The Q10 is the phone BlackBerry aficionados have been waiting for — and it’s going to help the company, which has been struggling, to turn the corner. It has the shape of the BlackBerry Bold and weighs just 139 grams. But despite its small size the Q10 feels really solid, with the rubberised glass weave finish giving it an attractive look and feel. And the company has again proved it is the king of the qwerty keyboard. The keys on the Q10 are 30 per cent larger than BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 and are arranged in only four straight rows that are slightly curved inwards for faster typing. All the keys are of same size and rows are separated by a steel rim The optical trackpad and navigation keys, which had many loyal fans, has been dropped to give more space to the screen and keypad. But, this should not be an issue as the Q10 screen is touch controlled. Also, if you type “TW” you are taken directly into a tweet by the Smart Actions feature. “FA” takes you to Facebook, without any need to surf the menu. More»

Facebook and other social networking sites may affect your mental health by causing psychotic episodes and delusions, researchers warn. As Internet access becomes increasingly widespread, so do related psychopathologies such as Internet addiction and delusions related to the technology and to virtual relationships, according to the study. Computer communications such as Facebook and chat groups are an important part of this story, said Dr Uri Nitzan of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Shalvata Mental Health Care Center. According to Nitzan, patients shared some crucial characteristics, including loneliness or vulnerability due to the loss of or separation from a loved one, relative inexperience with technology, and no prior history of psychosis or substance abuse. More»

Egypt’s President Dr. Mohamed Morsi has granted on Saturday Egypt’s representatives of university student unions ‘Einar’ tablets in order to motivate students for production and creativity. Morsi has emphasized during his meeting with the students in Heliopolis Presidential Palace that he is so proud that there is an Egyptian tablet industry ‘Einar’ and he is keen on granting tablet gift for each student so as to stimulate the students on production, creativity and developing national industry as a basis of Egypt’s renaissance. Morsi has pointed out that Egypt will be waiting a lot from its students to contribute to building and enriching Egypt’s renaissance that can be achieved through the attention of educational attainment, modern technologies and embracing development concepts. Moreover, Morsi added that he would never allow the breach of the rights of Egypt’s students as it is the state’s duty to provide students with the appropriate services and also to devote its efforts to support students and enable them to focus on their studies.  More»

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s operating system for mobile devices could become a serious competitor to Google Inc. (GOOG) and Apple Inc. software in the next year, Acer Inc. (2353) President Jim Wong said today. The main thing holding the platform back is a lack of applications -- a failing that Microsoft is working to solve, Wong said in an interview after introducing a new line of Acer products in New York. Acer, the fourth-largest personal-computer maker, sells a range of PCs and tablets with Windows, though it doesn’t offer any phones with Microsoft software. “Windows for now is still a leader in the productivity field,” he said, referring to Microsoft’s dominance in PCs and office software. Within the next year, the mobile version of the software is poised to mount a real challenge, he said. “We have high hopes.” More»

An Algerian national who is allegedly part of the cybercrime consortium behind a powerful hacking software known as SpyEye appeared in an Atlanta courtroom after a three-year manhunt ended with his arrest in a Bangkok airport. Hamza Bendelladj, known for years in underground computer forums simply as Bx1, was accused in a 23-count indictment of crimes including computer and bank fraud. The charges, unsealed yesterday, stem from his role in selling and supporting SpyEye, which allows hackers to hijack victims’ bank accounts through their own computers. Bendelladj’s alleged criminal reach extended across international borders, directly into victims’ homes,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in Atlanta said in a statement before his arraignment. More»

Microsoft Corp's phone chief hates to call the new Nokia Lumia 521 cheap, but the lower-priced smartphone launching in the United States is the company's boldest move yet to win mass market share from leaders Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics. The world's largest software company has so far focused on putting its Windows Phone software into expensive, high-end devices - chiefly from Nokia and HTC Corp. But the new model will go on sale at Walmart later this month at an unsubsidized price under $150, relatively cheap for a new phone running up-to-date software without a long-term contract. "There is an opportunity for us to offer a very high quality device in the mainstream," said Terry Myerson, head of the Windows Phone unit, at Microsoft's campus near Seattle last week. "That's where we've made progress in the last couple of months and it's a strategy we'll continue to explore in the United States." More»

The Pentagon cleared Samsung Electronics Co. (005930)’s devices for use on its networks, signaling the start of a battle for military market share among top smartphone makers. The Defense Department yesterday approved use of the Suwon, South Korea-based company’s devices running a secure version of Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system.The move gives Samsung, the largest seller of smartphones for commercial use, the chance to compete with Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry, the Pentagon’s dominant provider of mobile devices. Apple Inc. devices may gain a similar security clearance this month, according to Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman.“This is a significant step toward establishing a multi- vendor environment that supports a variety of state-of-the-art devices and operating systems,” Pickart said in a statement yesterday. More»

Brian Krzanich, Intel Corp. (INTC)’s next chief executive officer, said he’s already sold the company’s board on a plan to move more quickly into mobile-device chips.His bigger challenge: persuading investors and customers that he can do a better job than his predecessor, Paul Otellini, in adapting to the shift in consumer tastes away from the personal-computer market his company dominates -- and toward tablets and smartphones.“You’ll see actions over the next couple of months that will start to unfold what that strategy is,” said Krzanich, who becomes Intel’s sixth CEO on May 16. He said he’ll outline his plans with staff soon, and the public after that.Krzanich, 52, takes the helm as Intel struggles to cut into Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)’s lead in the $85.4 billion mobile-chip market. By hewing to a long-held strategy of elevating CEOs from within, Intel’s board backed a veteran who’s steeped in company culture and well versed in chip production. The move also leaves Intel without a leader adept at wooing phone and tablet makers. More»

Siemens AG (SIE), Europe’s largest engineering company, cut its full-year forecast after quarterly earnings missed analyst estimates amid charges for failed wind energy transmission projects and the delayed delivery of trains. Net income from continuing operations will approach the low end of its 4.5 billion-euro ($5.9 billion) to 5 billion-euro target, the Munich-based company said today. Siemens now also predicts a “moderate” decline in organic sales, after a previous forecast for stable sales. The reduced forecast is a setback for Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher, who is implementing a plan to trim 6 billion euros from costs after acknowledging in November he had been slow to react to the economic downturn. The CEO, in his second five-year term, has also come under pressure to refocus Siemens after deals that he supervised soured and profitability is trailing that of rivals ABB Ltd. (ABBN) and General Electric Co. (GE) More»

HTC Corp. (2498) President Peter Chou called his latest smartphone One. As sales slide and market share shrinks, that name may represent the number of chances he has left to turn the company around. Product delays, marketing failures and management turnover at the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company pushed net income down 98 percent last quarter to the lowest on record. Once the top- selling smartphone vendor in the U.S., HTC now lags Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. (AAPL), which ship 10 times as many handsets globally combined. “If HTC fails one more time, then they’ll be under pressure to replace the CEO,” said Birdy Lu, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group in Taipei who cites the appeal of the new handset as reason for his outperform rating. “HTC One is their last chance to come back after the past two years of declines.” More»