Google recently announced that it has acquired the popular consumer reviews and ratings guide ZAGAT and plans to integrate it with Google Search and Google Maps…

With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry. Founded by Tim and Nina Zagat more than 32 years ago, Zagat has established a trusted and well-loved brand the world over, operating in 13 categories and more than 100 cities.

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Unfortunately for RIM, QNX is not the next BlackBerry operating system.  BlackBerry 7 holds that distinction, however, the operating system still based on what we know as the BlackBerry OS is being called “dead on arrival” and “so insignificant that it didn’t warrant the time it took to develop.”

Supporting devices ranging from 4-inch smartphones up to 10-inch tablets, the Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand seems as though it were designed specifically for the BlackBerry PlayBook.  There are no problems with charging your PlayBook while in the stand and both landscape and portrait orientation are supported

The Arkon Stand is portable, folding up to 1″ x 1″  x 7″, fitting easily into any travel bag, and, is made from a very durable plastic material that won’t damage easily.  It also is coated with a rubbery material that keeps your PlayBook from sliding on the stand or the stand sliding on hard surfaces like seat back trays on airplanes.

At under $15, you could spend a lot more on a more expensive tablet stand, however, they won’t get the job done any better than the Arkon.  If you are looking for a good tablet stand for your BlackBerry PlayBook, or, any other tablet for that matter, you will definitely want to check out the Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand.

[Via RIMarkable]

Word on the street is that BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone is going to hit the App Store on April 26th.  According to MacRumors, Research in Motion co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, said yesterday at a Toronto Social Media conference that BBM for iPhone would hit the App Store on April 26th.

“RIM had a Social Media conference today in Toronto, and my entire college business and marketing class was invited to the event. RIM’s co-ceo Jim Balsillie revealed that they plan to bring BBM and “other services” to iPhone on April 26 via the app store. Major news networks are expected to pick up on this very soon! Balsillie also revealed that they plan to release an update to the app this summer which will take advantage of a new “notification system”!!!”

Needless to say that, if this turns out to be true, it will be a huge deal for RIM and for a lot of iPhone users that have buddies still using BlackBerry devices.

LiveProfile for BlackBerry, is a BBM-like application that allows you to chat with other LiveProfile users on Android, iOS, and, of course, BlackBerry.  What’s really cool about LiveProfile is that you can see when a message has been delivered to a contact, read by a contact, and, you can even see when a contact is typing out a message in reply to you.

Now that LiveProfile is available on the three leading smartphone platforms, popularity for that application has risen exponential with over 277,000 in a single day past weekend.  LiveProfile is also the number 4 free social networking application in the AppStore.  LiveProfile for BlackBerry is actually in beta, so, it doesn’t have all the functionality that it’s counterparts have, but, the core of the application is there and updates are coming out fast…  LiveProfile for BlackBerry has already been updated twice since being release last Friday.

LiveProfile is a free download and you can pick it up for Android and iOS in their respective application storefronts.  You can download LiveProfile for BlackBerry OTA from http://liveprofile.com/get.

Download LiveProfile for BlackBerry

[Source via RIMarkable]

CBS confirmed yesterday with Dow Jones that it will pull some of it’s premium ShowTime content from Netflix when the current partnership between ShowTime and Netflix expires this summer.  Showtime spokeswoman Johanna Fuentes confirmed that all episodes of shows currently airing on ShowTime like “Dexter” and “Californification” will be removed.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise to Netflix… “We’re perplexed by this,” Steve Swasey, a Netflix spokesperson told Dow Jones. “We have great Showtime shows available on our service, and we expect to continue with those shows. We have a very good relationship with CBS and all its channels.” Something tells me that the “very good relationship with CBS and all its channels” isn’t as good as Netflix believes it to be. At the end of the day, however,  this could be, and, probably is, a negotiation tactic by CBS.

Content producers need Netflix and services like it

Content producers would love it if consumers would just come to their websites and buy their premium streaming content direct.  The problem for content producers, however, is that there are a lot of them out there and consumers aren’t going to go to every website and pay direct unless they are truly a fan of a show.  Netflix, on the other hand, works as the middle man.  They bring a critical mass of users willing to  pay a monthly fee to get all you can eat from multiple content producers, but, probably wouldn’t buy direct from a particular content producer for a show that they are just casually interested in.

Personally, I like the show “Dexter” and watch it via Netflix all the time.  If Netflix, however, no longer offers Dexter, its not like I would go buy it directly from Showtime.  CBS knows this, which, is why I believe that what you see happening here is the beginning of negotiations for their next contract with Netflix…

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Now that Verizon has released their first LTE 4G phone, the HTC Droid Thunderbolt, the company is making sure that there will be plenty of markets for you to use their ridiculously fast network.  Verizon has announced that, in addition to the existing 39 markets currently covered by LTE and the 49 new markets announced back at CES2011, 59 additional markets will be added by the end of this year bringing the total to 145.

David Small, chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless, said, “Aggressively expanding this powerful network beyond major metro areas reflects the reality that the 4G LTE ecosystem is growing quickly. Our commitment to reach deep into medium-sized cities and smaller communities by the end of 2011 means the power of 4G LTE can be harnessed and provide advanced services to law enforcement, healthcare workers, educators, and other professionals, as well as to individual consumers, sooner than many thought possible. So whether you spend time in New York and San Francisco, or Harrisburg, Penn., Saginaw/Bay City, Mich., Huntsville, Ala. and Las Cruces, New Mexico, you can connect to the most advanced 4G network in the country.”

Head over to Verizon’s website to see a list of all the markets getting LTE coverage this year as well as to read the full press release…

This is a big deal because it gives Sprint/Google Voice users the ability to use Google Voice services such as having all your phones ring when a call comes in via your Sprint number, free transcribed voice messages via SMS or Email, low-cost international calls, custom voicemail greetings, and more all without having to set up a separate Google Voice number or porting your Sprint number over to Google Voice.

We aren’t sure when exactly these new Sprint / Google Voice features will be available, however, this new functionality will be on display at CITA which kicks off this week.

[Source]