Posted on August 28, 2008, at 9:30 am .
The open source customer relationship management software SugarCRM has updated to version 5.1, featuring advanced reporting and analytics, new wireless HTML client, tracker reports, data import enhancements, and module builder enhancements. The new software will offer BlackBerry and iPhone a completely revamped interface, but it looks like the handheld app, Field Force, is still only working with Sugar 5.0. Hopefully we can see an upgrade on that end soon. Head on over to SugarCRM for the latest version.
(via BusinessWire)
Posted on August 28, 2008, at 8:36 am .
A recent survey by Nexergy determined runtime was the top priority for those buying their batteries, which isn’t a huge surprise, but the fact that price was nearly the last thing on buyers’ minds was unsuspected.
“It was a bit surprising,” [Phil Glandon, Nexergy president and CEO] added, “that cost appeared so low on the priority list for both groups we surveyed, and nearly at the bottom among our marketing contacts. Battery performance clearly is seen as a core competitive advantage by our customers, and that should be the primary consideration as we make design decisions on new battery packs for our customers.”
Safety ranked number two on the list, and after seeing more than one incident of exploding cell phone batteries, we can certainly see why. There was also a surprising number of engineers who were unfamiliar with lithium-ion variants and other emerging battery technologies. If you’re in that boat, Giz actually had a solid post on different battery types and how they’re the major chokepoint for mobile technology.
Posted on August 28, 2008, at 8:06 am .
Curious to know what exactly you’re missing with the BlackBerry Bold? RIM’s Knowledge Base is now listing the official new features in device software 4.6. Nothing hugely new (that Q hotkey for the vibrate profile is nice to know, and switching to Bluetooth headset mid-call is nifty), but now we’ve got all the updates in one spot.
(via RIMarkable)
Get the short version of the new features in BlackBerry Software 4.6 Features behind the jump!
Posted on August 27, 2008, at 9:29 am .
The latest to join the BlackBerry Independent Software Vendor Alliance is DMTI Spatial, a Canadian company focusing on enterprise-grade “location intelligence”. Location Hub is their web-based platform, which aims to help enterprise keep track of assets, sales, and mobile workforce. They also provide industry-specific data packs to ensure customers get mapping software tailored to their needs. Keep an eye out for some BlackBerry-side software from these guys soon.
(via MarketWire)
Posted on August 27, 2008, at 9:16 am .
With the aid of Rogers’ Q2 financial report and some trusty pie chart skills, some folks at Wireless North put together the numbers which constitute Rogers’ $75 average monthly revenue per user.
General overhead, shiny offices, salaries etc: $30
Cost of sales (Direct costs, electricity bill for those towers etc.): $7.69
Marketing (You might have seen some): $7.44
Depreciation (Infrastructure cost of the network): $6.06
Debt (interest on loans for past spectrum auctions and investments): $3.55
Profit (before taxes): $27.89
Yep, a little over a third of that monthly bill goes right into Ted’s coffers. Just a friendly reminder before anyone gets too angry at Telus or Bell for charging for incoming SMS messages.
(Wireless North via MobileSyrup)
Posted on August 27, 2008, at 8:17 am .
A recent survey by mobile billing service Bango is forecasting increased mobile browsing in the U.S which could bump the UK out of its number one spot. Last month the UK took in 19.35% of global traffic, the US had 18.88%, India 10.82%, South Africa 8.82% and Indonesia 4.08%. AdMob’s recent report corroborates the trend, claiming US ad requests grew 5.8% month over month, while UK traffic saw a -0.5% drop from June. The reason for the uptake?
“The US share of the browsing market has grown as an increasing number of phones come with bigger screens and service contracts that include unlimited internet access,” said Adam Kerr, VP of Bango North America at Bango.
(via cellular-news)
Posted on August 27, 2008, at 7:32 am .
Chip manufacturer Marvell saw a downgrade status rating on the stock market today from Jefferies & Co. due to losing the contract with RIM to provide parts for the upcoming BlackBerry 8900 (a.k.a Javelin) to competitor Freescale. The folks from Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. didn’t see it as quite that bad of a hit to Marvell.
“Not to minimize Freescale’s successful efforts, but we still think there is plenty of room for Marvell to feed at the Blackberry trough,” [analyst Craig Berger] wrote. “We believe Marvell’s unit shipments to Research In Motion could grow by 60%-80% this year.”
RIM’s been buying from Marvell for a long time, so we’re left to wonder what spurred the change in supplier. It could be as simple as going with the lowest bidder, but maybe Freescale’s got something that Marvell doesn’t… I guess we’ll have to wait for the Javelin around late November to see if she runs any differently.
(via MarketWatch)
Posted on August 27, 2008, at 6:09 am .
Update: Just got talking to a couple of our friends at RIM, who said they weren’t surprised by the results of our test. It turns out that the focus of RIM’s development for the new rendering engine in OS 4.6 was in stability, not performance, and the Waterloo crew is still working on speed optimization. What this means is that future OS updates from RIM will require additional speed tests.
While previous results had been contested, we hope to put the BlackBerry Bold versus iPhone 3G browser debate to bed. Taking some time with our brand-spanking-new Bold and QuicklyBored EIC, Kyle McInnes’ iPhone 3G, we put the two beasts through some browsing hoops to see who can get through the fastest. We tested on Wi-Fi only, 3G-only, both with and without JavaScript enabled. Sadly, our results are pretty conclusive – the iPhone’s browser is faster.
To be fair, it’s not by much – maybe a two to three second delay, depending on the site, but it’s enough to notice the difference. We’re also running on BIS, so don’t have enterprise servers doing a lot of the compression for us. The Bold’s browser is still a huge upgrade for BlackBerry, and definitely more enjoyable than what I was using on the Pearl. While we’re calling this test definitive (we ran a series of five tests using multiple sites each time), your mileage may vary – if you’ve got both devices in hand, take some time to wipe the caches and run a few tests. We’d love to hear if our results match up, and love even more to hear if they don’t.
Click here to see the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold Browser speed test
Posted on August 26, 2008, at 9:54 am .
JuiceCaster just launched the beta of their video and sharing app for BlackBerry 8310 and BlackBerry 8330 users in the U.S., allowing them to post to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Photobucket, Blogger, LiveJournal, Typepad and plenty of other social networking sites. It’s too bad that it’s only on the BlackBerry Curve, but they promise that compatibility with the Pearl will be coming soon. Aside from broadcasting, JuiceCaster also lets you view other videos on the network so you meet all sorts of other mobile video microbloggin’ types. Head to JuiceCasterландшафт to get in on the limited beta.
Posted on August 26, 2008, at 8:57 am .
You might remember that poll awhile back regarding getting instructional videos right on your device… Well, it looks like the folks at BlackBerry Made Simple listened, and are now offering over 65 of their files in a BlackBerry-friendly format. This is a great idea for training folks on simple BlackBerry tasks, since they’re not only learning a thing or two about video playback in the process, but it guarantees they can review lessons whereever they are. It’s a solid deal deal for both individuals who need a few crash courses and enterprises who are looking to keep their help desk calls down. Head on over to BlackBerry Made Simple to try out some of their free sample videos.
