Summary: Check out Episode #175 of the SMRpodcast. This week Robb and Chris are joined by Michael Hank Nowlin, a.k.a, BlackBerry Hank, and we talk a lot of BlackBerry. The big news actually came out yesterday when BlackBerry announced a special committee put together to "Explore Strategic Alternatives"... The entire crew is hoping that BlackBerry is able to come back, but know one is holding their breath. One of the major external contributors to the decline of the BlackBerry is the rise of the iPhone which is rumored to come out in it's seventh iteration on September 10th. Microsoft is in the news because investors are suing the company for not telling us that the Surface was selling poorly "soon enough". The company is getting both heat and praise for changing direction on the Xbox One's Kinect as it doesn't have to be on all the time. It isn't clear if there will be an option to buy a unit without the Kinect. Madden 25 Preview is out, Amazon offers cross platform notifications, and Microsoft Points are being done away with. We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #175 of the SMRpodcast. [powerpress] Show Details Recorded: August 13th, 2013 Published: August 14th, 2013 Duration: 01hr 29min 00sec SUBSCRIBE FOR AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADS Standard RSS Hosts: Rod Simmons @RodSimmons Chris Ashley @bigChrisAshley Robb Dunewood @RobbDunewood BlackBerry Hank @BlackBerryHank SHOW TOPICS Big stories we covered this week BlackBerry is possibly looking to be bought Microsoft once again changes features on the Xbox One Fun stories we covered this week Amazon creating Notifications Platform We Debate where did BlackBerry go wrong Microsoft being sued by investors Picks of the Week Drippler -- App discovery app for Android and iOS Robb Dunewood (RIMarkable) Bose AE2W Wireless Headphones (Bluetooth Headphones) Chris Ashley (WinGadgetNews / SimpleMobileReview) Fruitvale Station (Oscar Grant Documentary)BlackBerry Hank (@BlackBerryHank)
