[ED NOTE: The following was submitted to tips [at] blackberrycool [dot] com. Send us info any time.]
First of all, I just wanted to say sorry for the bad picture. I was allowed to play around with the device as much as I wanted but my “friend” wouldn’t let me take any pictures. Eventually he turned his back and this is the best I could do with my 8900′s camera.
This is the BlackBerry Onyx but it doesn’t have the trackpad. This is a prerelease device and I’ve heard that the Onyx will ship with a trackpad, as per RIM’s latest initiative on nixing the trackball entirely. There are also rumors that the trackpad may just be carrier specific.
I have to say, I LOVE this device. To put it simply, it’s the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (Javelin) with 3G and a Bold keyboard.
This is the next device I’m going to buy. The Bold is, IMHO, the best BlackBerry that RIM has ever made. It is the flagship device and this model packs everything that the Bold has, but in a smaller form factor that fits nicely into your pocket.
The battery is the same as the Bold, again this seems to be the Bold with a Curve 8900 form factor. The display is really nice and I believe it’s 480×360.
Overall, this is going to be an amazing device for RIM. The hardware combines the best of both the Bold and 8900 worlds. There isn’t much else to say about the device, except that the battery cover has changed AGAIN! It seems RIM keeps changing the cover each time they launch a device. While I’m not sure if the battery cover I was looking at will ship with the device, it’s not nearly as good as the Bold. I’m begging you RIM, bring back my Bold cover! The custom jobs you can do with it are simply the best.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a turning point for RIM. They have clearly realized that they have parts on their devices that can still remain perfectly functional while reducing their replacement and repair costs, as well as those of their customers. The 8520 is also a lower end device as noted by the cheap battery panel that pulls off without requiring a slider or a button. Since you’ve likely experienced the Curve 8900 at some point, I’ll use it as a point of reference.
The Wicked WordPress app for BlackBerry by ScreamingToaster is developed for those who have a WordPress blog that’s 2.7.1 or higher, and a BlackBerry Bold, Javelin, Storm or Tour.
With this app, you can do all the basic functions as well as some higher level functions. You can write and edit posts and comments, manage your blog with scheduling and To Do lists, and get everything synced in real time.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 has been announced in both the UK and North America today. The latest device in the Curve series is an evolutionary step for devices with a new trackpad and a rubber bezel.
The device should be available for purchase in the UK at the beginning of August and T-Mobile has set a launch date at August 5th. Just over a week away!
The BlackBerry 8520 features:
Full-QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive optical trackpad for reliable, responsive typing and navigation
256MB Flash memory and a 512Mhz next generation processor for enhanced performance
Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
2 MP digital camera with zoom and video recording
Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from iTunes or Windows Media Player with the smartphone
Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, social networking and sharing, news and weather, productivity and much more
BlackBerry Internet Service support for access to up to 10 supported email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!, Windows Live Hotmail, AOL and Gmail; and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support, which provides advanced security and IT administration features for corporate deployments
Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting cards of up to 16 GB today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available; a 1GB card is included
Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
Quad-band world phone: EGDE/GPRS/GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Personally, I thought the lack of a flash on the camera was strange. Why go all this way to build a consumer device, and leave out a key feature that consumers like?
Will you be trading in your BlackBerry Curve 83xx for the 8520?
VQ CarFinder is an app that automatically remembers where you parked your car and helps you find it.
All you have to do is find a parking spot and VQ CarFinder will automatically register where you parked your car, and then when you want to find it again, simply click the VQ CarFinder icon on your BlackBerry, and BlackBerry Mpas will guide you back to the parking spot. The map comes with directional arroves that are continuously updated as you walk to the car.
The app works with a combination of software and in-vehicle Bluetooth to determine when and where the car is parked. When the user starts their car, VQ CarFinder notes the existence of the Bluetooth signal and automatically launches the GPS; when the user turns off their car, VQ CarFinder notes the loss of the Bluetooth signal and stores the last GPS waypoint as the location of the parked car.
Recently, a BlackBerry Cool reader wrote in saying:
“Since 5 PM EST, July 23rd, I started to notice that a lot of my contacts started showing up as ‘contact is unavailable.’ I broadcasted a message to all of my contacts and they seem to be having the same problems! I’m not too sure if this is just a Canadian carrier problem or what, but it has effected Bell, Rogers, and TELUS customers. I’ve asked my friend at RIM and he says they aren’t sure what the problem is.”
Trouble Ticket Number: 7392092 Severity: 2-Medium Description of Issue: RIM is experiencing latency with PIN messages. This will affect PIN messages, Blackberry Messenger, Service Book delivery, and other Blackberry services. Location of Issue: North America and surrounding areas Start Time: Jul 23 2009 10:00 AM PDT Symptoms you MAY experience: RIM Blackberry users may be unable to send/receive messages or may have difficulty connecting to the network. Estimated time of repair: Unknown
