Age of Geeks: Blackberry revamps, game prices up, Timmie’s tech

Columns February 5, 2014

In the last two issues we took a look at the technology trends that we may see in 2014. We also covered several devices which we will be seeing more of in 2014. Some of them left us amazed, while others made us wonder about their futures. But that’s the story of life, isn’t it? It’s about time that we can see those trends becoming reality. So, here are some top stories that you may have missed over the last two weeks.

New Blackberry OS

Our good old Canadian friends at Research in Motion have come up with their new operating system for Blackberry phones. Last week, they announced OS 10.2.1, the company’s latest software update. From the looks of it, they have pushed for a lot of refreshments and upgrades, but only few of them seem significant. Major upgrades are mainly SMS groups, notification improvement, and pinch gesture. So if you are still the old-school Blackberry guy, this is good news for you.

Video game prices hiked

Okay, so this one isn’t for the faint-hearted. Have you been used to paying no more than $59.99 for new game titles on your consoles? Well, get ready to add $5 or $10 to those prices now. Most of the Canadian game retailers have already increased the price for newer titles due to the dip in the Canadian dollar value, and some who haven’t are planning to in the very near future. Retailers like EB Games and Walmart have already increased the prices of their pre-order titles by $10, and the current titles by $5. Other big retailers like Future Shop and Best Buy are still waiting to get on the price-increase train. But, for now, if you are in the market for a new game, at least you know where to buy them!

Tech tries for faster donuts

And last but not least, there’s a new app out there for everyone who likes coffee and donuts (so, everyone?). The app, named Tim’s Times, is designed to chronicle wait times in all of the Tim Hortons stores across Canada. Tim’s Times is Twitter-integrated, which means that you can tweet the waiting time at your local Tim Hortons while waiting for your morning double-double (or triple-triple). But what’s in it for the users, you may ask? Well, the users can tweet about the delays, and, apparently, Timmie’s management is hoping to use that info to improve their service time. So, start tweetin’ those wait times!