BlackBerry 10 Is Coming: But Don’t Call It A Comeback Yet…
December 27th, 2012 by Tech Staff
Remember when everyone had a BlackBerry and BBM was the way to communicate? Back in the height of BlackBerry’s popularity, RIM’s BlackBerry devices were everywhere and reigned as the king of smartphones and emails until Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone back in 2007. That began the nail in their coffin and the devices and OS remained the same and the company failed to innovate.
Now with a new CEO pushing a completely redesigned BlackBerry brand ( hardware & software), BlackBerry wants their spot back. The Canada company took their gesture-based BlackBerry 10 OS and used it as a base for navigating throughout the new platform. And don’t worry, unlike Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10 will launch with a wide-variety of apps at launch.
The new UI RIM is using is called BlackBerry Flow where everything just flows with each other and in real time. To take your BB 10 device out of sleep mode, you simply just swipe from the bottom of the screen up a la PlayBook. You also have Active Frames on your homescreen that may resemble Live Tiles but work in a similar fashion. With BlackBerry Peek, a sleek new way to view your notifications while still staying productive in whatever app you are using. You just swipe up once you receive a notification and if you want to view more, you swipe to the left to view the message in its entirety. BlackBerry was already one of the first platforms to use the unified inbox idea but has gone and made it look impressive with BlackBerry Hub.
The Hub allows you to manage all of your conversations via BBM, email, Facebook, Twitter, texts, or LinkedIn into one central communications hub.The BlackBerry platform has been stale for a bit as many users have flocked elsewhere, myself included. Maybe because BlackBerry was my first real smartphone experience and even though I have an iPhone 5, I still miss the QWERTY keyboard perfection and the best push email on Earth. Consumers and analysts will be skeptics as RIM still has to prove it can provide a decent app ecosystem as that’s what its all about these days as Windows Phone is suffering from the same issue. RIM announced some popular apps making its way to BB 10 like along with a strong carrier support.BlackBerry is hosting a global event on January 30th unveiling the finished product and announce availability for their new devices.
Are you ready for the new BlackBerry device or has that ship already sailed?
No One Translates Historical Sexiness Like Norisol Ferrari Spring 2013 Collection
September 11th, 2012 by Fashion StaffWhen playing homage to the legendary bombshells of the past, no one does it better than Norisol Ferrari. Her Spring 2013 collection, exudes the subtle sexiness of the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s translated for today’s modern woman.
“Think the curves of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, and Rita Moreno. All strong, confident women who command attention, desire and respect.” Words from fashion designer Norisol Ferrari that describes her spring 2013 collection best. Mature, yet sexy black and white looks tailored suits and mid/tea lenght dresses, both loose fitting and body pieces with nude, grey and red looks garments in between gave brought life to the runway. Legendary models Carol Alt, Alva Chinn, Karen Bjornson, and Carmen Dell’Orefice all made there way down the runway, walking in the collection hitting a home run on the mood she was portraying for her show.
Images Courtsey of http://www.zimbio.com/
DKNY Sample Sale Begins Today in NYC!
August 21st, 2012 by Christen
If you’ve ever wanted to capitalize on haute designer fashions at fairly affordable prices, then you’re in luck! Today marks the beginning of the DKNY Sample Sale in New York City. That’s right! DKNY Women’s apparel, men’s apparel, shoes, bags, accessories and more up to 70% off! Buyers beware, with tons of designer items on sale, you’re sure to find unbelievable lines, crowds and more – so get if you’re planning on taking advantage of this sample sale over the next few days – you must get there early.
Will you brave the crowds for this season’s sample sale?
Feeling Good, Eating Great with Spa Week & Healthy Bites!
April 16th, 2012 by Christen
There’s just something about Spring that pushes me into enjoyment overdrive! Maybe it’s the sunny weather or brilliant colors everywhere, but it’s one of those seasons where every sense gets to experience something special – from great sights, smells & even tastes. Looking for ways to kick off your week right with sensational stimulants to satisfy the mind and body, check out how you can get $50 spa treatments & healthy treats for your taste-buds below…
Spa Week is here, sweeping the nation with incredible services at your favorite spas for only $50! Spa Week spring 2012 takes place April 16th – 22nd, and it’s the largest and most anticipated spa event in North America since 2004. Check out Spa Week’s Michelle Joni Lapidos on her Wellness Gone Wild adventure, then book one of your own!
During Spa Week, you can experience a variety of treatments to rejuvenate your mind & body for Spring. Looking for a Swedish massage, Thai massage, Asian massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, hot stone massage, hot and cold stone massage, aromatherapy massage, combination/fusion massage, shiatsu and more (usually costing anywhere from $75 to $250, all at Spa Week’s signature $50 – this week only. Check out SpaWeek.com for more details of participating locations and book your appointment today.
If you’re a foodie like me, Spring weather means baseball season which means…(wait for it…) hot dog season! LOL. With my recent transformation into healthier living and eating, you can imagine how happy I was to find out about NYC’s premier mobile eatery - NYC Healthy Bites. As a mobile eatery that has been traveling around New York City for more than 6 months, the NYC Healthy Bites truck serves up high quality, organic food throughout the streets of New York. A few weeks ago, I hung out at the Tasty Tweet Up featuring NYC Healthy Bites at Garmento Lab showroom and enjoyed a variety of Healthy Bites signature hot dogs, which included:
“The Diablo” – tomatoes, diced onions, and spicy cilantro sauce.
“The Greek Dog” – tomatoes, diced onions, cucumbers, olives, with feta cheese and yogurt garlic sauce
“The German Dog” – sauerkraut, diced onions, paprika, with spicy brown mustard
Look out for the NYC Healthy Bites truck at your favorite spots throughout New York City (today they’re at Columbia University – 115th / Broadway). NYC Healthy Bites are available seven days a week so there’s no reason not to “Satisfy Your Craving, While Still Behaving!” check out where you can find them next at nychealthybites.com or on twitter @nychealthybites.
Calling All NYC Tourists & Transplants…There’s A New App Just For You!
April 2nd, 2012 by Christen
With over 50 million tourists annually, New York City is launching a better map to help them navigate a little easier or at least one that makes it easier to patronize city businesses. A new iPhone map app from the city’s official tourism center portrays businesses not as little red pins, but with their logos. It incorporates social media updates, OpenTable booking capabilities and daily deals directly into the map.
The app is a co-branded version of a map app called CityMaps that launched earlier this month. By hooking into a bundle of APIs, it’s able to expand beyond capabilities of a typical online map.
Store owners can claim their spot on the map in order to curate their presence on it, and eventually the startup hopes to make money by charging them for some of these privileges.
Advertisements for the new co-branded version of CityMaps will appear on bus shelters, on taxicab video screens and even on a Time Square jumbotron.
Which NYC based apps are you currently using to navigate through the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of”? Would you use this new app as an NYC tourist, transplant or original borough dweller?
Super Bowl Fun On The Run With Chevy & Verizon Wireless!
February 2nd, 2012 by ChristenAs a transplant New Yorker, I’ve never really been excited about football, let alone the Super Bowl. Honestly, before this year the only thing that interested me about the big game were the well-publicized television commercials. (Hey, I’m a former ADV major in college and was in the industry for years…what did you expect?) Plesantly, this year seems to be a tiny bit different. With the New York Giants facing the New England Patriots, this is sure to be an exciting game on the field and off!
To add to the Super Bowl fun and excitement Chevy announced a first-of-its-kind app which will allow viewers of Super Bowl XLVI to play trivia, interact with each other via Twitter, participate in polls and possibly win one of 20 Chevrolets or thousands of other prizes. The Chevy Game Time app is available now in the Android Market, the App Store and at chevy.com/gametime. Chances to win begin as soon as the player downloads the Chevy Game Time app with instant win opportunities. In addition, players will also receive a unique license plate number. If their plate appears during a Chevrolet advertisement during the game or online, they win a vehicle. While watching the Super Bowl, players can answer trivia questions or polls relating to the football game, teams, commercials and other related events. The cars up for grabs are: A Chevrolet Corvette GS Convertible 4LT, (6) Sonic 2LZs, six Cruze LTZs, (3) Silverado 1500s, aCamaro 2SS, aCamaro 2SS Convertible, and (2) Chevy Volts. Just in case you don’t win one of those vehicles, don’t worry: you can still win one of thousands of prizes from Bridgestone, Motorola, the NFL, Papa John’s, or Sirius XM.
Not at home to watch the big game, don’t worry – Verizon has you covered!
For the first time ever the Super Bowl will be streamed live online and only to smartphones and tablets on the Verizon Wireless network. You no longer have to worry that you’ll miss the New York Giant’s action at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium if you’re not near a TV. By downloading the Verizon NFL Mobile app, you will have access to a live stream of the game, the latest news, highlights and stats. The Super Bowl stream will even include replays of the popular ads and include additional camera angles.
It looks like I’m gonna have tons of fun with my smartphone during Super Bowl Sunday – how about you? Do you have the Verizon NFL mobile app or going to download the Chevy GameTime app? Let us know below!
GIVEAWAY: Chill Your Heels During NYFW
September 6th, 2011 by ChristenEveryone knows that New York Fashion Week is as fabulous as it gets…but it also does a number on your feet! There’s only so much walking (and sometimes) running your tippy toes can take. This is where Dr. Scholl’s For Her swoops in to save the day! Have you ever experienced Fabulitis?
Fabulitis: Noun. Discomfort caused by the decision to wear uncomfortable, yet fabulous shoes.
As the first and only full line of products designed specifically for women, Dr. Scholl’s For Her is here to help. From pedicure products to insoles for your favorite pair of heels, Dr. Scholl’s For Her enables women to look and feel fabulous.
During New York Fashion Week – Dr. Scholl’s has partnered with DivasandDorks.com to bring relief to fashionistas in need!
Catch us at Lincoln Center September 8th – 15th
The first 10 fashionistas to check in us and complete the phrase:
“Divas Drive In _____!”
will get their very own pair of Dr. Scholl’s For Her FAST FLATS! (Value $9.99)
(Click here for a HINT to complete phrase…)
These foldable and compact flats fit discreetly in your purse and include a stylish wristlet for easy portability on the go. This spare pair is perfects for nights out, weddings, traveling through subways and running under the tents to catch the next runway show!
Disclosure: Dr. Scholl’s provided DivasandDorks.com products for use during this giveaway…
Geek Fashion with Skanz…
July 6th, 2011 by Christen
If you attended CE Week last month in New York, then there’s no way that you could’ve missed the cool new bands sweeping the geek fashion scene…from the new social media platform Skanz.
Skanz is a new social networking platform that gives an instant exchange of business contact information between two users via QR codes that you wear on your wrist.
Silicone bands are encrypted with the QR Socialprint and worn on your wrist. Smartphones are basically a gateway through which users can scan each other’s Socialprint and swap information like phone numbers, email addresses and social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). Compatible with most smartphones. Moreover, a free QR code Reader Skanz App is available for Android and iPhone.
I guess this will be the last time I order business cards…I’m just waiting for the first round of QR Code jewelry…(*snickers*)
www.Skanz.com
My NYFW Diary :UPDATES:
February 18th, 2011 by Christen
Welcome to the unauthorized diary of Divas and Dorks (New York Fashion Week – Edition). This post will be updated daily as I re-locate blurred memories of my fashion week excursion including shows, parties, lounges and more. (Actually, I’ll begin by revisiting my twitter feed to hopefully jog some memories…) Enjoy…Check back often as I’ll be adding videos, photos and more…and if I met you at Lincoln Center or out and about this week in NYC — please drop me a line and comment on our experience… ((that’ll help re-jog my memory too *wink*))
To relive my minute by minute NYFW accounts check out my twitter page HERE.
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Monday, February 14th – I spent my Valentine’s day fashionably loving my body at the Lookbooks Blogger Break Room!
NYFW kicked off with a visit to the Lookbooks: Blogger Break Room
The Blogger Break Room was filled with bloggers, stylists and fellow fashion aficionados taking a break to recharge their minds, bodies and smartphones. We indulged in wine, cupcakes, massages, manicures and more! And I was formally introduced to Louise Manna Jewelry’s 2011 collection. (We may be stylishly showcasing some upcoming Louise Manna pieces *crossing fingers*)
While there, I got the best massage from Olga….(yes, that’s her real name!) from Spa Merge.
Special thanks to Lookbooks, and FashionIndie for hosting this extraordinary event! My body, mind and Blackberry thanks you!
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OH NO!!!! Lugging around all these swag bags and fashion runway notebooks, I happened to pop a button on my favorite Diane Von Furstenburg leather jacket! That’s when Kmart Concierge came to the rescue! With one tweet, I asked Kmart to send over a survival kit and sewing kit to my Harlem apartment so that I could revive my jacket in time for my first show of the day!
Kmart Fashion’s Concierge service sent over some great essentials to keep me fresh and sane during New York Fashion Week.
TA-DAAAAAH! I was able to sew my button back on and strut around looking biker-chic during fashion week 
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Wednesday, February 16th – I indulged in another “break” from the runway shows, fashion presentations and overall Lincoln Center traffic when I headed east for The Daily’s Beauty Bar at Townhouse Spa. The spa was the place to be and break free from the craziness known as fashion week. Even some reality celebutants took the time to stop by for some free swag, services and more!
Aubrey O’Day took a break from promoting her new Oxygen show “All About Aubrey” to snag some Hanes legwear swag…
The Hills co-star (and “Spedi” relative) Stephanie Pratt took time out to get a free do’ compliments of Townhouse Spa.
I scored a 1-hr massage from Townhouse Spa…it was the real deal!!!
Not to mention a complete manicure and pedicure…that charcoal grey color is my current fav!
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:: MORE UPDATES COMING SOON…. ::
FASHION WEAKNESS: Betsey Johnson SS2011
September 14th, 2010 by ChristenSo it’s no surprise as I began my Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week with the Richie Rich Runway Show, spent Fashion’s Night Out at Patricia Field’s and culminated my show week early with the Betsey Johnson Runway show….IT’S OFFICIAL I’VE BEEN RE-BORN AS A FUNKY-CHIC, CLUB KID!
Last night’s Betsey Johnson show left me weak in the knees — there were so many cute spring looks in this line and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. (Ciara, Kelly Osmond, Angela Simmons, Omarion and more enjoyed the show as well!) Here are some of my favorite picks! Check out some photos from last night’s Betsey Johnson Spring/Summer 2011 Runway Show….
(Photos: Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com)
