Posted on April 9, 2007, at 8:13 am .
I suppose I’m one of the few members of Generation Y that still doesn’t get the concept of texting. At least, the kind of texting that teenagers do. But on the grown up side of things, there’s times when texting is the superior form of communication. That is, according to StarBulletin.com.
The article talks about texting to others during presentations – that just sounds disrespectful. Almost as disrespectful as sending a text as opposed to talking with your subject.
Texting can also be much more prudent than conducting cell phone calls in public, especially for those people afflicted with “cell yell.” Communicating with colleagues while you are in a hotel lobby, coffee shop, or airport can be much more private than sharing confidential information over the phone, especially when the connection is less than stellar.
I have my own version of the “cell yell” that involves me screaming at anyone using their device in the aforementioned places. It’s usually followed with something or someone being stuck into a trash bin.
Continue reading ‘When texting is superior’
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 7:58 am .
You’d think a police officer would be able to track his steps better, or at least be more concerned about the trail he leaves behind. An article from TheOlympian.com has former police chief Gordon Wiborg, hired by the city in December 2004, being forced to resign after it was discovered that he was sending inappropriate messages to another male officer using a company-issued BlackBerry.
The records include a computer message sent Dec. 23 in which Wiborg professes romantic interest in the man.
“I’m infatuated, addicted. Totally and completely in love with you,” Wiborg wrote. “There. I said it. I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen but I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.”
I’ll repeat – Over 500 pages of inappropriate messages. I couldn’t conjure up 500 pages of inappropriate material when I was a teen, so kudos Mr. Policeman. This is just a reminder, folks. If it’s for work, keep it for work.
Continue reading ‘Personal use gets a little too personal’
Posted on April 9, 2007, at 7:09 am .
Well, we’re always about rumours here at BlackBerry Cool, and here’s another one to toss your way. The folks over at CrackBerry.com are reporting that a tipster’s done tipped them off about T-Mobile’s possible release date for the BlackBerry 8800. Yes, I know for the last little while we’ve been squawking about the 8300, but T-Mo’s business class still needs a device, right?
We’re looking at April 23 as the possible release date. Nothings set in stone just yet (meaning we’ve yet to see a press release), but we’ll keep you abreast of the situation.
That means we’ll keep on top of things for you. Don’t be silly.
Posted on April 6, 2007, at 12:44 pm .
What a… disheartening title. So very depressing. Anyway, we’ve all had our battles against detractors over the days, months, years that we’ve been around, and over time, we learn to deal. When you pick up a BlackBerry, though, the battle stiffens. More and more people seem to have an opinion about you and your device as soon as they see you in full-on “prayer” posture, checking and sending email. My question to you this week is this: how do you deal with the BlackBerry detractors in your life? Best response/story will walk away with a tax-free $20 itunes gift certificate. Good luck.
Continue reading ‘Weekly Contest: the addict’s constant struggle’
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 11:53 am .
What I love about CNet is how technical they get in their reviews. In a recent head-to-head comparison of the BlackBerry 8800 and Samsung’s BlackJack competition, CNet looks into the categories that matter, giving ratings out of 5 for each: sexiness (Samsung took it 4-3), navigation (tie, 4-4), connectivity (5-4 for Samsung), multimedia (Samsung again, 4-3), and call quality (4-3 for, you guessed it, Samsung).
Check out the full video after the jump. I just wanted to post that screen cap up there because CNet’s Veronica Belmont is probably used to guys fawning over her all the time. Just goes to show that even the hotest tech girls on the net can sometimes have a sexiness rating lower than the BlackBerry 8800. For a more flattering (and accurate) portrait, go here.
Continue reading ‘CNet pits BlackBerry against BlackJack’
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 10:45 am .
Not only is there a long weekend coming up, but we’ve got reason to celebrate going into it (not that there isn’t already, that is). Our good pals over at BlackBerryForums are celebrating the registration of their 100,000th user by offering a contest to all of their members. The winner could walk away with a brand new 8800, or one of a wackload of cases also up for grabs.
All you’ve got to do is a) be a member b) have at least 20 posts by the time the drawing occurs (that happens when the Forum gets to 110,000 users) and c) to enter, you’ve got to private message the 100,000 user. All of the details are ready and waiting for you here. Congratulations, folks. We’d hug you, but that’s just not our style.
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 10:28 am .
Oh, geez. I love it when these press shots flourish out of the blue, always a nice surprise. Thanks to Ho-Fo, Phone Arena, and Gizmodo individually for their info about Verizon’s upcoming release of the BlackBerry 8830 “Cyclone”. They’re all pretty much regurgitating what we told you a couple of months ago (CDMA/GSM hybrid, QVGA screen, microSD slot, and 3G EV-DO support, no camera, etc.), but now we’ve got press shots, which can only mean it’s on its way (we’ve been hearing May, right? June at the latest).
Continue reading ‘Verizon 8830 Cyclone press shots surface’
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 10:19 am .
I can’t take credit for that title. The geniuses over at CNN Money can have it. But apart from their poor titling, they’ve done a great job of shining a stock spotlight on RIM and their hurdles over the past while and how it looks as though they’re on the up and up. Who else really wishes they’d invested sooner?
Lawrence Harris, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., said competitors will have a tough time unseating RIM in the corporate market. He thinks the BlackBerry’s ease of use makes the devices more popular with corporations that need to buy them en masse.
“I think the key thing [for RIM] is they just don’t sell devices, they sell solutions,” Harris said.
Continue reading ‘Research got its Motion back’
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 10:06 am .
It might be time for your thumbs to take a little, tiny rest. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from our pal Russell Shaw from BBHub. He’s set up shop over at ZDNet, and has come through yet again with another great look at a brand new BlackBerry patent.
He’s called this patent a “big one”, and I think I’d agree as it is looking to cut down on the amount of thumbstrokes by introducing auto-capitalizing, auto-punctuation, and more. Here’s the patent’s abstract. You can check out the full features here.
A hand-held electronic device with a keyboard, thumbwheel, display and associated software is optimized for use of the device with the thumbs. The associated software has a plurality of features to optimize efficient use of the limited keyboard space and encourage the use of the device by thumb-based data entry through the thumbwheel and/or through a combination of minimal number of keystrokes.
Continue reading ‘New BlackBerry patent looks to save thumbs’
Posted on April 5, 2007, at 8:03 am .
It’s about time that Generation Y (those born 1975-95) are getting some facetime. Not to slight those X’ers out there, it’s just that come on, you’ve had your time in the limelight. The children are the future.
And according to this article from BusinessEdge.ca, the children are also the one’s who’re driving the future of mobile TV, especially with the help of services like movy.tv from Toronto-based Movidity Inc. Oh, and we should mention that it’s on its way to the BlackBerry world real soon.
At first glance, it looks a lot like YouTube, with short videos that have been uploaded by members (membership is free.) However, as the company points out, it has proprietary technology that turns your content into “media objects” that can play on any Java-enabled cellphone, and, very soon it says, on BlackBerries.
Continue reading ‘Generation Y pushing mobile TV’
