The drop test

This is the most important of all tasks, since we’re all bound to drop our BlackBerry devices at some point or another. While no device will survive all drops, it’s important that devices survive at least a test drop. In the video above you might not get a good idea of the drop test — the device drops from above the screen, so you don’t know the height — but it is cool nonetheless. Why? It’s shot with a high-speed camera. You can see how the shock spreads throughout the BlackBerry.

The water test

This is of interest to all the people who have left comments on our post about what to do if your BlackBerry gets wet. Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of a solution. The main idea is that BlackBerry devices can get dunked in a reasonable amount of water and still survive unscathed. Many of us beg to differ, but it appears that the newer devices are more water resistant than the older ones.

The bend test

This one is pure cool. They basically put the BlackBerry in a vice and see the pressure at which it snaps in half.

Thanks to the guys at Inside BlackBerry for sharing these videos.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Ever wonder how they test your BlackBerry?

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Ever wonder how they test your BlackBerry?

Chance are you’ve seen this image before. It showed up on CrackBerry earlier in the week, and made its rounds to all the major tech blogs shortly thereafter. It is the most recent image of the BlackBerry London, and I have to say that it looks pretty spectacular. It appears ultra thin, and the screen looks to be along the size of the Droid X series, which is one of my favorite Android series. Kevin from CrackBerry calls it a “phonified” PlayBook, which, well, is exactly what RIM said the first BlackBerry 10 phone would be.

That wasn’t the only BlackBerry news of the week, though. There were a few other nuggets worth pondering, at least for a few seconds.

RIM’s new chairwoman Barbara Stymiest provided a provocative quote to BusinessWeek: “Driving change in an organization means a high-performing board and a high-quality management team. You get those two right and oyu can drive change quickly and effectively.” Does this portend even greater changes inside RIM?

In one way, it would seem to be the case. They’ve already shaken up things at the top, and we all know that — stuff — flows downhill. In order to change the company’s culture, it might need to change at the most basic levels. On the other hand, changing now, right in the middle of an important transition, could prove dangerous. The last thing RIM wants is to push the London’s release back to 2013, so they might be stuck with the team they have now, even if they’d like to replace them in the long term.

Still, there appears to be plenty of moving parts at RIM right now. And that’s good, at least from a public appearance standpoint. Everyone knows they need to do something different, and they’ve already put a strong public foot forward. Perhaps that one big change will lead to a lot more smaller ones.

Oh, and I’m not even going to comment on the superhero infographic. It was pointless, and it appears to not have a future. RIM is, at least starting up on a BeBold advertising campaign, which is great news. After all, they need to get started on their marketing efforts now. Best-selling author Seth Godin says that new nonfiction writers need to start promoting at least 18 months before the book release. It appears RIM is applying the same mindset: start marketing now for products that will come later.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Our first look at the BlackBerry London

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Our first look at the BlackBerry London

The above tantalizing image comes courtesy of Boy Genius Report, which yesterday published leaked slides from RIM’s 2012 roadmap. We tend to get something like this around this time every year, and 2012 did not disappoint. We knew coming in that the RIM lineup would be light this year, so it was tough for the roadmap to miss expectations. As you can see from the PlayBook slide, things are actually looking nice. The new model looks to have noticeable improvements over the original. After the jump, the whole roadmap, plus some more commentary.

As to the 3G+ PlayBook, it does look like a viable device, especially since the 2.0 OS will be up and running by then. It’ll be faster, have a higher-res front-facing camera, and, of course, actually work on 3G cellular networks. It will work with HSPA+ networks, which means up to 42Mbps — though that will obviously be network and location dependent. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but it’s a nice refresh to go along with the new software.

In terms of traditional BlackBerry smartphones, there clearly won’t be many in 2012. There will be a few Curve models released, but many will be bound for developing markets. IT does appear that we’ll get a few different color Curves, which, while serving a specific sector of the market, won’t be any grand revelation. There’s also the Knight, which is the Porche Design P’9981. Those who can afford that device should see it probably sometime around March. After that there’s the White Bold 9790 and then a bunch of Curve models.

The big news comes later in the year, at the end of RIM’s fiscal third quarter. It’s listed under Iconic and it’s labeled merely “Device,” but we all know it’s the BlackBerry London. It does appear that RIM is at least planning for the possibility of a delay, since it places the release on the line separating the third and fourth quarters (November / December). It could come earlier, of course, but it’s good to see that RIM is trying to manage expectations.

While the roadmap reveals little new, it’s nice to see exactly what RIM is up to in 2012. They might even have a few things to announce at BlackBerry World — in addition to the devices, RIM also has items such as Wi-Fi media server on the list. Really, though, this roadmap just reinforces the one big idea: we’ll be waiting eagerly for the end of 2012 and the release of a BlackBerry 10 device.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

RIM roadmap reveals uncertainty in BlackBerry 10

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RIM roadmap reveals uncertainty in BlackBerry 10

One interesting bit from the video comes when Heins discusses RIM’s DNA. After saying that the DNA was RIM’s innovation, he goes onto say, “We always think ahead. We always think forward. We sometimes think the unthinkable.” It might not seem that way to the outside observer, but Hein’s follow-up statement puts it in better perspective. “We have to get better at execution,” he admitted. He does say that they have learned, though. “We have to get more disciplined in our own processes,” he goes on to say.

From the press conference transcript, provided by BerryReview, Heins reveals something big about RIM’s vision.

“RIM is going for the entry level smartphone market. These are not feature phones but there is a huge potential of people to switch from feature phones to smartphones and BlackBerrys offer a good landing point and onboarding new smartphone users.”

That could reveal some of RIM’s marketing strategy going forward. The focus could be on the simplicity of BlackBerry 10 smartphones, as opposed to the more complicated and involved Android handsets.

Heins also talks about RIM’s advantage as a vertical solution, and about the viability of QNX as part of RIM’s operating systems going forward. The entire conference call is available on the RIM website. It’s worth a listen. Heins is obviously scripted, but it was a well-written script that should ease the massive transition RIM is undergoing.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The new RIM CEO on his new role

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The new RIM CEO on his new role

It might not seem right, but that picture above depict’s RIM’s presence at CES 2012. At trade shows in the past RIM has come full force. I remember my first such experience, at CTIA 2008, and RIM’s presence was front and center. They had an enormous booth that everyone could see when they walked onto the exhibit floor. Every BlackBerry model was on display, and there were reps there to talk about anything — except the BlackBerry Bold, of course. Times have changed, clearly. RIM did have a few things to announce, but they didn’t need much of a presence at an American electronics trade show. So while I agree when Roberto Baldwin of Gizmodo says that the booth makes him sad, I totally disagree when he implores them to do more. This just isn’t the time for RIM. But that should change soon enough.

RIM did, of course, show off the PlayBook OS 2.0. It’s everything we thought it would be, and perhaps a little more. It would have been a little less had we not already known that it would not contain BBM for non-bridged devices. Here’s a quick video, courtesy of Inside BlackBerry.

That’s basically what they set out to accomplish. Beyond that, they looked at BlackBerry OS 7.1, which adds a mobile hotspot option (which, if you have a tethering plan, is super awesome), and NFC payment options. Those are three pretty modest goals, and it appears that RIM delivered on those fronts. But they made no illusions of some big announcement or some development we hadn’t yet heard.

Coming in with a big booth would have set up that type of illusion. It would have been bright lights and displays and booth babes, and it would have absolutely drawn in people. But the people those features would attract wouldn’t be impressed by what BlackBerry was demonstrating. And so they laid low, did what they had to do, and moved on. I, for one, commend them for it.

Next year, however, we should see an enormous RIM presence. Not only will they have BlackBerry 10 devices by then, but they might have BlackBerry 10 devices made by other manufacturers. If they have new devices from LG and Samsung, then they can combine presentations for an even bigger presence. Then we’ll see the booth babes, the brightly lit displays, and the people willing to answer any question. And it will be glorious.

For now, though, the minimal appearance more than suffices. It’s clear that RIM is biding its time. We can only hope that the strategy pays off.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

See you at CES 2013, BlackBerry fans

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

See you at CES 2013, BlackBerry fans

The report actually makes a big leap: “We think some of this has already been started with RIM likely agreeing to license BlackBerry 10 to Samsung, HTC, and possibly others.” That statement has quite a few implications. Most notably for long-time BlackBerry geeks, it means that you will see many handsets running the BlackBerry OS, but not branded with the BlackBerry logo. It will be, essentially, the same as Android. Samsung, HTC, and others will manufacture handsets and then install the BlackBerry OS on them.

This is obviously one way to expand the BlackBerry brand and help save the company. After all, it’s pretty clear that RIM is onto something with BlackBerry 10. The PlayBook OS is smooth, and it handles multitasking like no other mobile OS. It in some ways resembles the failed WebOS, but QNX has its own unique quirks that make it work a bit better. If RIM truly believes that this software will change people’s minds about the BlackBerry, then they’ll do well to spread it as widely as possible.

Of course, this also hurts RIM in the handset department. They’ve always made their own handsets, and while they might continue to do that, the market might be more receptive to other manufacturers. Both Samsung and HTC have developed solid reputations for their Android handsets, so they could extend that to the BlackBerry line. That’s lost revenue on the hardware side for RIM, but the licensing agreement could help recoup that on the software side.

Remember, too, that RIM has BIS and BES to generate monthly revenue as well. These will certainly carry over to any licensing agreement. In that way, RIM is incentivized to get as many subscribers as possible, however they can get them. If that means forsaking their own handset manufacturing and focusing on servers and software, so be it.

It’s clear that RIM needs to make a big push to recover its reputation. There is a chance that they’ve determined that going it alone is all but impossible. But with the help of well reputed manufacturers, perhaps they can win over a portion of the market. This is far from a done deal — it’s just a rumor from an analyst. But thinking about this has me excited. It could be a away for RIM to really make an impact on the mobile space. Again.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

What does it mean for RIM to license BlackBerry 10?

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

What does it mean for RIM to license BlackBerry 10?

1. Deliver something Android and iPhone don’t

The first bit of advice might be the most difficult to execute. It’s not enough at this point for the BlackBerry to play catch-up with iPhone and Android. While a device at or slightly below the level of those devices could help RIM win some new customers, it won’t dramatically shift the market. The iPhone and Android devices have enough market hype that another brand will have to leapfrog them in order to make a real impact.

The problem is that both Apple and Android keep upping the stakes with every release. Apple in particular is adept at adding a new, unique feature with its iPhone releases. With the rumor of an iPhone 5 in 2012, they could even further shift the market. That will make things more difficult for sure. But it also means that there are things that RIM can do to help position itself as a true competitor. It will take some imagination an ingenuity, but they can create a unique feature that will draw users.

What type of feature can they add? If it were easy to figure out, everyone would be doing it. They already have BBM as a selling point. Now it’s time to add something else that will make people flock to the BlackBerry.

2. Include basic functions

This might seem simple, but it’s something that the BlackBerry has not done in the past. Apps might be fun and great, but they have a time and place. With the BlackBerry it seems that too many apps perform functions that the BlackBerry should do out of the box. If RIM wants to make its new line of devices succeed, it needs to think of all these features and ensure that they are included natively.

There is an indication that this is a possibility. In their latest operating system they added a number of these features. Most notably, they allowed the ability to add a new number to an existing contact. That’s a basic function, but previously it wasn’t available without an app. Third party developers might enjoy the lack of these native functions, since they can profit a bit off them. But RIM has to make sure that they have all these features out of the box.

Here’s a short list of simple features currently lacking from the BlackBerry:

• The ability to take screenshots
• Editing the original message in forwards and replies
• Custom LED notifications
• Save sent messages to a folder
• Monitor data usage

Again, this is just a sampling of the opportunities RIM has with the new BlackBerry. The more of these features it includes without the need of apps, the better.

3. Make us forget the old BlackBerry

The third item might not be as difficult to execute as the first, but it might be the most important. In our current consumer environment, branding is everything. People recognize brands, and when they create a negative association with a brand it can prove damaging. The BlackBerry brand has been damaged in the past few years, and the new line of smartphones will have to start the repairing process. The most effective way to do this will be to make us forget that the old BlackBerry models ever existed.

In many ways this will take care of itself. The first new BlackBerry device will be a full-touchscreen one, which is not what people think about when they think of the BlackBerry. Sure, there was the Storm, but that was something completely different. There is also the more recent BlackBerry Torch 9850, but few people have experienced RIM’s first fully capacitive touchscreen device. The first BlackBerry 10 release will also feature bezel gestures, just like the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. That is, it will be, out of the box, completely different than previous BlackBerry models.

This will be of even greater importance when RIM eventually releases a new BlackBerry with a QWERTY keyboard. It will look the same as the typical BlackBerry, but RIM has to do whatever it takes to make people forget that the old devices exist. These are the new ones. They’re not just the future. They’re the present. Only by erasing the negative associations people have with the BlackBerry can they make a breakthrough in the market.

4. Give us real names

One of the most frustrating aspects of the BlackBerry is the naming system. RIM has simply refused to ditch its old, inefficient naming system. That might have worked when there were only a few BlackBerry models in production. But a numbering system just doesn’t work when there are multiple devices on multiple carriers. It’s confusing and boring at the same time.

Take the Bold 9900 for example. In production it was called the BlackBerry Montana. That’s a decent name. It might not be the best on the market, but it’s distinctive. Yet on the market the Bold 9900 is 1) the name of an already-existing BlackBerry device, 2) a set of numbers that are meaningless to the average consumer, and 3) one of two identical devices. That is, the Bold 9930 and the Bold 9900 are the same exact thing, but with different cellular technology (GSM and CDMA). One of the most frustrating questions I get is one where someone describes their device as a BlackBerry Bold. Which one?

There are plenty of other factors in the success of the next BlackBerry line. These are just four suggestions that can get the ball rolling. If RIM can accomplish this, and then some, they have a chance to reclaim their place in the smartphone market.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

4 bits of advice for the new BlackBerry

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

4 bits of advice for the new BlackBerry

Amazon wants RIM?

Earlier in the week Reuters reported that last summer Amazon expressed interested in purchasing RIM. There was no formal offer, because RIM made it clear that they were not interested. A combination of companies could lead to huge opportunities. Amazon has done a good job marketing the Kindle Fire, its first tablet PC, and would likely use that marketing power for BlackBerry smartphones.

For now there are apparently fluid discussions, but the two companies haven’t talked price or anything else that would indicate they’re serious about the merger. Even without a merger, these talks could become productive. After all, RIM needs a big push for BlackBerry 10, and Amazon can provide it. We could definitely hear more about these two companies together as we move through 2012.

BlackBerry 10 dead in the water?

We’re still something like nine months away from the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone, but that won’t stop the rampant speculation. Yesterday morning on BGR, Jonathan Geller published a report, from “one of [their] most trusted sources,” indicating that BlackBerry 10 is a failure before launch. “Email and PIM [is better] on an 8700 than it is on BlackBerry 10.” The accusations get even more damning, with the source accusing co-CEO Mike Lazaridis of lying about the reasons for BlackBerry 10′s late release date. The alleged reason, from the source: “they don’t have a working product yet.”

It might very well be that RIM doesn’t have a working product yet. Obviously they’re going through a lot of work to merge their legacy OS features with the new QNX operating system. That doesn’t mean that the devices are dead, though. All it really means is that, well, there are reasons that it’s delayed. In an official statement, printed on CrackBerry, RIM repeats the same information they gave on their earnings call: it’s all about the chip set. Though it’s possible that both reports are true.

Again, this has little bearing on the here and now. We don’t expect RIM to release a new smartphone until later in 2012, and that hasn’t changed. We didn’t expect Amazon, or anyone, to buy RIM at the moment, and they haven’t. But both of these tidbits do give us something to look forward to. Namely, will RIM get the PlayBook 2.0 update ready for February? We’ll find out soon enough. Thankfully, we have these bits to fill in the gaps.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Amazon wants RIM? BlackBerry 10 a bust? The week in BlackBerry

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Amazon wants RIM? BlackBerry 10 a bust? The week in BlackBerry

In terms of what it actually did, RIM expanded its subscriber base to 75 million users worldwide, an increase of about 35 percent from the third quarter last year. That’s not bad for a company that either 1) doesn’t get any hype from, or 2) gets lambasted by many media outlets. The downside: revenue was down about 6 percent from last year. Still, they hit most of their updated benchmarks, including 14.1 million units sold.

Here’s where it gets a bit icky. The reason for the lowered expectations was poor PlayBook sales. Since its release the PlayBook has seen gradually dwindling sales: from 500,000 to 200,000, and now to 150,000 in their fiscal third quarter. That included a number of promotions that brought the device price to $300. Of course, on Black Friday they lowered it to $200, and the units sold well by most indications. Black Friday just happened to be the final day of RIM’s third quarter, so it’s not exactly clear whether those sales are accounted for. I suppose, though, that since Black Friday did fall within the quarter, that they do count.

RIM set itself up for lower estimates in the fourth quarter, but again, this isn’t the big issue. The big issue is what will happen after March 3 (the end of the quarter). That’s when we’re supposed to see the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones. That’s when we’re supposed to get the PlayBook update. If those things go according to plan, RIM could be in line for a quality first quarter of 2012. Of course, this forecast took a hit. Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said that we shouldn’t expect BlackBerry 10 smartphones until the latter part of 2012. That’s going to hurt the company far more than missed third quarter expectations. BlackBerry 10 is supposed to turn around the company. It’s tough to do when there is no device to speak of. By the time we see the London, or the Milan, the iPhone 5 will likely already be on the market, not to mention another slew of high-end Android devices.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

RIM’s Q3 not so bad, but it’s of little import

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

RIM’s Q3 not so bad, but it’s of little import

Something of a controversy has erupted in the last few weeks. An Android security researcher found something called Carrier IQ running on Android devices. This is software installed either by a device manufacturer or a carrier, and until now it was essentially unknown to the end user. That sounds a bit fishy, since Carrier IQ’s sole purpose is to track everything that a user does with his or her smartphone. In any age when privacy concerns run rampant, there was bound to be an uproar over Carrier IQ services.

As knowledge of Carrier IQ spread, carriers and manufacturers fired up their PR engines. A number of them denied using Carrier IQ, or at least denied willfully installing Carrier IQ on their devices. There was uproar, for sure, when the software was discovered in Apple’s iOS, though Apple soon after claimed that it has eradicated Carrier IQ from its latest updates. “We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update.” Verizon, Nokia, and Google were among the entities to completely deny knowledge of Carrier IQ running on their devices.

Thankfully for BlackBerry users, RIM has also denied using Carrier IQ. Says the Waterloo company: “RIM is aware of a recent claim by a security researcher that an application called ‘Carrier IQ’ is installed on mobile devices from multiple vendors without the knowledge or consent of the device users. RIM does not pre-install the Carrier IQ app on BlackBerry smartphones or authorize its carrier partners to install the Carrier IQ app before sales or distribution.” That might sound reassuring, but RIM isn’t the last party to touch these phones before they reach consumers. There is still the issue of the carriers.

Again, Verizon has denied installing Carrier IQ on its handsets, so chances are if you have a Verizon BlackBerry you are unaffected. Yet a few carriers have admitted to using the service. Both AT&T and Sprint install it on phones, though they claim it’s not to detect their users’ habits. Instead, it’s to track network usage so the companies can improve — something like a SCADA system. If it’s true, that’s all fine and good. The more efficient a carrier’s network, the more they’re able to deliver. Of course, we know that carriers have no interest in delivering more services for the same price. As we’ve seen lately with tiered data plans, they’re always looking for ways to charge more for the same, or, alternatively, to provide less for the same price. Carrier IQ might help Sprint and AT&T better manage their networks, but that probably won’t benefit end users in any readily noticeable way.

It seems there is little we can do about Carrier IQ. We can switch phones and carriers to those who don’t install the software, but with long-term contracts for smartphones, that can be unrealistic in many cases. Carriers are always looking for ways to boost profits, and if installing Carrier IQ helps them accomplish that, then they’ll do it. It’s a sad development for sure, but it’s not one that end users can do much to change. It’s the price we pay for our increasingly powerful devices.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The price of more powerful smartphones

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The price of more powerful smartphones