Normally we run a feature in this spot every Tuesday, but due to some setbacks we’re going to hold off until next week. As a quick take, though, I recommend you read this rant by Rod at RIMarkable. It’s a great topic and I’m glad he raised it. We’ve all had our batteries die. It’s part of owning a cell phone. What Rob wonders is why it can’t start up immediately after you plug it into the power source. I’ve often marveled at this. It goes along with a number of other power and battery related questions I’ve asked, but have not had answered.
This problem is so frustrating because it is multi-pronged. First, the BlackBerry is one of the only devices, if not the only device, that doesn’t allow a re-boot once it is connected to a charger. Second, the device boots incredibly slow — my Tour can take up to 10 minutes — so that makes the recovery process even longer. Third, the requisite power is there, so this seems to be either by design or otherwise a pretty hefty oversight.
While Rod does a good job of addressing the problem himself, I’d like to register a complaint myself. If your battery is too low for radio use, but your device is still running, not even plugging in the device will restore the radio. This, to me, is far worse than the issue Rod describes. The BlackBerry is low on power, sure, but has enough to run without the radio. Why, then, won’t connecting the charger immediately restore radio function?
Clearly, the BlackBerry has enough power, once a charger is connected, to run the radio. It’s not even close to being a question. But there’s a software block somewhere in there, and it prevents you from using the radio. There is nothing more frustrating than plugging in your BlackBerry and still seeing this image.
This is why I recommend downloading ForceRadioOn. It’s free, and it will let you access the radio even when your power is low. So when you do plug in that charger, you’ll be able to make full use of your BlackBerry. It won’t solve the problem Rod describes, but it can at least negate one of the more infuriating BlackBerry issues.
