Posted on June 5, 2010, at 3:09 PM .
RIM is making a big push to get user feedback these days and while it’s necessary for all companies to collect feedback from their customers, it’s no use without implementation. OS 6 looks as though it was designed to deal with user frustrations that the BlackBerry menu and navigation needed to be more visual and user friendly. There are still plenty of ways BlackBerry could improve and hopefully the feedback app will zero-in on the highest priorities.
The official BlackBerry Blog sat down with the RIM beta team and asked plain and simple: “what have we learned so far about how BlackBerry smartphone users use our applications?” The answer highlights one of the problems with having a corporate blog, as the answers are very contrived. “Applications that make life easier, as well as social media applications to help people stay in touch with friends and family have been real drivers.” Ideally, RIM would talk specifics as to what they’ve learned about Twitter and Facebook, as they’ve probably collected some very interesting data about these applications. This is probably very difficult given RIM’s giant legal department overseeing the blog, but at least they’re pioneering a social media team, which is crucial if they’re building social media applications.
Check out the interview with the BlackBerry beta team on IBB (part 1).
Posted on June 5, 2010, at 2:52 PM .
Some really clean pictures of the BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider have emerged and the device looks much nicer than we previously thought. All it took was someone with a high-rez camera to take some decent pictures and some comparison shots to see just how great this device looks. From the picture post, we know a few specs about the 9800 including:
- No SurePress
- 5 MP camera
- 512MB of RAM
- No convenience keys on the side
- DX-1 battery
Along with the new pictures is a full video walkthrough of OS 6. The video is in Chinese but we’ll have details about it shortly. Watching someone use OS 6, it doesn’t look like there is anything tremendously new going on. It seems like OS 6 is all about user interface and adding a more visual experience to using a BlackBerry. There are new gestures with OS 6, and it makes you wonder what OS 6 will bring for non-touchscreen devices. Make sure to click the ‘read more’ link and check out all the new pics.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerry Bold 9800 Slider and OS 6 Full Video and Images’
Posted on June 4, 2010, at 3:01 PM .
Some of you may be involved in the beta test for Facebook for BlackBerry and it’s good to know that an update is well on its way. Facebook for BlackBerry version 1.8.0 was said to arrive May 2010, so it looks like either the original leak date was wrong or there have been delays. From back when the details were leaked, we heard 1.8 comes with some basic performance improvements, as well as video uploading and the BIS-E notifications are being replaced with BlackBerry Push APIs.
Posted on June 4, 2010, at 2:41 PM .
Emacberry has released the latest version of FileScout with some new remote printing and archiving features. For those who haven’t heard of FileScout, it’s a full-featured file explorer for your BlackBerry. The app allows you to browse the file system, create directories, copy, move, rename, zip, unzip and more. The app comes with a 14 day free trial so be sure to take it for a test run.
Continue reading ‘FileScout Updated to v1.8.6.0 with Remote Print and SMS Archiving’
Posted on June 4, 2010, at 1:03 PM .
The biggest news this week is probably all the hype around OS 6 and which devices will be getting the upgrade. Rumors (which are borderline fact) are circulating that the 9700 is getting a memory refresh to 512MB of RAM in order to make it OS 6 ready. If OS 6 requires 512MB of RAM, the only device currently in RIM’s product line that will support 6 is the 9650.
Should users be upset about this? Take a look at the iPhone. The iPhone has a 2 year obsolescence since the iPhone 3G, a 2 year old device, will not be getting the OS 4 upgrade. By the time the 9700a launches, it could be a 2 year old device. Therefore, for all the users complaining that their device is becoming obsolete, I think this is a general complaint towards consumer electronics, and isn’t something necessarily wrong with RIM’s strategy. What are your thoughts?
Make sure to hit the jump because we have a full roundup of BlackBerry news this week for you to catch up on.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerryCool Roundup for the Week of May 31st’
