Posted on October 17, 2008, at 9:23 am .
You have to hand it to AT&T for keeping their chin up and throwing a party even when the guest of honor can’t make it. AT&T’s NYC BlackBerry Bold launch party took place last night, and while the BlackBerry Bold was a little too fashionably late, Michael Phelps was there along with Madonna in video form. Oh yes, everyone in attendance received an IOU for a BlackBerry Bold.
Hmm, a launch event without the release of the launch device. Reminds us of that Rogers BlackBerry Pearl Flip event that happened a few weeks back. Is this the beginning of a trend?
(via BerryReview, CB)
Posted on October 10, 2008, at 8:26 am .
Uh-oh. This isn’t good news for the boys and girls in Waterloo. It looks like AT&T isn’t the only carrier having trouble with the BlackBerry Bold. Mobile Tech Addicts got their hands on this internal Orange UK document that speaks for itself:
Following reports of software issues with the BlackBerry Bold handset across a variety of mobile operators, Orange has decided to act in the interest of its customers by suspending shipments of the device in the UK. We are currently awaiting feed back from RIM as to when an industry wide fix for these issues will be in place, and expect this suspension to be an interim measure. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may cause you.
Next steps: BlackBerry/RIM are doing everything they can to resolve this issue and will be completing full testing and validation to ensure future handsets do not have any quality issues. This may take a couple of weeks so it’s up to us to do what’s best for our customers.
I hope this doesn’t start a trend. Can any Orange users report back to us if they’ve experienced any Bold issues? Do any of the hardcore cellular readers know if there are similarities between Orange and AT&T’s networks?
(via Mobile Tech Addicts)
Posted on October 6, 2008, at 11:39 am .
Uh-oh, looks like it’s time to add another country to the BlackBerry Bold World Map. Zain Bahrain and RIM jointly announced today the launch of the BlackBerry Bold in the Kingdom of Bahrain today.
“The uber-sophisticated BlackBerry Bold smartphone is sure to delight Zain Bahrain customers who love to stay ahead in the tech race as well as those who value increased productivity. It delivers an amazing blend of functionality, performance, usability and design, making it an ideal choice for both business professionals and power users in Bahrain,” said Zain Bahrain’s Special Projects Manager, Bashar Alami,
I’m not sure how large our Bahrainni readership is, but they must be excited! Check out our BlackBerry Bold Review to know if you should buy it (answer: yes). You can read the full press release after the jump.
The Ultimate BlackBerry Bold Review (with full device specs)
BlackBerry Bold Bahrain Press Release
Posted on September 30, 2008, at 12:11 pm .
Oh jeez, all those Rogers BlackBerry Bold early adopters just got RickRolled iPhone’d. No more than 6 weeks after initial launch, Rogers will be dropping the price of the BlackBerry Bold from $399.99 on a three-year contract to $299.99 on a three-year contract.
While it’s hard to look a cheaper Bold in the mouth (especially with the reduced Rogers data plans coming the same day), I know there are a lot of Rogers BlackBerry users asking ‘why now?’ Are BlackBerry Bolds not selling as briskly as Rogers would like. Does this have something to do with the ‘hero campaigns’ Jim Balsillie mentioned during RIM’s investors conference call?
Maybe the most important question: if enough Rogers subscribers complain, will they get a refund? Post a comment and let us know what you think.
Posted on September 30, 2008, at 9:36 am .
Regular readers of BlackBerry Cool will know that we’re big fans of the OtterBox BlackBerry cases. Today is a great day for OtterBox users who have already moved on to the BlackBerry Bold: OtterBox has now officially released BlackBerry Bold Defender Series cases! Expect our full review to come soon, but if they’re anything like previous OtterBox cases, they’ll be well worth the $50 pricetag.
BlackBerry Bold Defender Series Cases
Posted on September 30, 2008, at 9:10 am .
More encouraging news for AT&T subscribers today. In addition to the October 26th Best Buy launch date, AT&T has now posted a registration page for six different BlackBerry Bold launch parties, running from October 15th to the 30th.
So take heart, AT&T subscribers. It looks like you should have your BlackBerry Bold before halloween!
AT&T BlackBerry Bold Launch Party Registration
Posted on September 29, 2008, at 7:56 am .
UPDATE: Berry Reporter has a blurry screenshot that shows a BlackBerry Bold price of $679.99.
Finally we have some good news for our American friends who want to stab themselves in they eye every time we add another country to the BlackBerry Bolds Around the World map (this just in: add Aruba to the list). It turns out that by October 26th, the United States will be on the map as well!
The Boy Genius has a screen shot of a Best Buy sales system showing a release date of October 26th. Typically, Best Buy receives devices a week or two after their release on AT&T, so it looks like those holding out hope for an early October AT&T BlackBerry Bold release are in luck.
Hang in there, guys and girls, we’re almost home.
(via BGR)
Posted on September 24, 2008, at 11:13 am .
Yesterday we published a map of all the countries that had launched the BlackBerry Bold — or so we thought. It turns out we missed a few (how could we forget the Swiss?). Thankfully, the BlackBerry Nation pitched in to dot our i’s and cross our t’s. It’s really great to see that we have a readership that spans the globe. Here’s the updated list:
North America Canada, Mexico
South America Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela
Europe Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales)
Asia Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
Australia Australia
Caribbean Dominican Republic, Jamaica
The grand total is now up to 31 countries! I wonder if the U.S. is waiting to be the 50th country because they think they’ll win a prize…
Posted on September 23, 2008, at 4:22 pm .
It seems like every day brings with it a new BlackBerry Bold launch announcement, with today being no exception. To get a handle on just how international the BlackBerry Bold has become, the BBCool Crew set to work on building a map representing every country that has launched or will soon launch the BlackBerry Bold. Here’s the rundown of countries, to our best efforts:
North America Canada, Mexico
South America Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela
Europe Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales)
Asia Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
Australia Australia
Caribbean Dominican Republic, Jamaica
Please forgive us if we’ve forgotten/missed any, but it looks like 25 countries in all. Africa, Asia and the United States (zing!) are the least represented on the map. Thanks for the help, Nan!
Posted on September 23, 2008, at 12:58 am .
Add two new countries to the list of places that have BlackBerry Bold availability before RIM’s largest market. Telefonica, Spain’s largest carrier, has yet to release any pricing info, but has announced BlackBerry Bold availability for its subscribers. Our Spanish friends can heat to www.blackberrybold.es for more information or read our exhaustive review linked below.
Serbians have one up on the Spaniards, however, as Serbian carrier Vip announced the release of not only the BlackBerry Bold but the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 as well through the Vodafone Office product portfolio.
“We are delighted that as a result of our ongoing relationship, Vip are extending their Vodafone Office product range to include the latest BlackBerry smartphones,” said Paul-Gerhard Itjeshorst, Executive, Vodafone Partner Market. “Mobile email is an essential tool in today’s fast-paced business world and Vip are working hard to ensure their customers in Serbia can enjoy the full benefits of the complete BlackBerry solution.”
This is pretty great news for our Serbian friends, as the country has only had Blackberry service since December of 2007. Once again, no pricing information is available, but it will eventually turn up on Vip’s BlackBerry product site.
The Ultimate BlackBerry Bold Review (with full device specs)
(via RIM x 2)
