Blackberry Debuts New Passport Amidst All the Talk About The New iPhones

Greetings from Mobile Generated News® MoGN! 

With all of the publicity about Apple’s new iPhones and operating system both positive and negative, Blackberry’s timing is certainly questionable.

For many years I couldn’t live without my Blackberry, because of its physical and very responsive keyboard but when Apple’s iPhone first came out I was hooked. It was not just the simplicity and elegance of design. It was far superior as an Internet device. The web looked almost as good as my desktop computer and I finally gave in and accepted the virtual keyboard because the iPhone was more than just a handheld email reader and cell phone. Apple began the Smartphone revolution with the worldwide web in the palm of your hand. It was reminiscent of when I graduated from a Palm Pilot to a Treo. Remember them?

So Blackberry still has a few loyal followers even with the failures of the parade of models that came out with their “new” operating system. So now comes the debut of the Blackberry Passport that will begin shipping on October 6, 2014. It features a 4.5” square touch display, 13 Megapixel camera, 32 GB Internal storage, 30 hours of battery life, 1440 x 1440 resolution, 1080p HD video recording and Corning Gorilla Glass 3. At first glance at the specs, sounds pretty competitive, huh?

But wait. A square screen that shoots 1080p HD video?  Only 32GB of internal storage offered?

The BlackBerry Passport, from what we have read, is difficult to hold given its boxy footprint and a keyboard that is not as good as the original. The camera specs are impressive but Apple uses other enhancements to make their pictures look better

At first glance, it may the phone of choice for a small group of business users, but for the vast majority of consumers the iPhone 6 is likely to remain the winner.

We'll have more to say as the new iPhones and the Blackberry Passport are tested in the court of public opinion.

At Mobile Generated News®, we want news consumers to contribute their opinions or news stories and be able to interact with local media for free. We believe that contributing to the news cycle is essential to our democracy.

Most often, viewers do not get to control what they see on the news. Now, the MoGN App enables news enthusiasts to have a say in the content they see on their televisions, web sites and newspapers.

We are trying to enhance the human experience when it comes to news.

Download the Mobile Generated News App by clicking this link: Mobile Generated News which will take your computer or Apple device directly to the iTunes Store.

Become a Citizen Journalist!

If you are out and about and see news, weather or sports happening ̶ send in your Breaking News.

If you have a story or opinion that’s worth sharing, record it and send it in as well!

If you search for Mobile Generated News in the Apple App Store, you will see all of our related affiliate Apps. The Univision-Mobile Generated News Apps were just released. In addition, you will find the Mobile Generated News App for Nationwide coverage; Entravision-Mobile Generated News App and Serestar-Mobile Generated News App.

All of the MoGN Apps are currently available in English and Spanish.

And, stay tuned for new affiliates joining the Mobile Generated News® Network team.

Start contributing today!

Remember, if it is newsworthy, we will post it nationwide and you will see it on the MoGN "Newsfeed" distributed to Broadcast Stations, Newspapers, Web Sites and news organizations across the United States and soon around the World.

Mobile Generated News®. Empowering the NEXT generation.

─Jeff Wald, Mobile Generated News®, Los Angeles

Malware is increasingly invading our Computers: Are Smartphones Next?

Greetings from Mobile Generated News® MoGN!

My office computer was immobilized recently because of a Malware attack.  I couldn’t open Microsoft Outlook and had difficulty opening other programs.  I had to call our IT Specialist to figure out what was going on. He added an anti-Malware program, scanned the hard drive and found that Malware was impeding the path and stopping me from signing in properly.  Although I was able to use my iPhone for email and calendar functions during the time my computer was down, it made me think whether my iOS devices could be similarly infected and separate me from the outside world completely ‒ at least temporarily.

So I began my research and found that we should always be vigilant by running anti-virus AND anti-Malware scans on our computers and whether you have an Apple, Android, Windows Phone or a Blackberry you can be vulnerable on your mobile devices as well.

Because Android has about 80% market share, there is more Malware in cyberspace in search of your Smartphone or Tablet.  It’s a very good idea to install an anti-Malware App on your Android device.  Many Android enthusiasts boast about the open architecture, however, the downside is that this same open framework makes it more open to Malware as well.  Google just blocked a files sharing website because of Malware.

Windows Phones have not had very much impact with a little over 2% market share.  This translates to being fairly safe because the malicious people that write the Malware won’t bother – at least for the time being – because they will not want to waste their time.

Although Blackberry is experiencing diminishing sales, they run Java which has been vulnerable to Malware attacks.  If you are a Blackberry diehard, be careful opening emails particularly with attachments.

Last but not least are Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iMac Computers.  Over the last decade they have a very good track record.  We chose to debut all of our Mobile Generated News® Apps on the Apple iOS because we felt more confident, in our development phase, that the controls that Apple has in place, and frequently criticized for, makes them less vulnerable to viruses and Malware.

At Mobile Generated News®, we want news consumers to be able to interact with local and national media for free and without worry about viruses and Malware.

We believe that contributing to the news cycle is essential to our democracy.  When newsworthy material is submitted to us, we vet it for authenticity and then upload it to our newsfeed.  Most often, viewers do not get to control what they see on the news. Now, the MoGN App enables news enthusiasts to have a say in the content they see on their televisions, web sites and newspapers. We are trying to enhance the human experience when it comes to news. Download the Mobile Generated News App and become a Citizen Journalist!

If you are out and about and see news, weather or sports happening, send in your Breaking News. If you have a story or opinion that’s worth sharing, record it and send it in as well!

Search for Mobile Generated News in the Apple App Store. And, you will see all of our related affiliate Apps.

The Univision-Mobile Generated News Apps were just released.  In addition, you will find the Mobile Generated News App for Nationwide coverage; Entravision-Mobile Generated News App and Serestar-Mobile Generated News App.

All of the MoGN Apps are currently available in English and Spanish with French language coming soon!

And, stay tuned for new affiliates joining the Mobile Generated News® Network team in 2014. Start contributing today!

Remember, if it is newsworthy, we will post it nationwide and you will see it on the MoGN "Newsfeed" distributed to Broadcast Stations, Newspapers, Web Sites and news organizations across the United States and soon around the World.

Mobile Generated News®.  Empowering the Next Generation.

─Jeff Wald, Mobile Generated News®, Los Angeles

The End of Blackberry?

Greetings from Mobile Generated News®  MoGN!

We learned that Blackberry’s CEO is stepping down, they have decided to raise 1-Billion dollars by issuing convertible notes to its long time investors and that they are basically running out of options.

What a shame!

Even though I personally turned in my Blackberry several years ago in favor of the iPhone, I have a special place in my heart for Blackberry.  That special place was, in my opinion, their biggest asset ─ that wonderful Blackberry Keyboard.  I really had high hopes for the new operating system and specifically their Blackberry Q 10 with that physical keyboard.

I knew something was wrong when Blackberry first came out with the Z 10 and eventually the Q 10.  Shortly thereafter, a truck wrapped in Blackberry advertising showed up in front of our Los Angeles office.  The Blackberry promoters were happy to show me both devices but their Z 10 wasn’t working.  I went to my local Verizon store and their demo model wasn’t functional either.   

I remember writing the tribute to my good friend, colleague and longtime KTLA 10:00pm News Anchor, Hal Fishman, when he passed away in 2007.  The story was for the Los Angeles Emmy Award Program and the Academy of Television Artsand Sciences needed the copy right away.  I was on vacation and spent hours crafting the document on my T-MobileBlackberry.  I could never have done it in a timely manner on a virtual keyboard, even with the auto-correction spelling feature on my iPhone.

Eventually, it was clear even to this loyal Blackberry user, the technology that Apple created for its iPhone was far superior to Blackberry’s.  I made the switch but still miss that physical keyboard.

Blackberry’s stock lost 16% of its value yesterday.  As of this writing, it is up a fraction today.  The infusion of cash will only hold off the inevitable…Goodbye Blackberry.  Unless a miracle happens…

So what do you think?  Download the Mobile Generated News® App and send in your own video commentary on whether you think Blackberry will survive or any subject we talk about in the Mobile Generated News® Blog! 

─Jeff Wald, Executive Director, Mobile Generated News®, Los Angeles

To Download the App and see how Generation Next will be getting their News! Just search for Mobile Generated News in iTunes OR download it here.  Remember, if it is newsworthy, we will post it nationwide and you will see it on the MoGN “Newsfeed” distributed to Broadcast stations, Newspapers, Web Sites and news organizations across the United States and soon around the World.  

Mobile Generated News® MoGN

 Mobile News…Global Views