It is months late, but today Research In Motion has finally launched its BlackBerry 10 operating system and changed its name officially to BlackBerry. The phone maker officially announced it is changing its name from Research in Motion to Blackberry as it launched its new phones this afternoon. Chief executive Thorsten Heins introduced two new BlackBerry phones the Q10 with its traditional Qwerty keyboard, and the touch screen Z10. Read More »

Last night, with my feet up watching TV, I was amazed at the number of ads I saw for information search and listing-type websites. Within two commercial breaks, I counted at least four; Hotels.com, Trivago, Kayak and 118 118. For me this really hit home how the modern psychology of online purchasing, especially for big ticket items and leisure activities, is changing. Not just satisfied with finding out where we can obtain a R186 signal box, or fishing advice from JR Hartley, we now want that instantaneous, great value deal, in addition to seeking advice and advocacy from others through the myriad of reviews and rating calculations that these sites provide. Read More »

Foursquare, the geo-location social network, has launched an app that will allow businesses to update customers about themselves directly from their phone. The company published a blog post yesterday, announcing the arrival of Foursquare for Business, which it says will help the million plus businesses on their network connect with customers quickly and easily, straight from their phone.

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YouTube is planning the next phase of its development and is reported to be launching pay-per-view channels, which would see it challenge cable TV as well as streaming services such as Netflix and LoveFilm. According to various reports, Google’s YouTube has been in contact with a number of content producers with a view to supplying it with programming, which could be priced in the region of $1 to $5 (63p to £3.17) a month. Read More »

The smartphone is changing how we shop. From showrooming to hitting the January sales in a more convenient way, smartphones have placed shoppers ahead of retailers and brands in the race to master digital. This gap is set to widen as retailers struggle to keep up with the expectations of the increasingly demanding digital shopper. Smartphones are creating a bridge between physical products and digital worlds, but retailers and brands are failing to grasp the nettle. Read More »