Last year saw BlackBerry start to provide its BBM messaging service to rival platforms Android and iOS with the service quickly gaining millions of users around the world, but it seems as if the BBM for Windows Phone app release disappointment is ongoing.

We have reported before that the BBM app for the platform is one of the most desired applications that users want to see released, but now the company are saying that there are currently no plans to release such an app for Windows Phone.

David Proulx, Senior Director of BBM Business Development has been talking to TrustedReviews, and basically said that the lack of a BBM app for Windows Phone was basically down to the size of the platform.

This is why both Android and iOS were treated to the service but a Windows Phone BBM app release wasn’t ruled out completely as Proulx went on to state that “As other platforms emerge, whichever they may be, we will execute on those platforms as well.”

Some may question this decision as a way for BlackBerry to try and hang onto the Windows Phone platform as it begins to leave BlackBerry behind, but Proulx added that as soon as “sufficient numbers” are requesting the service the company will re-evaluate their decision.

The Windows Phone platform is slowly gathering speed especially since higher end smartphones become available, but the likes of Nokia’s lower price Lumia handsets have sold well especially in emerging markets so surely it makes sense to start developing the app now.

Are you surprised that BlackBerry has yet to release BBM for Windows Phone?

Tinder: the speed dating app

Flirting is a part of life and apps to help you do it are now a part of life as well. Using your smartphone to meet new people is casual, easy, and fun. That being said, flirting apps don’t always keep their promises. Is Tinder the exception that will genuinely fulfill its purpose? We tested the application to see if it will really find who likes you nearby.

Features & Use

Tinder works simply on the principle of Hot-Or-Not. The app is tied to Facebook, so there is no need to create a new profile and you can get started right away. Tinder uses the profile pictures from your Facebook account, so it may be that you will have to change what’s there or limit the amount to see. Your location is determined using GPS to show you other users and the radius can be adjusted. Tinder also lists any common interests and Facebook friends and then it is up to you to make a choice with two simple buttons - an X for dislike and a heart for like: are you interested in the person, or not?

Then, as soon as you’ve decided, the app will take you to the next profile: Tinder doesn’t spend much time on details. Let's be honest, we are all a bit superficial. Inner values ​​or not, we are first and foremost interested in looks. Tinder lets you easily click away one image at a time: you will be shown likely candidates much faster than in speed dating, and you can be as shallow as you like.

Only when mutual interest is expressed by you and another candidate does Tinder connect you with someone. With the app, you can chat with that person and how much you want to tell them about yourself is of course up to you. You should definitely be cautious when chatting with strangers on the internet though. Íf what’s going down in conversation is not to your liking, you can also simply abort the connection and click on through profile pictures.

Screen & Controls

Tinder’s user interface is clear and tidy and focuses on the essentials, namely the evaluation of profile pictures. There are two buttons which are easy and efficient, allowing you to quickly express whether you are interested in the person or not. The keyboard is only used for sending messages after a connection is established. Controls and interaction within the application are set to an absolute minimum and it becomes increasingly more fun as you check out profile pictures and chat with people of interest. 

Speed & Stability

Tinder ran smoothly, without any lag or crashes. The demands on your Android smartphone are relatively low. It isn’t here to present you with a challenging game, but merely a fun flirt app to interact with real people.

Tinder is available for free, so you can’t beat the price-performance ratio. Who knows, maybe you will find the love of your life which is priceless

Final Verdict

. You can get started right away thanks to the simple concept and intuitive interface. Tinder always offers exciting entertainment and fun, and sooner rather than later you will find a conversation partner. What you make of it is up to you.

Before I conclude my review, here’s a little warning to heed: Tinder has a few dangers. During the testing period, I noticed some scammers with fake profiles. If your chat buddy acts funny, makes absurd suggestions, proposes a dubious meeting or sends you a questionable link, you can use the block button to ignore the person as well as report them if necessaryINSTALL

Recommended Apps

Bang Your Friends                                           INSTALL

Works Only On Android 2.2 Or Higher

Overview: Unlimited access to paid app in Google Play and Amazon Appstore

Market Unlocker lets you access paid or restricted apps in Android Market 2.x and 3.x and Amazon Appstore in one click. It’s safe, stable and simple.

This pro version remove all advertisements and enable automatic fetch/configuration of proxy comparing to free version.

For some apps are just enabled for some specific countries and not available to the other countries,so it is very difficult to download many high quality software. Market Unlocker lets you access paid apps from countries where paid apps are not yet available.

== Requirements ==
* Get Root permission
* Installed Google Play (Android Market)
* Installed Amazon Appstore (optional)
* Installed app in internal storage to auto unlock

== Features ==
* Change provider in one click
* Change provider automatically on boot or switch to flight mode
* Access Market via Proxy. It support HTTP/Socks4/5 proxy and user authentication.
* Support Amazon Appstore outside USA.
* Support fetch and configure proxy automatically
* Support global proxy for all applications

==== Basic Usage ====
To work with Android Market 2.x,
Switch “Enable Unlocker” button to ON and Open Android Market to buy paid app. Optionally different provider can be configured in “Market” tab.

To work with Android Market 3.x and Google Play,

1. Turn on flight mode

2. Enable Market Unlocker and auto unlock (by default Verizon is configured)

3. Got to system Setting => Applications => Manage applications => All => Market, and click “Clear data”

4. Reboot phone

5. Turn on Wifi/3G

6. Wait google service sync-up completed or refresh in Gmail.

7. Open Android Market or Google Play. paid apps are there.
Turn off flight mode now.

Amazon Appstore does not allow users to buy paid apps from outside USA, even if users have been registered use US credit card and billing address. Market Unlocker will set USA proxy to help you buy daily free apps as well as paid apps.

To work with Amazon Appstore outside USA,

First install Appstore app, otherwise the function will not be visible.

1. Go to Proxy tab

2. Click edit icon beside “Proxy For Applications”, select “Amazon Appstore” in list, and click OK button.

3. Configure Proxy Type, Proxy Host, Proxy Port. Please make sure you’re using an effect USA proxy server first.

4. Switch “Enable Proxy” to “ON”

5. Open Amazon Appstore and enjoy

If still get “unavailable in your region” error, please check the credit card and billing address info

1. Go to Proxy tab

2. Click edit icon beside “Proxy For Applications”, select “All applications” in list, and click OK button.

3. Configure Proxy Type, Proxy Host, Proxy Port. Please make sure you’re using an effect USA proxy server first.

4. Enable “Enable Proxy” to “ON”

Now proxy server is routing all the system and application traffic.
To restore original market,
Go to Home tab and click “Back to default market”, or go to Home tab, Switch “Enable Unlocker” button to OFF and reboot phone

New Stickers for BBM

In an age that's mostly predominant with the likes of WhatsApp and Viber, as far as free texting services and apps are concerned, it's pretty easy to forget early pioneers of the idea like BlackBerry's BBM service. However, BBM is still aiming to go strong with yet another addition to its BBM service. Shortly after releasing a brand new Voice Chat option for BlackBerry's Messenger on both Android and iOS platforms, the Canadian manufacturer has announced that it will also introduce stickers as a yet another new feature for BBM users.

The new option comes following the earlier introduction of the same on services such as Facebook Messenger, Line, Kakako Talk and many other messaging apps. So it's only natural that BlackBerry will also try to gather the same kind of popularity with the user base it still has for the BBM service. And while the option of finally being able to make use of stickers in the BBM messenger service sounds pretty exciting (especially to the hard core BBM users), it will indeed come for a price. Hence, those who wish to make use of these newly added stickers will have to purchase them via the BBM Shop.

Apart from that, BlackBerry has also announced that it has now kicked off a limited external beta for stickers at the BBM Shop, although it still remains unclear whether everyone can access it or the user will have to be accepted into the beta. For all the Android and iOS users, who didn't have access to BBM-based stickers as of now since it was only limited to users running devices with BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Stickers is a separate application for BB 10 OS devices that allows BBM users to spice up their chats with friends by adding stickers.

And as things stand, BlackBerry will surely do the same for Android and iOS users and will be aiming to release separate applications for stickers. However, a confirmation related to the same is yet to be passed on by the Canadian company. 
As of now, there are 35 different stickers that are available for BlackBerry 10. Out of these 35, 20 are animated and will have to be purchased, whereas the rest 15 are static and are currently available for free.

Browse The Web For Free With Opera’s Web Pass

Everyone hates ads! Pre Internet era, ads used to nag us between TV and Radio programmes. However, Opera has a plan that can make you hate ads less. How? Well, the Norweigian company introduced this ingenious idea where a mobile user gets to surf the Internet for free (via Opera Mini of course) in exchange for watching ads. The ads basically pay for your web-browsing fees to your operator.

This is very similar to the free web browsing plans that cell phone operators in India use giving free access to Twitter and Facebook pages via customised versions of browsers or the portal. An ad is played either at intervals or will be played at the beginning of the pass access period giving users plenty of browsing time in between. Once the free-browsing period ends, the user is lead to a soft landing page, which will either ask the user to pay for browsing or simply engage with another free-browsing session powered by ads.

Opera’s Sponsored Web Pass is currently not available in India, but it would be great to see a platform that benefits the advertiser as well as the user.

BlackBerry has just announced that starting today, all EA titles in BlackBerry World are free to download. This of course varies by your region and device, but you should be able to snag at least a few items at no charge. You have between now and February 28th to get in on the fun. 

The discount should be reflected very soon for most users, and then you can grab up all the EA goodies you can handle at no charge. Including Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled, Tetris, Boggle, Battleship, Monopoly, Dead Space, Need for Speed Undercover and more.

Hit up the link below to check them out, and if you are seeing the free goods, be sure to let us know what region you're in.

Check out the free EA Titles in BlackBerry World

Facebook buys WhatsApp instant messaging: $19 billion

Facebook Inc's purchase of fast-growing messaging startup WhatsApp for an eye-popping $19 billion largely won approval from analysts, who said the deal made strategic sense as it will solidify the social network's position as a leader in mobile.

Facebook shares closed up 2.3 percent at $69.63 after falling as much as 3 percent in early trading as investors got over the initial sticker shock of the deal value.

At least two brokerages downgraded their recommendations on Facebook to "hold" but the overwhelming majority of analysts remain positive on the stock.

Facebook is paying more than double its annual revenue for a chat program that has little revenue. The purchase price is slightly more than the market value of Sony Corp.

But analysts noted that WhatsApp has over 450 million users and boasts a higher level of engagement than Facebook.

"Facebook is the leading global social-sharing utility. Now, it has a significant opportunity to be the leading global communications utility," RBC Capital Markets said in a note.

WhatsApp is much stronger than Facebook Messenger in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Australia and has attracted users at a time when it appears that young people are turning away from Facebook.

Analysts said the price tag for WhatsApp, founded in 2009 by former Yahoo Inc employees Jan Koum and Brian Acton, seemed reasonable from the point of view of value per user.

Facebook is paying $42 per user, compared with a market value per user of $170 for Facebook and $212 for Twitter, Deutsche Bank's Ross Sandler said.

WhatsApp's user base is less than half that of Facebook's 1.2 billion but the chat program's users are more active. On any given day, 70 percent of WhatsApp users are active, compared with 62 percent for Facebook. WhatsApp's users are expected to reach 1 billion by 2015, according to many analysts.

"Looking past the sticker shock of $19 billion ... We view (the deal) as an offensive move to gain additional share of the consumer's time spent," Credit Suisse analysts said, noting that Facebook was paying about 11 percent of its market value to gain a 30 percent rise in engagement.

 MONEY FACTOR

Of the 44 analysts who cover Facebook, 37 have a "buy" or a "strong buy" rating on the stock

Analysts have commended Facebook's ability to make money from its mobile app. Now they will want to see how it will earn money from the chat app's huge number of users.

While we don't expect messaging to be a meaningful near-term or even long-term revenue driver, the real value could be the evolution of the platform to incorporate new functionality such as payments, app distribution, social features ...," Macquarie Equities Research analyst Ben Schachter said.

Facebook has fallen behind in mobile phone messaging apps in emerging markets, where many are accessing the Internet on fast-growing 3G mobile networks for the first time on smartphones.

Asian rivals such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat, Naver Corp's Line and Rakuten Inc's Viber are well ahead of Facebook messenger across much of Asia.

Facebook has been buying apps with large numbers of young users as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's strategy of helping users share any kind of content with anyone.

The company's $1 billion deal to buy photo-sharing application Instagram in 2012 and its recent $3 billion failed overture to buy SnapChat - used by teenagers to send texts and photos that disappear after a few seconds - followed unsuccessful attempts to develop rival apps.

"Large-scale networks like WhatsApp are rare and provide (a) significant monetization opportunity (i.e. YouTube) justifying valuation over time," SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's Robert Peck said in a note.

Analysts estimate WhatsApp users share 19 billion messages, 600 million photos, 200 million voice messages, and 100 million video messages per day.

Still, some analysts said Facebook was paying a high price to keep WhatsApp from being snapped up by a rival such as Google Inc.

Facebook shares would have been pressured by more than single-digit percentages in after-market trading if Google had purchased WhatsApp instead," Stifel analyst Jordan Rohan said in a note.

Pivotal Research's Brian Wieser, who downgraded his rating on Facebook shares to "hold" from "buy," said he expects Facebook shares to face pressure in the near-term as investors come to terms with the risk of future acquisitions.

What does this mean to BlackBerry

Facebook Inc's $19 billion bid for fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp sent shares of BlackBerry Ltd higher before the opening bell on Thursday as investors placed bets that the smartphone maker's own messaging platform has been undervalued.

BlackBerry shares were up as much as 9 percent in trading after the bell on Wednesday as the deal boosts valuation metrics around the company's own BlackBerry Messaging service.

BlackBerry Messaging, or BBM, was a pioneering mobile-messaging service, but its user base has failed to keep pace with that of WhatsApp and other upstarts, in part because BlackBerry had long refused to open the service to users on other platforms.

WhatsApp, with a user base of about 450 million, has grown rapidly. Its service works on Apple Inc's iOS platform, Google Inc's market-dominating Android operating system and with devices powered by both the Windows and BlackBerry operating systems.

BBM remains popular, even though BlackBerry devices have waned in popularity. Late last year, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company finally opened the messaging platform to users of iPhones and Android devices, and the number of the service's active users has grown to more than 80 million.

However, investors have attributed little value to the asset within the company. In a note to clients on Tuesday, Raymond James analyst Steven Li broke out a sum-of-parts valuation of BlackBerry and pegged the value of BBM at merely $240 million, or $3 per user.

Facebook's valuation of WhatsApp translates into roughly $42 per user, and that could lead investors and analysts to rethink their valuation of the asset within BlackBerry.

BlackBerry has given no indication of interest in selling the asset. While there has been some speculation that the company might try to carve out the unit, or even sell it, new Chief Executive John Chen has so far hinted that BBM remains a core asset.

Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um said the Facebook-WhatsApp deal presents potential upside to his own valuation of BBM.

"However, unless management plans to sell the unit, it is, in our opinion, difficult to add the incremental value given the unit is likely loss-making and will require investments," Um said in a note to clients on Thursday.

Facebook's acquisition prompted TD Securities analyst Scott Penner to boost his own valuation on BBM to $800 million, or $10 per user, from $400 million, or $5 per user.

"Engagement metrics of BBM stack up well with WhatsApp," Penner said in a note to clients. "And this deal does highlight the value of messaging platforms."

Sam Mobile are ‘confirming’ the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5, quoting Samsung ‘insiders’ as always. The Galaxy S5, which will be announced (unless we have all completely misinterpreted Samsung’s rather obvious hints) next week at Mobile World Congress during their Unpacked 5 event, and will reportedly house the fingerprint scanner in the Home buttonand display your fingerprint on screen for some sexy security visuals. 

This is interesting for two reasons: it means it won’t be an on-screen or rear-mounted scanner and it also means the Galaxy S5 will have the good old physical Home button, a feature many of us were hoping to have seen the last of. According to Sam Mobile’s sources, the same physical button configuration we already know from the Galaxy S4 and S3 will reappear on the next flagship. The Home button scanner apparently works similarly to the HTC One Max – with a swipe gesture rather than a brief press like the iPhone 5s’s TouchID scanner.

Galaxy S5 owners will reportedly be able to register up to eight individual fingerprints on one device and attach to each of them a default task or app shortcut. It is uncertain whether this means you could let other people use your phone but only to access a particular app or action without completely unlocking the device. A sandboxed guest mode like this would be great for girlfriends or little brothers who simply must play with your phone. You could set it up so your little bro could unlock your S5 and play Angry Birds, but nothing else. But this is just me speculating.

However, Sam Mobile’s insiders have told them that Samsung has developed a Personal Folder and Private Mode which is controlled with fingerprints (but can also be unlocked using more traditional methods like a PIN or password). Apparently it will allow you to fingerprint lock your private apps, widgets and other sensitive content. Furthermore, you will be able to sign into certain websites using just your fingerprint and access your Samsung account the same way.

For some peculiar reason, Sam Mobile declined to share any images of the process in action, claiming they want to keep something for Samsung to surprise us with next week. As always, don't believe everything you read, but if this confirmation is indeed true, then Samsung are putting fingerprint control front and center like nobody else has before, and if the whole process is as seamless and responsive as we would hope, then we may be looking at a whole new way of interacting with our phones – putting more digits to work than just our thumbs. I guess now we get to speculate on an iris scanner in the Galaxy Note 4...

You can try out paid Android apps for free

Ever want to just try out a paid Android app first before you shell out the money for it? There’s been a few that I’ve been on the fence about spending the money, seeing as I’m unsure of whether I’ll use the app of whether it does exactly what I need it to do. Well, with a few tricks you can within a 48-hour time period. 

There are actually two methods that you can use to “try out” paid apps without having to commit the charges to your credit card. The first method can be used to try out an app and then receive a refund within 15 minutes of “purchasing” the app. The second method can extend that time to about 48 hours.

Please note: these only work for apps purchased officially through the Google Play Store.

15 minutes of fame

• 1- Purchase an Android app through Google Play
• 2- Play/Use the app for less than 15 minutes..
• 3- Head back to Google Play.
• 4- Press the Menu button and choose My Apps.
• 5- Scroll down and select the app in question.
• 6- Select Uninstall and Refund. If you haven’t even installed the app yet, you’ll only get the Refund option.

There you go! There app will now uninstall from your device and a refund will be issued for the original amount of app. However, if you’ve accidentally gone past 15 minutes, you’ll have to try out the second method. 

48 hours

It is important to note that for this method to work, the app in question must fall under the umbrella of Section 3.4 of the Android Developer Distribution agreement:

3.4 Special Refund Requirements. The Payment Processor’s standard terms and conditions regarding refunds will apply except the following terms apply to your distribution of Products on the Market.

Products that can be previewed by the buyer (such as ringtones and wallpapers): No refund is required or allowed.

Products that cannot be previewed by the buyer (such as applications): You authorize Google to give the buyer a full refund of the Product price if the buyer requests the refund within 48 hours after purchase.

 The gist of it: You can get a refund up to 48 hours after you’ve purchased an app as long it’s not something you can preview, such as a wallpaper or a ringtone.

• 1- Go to your account for Google Play from your PC/Mac. (https://play.google.com/store/account)
• 2- Log onto your Google Account
• 3- Under the Options for the individual item you want refunded, click Report a problem
• 4- From the options presented, select I’d like to request a refund
• 5- Fill out the reason that you’d like to request a refund and click Send Report
All done! Google does however note that they will be “only able to make exceptions to our refund policy in cases where there are extenuating circumstances.” And as such, we cannot guarantee that the method will work all the time. However, in all our tests, we’ve received a refund for purchased content.
Have you tried out this method? 

Microsoft To Support XP Anti-Malware

I guess we can say that Microsoft does monitor the pulse of its community of users. While the pressure to continue support for Windows XP has not really yielded any practical results, it seems that the noise surrounding the “death” of Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows XP has prompted Microsoft think twice. Not long after the official announcement, Microsoft backtracked, saying the XP anti-malware support is going to continue in spite of the end-of-life date having been determined for the popular operating system.

This is certainly reason for Windows XP users to rejoice, but we cannot deny that the end-of-life date for XP is not going to disappear into thin air. That stands, and the XP anti-malware support is also on its deathbed.

For now, XP users have to be satisfied with the fact that Microsoft will continue to release signatures that will protect computers running on XP from malware. Until July 2015, that is.

These signatures covers Microsoft Security Essentials, among other things.

Again, this is but a respite for Windows XP users. Support for the widespread operating system will still end on April 8 of this year. Additionally, existing Windows XP users will NOT be able to download Microsoft Security Essentials after the said date. As such, if you do not have any plans of ditching Windows XP any time soon, you ought to make sure you have Microsoft Security Essentials downloaded before April 8. After that, you will continue to receive the updated signatures, keeping you at least safe from malware, which we know seem to favor Windows.

Another piece of positive, related news: third party anti-malware software will continue to be supported, and they will have updates on XP for the next year. Just how long that will last, we don’t really know.

So, dear Microsoft XP loyalists, your week is off to a (somehow) good start!