Business Insider reported on BlackBerry’s CEO stating that iMessage should be allowed on BlackBerry.

The CEO laid out his argument in a blog post on the BlackBerry website, 9to5mac notes. In it, Chen writes that it’s unfair for the government to tell big US telecommunications companies such as Time Warner, Verizon, and Comcas, that they can’t discriminate against some forms of data, while other content providers continue to do so.

Chen writes:

Unfortunately, not all content and applications providers have embraced openness and neutrality. Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service.

I didn’t think it was a case of BlackBerry allowing iPhone users to use BBM. It seemed more like an inevitable move to slow the exodus of BlackBerry users by letting them use the BBM service with iPhone users instead of switching to iPhone.

Nevertheless, this is quite a significant change of hearts since BlackBerry had previously claimed that iMessage is insecure.

Business Insider reported on Samsung losing market share to Apple in South Korea.

Apple has been particularly successful in South Korea, where Samsung has traditionally dominated its home market. Figures show that Samsung’s share has plummeted from 60% in September to 46% in November. Apple, meanwhile, has made unprecedented headway, soaring to 33%. According to Counterpoint research director Tom Kang, previously, “no foreign brand has gone beyond the 20% market share mark in the history of Korea’s smartphone industry.”

What is significant is how the loss in Samsung’s market share is directly related to Apple’s growth.

Re/code reported on How Amazon Tricks You Into Thinking It Always Has the Lowest Prices Re/code.

In one example, Boomerang observed Amazon testing price reductions on a $350 Samsung TV — one of the most popular TVs on Amazon — over the six months leading up to Black Friday. Then, on Black Friday, it dropped the price to$250, coming in well below competitors’ prices.

But when it comes to the HD cables that customers often buy with a new TV, Amazon actually pushed up the price by 33 percent ahead of the holidays. One reason is that the cables weren’t among the most popular in their category, meaning that they have little impact on price perception among shoppers. Secondly, Amazon most likely figures (or knows) it can make a profit on these cables because customers won’t price-compare on them as carefully as they would on more expensive products.

In another example, Amazon priced one of the most popular routers on its site about 20 percent below Walmart’s price. But when it came to a much less popular router, Amazon priced it almost 30 percent higher than Walmart did. Again, Amazon knows which products will drive price perception among shoppers.

A good reminder to shop around before you decide to buy from Amazon.

Dave mark wrote on The Loop about the possibility of a car key embedded in your watch.

Imagine if a standard emerged that allowed Apple to embed your specific car key in your iPhone and Apple Watch. Approach your car with your iPhone in your pocket and the car automatically unlocks.

Want to open the trunk, or perform a more specific function? Tap a button on your Apple Watch auto app.

Intriguing thought.

RazorianFly writing on the entitlement mentality.

“I think that entitlement mentality is what has killed these promotions. Getting free stuff is no longer enough. It must be exactly what you want.”

Sad state of affairs. Reminds me of how people complain about what they get in free goodie bags because the gifts are not what they want.

Cult of Mac reported on analyst Abhey Lamba’s prediction of doom for Apple.

In a note published Thursday, Lamba argued that AAPL shares could fall by 20 percent this year as iPhone sales slow down, and the Apple Watch isn’t enough to offset this decline.

While F1Q15 results will likely be extremely solid and March guidance could indicate continued momentum, we believe iPhone sales will decelerate more than normal later in the year,” said the guidance note to clients. “Additionally, our checks indicate that Apple Watch sales could be disappointing and other categories are unlikely to offset the slowdown in iPhone sales creating pressure on out-year estimates.”

That makes a lot of sense when you consider this:

With the company coming off its most profitable iPhone launch ever, exciting new devices on the horizon and a stock price that recently hit an all-time high, what else is there for the self-respecting analyst to do but predict that doom is right around the corner?