Nokia Nixes BlackBerry Service

In a move apparently designed to bring more differentiation to the smartphone market, Nokia has stated they are dropping BlackBerry Connect support from their business-oriented E-series smartphones. In a statement to customers; the Europhone powerhouse said the following:

RIM are a competitor and have done a reasonable job in a space that is traditionally ours, so it’s no great surprise that we see this as an opportunity to give consumers a proper choice on what email solution they want.

“A space that is traditionally ours”…? Those are fighting words. Nokia’s new E-71 QUERTY smartphone lacks all trace of the ability to make use of RIMs email services, so that the only option is Nokia’s own email service which according to many users is not ready for prime time. Hopefully the feature will improve fast now that Nokia’s massive customer base will not have the option to use BlackBerry emailing instead on Nokia handsets.

Beyond being a somewhat logical business move to push their own brand in the massively lucrative mobile email business, in the long term this will further handicap Nokia smartphones in the US market. In the US BlackBerry has a very firm hold on the business and corporate email market, with WinMo in second. Symbian, the European smartphone OS of choice but already little seen in the US, will now have an even tougher row to hoe with a proprietary and substandard email client.

Blackberry Owners can now Sync with iTunes

You can now add your iTunes Music to your BlackBerry…

Use BlackBerry Media Sync to get your desktop iTunes music files on your BlackBerry smartphone. Whether it’s a specific playlist from your collection, or a random mix of tunes, it’s incredibly easy to transfer the music you want to take with you.

• Easy to Update - If you make changes to one of your iTunes playlists, the next time you sync your BlackBerry smartphone and your computer, BlackBerry Media Sync will make sure the music on your device is updated too.
• All the Memory You Need - Whether you choose the playlists or have download a random selection to your BlackBerry, you can control how much of your music is synced to your BlackBerry smartphone.
• And with support for a microSD card for expandable storage, you can get plenty of free memory to store all your music, as well as the other files you want to carry on your BlackBerry smartphone.

Download BlackBerry Media Sync!

via Mobile Syrup

Blackberry Kickstart 8220 Review Online

Back in May, we shared a rumor that the 1st Blackberry Flip Phone was on it’s way. Well, it was confirmed shortly after with some good spy shots. Now, just a couple months later and well before it’s “rumored” release, Crackberry has got a full on review of the device.

With the BlackBerry KickStart it seems RIM has managed to achieve a form factor that is both Small yet BIG. It’s actually a little bit weird to experience at first. Sitting on the desk next to a pile of other smartphones (a few BlackBerrys, a Treo 680 and even an iPhone 3G) with its flip closed, the KickStart “seems” small. With the exception of the Treo 680, the KickStart is definitely the thickest of the bunch, but the width and height of the device is obviously much smaller and the black face with chrome-colored edging makes it look tight. Despite the extra thickness added to the device from having a flip, the KickStart should be small enough to fit into most people’s pockets inconspicuously. Busting out the measuring tape, with the flip closed the KickStart comes in at ~ 4″ long, just under 2″ wide and about 11/16ths of an inch thick.

Source: Crackberry via Engadget Mobile

Video Unboxing of the AT&T Blackberry Pearl

I shot this video back when I got the Blackberry Pearl in May. I never got around to uploading, so here it is. Since this video, I bought my wife a Red Pearl as well.

There are some photos from back on May 15th here at Mobilitysite as well.

Boldly Going

It seems to be a big weekend for new devices. Crackberry has an early pre-release version of the new Blackberry 9000 AKA the Bold and has posted a video tour of this much-hyped design.

Looking at the device, first and foremost I admit I really like the form factor and the way that RIM has stepped up and improved the look of the OS. It appears much more capable and stylish now. I have never been a Blackberry user, but I admire the engineering and software behind the products. There is no question in my mind that one of the essential revolutions in mobile communications came at the hands (or keyboard) of the Blackberry.

The Blackberry will definitely be seen as a worthy opponent on the consumer market for the iPhone 3g, and I can predict right now that in the Enterprise, the Bold will eat the iPhone’s lunch and come back for seconds.

Here are the specs a’la Gizmodo:

• Has 802.11a/b/g plus good GPS, typically a tradeoff with BBs
• GPS is enhanced and assisted, and the handset has better map rendering, says Laptop
• 480 x 320 resolution screen with 65,000 colors—Crave says "never seen a better-looking display"
• 624MHz Intel PXA270/Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor (reports differ), up from 312MHz
• Runs BlackBerry OS 4.6
• Keyboard has 8800-style "sculpted keys," says PC Mag, "but the rows are separated by curved barriers"
• 4.5" tall x 2.6" wide x 0.5" deep, weighing 4.7oz
• Side-loading MicroSD/SDHC slot for up to 16GB additional
• 2MP camera with flash
• Talk time of 5 hours, with standby of 13 days
• MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4 and WMV3 codec support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• "Pretty powerful speakers—none of that weak, tinny junk," says Crave
• 128MB of flash plus 1GB of onboard memory (with encryption)
• Black leather back panel that can be swapped for other color leather plates
• Pricing will be $300 to $500 says BGR, a pretty wide (and obvious) range; Crave narrows it to "$300 to $400"

Enjoy the video from Kevin at Crackberry.com.

Blackberry Flip Phone in the Flesh, The Kickstart…

A while back, we posted on a Blackberry device that appeared to be the 1st Blackberry clam shell device. Well, that one has been captured in the flesh and is popping up everywhere today…

Head over to Crackberry (running kinda slow today for some reason) to see a bunch of images of this up and coming Blackberry device.

Look out, AT&T is getting BOLD, Blackberry Bold

Last month, a couple days after a Bold showed up on ebay, Rim announced the Blackberry Bold. The next day it seems, John Mayer is showing off his Bold online. The carrier was set, the date was set, so all that is left is the waiting… The waiting continues, but you can got to AT&T’s website to drool now. The Blackberry Bold has made it to AT&T’s website in a “Coming Soon” role…

 

Source: Gear Diary

RadioShack thinks Blackberry runs Windows Mobile

Either it is bad marketing, or just advertisement without research or just a way to cause a stir, but it is nothing but a bad mesh-up of Windows Mobile 6 on a Blackberry Curve screen by RadioShack marketing dept.

The good thing that we get out of this silly image, is the fact that they are offering GPS enabled  8300 for $50 with 2-Year sell-your-soul agreement, although I did get mine for $250 last September.

Click Here for the half page shot of the circular that I picked up RadioShack today.

Are you interested in the BlackBerry Bold?

Are you curious as to how it compares to your current device?  If you do then there is a huge pile of comparison shots comparing the BlackBerry Bold to 10 different Windows Mobile devices over at WMExperts .

 

Of course the first one I looked at was the comparison of the Bold to my Motorola Q9m (which incidentally has become my device of choice because of it full range of capabilities).  WMExperts had an interesting discussion on the possible downsides using a NOC (Network Operations Center) to funnel all of your email and applications.  It is a good read …. worth looking at.

So now if you are really interested in knowing more about the BB Bold, there are several worth looking at over at CrackBerry.com’s Review Series on the BlackBerry 9000 which can be found here. 

BlackBerry Trounces Windows Mobile

I was at a party last night and was shocked by how many people were sporting the BlackBerry Curve, including my wife.  Even a couple people who used to have Windows Mobile devices have made the switch. 

One of them used to have the Sprint Mogul PPC 6700, which is a really cool phone:

I couldn’t believe he had a Curve.  So I asked him why, and he told me that the form factor makes it so he can hold the Curve in one hand.  He said that Gmail Mobile for BlackBerry has really added a lot of functionality to his new device.  He loves the keyboard because it allows one-handed operation, as opposed to the PPC 6700, which requires two hands.  Even though the device does not have gps, you can find your location easily by with Google Maps.  He also likes the included media player.

I thought to myself that lots of phones have a similar form factor, such as the Samsung Ace, BlackJack, Palm Treo, and the Moto Q, to name a few.  So I figured there must be more to it.  He didn’t just get a new phone, he got an entirely new operating system.  Just then I spotted a girl I knew and went to say hi.  She, too, had a Curve.  So I also asked her what was up with that (I was the life of the party).  She told me similar things to my other friend, but added one important thing.  She loves the trackball.  With one hand you can navigate anywhere on the screen, just like with a trackball mouse on a computer.  You just click the trackball when your cursor is where you want it, then start typing.  This eliminates the stylus completely.  She told me she missed the touchscreen on her old Treo, but absolutely loves this new way of interacting with the device.  She can now do everything with one hand easily. 

I asked her if she minds only having Edge support instead of the faster 3G.  She couldn’t care less, she said, because the OS is very responsive.  The screen may not have as nice resolution, but for her purposes, it’s great.  She also uses and loves Gmail.  She showed me her family pix on the attachment viewer.

What really put it altogether for me was when  we dropped off our middle kid at another party earlier in the evening (isn’t anyone sick of Pump it Up yet?) and one of our friends agreed to take her home.  My wife pulled out her BlackBerry and got our friends’ vitals and typed them in very quickly.  She used the cursor to navigate through the fields and the excellent keyboard to input name, address etc. very fast. 

None of these people were power users in the Windows Mobile sense.  That is, they didn’t care much about third party apps, spreadsheets (though it sports an Excel and Word viewer), WiFi, 3G access, and gps.  But they are power users in the BlackBerry sense, and with its tremendous ease of use, and excellent form factor and features, Microsoft should take note, especially if they want to increase their market share from 13% to 40% by 2012.

Not John Mayer? Ok, so you can get the Blackberry Bold on AT&T in July and on the Other US Carriers in the Fall.

Yep. So, it looks as if John Mayer got his hands on a Blackberry Bold WAY before all of us. Check out his blog to see what he has to say…

Well, we all can’t be superstars like John Mayer, so we’ll have to wait and unless you are an AT&T Customer, you are going to have to wait until September 2008 to get one of these form Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile. Wait, what about AT&T Customers? AT&T Customers can get the Blackberry Bold 9000 in July. This is according to Infosync from leaked documents.

Source : Engadget

Blackberry Pearl 8110, I just couldn’t do it.

I got myself a silver Blackberry Pearl and popped my AT&T card in it. I planned to take over the world with it. Seriously though, I was going to do a stranger in a strange land experiment with the Pearl. I was going to carry it as my all-in-one for a week or two and blog about my adventures. Well, when I found out all the hassle and money it would cost to get my exchange server working with the Blackberry, I decided that it was not worth it for a couple weeks of this experiment.

Check out the Photo Set for more….

I carried the phone for one full day without another phone. I felt lost without my email. The second day, I carried the Tilt along with the Pearl. That is silly to have to do. The third day, I carried just the Tilt again and haven’t gone back. I just couldn’t do it. Read on for my thoughts on the Pearl after using for a couple days. Also, check out the photo above this paragraph. Notice two Pearls? Why is that?

[Read more]

Blackberry Pearl 8110 Photo Set

I have had some time with the AT&T branded version of the Blackberry Pearl 8110. Here are the photos. Later today, I will be posting my final thoughts with a curve ball on the Blackberry Pearl experiment.  

Read on for the photo set…

[Read more]

It’s Official! The Bold is here!

It is sort of anti-climatic with all the recent posting about the new RIM Bold Smartphone but it is official and will be in retailers soon. 

Speed, power and functionality defines this device according to RIM boasting superior performance, stunning display, desktop-style web pages, rich multimedia, powerful wi-fi & gps, first class phone, robust email & messaging and convenient accessories.  You can read the full press release after the break.

1GB on-board memory with encryption.

Tri-band HSDPA.

Pricing in the $300-$500 range with a carrier.

Launching on AT&T “this summer.”

Interchangable color back plates.

5 hours of talk time, 13 days of standby time.

624-MHz Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor.

[Read more]

BlackBerry 9000 … coming very soon

The BGR indicated today that those of you that are Blackberry fans have a treat coming soon (May 12th) with the announcement of the BlackBerry 9000 to be made the first day of WES 2008 in Orlando, FL.

If you have that desire to see a little more on the 9000 then Kevin over at CrackBerry.com got his hands on a BlackBerry 9000 and has a lot to say about it.  In part, he says:

The first thing you notice about the 9000’s OS are its good looks. And I’m not just talking simple lipstick applied to the current BlackBerry OS - it’s more like she’s come home from a trip to the spa with a manicure, pedicure, facial and wax wearing high heels and a cocktail dress. SEXY!

Three factors contribute to the 9000’s onscreen sex appeal:

• the new Precision Themes
• that AMAZING LCD Display
• revamped Native Apps to match the new look