day and the reps are bored. We’re not kidding. They’ll want to talk to you and want to sell you something. The sales reps have probably made nothing in terms of money for that day and they’ll be eager to try and make a deal for you.

Take the features:

Use them as a bargaining tool. This is a great way to get extra discounts or deals on a phone. Tell the rep you’ll sign up for the data plan (if not already required based on the phone like a smartphone) plus insurance and other extra features if they’ll cut you a small deal on the equipment. ARPU (Average Revenue Per Unit) is always a huge goal for managers and employees, and it adds a large amount to our commission check. You can always take these features off (if they’re not contracted like the smartphone data plans) if you don’t use them. Just know that most wireless carriers require features to be active for a certain amount of time or else the representative won’t get the commission from it.

Also, try to find a rep that is passionate. It might seem like common sense, but we can’t tell you how many people just enter the store and mosey on over to any boring dope and expect greatness. Look for a rep that looks happy to be there. That rep will most likely be an upfront person and be detailed on equipment and plan pricing. If the rep is trained well enough, he or she will know about other carrier’s pricing and plans as well, making this much easier on you.

Ask the representative to be blunt and honest — telling your rep from the get-go to be straightforward and to-the-point will save both of you a lot of trouble. They’ll get the job done faster and you’ll get the info you’re asking for without all the corporate mumbo-jumbo that they’re supposed to shove in your head.

Plus, if you don’t already have a phone in mind, ask the representative what phone they use. If they’re carrying it, it’s most likely a decent phone. Most likely.

Sales reps can usually budge on the equipment pricing, accessories, or waiving activation fees depending on whether you’re at a corporate store or an indirect dealer. But something they can’t do is budge on the plan pricing; that’s something no one can adjust — only the retention department over the phone can.

If you see a better price at another store or online, ask for a price match. This requires a print out of the ad that you saw, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t care, or don’t come prepared. Corporate stores can only price match in this fashion, too. Buying at a corporate store versus a 3rd party store (Costco, Sam’s Club, Radio Shack) has its benefits such as better trained employees and usually original/more encompassing warranties.

Don’t:

Don’t threaten to leave your carrier if the representatives you’re talking to don’t give you a good deal. Sales reps know your contract length and they know you aren’t going to pay that $200 ETF to get little Timmy off your plan and into an iPhone because they won’t give you $50 off that dumbphone he wants. Things like telling them that you’ve been with them for 10+ years and you deserve 5 BlackBerry Bolds for free will only frustrate the poor guy. When it comes to equipment cost, the amount of years you’ve been with a carrier as a customer doesn’t mean too much. Also don’t say that you’ll get a better deal by switching from x-carrier to y-carrier if you don’t know for sure if it’s exactly true. A good rep knows when a customer is lying and they’ll pretty much be done trying to work with you at that point.

Remember to play it smart. Don’t try and ask for a smartphone without a data plan. That’s like buying a brand new BMW and not wanting to put premium gas in it. The reps most likely can’t make that happen due to restrictions with the way those plans work. Also never ask to speak to the manager while negotiating for a better deal. You’re undermining the representative and are only going to annoy the manager.

Upgrades (phone discounts you get when extending your current contract with your existing carrier) mean pretty little to the sales reps in terms of commission. The rep doesn’t make much on these kinds of contracts and if you’re going to give them a really hard time about pricing, they’ll either pass you to another rep or put 0% effort into trying to help you out.

Tips from reps we know:

• “I’ve had high maintenance customers bring a store employee coffee or thank you card after working really hard for them. Doing even the smallest things like that will get us to do pretty much anything you want in the future or fix any problem you might have down the road.”
• “Reps work on commission; it’s how they pay their bills, feed their kids, and pretty much survive. It’s really aggravating when you spend 45 minutes in the store talking to us about plans and pricing and then come back the next day to sign up with our co-worker on our day off.”
• “Reps are people too. We have our good and our bad days. Act like a decent human being and you’ll be treated with the same respect.”

All in all, pretty standard stuff though like we said, you’d be surprised how many people don’t really get the big picture. Hopefully this makes shopping for a new phone, wireless plan, and even carrier a little easier on you the next time around!

While this post tried to encompass all wireless carriers in the U.S., some have different policies and practices and it’s best to visit their respective website to learn about plan/feature requirements, and any sales/rebates they have available before you go to the store.