Posted on October 3, 2008, at 8:34 am .
It looks as though Canada is finally getting some OS 4.5 love this week. Shortly after posting about Rogers making OS 4.5 available for the BlackBerry Curve 8310/8320, Power User Nan Palmero ping’d me to let me know that Bell now has OS 4.5.0.77 available as well for the BlackBerry 8330. This is great news for CDMA BlackBerry Curve users who had previously been stuck in OS 4.3 limbo. We’re checking in on availability for other CDMA BlackBerrys, but for now hit the link below to download OS 4.5:
UPDATE: While OS 4.5 is available for the BlackBerry Pearl, there is no release yet for the BlackBerry 8830 WorldPhone. Sorry!
Rogers OS 4.5 for BlackBerry 8330
Posted on September 30, 2008, at 10:11 am .
Another day, another bundle of BlackBerry Storm 9530 news. Today, we have screenshots of a BlackBerry Storm dummy phone, taken at a Verizon Wireless store. Apparently these dummy devices were sent out to Verizon dealerships over a week ago. CrackBerry Forums user BBerry, who snapped the pics, said that the device was quite heavy, but that the haptic touchscreen seemed to work fairly well, being much easier to push in than he expected. You can see the rest of BBerry’s photos after the jump.
Meanwhile, for those above the 49th parallel, Engadget Mobile is reporting that Bell and Telus are still in a heated bidding war over who will get BlackBerry Storm 9530 exclusivity in Canada. While we had told you last week that Bell had ripped exclusivity out of Telus’ hands with a large bundle of cash, it appears as though Telus has responded with a similar bundle, and RIM has as of yet been unable to choose to dance with the one they brought or the one by the punch bowl. Either way, they’re walking away with a nice cash grab for their first touchscreen BlackBerry.
(via CB Forums, Engadget Mobile)
BlackBerry Storm 9530 dummy shots
Posted on September 25, 2008, at 5:36 pm .
UPDATE: We’ve added some more photos of the BlackBerry Storm that have turned up on the CrackBerry Forums after the jump.
Not one to let Verizon have all the fun by themselves, the Boy Genius has posted screen captures and renders of a Vodafone branded BlackBerry Storm. Nothing much to say here other than it looks slick and I want it. Oh yes, the text-input graphics look much improved over previous screenshots we had seen.
(via BGR)
Vodafone BlackBerry Storm Screenshots
Posted on September 25, 2008, at 12:37 am .
Bad news rumors are coming from BGR today, which is reporting that Bell Canada might follow the lead of Verizon Wireless and cripple GPS on select BlackBerrys. Here’s what BGR had to say:
Bell may be increasing the GPS lock time (2-10 minutes) and resolution (1-2.5KM) of Third Party applications while maintaining the speed (10-15s) and accuracy (10-25m) of their own GPS Nav program. These changes are presumably meant to force lure customers into using Bell’s crappy superior GPS Nav program instead of the built-in Blackberry Maps or the free Google Maps. You knew this was coming…
BGR states that the BlackBerry 8830, BlackBerry Pearl 8130 and BlackBerry Curve 8330 are the devices to be affected. Bell charges $10/month or $3.50/day for their GPS Navigation service, by the way. Thoughts?
(via BoyGeniusReport)
Posted on September 23, 2008, at 12:16 pm .
Ooh boy, this is starting to get out of hand. Doesn’t an NDA mean anything any more? The gadget hounds over at EngadgetMobile have gotten their hands on the slide presentation used by National Account Managers to sell devices to key customers, giving us the most information (and the prettiest images) about the the BlackBerry Storm 9530 seen in one place.
Items to be gleamed from the slide presentation? An 8GB MicroSD card is now confirmed as a pack in, visual voicemail will be available after launch, and despite earlier reports from today, the BlackBerry Storm 8530 will feature auto flash as well as auto focus.
Dig in folks, but at this point, BBCool HQ readily expects Verizon to start mailing out devices interested people as early as yesterday.
(via EngadgetMobile)
View BlackBerry Storm 9530 slide presentation
Posted on August 11, 2008, at 9:07 am .
CDMA users have had a fun time trying to get their hands on the latest BlackBerry software, but now they won’t have to resort to Rapidshare to get the new OS. The Canadian carrier MTS Mobility has OS 4.5 available for public download from RIM’s site. If you’re looking to try it out, just grab the file, install, make sure you have the latest Desktop Manager, and plug in your BlackBerry via miniUSB when it’s open. Don’t worry that it’s from another carrier, you should be fine after deleting the vendor.xml file on your computer. OS 4.5 features rich text e-mail viewing on supporting BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, among other goodies like a variety of attachment download capabilities and free/busy calendar lookup. Folks packing the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition might still be out of luck, although there are torrents out there for unreleased versions of the software. CDMA subscribers can head on over to RIM’s site to get upgrading their Pearls and Curves.
(via Pinstack)
Posted on July 24, 2008, at 3:35 pm .
BlackBerry Cool writers have the privilege of being in constant contact with a variety of wireless industry players. Naturally, we often get in heated or hilarious discussions over recent news. We’ve decided to start posting some of the more interesting conversations, in the hopes that it will spur greater debate. Our test run is a hearty debate over the value of a CDMA carrier switching to GSM, how long until 4G becomes anything more than a ‘wet dream’ and myths about call quality. Enjoy, and please post a comment with your thoughts.
Note: My interlocutor was uncomfortable with being identified, so let’s just call him Fake Ted Rogers.
Fake Ted Rogers: Isn’t saying Bell/Telus is going to GSM kinda like saying Verizon should?
Douglas Soltys: Well, different countries mean different biz scenarios.
Fake Ted Rogers: I’d like to see what the subs are for Tel/Bel compared to Rogers. As in the states Verizon has more than AT&T.
Douglas Soltys: Some would say that Verizon is run much better than Tel/Bel.
Continue reading BBCool’s compelling conversation with Fake Ted Rogers
Posted on July 23, 2008, at 9:58 am .
A recent paper from UBS Investment Research is claiming that Canadian carriers Telus and Bell may be switching from CDMA to the popular GSM archietecture. It’s a big move that could cost upwards of $480 million, but when you look at the amount of exclusivity Rogers is enjoying with the iPhone, you can bet the competition won’t want to miss the next boat. This is good news for Canadian BlackBerry users, as it could mean no more waiting months on end for the CDMA versions of devices to come out. Where Bell and Telus sit on 4G remains uncertain – it’s entirely possible that they’ll skip the existing 3G HSDPA and go right to LTE.
(CBC via Engadget)
Posted on July 10, 2008, at 2:08 pm .
Obviously, as bloggers, we’re forced to deal with many rumors and half-truths in order to bring you the latest in BlackBerry news. However, the ongoing confusion over RIM’s upcoming CDMA touchscreen device is becoming almost too much to bear.
At first, we thought it was to be called the BlackBerry Storm, then the BlackBerry Thunder. Then we were told its haptic keyboard was fantastic, only to have that idea shot down by the Internet’s resident Deep Throat, the Boy Genius. The gadget nuts over at Gizmodo have now thrown their hat into the ring, claiming through sources that the BlackBerry Thunder was in fact the Storm all along, it will not be delayed, and does, in fact, rock.
The only thing we can be sure of is that nothing is certain until we actually have the device in-hand. Jim-dog, you want to swing by BBCool HQ and give us a demo?
**Update** Boy Genius has now posted a PowerPoint slide as evidence of the BlackBerry Thunder’s namesake.
See BG’s rebuttal after the jump
Posted on July 10, 2008, at 8:56 am .
There hasn’t been much hard and fast information on the guts of the upcoming BlackBerry 9000, but it’s made it through the FCC approval gauntlet and emerged with plenty of specs. A lot of the report is funky-coloured thermal graphs and radiation tests, but interestingly many indicate WCDMA readings. I’m no engineer, but maybe a CDMA BlackBerry Bold is on the way sooner than you think… More importantly is the timing of the filing. The tests ran around late April, and the first we heard of the BlackBerry Bold battery bruhaha was late March. Sending in reports to the FCC involves a fair bit of device-polishing on RIM’s part – I’m sure it would have been a little unfair back then to bash the Bold before it was even ready for the FCC, just as it might be unfair to stomp all over other upcoming devices well before they’ve gone through the testing ropes. Jussayin’.
(PhoneArena via Rimarkable)
