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BlackBerry Storm unlocked for T-Mobile in U.S.?

Joe — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:47:19 +0000

When there comes a new device, there come hackers who want to use all of its capabilities. We saw this last summer with the unlocking on the original iPhone. The BlackBerry Storm presents an excellent hacking opportunity because of its dual radios. Get the GSM radio working, and you might be able to get it up on T-Mobile or AT&T in the U.S. It appears that one Howard Forum member was able to get it done. A little description after the jump.

It actually doesn’t sound all that complicated. Verizon hands out unlock codes if you’re headed to Europe and want to use another carrier’s SIM, so you just call them up and tell them that. They’ll send you an email trying to dissuade you, but you can just say “that’s okay, I want my unlock code,” and they’ll give it to you.

After you get the code, you have to download the T-Mobile (or AT&T, I guess) service books. There are three additional steps as well. You can find instructions here. After you follow them, you should be up and running on T-Mobile’s 2G network (sorry, no 3G). The Howard user even says his VZNavigator works when he’s on T-Mobile. He also notes that you can switch between networks.

As of now I have no Storm, thus no way of confirming this. Anyone give it a try? If you do, leave a comment and let us know how it goes.

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

BlackBerry Storm unlocked for T-Mobile in U.S.?

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

BlackBerry Storm unlocked for T-Mobile in U.S.?

Happy Storm Day, everyone!

Joe — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:30:47 +0000

At long last, we’ve reached the release date for the BlackBerry Storm through Verizon. No more delays, no more marketing gimmicks to get us hooked. It’s here, and it’s ready. Well, we think it’s ready. Of course, there have been a number of reported issues with the supply of Storms that might have some people waiting on line only to come away empty handed. You’d think RIM and Verizon would be more prepared for something like this.

We mentioned this in News from the Wire yesterday, and it seems issues have gotten a little worse. Early morning reports had some stores only getting one functioning model in stock. Thankfully, later shipments increased stock, but not by much. Some stores could be left with as few as four sellable Storms. Others might have 10 or 20. In any case, that doesn’t sound like enough stock to cover the demand.

There are also rumblings that certain Verizon outlets will not have the Storm at all. That would be a disaster. If you frequent an independent retailer and not a corporate store, my advice is to call ahead to see if they have any in stock. You wouldn’t want to make a trip for nothing, after all.

This reeks of the situation Verizon had with the LG Voyager last year. Verizon rushed to get the device out by Black Friday, but in the process made a few blunders. Stock wasn’t nearly to needed levels, and there were bugs in the operating system. We just talked about the first issue in relation to the Storm. As reported by BGR, there might have been a security flaw in the OS, which forced RIM to reflash all of the units. This could have caused the shipping problems.

If you don’t get a Storm tomorrow, fret not. Word is that they’ll be getting more in stock on Saturday. Or at least that’s the hope. You can also get it at Best Buy tomorrow, instead of having to wait for the 23rd. That’s a consolation, but again they might not have adequate stock to cover demand.

If you don’t get a Storm today, leave a comment. We can all vent here. But you can try for your Storm here.

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

Happy Storm Day, everyone!

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

Happy Storm Day, everyone!

Eager fans can get a free BlackBerry Storm

Joe — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:48:46 +0000

Kevin and the crew at CrackBerry.com are full-blown BlackBerry addicts. They know you are, too, which is why they’ve started the What Would You Do for a BlackBerry Storm? contest. The premise is simple. You just have to write about the craziest thing you’d actually do if a free Storm were in the offing. Not only that, but you have to actually do it as well. So what’s worth a free Storm?

You have until October 31 at midnight Pacific time to submit your entry. Thankfully, you don’t have to actually perform your crazy task until you’re selected. If you’re among the craziest BlackBerry fans out there, you’ll have to prove it. Quite a task, for sure, but once again, we’re talking about a free Storm here.

If you’re interested, head over to the CrackBerry contest page to sign up. It’s a quick form, though you’ll probably want to think out your crazy scenario. Winners will be contacted between November 1 and 3, and will have until the 15th to submit their video/photos.

Good luck.

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

Eager fans can get a free BlackBerry Storm

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

Eager fans can get a free BlackBerry Storm

Not much doing with Storm announcement

Joe — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:34:44 +0000

So it appears that the Storm announcement we’ve been waiting for is little more than an internal affair for Verizon. They’ve released some talking points for their dealers, and CrackBerry got their hands on it. It doesn’t talk about much new, but it’s nice to know that they’re preparing for the device launch. We’ve got nothing as far as price or release date. Maybe sometime in October. They do say to pay attention to verizonwireless.com/storm for updates, though the page isn’t operational right now. I’ll keep checking back, of course. Talking points after the jump.

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

Not much doing with Storm announcement

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

Not much doing with Storm announcement

BlackBerry Storm a bit further off than we thought

Joe — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:32:46 +0000

Cell phone release delayed. Also see: “Ball player cheats on wife.” There’s little surprise in Boy Genius Report’s rumor — “double confirmed” — that the Storm’s release had been delayed internally. They’re saying three to four weeks.

There was a little rabble in the comments about the accuracy of the info, but you never know who’re leaving these comments. Right, guys?

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

BlackBerry Storm a bit further off than we thought

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

BlackBerry Storm a bit further off than we thought

The BlackBerry Thunder is the BlackBerry Storm

Joe — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:59:21 +0000

While the RIM rumor mill is proving rather accurate, we still have some work to do on the naming part. One of the more contentious naming issues has been the new BlackBerry touchscreen device. Some thought Thunder, others vehemently said it’s the Storm. Thanks to some digging by Engadget, we have an answer. It’s the Storm. I’m a little disappointed by this development, I’ll admit. Thunder is just a cooler sounding name. Like Thunder Cats. Or Bring Tha Thundah! Rogers and Vodafone users might get a model of that moniker, however. For us Verizon users, the Storm it is. Picture of the box after the jump. Plus, a bit on the memory issue.

Click on the image for full-size

I’ve long said that RIM needs to step it up with the memory here. They haven’t exactly done that, but I think it’s a decent facsimile. The Storm comes pre-loaded with an 8GB microSD card. While it’s not the 32 gigs of on-board flash memory I was praying for, it’s still a good deal of disk space. Plus, with the cost of microSD coming down, you can make creative use of the at 8 gig card.

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

The BlackBerry Thunder is the BlackBerry Storm

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

The BlackBerry Thunder is the BlackBerry Storm

BlackBerry Thunder to drop on October 8th?

Joe — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:44:29 +0000

So you’re hankering for some more information on the BlackBerry Thunder aren’t you? You’ve read the headline, so you know where we’re going with this. According to Fudzilla, the Thunder is now scheduled for a tentative release date of October 8th. It’s got to pass Verizon muster, though. Based on what we’ve seen with the Bold, however, I wouldn’t just assume that there will be no delays with this. It’s nice to think positive, but let’s not get disappointed if the actual release date is closer to November than it is to September.

Fudzilla also goes over a few details, including the 3.2 megapixel camera which will top the iPhone’s 2.0 megapixel version. Since it’s through Verizon, you’ll be able to download Rhapsody tracks over the air. Those cost you $2, though you do get a DRM-free version of the track sent to your computer. Alternatively, you can just buy the DRM-free version for a dollar, and then sideload it to your Thunder.

Another feature they mention, and that we’ve heard before, is that it has a microSD slot. This is not good news. It would suggest that there won’t be a big chunk of onboard memory. It might have the gig that the Bold has, but that’s not enough. If the Thunder is going to succeed, it needs to match or beat the iPhone in terms of flash memory. Anything less, and this becomes a less viable multimedia device.

Still, I know I’m getting psyched. I’m sure most of you are, too.

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

BlackBerry Thunder to drop on October 8th?

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

BlackBerry Thunder to drop on October 8th?

More BlackBerry Thunder media player pics emerge

Joe — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:39:04 +0000

What better way to start off the day than with some eye candy? BlackBerry Sync, the site which brought us the first pics of the Thunder media features, brings us another set of three. There’s really nothing new here — in fact, for all we know they might not be actual shots of what’s on the Thunder’s screen. But we like to maintain a positive outlook here. Plus, they’re real nice to look at. So, after the jump, three new pics of the BlackBerry Thunder. If RIM is controlling these leaks, they’re doing quite a good job of it.

Thanks to BlackBerry Sync for continually providing these pics.

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

More BlackBerry Thunder media player pics emerge

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

More BlackBerry Thunder media player pics emerge

Live shots of the Thunder keyboard

Joe — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:13:05 +0000

Spend the day looking for an apartment, miss out on some wild news. Kevin got his hands on some tantalizing screenshots of the currently not so good BlackBerry Thunder keyboard. It looks like everything we were promised. While holding the device horizontally, it features a full keyboard, with the same keyboard layout as the normal BlackBerry — though there appears to be no symbol indication on the corresponding keys. Gotta hit the “…123″ button to reveal them. Hold it vertically, and you have SureType integration. Pics after the jump.

There’s your landscape view.

And there’s your SureType view.

It wasn’t a week ago that we heard of a number of problems with the BlackBerry Thunder, including the fact that it isn’t quite production-ready. That’s all fine and good for a device a few months out, though. However, this has been misinterpreted all around the Internets, causing The Boy Genius to share a few choice words. So, to recap:

The Thunder is still very promising.
As it currently stands, there are probably a number of bugs with the phone’s operation.
This is not uncommon in July for a phone slated for a November release.
There are no delays as of now.
As with any device, RIM could certainly disappoint with this model, given the high expectations.

Clearly, this will be our No. 1 topic of discussion over the next few months, though the release of the Bold will certainly garner its share of attention.

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

Live shots of the Thunder keyboard

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

Live shots of the Thunder keyboard

BlackBerry Thunder screen awesome, in theory

Joe — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:42:39 +0000

We learned from Kevin yesterday that the BlackBerry Thunder — or 9500, whatever — will feature Haptic technology for its touchscreen keyboard. Ronen reminds us that this means that when you touch the screen, you get feedback in the form of a gentle vibration. Kevin adds that you’ll also hear a “clickety sound,” though I’m sure that can be turned off. While this sounds fine and good — it even sounds awesome, in my opinion — not all is dandy with the first touchscreen BlackBerry.

Over the past few months, we’ve consistently gone to The Boy Genius Report for our share of BlackBerry rumors. Turns out that they have one regarding the Thunder today. You’re not going to like this, so I’ll put it into blockquotes, just so you know it’s coming from their source, not mine:

“Thunder is in no way shape or form market-ready. If Bold was any indication, Thunder won’t be ready for at least another 4-5 months.”

Ouch, man. Ouch. The report goes on to say that the keyboard essentially sucks, and that there are a number of glitches with it that preclude it from entering production. So while RIM seems to be on the right technological path, the implementation is going to take quite some time.

So maybe we’ll see a holiday release from this, or maybe RIM bit off a bit more than they could chew, and we might have to wait a bit longer. The longer the wait, though, the more they have to deliver. If this doesn’t completely topple the iPhone, it’s going to be a major disappointment, and I know none of us want to see that from RIM. Have faith that they’ll pull this one out.

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

BlackBerry Thunder screen awesome, in theory

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

BlackBerry Thunder screen awesome, in theory