Google Maps is the best BlackBerry mapping solution I’ve found and it just got a whole lot cooler. The Layers function will overlay different information sets on the the current map few. For instance, you can overlay a location-aware Wikipedia screen. Or Latitude. Or even make your own favorite locations and travel itinerary in a function called My Maps. You really should watch the demo video to see it in action. It’s killer. Update your BlackBerry at m.google.com/maps.
We just got word that Verizon Stores are now receiving their BlackBerry Storm 2 dummy units and training is finally available for retail associates. All that should mean that the Storm 2’s launch date is quickly approaching. November has been the target date for a while now, but with stores already prepping for the launch, availability will probably be early in the month.
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has finally been announced. Details have been leaking in about the “Onyx” for months and most of the seem to be true in hindsight. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 successor rocks a Tour-like keyboard but ditches the trackball in favor of a little trackpad like in the Curve 8520. The camera has been upped to 3.2MP and the screen is now a 480 x 320 display. Just like the Storm 2, the 9700 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0 and all the goodies are included like threaded messaging, updated BB Messenger, and BlackBerry Maps.
Best of all RIM is launching the phone to nearly every GSM carrier in North America and Europe in November although International carrier-specific pricing is hard to come by right now. That will probably change in a day or two though.
Poor RIM. One or two analysts lower your stock rating from “buy” to “neutral” (or the equivalent), and then your stock drops some 16 percent. You know who to blame, too: it’s those busybodies at Apple and Palm, what with their iPhones and Palm Pres eating into your bottom line. (Never mind that your own “iPhone killer” was sorta meh.) What is RIM to do?
The BlackBerry Tour is apparently being returned in droves. It seems that the trackball is easily mucked up, which requires constant cleaning and sometimes just outright fails. RIM’s recommendation is to clean the trackball with compressed air. Serious. Barron’s quotes a TownHall Investment Research director as saying that Sprint’s return rate on the Tour has “been climbing toward 50%.” Yeah, Waterloo, that’s a problem. Personally I used the Tour for several weeks and didn’t see any trackball issues. Although, my usage consisted of it sitting on my desk and occasionally on the center console of my car as I don’t get out much.
According to Gartner, worldwide mobile phone sales are down about 6% from the same time last year; yet the volume of smartphone sales has increased almost 30% in the same time frame. No doubt the uptick in smartphone sales is due to the release of cool new devices like the iPhone 3GS, the Palm Pre, and the various Android phones coming to market. As expected, Nokia remains king of the hill in terms of both regular and smart phones, though sales of their fancy new N97 have been extremely weak. Compare that with sales of Apple’s iPhone which enjoyed 500% growth in shipments! RIM is number two, yadda yadda yadda.
The capacitive vs. resistive touchscreen dispute has been more or less settled with the popularity of the iPhone and other lozenge-shaped touchscreen devices, but that doesn’t mean the loser has to just bow out. The resistive touchscreen is still useful for more precision work using a stylus; I doubt we’ll have capacitive artists’ tablets any time soon. But for convenience, the latter can’t be beat — unless, perhaps, someone were to make some sort of hybrid touchscreen display… oh, you say RIM is working on that? Great!
As expected, T-Mobile has announced the BlackBerry 8520. The latest BlackBerry Curve features an optical trackpad and not much else that the Curve 8900 already offers T-Mobile customers. I guess the media dedicated keys are cool and it’s certainly a first for the Waterloo-based telecoms granddad. Here’s what else you get for $130: a 2-megapixel camera, 256MB of RAM, 512Mhz processor, BT 2.0, Wi-Fi, and a 1GB microSD card (that’s it?!). BlackBerry Media Sync, which enables iTunes syncing sounds promising, but it still runs on EDGE. *sigh* I guess I’m really done with the BlackBerry on T-Mobile. Viva la Android!
BlackBerrys are generally durable devices. I had a BlackBerry 7130e for almost three years until my son gave it a bath in a cup of ginger ale. This dad’s BlackBerry somehow survived a trip into a hot oven. It needed a new case afterwards, but it still works alright.
Couple of weeks ago, like a good dad, I was baking with my 10 year old daughter. I couldn’t find my Blackberry afterwards and was looking everywhere. Tried calling my number etc. When the cookies were done, I opened the oven and found my BlackBerry on the cookie tray: well cooked!!!
It’s not available yet, but BGR got his hands on the latest build of RIM’s upcoming update to BlackBerry Messenger. The following are new features to the PIN-based messeging system: Avatar support, GPS location integration, Proximity sensor, Set conversation subjects, and Homescreen support.
It hasn’t been a secret for months, but Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam has confirmed that a multitude of devices from RIM, Palm and Android-based devices are coming to the nation’s largest network in the next six months.
Huh, this could work out. Remember Dash? It was that the little GPS start-up company that made the innovative PND that had a monthly subscription, but also routed you around traffic issues through the magic of the cloud. You probably never saw one in person because, well, no one wants a GPS with a monthly fee. Anyway, RIM, the makers of BlackBerrys of course, just purchased the company.
We’re not the biggest fans of the BlackBerry Storm. Apparently that’s ’cause it was RIM’s first touchscreen device and we, as early adopters, should have expected this type of buggy device per the CEO. Sure, it’s a first-gen phone, but we expected more from Research in Motion. Didn’t you? Laptop Mag sat down with the CEO of RIM who spoke frankly about the craptastic Storm.
Don Lindsey has been a busy man the last decade and a half. Going from Apple where he might have had a major role in early iPhone developments, to Microsft where he worked in Live Labs, he’s been around the block a time or two. Now it’s RIMs turn who made the man VP of User Experience, which confirms that the companies commitment to developing stellar OSs. Research in Motion needs to keep up its game now that everyone, including Microsoft, is charging forward with new mobile platforms and Don might be able to help.
So now some Dutch guy who seems to represent RIM in some vague sense now says that the Storm 2 will have an improved text input system, which seems to suggest a slide-out keyboard.
Well, well. What do we have here? It seems that we might have specs of some upcoming RIM BlackBerrys: Onyx, Driftwood, and Magnum. Don’t get too excited as release info and pricing haven’t been released, but these specs are enough to drool over for a bit anyway.
RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis is slated to take the stage later today in Las Vegas at the CTIA show and all eyes will be focused on RIM’s answer to Apple’s App Store. While we wished that RIM had held off on the launch of BlackBerry App World until Lazaridis’ little talk, there’s nothing that could have prevented this announcement from hitting at midnight. So, ladies and germs, I present to you BlackBerry App World. Please ensure that you have a PayPal account, OS 4.2 or higher and a trackball or SurePress touch screen (aka Storm) BlackBerry before proceeding.
Here’s a spicy rumor for you all to enjoy. Apparently RIM is planning some sort of BlackBerry TV store/service/thing, and may launch it as early as CTIA next week. (CTIA is like CES, but just for cellphone stuff; actually, a more accurate comparison would have been with Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress; thank you.) It’d be a subscription service, and the TV shows download over a Wi-Fi connection; it won’t use your data (3G if you’re lucky) connection at all
The BGR is probably one of the biggest BlackBerry fanboys of all time, so when he says the 9630 aka Niagara is the best. Ever. Then I believe him. Well, he doesn’t say it’s the best BlackBerry of all time, but he might as well have after you read his short but concise first impressions of the latest BlackBerry from RIM.
RIM has plans to update the Curve and it seem that this might be the replacement. Unspectacular specs for 8325 dropped a few days ago but we finally are interested after seeing what is suppose to be the hardware. Like it? We don’t know yet. It might be a a nice departure from the plastic buttons, but it could be too radical. Definitely need a better pic.
