RIM officials have gone on the record to say that they’re totally satisfied with the battery life of the upcoming BlackBerry 9000. There were earlier reports from testers that you couldn’t get more than two hours of web browsing over Wi-Fi with it, but a RIM spokesperson explains that ” ‘power management protocols’ (the software that helps control what parts of the BlackBerry get powered) are typically disabled on prototype devices in order to simplify the software debugging process”. The latest rumors are suggesting an August release for the new device.
Monthly Archive for April, 2008Page 3 of 13
BlackBerry 9000 battery A-O-K
3 Comments
Remember The Milk has let us know that they’ve just released a BlackBerry version of the syncing software for their to-do-list web app. The web-based service allows users to quickly and easily add tasks, and then be reminded of them over email, text message, or a huge variety of instant messengers. With MilkSync you can sync your BlackBerry tasks list with your list on Remember The Milk, combining the two or having one overwrite the other. Using the software requires a pro account, which costs $25 for a one year subscription, but there’s a 15 day trial period available.
A number of BlackBerrys went missing at the hemispheric summit meeting of representatives from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, reports The Swamp. A Mexican attaché, responsible for guiding the Mexican media around the premises, was caught on video absconding with “six or seven” BlackBerrys that were left on a table by members entering a meeting. White House press secretary Dana Perino said that the phones were definitely from members of the U.S. delegation, although she was unsure exactly who had lost one and whether they were from White House staffers. The whole thing is currently under investigation, so hopefully we’ll have more details soon.
If you’re a Mac user like myself, you probably know that RIM’s Mac support leaves a little something to be desired. So for a refreshing change of pace, we’re taking a look at the Mac-exclusive company: Mark/Space. They have a series of products for syncing your Mac to a variety of mobile devices, and of course The Missing Sync for BlackBerry. The app works similarly to RIM’s licensed solution, PocketMac, but includes a few really nice features, such as allowing you to sync up selected iPhoto albums to your microSD card. It even resizes them to fit the mobile screen, and it works in reverse, automatically adding new photos taken on your phone to iPhoto. It can also sync up with iTunes, and it works with Apple’s SyncServices for maximum compatibility with all sorts of apps. I’ve no doubt there will be some neat demos from them at WES.
InterCall offers a bunch of solutions centered around conferencing. Audio conferencing, web conferencing, video conferencing, they’ve got it all covered. For BlackBerry, they offer Mobile Assistant. Using the application grants you one-click access to your audio conferences, which you can join as a participant or as conference leader, with the conference controls integrated right into the app. It can store up to 128 conference profiles for quick access and, best of all, it’s completely free.
As predicted, AT&T has added the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 to their catalog of smartphones. The GPS-equipped 8110 is available in red and titanium, and comes with a $149.99 price tag after a $50 mail-in rebate. Also as rumored, the 8100 seems to have disappeared from their online store, except for refurbished versions.
The biggest BlackBerry event of the year is a mere 19 days away, so why haven’t you registered yet? Online registration, with its discounted price of $1,899, ends on May 9th, and after that you’ll have to pay the full price of $1,999 to get in the door. Either way, registering will get you access to a welcome reception on the first day of the conference; the WES party, an exclusive cocktail party with live music by John Mayer; all the keynote sessions; presentations onsite and after the conference ends, via DVD or their website; and complimentary breakfast and lunch on the last three days. A pretty sweet deal all in all, but if you can’t make it, don’t worry. Our coverage is going to be the next best thing.
If you find yourself using the alarm often on your BlackBerry, the fine folks from BBSmart have cooked up Alarms Pro. It’s a solid step up from the default app, by virtue of a bunch of features like letting you use full MP3 files as alarms, programming multiple alarms for quick re-use, custom snooze lengths, and plenty of other stuff. We had the developer, Neil, on our podcast awhile back, and asked if they’d be spreading out from the ever-popular Email Viewer; it’s cool to see that he has, and we’re definitely looking forward to his next concoction. We’re sure this app is quality, so check out Alarms Pro here. Oh yeah, Neil also has a bitchin’ blog for any devs out there.
That announcement yesterday was clearly not received well. India’s Department of Telecom has sent a letter to carrier Tata Teleservices to withhold BlackBerry services until the proper monitoring measures were in place, which must frustrating after seeing the likes of Bharti Airtel and Reliance continue to rake in the dough all this time. It sounds like there is, in fact, a system that’s been established in collaboration with RIM, now it’s just a matter of implementing it across all Indian carriers.
Not to be out-done by Yahoo’s oneSearch, Microsoft announced Tellme for your BlackBerry. Not only does it recognize voice commands like “weather”, “movies”, “traffic” and “map”, as well as search for any company name, but the app also takes into account your GPS coordinates to further narrow down search results. It’s odd that the BlackBerry version came out before Windows Mobile, but you’ll hardly hear us complaining. You can check it out at www.tellme.com.
Loading ...