I just love sharing with my readers… the various product survival tests that manufacturers put their various brands through to help ensure that they live to their specified high standards.

Here we got a hold of three separate BlackBerry produced by  Ryan P.  a hardware Engineering Technician at RIM… these are the Water Test, the Drop Test and the Bend and Flex Test:

The Water Test

For the water test a BlackBerry Curve 9360 was dropped into water, or what they call the “Moisture Ingress Test”. This water contains dye so that they can tell where imperfections are in the design to “improve the device’s water seal”.

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The Durability Drop Test

The actual drop test is cool and apparently every Berry gets dropped on concrete “hundreds of times” to ensure it’s ready for a full rollout. In the video it’s never states the amount of pressure that used for the bend test, but does confirm “your BlackBerry smartphone can withstand the pressure of your posterior”.

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The Bend and Flex Test

Finally, the keys. Majority of BB users love the QWERTY keyboard – it’s one of the main reasons that makes a BlackBerry so “iconic”. The keys have been pushed, zapped and tested “literally millions of times to sure they click with the right pressure and can withstand all the e-mails, BBM messages and tweets that you type. Have you ever been shocked by a door handle… RIM zaps them with what is called an Electrostatic Discharge, or ESD, to make sure that the sensitive internal components are protected.”

Now that there’s new management at the helm of Canadian BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM), the company’s future is the subject of much discussion and speculation.   I have been researching, collecting and consolidating information to our readers with an exclusive insider view of the Research In Motion’s (RIM) product and release road map strategy for 2012.

I came across the following RIM Roadmap Deck that best illustrates where the company is headed in the coming months.  The following summarizes RIM’s product launch roadmap for the next 15 months:

• Apparently two new Blackberry Curve smartphones are to be launched in short order.  the BlackBerry Curve 9230 and the BlackBerry Curve 9320. The 9230 will be an EDGE smartphone and the Curve 9320 will be an HSPA device
• Rumor has it that RIM will be launching two new Blackberry PlayBook – a 10-inch Playbooks running the latest build of RIM’s well-received Playbook OS, version 2.0. Playbook OS 2.0 with the capability to support 4G LTE is scheduled to arrive in February.  With a 7-inch 3G capable model coming by April.
• It seems that the BlackBerry London which will reportedly run RIM’s new QNX-based smartphone operating system, BlackBerry 10 is still on track for a September launch
• There is now another BlackBerry 10 smartphone in the works that will launch as part of Balackberry Bold series accessories. The phone features a touchscreen display and QWERTY keyboard, and it is planned for a December release
• A QWERTY slider running BlackBerry 10 has been talked about for the first quarter of 2013.

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With the announcements at the recent CES – one has to wonder – what is 2012 the year of?” Will it be SmartTVs? Perhaps it’s the year of the interactive technology? Or maybe it is 4G LTE smartphones that will steal the spotlight this year. As of this early date, it is Android devices that look to have the competitive advantage this year. It very well could be a great opportunity to win over mind and market share, but they need to leverage the lead before Research In Motion (Blackberry) and Apple bring their own 4G LTE devices to market later this year.

What kind of growth are we looking at? According to DigiTimes who published 2012 estimates, Monday, they are anticipating between 4% and 5% of smartphones shipped this year will be 4G LTE capable. When reviewing their sources it is really clear that Android manufacturers are months ahead of the competition. Samsung, LG, Pantech, Motorola Mobility and HTC were named as industry players that will be launching 4G LTE handsets.

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Depending on how quickly Apple and RIM work and how effective their messaging is, the gap could be quickly closed and the opportunity lost. More specifically, there is buzz around Apple’s to-be-released products this year, the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, which based on rumor will be 4G LTE capable.

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One point this writer would like clarified is what the ramifications of this technology coupled with the race to get smartphones with the capability to use it will be. Will the current trend continue pattern of “sign long-term contract with service provider, get free smartphone”? Or will we be able to break free from this carrier imposed yoke with unlocked cell phones that will empower us to choose our preferred service provider and negotiate a service contract that best meets our interactive needs at the right price!

Only time will tell what the implications will be. At the moment, 4G LTE has not been well-explained to the public and is potentially cost inhibitive. So, without a little tweaking it may turn out to not be the year of the 4G LTE network after all.

Is 2012 the year of Research In Motion? Last year was rough for the once mighty smartphone and tablet OS company, but with its recent CES recognition for the impressive QNX car technology and now the PlayBook 2.0 something tangible to review, RIM may have some more blue skies in its futures. View this interesting video for more insight on Blackberry’s PlayBook 2.0

According to recent reports, the PlayBook 2.0 will be available in February and will make the tablet actually functional again. How? Top of the list is that native email and calendar are now included and the company has caught up with the times and integrated social media networking (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) and all of your friends posts and activities can be viewed in the Contacts Hub.

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Next, the keyboard has been drastically revamped to incorporate autocorrect and algorithmic predictive typing. That will adapt to your typing style and suggests its guess of your next typed word. Surprisingly, this tablet does feature Android apps in its App World and reviews indicate that they run as smoothly as native code.

In fact, Alec Saunders, the VP of Developer Relations, has hinted at RIM learning its mistakes from its initial PlayBook launch and are humbly making changes to bring a competitive product to market that will allow for innovation with developers, tech accessories, and other peripheral technology. This attitude change has brought valuable partnerships with EA Games and Rovio and will create a compelling story for customers.

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Added incentive for investing in RIM and the PlayBook upon its release in 2012 is its competitive pricing. At $299 it may very well be the contender it was created to be in a market dominated by Apple and to a lesser degree Android. As more news is released on the upcoming launch, we will keep you posted on whether the body has changed drastically enough to require new protective cases purchases and how current PlayBook customers will be able to recycle their other existing accessories.

The appeal of Apple and its iPhone, iPad, and other products has often been one of exclusivity.  In the spirit of a handsfree world, Visual Voicemail gives customers access to voicemail without dialing and has been one such feature iPhone users have been able to take advantage of.

Luckily for consumers with both unlocked cell phone or regular  handsets, they already have their pick of Bluetooth and headsets to up their convenience and safety abilities. And, the Visual Voicemail functionality may be coming their way shortly. Recently documents were leaked indicating that Visual Voicemail will become available on select Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S 2, the Motorola Droid RAZR as well as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 .

For Canadian customers on the Rogers’ network, they will have the benefit of an in-house developed application. Rumors noted that service should be available in February and will cost the same as the non-visual enhanced voicemail currently available with Rogers. For RIM,the launch will extend these new services to support BlackBerry 9700 and Blackberry 9790 devices.

The service will be named “Visual Voicemail Plus” and finally offers an edge on iPhone users: the capacity to save voicemail messages indefinitely. As ever, this kind of storage is exactly the kind of convenience that customers look for at every level of their experience which accounts for continued use of memory cards with smartphones.

Undoubtedly, additional platforms and devices will supported after the launch. The leaked documents noted that any phone with MMS functionality will have Visual Voicemail made available as well. This will include less popular mobile OS like legacy Symbian and Windows Mobile. The biggest question mark is whether the new Rogers Visual Voicemail Plus offering will require additional data plans as the product works through data usage in lieu of dialing.

There is just something about the holidays that has us on our phones more than usual. Texting rates are among the highest on Christmas Eve, and now it seems app downloads spike around the end of the year as well. This may have something to do with the widespread propensity to gift mobile devices, tablets, and their accompanying techie accessories that have our thumbs busier than ever.

To cap off the year, Flurry Analytics took inventory of the number of app downloads for iOS and Android platforms during the holiday season. The totals are a bit staggering – 1.2 billion downloads across the surveyed countries listed above.

Segmented by country, the United States dominated (no surprise considering their population), but with a markedly smaller population, the neighbor to the North, Canada, had a respectable showing at 41 million apps downloaded.  No doubt these numbers would be a little higher if they incorporated Research In Motion downloads in the BlackBerry Marketplace as it is a native Canadian company and with its PlayBook tablet bound to have more downloads to tally as well.

What is really impressive is the marked spike in these downloads globally at the iOS and Android app stores. A whopping 60 percent higher download rate the week of Christmas and New Year’s compared to the weekly averages during the rest of December.

The fact is that customers are consolidating their technology (moving to a single Android or iOS for example). They are also incorporating their smartphones and tablets into daily life with the help of consumer driven accessory innovations: hands-free accessories in the car or home entertainment accessories to leverage the multi-media functions these devices cover. So, come Christmas 2012, it will be no surprise if the numbers from 2012 are blown out of the water and customers are shown to use their smartphones, tablets and all their nifty apps even more.

It is common knowledge that both Apple and Google are the foremost thought leaders in the technology industry and as a result have secured global dominance of the smartphone OS market space. What is surprising is reviewing the numbers and trends that show an astronomical growth for the two giants over the course of 18 months. As can be seen in chart provided by comScore – the leading provider of online digital world measurement metrics – U.S. mobile subscribers are used to demonstrate the dramatic transition in market shares in the ever growing smartphone market. Discover the benefits of online shopping…. experience the largest assortment of wireless device accessories at the lowest prices on the Internet.

In less than a year and a half (between August 2010 and November 2011), the combined U.S. market share for Google and Apple – based on the number of mobile subscribers of iPhones and Android phones – jumped from 43.8 percent to 75.6 percent! When one considers the exponential growth of the mobile market and the rapid consumer adoption of wireless devices such as unlocked cell phones and tablets as well as for the associated branded protective accessories… it becomes apparent how staggering the revenue potential of these combined markets really is.

Another drastic market shift is the fall of beleaguered Canadian high-tech giant, Research In Motion. RIM has been plagued with technology based challenges, security issues, lackluster apps, production setbacks, numerous litigations and dismal product design, which all contributed to its fall from grace. Losing subscribership in the 18 month period, RIM’s BlackBerry market share dropped from 37.6 percent to 19.7 percent. Microsoft didn’t fare any better when it’s popularity poll was cut almost in half. Lastly, market laggard, Palm who? Enhance your mobility and turn your device into a power tool! Discover select accessories, such as stylus & pens, SD Micro memory cards, batteries, speakers and glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

So how and why did Android and Apple win over so many consumers? Analysts and industry experts seem to agree that unlocked phones for carrier neutrality, provided subscribers with the freedom to break away from being tied in with long term service provider contracts and negotiate lower priced service plans that best met their lifestyle needs . Secondly, the branding of not only the device, but the wide array of innovative top brand accessories drew customers in. Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky! Discover the latest innovative protection solutions of stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specially designed to protect your devices from scratches and blemishes with our. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside our brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

In retrospect, 2011 was a huge year for the wireless industry.  With a giant falling at the same time that global mobile connections surpassed 6 billion, and worldwide smartphone penetration approaching 10%… all in a world with 7 billion people .   The availability of connected devices within the market place has fueled a meteoric rise in usage across all ages… with, smartphone penetration in the United States topping 44%.   The accessories market has also seen skyrocketing growth in stride with the surge in mobile device usage.  Consumer’s are not taking any risk with their expensive devices preferring to protect them from scratches and blemishes in innovative designer inspired bags, sleeves and protective cases.  Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

The smartphone’s rapid growth and continued market expansion can be attributed to two leading platforms Adroid and iOS  while other operating system platforms continue to struggle to maintain onto their meager share of the market.

While Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is heralded as a breath of fresh air… sales and consumer interest continue to be disappointing.  Alas! What can we say of our beleaguered and fallen giant … RIM;  once the pearl of the mobile industry;  now with the failure of the PlayBook tablet and the BlackBerry OS, which was once the most desirable mobile experience continues to be  continues to be plagued with security issues.  Enhance your mobility… turn your device into a power tool.  Discover the select accessories, such as, stylus & pens, data cables, batteries, SD micro cards, desktop chargers, earpieces & headsets as well as glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

The onset of 2011 looked very promising for RIM…. which unveiled a number of next-generation devices; including the 9300 Curve, 9900 Touch, 9930 Bold Touch and the highly anticipated BlackBerry Dakota.  RIM was also hard at work on it first tablet offering – the BlackBerry Playbook.  RIM offered a number of options to developers with the ability to support Android based application for it first QNX-based device.  Brilliant move right…. it would give RIM access to Google’s massive Android ecosystem and provide PlayBook users with a huge catalog of apps available upon launch.  Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan… and for Rim, boy did this turn out to be a snafu!

The Playbook launched in April amidst challenges and controversy.  Due in part to the pressing need to have a tablet on the market… the PlayBook debut was marred by the lack of native support for email, contacts, calendar or even the highly-regarded chat client that put BlackBerry devices on the map – the BlackBerry Messenger.   Furthermore, the tablet launched without support for Android applications and the current catalog of lackluster apps remain a huge problem for RIM to this day.   Let the latest in trend setting fashionable accessories express your unique style!  Experience  an extensive array of award-wining design protective cases and skins that deliver modern style, stunning design and smart protection.  Make your mobile devices stand out.  Customize your look – how cool can you be?

To compound matters even further,  despite RIM’s best efforts it was only ready to announce one device at the BlackBerry World conference in late April – the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 and while it was a device BlackBerry users had been clamoring for, it also came to market more than a year later than it should have with an operating system and user interface that was stale at best.

Worse was yet to come as internal stirrings set off seismic quakes after pent up unrest among RIM’s own employees finally reached its boiling point.  At the breaking point and completely exasperated  a high-level RIM executive published an open letter in an effort to get his message across to RIM’s top ss.   In its response to the open letter, RIM indicated that while it was addressing several issues, the company was “thankfully in a solid business and financial position to tackle the opportunities ahead.” Despite, cheery forecast by RIM’s top management , company would go on to disappoint with its second and third-quarter earnings, and its fourth-quarter guidance suggested that relief would not come soon.  Discover XMI Speaker’s uncompromised sound quality and a revolutionary design accentuating  today’s interactive lifestyle.   Earpieces and headsets combine sophisticated style and precision engineering that deliver brilliant sound for your total listening pleasure.

Today, RIM remains between a rock and a hard place.  In the midst of continually weakening sales, the first PlayBook  update is scheduled for February 2012; providing native email support and other PIM functionality, BBM is still proving to be a challenge and will not be part this ‘fix’.  Even more disturbing is the fact that the first RIM smartphone to run on the new BlackBerry 10 OS  – the BlackBerry London – will be delayed until delayed until late 2012.  Discover an extensive selection of the latest lithium technology replacement cell phone and wireless devices batteries.  Ensure your device is powered by brand name batteries for longer operating life.

Of major concern is the latest controversy brewing at RIM… inside sources at RIM have indicated to BGR that Mike Lizaridis was lying when he said that the company’s new lineup was delayed due to the setback get LTE chips.    In fact BGR claims it was told that RIM is simply pushing this out as long as they can for one reason, they don’t have a working product yet.”   According to BGR, their source communicated something shocking for a high-level RIM employee to say. He told BGR that RIM is betting its business on a platform and ecosystem that isn’t even as good as iPhone OS 1.0 or Android 2.0. “There’s no room for a fourth ecosystem,” he stated, “and DingleBerry also works on BlackBerry 10.”   Get powered up for work, life and play easily and conveniently with a collection of desktop chargers , wall chargers and car chargers.   Get all the power and energy you need for the mobile lifestyle.

There is no question that RIM has the talent to succeed in the modern smartphone market. It also has a user base that continues to grow with each quarter. The vendor has a lot of catching up to do, however, and it once it finally does launch its first BlackBerry 10 phone, it had better be a blockbuster with a massive marketing budget to back up its launch. In the meantime, RIM has a tough six-plus months ahead.

As a typical profile… mobile consumers are highly socially engaged, remain continuously connected and rely more and more on their both carrier based or unlocked smartphone’s features and applications on a daily basis.

Smartphone penetration has seen a meteoric rise, spiraling from just 18% in late 2009 to 44% in October 2011.  A recent ‘State of the Media: The Mobile Media Report‘  conducted by Nielsen indicates that 64% of 25-34 year olds and 53% of 18-24 year olds own a snmartphone and have led in smartphone penetration compared to every other age group since 2009.  The individuals in these generation groups also understand that mobile accessories are designed to protect, personalize and enhance your mobile devices.

Some of the more popular smrtphones include the iPhone4s, Blackberry bold 9900, Samsung Galaxy S II and the Motorola Droid Razr.   Apple is the top smartphone manufacturer by operating system with 28.6% of the market followed by Blackberry and HTC at 17% and 158% market share respectively.  Android outdistanced every other smartphone platform with an ever-growing 42.8% market share… leading Apple iOS at 28.6%, Blackberry at 17% and Windows at a paltry 5.3% market share

The top market leaders are also currently jockeying for top position in the tablet market… with Apple iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10, Blackberry PlayBook and  the Motorola Xoom.  Enhance your mobility… turn your device into a power tool.  Discover the select accessories, such as, stylus & pens, data cables, batteries, SD micro cards, desktop chargers, earpieces & headsets as well as glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

Currently, Android leads all other platforms in every age group, followed by a strong showing from Apple iOS.