Category: Technology News

BlackBerry is working on a smartphone with a storable keyboard

| September 23, 2014

A new report from BerryReview has stated that this new device is currently in the works by the handset maker.

Blackberry Ltd is, according to a recent BerryReview report, currently testing out a new design for a device that has a storable keyboard and that uses a pivoting smartphone cover in order to achieve this purpose.

The report indicated that a device of this nature may actually be launched notably sooner than expected.

In fact it is quite likely that the BlackBerry device that is currently under review could potentially be launched within the second quarter of 2015. Its code name is currently Visa and Victoria. The new feature with the storable keyboard was revealed when it was discovered that a patent for it (#8,830,667) had been filed on September 9 with the United States Patent Office.

BlackBerry has been known for its practical smartphone keyboards that are considered one of their best features.

BlackBerry smartphone newsThe patent pointed out that the smartphone keyboard element can move freely from a position where it is, to where it is not deployed. It explained that “A cover pivotally couples to the housing and is configured to at least partially cover the keyboard portion when the keyboard portion is in the non-deployed position and to reveal the keyboard portion when the keyboard portion is in the deployed position.”

There are three rows in the keyboard that is described by the patent filing, which may be comparable to that of the upcoming square Passport smartphone from that manufacturer. With this keyboard element, when it is displaced, one row will be left behind for use as a trackpad and will reveal a small number of important keys.

That said, it is unknown what true benefit will be added by shifting the keyboard, as removing it will not provide any greater screen size. That said, there were no further details of that nature revealed in the patent filing. This patent is being taken quite seriously in the mobile technology news world and is believed by many to be another device that is in development as a part of the latest strategy by the company’s CEO John Chen, to claw the business back into serious relevance.

Wearable tech initiative for mhealth launched by team of doctors

| September 22, 2014

The hope of this effort is to be able to bring meaningful health data through these devices.

While wearable tech has been gradually rising in popularity, many believe that it wasn’t until the recent Apple Watch unveiling that this type of device was catapulted into the mainstream spotlight.

That said, even before that time, a team of doctors had started a new effort to make them practical for mhealth.

The wearable tech industry specifically for activity and sports trackers is expected to reach $1.4 billion within the upcoming two years . This will allow for a tremendous collection of activity data. A team of doctors feels that this presents a massive opportunity for leveraging that data to develop resources that will help people to be able to make meaningful decisions with regards to their health care. The team is working under the name Vivametrica.

Vivametrica is aiming to develop a wearable tech based analytics platform that will be a first of its kind.

Wearable Tech - mhealth dataThis platform for wearables will be meant for enterprises, health care providers, and patients, alike. Its development is based on several years of clinical research that connects health risks with various types of activities.

The mobile wearable device being produced by Vivametrics is operating system agnostic, which means that it will be compatible with smartphones regardless of whether they run on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, or any other operating system. This was because the team was seeking to take a standardized approach to the collection and management of the data. The goal was to help to span the gap that currently exists between current wearable fitness apps and actual health data upon which specific action can be taken.

The Vivametrics company has every intention of using wearable tech to be able to provide improvements in the areas of credible, personalized assessment, and research based analytics. The team is made up of health, medicine, and business experts that include: Dr. Richard Hu (the company’s CEO and founder), Dr. Christy Lane (the company’s COO and co-founder), Dr. Matthew Smuck (the company’s scientific advisor and cofounder), and Scott Valentine (the company’s president).