I wonder how many Romanian BlackBerry Cool readers there are? Probably not many. But that’s not important. What’s important is bringing you ALL the BlackBerry news we possibly can including the launch of the BB Storm in Romania. Vodafone has partnered with RIM to launch the device and details on the Internet are really uncertain. If you check Google news, there are mixed reports due to some confusion between device names. Some reports such as this one, talk about the Storm but say “Bold” in the headline. Thoughts?
[UPDATE: Thanks to our readers who told us the launch date is December 18th. Multumesc!]
While most Verizon Storm users are wondering why they would receive a text message telling them to upgrade to an OS that isn’t available yet, Vodafone Germany did the smart thing and just posted OS 4.7.0.78 on their website! You can click the link below to download and get updating – OS 4.7.0.78 should give Storm 9500 users quite a boost in stability.
Quickly following up on their and Australian pricing announcement, Vodafone has joined with RIM to jointly announce the launch of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 in the Netherlands. Here’s a list of the software to come pre-loaded on RIM’s first touchscreen BlackBerry.
* Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones
* Windows Live™ Messenger for BlackBerry smartphones
* Google Talk™ for BlackBerry smartphones
* Yahoo® Messenger for BlackBerry smartphones
* AOL® Instant Messenger™ for BlackBerry smartphones
* ICQ® for BlackBerry smartphones
* Flickr™ Photo Uploader for BlackBerry smartphones
Pricing for Voda Netherlands Storm ranges from free to €79.95, depending on your per month tariff. You can find the full pricing info after the jump or at the link below:
We’ve got some great news from one of our BlackBerry Cool 15 presenters, ExSafe. ExSafe takes control of the Microsoft Office application suite, storing documents away from vulnerable local disks and servers in a highly secure online storage environment. ExSafe is now officially available for public consumption, and has been successfully tested on Vodafone, O2 and AT&T networks (with more to come shortly).
You can purchase ExSafe or download a one week free trial by clicking the links below. A word of warning: we’ve been told that ExSafe gets a little glitchy if your BlackBerry is attached to a computer via USB, but simply unplugging the device will eliminate any problems.
The coming weeks will be a strange one for BlackBerry users purchasing the BlackBerry Storm, RIM’s first touchscreen BlackBerry. Likely, many of these people will have never used a touchscreen device before, and will be unfamiliar with the process. “How do I use it?” they will ask. “Why does the screen move? What’s an accelerometer? Should I dip it in peanut butter?”
Thankfully, Vodafone and RIM each have provided the help BlackBerry users seek. It addition to the introduction video above, you’ll find another one after the jump on web browsing, and a link to RIM’s BlackBerry Storm Tips and Navigation PDF.
Note: do not dip your BlackBerry Storm in peanut butter. Trust us, it won’t help.
Wow, Vodafone is on a roll this week. First, the BlackBerry Storm in the UK, the BlackBerry Bold in Malta and now a bevvy of BlackBerrys in the Channel Islands. Airtel-Vodafone and RIM jointly announced the launch of the BlackBerry Curve 8310 and BlackBerry Pearl 8110, both of which include GPS.
“We are thrilled to be bringing this product to customers in the Channel Islands,” says Iain Williams, CEO of Airtel-Vodafone. “The BlackBerry smartphone is no longer just a business must-have but it is increasingly becoming a lifestyle device as well. The more digital the world becomes the more people live their lives online. BlackBerry smartphones accommodate the modern way of life and, in combination with the additional services of the Vodafone network, we are confident that the BlackBerry solution will be well received by customers in the Channel Islands.”
For more information about Airtel-Vodafone’s BlackBerry releases, visit their website below.
Following up on their launch of the BlackBerry Storm in the United Kingdom, Vodafone hasn’t forgotten the needs of their other subscribers. RIM and Vodafone jointly announced yesterday the launch of the BlackBerry Bold in the Republic of Malta.
Vodafone Malta Ltd Chief Executive Officer Inaki Berroeta commented, “Now that the BlackBerry Bold is available in the Maltese market, professionals have the opportunity to manage their business dealings and operations in a manner that is fast and flexible.”
Vodafone Malta is offering the BlackBerry Bold from €500 straight up to €150 on a Smart+ plan. For more information, you can head to Vodafone’s BlackBerry Bold page. Make sure to also read our exhaustive review below!
Considering the current state of the global economy, expect more news of this sad nature in the coming weeks. Carrier Vodafone is expected this week to announce a substantial job cut of its European workforce aimed at generating savings of £1 billion (US$1.6 billion). This news comes in addition to previous warnings from Vodafone that their sales have remained difficult in its UK and Spanish markets. Vodafone is expected Tuesday to post a half-year operating profit of £5.7 billion on sales of £19.8 billion.
“Whether they set a target now or in May, there will have to be a cost plan,” Terence Sinclair, telecoms analyst at Citigroup told the Sunday Times newspaper. “£1 billion is just 3% of sales.”
Hopefully big sales of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 following its launch on the 14th will help to save a few jobs for our European friends.
Here’s a brief rundown of the week that was from your friendly family of bloggers in Ottawa, Canada. Below you’ll find news from our WinMo and mobile entertainment blogs, with a bunch of great BlackBerry Cool content after the jump.
I’m sure this will make all of our UK readers happy. Yesterday we published Vodafone UK’s official launch date for the BlackBerry Storm 9500, November 14th, but noticed that their Storm pre-order page contained a November 18th date. After contacting Vodafone for clarification, we received this timely response:
Hello,
You will be able to go to store and buy a BlackBerry Storm on 14th November. The pre-order phones – and there are 1000s – will be despatched next week and we expect customers will have their pre-order by next weekend. The 18th is just a precaution in case customers are not in to take delivery of the phone at the weekend and delivery needs to be attempted again the following week.
Notice to UK BlackBerry Cool readers: stay at home to make sure you get your BlackBerry Storm!
Considering the current state of the global economy, expect more news of this sad nature in the coming weeks. Carrier Vodafone is expected this week to announce a substantial job cut of its European workforce aimed at generating savings of £1 billion (US$1.6 billion). This news comes in addition to previous warnings from Vodafone that their sales have remained difficult in its UK and Spanish markets. Vodafone is expected Tuesday to post a half-year operating profit of £5.7 billion on sales of £19.8 billion.
