Mobile

Blackberry has transitioned its devices, in turn, to touch-based Blackberry 10 and Android systems, but it has thus far always kept at least one classic smart phone in the market. But that’s finally changing this week: Blackberry has announced that it will no longer make the BlackBerry Classic.

Because I said so, that’s why, this edition of Short Takes focuses on whether Microsoft should rebrand itself, more changes to Product Activation, end of life for Surface 3 and Band 2, Sony’s alleged surprise at Xbox plans, and more.

Because the altitude is killig me, this edition of Short Takes focuses on a new Windows 10 site for business apps, Google and Lenovo team to put augmented reality in phones, Surface Hub chief leaves Microsoft, DOJ backs Samsung, and much more.

Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store have collectively created a new economic engine, but their makers have big plans to keep growth growing as the market evolves. And to do so, they’re willing to forego profits and push more money to app developers.

Because even Satya Nadella isn’t moving quickly enough, this edition of Short Takes focuses on a misreport about “Get Windows 10” changes, Microsoft is not building a driverless car, excitement about coming Xbox hardware, Huawei’s plans for world domination, and more.

Microsoft has announced a dramatic expansion of its partnership with China-based device maker Xiaomi on Wednesday. As part of the agreement, Xiaomi will ship Microsoft Office and Skype apps on its Android smart phones and tablets.

Because Microsoft has finally killed all that was special about Nokia, this edition of Short Takes focuses on the Finnish government lashing out at Microsoft, China pirates unhappy about the forced Windows 10 upgrade, Microsoft’s ban of dumb passwords, Microsoft’s and Facebook’s transatlantic subsea cable, and more.

Regulators from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are working jointly to discover more about how mobile device makers are patching security vulnerabilities. And they’ve reached out to device makers big and small to find out more.

Because Microsoft controls the weather now, this edition of Short Takes focuses on Microsoft’s use of DNA for storage, Skype’s one billion mobile downloads, Microsoft’s Windows phone messaging, Google’s pending EU sanctions, Google copies Microsoft’s mission statement, Amazon’s AWS surge, and much more.

Following in the footsteps of the Europe Commission, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expanding its own investigation of Android to see whether Google is violating U.S. antitrust laws. But it’s unlikely that this investigation will ever amount to actual charges.