As promised, RIM has added music, TV shows and movies to its freshly renamed online store, the BlackBerry World.

The prices for albums range from $8 to $12, while movies are mostly in the $10 to $20 price range. TV shows -- which, unlike movies and music, don't have a preview -- cost $1.99 per episode.

All this new content is available only to people in the supported regions, which are currently the U.S., UK and Canada.

We'll likely hear about RIM's plans for BlackBerry world at the BlackBerry 10 launch event, which starts at 10AM ET today, Jan. 30.

Thumbnail photo courtesy Flickr, Enrique Dans

More About: blackberry, Movies, Music, RIM

In the latest installment of the Apple-Samsung patent battle, judge Lucy Koh has decided that Samsung did not infringe Apple's patents willfully, therefore overturning one element of the jury's ruling from August 2012.

Originally, the jury had determined Samsung's infringement of Apple's patents was willful in several instances, which could possibly triple the $1.05 billion damages granted to Apple. Both Apple and Samsung were unhappy with the verdict: Apple asked for increased damages, while Samsung wanted an entirely new trial.

"To establish objective willfulness, Apple must prove by clear and convincing evidence that there was an 'objectively high likelihood that its actions const…
Continue reading...

More About: apple, apple vs samsung, lawsuits, samsung

Vineit is a new tool that lets you share videos from Twitter's video sharing service Vine on Tumblr.

Vineit is very simple to use: open the project's homepage, and drag the "Vineit" button to your bookmarks toolbar. Then, when you see a vine video, simply click on that link, and you'll share it on Tumblr.

If there are no Vine videos on the page, the tool will return an error.

Marrying Tumblr and Vine is a logical step, since Tumblr has become the go-to service for images and animated gifs (usually surrounding a certain topic), and we don't doubt many users will find it helpful.

Vineit joins the fast-growing army of Vine-related tools. For example, VineGifR is a Mac app that t…
Continue reading...

More About: Vine, Vineit

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Burberry's Art of the Trench campaign redefined UGC in the digital era. It's simple, really -- the best way to show how great your product is is to show real, fashionable people wearing your product ... and looking damn good doing so. Since the Trench site launched in 2009 (it's still a living project today), several other brands have sought to integrate UGC into their marketing tactics and business model.

Last summer, apparel company Free People began integrating consumer Instagram photos onto product pages for…
Continue reading...

More About: instagram, open forum, Small Business, user-generated content

It may be hard to explain the concept of an Internet meme to a perplexed parent or grandparent, but you definitely know one when when you see one.

More About: infographics, internet memes

Sometimes all we want in life is for someone to really get us, deepest darkest secrets and all. And that person usually is -- no, not our significant other -- our Netflix subscription.

You can't hide anything from Felix the Netflix Bot -- he knows you spent your entire Saturday watching White Chicks and The Land Before Time VIII and he doesn't judge you for it.

SEE ALSO: Watch the Most Awkward Blind Dates Ever

But sometimes, Felix gets jealous when you parade your gal pals around him and he spills the beans about your movie fetish needs.

Takeaway lesson: Treat Felix well or he will retaliate all over date night.

Video via YouTube, UCBComedy; Image courtesy of Flickr,…
Continue reading...

More About: netflix

NASA's latest prototype has found a way to, quite literally, get water out of rocks. No word on if it can get blood from stone yet.

More About: moon, NASA, robots, space

Ever wonder if the always-busy Oprah makes the time to check her Twitter mentions? She seemed to do so on Monday night, firing back at a tweeter who said she looked "old as hell" during an interview with the mother of the late Whitney Houston:

@kp1lady old as Hell? Really?— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 29, 2013

The response must have come as quite a surprise to @kp1lady, and many of Oprah's 16 million followers were quick to jump to her defense. "You look like a beacon of white light illuminating the universe. Making TV brighter with your #WISDOM," wrote @CaseysCreations. Another user had a slightly more vulgar response.

Oh, Twitter, where there's never a boring day.…
Continue reading...

More About: oprah, Watercooler

You'll laugh your butt off as Jimmy Fallon, NBC anchor Brian Williams and The Roots slow jam the fiscal cliff in this hilarious video.

More About: Watercooler

Drones are already widely-used tools for surveillance. They're routinely sent to spy in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even on the U.S.-Mexico border. Soon enough, their civilian counterparts could fly over your city too. But drone cameras are still somewhat limited. Not the ARGUS-IS, the highest resolution camera ever made, however. With its 1.8 gigapixels mounted on a drone, its spying power it's equal to 100 Predator drones flying over a mid-sized city.

The ARGUS, which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), has an impressive range. It can cover up to 15 square miles with extreme accuracy. Its resolution allows it to spot objects as small as six inches from 17,500…
Continue reading...

More About: camera, DARPA, Drones, surveillance

After the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed its social media presence on Tuesday, we began to think about how other government agencies could utilize the platform.

SEE ALSO: No One Reblogs the IRS' Tumblr

The Tumblr audience is mostly comprised of younger, visual-starved Millennials who use GIFs to make a point and cat photos as a punchline. The IRS Tumblr site is filled with infographics and lengthy, text-heavy posts -- which explains the lack of engagement from the community.

So how could other government agencies adapt to the Dashboard? Though created in good fun, these mocked up posts might point them in the right direction.

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)…
Continue reading...

More About: government, tumblr, US, Watercooler

Ever since he entered the NBA in 2003, LeBron James has had basketball fans dreaming of the day he finally enters the dunk contest and blows their minds with a series of reality-suspending slams.

But James has steadfastly sat out the contest, which has in many fans' estimation devolved into a derivative, yawn-inducing shell of its former self.

"It's just not me, I'm not a dunk contest type of guy," James told reporters last year. "I'm an in-game dunker. I kind of improvise during the game. I'm not for scoreboards and all that type of stuff."

But if the winner walked way with a check for a million dollars?

"Then I'd reconsider," he said. "Wouldn't you?…
Continue reading...

More About: crowdfunding, NBA, Sports

In a world where mannequins track your every move and the waiter at that restaurant is made of metal, robots are inevitably becoming more commonplace.

But how much do we really care about these cold, controlled helpers? Most robots we encounter are far from the emotionally-capable interpretations in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence. One robotics professor in New Zealand put it to the test, analyzing whether a robot's intelligence and agreeableness influence human interaction.

In Christoph Bartneck's study (loosely based on the Milgram obedience experiment), he sought to determine how people would react if a robot begged for its "life." Bartneck found that participant…
Continue reading...

More About: Robot, robotics, Tech, technology

Friendships can form at unexpected times in unexpected places. People don't just put out a classified looking for a best buddy. Luckily, sometimes fate -- or someone trying to make a cute YouTube video -- intervenes.

Loki the kitten and Harley the hedgehog were brought together and seem destined for a lifetime of interspecies kinship.

SEE ALSO: Eyebrow Cat Looks Really Nervous

Loki and Harley, BFF4eva.

BONUS: 10 Heart-Warming Animal Friendships Captured on YouTube

Photo courtesy of YouTube, TheSorryGirls

More About: cats, cute animals, kittens

Twitter is now the fastest-growing social platform on the planet, beating Facebook and Google+ for the top spot, new research suggests.

The number of active users on the microblogging service grew 40% from the second quarter to the fourth quarter of 2012 -- equal to 288 million monthly active users, according to Global Web Index, a syndicated market-research service on web behavior and social media. (The index assessed 31 markets, and defines "active" as those who claim to "have used or contributed to Twitter in the past month.")

In July 2009, it estimated that Twitter only had 35.47 million monthly active users. Since then, the social network has seen an impressive growth rate of…
Continue reading...

More About: Twitter

San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh is no fan of the world's leading social networks, and he explains why in this video.

More About: nfl, Sports, Super Bowl

Eight months ago, Jason Nicosia found himself at a charity event in New Orleans that was raising money for the Louisiana Technology Council by auctioning lunch meetings. At the time, Nicosia was working as a sales representative for a billing software company and recognized purchasing some facetime with high-power execs presented a great opportunity.

"These guys were my ideal clients and this was a lot easier than getting a meeting otherwise," Nicosia told Mashable. "So I took the company credit card and spent a couple thousand dollars."

Nicosia says his bidding paid off, and he was able to close several business deals through his meetings. He then thought about taking this very concep…
Continue reading...

More About: career, Jobs, networking, Social Good, startup

The Bang With Friends sex app, which claims to anonymously hook users up with their Facebook friends, revealed plans to expand following its successful launch last week.

"Support for same-sex selections is already under development here at BWF along with an iPhone application for banging on the go," the app's creators told Mashable in an email. While the creators provided no specific launch date, they said these new features will launch "soon."

Bang With Friends' controversial debut attracted plenty of media attention, as well as user interest. The app's "mostly 20-something" user base has topped 30,000, according to the California-based creators -- three men who keep their identi…
Continue reading...

More About: apps, Bang With Friends, sex

It's the kind of moment that comes rarely, but tech journalists live for it: a service is launched with little fanfare and receives a sudden, energetic burst of genuine buzz. Developers start remixing it in all kinds of fascinating ways. It's supremely easy to use, and mobile, so we get hooked.

The technology itself is not new, but it is presented in a new and interesting form. It fosters creative competition. It starts to get traction in our lives.

The last time the tech world could agree this was happening was the launch of Instagram in 2010. We'd seen plenty of photo services before; Flickr had been around for the better part of a decade.

But here was one tha…
Continue reading...

More About: instagram, Twitter, Vine

What the what? 30 Rock is leaving our televisions -- shut it down. Shut. It. Down. Blerg!

After seven years of laughs and Lizbianism, audiences will wave goodbye to the TGS crew like that one scene in the The Sound of Music -- only with more night cheese.

SEE ALSO: '30 Rock' Inspires New Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor

A proper 30 Rock send-off requires GIFs, pics and more GIFs. So that's what we're giving you -- 50 of the most memorable 30 Rock GIFs and pics. And, just because we like you, there's also a bonus gallery of 30 clips from the show.

Heat up a Cheesy Blaster, kick back and enjoy.

Image via beautydart

Image via weknowmemes

Image via Tumblr, thingsi…
Continue reading...

More About: 30 rock, GIFs, List, memes, TV, Watercooler

It was fitting that the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony boosted its social media profile this year. One of the night's most popular bits basically rehashed a viral Facebook review of Les Misérables. This year's show experienced a nearly tenfold increase in social participation since 2012, garnering more than half a million mentions online.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Hathaway were among the night's big winners. The SAG broadcast only placed eighth on the cable rankings for the week, however. Professional wrestling, hockey, basketball and MTV's reality show Catfish came in ahead.

SEE ALSO: SAG Awards Recap: Best Moments and Acceptance Speeche…
Continue reading...

More About: Entertainment, infographics, Social Media, social tv, social tv charts, Trendrr, TV

On Jan. 30, Research in Motion (RIM) is going to launch BlackBerry 10 to the world.

BlackBerry 10 represents a pivotal, make-or-break moment for RIM as a brand and a company. If BlackBerry 10 is a success, RIM could be poised for the second-greatest tech comeback in history. If it fails, even licensing its OS might not be enough to save the future of the company.

SEE ALSO: Could RIM Become the Biggest Comeback Story in Tech History?

Mashable will be reporting live from the event in New York City. In the meantime, here's what you can expect from RIM and BlackBerry 10.

BlackBerry Z10 Specs, Price and Release Date

The first full-touch BlackBerry 10 smartphone is one of the w…
Continue reading...

More About: blackberry, BlackBerry 10, RIM

Twitter's video-sharing Vine is the one of the top apps in Apple's App Store, but Cinemagram has other features you may be looking for.

More About: Twitter, video apps, Vine

Fashion meets four legs in Tumblr's greatest new single-serving destination: Menswear Dog.

The stylin' pup shows all men of the world how to wear their duds, rocking the most fashionable clothing in everything from office wear to spring resort.

Even Tyra Banks would approve of this canine's smize-filled swagger.

SEE ALSO: Eyebrow Cat Looks Really Nervous

According to the Tumblr, "Menswear Dog is a 3-year-old shiba inu living in NYC with a panache for all things style. His interests include never washing his selvage denim, lurking around Soho for someone to notice his steez, and sniffing fine a$$ bitches."

We're already dubbing it one of the most important Tumblrs of 201…
Continue reading...

More About: cute animals, dogs, tumblr

Have you ever wished you could sit atop of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and take a look around like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 4? It's your lucky day, at least if you are content with a virtual experience substitute.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco Bridge to Become Stunning Light Show

You can now immerse yourself in a stunning 360 degree panorama view from the top of the Burj Khalifa, a building that reaches 2,722 feet or 830 meters. The panorama -- which is so gargantuan it takes 2.5 GB of hard disk space -- has been released in celebration of the second Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography Award (HIPA) and was first reported on by Gizmodo.…
Continue reading...

More About: 360 panorama, panorama, photography

1. ATC Universal Tripod

The legs of this aluminum alloy tripod extend up to 60mm, so you can vary your angle on the action. Price: $2.43 Image courtesy of Amazon

Click here to view this gallery.

By now, you're sensing that Twitter's new social video site Vine has true addictive potential. You can't remember the last time you took a Foodstagram, because you're too busy making time-lapse videos.

But there's a problem. You love all the Vine videos you're taking, but they aren't exactly professional-grade. They're wobbly and inconsistent. If only there was some kind of gadget to steady your hand.

SEE ALSO: Turn Vine Videos into GIFs With This Mac App

We're way ahead of you. Check out these sweet tripod stands designed specially for iPhones and available on Amazon, all for less than $20 apiece. Is it worth it to take your Vine game up a level? We think so.

Thumbnail image …
Continue reading...

More About: accessories, features, gallery, iphone, Tech, Vine

Amazon missed analysts' expectations for revenue and guidance, but the stock still shot up by as much as 10% after hours.

Net sales totaled $21.3 billion for the December quarter, up 22% from the same quarter a year ago, but missing analysts' forecasts by $1 billion. Net income was down 45% to $97 million. The company's first quarter guidance was also lower than expected at $15.8 billion compared to Wall Street's estimates of $16.84 billion.

Those figures were offset, in investors' minds at least, by Amazon's gross margins for the quarter, which were 24.1% -- 2.2% higher than what Wall Street was expecting. Non-GAAP operating margin was also better than expected, at 3.2% vs. 2.2%.…
Continue reading...

More About: amazon

Retailers can now add a surcharge of up to 4% on credit card transactions, but that doesn't necessarily mean your next Amazon purchase will include the fee.

Though Amazon hasn't stated whether it will levy the charge, David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a credit card industry newsletter, says that retailers in highly competitive industries are unlikely to include the fee. "What inhibits surcharging is when you have two or more competitors," he says. "You have to face the market reality of 'Can I get away with it?'"

Amazon reps could not be reached for comment. However, the retailer vies with various online competitors, including Walmart.com and Google Shopping.

The so…
Continue reading...

More About: credit cards, online retail, retail

If cavemen had Facebook, how readily would they have employed "Dislike". We think very readily.

More About: comics, Facebook, funny, humor

A new side-by-side photographic comparison of a middle-aged Steve Jobs and actor Ashton Kutcher is eerily spot on. Kutcher shared the images on Twitter.

More About: ashton kutcher, Celebritites, Entertainment, films, Movies, steve jobs, sundance