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If you’ve been keeping an eye on Pinstack and the beta version of the next Viigo RSS reader, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s ready to rock. For those new to the party, Viigo is BlackBerry app which lets you view categorized feeds for a whole range of different subjects. Additionally, you can add in RSS feeds from any web site which has one. New features in version 2.2.7 include a registration wizard, an optional guided tour to help users find their way around the massive library of channels, visual notifications for unread channels, alerts of feed updates integrated with existing BlackBerry profiles, channel renaming, and an improved channel updating system. One of the cooler upgrades is now you can access your feeds from any BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device, as well as manage feeds on the web using your Viigo log-in info. Awesome upgrade, on the whole. So, uh, why are you still reading this? Go download. Chop-chop.
Monthly Archive for November, 2007
New version of Viigo launched
Simon Sage gives a quick update on the week’s news. The spotlight shines squarely on new BlackBerry 9100 info, but we also go over releases in Russia and Singapore, Google’s new My Location, the results of Black Friday sales, and more. Take a listen here! (14 minutes)
Oh, Boy Genius. What would we do without you? The 9100 will purportedly be carrying a 480 x 320 screen, a 624MHz processor, 1GB of on-board memory, GPS, Wi-Fi, 2 megapixel camera and be running on sweet, sweet 3G HSDPA. Hawt? Yes. You guys who have been clamouring for an all-in-one device? This sounds like it.
At least OS 4.3 will be on there (if not some mysterious new next-gen software), which means video recording and all the other features we’re seeing on recent BlackBerrys will be on the 9100. As for the keypad, you’ve got to wonder where it’s going to go, what with the screen being on par with the iPhone’s resolution. Yeah, there’s a lot of noise about a touchscreen device, but unless RIM has the cajones to say they can do the touchscreen keypad better than Apple, I think a slider format is a much more likely move. If they’re feeling kinky, maybe that roll-out keypad will see the light of day. Camerawise, there’s no upgrade planned, maybe since they stepped down from the Pearl 2’s initial 3.2 megapixels and didn’t want to disappoint again, but there’s still plenty of time for things to change. As for a release date, BG is sticking to his early ‘08 forecast, but as ever, that remains in the wonderful and exciting Land of Rumors.
Stefano has managed to get an early shot of the new BerryBUDDY for the Pearl 2, which has been adapted for the new USB slot position. Supposedly, the adapter is kind of a booster seat for the 8130 and includes an adhesive pad to keep it in place. That being said, hopefully you’ll be able to pick it up separately for those who have upgraded from the BlackBerry 8100 but still want to use their old charger. We also hear that a Curve cradle is in the works from innov8, but we’ll have more info on that next week.
RIM has announced the Wi-Fi Pearl’s landing in Singapore, with all the usual goodies it comes with, available this December. No word on price or carrier yet, but Singapore’s not a big place, so we’re going to guess Singtel will be carrying it, and if it’s anything like the 8820 release, M1 and Starhub could be on board too.
Neil has been on an editorial rampage lately, taking shots at how short-lived push technology will be. As BlackBerry enthusiasts, we’re prone to automatically take push as a good thing, mainly since it’s one of the few bragging rights we can keep over other devices. Neil’s biggest reasons for wailing on push is that, while it’s good now, it’s too much upkeep on the server end of things, becoming a bigger and bigger strain on RIM’s infrastructure. The blackouts this year just go to show the downside of all that traffic. As millions more users come to hammer the hardware for their e-mail and device battery life improves, it will become more viable to query mail servers from handsets, rather than the other way around.
Let’s be fair - BIS users without e-mail forwarding are basically getting pull e-mail, so the BlackBerry isn’t a complete stranger to the horrific idea of having to wait 15 minutes to see if you’ve got anything new in your inbox. It’s just that the instantaneous delivery is what makes your typical twitchy-thumbed BlackBerry user, since they know that if they have mail at any given microsecond, it will be there on their handheld. After spending so long with push, it’s hard to raise a hand against it, but Neil brings up some good points, so this week we’re asking: is push technology a viable long-term approach for BlackBerry? I know, it seems ridiculous to ask, since the two are nearly synonymous, but it’s worth weighting the options. The top three comments which explore why BlackBerrys use push, and best explain the reasons they should or shouldn’t will each get a copy of Ascendo DataVault.
Last week’s winner behind the jump…
Kevin has had a chance to play around with OS 4.3 on the BlackBerry 8100 and found that it supports A2DP, a feature previously found only on the Curve and later Pearl models. As a guy who’s stuck listening to podcasts on the dinky mono earbud with his Pearl, I’m pretty excited about the news. With any luck the stereo Bluetooth support will also hit the 8800 whenever OS 4.3.1 becomes publicly available.
A new ABI Research paper is forecasting $100 billion to be made from GPS-enabled handsets, like the BlackBerry 8310, in 2012. In terms of units, that translates to 240 million mobile sales next year to 550 million in four years. Now, I’ve gone on the record for being pro-GPS and all, but Wi-Fi still seems like the feature of choice for a lot of people. Manufacturers are going to be in a tough position where, in an attempt to keep costs low and their handsets slim, they’ll need to be picky about what they would rather have under the hood, and ABI seems to think that many will go with GPS. Which are you guys siding with?
We spotted WICKSoft last Spring, sporting a virtual private network app which let you view files on your BlackBerry which were stored on your office network. Their latest upgrade to Mobile Documents has taken out the conversion process, so now you see your Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDFs in their unfettered full-resolution glory. The set-up also lets you e-mail and fax those files willy-nilly, which is pretty handy. If you’re interested, the software works on Windows, Novell, and SharePoint environments, and you can give it a 30-day trial.
We bitch and moan a fair bit around here about Canadian wireless rates, which is why we were excited by the news that 40 mhz of the upcoming spectrum auction will be reserved for parties other than Bell, Rogers, and Telus. Industry Canada stepped in to impose this and promote more competition and curb the wireless oligopoly that’s in place right now. On top of opening the doors for smaller carriers to get a piece of the pie, international companies can also take the opportunity to partner up with Canadian companies for usage of the new spectrum, which means more investment opportunities for those little carriers like Videotron, Shaw, Quebecor and MTS. Hopefully the new kids on the block will help drive down rates, but we’ll have to wait until after the auction to find out.
