You didn’t think I went all the way to Rogers HQ just for a pink BlackBerry, did you? The mysterious ninja that is RogersDude69 also let me put my paws on the recently released BlackBerry 8120, which is notable for its WiFi/UMA support and being the first BlackBerry to launch with OS 4.5.
First to WiFi. It should be noted that if you don’t have an active account (i.e., if you’re not using a post-paid SIM card) you cannot use the web browser. With an active SIM in the 8120, but the “Mobile Network” option turned off in your Connection Manager, the browser will connect sometimes, but it’s very spotty.
While the AT&T version of the BlackBerry 8120 has a separate icon for WiFi browsing, it gets a little bit trickier with the Rogers version. With no separate browser, you have to make sure your BlackBerry Browser is set to the WiFi Hotspot option. Unfortunately, browsing using the WiFi can be excruciatingly slow, and I could beat the 8120 to most pages using my EV-DO BlackBerry 8330. I highly recommend disabling JavaScripts in your browser options, which can make a noticeable difference. I’m not sure why exactly browsing is so slow, but I’m willing to be it has something to do with the 8120’s legacy-8700 processor.
We’re going to play around with the BlackBerry 8120 some more (specifically its UMA features), and let you know when we’ve found OS 4.5’s other idiosyncrasies.
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So if you want to use WiFi for browsing you have to shut off your wireless connection to Rogers?
That could equal lots of missed phone calls.
Naw, we turned it off so I wouldn’t get charged 5 cents a kilobyte.
I totally agree with this review. On the other hand, the data plan I have through T-Mobile, I’ve noticed a huge improvement on browsing.