blackberry

Microsoft's next quarterly report arrives Thursday, and it's hard to get too excited. It's still the world's largest software company, and it's growing. It just happens to be as sexy as Abe Vigoda. But Microsoft could still innovate its way out of its slump. Here are four things we'd love to hear Microsoft say on Thursday.

Following the massive outage in service that affected tens of millions of BlackBerry users worldwide last week, Research in Motion said it would provide $100 of free premium apps to each customer, ranging from games to technical programs, including SIMS 3, iSpeech Translator Pro and Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant.

This week, Research In Motion's Blackberry network suffered a massive outage that spanned continents and cut off the cellular oxygen to millions. Competing phone carriers and handset makers are certain to jump on the chance to woo some of those frustrated customers.

Everyone but Research In Motion seems to know that many of today's BlackBerry owners will be on Android or iPhones by the time their two-year service contracts run out. RIM may have a beefy base of users now, but it might be smart to check again in a year or two.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. is cutting 2,000 jobs as part of a cost savings plan announced last month and is shuffling some senior executives. The job cuts amount to about 10 percent of the company's work force. The company said Monday it will notify affected employees this week. It...

Communication is increasingly moving off the grid and into the cloud. For cellphone users -- especially ones with smartphones -- there are a host of online tools and apps that can help reduce usage on carrier plans and save money. Here are a half dozen easy options.

Apple recently introduced iMessage, a new service that lets users send text messages, photos and videos between all Apple devices. This could challenge Research in Motion's BlackBerry Messenger service, which has been a unique selling point as the company struggles to compete with Google's Android and Apple's iPhone.

Add Kodak to the growing list of businesses participating in what's come to be known as "re-commerce." The iconic photo company recently launched a trade-in and recycling program, whereby consumers can turn in their used consumer electronics for cash. The move reflects Kodak's ongoing...

Investors have abandoned Research In Motion, which may finally make it a good investment again. Twenty months ago, the smartphone company's shares traded at $85. The stock now changes hands at around $49. But there are good reasons to expect that it won't stay that low for long.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer debuts Tuesday, and for the many folks in the corporate world already armed with BlackBerry phones, the addition of a PlayBook may make sense. But there are a host of reasons why the average consumer may find the device not quite ready for the spotlight.