Posted on August 14, 2009, at 2:42 PM .
Wal-Mart has a large list of BlackBerry devices that they’re offering for free with service plan conditions. While the retail giant doesn’t supply some of the high end devices such as the Bold and Storm, it does supply every device that would be in the lower to mid range of BlackBerry devices. These devices include the Pearl, Pearl Flip, Curve 83xx, Curve 8900 and the latest Curve 8520.
A big caveat with these deals is that they almost all involve signing up for 2 years worth of services that will cost you at least $125 per month. With some smart BlackBerry usage, you can generally bring your data and voice costs down to under $100 per month. This figure is easily attainable by watching over your voice minutes carefully, and leveraging SMS and email services for communication.
That means that you are committing to a $25 premium on your contract that will need to be paid over the course of 2 years (or 24 months). By those numbers, you are getting your free device at $600, when you could have it for around $200 with a contract. Like a credit card, you are paying an incredible premium for short term benefits.
Here is a list of 21 free BlackBerry devices you can get at Wal-Mart:
Click through for a roundup of the cheapest BlackBerry devices sold at Wal-Mart
Posted on August 14, 2009, at 10:10 AM .
Verizon is bringing back the Buy One Get One promotion but this time you don’t have to get a free BlackBerry as your second device. Your second device can now include a netbook or mobile broadband device to complement your BlackBerry.
The promotion applies to the BlackBerry Tour, Storm and all other BlackBerry devices on the Verizon network. The deal starts today and ends on the 10th of October.
Personally, I say don’t take the bait. Verizon is scrambling to offload their BlackBerry devices in preparation for the Back-to-School and holiday season, when we’ll be seeing a plethora of new devices hit the market. While many of these new devices will be carrier specific, and may not apply to Verizon, there are some great devices in the pipe.
It all depends on how often you replace your BlackBerry. If you can afford to replace your device every six months, then go for it. But if you’re looking for a device once per year, then I really suggest you wait. Verizon will almost certainly be getting the BlackBerry Storm 2 around the holiday season, so save your money.
[Via]
Posted on August 14, 2009, at 9:42 AM .
The Deal of the Day is back and today Mobile Checkbook for BlackBerry v35 by Mobatech is 50% off.
Mobile Checkbook for BlackBerry allows you to record transactions as they happen. Along with having immediate access to your up-to-date account balance, Mobile Checkbook let’s you e-mail exported transaction lists to your personal computer in either Excel or Quicken (QIF) format. By keeping your checkbook balanced and your finances organized, you stand to save much more than the cost of this already discounted application.
Purchase Mobile Checkbook for $6.47 until August 14th.
Posted on August 14, 2009, at 9:25 AM .
When we last wrote about the Skyfire Alpha program for BlackBerry, someone inside the program had leaked the browser files for all to download. Skyfire quickly cut off the leaked users but they’re back to Alpha testing.
The latest version, 3.5, has some great improvements, one of which being that you can set Skyfire to the default BlackBerry browser. This is something that users have been asking about for a long time with other 3rd party browsers. You will also be able to download files from the browser to your device.
Here is what the company had to say:
“As you are aware we temporarily closed the Blackberry Alpha. We planned for a certain number of users on our Alpha system that was quickly exceeded with the leak of the client outside the Alpha community. Please stick to the understanding of the Alpha program and NDA – it is NOT for open distribution. It just creates hassle for all people involved and spoils the experience for our Alpha participants.
This Alpha 3.5 is still targeted for Blackberry Bold mainly firmware 4.6.0.167 and 4.6.0.247 devices. , Feel free to try out the build as well on Blackberry 8900 and 5.0.xx firmware versions of Bold.”
What got removed in Alpha 3.5 (vs. Alpha 3.1):
- Stream Mode: We are actively working on an alternate method to provide streaming for Blackberry that will provide better performance and reduces the number of errors during streaming. This work has not been concluded yet. In the meantime we removed the existing stream mode. Stay tuned!
Thus please focus feedback for Alpha 3.5 on page load experience and basic browsing vs. the media experience.
What’s new in Alpha 3.5
- Inline Text Entry: You can now edit/enter form elements directly within the page, without being interrupted by a dialog box. Makes it more direct, convenient and retains the context.
- Click-to Call: The Blackberry client now will utilize tags in websites that trigger a phone call, when clicked (e.g. callto: and tel: links). You have to confirm before the call is initiated.
- Set as Default Browser: when set, links will open Skyfire
- Downloading of Files: you can now invoke the download of files to your device.
- Improved Scrolling: Further tweaking since the last Alpha.
- Reduced Checkerboard occurrences
- Alpha limit: We implemented a simple mechanism to limit the number of new users in our system. Once reached you see a message. If you encounter this and are part of this Alpha group then please contact us.
Known bugs in this Alpha:
- Clear cookies: When you clear cookies in advanced settings it will not work. Will be addressed in the next release.
- Inline Text: We are seeing several issues.
- Sometimes old text is visible (Issue 331 & 409), when re-entering text box, the cursor is positioned at the beginning of the text field (Issue 333).
- Download: timeout when downloading large files (Issue 435)”
[Via]
Posted on August 13, 2009, at 1:20 PM .
RIM has announced they plan to launch the BlackBerry Curve 8520 in countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
Details about carriers and pricing will come as the device launches in each country. The device is expected to launch in these regions in September so we’ll be able to update you then.
The 8520 is slated as a cheap, introductory smartphone, and it has been launching in less-developed nations on a pay-as-you-go plan. While this hasn’t been confirmed, it’s very likely that it will be pay-as-you-go in Latin America and the Caribbean as well.
Posted on August 13, 2009, at 1:05 PM .
On Wednesday, Microsoft and Nokia announced an alliance to bring enterprise software to smartphones. The move is an explicit targeting of RIM’s core business and dominance in the smartphone market.
The alliance looks good on paper with Microsoft Office representing the vast majority of office software, and Nokia representing the majority of global handsets. Nokia’s VP, Robert Andersson, has already started calling out RIM.
“This is giving some of our competitors — let’s spell it out, RIM — a run for their money,” said Nokia executive vice-president Robert Andersson, in a telephone interview. “I don’t think BlackBerry has seen the kind of competition we can provide them now.”
The alliance will make Microsoft Office readily available on Nokia devices and provide greater integration of Microsoft products into Nokia devices.
So what does this mean for BlackBerry? Well it isn’t obvious just yet. Microsoft products are already easily viewed on a BlackBerry, and there are a host of options for users creating, editing and sharing Microsoft products from their BlackBerry device. So far, the alliance is boasting that the Nokia E-Series will now be imbued with the following features:
- The ability to view, edit, create and share Office documents on more devices in more places with mobile-optimized versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft OneNote
- Enterprise instant messaging and presence, and optimized conferencing and collaboration experience with Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile
- Mobile access to intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft SharePoint Server
- Enterprise device management with Microsoft System Center
The number of organizations that use the E-Series device is relatively small in North America and the above features are easily implemented in organizations that use BlackBerry. While there may be some cost savings on the software side for organizations, it isn’t enough incentive for an organization to change their entire device structure.
[Via]
