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 15, 2008, at 2:06 pm .
Alaska Communications Systems announced today the release of three different BlackBerrys for their subscribers: the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and the BlackBerry Pearl 8130. Astute readers will notice that all three BlackBerrys are EV-DO equipped for ACS’ CDMA network.
“The BlackBerry solution on Alaska’s fastest and most reliable network delivers the speed, security and interoperability that sophisticated business people and world travelers expect. ACS is the only carrier in Alaska that can achieve 3G data speeds on its EVDO-enabled devices, so our BlackBerry customers can expect faster data downloads, speedier access to corporate email, and a superior mobile web experience,” said Sheldon Fisher, ACS Senior Vice President of Sales and Service.
Both the Curve 8330 and Pearl 8130 are available from ACS for $249 on a two-year contract, while the 8830 World Edition will retail for $299 on a two-year contract. You can read the full press release and details after the jump.
See the ACS BlackBerry Press release
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 August 5, 2008, at 11:39 am .
This week Verizon took a machete to their BlackBerry prices, knocking the BlackBerry Curve down to $99.99, the BlackBerry Pearl to $79.99, and the BlackBerry World Edition to $149.99, all on two-year plans and with online rebate. Of course all CDMA carriers are feeling a bit of a sting these days what with the BlackBerry Bold launching on GSM networks worldwide any day now. Cheap devices aren’t the only way they’re hunkering down until the BlackBerry 9000 someday makes the CDMA switch - word has it Bell will be rocking a few new colours of Curve and Pearl, in a similar attempt to keep pace with GSM. Of course, Verizon will have the BlackBerry Thunder in good time, which could present some competition if it’s not hitting up AT&T…
(Verizon via cellular-news)
Posted on January 31, 2008, at 10:40 am .
It just doesn’t end, does it? Verizon’s BlackBerry 8830 has been given the red paint job that has become so popular this time of year, and will be available through Verizon’s online store and other retail channels tomorrow for $299.99 on a two-year contract, with a $100 rebate for qualifying voice and data plans. The World Edition is a nice change, since the 8800-series doesn’t get nearly as much colour as the Pearl does. Remember, if you’re ever looking for a quick and painless colour change, DecalGirl has some Solid State skins that can easily do the trick.
Posted on January 28, 2008, at 8:59 am .
Our buddies at DecalGirl released skins for the 8800 series last Friday, and they’re looking great. Even for a businessy BlackBerry, it’s nice to get a little bit of extra style to set you apart from all the other suits. I’m still packing the Dante skin on my Pearl, and it’s providing a surprising amount of protection, even on the backside where it gets the most damage. Speaking of the Pearl skins, they’ve all been marked down to $5.99 a pop, including the 8130 models, so get ‘em while they’re hot. Remember, all the skins also come with a matching background you can download for extra effect.
Posted on January 25, 2008, at 8:06 am .
Bell has recently come out with a cool promo to ditch their old 8703e stock by giving away four of ‘em with every BlackBerry 8130 and 8830. Besides the devices, Bell is also offering bulk data plans to be split among those new users: $100 for 1 GB, $60 for 30 MB, $40 for 8 MB, $25 for 4 MB and another $20 for each additional user (over five?). This is a pretty sweet deal for companies that have executives and underlings to equip in a hurry. More info over here.
Posted on December 19, 2007, at 11:17 am .
There’s already been some griping about BlackBerry’s performance in Consumer Reports‘ ‘08 issue, and it might be well-justified. The BlackBerry Curve landed in 7th. place, the Pearl in 12th., the 8800 in 14th., and the 8830 in 19th. out of 20 smartphones tested. Two Treos (755p and 680), T-Mobile’s Wing, the BlackJack and the Moto Q 9m beat out the BlackBerry 8300, with the iPhone topping the list.
Basically, that means everyone who matters in smartphones did better than BlackBerry. Suprisingly, the Nokia N95 (which I had heard great things about) was down in 15th. place. The biggest thing to keep in mind before launching into a CR-hating tirade is that you really have to take these things with a grain of salt. CR’s overall scores were “based mainly on voice quality, ease of use, and talk time”, which can all vary based on user, location and carrier. I haven’t used any of the other top 5, so can’t really pass judgement. Anyone have some horror stories about the leaders, and why they might not deserve top marks?
Posted on December 17, 2007, at 3:24 pm .
Kiwis rejoice, the BlackBerry 8830 is coming your way from Telecom New Zealand. Previously, Vodafone usually brought the BlackBerrys in, who’s currently carrying the Pearl and GPS Curve, but now New Zealanders will be able to enjoy a bit of variety in their BlackBerry options. On top of the device, Telecom will also be offering BES service to any corporate customers looking to get a BlackBerry rollout.
Posted on December 10, 2007, at 8:44 am .
Centennial has announced the BlackBerry 8703e and 8830 in Puerto Rico, both of which will enjoy GPS navigation and make use of the island-wide EV-DO network. Centennial just launched their BlackBerry service in the US this September, and already the love spreading down to the tropics. While we won’t be seeing the Curve on the Centennial’s CDMA network anytime soon, the BlackBerry 8130 is making the rounds, so it could very well end up down in Puerto Rico soon. You can grab the 8703e for $149.99 and the 8830 for $249.99 over here.
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