The voice of the BlackBerry community.
The Blackberry Storm2 9550 is official, yet unofficial in that RIM marketing hasn’t put up a press release on their site yet. At least we now have access to the full specs for the BlackBerry Storm2 and while we can always complain about memory, it has some crucial features such as WiFi.
Click through for the full specs of the BlackBerry Storm2 9550
You can now register for the MyBlackBerry forums and community. There isn’t much there at the moment, but it is the summer and things tend to be a little slow around this time of year. Hopefully things will pick up in the fall when more devices are launched and the community gets a boost.
Also, many users are saying they are having trouble getting in with Google Chrome, so if you’re getting errors, try changing browsers.
While RIM assured us that MyBlackBerry would be available to the public this week, it still requires an invitation key. I’ve seen many people on Twitter asking to get an invite, so I thought I’d let you know what’s going on in the community, so you don’t feel left out.
As you may know, the focus of MyBlackBerry is around the forum discussions. The forum is divided into 3 categories: Applications, Tips and Tricks and General. Keep in mind, this is still very much in an early development phase and so the user base is small and the conversations are fairly bland.
Read the most popular discussions on the MyBlackBerry forums
Steve just posted about the most recent Etisalat update having some strange code but there’s more to this update. UAE customers are upset because apparently this official Etisalat upgrade significantly reduces the battery life of the device.
“The problem came up when they sent a new batch to enhance the performance but instead they have killed all blackberry batteries by activating a process inside the phone which empties the battery in less than an hour if not charged,” complained a frustrated BlackBerry customer in the country who wished to remain anonymous.
“All our company employees who installed this batch file has been affected. They claim they are working on it, and the time frame to send a fix is said to be 7 days,” our source added.
So far, the only solution Etisalat is offering involves some basic battery maintenance. This means powering off your device, fully charging the battery, and powering on the device. In general, you should be draining the battery fully and charging fully at least once per month. There’s no word yet if another upgrade will be issued to solve the battery drainage.
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Etisalat, the carrier responsible for bringing the BlackBerry solution to the United Arab Emirates, released a very suspect official update. A member on the official support forums did some detective work, and found some suspicious code in the update. According to the user:
“Blackberry subscribers for Etisalat (one of the official service providers in the UAE) received a WAP Push to download a JAR named “registration”
The description of the “update” was as follows:
“Etisalat network upgrade for Blackberry service. Please download to ensure continuous service quality.”
I called the operator’s hotline inquiring about the update, and they confirmed it’s an “official” update that’s meant to enhance network stability which users experienced last few weeks, causing email and BBM delays. But anyone with two functional braincells would imagine such an update/fix would be done at the network side, rather than with an obscure piece of code pushed to client handsets as a WAP Push, rather than a service book.
Out of curiosity, I downloaded, unpacked and decoded the file, and can’t help but feel something is fishy here.
Following is a list of the class files within registration.jar:
/Interceptor.class
/Registration.cod
/Registration.csl
/Registration.cso
/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Commands.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Transmit.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/MsgOut.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Log.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Main$1.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/StatusChange.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Send.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Main.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Recv.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/app/Constants.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/tcp/smtp/SMTPHeader.class
/com/ss8/interceptor/tcp/smtp/SMTP.class
com/ss8/interceptor/tcp/HTTPDeliver.class
com/ss8/interceptor/tcp/SocketBase.class
I put up the original JAD/JAR/COD File along with the unpacked classes and decoded ones in one zip file at http://iihs.net/registration.zip and attached it here for those interested in having a look.
There are interesting references in the software to alternate APN, as well as some BB PINs to relay certain messages through. The whole thing seems VERY fishy.
Any JAVA Developers out there willing to take a look as well and help me make sense out of this?”
BBRocks posted a few official OS updates that we’re all happy to download. Doesn’t it feel good to download an official OS? You know your BlackBerry won’t explode and instead you get to experience an upgrade sans-hassle.
Download the AT&T OS 4.5.0.158 for the BlackBerry Pearl 8110.
Download the Rogers OS 4.6.0.250 for the BlackBerry Curve 8900.
Download the CSL Limited OS 4.6.0.282 for the Bold 9000.
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How have you been liking your BlackBerry Curve 8310? It must be hard living without 3G or WiFi but at least you’re working with a sweet keyboard. You can’t go wrong with the classic 83xx QWERTY.
Upgrade your BlackBerry Curve 8310 with an official OS update to version 4.5.0.163 which is now available from 02 UK.
Worried about updating? It’s so easy. You can read a How To or just follow these simple steps:
Download OS 4.5.0.163 for your BlackBerry Curve 8310 from O2 UK.
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Now that RIM has an official blog, we can start to see some great content coming to the BlackBerry blogosphere. The company that is the subject of so much discussion will be able to communicate directly with their market.
Recently, I wrote a list of ways RIM can add to the blogosphere.
But what about content? Here is a list of articles that I would like to see from Inside BlackBerry.
More Jim Dog
Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM is an excellent public speaker and an interesting man. Jim is also a noted athlete and passionate fitness advocate. On top of that, Jim Dog has funded a wide variety of scientific and political ventures.
Jim has provided $10 million of personal funds towards the founding of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He also also funded the Centre for International Governance Innovation and has donated to the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
I would love to hear more from Jim on the topic of not just BlackBerry, but the global business market and international affairs.
Open Mike with Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis has given some very interesting interviews recently and he’s a constant source of great content. The story of how Mike came to work at RIM is absolutely inspirational. In 1979, he enrolled at the University of Waterloo in electrical engineering with an option in computer science. In 1984, Lazaridis responded to a request for proposal from General Motors to develop a network computer control display system. GM awarded him a $500,000 contract. He dropped out of college that year, just two months before he was scheduled to graduate. The GM contract, a small government grant and a $15,000 loan from Lazaridis’ parents enabled Lazaridis, Mike Barnstijn and Douglas Fregin to launch RIM.
It would be great to hear not only Mike’s views on BlackBerry, but on entrepreneurship and his passion: physics.
How it’s Made – BlackBerry
Remember those great documentaries about how things are made? My personal favorite is crayons. But that’s only because they haven’t made one for BlackBerry. This process would include interviews and film from a variety sources:
Initiatives and Topics RIM Loves
RIM likes U2; Jim Dog follows hockey; Mike Lazaridis has a love for physics; why don’t we get some news and posts about things not directly related to BlackBerry, but things that the company enjoys. If the head of PR wants everyone to know about a Breast Cancer marathon they’re sponsoring, let’s hear about it.
Acceptable Controversy
Although RIM has said it will not comment on financial matters or unreleased devices, there is still room for some heated discussion. Is another company talking smack about RIM? Let’s clear up any inaccuracies in their statements. Are customers complaining about a BlackBerry related issue? Tell them something to ease their concerns.
Don’t make too many judgments about RIM’s official blog just yet. It’s just starting out and these things take time. Instead, help build it into the site you want.
Like Mike Lazaridis said when faced with criticism over the BlackBerry Storm: “Nobody gets it perfect out the door.”
What would you like to read about on Inside BlackBerry?
The voice of the BlackBerry community.
