There are reports all around that the BIS is down across North America. Personally, I never notice these things when they happen because I’m on a BES, but I feel for everyone affected. The outages are reported with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Again, there are so many reasons why the BIS might be down that it’s impossible to speculate, but if multiple carriers are affected, it’s probably a node somewhere in RIM’s network.
Are you experiencing an outage? Where are you and who is your network provider?
The press releases have gone out and the AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8520 has just been announced. The device will be available “in the coming weeks” and it will cost $99.99 on a 2 year agreement.
The press release doesn’t mention whether or not App World will come preloaded on the device, but it does say to expect Facebook and MySpace preloaded.
In a video released by AT&T, we get a look at the BlackBerry Bold 9700. The video goes on to describe a little about the device hardware, as well as basic BlackBerry functionality that we are all very aware of. But what about the most important part of a device: the software?
As RIM continues to release devices, there is relatively little that differentiates them. This year in particular, it is all about changing the form factor and feature set to play with pricing and different target markets. While the Storm 2 is probably the biggest evolution for BlackBerry this year, it’s still only going to be as good of a device as the developers dictate it to be.
RIM have officially announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and it’s one of the best devices in their product line. Of course, everyone is excited about the BlackBerry Storm 2, but they serve very different markets. The Storm 2 is a device for the consumer market, while the 9700 would be better suited for enterprise.
The official press releases for the Bold 9700 from Rogers and AT&T, included pricing for the device and they differ slightly in their promotional offerings. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be available from Rogers in the coming weeks for $299.99 on a three-year voice and data activation with a minimum monthly service plan of $45.
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 will also be available from AT&T but for only $199.99 (pay $299.99 and receive $100 mail-in-rebate).
T-Mobile and Bell have not announced what they will be selling the device for but it’s likely to be around the same price as AT&T and Rogers. The question is whether they will force users to mail in their rebate, or offer an entirely different promotion.
Now this is how you handle a launch. Carriers across North America have coordinated and announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700. This is going to be the best BlackBerry of 2009, hands down. The Bold 9700 is the updated version of the Bold 9000 and it is everything you loved about the first Bold, but packaged in a tighter form factor.
The carriers that have announced the device include Rogers, Bell, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Originally known as an Access Point Base Station, Femtocell is a small cellular base station that uses a broadband internet connection to provide 3G connectivity. Ideal for areas with lackluster coverage such as rural, underground, or any area with otherwise bad reception. The system typically support 2 to 4 active devices at a time.
AT&T will be charging around $20 per month for unlimited calls via the 3G Microcell system and has begun a trial in the test market of Charlotte, North Carolina. Users can also buy the unit outright and pay for minutes with their pre-existing plan. Check out AT&T’s 3G MicroCell information page for more details.
If you haven’t already updated your BlackBerry Bold to OS 4.6.0.297, you’re missing out! With the latest OS update, you get a number of enhancements including:
General handset optimizations.
The ability for the user to manually select whether they want their smartphone to connect to either 2G and 3G networks, depending on availability, or to connect to only to 2G networks.
A download icon for AT&T’s Visual Voicemail service, plus a variety of additional icons for applications including MobiTV, Mobile Banking, Tetris and Scrabble.
Rumor has it that the upgraded BlackBerry Bold OS for AT&T subscribers will come with Visual Voicemail tomorrow, Tuesday, August 25th.
Check your AT&T Bold to see if your OS has the Visual Voicemail icon, and if so, give customer service a call and have them add the free Visual Voicemail feature to your account.
With Visual Voicemail for BlackBerry, you will get:
Store up to 40 voicemails for up to 14 days
Archive voicemails to device memory or on a microSD card
Forward voicemails as an MMS to other users or an email address
Save phone numbers in your Visual Voicemail inbox to your address book
Setup your voicemail including greeting right from the application itself
Voicemail is the bane of many BlackBerry users’ existence as it is the slowest possible way to check a message. With email and SMS, you have to wonder why people still insist on leaving voicemails. At least visual voicemail makes the process a little faster.
