The voice of the BlackBerry community.
Former President George W Bush got a new BlackBerry, according to a tweet by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. No word on what device he has, but it must have been a Bold.
With a $7 million book deal on the way, George Dubbya Bush should be able to use his BlackBerry to build a Twitter following in preparation for the launch. While @GeorgeWBush doesn’t have any activity on it, we might start seeing a few posts from UberTwitter or SocialScope.
Can’t wait to see some Bushisms in Twitter form!
[Via]
TrainSchedule is a great piece of software for commuters and travelers in the US. The app shows you schedule information on upcoming trains for the next 2 weeks and includes a railroad trip planner. If your device has GPS, you can track yourself while on the train.
The above video is user generated and it’s a fairly good review of the product.
Purchase TrainSchedule on sale for $6.75 until Jul 29.
Great news for recent BlackBerry Curve 8350i users having problems enjoying some iDEN PTT goodness. Sprint has officially released OS 4.6.1.128 for the Curve 8350i, which should fix many known issues (minus the ‘echo effect’ issue, which I’m told will be taken care of in a future release). To download the OS update, hit the either the Sprint or direct BlackBerry link below. To figure out what to do after that, read our OS upgrade how-to (Telus 8350i users may find this particularly interesting, as it contains instructions on how to use an OS build other than your carriers for upgrade goodness).
Direct BlackBerry.com OS 4.6.1.128 Download
Sprint OS 4.6.1.128 Download
HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR BLACKBERRY OS
MocoNews is reporting that Handmark has purchased software developer FreeRange for an undisclosed sum. FreeRange is a mobile RSS applications firm with a fairly popular RSS reader, but I find them more exciting for their work on the Wall Street Journal and AP News applications.
FreeRange has said it will use the additional resources from Handmark to expand its video support, and iPhone and Android support, but I’m hoping they’ll put their magic touch on Handmark’s own PocketExpress application. The AP News app developed by FreeRange is clean, pretty and slick, and I’d love to see a rebuilt PocketExpress from the ground up.
|via MocoNews|
When you see Nan Palmero punching out the air like a BlackBerry-enhanced Adonis, it can only mean one thing: OS 4.5 is available for your BlackBerry. Today it’s the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and BlackBerry Pearl 8130 on the Sprint network. We have a quick rundown of new features in OS 4.5, as well as download instructions for your BlackBerry enjoyment.
OS 4.5 Features and Improvements:
MMS (Audio, pictures, text, or all three in the same message)
Docs to Go (device-side Word, Excel, and Powerpoint document editing capabilities)
Sounds pretty great, right? Download instructions for BIS and BES users are after the jump. We’ve also heard that OS 4.5 will be released for the BlackBerry 8830 in a few weeks, with an 8703(!) release coming at the end of Q1.
Thanks for the tip, Rob!
Roy Bragg of the San Antonio Express-News has written an article investigating the security surrounding President Obama’s BarackBerry and how that is juxtaposed against the needs of the common BlackBerry user. Unfortunately, Mr. Bragg was unable to interview any BlackBerry experts, so I had to pinch hit. My take on the matter is that one should be more worried about losing their BlackBerry than having it’s transmissions swiped over the air:
The biggest threat, however, is physical — a lost or abandoned handset can be opened and its contents divulged.
Most handsets have built-in password protection, and Microsoft Office documents can also be created with password protection. Older e-mails and documents should also be deleted at regular intervals rather than being archived on the device.
And to protect the device even more, it’s a good practice to keep sensitive data on a remote computer, accessible only while the phone is logged onto the secure network. Blackberry users can buy software such as SmrtGuard, which can back up data, shred sensitive data, and can be tracked or shut down via GPS if it’s stolen.
It’s a well-written piece and poses an interesting question: are you more concerned about losing your BlackBerry or having it ‘hacked’?
|via mySA|
BGR has grabbed some screenshots of BlackBerry Visual Voicemail running on an AT&T BlackBerry Bold. Apparently, this feature will make its way to AT&T via OS 4.6.0.219. No word yet on when AT&T will roll out the OS update or if they’ll charge for it (it’s AT&T, what do you think?), but we’ll keep you in the know once we hear something. For now, you can see more of what BlackBerry Visual Voicemail will look like after the jump.
BlackBerry Bold Visual Voicemail screenshots
DeltaCom, Inc., a leading provider of integrated communications services to customers in the southeastern United States, today announced that the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition and BlackBerry Curve 8330 from Research In Motion are now available to Deltacom customers as part of its Simpli-Mobile offering for small and medium sized businesses.
“The BlackBerry solution is a natural fit with our extensive portfolio of integrated technology and communications solutions, keeping Simpli-Mobile customers connected and productive,” said Lee A. Kimball, Deltacom’s Senior Vice President of Marketing. He added, “We are able to offer Deltacom Simpli-Mobile users a complete BlackBerry solution, which includes mobile service, hosted Microsoft® Exchange and POP email, so they can stay connected to their business.”
For more information, visit DeltaCom’s web site at http://www.deltacom.com.
Continue reading ‘Deltacom Offers BlackBerry 8830 and Curve 8330 for SMBs via Simpli-Mobile’
Although T-Mobile stated in their press announcement that the general populace can purchase the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in February (with the blogosphere split between February 11th and the 18th as the launch date), it appears as though enterprise customers will get an early jump on the device.
The image on the left indicates that employees of companies with a T-Mobile corporate account can get the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on January 19th. This is similar to what Rogers did with their BlackBerry Curve 8900 launch, but on a time line of weeks, not days. If you’re not a corporate customer, post a comment and let us know if the Curve 8900 is worth the wait.
|via BerryReporter|
Now that President-Elect Barack Obama has declared that he will fight to keep his BlackBerry, the question of how exactly the U.S. government is going to make that happen. Starting from the premise that the Commander in Chief could not simply use an off-the-shelf consumer model, CrunchGear has composed a list of must-have features for a custom-made Obama BlackBerry (henceforth known as the ObamaBerry).
While most of what CrunchGear recommends is both insightful and cool — my favorite recommendations include voice recognition and remote detonation capability — the ObamaBerry collapses under its own expectations of security and performance. By creating a device that performs all the functions a President’s BlackBerry should (although does any President really need military grade GPS and the ability to start nuclear war from their BlackBerry?), CrunchGear has has destroyed the one thing that Obama wants from his BlackBerry: to not be isolated from the American public like previous Presidents.
Regardless, pulling out the ObamaBerry would be a great icebreaker while on diplomatic missions (”Did you know this thing can shoot lasers? Yes it can!”)
UPDATE: Gizmodo is reporting that Obama may end up using a giant brick running Windows Mobile 6.1. Sigh.
|via CrunchGear|
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