Sneak Peek: BlackBerry's Super Bowl Commercial

BlackBerry is going to hit the Super Bowl hard on Sunday with a new advertising campaign for its new BlackBerry 10 devices. The actual commercials have yet been released, but if the BlackBerry 10 launch event in New York City earlier this week was any indication, it will be likely over the top.

Will new 'global creative director' Alicia Keys make an appearance? I would lay good money on it. Will BlackBerry take pot shots at Apple and Samsung? That is a pretty good bet too.

BlackBerry sent over a still shot sneak peek of an image (above) for the commercial. Nothing like giving people a glimpse and holding the rest back to drum up al little anticipation, huh?

What is it? Looks like a rainbow smoke explosion on a city sidewalk. But what the heck would a rainbow smoke explosion be doing in a BlackBerry commercial?

This is what the company had to say:

BlackBerry will be featured in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday for the first time ever. This unique execution will be part of a broad marketing campaign about the totally re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry. As part of this activity, we are sharing a still image of the Super Bowl commercial with our social channels ' including 30 millions fans on Facebook and Twitter ' to draw them into a conversation about BlackBerry 10 during this highly social event.

So, BlackBerry basically admits to pandering to its social audience. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but couldn't it have chosen a more revealing image?

What do you think it is? Let us know in the comments. 

 

BlackBerry Z10: Steep Learning Curve, Decent Payoff [Review]

This is the new BlackBerry. It is going to take some getting used to.

BlackBerry devices have a completely new operating system, a point the company emphasizes by calling it a 'first-generation operating system.' Along with the name change from Research In Motion to BlackBerry, it looks like the company wants to put its painful recent history behind it and forge a new identity. 

BlackBerry released two new BlackBerry 10 smartphones this week. The Z10 is a 4.2-inch full-touch device, while the Q10 will have a 3.1-inch screen and a full physical QWERTY keyboard. 

We got our hands on the Z10 to put it through the paces. Below we examine the hardware, user experience, apps and more.

Hardware

The specs on the Z10 are good. Not spectacular, but nothing to quite be ashamed of. It boasts a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1280 x 768 resolution at 356 pixels per square inch (technically better than the iPhone 5's Retina display), a 1800 mAh battery, a removable back and 2GB of RAM. It can be LTE capable, has 16GB of memory with a microSD slot and a microHDMI port. The Z10 has a 8-megapixel back camera and a 2-MP front camera, as well as the usual array of sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, proximity and magnetometer. Yes, it even has NFC.

The Z10 is relatively thin at .35 inches and weighs a reasonable 4.84 ounces. It does not feel flimsy (in the way that many Samsung devices do) nor does it feel like a brick, like the Lumia 920. It is not compact, thin or light as the iPhone 5, but it holds up well enough to the other top of the line smartphones available. 

If you know your phones, you might comment that the closest comparative design to the Z10 is the Motorola Razr M. BlackBerry employed the same 'edge-to-edge' concept with the Z10 as Motorola with the Razr M. The M is smaller, but otherwise they look remarkably similar. 

Left: Razr M Right: Z10

This is not the last time you will hear the Z10 compared to Android. In many ways, BlackBerry 10 is kind of like a brother to Android, once removed. Many operating principles are similar and BlackBerry 10 even runs apps that have been ported over from Android. 

At first blush, the camera is fairly standard. The controls are simple, the 1080p appears to work as advertised and boasts an interesting 'Time Shift' that allows you to edit aspects of a photo from a couple of seconds before it was taken (say, if one person was smiling before you took the picture but were not when it the shutter was snapped). 

In a quick jaunt around the neighborhood, the Z10 camera performed well. Not stupendous but extremely serviceable. Here are a couple shots.

The front camera is better than most. With many front pictures, you expect a grainy shot unless the light is absolutely perfect. 

Gesture Interface & Home Screens

BlackBerry borrows concepts from Apple and the iPhone while at the same time giving old-time BlackBerry users fond reminders that it is still, indeed, a BlackBerry device. It looks like BlackBerry learned a lesson from Windows Phone to not stray too far from the app/row/icon design of Android and iOS. You can group apps into folders in the same way you can in iOS and the interface has multiple sliding home screens like Android.

One feature, a little jarring at first if you are coming from Android (or even Windows Phone), is that there really is no central home screen. Yes, there is a lock screen with message icons, but it is not the hub of your experience while using the Z10. When you turn the device on, you are in a screen that shows you what recent apps you had open. You can scroll between the apps or swipe left/right or down from the top to access various features. These tiles are kind of like Android-style widgets but you can only open the apps from the central screen, not interact with them the way you would with Android.  

This is where new users are going to get confused. BlackBerry says that the entire operating system is 'gesture based.' Reviewers and commenters have harped on this fact while many people have said 'that does not mean anything, iOS and Android are gesture-based too.'

Well, yes and no.

If you are coming from Android, you are used to a back button of some sort on the bottom of the device. Whether that is a firmware button or an actual hardware button depends on the manufacturer. You will also get a search button (it is Google's OS, after all) and a home button that will center you back to the home screen. With the iPhone, you have the classic round home button that serves a variety of functions such as activating the device, backing out of an application and going back to your home screen.

None of these exist in BlackBerry 10. 

Wait, how do you navigate? By gestures of course. 

If you swipe left to right, you get to the BlackBerry Hub where all of your messages are kept. That includes social applications like Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Foursquare, BlackBerry Messenger, email, text, voice mail/calls and any other notifications. You can activate any one of those applications from the Hub. 

If you swipe from right to left, you get to your apps/rows/icons. This is where you will feel most comfortable coming from the iPhone and where it allows you to group apps into folder categories. 

Swiping from the top down will bring you to the settings/connections space where you can connect to Wi-Fi, set the alarm, Bluetooth, rotation and notifications. 

Then there is swiping up from the bottom. You had better get used to this gesture because it is basically how you get around BlackBerry 10. Since there is no back or home button, if you want to back out of an app, you swipe up. If you want to get back to your 'home screen' of recent apps, you swipe up. If you want to activate the device from a black screen, you swipe up (or press the top power button). This gesture is the equivalent of a home/power/back/quit button.

Operating System

Once you figure out how to get around, you can start exploring exactly what it means to use a BlackBerry 10. This is also where you remember that the Z10 is a BlackBerry' for good and bad.

There are several features ingrained into the operating system that you are going to become very familiar with. The first is Hub, the second is Flow. BlackBerry describes Flow as a, 'seamless user experience which provides full control and flexibility in every moment and touch.' Basically, Flow is tied through Hub to always have your apps and connectivity working in the background of the app with which you are working. If you do not want to fully leave the app you are in, you can do a half-swipe to 'Peek' at Hub. So, if you are in a browser, you swipe from the right and can get to Hub or another app that you were already in. It gives BlackBerry 10 a interconnected feeling where all of your apps are hiding just beyond the edge of your screen. Once you get used to it, Flow/Peek becomes very useful. 

Users will find a learning curve to typing on the Z10. The keyboard employs BlackBerry's new semantic learning technology that predicts what word you are trying to use with each successive letter you type. It will display likely words about the potential next letter you are going to type. For instance, if you type 'for' the word 'fork' might hover above the K to spell fork. Instead of hitting the K, you swipe up on the word and it places it in your message. This can help with longer words to cut back how long it takes to type a message but the feature is unique enough that you have to spend significant time with it to master. 

Where you really get the old BlackBerry experience is in settings, preferences, account registration, email and messaging, security and privacy. Everything you either loved or hated about the back-end of BlackBerry OS devices is present in BlackBerry 10. One new tweak is BlackBerry Balance, which allows users to separate data and applications on the device. If you are using your BlackBerry Z10 or Q10 for both work and personal use, you can have your IT administrator enable balance and the BlackBerry certified Work apps. 

The App Ecosystem

Speaking of apps, BlackBerry 10 has plenty of them for a 'first-generation' operating system. BB 10 has 70,000 or so to start and the company has pulled off every trick in the book to get them on the platform. BlackBerry hosted 'port-o-thons' to get developers to wrap Android apps for BlackBerry, use a variety of Web apps with home screen short cuts (similar to early iOS) as default applications (such as for YouTube) and has apps built specifically for the platform.

BlackBerry announced 1,000 partner apps that either are currently in the BlackBerry World app store or will be shortly. If you were to pick up a Z10 today you might be disappointed that promised apps like Skype, Fruit Ninja and others among the 1,000 apps that are missing. BlackBerry promises they are coming soon. 

At the same time, we have heard little about some popular apps that many users count on for day-to-day operations. That includes Spotify, Netflix, Zite, Flipboard, RunKeeper or any hint of an app from Google like Maps, a dedicated Gmail app (Gmail does work through Hub), Talk or Music. If you have a specific app that you cannot live without, check BlackBerry World out before buying the device to make sure it's available. 

If many BlackBerry apps have an Android feel to them, well, it's because they are Android apps. Near 40% of BlackBerry apps were ported from Android including the good, bad and ugly of Google Play. Even the BlackBerry World app store has a vaguely Android-esque feel to it, including media offerings like music and video. 

For the time being, you are going to have a hard time finding a good dedicated music streaming service on BlackBerry 10. Rdio, Slacker, TuneIn, Songza and SoundHound are on their way, according to BlackBerry, but many are not yet present.

Steep Learning Curve, Decent Payoff

BlackBerry president Thorsten Heins announces the Z10 & Q10 in New York City

Many consumers have grown content with the iPhone/Android duopoly in the smartphone market. They can buy a new phone and automatically know how to use it and take half an hour or so to set it up just how they want it. 

That is not the case with the Z10. 

It will take the better part of a couple of days to really be comfortable with how to use BlackBerry 10 and the gesture-based user experience of the Z10. Configuring Hub and messaging settings and sounds can be a touch confusing and requires several layers of swipes and settings to get it just right. Typing can be an interesting experience at first with the auto-suggestions in the keyboard. Like many other things with the Z10, it takes time to get used to.

Users will like the customization of the recent apps central screen and the iOS-like folders of the apps and icons. The hyper-connected will love Hub and Flow. The hardware is above average and the screen display is high quality. It is reasonably thin and holds well in one hand. 

If you are among the legion of desperate BlackBerry fans awaiting the new Z10, you are not likely to be disappointed. BlackBerry took some of the good qualities from both iOS and Android, gave them a distinct BlackBerry feel and packaged it into a zippy and attractive body.

Are you going to buy a BlackBerry Z10 when it becomes available? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

Twitter Hack Compromises 250,000 Accounts #BadNews

Add Twitter to the list of this week's high profile hacks. Friday afternoon Twitter joined the ranks of recently compromised sites like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, disclosing that as many as a quarter of a million Twitter accounts may have been compromised in the intrusion. In a blog post, Twitter describes the breach:

We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later. However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information ' usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords ' for approximately 250,000 users.

Affected users can expect to receive an email from Twitter, though the company encourages all users to use this week as a reminder to practice good "password hygiene" by tweaking their Twitter password if it isn't up to snuff (or making a new one even if it is). It's always a good idea to mix things up, so be sure to sprinkle in a generous dose of alt-caps, numbers and symbols if you've been betting the farm on "Password123" all this time. 

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Twitter said in the blog post. "The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked."

While Twitter is remaining mum for the time being on the specifics of the hack, it alluded to a known vulnerability in Java and instructed users to disable Java immediately. We'd suggest you do the same. 

How To Backup Your Facebook Data In 5 Easy Steps

Ready to take a break from Facebook, or just want a nice local backup of all the data you've uploaded to Facebook over the years?

Turns out that downloading your stuff from Facebook is a lot easier than it used to be. Even for someone like me, who's uploaded a massive amount of data over the years.

As Facebook user #806469, I was among the first million people to join the service, and I've used it pretty steadily since the spring of 2004 - accumulating more and more history all the time. Perhaps most importantly, I've uploaded 4,186 photos to date, and I want to make sure I keep every one of them. Downloading all my contacts would be nice too, though Facebook doesn't make that easy.

Backing up everything else was surprisingly straightforward, however, using Facebook's built-in archival tools. 

5 Steps To Backing Up Facebook

Step 1. Click the little gear icon in the upper right corner and navigate to Account Settings.

Step 2. Figure out what you're after. You can download the primary copy of your user data or you can choose to download an "expanded archive.. The latter is an interesting, more technical glimpse at your Facebook activity over time (shown below). Facebook has a nice guide that breaks down what you'll find where. I downloaded both, because, well, why not?

Step 3.  Input your password to start downloading a copy of your information. Amazingly, my download was only 350MB, and considering how many photos I have stored, I imagine that's on the (very) high end compared to most Facebook users.

Step 4. Pore over your data! You'll get a folder with your user name that you can explore. It has two main subfolders: html and photos. The first one - html - is where all of your archived messages, likes, wall posts and everything else shows up. In the "friends" file you might be able to find some of your Facebook friends' email addresses included to the right. There's also an html version of your photo albums in here. The second main folder is a very nicely packaged directory of all of your photos in .jpeg form. 

Step 5. If you opted to download the expanded archive, you'll have even more weird stuff to check out. Try the deleted friends folder for starters. The pokes folder is predictably also a good time stroll down memory lane. 

All told, this process is way easier than I thought it would be. And I'm still kind of amazed that the export tool hands over all of your photos in .jpeg form.

 

Contact Information Is The Sticking Point

Unfortunately, Facebook keeps an iron grip on the email addresses and phone numbers of your Facebook friends. Considering those would be a pretty handy way to cut out the big blue social network altogether, it makes sense from Zuckerberg's perspective, but it's still annoying. There used to be a workaround involving Yahoo Mail that's since been patched, so if you know of any good, safe and legal ways to extract your contacts from Facebook, do tell in the comments.

That's it.

Backing up your Facebook data is a good idea whether you have plans to delete your Facebook account, want to take a break or just want a little peace of mind by having all your Facebook data at hand. Best of all, a process that used to involve way more identity confirmation and often third-party browser plugins and the like is amazingly easy these days. 

Image of Facebook in browser via Shutterstock.

Enterprise Flash Storage: It's About More Than Just Speed

Guest author Ed Lee is lead architect for virtualized storage vendor Tintri.

Virtualization and flash memory are disrupting the staid storage industry. First embraced in slick consumer products like the iPod, flash memory is now the new darling of enterprise IT. One reason is speed.  Flash is more than 400 times faster than rotating disks.

The other reasons are virtualization and cloud computing. Combined, these technology trends have strained the capabilities of traditional storage products. Those big metal boxes of enterprise storage, called arrays, were originally designed in the 1980s - before MC Hammer rocked parachute pants. Today's input/output storage requirements are heavier and far more random than storage designers could have predicted 30 years ago. And with new technology comes new problems. IT systems that once hummed, 'Can't Touch This,' became hung up by traffic jams. With the highly random I/O of modern virtualization, flash trumps even the best spinning disks.

Well, nothing gets venture capitalists writing checks faster than IT managers with large budgets wringing their hands in frustration. So, enter the flash solutions from enterprise storage startups. Even the incumbent dinosaurs are showing some hustle. Just last spring, storage industry giant EMC's dropped an impressive $400 million to snap up XtremIO, a three-year-old flash company that has yet to ring up a single sale.

Too Much Flash?

So has flash been over-hyped? Yes, of course it has. Most promising new technologies are overhyped, but the best survive the disappointment that is sure to follow. The problem with most of the flash crowd is that they tout it as a cure-all for IT's performance woes ' like a magic medicine show, it puts the performance back in your data center. But it's not magic. It does one thing really well - it eliminates contention for disk spindles. But flash by itself does nothing to ease storage management burdens, and in fact may actually contribute to increased infrastructure complexity. 

Like all new technologies, flash-based storage systems need to be designed into complete solutions rather than just point products.   

Speed Isn't Enough

Today, flash is central to nearly every next-generation storage solution coming to market. But smart IT managers know that speed alone doesn't solve all of their storage problems, especially in a world of virtualization and cloud computing. In fact, flash-based vendors that offer systems that simplify storage management provide a much greater boost to IT performance than just making I/Os go faster.

Like many incremental improvements in component technologies ' even order of magnitude performance boosts like flash ' are too often hijacked by legacy vendors to create incrementally smaller and faster versions of the same old products. Don't be blinded by flash. It's cool, but it needs to be integrated with new approaches to building complete solutions.

Expect the enterprise storage conversation, pushed by the new demands of virtualization and cloud computing, to move beyond flash. It's not just about the speed; it's about the solution.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

How To Watch The Superbowl Online This Sunday

Cord-cutting, it is commonly known, isn't ideal for sports fans. There are just too many games that require a cable subscription to watch and pirating each one would be too cumbersome. Fortunately for those who want to tune into Superbowl XLVII this weekend, there are a few options that don't require a traditional TV setup. 

The Super Bowl will be streamed in its entirety from two main browser-based sources. First, there's NFL Live, which will feature "Road To the Super Bowl" and all the other pre-game programming beginning at 11am EST. The game itself kicks off at 6:00pm. You can also stream the whole thing from CBSSports.com.

The NFL's official mobile app will have a stream available as well, but it looks like you'll have to have a pay TV subscription through Verizon to get it. There are a number of Super Bowl and team-specific apps as well, but there's no indication that any of them will be offering a free stream. We'll certainly update this post if we learn otherwise. 

For some, the excitement doesn't come from the play-by-play but rather from the commercial breaks. Thankfully, the world's most expensive television ads will be available online as well. Hulu's Ad Zone will stream the commercials live as they air to all viewers, whether they subscribe to Hulu Plus or not.  A Hulu spokesperson confirmed that the service will not be live streaming the game, only the ads.  

Lead image courtesy of John Morgan. 

10 Views On What To Look For In An Investor

Money - most startup founders need it at some point. But when you're raising outside capital, cash can come at a very high price if you're not on the same page as your investors.

Where many startup founders go wrong in the fundraising process is focusing more on the offer than on who's making it. Thinking about the cash instead of who's investing it. So We asked 10 entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to weigh in on what exactly they expect from their investors, and why.

1. Domain, Demand And Delivery

While closing a VC-led investment this month, I learned to focus on three key factors when searching for investors: domain, demand and delivery. First, make sure you add domain experts to your team early. At LabDoor, we compete in the complex digital health field, so adding a strategic partner like Rock Health was very valuable for us. Thousands of investors have the money you need, but only one to five will be lucky enough to be a part of your next funding round. Get investors to fight over you, and find the investors that demand to be a part of your team. Finally, think of your investors like UPS: what can they deliver for you? Whether you need connections to an important business partner or access to a big institutional customer, find the investors that provide the highest value. - Neil Thanedar, LabDoor

2. The Network

It's relatively easy to get your hands on money: If you've got an appealing investment, you'll have to beat them off with a stick. But it's almost impossible to meet the right people to move your business forward without personal introductions. I'll always consider the connections that an investor (or anyone else) can bring to the table over anything else. It works the other way around, as well - I've gotten the most interest from investors who I've been personally introduced to by someone I know. - Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

3. Integrity

I want to know that the investors I work with do what they say they are going to do. Those types of people are hard to find. It's exciting when you're offered a great deal, but it's important to look at the big picture and examine who you're going to be working with, what others say about them, and what your gut is telling you. Investors do a lot of due diligence on the entrepreneurs they are working with but I don't see enough entrepreneurs doing the same intense due diligence on their potential investors. Admittedly, I've made this mistake too. What I want to know without a doubt is that the investor I'm working with has a lot of integrity and their investees and peers sing their praises. Rave reviews from others is very important to me. - Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World

4. A Silent Angel

I no longer seek the multimillion-dollar Series A round that will lead to a Series B and C. Our startup was built with a user-acquisition model vs. an actual "generates-profits model." The larger the investment, the more control you're going to give up, and the larger the exit needs to be. Instead, I look for opportunities with a clear profit model from the beginning that leverage a skill set or network that I currently have. And I don't take funding for them until I'm ready to scale the company, which means that I've built the product and proven that it makes money. I therefore look for an angel investor that is looking to invest $50,000 - $100,0000 and will leave my team and I alone. We know what to do; the added funding is there to help accelerate the process. - Jun Loayza, Passport Peru

5. A Smaller Portfolio

If you're looking to earn startup capital, you should always scrutinize investors. An investor should be as energetic about, and invested in, your organization as anyone. I recommend someone who has a smaller portfolio, filled with businesses similar to your own. When I started, I looked for outside investment. My search took me to an investment bank I'd interned with in college. The owner's portfolio was huge and successful, and I thought that's what I wanted. I realized, because of his portfolio, that he didn't care at all about my business. I decided to retain full ownership. Don't be too quick to jump on startup money. Find the right fit. - Brian Moran, Get 10,000 Fans

6. Experience - And the Wisdom Not to Rely On It

It's a cliche to say you are looking for an investor to bring experience into the board room. But the reality is that investors are a great voice to have around if they can offer their experience and pattern recognition to help you avoid missteps. Our company was fortunate to have Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO and current HP CEO, as an investor and board member. What is most impressive about Meg is that she brings incredible and relevant experience in building a marketplace - really the most powerful peer online marketplace in the world. But she's also wise enough to temper her advice with the knowledge that things have changed. And that's the standard I look for - experience that is telling and useful, but the wisdom to color that experience with new realities. - Eric Koester, Zaarly

7. Deep Experience in Your Industry

As a former management consultant, I learned that the number-one benefit that major companies found was that their consultants had worked with competitors. This is not about taking proprietary information, but rather about knowing industry best practices, how to apply them, and what non-obvious questions to ask. Unless you are an incredibly seasoned entrepreneur or someone with deep industry expertise (i.e. a PhD or 20 years of experience), you don't know what you don't know. Having investors who can teach you and ask you tough questions is incredibly valuable. - Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

8. Would You Have A Beer With Them After Work?

Investors should be experts in their focus industries, but should also be capable of admitting when they don't know something. I place extra value on humility and candor, which can sometimes be hard to come by in the investment community. When we were raising money for RJMetrics, we focused on investors who could step up when they were subject matter experts and yield to others when they weren't. For me, these are also the same kind of people that I enjoy having a beer with after work. This is critical to building a healthy, honest relationship with your investors. - Robert J. Moore, RJMetrics

9. Everything But The Money

Find someone you can trust. Picking an investor is like picking your spouse. Sometimes it's even harder to get out of a bad investor relationship than a bad marriage - make sure it is the right choice. When AdVentures made an investment in my company I looked at everything but the money. Did the investor have knowledge, connections, and experience to help take my company to a new level? All of the answers were yes, so it was a no brainer for me. - John Hall, Digital Talent Agents

10. Do They Walk The Talk?

In our most recent funding round, our new investors came to us because they saw the enormous growth potential for smart parking. They are an LA-based fund that specializes in intelligent transportation investment. After taking a few meetings with them, we quickly realized how excited they were to potentially join our business. Engagement is of the utmost importance. Investors should do more than talk the talk; it's crucial that they demonstrate knowledge of the industry and show why they believe the product will succeed. - Sam Friedman, ParkMe