BlackBerry Gets a new CEO and $1 Billion Instead of Getting Privatized

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOfA9zmnX66otofnYaheltEToek4iasHnzfsTcWdfIfA68S8x21m3W5TaqwQskgELGI5UIeTRVQSjH5nvwtMkEJ9ZBUX8zVwGwNIgLi6lQOWv9OA7RgYMXCjDnLlCfIt7ACXshe8rLjU/s1600/BlackBerry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOfA9zmnX66otofnYaheltEToek4iasHnzfsTcWdfIfA68S8x21m3W5TaqwQskgELGI5UIeTRVQSjH5nvwtMkEJ9ZBUX8zVwGwNIgLi6lQOWv9OA7RgYMXCjDnLlCfIt7ACXshe8rLjU/s1600/BlackBerry.jpg" /></a></div> Not long ago, we told you about <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/09/blackberry-sells-itself-to-fairfax.html" target="_blank">BlackBerry’s plans to go private in a $4.7 billion deal</a> with Fairfax Financial. As it turns out, that process has fallen apart as the buyer couldn’t convince the banks that the deal was logical enough. Still, a lot has changed inside the company.<br /> The CEO who turned BB10 into a reality and scraped BB7 OS, Thorsten Heins is gone. His void is filled by John S. Chen who will act as the company’s interim chief, while also serving as its chairman board of directors.<br /> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </div> The company has also finalized a $1 billion deal with Fairfax Financial and a group of investors, as it seeks a way out of is recent troubles. Of course, in return of this generosity, the investors will decide what is best for the company and what needs to be scraped in order to move forward.<br /> The first step as a part of that process is already taken, in the form of a newly-appointed CEO. Mr. John S. Chen, the new CEO, has a history and reputation of rescuing failing corporations so that’s not too bad at all.<br /> More will follow in the future. However, quite contrary to what many people might be thinking right now, the handset division of the company won’t get axed at all.<br /> “I know we have enough ingredients to build a long-term sustainable business,” the newly-appointed CEO said in an interview to Reuters, his first interview since the announcement. “I have done this before and seen the same movie before.”</div>

BlackBerry Gets a new CEO and $1 Billion Instead of Getting Privatized

Not long ago, we told you about BlackBerry’s plans to go private in a $4.7 billion deal with Fairfax Financial. As it turns out, that p...

Read more »

Warid Achieves Its Highest Ever Sales in October 2013

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBJRggWHv8VbvjaSIwiivV2EcJ1iygkgOM4CcHNibFtJqhISjjjYBJ1LfCHBZjkedRpWJH_meH1w8gVGLB_eIyTAlnIqOhmRaI8IcRtWe1eUmS93PKCn7Olmb9aPbUO_EDcdOHMbhn5k/s1600/warid.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBJRggWHv8VbvjaSIwiivV2EcJ1iygkgOM4CcHNibFtJqhISjjjYBJ1LfCHBZjkedRpWJH_meH1w8gVGLB_eIyTAlnIqOhmRaI8IcRtWe1eUmS93PKCn7Olmb9aPbUO_EDcdOHMbhn5k/s1600/warid.png" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="wp-caption-text"> <span style="color: blue;">Seen in the picture Warid commercial team during cake cutting ceremony held at Warid Head Office (Standing from left Ms. Asma Khan, Director International Business, Mr. Adnan Anjum Director Pricing and Segments, Ms. Sadaf Zarrar Director Marcom, Mr. Nauman Fakhar VP CS, Mr. Suhail Jan VP Sales and Distribution, Warid Telecom</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Despite a possible acquisition, Warid Telecom is claiming to have performed exceptionally well since January 2013. In fact, as per Warid, company achieved the highest ever sales for postpaid segment in the month of October 2013.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> It is interesting to note that Warid is performing in a situation when company’s future is uncertain and critical, especially for the employees.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> As per officials, Warid sold over 30,000 postpaid connections during September and October 2013.</div> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Not to forget, Warid owns the second highest Postpaid base in the country, following Mobilink.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> It appears that telcos are putting postpaid segment on a special focus. For instance, Ufone has reportedly sold 66,000 postpaid connections during last three months only. Ufone said that it sold 22K connections each month during July, August and September 2013.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Warid, however, enjoys the advantage of being acknowledged as the finest network. Despite limited coverage, company is widely considered to be the best in terms of quality of network.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Warid said that It offers product portfolio of over 80 value added services on IVR, SMS, MMS and GPRS platforms; some of which were first time introduced in Pakistan.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> The company also worked to improve its distribution channels and enhance customer services network in the country, allowing it to offer wide accessibility and exceptional customer services across Pakistan.</div> </div> </div>

Warid Achieves Its Highest Ever Sales in October 2013

Seen in the picture Warid commercial team during cake cutting ceremony held at Warid Head Office (Standing from left Ms. Asma Khan, D...

Read more »

PTCL Upgrades 2MB DSL Speeds to 4MB for Limited Time

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp3i4YRoJEiJQ4QIvyI0xKFZ49LQNeJEUpPU8De5fbGyEo3KtaZFn1FDQTwmDFvlm9CSYWeKgNJEce7CAuUrd2br4WF8bYxfFRnFcXTJRCtyQvdXAhkg0EaMYxBBhbcxxVkBHhEew8eVk/s1600/PTCL_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp3i4YRoJEiJQ4QIvyI0xKFZ49LQNeJEUpPU8De5fbGyEo3KtaZFn1FDQTwmDFvlm9CSYWeKgNJEce7CAuUrd2br4WF8bYxfFRnFcXTJRCtyQvdXAhkg0EaMYxBBhbcxxVkBHhEew8eVk/s1600/PTCL_Logo.jpg" /></a></div> PTCL has announced that it is upgrading its 2 MB broadband DSL costumers to 4MB for free. <br /> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </div> The promotion will allow 2 MB users to enjoy double speeds of 4MB speeds for same rates, i.e. at Rs. 1,549 per month till December 31st, 2013, after which customers will have to pay the regular 4MB charges which are Rs. 1,999 per month.<br /> PTCL said that it is automatically upgrading all customers, however, those who would not want to keep 4MB speeds can opt out of promotion by calling 1236.<br /> This is not the first time that PTCL has upgraded its existing customers. However, the practice of automatically upgrading the speeds has seen criticism in the past. Customers are usually of the opinion that company should not upgrade speeds if the promotion is for limited time.</div>

PTCL Upgrades 2MB DSL Speeds to 4MB for Limited Time

PTCL has announced that it is upgrading its 2 MB broadband DSL costumers to 4MB for free. The promotion will allow 2 MB users to enjoy...

Read more »

Telenor Reports Single Digit Growth in Revenues, Lower ARPU During Q3 2013

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Telenor Pakistan has posted PKR 69.725 billion in revenues for first nine months of on-going fiscal year, up from PKR 66.645 billion during same duration last year.<br /> Currency depreciation, however, resulted into 4 percent Y-o-Y fall in revenues in Norwegian Kroner that stood at NOK 4065 million — for three quarters combined — as compared to NOK 4,232 million during same period last year.<br /> The Telenor Group reported its third quarter financial results during the weekend where it said that Telenor Pakistan, during the reported quarter, showed an operating profit of NOK 282 million, versus an operating loss of NOK 95 million in Q3 2012. <br /> Financial services contributed 2.5 percentage to the total revenue growth.<br /> The EBITDA margin improved by 2 percentage points following higher revenues, savings from energy initiatives and negative one-time effects last year. The impact of introduction of ICH contributed negatively with 3 percentage points. <br /> EBITDA in local currency increased by 12%.<br /> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </div> Capital expenditure decreased as the network modernisation was finalised during the quarter, also resulting in reduced accelerated depreciation and improved operating profit<br /> Company said that its ARPU in local currency decreased by 10%, mainly because of fierce on-net competition putting pressure on national interconnect revenues. <br /> ARPU for postpaid users was reported at PKR 686, compared to PKR 190 ARPU for prepaid users.<br /> ARPUs were also impacted by the fact that revenues from incoming international traffic through International Clearing House (ICH) are now accounted under non-mobile revenues and are not added into ARPU levels.<br /> Telenor said that its subscribers increased by 160,000 during the quarter including a downward adjustment of 542,000 subscriptions following data cleaning exercise.<br /> Telenor’s Average traffic minutes per user per month stood at 225.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1p0HFuFdpZSkxyeFk8bGkbVUf_licH4pZUJP6FFKePg7pagj9LSYrlFr9awPTSXE1Ut3TaZuf6NJ35nC5KKoOw7PyPtpO08OlaOBQpc92pcdlBqxQ1sl0TqP5GxKBoNi7e8WXrEsddo/s1600/Telenor-Q3-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1p0HFuFdpZSkxyeFk8bGkbVUf_licH4pZUJP6FFKePg7pagj9LSYrlFr9awPTSXE1Ut3TaZuf6NJ35nC5KKoOw7PyPtpO08OlaOBQpc92pcdlBqxQ1sl0TqP5GxKBoNi7e8WXrEsddo/s1600/Telenor-Q3-2013.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

Telenor Reports Single Digit Growth in Revenues, Lower ARPU During Q3 2013

Telenor Pakistan has posted PKR 69.725 billion in revenues for first nine months of on-going fiscal year, up from PKR 66.645 billion durin...

Read more »

Jelly Bean Crosses 50% Android Market-share for the First Time

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Remember the time when Gingerbread got out and Android phones suddenly started to sell like hot cakes? That was the time when Gigantic Apple and Nokia had finally got a serious competitor but the side-effect was that the large number of dumb phones during that time, which couldn’t get updated to newer Android versions and hence, the Gingerbread marketshare soared.<br /> That has finally changed now. In October, for the first time ever, Jelly Bean crossed 50% marketshare of all Android devices out there. The 52.1% marketshare it holds is almost twice the share which Gingerbread is currently holding.<br /> The good news is that it has finally started to drop at a substantial pace, quite unlike its stubborn nature.<br /> Ice Cream Sandwich also dropped to just 19.8% now.<br /> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </div> <b>Start of another problem?</b><br /> With <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/11/google-brings-features-and-visual.html" target="_blank">KitKat</a>, Google has finally decided that fragmentation needs to go away and that is why the latest version can run on phones with as low as 512 MB RAM but it won’t be going anywhere suddenly.<br /> Mind you, that Jelly Bean is itself outdated now and if Google’s partners still carry on with their habits of not updating the operating system of their devices, it might turn out to be an even bigger issue than Gingerbread, given the massive spread of the phones running it.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNZoTNpXTnuT_8yxUVLRDStkTGBXycfV-ZjnFpI2ChqCrUVlVdyeap-D0yDSaZ4R7ajI2rJGzhyphenhyphen1uZNdUPuVPaoPNCjFP2LXZGeM_We42E8e-G_KuY0x1gAZVz98Yfmm36yJ4MMcWQdc/s1600/Android-version-marketshare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNZoTNpXTnuT_8yxUVLRDStkTGBXycfV-ZjnFpI2ChqCrUVlVdyeap-D0yDSaZ4R7ajI2rJGzhyphenhyphen1uZNdUPuVPaoPNCjFP2LXZGeM_We42E8e-G_KuY0x1gAZVz98Yfmm36yJ4MMcWQdc/s1600/Android-version-marketshare.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

Jelly Bean Crosses 50% Android Market-share for the First Time

Remember the time when Gingerbread got out and Android phones suddenly started to sell like hot cakes? That was the time when Gigantic Ap...

Read more »

Google Brings Features and Visual Upgrades in Android 4.4 KitKat Update

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqgCgrqIk9zqOFdFMfnluLYS45cI0lcgmvMots9tzoUt2KaPZ9XanScDHSKONl84Zd8L9nptarnFcqkwA-jmIsWm_oLMmPMMzHQr8aJxIyvyPmLqVGjYQAXqlk7FkgmWAQaym6qmDUJo/s1600/KitKat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqgCgrqIk9zqOFdFMfnluLYS45cI0lcgmvMots9tzoUt2KaPZ9XanScDHSKONl84Zd8L9nptarnFcqkwA-jmIsWm_oLMmPMMzHQr8aJxIyvyPmLqVGjYQAXqlk7FkgmWAQaym6qmDUJo/s1600/KitKat.jpg" /></a></div> Every Android version announcement comes with new features, a few visual tweaks and lots and lots of hype. This time, though, things are a bit different as Google has made sure that everyone gets a taste of “KitKat”, rather than just the top 20%.<br /> As a result, you have an OS which runs just as well on 512 MB RAM, as it does on 3 GB. This is not all however.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Great Feat Visually</span></h4> Android 4.4 KitKat tries to make the OS even more easier to swallow. It makes several visual improvements, including the departure of the black border at the bottom of the screen in favor of a translucent one. The launcher is also redesigned. <br /> The three buttons also remain hidden in apps, until you swipe them upwards. And performance? The OS is also more intelligent in that it registers touches faster and more accurately which means less errors. <br /> Chromium, the web engine behind Chrome now takes care of the web apps meaning that these apps should perform better than ever. Talking of Chrome, it now uses 16% less memory than before, just like other Google apps which are all optimized.<br /> <div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> </div> <h4> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Software Changes</span></h4> But it doesn’t only perform and look good. No. It also comes with a lot of software changes, most important of them being the new Hangouts app. The new substitute for the conventional messaging app combines all of the conversation you’ve ever had with your acquaintances in one place, either it be SMS, MMS or Hangouts video-calls/chatting. <br /> The Call app is also tweaked. It automatically highlights those people with whom you’re in touch most. It will also search for businesses in the area around you now, meaning that if you’ll type the name of a restaurant in your area, the app will automatically search the map for its phone number. <br /> The same thing happens when you get a call from an unknown number, as it will try to display a name if the number is from any of the publicly available business in Maps. <br /> The lockscreen features an option to let you fly straight to the camera. It also displays a cover art or any other media highlight when your phone is playing something while being on the lockscreen. Also redesigned is the Downloads app which features even more sorting and viewing options now. <br /> And it isn’t limited to the lockscreen only. If you do a lot of homescreen modifications, you can save and switch between all of them in settings now, without having to sacrifice one in the favor of other.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Search and Google Now</span></h4> According to Google, it is 25% more accurate than before. You can go straightaway to search from the lockscreen now, just by saying ‘OK Google’ just like in the Moto X. <br /> Now also asks you questions back if your search query isn’t clear to it. One good thing which is added is the ability to search inside the phone or tablet’s built-in app. For instance, if you have a food or recipe app installed on your phone and you want to search the recipe for, like say, Pasta, Now won’t only display web results but also results from your app will be displayed. That would be really helpful. <br /> It also keeps care of your searching history and will redirect you to any of your favourite websites when you’ll call its name. It will also show even more cards of interest to you and can be used to do other tasks, such as playing music, using directions, etc.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Misc</span></h4> Android 4.4 KitKat comes with a screen recording feature which lets you record a video of the stuff being displayed on your phone, as you use it.<br /> A new feature called AirPrint will allow you to print stuff wirelessly now. This only works with printers with dedicated apps on the Play Store so only HP models will work as of today. <br /> If your phone comes with a dedicated audio processor, here’s the good news: your phone will use it now. What that does is that it boosts playback time, like for example, the Nexus 5 comes with one and it features 60 hours worth music playback, that too on a 2300 mAh battery! Now that, is something. <br /> The Gallery app now supports integration with cloud storage. Developers can now write apps for the IR Blaster while NFC payments are now supported for carriers worldwide.<br /> <br /> <h4> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Availability</span></h4> The update will begin rolling out in the coming few weeks. The new Nexus 5 will come with it pre-installed while the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 (2014), Nexus 10 and the Google Play editions of Galaxy S4 and HTC One are on the waiting list. We’ll be adding screenshots of it as soon as it comes out. <br /> This update, with all its features and bells-and-whistles, marks the peak for Android. For us, however, it’s not the feature set which makes it so good, but rather its tight integration of everything which it does. That alone makes it worth an upgrade.</div>

Google Brings Features and Visual Upgrades in Android 4.4 KitKat Update

Every Android version announcement comes with new features, a few visual tweaks and lots and lots of hype. This time, though, things are...

Read more »