BlackBerry's free messaging app is set for a summer debut on its rivals' platforms. BBM is one of the reasons why, despite recent misfortunes, BlackBerry still has a firm foothold in the youth market. The free messaging service is the ideal feature for people who can't afford large data plans and, when combined with a real QWERTY keyboard, the BlackBerry becomes the perfect smartphone for high school students. A real keyboard means that messages can be quickly and surreptitiously touch-typed.

Google's Android mobile operating system grabbed three out of four smartphones sold in the world in the first quarter of 2013, extending its gains over Apple and its iPhone, a survey showed Tuesday. Gartner said more than 156 million Android smartphones were sold in the first three months of the year, or 74.4 percent of the global total. That compared with 56.9 percent in the same period a year ago.

Nokia's head of smartphone marketing admits that gaps in the app selection are customers' main complaints. With the launch of its latest flagship device, the Lumia 925, Nokia and Microsoft are continuing to prove that they can compete directly with anything Samsung, Apple or BlackBerry can build in terms of quality, processor speed and performance; however, there is still one area in which the Windows Phone 8 platform, and therefore all device manufacturers using the system, from Nokia to ZTE and HTC cannot match the competition, and that's apps.

TORONTO - The CEO of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will deliver a keynote speech amid speculation that he'll introduce a lower-priced version of the BlackBerry at the company's annual three-day conference in Orlando, Fla. CEO Thorsten Heins is set to speak Tuesday morning. RIM unveiled new, versatile BlackBerrys earlier this year after delays allowed Apple and others to dominate the smartphone market.