Archive for the ‘Blackberry’ Category
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20
Jul
2010
RIM Takes Offense at Apple’s Presentation
We all know that Apple has been grasping at straws for quite some time. After all, they have been knee deep in problems for the past 22 days looking for a solution to the Apple iPhone 4 antenna issues.
Well, that is what Apple wants the world to believe anyway, but it is really difficult to accept that after more than three weeks worth of careful analysis and study, the most they can say is that they will be giving away free cases for Apple iPhone 4 users. That is not good, in fact, that is just downright silly –it should not take more than a couple of days for a company of that size and scale to state that they will be giving out bumpers for free.
In any case, it seems that the public is not the only ones with a beef with Apple, mobile phone manufacturer RIM is also quite unhappy with what happened last Friday night regarding the iPhone 4’s antenna issues.
Apparently, the demonstration showed off other mobile phones that “seemed” to have antenna problems. Actually, it is a well established fact that if held in unique ways, some mobile phones will lose signal. But the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is not going to drop a call just because it was held wrong –a user would need to intentionally position their hands around the antenna to block the call.
RIM’s co-CEOs are not too happy about the whole thing either. They stated that the demonstration is an insult to the long legacy that the BlackBerry brand has established and that they have been “designing industry-leading wireless data products” and have been “avoiding designs” similar to the iPhone 4’s antenna.
Of course, the big clincher in RIM’s reply would be this, “One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity”.
14
Jul
2010
RIM’s BlackBerry Protect Service Moves to Closed Beta
For those who have not heard, RIM is working out a new online service that is designed to help out users who often lose their mobile handsets. Of course, the service will only cover existing BlackBerry users. But if this works, then other mobile phone makers might want to try out the mode, for the BlackBerry Protect service.
The system is quite basic in terms of use. Users will need to create an account online and sign up their BlackBerry smart phones. After this, they can use the online service to remotely access the device. This comes in handy if the handset is misplaced, lost or even stolen as the number of commands available to users comes in a very wide range.
The most basic function would be to make the phone ring with message or an alert –this is really useful for folks who tend to leave their devices lying around the house. For those who feel that they might have left their device in a different location (such as the office, the car or a friend’s house) the GPS on the device can be activated and the location can be tracked to ensure that the device is indeed in the specified location.
Of course, there are times when phones are left in other places as well, such as the local gym or the pub, where the chances of another person taking the device is quite high. In these cases, or in times when direct theft is suspected, users of the Protect service may opt to have the device remotely locked or even have the contents wiped.
Wiping the memory can be a bit extreme, but as most professionals use smart phones to store important and private information, security is an important issue. The service also periodic allows over the air backups which allows users to instantly transfer content from one handset to another (should the previous handset prove to be irrecoverable).
11
Dec
2009
BlackBerry Pearl 9100 SureType with a trackpad
Having come from a relatively small and unknown phone make, to one of the leading brands across the world, blackberry phones are leading the market in phone design. Often assumed as business phones, the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 Sure type is certainly a breakthrough in phone design. It incorporates the new track pad along with the keyboard to give you easier use of the phone, and makes often slow and dull tasks become easy and quick.
The BlackBerry pearl has now released 3G, compared to its old 2G. This has so many benefits to the user, and there are too many to list, but below are some great uses.
3G gives you much faster connection speed when connecting to sites such as facebook, myspace, twitter and any other sites of these types that may require you the check them away from home. You can also send and receive email a lot faster meaning that you can keep up to date with your current affairs and never miss an email again! When viewing sites such as youtube that rely on data buffering, having 3G can improve the speed dramatically. Some reports of it being as quick as real time show you just how fast the speed can be.
Although no official names have been released there are also meant to be some great new applications on this new model. One small inside tip showed the new business card photographer has been updated and made 99% correct, which is a great application that allows you to take photographs of a business card and it captures all the data and saves it.
So if you are interested in purchasing a BlackBerry Pearl, then hold on tight. No release dates have yet been set, but you can be sure it will be some time in early 2010 with all the best BlackBerry deals for the new year.
24
Nov
2009
Appreciating the BlackBerry Storm 2 9520
There is a running advice with technology, that a person should only acquire a new item when the final version is released. This bodes well for software (avoiding the bugs in Beta versions), cars (avoiding problems with the first edition model), computer parts (wait for the best deal parts with excellent specs) and of course, mobile phones. In the case of the BlackBerry Storm, the first in the series held many problems that were yet to be addressed. Obviously, hope now comes in the form of the Storm 2. A look at the new Storm shows that the device has shed most of the flaws that plagued the original.
Screen Issues and Hardware
BlackBerry Storm 2 reviews praise the new 3.25 inch screen from improving on the infamous SurePress technology -which is basically another way of saying that BlackBerry used a transmissive touch screen instead of a capacitive or resistive touch screen. The good thing is, not only is the new transmissive screen able to detect taps more accurately, it also supports multi touch for a faster onscreen keyboard typing experience; with the exception of having to press two keys close to each other.
Aside from the touch screen, the device also features a 3.2 mega pixel camera with flash and auto focus. It’s a mid-tier camera, but considering that the device does not focus much on taking images and videos, it works just fine. Media playback, on the other hand, is a pretty well polished feature that supports various file types as well as BlackBerry Media Sync.
The Storm 2 brings Wi-Fi, a feature that was not present in the previous incarnation (mostly due to the fact that it was not a standard then).
Buy the Storm 2
Get BlackBerry Storm 2 deals from Vodafone UK and get the phone for free with 35 Pounds per month plan.
21
Nov
2009
Mobile Phone Review: BlackBerry Bold 9700
If you have not seen the images yet, take a look at this video from Vietnam. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 truly is a beautiful 3G smart phone focused on messaging capabilities above all other features. The phone follows the original Bold 9000 in name, but closely resembles the Curve in terms of looks and hardware.
Features of this phone
The Bold 9700 has a 2.44 inch screen that can display 480 x 360 pixels of resolution. BlackBerry Bold 2 reviews note that the display is more than sufficient for typing messages and quick mobile browsing. The mobile phone also has a 3.2 mega pixel camera.
Users might initially find the 256MB of on board memory very limited, but thanks to the microSD card slot, this storage can be expanded to fully fit personal files and other data. This extra storage can be put to good use by storing large media files. The Bold 9700’s media playback capabilities support many file types and the phone boasts of up to 35 hours of music playback.
One new feature of the Bold 9700 comes from the Curve, the track pad navigation input is a great new way to move about your device. The old track ball navigation used in older BlackBerrys was good, but the pad is far more effective, and it does not attract as much pocket lint as the track ball. Navigation is smooth and efficient, the Bold 9700 also responds fast to input commands as well.
Where to Get
BlackBerry Bold 9700 contracts are currently available on UK carriers like T-Mobile and Vodafone. To get this device for free, simply sign up for the 35 Pound per month plans. There are also other shorter term plans but with higher monthly fees. Orange Mobile will also be launching this device at a yet to be confirmed date.
1
Sep
2009
Looking at the BlackBerry Curve 8520
In the past, RIM was always known for having the most technologically advanced mobile phones that were packed with cutting edge features and functions. This also entailed a naturally more expensive price tag on their mobiles. However, the recent growth of the consumer market has mounted so much pressure on them to come up with their own entry level device. They’ve finally answered the call in the form of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 – a BlackBerry mobile phone with a decent feature list (including the trademark QWERTY keyboard) at a much cheaper price.
Looks Matter
The new Curve 8520 still holds the classic BlackBerry look and feel: a 2 something-inch screen, rounded corners, the sleek and stylish design, and of course the impervious QWERTY keyboard. It also has the convenience keys on either side as well as the minimalistic back only adorned by the camera lens (which by the way is a downgrade from the Curve 8900’s 3.15-Megapixel camera to only 2 Megapixels)
Another feature that has been downscaled on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the screen resolution which is only at 320 x 240 pixels. Then again, QVGA isn’t all that bad as the screen is still able to display decent image outputs. It definitely meets the standards for an entry level device.
Other Features
It’s great that the Curve 8520 allows users to get online via Wi-Fi connectivity. However, the lack of 3G support means that users will also have to settle for EDGE if they’d like to get connected to the internet on the device. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 will still be sporting the familiar proprietary BlackBerry operating system which will run over the usual 512 MHz processor.
The battery on the device has been improved to a Li-Ion 1150 mAh standard battery which will last for up to 400 hours on standby and provide around 4 and a half hours of talk time.
Blackberry Curve 8520 Links:
31
Aug
2009
Blackberry Curve 8520. Enter the belly
The Blackberry… you only need to say that word these days and various not very attractive images spring to mind. John Prescott, as the most cringingly obvious example. Peter Mandelson, not very far behind. Close-to-heart-attack bankers and city types on buses, pinging out emails and updating spreadsheets mere minutes after getting out of bed and starting their commute into the belly of the beast.
But things, thanks to the Blackberry 8520, might be about to change. For the better? Well, we won’t go that far. But change is change, and it looks very much like it’s on the way. The main reason being that this is going to be pretty much the first affordable Blackberry ever. We resisted saying cheap there, because this is still a very smart smartphone, so you’re never going to be looking at something that’s going to go straight to the bargain bin, but as these Blackberry curve 8520 deals prove, the Blackberry Curve 8520 is a phone you’re going to be able to pick up at a surprisingly – even excitingly – cheap price.
Yes, there’s no 3G. Yes, the camera’s no winner at 2MP. Yes, there’s a whole bag’s worth of other stuff that’s been shaved from your typical all-singing/-dancing Blackberry, but in these stringent times who says that such a bad thing? Not us, says us. And says this Blackberry Curve 8520 review. The keyboard’s great, the optical trackpad is being debuted, and the whole thing just feels… well… nice. Really, really nice. And things that are cheap as well as nice: they make us happy.
18
Aug
2009
Grab an August bargain of a mobile phone contract
After all the bad news that we’ve been hearing recently regarding the economy, falling house prices, bad weather and the rest, we thought it was high time we cheered you folks up by hunting out some mobile phone bargains for you to take a look at. If you are thinking about taking out a new contract in the near future then why check out some of these bargains that we have found for you. We have chosen the best handsets that we could find and paired them with the best tariffs. So let us know what you think.
1) Nokia 5530 deals – This one comes top simply because you can get for a steal on an 18 month contract. £20.29 per month gets you 600 minutes and unlimited texts. If you compare that to number 2 on this list, you will see how much of a good deal this actually is.
2) Nokia N97 deals – The same tariff for the Nokia N97 will set you back £40.00 per month on Vodafone. However this is a serious bit of kit, packing in a QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen, as well as more memory than is in my brain. If you can afford, go for it.
3) Samsung Jet deals – The Samsung Jet is one of the most underrated phones in my opinion. It is built on the Android platform and although I was sceptical at first, I truly feel that this will be the OS of choice in 3 years time. It’s also fantastic value. For £21.20 per month you get 400 minutes and 3000 texts, which is enough for the average user. It has some really great features too.
4) HTC Hero deals – Yep I’m going for another Android phone, because I love them. This is better than the Jet, but a little more expensive. No QWERTY keyboard though (like the Jet). You can get this one for £25.28 per month on the same tariff as the Jet
5) Blackberry 8520 deals – A bright screen and nicer buttons mean that the 8520 makes it into our hall of fame. I also couldn’t help but notice the rather tasty £170 automatic cashback available on O2. Perhaps this one deserves notching up a place or two, what do you think?
6) Nokia N86 deals – The long awaited phone from Nokia builds on the gaming performance of the N85. My pick is the Vodafone 600 minutes unlimited texts at £35.00 per month. An overlooked handset in my opinion.
7) Sony Ericsson W995 deals – great camera, even better music features, is there a better Sony Ericsson mobile phone out there at the moment? Both our heart and head is saying no, and for only a snip over £21.00 per month on T-Mobile, you have to consider this handset as a possibility.
LG Crystal deals – Ok it is a little bit more expensive than some of the other phones, with a few less features, but it does look seriously cool. You can expect to pay £30 per month for this one though and for that reason it comes in at number 8 on our hotlist of August contract phones
29
Jun
2009
BlackBerry 9300 Gemini
The 9300 Gemini has been scheduled to be released some time later this year. The phone adopts the classic blackberry shape but is in silver instead of the conventional black, making it more interesting. This, along with the larger display and higher resolution leaves nothing the user to complain about in terms of user friendliness.
The QWERTY keyboard o the Blackberry 9300 Geminilooks good and is slightly rounded at the edges different from the standard sharp edges. The keys are also more rounded notably the send/end keys.
Rumors about the processor claim that it is even more powerful than the impressive Bold’s 624 MHz processor though this hasn’t been officially confirmed.
The Blackberry 9300 Geminihas all the connectivity options expected in a smart phone such as quad band GSM, Wi-Fi and triband UMTS. This allows any user to connect to the internet when required and check email, web pages etc easily. Roaming is also easier and more efficient with quad band GSM. The phone also comes with an inbuilt Bluetooth chip which allows the user to transfer data from the phone to another Bluetooth device easily without the need for a transfer cable.
The camera is rumored to have a resolution of at least 3.2MP.
The phone comes with an inbuilt GPS receiver which makes the phone a valuable tool for navigation. The A-GPS software makes this feature even more efficient and easy to use.
The disadvantage of this phone surrounds its keyboard which can be cramped especially when messaging. This is one complain that has always been around for years by BlackBerry users. The camera is also pretty basic. In technological terms this phone is not really a breakthrough and other than its appearance doesn’t really stand out. Check out the official Blackberry site for more information on the 9300′s release date.
Bottom line the Gemini is a good buy in terms of reliability, build and features.
29
Jan
2009
The hot bargain phones of 2009.
There is certainly a feeling that there will be some very exciting phones entering the market in 2009, despite the global economic situation. In hard times, people like to turn to their little luxuries, especially ones that you can get for free. Phones like the Nokia N97 and the Sony Xperia X1 will always promise something of an enticing opportunity for those people looking for a mobile phone with all the bells and whistles on it. Of course you will need to be on a high end mobile phone contract to get this kind of handset for free. But what if you wanted to go for a more reasonably priced mobile phone? A handset that will make and receive calls, send text messages and perhaps even throws in a music player or sat nav into the equation, but will not cost the earth. Below are three handsets that we consider to represent excellent value for money. Ok they don’t have every app under the sun, but they will make calls and keep you happy whilst on the move.
1) The LG Cookie – an excellent phone that comes with a touch screen interface for a fraction of the cost of an iphone.
2) The Nokia 6600 slide a basic Nokia phone, that offers a range of excellent features for the price. Available on pay as you go from as little as £140.
3) The Samsung D900, available with up to £170 automatic cashback. That’s right folks, no sending your bills in anymore.
So if you are thinking about changing your mobile phone, why not consider one of these three excellent mobile phones?
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