The BlackBerry Thread

[Azure]

I think they do still rule though, just not at 47%.

Don't we love competition?

[CRXguy]

Called in to upgrade to the 9700. My current 9000 has been having trackball and battery life issues lately. This is the longest I've gone without switching phones.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Torture

One major thing that RIM has going for it in the future is the fact that everything is optimized on the BB. A data plan for a BB uses a lot less data than one for the iPhone. Carriers are getting a lot of stress put on them right now, and that's only going to increase as more people begin to use smartphones. RIM has an advantage there because everything goes through their servers and it puts a lot less stress on the networks.

The Blackberry uses less data for many things because it compresses data and distributes it using the portion of cell bandwidth normally used for stuff like SMS (its a data channel, but not particularly high bandwidth data). This is one of the reasons your blackberry will continue to receive email even when there isn't 3g available.

That same method doesn't work, though, to distribute streaming audio or video, to purchase and download apps or music files, etc. When it comes to that stuff, the BB uses just as much data as any other device. A photo is a photo and an MP3 is an MP3 - there is nothing to be done to optimize that stuff.

Either way, it's of no advantage or consequence for the future - available bandwidth, like available processing power and storage is always increasing. RIM likes to say its important, but really its not in the grand scheme of things. If it was, we'd have seen the same approach play out on the land lines - available bandwidth via modem and DSL and cable would have been optimized to use compression. Instead, the telcos simply adopted improved technology that gained them better bandwidth over existing distribution networks.

In the wireless space it seems to me that available bandwidth is in fact increasing at a rate at least on par with consumer landline. Look how far we've come since 1991: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...one_interfaces

[Azure]

http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/07/12/ri...ackberry-6-os/

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Azure

http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/07/12/ri...ackberry-6-os/

Looks pretty good - the integration aspect is nice. It’s got less of a “bunch of apps” look/feel than iOS does, for sure.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I want to guess the no-fun police at my company (and most other companies) and BES will nuke most of that social networking stuff that they show in that video.

[Azure]

You might expect a product with as much enterprise street cred as BlackBerry to offer the best lineup of options for dealing with a lost or stolen phone, but not quite -- devices in a controlled BES environment can be wiped from afar, but for non-enterprise consumers, the options are a little more limited. That's where RIM's new BlackBerry Protect software comes into play, combining a host of services into one product; on top of being able to remotely message, lock, and wipe a misplaced phone, you can locate it on a map and take regularly-scheduled wireless backups that make replacing the handset (if it comes to that) as painless as possible. It's going into an invite-only beta period later this week, after which it'll move to a wider-scale public beta "later this year" at no charge. Considering that MobileMe's similarly-styled features do less than this for $100 annually, the word "free" has an especially sweet ring to it, doesn't it?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/b...ur-blackberry/

[fredr123]

Our office is rolling out Blackberries to all our users. Before, only a handful of people here had one. We've implemented BES and have software from our IP phones that will allow us to control our office phones and get voice mail as audio files on our mobile handsets.

Yes, I know. 2003 extends a warm welcome to our office. Better late than never.

However, because of some interesting issues with the IP phone software we are not able to take advantage of the latest and greatest Blackberries. We all get the Tour 9630.

I've been used the 8830 WE prior to this and was only "meh" with that handset. I've had the Tour for almost a full day now and am equally "meh" with it. BES is fantastic though. Wow is it ever convenient to have synchronization like that.

To all the Blackberry experts out there, can someone please explain to me why at the the highest volume setting I can barely hear the caller on the other end? The volume seems ridiculously low and pretty much unusable out doors. Is there a fix out there for this?

Alternatively, can someone recommend a decent (but not overly expensive) ear piece as a work around for this volume issue?

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by fredr123

To all the Blackberry experts out there, can someone please explain to me why at the the highest volume setting I can barely hear the caller on the other end? The volume seems ridiculously low and pretty much unusable out doors. Is there a fix out there for this?

My BlackBerry is almost unbareably loud on max volume, so that was susprising to read. Perhaps the speaker on the phone is faulty?

[OilKiller]

Thought it might be fun to post your BB screen to see what themes are out there and what we are using. I'll start. This is a free BB Zen Pro theme with my own wallpaper: http://www.berryfication.com/bbzen-p...ree-by-natemz/

[Rathji]

The theme is called ONYXia_v1_4

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by fredr123

To all the Blackberry experts out there, can someone please explain to me why at the the highest volume setting I can barely hear the caller on the other end? The volume seems ridiculously low and pretty much unusable out doors. Is there a fix out there for this?

Try a hearing aid. Or maybe check the speaker first.

[puckluck]

When I put my BlackBerry in the charger the screen light stays on the whole night. Is there any way to turn it off when it's in the charger?

[dobbles]

you guys are going to LOVE my theme! i actually made it myself a while back for my super old 8310. also, gotta love the 1 bar reception AT&T gives. my contract is up so i will be switching to verizon soon.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

try a hearing aid. Or maybe check the speaker first.

pardon?

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by puckluck

When I put my BlackBerry in the charger the screen light stays on the whole night. Is there any way to turn it off when it's in the charger?

It took me forever to figure this one out back when I got my phone, so I'll be more than happy to share this one!

- Go to your home menu, select Clock.
- Hit the BB button, go to Options.
- Change the option "When Charging" to "Do Nothing".

You should now have a light-free charging experience.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by puckluck

When I put my BlackBerry in the charger the screen light stays on the whole night. Is there any way to turn it off when it's in the charger?

flip it upside down...

[Nuje]

Mazrim's and Dan02's posts back to back are pretty fantastic.

[Sly]

Bold vs Curve vs Pearl ? Pros/cons?

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Sly

Bold vs Curve vs Pearl ? Pros/cons?

I'm no expert by any means, but from my own research in the past...

Bold
- Faster processor, 3G wireless (fast internet browsing/downloading), better screen (I think?)
- Most expensive of the three

Curve
- Mid-range selection, nothing stands out, very similar to bold in size and feel
- No 3G

Pearl
- Compact option (Tiny keyboard, small screen)
- Newest Pearl has 3G
- Slowest processor
- Many apps don't work on the pearl
- There is a version of the pearl sans full keyboard for those that want a blackberry but like typing on dumbphones.

Don't even consider the pearl flip. I'm still paying for that mistake.