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Showing posts with label BlackBerry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BlackBerry. Show all posts

Are you a BlackBerry Addict that simply can't wait to get your hands on the new BlackBerry Storm? If you are, you might want to take a few minutes (or hours, or days…) to poke through the new BlackBerry Storm 9530 manual that has appeared online.

To download the BlackBerry Storm 9530 user manual, click here (249 page PDF file weighing in at 1.18MB).

I have to admit, I didn't really have any questions in-mind about the device… I simply want to get my hands on it to see if I like it or not. But if you do have any questions, or simply want to read through the out-of-the-box documentation for the Storm, go ahead and give it a download. The manual covers all of the basics, from using the phone to using the camera, media browser and more. There's even a chapter on the beloved 'BrickBreaker' game that comes standard on all BlackBerry devices. Enjoy!

[Via: CrackBerry.com]



The BlackBerry Bold sure looks like a decent RIM device, but its $399.99 price tag plus a 3-yr contract with Rogers a bit too hard to swallow. Good thing though that Best Buy Mobile is offering the very same BlackBerry Bold for only $199.99.

The 3-yr Rogers plan is still in effect, but you can now get it at a more reasonable price plus a $50 gift card. If you’re interested, you better hurry. This offer is only good up until November 27.

I must say, this offer looks quite tempting for an early Christmas present for myself as a reward for all the hard work I’ve done for the year. How about you guys? Is the lowered $199.99 price good enough for you to get the BlackBerry Bold or are you holding out on further price reductions or waiting for the Storm to be release?


The guys over at BGR have got hold of a BlackBerry Curve 8900, better known as the BlackBerry Javelin, and replacement to the BlackBerry Curve, and have given it the once over, here's their first impressions.

The BlackBerry Javelin's size is small enough to sit in the pocket, but not that small it sacrifices on the keyboard. Where owners of the BlackBerry Bold experienced problems hitting the correct convenience key, Javelin owner won't have the problem as the key is located perfectly.

The BlackBerry Javelin's screen although smaller than the Bold is flawless with a crisper, denser and sharper display. Keyboard wise it's even better than the original Curve and keys are evenly space. As for the fake chrome bezel, it looks as if it can take some rough handling as the material looks to be tougher.


Vodafone BlackBerry Storm

One thing that hasn't been altogether claer up to this point is just how many clams we're going to have to shell out for RIM's touchscreen BlackBerry when it comes out sometime next month on Vodafone, Verizon, Bell and Telus. Well, Brits are looking to be able to nab it for free with a £35 monthly plan over two years, which really doesn't tell us a thing for those of us on the other side of the pond who never get deals that good. An 18-month term will also net the Storm for free, you'll just need to get onto a £40 plan with 600 minute and unlimited texting. The priciest option is on a £40 plan, 1-year contract - that'll set you back £300 for the device, too. To give a frame of reference, the most you'll pay for a Bold in the UK through Vodafone right now is £187.23. Don't jump the gun and think that the Storm will also go for more than the Bold in North America, though - the Bold is set as the top-tier BlackBerry, and everything is modeled to follow after it. For more pricing options, check out Vodafone's preorder site, and keep an eye out for a release around November 11th.


The BlackBerry 8220 launched on UK carrier O2 today, going for free, depending on contract. It still hasn't showed up on their online shop, so it's hard to nail down further pricing options, but you don't really need to beat free. T-Mobile's been doing so-so with the Pearl Flip, but Rogers seems to be taking a hint and offering it for $50, which could potentially rope some of the flip-phone crowd into the BlackBerry camp (especially since traditional BlackBerry users aren't biting). In the UK however, it may be more difficult to remain competitive when certain other BlackBerrys are also going for free on contract. Interested? .



Keep your eye on the storm.TELUS is about to take Canada by storm with the launch of the world's first touchscreen BlackBerry® smartphone. The revolutionary BlackBerry® StormTM smartphone will be available in time for the holiday season. Join the storm watch by signing up to receive the latest news, regular updates and be the first to know when the storm rolls into Canada.

We’ve already mentioned that Telus has a dedicated site for the BlackBerry Storm wherein you can sign-up to be part of their mailing list. Well, they’ve just updated said BlackBerry Storm microsite. It now comes with a photos section that features a bevy of images you can drool on for the time being, and a specs section for the technical aspects of the Storm. There’s even a Media Centre page where you can get the latest news and download various media content so you can torture yourself even further when not connected to the internet. Unfortunately two of the most bits of information are still missing; the price and the release date.

Anyway, we’ve heard it’ll be out it in time for the holidays so that should mean any day now as the holidays are fast approaching. As for the cost, that’s the unanswered question we’re dying to find out.

The software relationship between RIM and Apple is growing more and more passionate, with third-party companies stoking the the fire that RIM started with its iTunes pairing program, BlackBerry Media Sync. Like Simplify Media for the iPhone, Didiom is an app for virtually any recent BlackBerry that allows for full streaming of a user's iTunes music library over the phone's data connection. The streaming feature looks like it is at least in part a promotional ploy for a built-in upstart music store, but that looks easy enough to ignore. For interface details check out the video above, featuring the same honeyed, suicide-inducing voice as every retail job training video of the last 25 years.


A few weeks out now from the official launch of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, T-Mobile has a new color up for offer. A new RED version of the new BlackBerry Flip phone is now available. Pricing and other details remain the same: $150 on a 2-year contract after rebates. So if you'd prefer a red flipper then this is the device for you.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip packs in these main features:

  • 240 x 320 internal display, 128 x 160 external display
  • Quad-band EDGE (no 3G, boo)
  • Wi-Fi (still waiting on the BlackBerry 8210 for GPS)
  • Four hours talk time, 14 days standby
  • External microSDHC slot
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

As I read this news I was reminded of a report I happened to see last night on CNN. Turns out that wearing the color red helps boost your sex appeal. I wonder if toting around a red BlackBerry will do the same thing?


One of my favourite apps on BlackBerry is Vlingo, which allows users to issue a variety of voice-activated commands, like Google searches, text messages, and since their latest beta, Twitter and Facebook updates. I was actually hurting a little bit once I got the Bold, since they didn't have full support at the time, but it looks like things are running pretty smoothly on it now. The freeness helps, of course, but Vlingo is actually really great quality transcription, with only a few corrections typically needed. They're also tacking on application launch support for Viigo, Google Maps, Facebook and Opera, which are easily some of the most frequently used bits of BlackBerry software out there. The downside is that the voice recognition is done server-side, so if you don't have a signal, you're in a bit a of trouble. Head over to www.vlingo.com/v2 to get started.


There has been much talk and posting of late centred around the RIM BlackBerry Storm with Verizon and Vodafone, so it is somewhat easy to overlook the carriers up in Canada such as Bell and Telus who will be gaining the BlackBerry Storm in the near future.

Unfortunately there is no word on when Telus will sell the BlackBerry Storm or even at what price, but the whisper is Canada will be seeing the BlackBerry Storm before Christmas. So just to keep everyone happy we have posted a few BlackBerry Storm images for you to fawn over.

Furthermore, we can now inform you that the BlackBerry Storm microsite has now gone live, which you can find here.



Are you suspicious of your other half being not faithful to you when you're not around, but do not have the proof? With Text Guard, you will be able to monitor private text messages once you install the software on the PC and download the program over to the victim's handset.

Technically, it is illegal to snoop around on somebody else's cell phone without consent, but who can live with a cheating spouse? Text Guard currently works with most Windows Mobile handsets and BlackBerrys, so you might want to think about using an iPhone if you're the one fooling around. Text Guard will be free for the first 60 days, where you will need to fork out $11.95 monthly after that.


The BlackBerry Bold costs only $169.41 to manufacture, and customers who have already picked one up will surely give themselves a good kick in the pants knowing that they paid a whole lot more for it. For instance, those living in Canada and are using the Bold thanks to Rogers would have forked out around US$337, and this even after tying yourself down to a contract. Imagine just how much more you are paying for the Bold if it came as a contract-free handset? Well, RIM still has to make money somewhere, but this leaves us wondering just how much is the average profit margin for the smartphone industry where hardware costs are concerned.


The latest flyer from The Source (by Circuit City) shows the upcoming Rogers BlackBerry Pearl 8220 for $99.99** after a $50 in-store credit. This is based on a 3-year voice and data plus activation totalling $45 or more.

The 8220 will be available before the end of the month (Oct 29th) and we’ve ve seen several leaked ads showing the price point at $49.99. Time will only tell… I guess they wanted to cut down on print costs as the flyer is effective October 23rd - November 5th.


Qik has just released the alpha release client of their video streaming app for use with BlackBerry mobile devices. Among the many BlackBerry phones, the Pearl 8120, 8130, Bold, Curve, Pearl Flip 8220, and Curve 8320 (GSM) and 8330 are confirmed to be compatible with this newly released software.

This new BlackBerry edition, however, differs from the previously released versions of the Qik app for other mobile phones. Here are some notable differences you should now about this RIM-flavored version:

- When you start Qik, a screen is shown with just one button - Stream. Press the center button to start streaming. This will bring up the camera application and you'll be off streaming live to the web. When you are ready to stop, just press the center button again.
- Depending on the network condition, after you press stop, you may see a progress % on the top right hand corner indicating the video that is left to be sent. It is advised to wait for the stream to be completely uploaded prior to streaming again.
- In this version, the chat does not show up overlayed on the camera.
- For best performance, use BlackBerry OS 4.5 and above.
- Your BlackBerry should have a SD card and video capture should be set to the directory: SDCard/Blackberry/Videos.
- The video capturing mode should not be set to the MMS mode.

Just remember that this is still an alpha release so you might expect some bugs and issues along the way. Signing up first is still mandatory, but it still won't cost you a single penny because it's free. If you're already a member, just go to qil.com/dl/165 on your BlackBerry phone to download it straight to your device.

We've seen a bunch of Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones getting Qik support just recently so I guess it's safe to assume that with this latest release, Qik is definitely making itself available to the entire mobile phone using community.



Sporting a similar look albeit in a smaller, more compact size, the BlackBerry 8900 comes with a slightly bigger display at 480×360, 3.2-megapixel camera with video and, more importantly, the same updated BlackBerry OS found on the Bold. While we can go on and on talking about its features, nothing beats a video review. So we'll let Mobile Syrup's review of the Javelin tell the whole story.



Like what you see? You'll have to probably wait for 2009 for the Javelin to be released since there is no clear indication pointing to a 2008 debut.


The BlackBerry Pearl Flip. Pink for the ladies, black for the boys.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip. Pink for the ladies, black for the boys.

Looks like the new BlackBerry Pearl Flip launch kits are arriving at Rogers in Canada. With that in mind, the actual launch can't be that far away! From reports I've read, the device is going to start shipping out to stores tomorrow, which means the device could very well be available in stores by Halloween… Spooky!

With availability of the device coming real soon, the one thing we still do not know is the price. Rogers has listed it in fliers for $150, while FutureShop has listed it as low as $50. A recent catalog from The Source also had the device priced at $99 with a $50 credit.

One thing is for certain… The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is coming verrry soon for Rogers customers up in Canada. So if you're looking for a flip phone with all the BlackBerry goodness you've come to love, the Flip might just be your answer. My advice? Head in to a Rogers Store to check it out for yourself. I'm always concerned about build quality when it comes to flip phones. Can't wait to actually get the device in my hands to see if it meets my quality control tests. :P



For those of you who’ve always wanted to broadcast or stream your corporate meetings to friends using your trusty BlackBerry, the folks from over at Qik have very good news. It seems that a lot of BlackBerry users have been longing for their very own Qik client, and fortunately Qik was kind enough to oblige.

Now, if you’ve got a BlackBerry Pearl 8120, BlackBerry Pearl 8130, BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve, or BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, you can expect to fiddle with the first alpha release client of Qik starting today.

Actually, the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 release clients aren’t yet ready for prime time, but the other models mentioned can immediately be used to join in on the fun. Qik adds that the BlackBerry Curve 8320 and 8330 have been confirmed to be also alpha-ready.

Note, however, that there are several differences with these BlackBerry alpha release clients and the clients for other handsets, and they are:
- When you start Qik, a screen is shown with just one button - Stream. Press the center button to start streaming. This will bring up the camera application and you’ll be off streaming live to the web. When you are ready to stop, just press the center button again.
- Depending on the network condition, after you press stop, you may see a progress % on the top right hand corner indicating the video that is left to be sent. It is advised to wait for the stream to be completely uploaded prior to streaming again.
- In this version, the chat does not show up overlayed on the camera.
- For best performance, use BlackBerry OS 4.5 and above.
- Your BlackBerry should have a SD card and video capture should be set to the directory: SDCard/Blackberry/Videos.
- The video capturing mode should not be set to the MMS mode.

That’s according to the Qik team themselves. Get it now by going to http://qik.com/dl/165 if you’re already a Qik user, or sign up first at http://qik.com/sign_up.

AT&T's BlackBerry Bold can now be bought free of contract, from Best Buy, for $659.99. This must be great news for lots of users in the US who might not want to wait until November 4, when AT&T will begin to sell RIM's new smartphone on contract.

A question rises, though: is BlackBerry Bold worth $659.99?

Compared to other smartphones currently on the market, the answer seems to be "yes". Especially since the Bold is packed with lots and lots of features, some of them included for the first time in a BlackBerry handset.  

Still, according to iSuppli, which made a teardown analysis of the smartphone, the cost of producing one BlackBerry Bold device is of $169.41. This includes the Bill of Materials (BOM) cost, which is of $158.16, and the manufacturing cost of only $11.25.

 

iSuppli says that the most expensive "part" of the Bold is its 624MHz Marvell 88CP930M-BGR1 processor, which costs $34.34. Also, the smartphone's 2.65-inch display, made by Samsung, costs $16, while the Texas Instruments WLAN Wi-Fi chip is valued at $4.84.     

Of course, RIM won't get the whole difference (of around $490) between the production cost ($169.41) and the retail price ($659.99) of BlackBerry Bold. Still, the Canadian company will surely make big profits thanks to the Bold.


As the BlackBerry 9000 Bold's down-range sibling, the BlackBerry 8900 Javelin rocks many of the same features and design cues of bigger brother BlackBerry Bold but manages to take a smaller bite out of your checkbook. Don't be mistaken, the BlackBerry 8900 Javelin does make some sacrifices, presumably in the name of cutting down the bottom line, but makes up for it in other ways.

The BlackBerry Javelin nixes the BlackBerry Bold's headline feature - the 3G data connection - making do with the lesser GSM/EDGE cellular radios. But, with a 3.2 megapixel camera and 480×360 pixel display that trumps the BlackBerry Bold's 2 megapixel camera and 480×320 pixel display, the BlackBerry Javelin is one seriously capable handset. Add in a slimmer form-factor, a la the BlackBerry Curve, and give it the same BlackBerry OS as the Bold, and you're sure to be happy with your BlackBerry Javelin.

So, without further ado, check out this hands-on video of the BlackBerry 8900 Javelin from our friends at Mobile Syrup.


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BlackBerry Storm vs. Bold vs. iPhone 3G Handsets


We have the brief video comparison of the famous RIM BlackBerry Storm, Bold and Apple iPhone 3G. Watch the video after the jump to get more info.