The Complete Motorola/VZW Keynote Wrap-up.

Motorola didn’t just reveal a new fangled uberphone today, but an iPod Nano killer too! Get the full rundown after the break…

Jim Balsillie Confirms “BBX” Name In Interview. Promises To “Leap Frog” Competition.

RIM’s highly anticipated and crucial move from the legacy Blackberry OS to the QNX-based variant will indeed take the “BBX” nomenclature, as confirmed by Co-CEO Jim Balsillie in a recent interview. According to Jim, RIM had to “reinvent themselves and the platform for the future” with QNX.

So far QNX has failed to gain much traction on the only device currently available, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Though many would argue the PlayBook’s slow adoption rate is more likely explained by lack of essential apps (such as native email) as well as 3rd party options.

Besides the slow progress with QNX, one other thing that worries us about RIM’s immediate future are the two co-CEOs themselves. They’ve come under plenty of criticsm over the last year specifically, being blamed for the increasing decline in RIM’s relevance and market share due to hardware (and software) that simply pales in comparison to competing products from iOS and Android platforms. Many see the two co-CEOs as having lost touch of what consumers really want from the BlackBerry platform. Highlighting this argument is perfectly exemplified in Balsillie’s interview in which he says:

“We’ve leapfrogged everyone with what we’re announcing [on Tuesday] and you’re going to see it on display..”

“We built an engine back in the mid-90s that served us incredibly well for 15 years, and in the past couple of years, we’ve had to build the engine of the future while still driving the engine we’ve got.”

RIM has repeatedly made statements in recent years bragging of “leapfrogging the competition” and releasing products that are “quantum leaps” ahead of everyone else only to have the actual products fail to come anywhere close to meeting such claims.

Please, RIM. Don’t set yourself up for failure by over-promising and under-delivering. Being consistent on that front isn’t something to be proud of.

Look for more info regarding BBX and future Playbook plans at the upcomign BlackBerry DevCon conference.

New Image Claiming To Be Of Galaxy Nexus Leaks In Hours Leading Up To Unveiling.

The countdown to Samsung and Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich/Galaxy Nexus unveiling is quickly approaching. In a few short hours we will be graced with Google’s latest and greatest software and hardware to keep Android on the cutting edge. But if you want an early spoiler, the leaked image above should wet your whistle for what’s to come.

While the image looks a tad different from the earlier teaser image Samsung posted for a device that was to be unveiled at the “Unpacked” event, this tweaked formfactor is even more appealing. More concrete specs look to include a 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4460 dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 and 32 GB of storage, 4.6-7″ 720p display, PowerVR SGX 540 Immage Technologies GPU, 2G/3G/LTE, 5-megapixel (rear) camera with 1080p video recording and a slew of other features including Bluetooth/WiFi/NFC.

It goes without saying the Galaxy Nexus is the Android phone of the year. Stay tuned as later today all will be made known.

Samsung Caught Using iOS Maps App Screenshot On Galaxy Player 50 Promo Page.

Apparently Samsung forgot to remove the iPhone screen grab from their Galaxy 50 media player and replace it with something actually from the player before publishing the official page. As it stands now, Samsung looks either incredibly brash in their attempt to pass off an iOS screenshot as their own (Android) one or incredibly careless. While such things would normally be passed off as simple PR mistake, the number of cloning attempts by Samsung as well as the multitude of ongoing lawsuits with Apple doesn’t exactly lend Samsung the benefit of the doubt.

Full page where the image in question resides: http://www.samsung.com/galaxyplayer50/img/img_gms.gif.

For those interested in where the original map image came from –> Laura Scott on a blog post over at blogher.com.

It makes you think. Just how daring will Samsung get?

Sears Holdings Upgrading In-Store Shopping/Inventory Experiences With iPod Touches, iPads.

Lowes employees aren’t the only ones that are going to be having fun with a legion of 40,000+ iPhones and iPads. Word on the digital streets is that Sears Holdings (Sears and Kmart) is rolling out their own fleet of digital POS and inventory helpers. Unlike Lowes, however, Sears/Kmart locations will employ iPod Touches instead of iPhones.

Initially specialized apps for the in-store iPods/iPads will be strictly for employee use and simple make inventory more efficient/faster. But over several months/years Sears will expand to the consumer side of things will apps that will allow price checking with other stores, “Wishbooks”, and checking inventory of nearby stores for a particular product. Tying it altogether will be a beefed up, open in-store WiFi network for shoppers.

Who’s going to join 2007 next? Jokes aside, we love us some free WiFi and spiffy interactive apps not to mention quicker ways to spend our money (maybe not that last part). More power to Sears/Kmart and Lowes we say!

[Update] More On Lowes’ iPad/iPhone Rollout.

While Lowes may not be everyones focal point in life (or the hobbies associated with it), having a major tech event such as Lowes pushing out an army of 40,000+ iPhones (and a few iPads to boot) is pretty notable. We wrote about Lowes’ iPhone/iPad ambitions back in early September and thanks to a tipster we have a bit more info.

Building on the 42,000+ POS-equipped iPhones, we’re now hearing that the new-fangled in-store tech is rolling out in a staggered release. The in-store iPhones are already mostly deployed around the country, though included voice support will come midway through 2012. What’s unique about these phones is that they run a custom firmware that combined with the ad-hoc Lowes app make for a rather robust business tool. On top of that, the company phones all feature a special folder with bookmarked web pages of competitors’ websites for price matching purposes. The phones are reputedly AT&T-only (for now).

Other interesting tidbits we were able to glean: mobile check-out stations should begin rolling out around this time next year as will iPad kiosks that will reportedly debut around the same time — mid-2012.

We’re still fishing for more info (and screenshots). Check back soon.

Update

Rumored enclosures the iPad kiosks will use –> iPadEnclosures.com.

Partial Plant Closure Ordered At Apple’s Unibody Manufacturing Plant Of Choice.

Thinking about buying a Macbook Pro/Air in the next few months? You might want to push up said plans as a partial plant closure due to “environmental concerns” affecting Apple’s key uni-body case manufacturer, Catcher Technology, in the Chinese province of Suzhou could (and very likely will) lead to shortages of some kind. Apparently the citizens surrounding the plant don’t like smelling molten metals and god knows what other kind of chemicals used in the creation of the gadgets we know and love. According to Catcher Technology’s President Allen Horng, “production will inevitably be affected”. Horng says total output will be cut by ~1/5th through October.

At least in Apple’s case, the effects any production cut will have on continuing Macbook Air sales or the rumored Macbook Pro refresh aren’t yet known. With the ever increasing popularity in Apple’s Macbook Pro (and Air) line, the shortage couldn’t come at a worse time.

Other manufacturers possibly affected by the partial closure include Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and Sony.

Like we said, if you’re in the market or think you’re going to be in the market in the near future for a new Macbook Pro/Air, you might want to act sooner rather than later.