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Connect the World

BlackBerry 10 Released; Gun Control Battle Rages On Capitol Hill; Facebook Earnings Disappointing

Aired January 30, 2013 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight, America's gun problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, FRM. CONGRESSWOMAN: It will be hard, but the time is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Shot in the head two years ago, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords makes an emotional plea for action.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: Tonight, as America debates its gun control laws, how the lessons learned elsewhere might influence that debate.

Also ahead BlackBerry's make or break comeback bid is finally here. We're going to check out just how smart their phone is live on set.

And caught on camera, the frightening scenes of a massive tornado tearing up America's southeast.

Well, an emotional plea for gun control in the U.S. from one of America's most high profile shooting victims. Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman, addressed a senate hearing on Capitol Hill just hours ago. Still struggling to speak after being wounded in the gun attack in 2011, today she had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIFFORDS: We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Giffords and her husband, Mark, say they still support America's second amendment, the right to bear arms, of course. Kelly is a retired astronaut and naval aviator. He's calling for, and I quote, a careful and civil conversation on new gun limits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KELLY, RETIRED ASTRONAUT: But if we close the gun show loophole. If we require private sellers to complete a background check and we get those 121,000 records and others into the systems, we will prevent gun crime. That is an absolute truth. It would have happened in Tucson. My wife would not be sitting in this seat, she would not have been sitting here today, if we had stronger background checks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, also at those hearings today the CEO of America's National Rifle Association. Wayne LaPierre blamed the government of failing to enforce gun laws. And he also said new restrictions won't stop criminals from using weapons in violent crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE LAPIERRE, PRESIDENT, NRA: Law abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals, nor do we believe that government should dictate what we can lawfully own and use to protect our families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, it was a big day on The Hill. Our senior correspondent Joe Johns has been following the hearing and joins us now from Washington.

How did both Gabby and her husband's words resonate today vis-a-vis this gun debate, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think they certainly resonated, but I think you also have to say that there was quite an articulation of staked out positions, long staked out positions, in the Senate Judiciary Committee today. This is a conversation this country has been having for years and years and years. Probably most striking was what wasn't talked about too much and that has been a proposal to ban so-called assault weapons in the United States. It would be a reiteration of a bill that was passed in the mid-1990s.

There wasn't much talk about that, because there's an agreement I think that it doesn't stand much chance of passing the congress and reaching the president's desk.

We heard much more about, for example, background checks and expanding those to make them universal or to put in some type of a gun trafficking law which doesn't exist in the United States. Those are the kinds of things they were talking about, because those are the kinds of things that stand, at least for now, more chance of actually passing the congress, Becky.

ANDERSON: So Joe, would you in any way describe this as a tipping point in terms of gun regulations? You alluded to the fact that we've been here before some 20 years ago and things were simply overturned in the mid- 2000s. And we still have this lingering opposition, don't we, from -- from lawmakers, including Democrats, it's got to be said.

JOHNS: Right. And I don't see that this is a tipping point, quite frankly, because of the way the United States congress is configured. The House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans who -- many of whom are very strong gun rights advocates. And in the Senate, there are Democrats who control it, but there are some Democrats, particularly from Republican states, who are concerned with having to walk the plank if they take that vote, because some of their constituents might not like it very much.

Behind all of this, as you mentioned, was the National Rifle Association. Now they do wield a lot of influence in Washington. And they put quite a bit of money into the last election, didn't get very much for their money, but they also have more than 4 million members who will vote and will mobilize. And that, perhaps, is the biggest difference of all.

ANDERSON: And for our international viewers who may not know, am I right in saying that the NRA has got something like half a million new members since the last gun horrific crime in Newton, Connecticut. Am I right in saying that?

JOHNS: That's absolutely right. They've gotten a huge influx of new members. People are concerned here. And you have to remember, the United States constitution, the very second amendment to the United States constitution, gives individuals the right to keep and bear arms. So this is something that you hear about again and again and again. And as recently as 2008, the United States Supreme Court affirmed that the second amendment stands for the right to bear arms.

So -- now these are people who say they are standing on the law when they tell the government not to take their guns away.

ANDERSON: Joe, always a pleasure, thank you for that. Joe Johns for you in Washington.

It's been an interesting day, hasn't it?

I want to get some sort of sense of context for this, because you'll all being aware that the U.S. is known around the world for its gun culture, but how does it stack up globally when you compare the ownership of firearms with the number of deaths.

Well, have a look at these numbers. At least in 2007, that's the last time we were able to get the numbers collated. We had concrete numbers for private gun ownership and gun deaths for all of these countries. In America, there were nearly 89,000 firearms for every 100,000 residents, that was six years ago. Now compare that with Colombia, for example, which had about 6,000. South Africa, about 13,000. Go over there, I mean Australia is an interesting numbers, some 15,000.

But when we look at the number of gun deaths per 100,000 residents, well this is -- has got to be said, an interesting number. The U.S. just 3.8. Colombia -- and we're well aware that this has been certainly in the past a fairly violent place, 31.2. And South Africa some 17. The stats clearly show there are places in the world where there are fewer guns per person, yet more gun deaths. This is, I think, a complicated discussion, and one that gets sort of made more simple than it should.

Let's turn here to the UK where a small community helped bring about gun law changes after a school shooting 17 years ago. My senior international correspondent Nic Robertson recently traveled to Dunblane in Scotland and is here to tell us about that.

And to set some context about what happened way back when and what sort of lessons might be learned, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sandy Hook in the United States we've heard Joe Johns there saying perhaps not a turning point. But Dunblane in Britain really was a turning point. And there are similarities between the two cases. A primary school in Dunblane, 16 five- year-old children shot and killed by a gunmen, Sandy Hook a lot of young children, again, killed there.

The lessons learned in Britain were, again, almost pertained to the discussion in the United States at the moment, that controls and much better oversight over who gets weapons, who is allowed to have those weapons, and checks when they do have those weapons, did have an effect. Dunblane itself is still traumatized by this, by these killings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: When it comes to changes in gun law, this small, sleepy Scottish town has a story to tell. This is Dunblane on the edge of the Scottish highlands. And it was the power of the people here a decade-and- a-half ago that helped push through radical reforms in British gun law.

It begins March 13, 1996 in Dunblane Primary School. At 9:35 am, local man, Thomas Hamilton walks in carrying four pistols licensed to him and 743 rounds of ammunition, more than one bullet for every children and teacher in the school. Four minutes later, he has fired 109 rounds. 16 five-year-old children died, along with their teacher. 10 other children and three teachers are injured. With the last round, Hamilton takes his own life.

Mick North's daughter, Sophie, was killed. (inaudible) son badly injured.

MICK NORTH, FATHER OF VICTIM: After two or three days, my concern was that somebody with a gun had done that. You don't have shootings without guns.

ROBERTSON: North was not alone. Other parents began calling for gun law changes. They were helped by a countrywide demand for reform more than 700,000 signatures collected, that's more than 1 for every 100 people across the nation.

Although he spoke out at the time, North has been silent of late, agreeing to talk to me, reopen old wounds, because he hopes his experiences can help the people of Sandy Hook change gun laws too.

NORTH: One of the main lessons, I think, is that you have to keep the issue alive. And as we found, it's interest in those closest to the victims from the media often allows the issue to keep going.

STEVE BIRNIE, VICTIM'S FATHER: The personal feelings had to be there in order to make it real for people.

ROBERTSON: Was it painful?

BIRNIE: Yeah. Still is.

ROBERTSON: Since the Dunblane attack, handguns have been banned and tougher background checks are in place. To have a weapon you must be checked by police, cleared by your doctor and have two independent witnesses who can testify to your good character.

What criminal experts are telling us is that over the past decade in Britain, gun crime has more than halved. From 2003-2004 when there were more than 24,000 gun crimes, to just last year when there were little more than 11,000.

BILL MOONIE, CHAIRMAN, CALLANDER TARGET SPORTS CLUB: The laws were a soap to the people who quite rightly felt this was a terrible disastrous happening. We didn't like them. They were expensive for individuals and for clubs. But the end of the day, we're fairly contained with it.

ROBERTSON: Bill Moonie, Chairman of the local gun club, saw firsthand the horror Hamilton wrought, but worries that while homicides from licensed weapons like his are down, killings from illegal weapons are up. Despite that, he says, British gun law could have prevented Sandy Hook. His point, licensed weapons in the UK are now stored so securely under lock and key and police oversight that even other family members cannot get them.

MOONIE: It was his mother's weapon. How did he manage to get access to that? It should not have been possible.

ROBERTSON: In Britain, it wouldn't have been possible.

MOONIE: No. It shouldn't be possible.

ROBERTSON: For 17 years, Dunblane has reflected on its loss, contemplated the lessons learned. The belief here, it has not been in vain.

BIRNIE: You'd like to think that even if it's not a child you've helped someone somewhere who might have been a victim of gun crime who as a result of what we've done hasn't been a victim.

NORTH: I still miss my daughter as much as I did the day she died. I feel I have done something which I, in my terms, think has been important and useful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: So it really was for the people Dunblane very much a turning point, but they had the support of the nation that really felt these changes should happen too.

ANDERSON: Nic, there are two things that I just want to flesh out here very briefly. We're talking about the regulation on legal guns as opposed to illegal guns, which will always be around. And the point, I think, that the Giffords today provided some sort of tipping point, but to my mind it was a tipping point towards a rational discussion about gun control going forward and those who own guns.

ROBERTSON: And there was (inaudible) in Dunblane we found that from Bill Moonie, the chairman of the local gun club. Somewhere Hamilton, the killer, had actually tried to join and they said, no you can't come because you're sleezy. And he got his weapons license somewhere else.

So here you have a very sort of nuanced position from people who cherish having weapons. Moonie himself was at the hospital when injured children came in, saw how bad it was, and takes a very rational view.

There are more improvements. But he's very clear, he really seriously worries about the illegal weapons, because as gun owners they've made significant sacrifices. You can't train with a handgun even if you're a competition marksman in the UK, that's how tough the laws are.

So you can see this debate, how it took place in Dunblane. And you do get that sense now it's beginning to form on a perhaps more calm since Sandy Hook basis.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Nic, thank you.

Well, today's gun control hearing and Gabby Giffords' appearance have sparked a lot of debate on social media as you would expect.

Bill Sullivan tweeted me @BeckyCNN, "Gabby's recovery story is very inspirational," but he says, "that doesn't mean her opinion on gun control is any more important than, say, mine." You make a very good point there.

Keira Rodriguez also weighed in with this. She said, "It's time to stop letting the NRA control policy. Enough is enough. Did they cry this much Reagan enacted gun control?"

The NRA put out this tweet themselves, quoting its vice president Wayne LaPierre we eluded to earlier. He writes, "what people fear today is being abandoned by their government. And the only way they can protect themselves is with a firearm."

And my colleague Piers Morgan who has been very vocal on this debate, or in this debate, tweeted, "every time Wayne LaPierre speaks, gun ammo sales soar. That is the NRA's modus operandi."

Well, where are you on this debate, on this gun control debate. The team at Connect the World wants to hear from you, as ever. Facebook.com/cnnconnect. Have your say. You can always tweet me @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN. You're thoughts please.

And tonight on Amanpour, hear another side of the gun control debate. Should it be approached and said as a public health issue? One U.S. official is advocating exactly that. Christiane gets the details. Amanpour just after this show. I promise you it won't go to black as that just did.

You're watching Connect the World live from London. Still to come this hour, the U.S. economy hit a speed bump in its recovery. It shrunk a bit in the last quarter. Why economist, though, aren't worried about the road ahead.

Also, a final roll of the dice for a once dominant brand. We'll see if sleek new models can help BlackBerry survive what are the smartphone wars.

And she stood up for education in Pakistan and got a bullet in the head for it, now she's nearing the end of her ordeal. We'll update you on an amazing recovery. That and more when Connect the World continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right, you're with CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson just after 20 past 9:00 in London. Welcome back.

Another tech giant reporting earnings. Facebook with its earnings out just moments ago. It's the fourth quarter results. Let me fill you in on what we've got. The social networking site reports revenue of $1.6 billion, that is slightly, slightly above estimates. But investors more focused on what is slow mobile growth it seems. Shares have dropped almost 8 percent after the bell. After hours trade, of course, extended trading, always available to those investors who have their shares.

Maribel Aber from New York joining us to add some perspective to Facebook's report.

What are we hearing at this point?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Hi there, Becky. You know, we're hearing, really, is that investors not really happy. Of course, Facebook, as you said, did beat here, but not good enough. You know, analysts were expecting -- predicting 15 cents per share. Again, they came in at 17 cents. Still not good enough. As you said here they're trading -- I think they closed at $31.24, but now in after hours we're under that $30 mark.

So, you know, Becky there was so much hype pre-Facebook IPO, right. And then after the disastrous start the focus really shifted from the hype to just how the social media behemoth is going to make money, because at the end of the day that's what investors will be looking at, right, not a Facebook profile page.

So here we go. Facebook said this will be coming from mobile, mobile, mobile to the exact monetizing mobile. In October, Facebook said that 14 percent of its third quarter add revenue came from mobile. And its mobile customer base rose 61 percent. I mean, Facebook shares have risen more than 50 percent since that third quarter report. Facebook again, they rolled out a graph search tool, that's a tool using that data captured from your Facebook friend pool.

The other product, Becky, that Facebook hopes it will make them some money that's not mobile, is this thing called gifts. They started rolling that out in September of last year. But not clear how much they make there as a cut.

But I want to bring up an interesting point here, it -- to use it, they need your credit card so they can track how open you are to sharing the types of things you want to buy. That's a whole other category of data to monetize. So, really, Becky investors are going to be looking closely, listening to Facebook's earnings call set to happen in just the next hour. And I'm sure, you know, we're going to see a lot of posts happening after that one, Becky.

ANDERSON: We absolutely do watch out for that. We'll be across that on CNN Money, of course, the conference call. It will be fascinating. And I wonder if there will be further questions about how much we, you and I, should charge for the data that Facebook is collecting on us and making money out of. There's been a lot of chat in cyberspace about that of that, an interesting question.

All right. It's almost like watching the results of the grownups these days when only something like four or five years ago nobody knew who Zuckerberg was. Today, we do. Do they still have first mover advantage in all of their spaces, I'm not sure.

But you can rely on us at CNN to work these questions and answers out for you. Thank you, my love.

Worries about the U.S. economy weighed down the markets a bit today. And here's why. New numbers show the U.S. economy shrank a tenth of a percent in the last quarter of 2012. We didn't see it contract since the depth of the great recession. Economists, though, however, pointing to temporary effects that may have caused the one-time dip. And they see better growth ahead.

Again, look to the markets to see whether investors feel the same way in these after hour markets and into tomorrow's trading day.

This is CNN. You're watching Connect the World live from London. Coming up, deadly storms roar across parts of the United States. And the danger is not over yet. That story just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, severe storms leaving a trail of destruction as they sweep across parts of the United States I'm afraid. This massive tornado was caught in Cameron, north of Atlanta, Georgia. At least two people have been killed in the storms.

I want to get you the very latest from Tom Sater who is at the international weather center. What's the forecast, Tom?

TOM SATER, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks like we have the chance of more severe weather and more tornadoes.

The U.S. actually went seven months without a tornado related fatality. And that was a record since records have been kept. We've never gone that kind of a stretch without a tornado related fatality. And we've had two in the last two days.

Cold air entrenched all the way down to the deep south. Right now in Minot, North Dakota it is minus 26 degrees. Ahead of the front, it is 26 degrees in Columbia, South Carolina and down into parts of Florida where the air masses are clashing is where we're seeing the violent weather.

When we were looking out for this the last 24 to 48 hours. We knew it was coming. 300 reports of severe weather just yesterday. And now this in the red box is a tornado watch box where we've already had a few tornadoes.

Now I want to show you, first of all, set the stage with the warmth. Memphis, Tennessee 24 degrees yesterday. The average is 11. Just to the east of there, a tornado near Nashville, Tennessee. Kansas City hit 20. In the state of Missouri, there was a tornado there yesterday. But notice Chicago at 17. Remember that. I'm going to come back to that.

But this is our severe weather threat. And I've got to show you the tornado and some of the video that we've had with this. You may have seen this. This is not too far from the CNN's world center here in Atlanta. This is just to the northwest. We have reports now not just of a fatality from this, but law enforcement, emergency management personnel are reporting that nearly 100 vehicles have been overturned on interstate 75, that is a major, major interstate running south and north in the eastern part of the U.S.

Of course, helicopters cannot get up in this weather to verify, but again those are law enforcement officials. We're going to take their word at that.

For the most part, this tornado here did dissipate, but there's a lot of damage. We have as much as -- as many as eight injuries with this with some home damage, a number of power outages. And it's also leaving in the wake -- look at this, these are all wind damage reports, as I mentioned from yesterday, 307. All of these triangles are the tornadoes. And that was this morning's bout. We still have the threat that's going to continue as long as this air mass continues to move to the east.

The threat for tornadoes may seem to go down, but I think the severe weather will be found in D.C. But look at Chicago. Remember 17 was the high? It was a record yesterday. By Friday, Becky, minus 10. Big changes.

ANDERSON: Hold on to your hats and get your gloves out. Thank you, Tom.

The latest world news headlines just ahead. Plus, a long awaited unveiling. Research In Motion, remember that name? Well, it's rebranding itself so you can forget about it and betting the house as it paints on a new line of smartphones.

Plus, on the road to recovery, Pakistani activist Malala Yousufzai fights back from near death to inspire girls across the world.

And surfing a monster wave, maybe the biggest ever, and living to tell the tale. Video you will not want to miss coming up in the next half hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is CNN. You would expect the headlines at the bottom of the hour, and you're getting those, and news just in.

Facebook has moments ago released its fourth quarter results. The social networking site reports revenue of $1.6 billion. That, though, is slightly above estimates, but investors focused on slow mobile growth, and shares have dropped almost 8 percent in after-hours or extended trade after the bell on Wall Street. Do watch that stock Thursday. It's -- it will be an interesting one.

High-profile figures testified at the US Congressional hearing on gun control since last month's deadly shooting, among them, former US lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords, who was, of course, wounded in a 2011 shooting. She told lawmakers now is the time to act on gun violence.

A senior US official says Israeli fighter jets attacked a convoy along the Lebanese Syrian border in an overnight raid. Another source tells CNN an Israeli plane struck the vehicles because they were allegedly carrying missile parts that could have been used against Israel. Damascus, however, says the strike targeted a research facility near the Syrian border -- Syrian capital, sorry.

And just days after French-led troops captured Gao and Timbuktu in Mali, they've now entered the major stronghold of Islamist rebels. French troops say they've freed the airport in the town of Kidal, but are being held there by a stand storm.

And an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck central Chile. The US Geological Survey says it was a short time ago near the coastal city of Vallenar. There are no immediate reports of danger, damage, or injuries.

It's a make or break comeback bid by a brand that once ruled the SmartPhone market. Have a guess. Research in Motion unveiling its new BlackBerry 10 operating system today, along with two sleek new handsets.

It's promising a true mobile computing experience, trying to regain ground recently lost to Apple and Google. Well, it's betting everything on the brand, which led to this surprise announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CILP)

THORSTEN HEINS, CEO, BLACKBERRY: From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINS: It is one brand. It is one promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry. Our employees work for BlackBerry. And our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A person trying to -- drum up some enthusiasm there. The name change wasn't the only surprise. BlackBerry also calling in some star power, introducing recording artist Alicia Keys as its new global creative director.

Well, after all the fanfare, what most of us want to know is how do the new devices actually work? Well, the Q10 features a classic keyboard, but the Z10 has a super learning curve for longtime BlackBerry users, as our Ali Velshi found out. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GADWAY, PRODUCT MARKETING, RESEARCH IN MOTION: There's no buttons on the BlackBerry Z10.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No buttons may not be news to you, but it's big news for BlackBerry users, many of whom won't know what to make of the Z10.

Canada's Research in Motion is counting on this totally virtual phone to allow it to live to fight another day. After a year-long delay and years of neglecting the onslaught by Apple and Android-based phones, RIM finally unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system and the first phone to run it.

As a longtime BlackBerry user and hard keyboard lover, I've been evaluating the new phone in real world conditions. I'm a heavy user and a champion thumb-typist. Being new to the virtual keyboard world, my e-mail output has been cut in half while I got used to it. But the company says the keyboard is easier to use and more intuitive than its virtual competitors.

GADWAY: Select it just by flicking it into place.

VELSHI: The piece de resistance with the keyboard is that it grabs words from your device and names from your contacts and predicts in a very customized way what you're likely to type, allowing you to compose entire sentences just by flicking the complete words, which appear on the keyboard, up toward the screen. All of it can be done with one hand.

For those users for whom a virtual keyboard is still a nonstarter, you'll have to wait until April for a model with a hard keyboard. Built on a brand-new operating system, not a single line of code is copied from BlackBerry's existing platform.

Battery life isn't great, but unlike iPhone and many Android phones, you can still change a dead BlackBerry battery.

VELSHI (on camera): Here's an interesting feature for those of you who use a corporate BlackBerry with strict company rules, but who also carry a separate phone for your personal use.

The BlackBerry 10 uses something called Balance, which basically allows the device to be strictly split so that the corporate side of it can adhere to the company's rules, say no photos or personal e-mails, while on the other side of the split personality, you can do all of your personal business.

GADWAY: These are secure. The information in them is secure. So, I can't take anything out of the workspace into my personal side. Similarly, when I'm on the personal side as an end user, I can remain confident that none of the tweets that I'm sending, the pictures that I'm sharing, are things that my employer can have access to. So, it's really and truly a dual persona device.

VELSHI (voice-over): The two sides of the device, if you will, never cross each other. Keep in mind, though, your company has to authorize and enable this feature.

VELSHI (on camera): Research in Motion's ultra-secure, ultra- efficient back office systems allowed them to dominate the corporate world. Increasingly, though, companies are letting people choose what device they use.

Back in 2009, 20 percent of all SmartPhones globally were BlackBerrys. Today, it's just 6 percent. The stock is down more than 80 percent in five years. The question is whether this phone can change all of that. It'll be released in the UK this week, in Canada in February, and in the United States by the end of March.

Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: So, we are the lucky ones, released in the UK this -- later this week. Some are calling this BlackBerry BlackBerry's last stand in the SmartPhone wars. So, what are the chances it will survive?

My guest tonight fears this is a device buckling under the weight of expectations. Matt Warman is the consumer technology editor for the "Telegraph" newspaper and joins me now. There's a couple of issues here. Ali's already sort of shown us how it works. You've got a device with us here.

Couple of things. Firstly, I am a BlackBerry and iPhone user. I've always enjoyed the fact that I can use the keypad on my BlackBerry. It works for e-mail, but I like the use of my apps and other things on my iPhone. So, why would I need this going forward?

MATT WARMAN, CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY EDITOR, "THE TELEGRAPH": Well, you'd need this, to be honest, if you were a BlackBerry fan and you didn't want to give it up. There aren't that many reasons for consumers to rush out and buy this over another device, and that's BlackBerry's big problem.

ANDERSON: It hasn't got a keypad, for example, has it? Why -- because there will be one that's using the keypad.

WARMAN: There will be one.

ANDERSON: Why didn't they introduce that now?

WARMAN: Well, they showed off the one that they're going to introduce today, and I think, to be honest, that they've -- this has been so long delayed that they got to the point where they've got to get something out the door.

They know the keypad is hugely popular, but it's not quite ready yet. They haven't got it manufactured yet. It's going to be a big hit, but keypads kind of feel like yesterday's technology.

ANDERSON: I know, they do, but it's important that they get it out if they've got it. Play with this a little bit for me. It looks and feels to me quite like an iPhone, I hate to say that, and I'm not flogging their brand, here. How do the apps work on this? What's the sort of -- what's the deal there?

WARMAN: Well, so, you're going to have 70-odd thousand apps. That's nowhere near what Android and IOS have got. Of course, no one needs 70,000 apps, but the point is, there are some big names missing from this.

And some of them are just copies of the ones that run on Android. So, if you're looking for a really unique proposition, BlackBerry haven't quite got that nailed down yet. So, it's -- a very difficult task to see why BlackBerry is going to make that splash with this device that it needs.

ANDERSON: This was late to the market. The other big kind of flashy presentation today was Alicia Keys will be their kind of brand manager. And I -- it came to mind, they could've got Van Morrison. I don't know how -- how much she's going to be involved in selling this thing these days. T

To your mind, Matt, given what you've seen, and given where we stand in the market today, and given the likes of you and me who are interested but ultimately just want a device that works these days and is sort of top- notch, what do you think?

WARMAN: I think it's not quite there. I think what they've got is a device that where they are so far behind, they were such an enormous brand, they're not that anymore. This ought to be a real blow-your-socks-off, I've got to have that device. It's not quite there. A lot of analysts saying that this is going to be --

ANDERSON: Right.

WARMAN: -- a little positive blip, but continuing the decline of BlackBerry. That's going to be quite sad.

ANDERSON: So, should we suggest this is raspberry rather than the BlackBerry going forward, given that they've taken on the name in its entirety?

WARMAN: I'm -- I'm not sure it's quite that bad, either as a joke or a device --

ANDERSON: Right.

WARMAN: -- but I think it's not -- it's not what it needs to be . That's the problem.

ANDERSON: Thank you, sir.

WARMAN: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Your expert on the subject. Up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, a ride home from school that will echo through history. How teenage activist and gunshot victim Malala Yousufzai battles her way back to health. An inspiring story up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Education is a fundamental human right, one that some people are forced to pay for, though, in blood. Malala Yousufzai continues to recover. Remember her? The teenage activist shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls' education.

Well, she faces more surgery. In a moment, I'm going to bring you details of what she is about to undergo. First, though, a reminder of what is an incredible story.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): She is the Pakistani schoolgirl who took on the Taliban.

MALALA YOUSUFZAI, SOCIAL ACTIVIST: If they are saying that we are Islamic people and we are Muslim and we want Sharia Law. So, first of all, I will -- I will show them Koran, what Koran says. Koran doesn't say that girls are not allowed to go to school.

ANDERSON: The daughter of a Swat Valley school principal, Malala Yousufzai had become a high-profile campaigner for girls' education. For that, on October the 9th, 2012, she was targeted by the Taliban, shot in the head on her way home from school with friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): "When we saw the gun, we started screaming," Kainat says. "He asked, 'Who's Malala?' I don't think anyone told him, but he recognized Malala and started shooting."

ANDERSON: The 14-year-old activist was evacuated to the United Kingdom, and as she battled to survive her injuries, the attempt on her life was widely condemned. Rallies and vigils were held around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Malala is near and dear --

ANDERSON: And people joined her in speaking out.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: She's the role model for everyone -- every girl, every girl in this world.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: She was very confident. She was a very brave girl, and we all pray for her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think we as a nation are very proud of her.

ANDERSON: Malala had become a global icon, and to honor her cause, the Untied Nations declared November the 10th Malala Day.

BAN KI-MOON, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I am adding my voice to the messages from over one million people across the globe. Education is a fundamental human right. It is a pathway to development, tolerance, and global citizenship.

ANDERSON: A right that Malala continued to exercise, even from her hospital bed.

ZIAUDDIN YOUSUFZAI, MALALA'S FATHER: She told me on the phone that, "Please bring me my books of class nine and I will attend my examination in Swat." Board examination.

ANDERSON: The schoolgirl still faces many months of recovery in the UK, but her voice has been heard and continues to echo.

M. YOUSUFZAI: I want to spend my life serving people. I will be a social activist until my death, and I want to be a politician in the future.

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ANDERSON: Talk about profiles in courage. And she will need to stay brave as she faces what doctors in Britain hope will be her final procedures. My colleague Dan Rivers looks at the next stage of Malala's treatment from the Birmingham hospital which, until recently, had been her second home.

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DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the remarkable recovery of Malala Yousufzai is continuing here in Birmingham, England. You'll remember the 15-year-old schoolgirl was shot at point- blank range in the head by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan. She underwent initial surgery there, then was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth hospital here in Birmingham.

She's about to undergo two more surgical procedures, one to repair the hole in her skull. They're going to insert a metal plate. Another to hopefully restore the loss of hearing to her left ear. Dr. David Rosser is the medical director here at the hospital.

DAVID ROSSER, EXECUTIVE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL: She's remarkably buoyant. She's been through a lot, but I guess it's gone well. She -- she remains in remarkably high spirits, very motivated, very much understanding exactly what's going on, both in terms of her medical care and the sort of worldwide interest in her.

RIVERS: Well, a team of nine specialists is involved with this procedure. What they've had to do is make a 3D scan of her head to get an idea of exactly how big and what shape that hole is.

The hole was actually created when doctors in Pakistan removed part of her skull to allow the brain to swell up. She was in a very precarious position at that point. That was the most dangerous pat of her treatment.

Now, what they've got to do is try and manufacture a titanium plate to fit over that hole, that's what they've done, building up a wax model of her head and then manufacturing this titanium plate. Stefan Edmondson is one of the team who's been involved with making that titanium plate.

STEFAN EDMONDSON, PRINCIPAL PROSTHETIST, QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL: As you can see here, we've actually got the 3D model after it's been printed. We devested it, taken all the support material off, and it gives us a very, very accurate bony defect of the skull.

Our next step would be to take this into the laboratory and start to emulate the piece of bone that has been taken away.

RIVERS: Now, this all might sound quite alarming. In fact, the doctors here are saying it's pretty routine. They do about 50 or 60 of these cranial reconstructions every year. And in fact, this is a worldwide center of excellence. About 120 of these titanium plates are made her in Birmingham and sent all around the world.

In terms of the prognosis for Malala, it's looking very, very good. They're saying she eventually, after about 18 months, will get back full hearing, hopefully. And in terms of the damage to the brain, well, they're saying it's incredible that although she was shot right through the head, she sustained no brain damage at all, and should make a full recovery.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Birmingham.

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ANDERSON: Well, Malala should be an inspiration to us all. She certainly is to me, and here at CNN in 2013, we are committed to supporting the fight for girls' education all over the world. Wherever you are watching, I challenge you tonight to make a stand. Education is a right, it is not a privilege, and girls globally need our support.

Over the coming months, as a team here at CONNECT THE WORLD, we'll bring you the good, bad, and indifferent stories about the disenfranchised youngsters around the world who are struggling to get their voices heard.

I want you -- all of you -- to help us get them some traction. Get those voices some momentum. Your thoughts, please, here to us @BeckyCNN. Facebookers at facebook.com/CNNconnect.

I promise you, we read all of your comments. We may not be able to use all of them, but your commitment to the quest for girls to be educated all over the world is absolutely critical to us. It's a big project this year. Do join us.

Next on CONNECT THE WORLD, riding the big one. How Garrett McNamara realized a surfer's dream and still made it home for tea. We're going to talk to a surfer who knows all about what this man did and what those waves can do to you.

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ANDERSON: Riding through the sky, and he hopes, at least, into the record books. An American surfer who has caught what could be the biggest wave ever ridden, some say as big as 100 feet or 30 meters.

Pro surfer Garrett McNamara rode the wave in Portugal on Monday. He told CNN earlier how it felt to catch such a monster swell.

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GARRETT MCNAMARA, BIG WAVE RIDER: Oh, it was just this endless drop, and my feet were popping out of the straps. It just felt -- it was like my whole body was shattering and it was really difficult. One of the longest, hardest drops I've ever dealt with.

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ANDERSON: He makes it sound so easy. Pretty terrifying stuff. So, why do they do it? Well, joining me now is big wave surfer Andrew Cotton. He's a friend of McNamara. He also spends his life traveling the world, chasing the big swells. I'm going to ask you when are you going to get a real job later, but let's just start with --

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ANDERSON: -- with surfing. You're looking now at him riding a 50- foot -- 15-meter wave off the coat of Ireland last year. Andrew, what makes you do this?

ANDREW COTTON, BIG WAVE SURFER: That's a good question. I honestly don't know. It's just something I got into from a very young age, and as I've progressed through my surfing, it's something that I really, really want to do.

ANDERSON: All right, OK. You know Garrett, don't you? In fact, you've helped him get to his current world record wave, a 78-footer, by towing him in on a jet ski in 2011. It must be part of you that thinks, you know what? I could be doing that.

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ANDERSON: Or I should be, at least.

COTTON: Obviously, that's my dream as well to ride the biggest waves in the world, but it happens -- we swap over, he tows me, I tow him. And that's just how it goes. And he's an exceptional surfer and he's reached - - doing his dream.

ANDERSON: All right. For those of us who have no idea where to start in the waves, and for the men out there who think they do but they really don't, what goes into tackling these huge waves?

COTTON: There's a lot of preparation. Not just physically, but mentally as well. It's not -- we don't just rock up and -- Garrett spent a lot of time in Portugal. He didn't just walk up and catch the biggest wave. So, yes, there's a lot of time we spent in preparation.

ANDERSON: What -- just tell me what's going through his mind as he catches that wave and then surfs in?

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COTTON: Read Garrett's mind? Who knows? Who knows what's going through his mind?

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COTTON: But as a matter for me, I get scared and I get a bit of adrenaline before and while I'm actually surfing, I don't think about anything but actually making the ride and surfing the wave as best I can.

And the afterwards, after the wave's over, that's when you get another adrenaline hit and you sort of -- another buzz, really.

ANDERSON: All right. You've been around the world getting these buzzes. When are you going to get a real job?

(LAUGHTER)

COTTON: Well --

(LAUGHTER)

COTTON: I think I'll keep it for a few more years in this grass.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Good for you. Stick at it. Your expert on the subject tonight.

Before we go, in our Parting Shots for you this evening, who needs a royal chauffeur when you've got the London Tube. Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla were, well let me tell you, a rare sight on the city's iconic underground today.

As part of their trip, their first ever to get on the public system, we're told, the couple traveled to King's Cross Station, made famous by Harry Potter.

Now, we don't want to be misleading here. It wasn't that the royal couple necessarily opted to travel by public transport. Rather, it was all part of celebrations as the Tube marks 150 years of service.

And check out iReport. I did it with my nephew, the Tube the other night, and we did a scene train. It was unbelievable, part of those same celebrations.

I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD, your Parting Shots for this evening. Thank you for watching. From the team here, a very good evening.

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