Yesterday we reported that the majority of European businesspeople were unwilling to trade in their favored handset for mobile email access. Today we can tell you that 87.5% of U.S. smartphone users access entertainment content (i.e. games, music, video) from their devices according to a survey by Artificial Life. In addition, 33 percent of those surveyed use their phone for entertainment over any other purpose, including email, GPS and Internet browsing.
It’s been tossed around that RIM’s BlackBerry subscriber base is now growing at an equal 50-50 split between enterprise and prosumer, and with reports like this it’s easy to see why. Why I’m sure that the majority of BlackBerry Cool readers wouldn’t give up their email for anything, I’m interested in hearing how important entertainment is to you.
(via CN)
More encouraging news for AT&T subscribers today. In addition to the October 26th Best Buy launch date, AT&T has now posted a registration page for six different BlackBerry Bold launch parties, running from October 15th to the 30th.
So take heart, AT&T subscribers. It looks like you should have your BlackBerry Bold before halloween!
AT&T BlackBerry Bold Launch Party Registration
Gary Krakow, Senior Technology Correspondent for TheStreet.com is a man on a mission. In love with his BlackBerry 8820, which he has used for six months, Krakow is steaming mad that his BlackBerry’s scrollball no longer works. Interviewing his own IT people, Krakow discovers that the majority of the BlackBerrys used at TheStreet.com last about a month before having to be sent back for repairs. Stating that this is a “wake up call for the entire industry” (uh, Gary, how many other smartphone manufacturers do you know that use scroll balls?), Krakow demands that RIM offer the ability to remove and clean the BlackBerry scrollball similar to the old PC mice used in the mid-nineties.
My first thought upon watching this video was, “gee, the people at TheStreet have really dirty hands.” While BBCool HQ has run across the occasional sticky scrollball, our problems are nothing like those of Mr. Krakow and friends. To be fair, BlackBerry support document really doesn’t offer any significant advice on how to deal with the problem, but Gary, there’s a huge difference between the functionality of a $20 mouse and an $800 smartphone! So here’s a protip from us to you: gently wet your thumb before rolling the scrollball. Any unwanted dirt will stick to the moisture on the ball, making it much easier to remove.
To all our IT friends out there, I pose a question: does your company face a similar problem with BlackBerry scrollballs? Inquiring minds want to know.
Vodafone UK has upped the ante on the ‘carriers publishing sign-up pages for unannounced BlackBerrys’ war by offering a free BlackBerry Storm 9500 for those who sign up for more information. There’s no more information on Vodafone’s site about the BlackBerry Storm, but we can tell you that if you win, you’re one unlock code away from being a very happy Rogers/T-Mobile/AT&T subscriber.
Vodafone BlackBerry Storm Site
(via BGR)
(…)
Read the rest of Vodafone to give away BlackBerry Storm 9500 via info site
With RIM’s first HSPA (the BlackBerry Bold’s flavour of 3G) device now available internationally, and so many worries about coverage arising, it’s time to take a look at some subscriber numbers. Last year, 11 million cell phones were running on the 3G technology, but now we’re looking at 50 million handsets cruising on HSPA networks. That substantial increase is supported by 191 service providers and over 740 devices.
“These figures highlight the global success of Mobile Broadband and the fact that we are continuing to see greater and greater economies of scale,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. “This is driving down the cost of devices and equipment and enabling more and more users across the world to enjoy easy access to media-rich services anywhere at anytime.”
This gives us a lot of hope for better connectivity on the BlackBerry Bold and future 3G devices, but by the looks of the BlackBerry Javelin and BlackBerry Kickstart, the 9000 may be the only HSPA BlackBerry until the BlackBerry Thunder in mid-October.
(via cellular-news)
What, you think we didn’t have one before today? While we’re still not sure when you’ll be able to walk into a Rogers store to actually buy the shiny new device like Simon did, today still marks the official launch of the BlackBerry Bold on Rogers. In honor of this special day, we’ve decided to post our exhaustive review, if only to whet your appetites.
And boy, has this day been a long time coming: three years in development, three months since its official announcement at WES 2008, and three times the hype of any other BlackBerry release. The first in RIM’s next generation lineup of smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold has been labeled everything from an enterprise company’s desperate push into the prosumer space to a true iPhone killer. Most of the BlackBerry faithful are just hoping that it turns out to be a worthy merger and evolution of the BlackBerry 8800 and Curve device lines. This review will settle the debate.
Be forewarned, our review of the BlackBerry Bold is fairly large. However, we’ve broken the review down into specific sections for quick and convenient access to the information you seek. Make sure to post a comment to let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed, anything else you want to know about, and whether or not you feel RIM’s new flagship device meets the hype.
Enough talk! Behold, the BlackBerry Bold.
Read the rest of The Ultimate BlackBerry Bold Review
Back in 1991, the National Association of Broadcasters attempted to lobby the FCC against pay-to-use news services over cellular networks, which would have been bad news for BlackBerry if it had gone through.
The NAB said that the cellular operators are misusing their spectrum. “Cellular spectrum should be reserved for the two-way communication for which it is designed,” said the NAB. “One-way transmission of news, sports, weather and traffic would be a misuse of this spectrum and a needless duplication of broadcast services.”
Yep, the NAB didn’t want any data services sent over cell networks, which would include that handy push e-mail we all know and love today. Too bad for them that one didn’t pan out, eh? Think they would have smartened up over the last decade? Guess again. They’re still combating the use of wireless white space by Google, Dell Microsoft and others for data services for fear of its interference with existing broadcasting in the spectrum - essentially the same premise as back in ‘91. Good luck with that one, guys.
Thanks Josep!
(BNET via Saschameinrath)
A new BlackBerry theme came out today for the Pearl, Curve and 8800-series which will tickle pink any nostalgic gamers out there. Every icon is an animated spite from a certain game involving certain Italian plumbers stomping on certain turtles attempting to rescue a certain princess. While “Classic Video Game Theme” might be a thinly-veiled attempt to evade IP lawyers, it’s still a slick looking theme. As far as I’m concerned, it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo’s legal banhammer comes down on this one, so pick it up while you can!
Zen style
Today style
Icon style
A recent study by NDP Group concluded that American cell phone sales were down 13% this quarter, the third quarter in a row to show a decline. The cost per phone has gone up 14% to $84, but the real kicker is that smartphone sales have doubled since last year, with particular emphasis on the full QWERTY devices out there (like BlackBerrys). The reasoning?
“One explanation might be that there’s a group of consumers that’s holding off, making do with the devices that they have, either because of larger economic concerns or because they don’t see any value yet in the new voice and data services that are driving some of these new handsets,” [said Ross Rubin, NDP's director of industry analysis.]
There’s definitely a grain of truth there, considering how simplistic layouts like the iPhone are winning over a wider audience. The new flip BlackBerry will certainly be tapping into the “I just want a phone” audience by latching onto a recognizable form factor, and potentially be taking an even bigger bite out of the standard cell phone market. It’s just a matter of selling folks on the data services…
(via AP)
We might have caught a glimpse at the BlackBerry Thunder, but we’ve got a bit more eye candy, and is it looking slick, or what? The shots look like they came from a document detailing some of the OS 4.7 multimedia functions of the unreleased touchscreen BlackBerry due out sometime before Christmas for CDMA carriers. The BlackBerry Thunder will apparently be packing a glass 360 x 480 screen, which seems like more than enough for full videos. The media player will also feature carrier music stores, which would be a great way to grab tunes wirelessly to your device. When recording video, you’ll be able to preview the whole thing in landscape mode, too. Not too shabby at all.
The touchscreen has been a point of contention, both among handheld users as well as RIM’s execs, but one way or the other, there’s a market for touch devices, and with the BlackBerry Thunder, RIM is clearly on board. Between the flip BlackBerry Kickstart, the Curve-style BlackBerry Javelin, the upcoming Bold, and now the BlackBerry Thunder, it’s clear that there’s a wide array of tastes BlackBerrys can reach out to. So, who’s salivating?
[Via BlackBerry Cool]