-advertisement-

Joe

BlackBerry News From The Wire for the week of 1/26/09

Posted by Joe on January 29, 2009

Feeling overloaded with BlackBerry news and rumors? We know the feeling. We hear new things almost every day, and it can be tough to keep up with it all. that’s why we’re bringing you BlackBerry News from the Wire every Thursday.

We’ll catch you up on everything ‘Berry that happened over the course of the week. Not only that, but we’ll rank ‘em by importance, so you can more easily skim the items and read the ones of most significance. If you only have time to read one article, for instance, you might want to head down to our 5-star section. It’s All the BlackBerry News Fit to Geek.

Tons and tons of Curve 8900 reviews
We’re not too far off from T-Mobile dropping the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for consumers. To whet your appetite, we’ve come across a number device reviews. Check out the word from CrackBerry, Engadget Mobile, Gizmodo, ZDNet, and Laptop Magazine. I’m a fan of Engadget’s conclusion: “Flaws aside, is this the best BlackBerry RIM has ever made? Not necessarily — we bet we could find a diehard Bold lover for every 8900 lover out there — but until the Storm gets its act together, it’s certainly in the top two.”

How many Storms did they sell?
There was a bit of a hoopla this week regarding sales of the BlackBerry Storm. On Monday the Wall Street Journal issued a report claiming that RIM “roughly 500,000 units in the first month after the Storm’s Nov. 21 launch.” Since everything about the Storm is compared directly to the iPhone, the WSJ writers wasted no time in noting that the Apple device sold 2.4 million units in its first full quarter. Verizon responded by claiming they have sold one million units through January. That’s still not iPhone pace, but as Robb points out: “don’t forget that the BlackBerry Storm isn’t the only device that RIM sells.”



Is Balsillie’s “new reality” necessary?
In the above-linked Wall Street Journal post, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie is quoted as saying that there is a “new reality” in technology. He was referring to the initially-buggy BlackBerry Storm, saying that it’s okay to ship a device that’s buggy as long as you support it with software fixes. Consumers, in other words, will just have to deal. I’ll let InformationWeek’s Eric Zeman take this one: “Business professionals and consumers alike deserve products that work as advertised out of the box. They shouldn’t have to be forced to endure a public beta — lasting who knows how long — before the products are solidified by updates.” Right on, Eric.

Curve 8900 pulled by T-Mobile in Europe
For the time being, you won’t be able to buy a Curve 8900 or a Bold from T-Mobile in Europe. The company has pulled both models “apparently due to a bug that’s causing overage on customers’ plans.” The problem was found in the Curve, and the Bold is coming along for the precautionary ride. They should show back up soon enough, but for now you’ll have to settle for some older BlackBerry model. Or, you know, wait for them to fix the bug.

Telus launches BlackBerry Curve 8350i
So Nextel isn’t the only carrier making out on the new Curve 8350i. Telus has launched the device, which runs on its Mike network. As usual, Telus really wants you to sign a three-year contract. The device will cost you $249.99 that way, but it jumps $200 to $449.99 on a two-year deal, to $549.99 on a one-year deal, and $599.99 contract-free.

Use any UMA BlackBerry on T-Mobile
As BlackBerry News puts it: “We know many people have an unlocked UMA capable BlackBerry and want to take advantage of UMA on T-Mobile.” To satiate this demand, they’ve posted some intricate instructions on the process of getting your BlackBerry up and running. A word of caution: “If you are not comfortable with making modifications to your BlackBerry we suggest you skip this procedure.”

Gym Technik updates, upgrades service
We’ve talked before about Gym Technik, a fitness tracker catered to your BlackBerry. They’ve been promising an update for a while, and this week we got it. They’ve got even more exercising resources, including articles, tips, nutrition advice, more advanced exercises, photo uploads, and more. I still wish they had an application. The cellular connection in my gym is moody.

Leapfrog to release “baby BlackBerry”
How young is too young to get a BlackBerry? Okay, don’t answer that. Children’s toy maker Leapfrog has created a device which looks like a BlackBerry. Don’t worry, your kids won’t be texting you from it or anything. Instead, it’s just another in Leapfrog’s line of interactive learning games, this one with a focus on basic computer skills. It’ll hit stores in the U.S. this summer for $25.



Review of Awethumb. This didn’t take long to find useless.

YouMail going ad-supported. Free only works for some long. Visual voicemail service YouMail is offering ad-supported service, or else customers can pay monthly for their voicemail.

Already a BlackBerry application center. BerryStore has a bunch of apps available for OTA download, but it’s not getting the best reviews from what I’ve seen.

Mounting your BlackBerry in your car. A cheap alternative: velcro. However you want to work it.

Changing your BlackBerry font. You know, because sometimes you don’t feel like looking at the same text format.

Silence the shutter on your BlackBerry camera. Do it while it’s still legal.

BB Geeks Feed Subscribe to the BBGeeks RSS Feed
Share on Facebook | Add to De.licio.us | Digg This! | Technorati

Filed under : News No comment

Top Selling BlackBerry Cases:


Related Posts:

Another Storm 2 review
RIM sitting pretty with fourth quarter results
BBGeekcast: February 13, 2009 – Episode 51
Is it the BlackBerry Application Suite or Store?
The BlackBerry Store at the ATL airport

Leave a Reply

(required)
(will not be published) (required)
(opitional)
 




Advertising

ss_blog_claim=3a8d22f82df901ea5614ea99ae1f131f