With the recent release of the BlackBerry 7 devices, followed by quite a few leaks and official OS drops, owners of BlackBerry 6 devices were probably left wondering if they were forgotten about. Today Mobilicity has dropped OS 6.0.0.650 as an official release for the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and 9780 along with the BlackBerry Curve 9300. Remember, be sure to have a back up of your device prior to installing, and proceed with caution.
One of the features of your 3G BlackBerry Smartphone that is easy to forget but can come in really handy given certain circumstances is the ability to change your Network Mode. When you go to Mobile Network Options, under Network Mode you have the options of 3G, 2G and 3G & 2G, with the 3G & 2G option being the one that is typically selected by default. This default option means that if 3G is available for the cellular network you’re connected to you will default to 3G, but if the 3G signal gets too weak or you move out of 3G network range, you’ll automatically drop to a 2G network (known as EDGE) which is more than likely to be present. Compared to 2G, 3G connections offer faster data speeds and simultaneous voice and data (on GSM), so most people prefer 3G to 2G when given the option. Thus, the default setting of 3G & 2G works pretty well for most people, most of the time. However, it can make sense to try changing up this option is if you find yourself in a location where all of a sudden your trusty BlackBerry seems to start working like crap even though you’re clearly connected to 3G – it could be that your device would be better off dropping down to 2G but for whatever mystical reason it doesn’t want to downshift. Allow me to illustrate with a real life example from this past weekend:
I spent the weekend getting some R&R at a buddy’s cabin in a cottage/camping area called Spruce Sands, which is a 15 minute drive away from the town of Gimli on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg. Gimli recently got its network upgraded to offer 3G (yay…finally!). Back at my buddy’s cabin, all of the devices present (a Bold 9780, Torch 9800, Bold 9700 and an iPhone 4) were clearly connected to Rogers and the 3G signal looked strong, displaying full bars. So based on appearances, it seemed like Gimli’s new 3G network reached outside of town to the area where I was staying. I wasn’t paying super close attention to my phone nor using it that much during the day (getting some R&R, remember?), but my Bold 9780 did seem a bit wonky. My battery was almost dead (despite barely using the phone), I had some undelivered BBMs, and it seemed to take everybody in the cabin a few tries to make voice calls. The service felt suspect, but since I was seeing full bars on 3G (and was having a good time drinking), I didn’t think to do anything about it.
By mid-afternoon of day two after hearing others in the cabin complain about the same issues I noticed the day before, I finally decided to do something about it, and changed my Network Mode to 2G. Boom. Issues Fixed. By switching to EDGE only mode and ignoring 3G connectivity, every issue we experienced went away and our devices were back to running normal (with exceptional battery life I might add on EDGE). Apparently we were picking up the town’s 3G tower still but were near the limit of its range, which meant we were ignoring the much closer towers that offered EDGE only. And that really horrible battery life was the result of the radios working excessively hard to try an maintain that 3G connection when we were clearly getting out or range.
Long Story Short: If you find your 3G data connectivity appears to be ok but all of a sudden you’re experiencing poor battery life, undelivered BBMs, delayed SMS messages and calls dropping, try switching to 2G only. It might save you from a ton of aggrevation!
Via: cb
Recently the Twitter® for BlackBerry® smartphones 2.0 app was updated with several changes and new features based on customer feedback. Today I’d like to provide an overview of the Trends feature, since it’s changed slightly in this latest update – not to mention it’s a favorite that I use a lot. I’ll also show you a bunch of useful shortcuts that you can take advantage of while using the Twitter app.
Continue reading Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones 2.0 – Trends and Shortcuts!
Official OS 6.0.0.643 from T-Mobile UK has reached the BlackBerry Bold 9780. If you have a Bold 9780, get out that USB cord and give your a device a fresh OS. Don’t forget to drop a comment below and let us know how it’s working out for you!
**Currently this update seems to only be showing on Desktop Manager for T-Mobile UK users, but BBH-Plus has created a home made installer for the install**
*Disclaimer – Install at your own risk and always back up your data before loading! This is NOT an official release and as such is not supported by Research In Motion or your Wireless Carrier. NHCBBA.com is not responsible for any loss of data or any other issues that may arise during the loading process.
We also have the .zip of just the UMTS and Java files if you prefer to do a copy/paste method.
Instructions:1. Install 6.0.0.600 to PC (http://bit.ly/ndsvgo)1a. UMTS/Java Folder only: Download
2. Install this over 6.0.0.600 folder using this installer
2a. Shrink your OS if you want
3. Install to phone
3a. For best results, do 2-3 battery pulls and allow 24-48 hour “settling” timeThis is the full OS 6.0.0.643 DM Update.Contains:
– Updated: BBM, Facebook, Twitter, IM apps
Well the T3 Gadget Awards have rolled around again this year and this time the BlackBerry PlayBook is up to bat. Ruben let us know that the BlackBerry PlayBook has been nominated as a finalist in both the Tablet of the Year and Design Award categories. The BlackBerry Bold 9780 also made it on to the list of contenders for Work Gadget of the Year.
Don’t forget to vote up your favorite devices!
A couple of weeks ago we told you that Three UK stated the release date (listed on their coming soon page) for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 was due on the network in August. Upon revisiting this same page however, the date has been changed to September, further fueling the uncertainly on the exact release date of the much anticipated device. Jump onto the Carphone Warehouse coming page and you’ll find that they’ve given a more vague “Expected August” release date – noting the ‘expected due date is subject to change without notice’.
On another note, the SIM free price has been confirmed as £399, which sounds just about right as the Bold 9780/9700 were priced in that range too. You can also find the BlackBerry Bold 9900 available for pre-order already on such sites as Expansys.
Source: Phones Review
Reflecting upon Thursday evening’s RIM Q1 Results and earnings call, the pieces finally fell into place so we can more accurately tell the story of why it is taking so long for RIM to bring the BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 and other next-generation BlackBerry Smartphones to market.
On the historic call, which featured both Co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis delivering the results commentary and tag teaming the Q&A period, the following was what Mike had to offer in regards to the lull in new BlackBerry phones:
We were already well down a development path to the next-generation BlackBerry handsets when we realized that in the US the features and performance arms race demanded that we upgrade the chipset and port BlackBerry to a higher-performance platform. This was an engineering change that affected hardware and software timelines and pushed out entry into carrier certification labs.
It’s only two short sentences, but if you’ve followed the BlackBerry development path for a few years there’s a lot you can gather from them. Specifically, Mike is saying that devices like the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 at their design inception were not originally intended to get the 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset that they are going to launch with. That makes sense considering we’ve been hearing about devices like Magnum and Onyx III since before that chipset even existed.
From what I’ve gathered, RIM was originally going to continue to use Marvell for at least one more generation of their top of the line GSM BlackBerry Smartphones, bumping up from the current 624MHz found in devices like the Bold 9780 to 800MHz likely via the Tavor MG-1 (and on the CDMA side going with something like the Qualcomm MSM 8655 800MHz). With RIM typically having a pretty big lead time on their device development cycle, the progression from 624MHz up to 800MHz fits the way they have rolled out platform upgrades over the years.
But someone at somepoint in recent months must have woken up one morning and realized that 800MHz would be laughable in their top tier devices compared to the onslaught of high-end specs being ushered in by Android phones, so relegated 800MHz to the low end (BlackBerry apollo/sedona – the new Curve) and realized they needed to do something more compelling for their flagship devices. With Marvell’s offerings looking lackluster compared to Qualcomm’s, for RIM that meant a big undertaking relatively late in the commercialization cycle of these new devices as they would be abandoning Marvell.
RIM has always treated the development of their GSM and CDMA devices independently, as the devices were on different chipsets. Just think back over the years as to how GSM and CDMA BlackBerry devices would launch at different times and even physically look different (think Bold 9650 and Bold 9700) and could have significantly different performance. For CDMA, RIM would just license Qualcomm’s radio stack, but on the GSM side RIM wrote their own – one of the reasons why that Bold 9700/9780 has always gotten such awesome battery life as RIM maintains finite control over the part that can eat the battery away quickly. Again wanting to maintain control over their radio stacks, this late change to Qualcomm meant RIM having to re-write that code for the new chipset, and in doing so, must then go through the technical acceptance process with carriers all over again. That again explains why on the call Mike said this is some of the best code they’ve written to date, and that why once one devices gets approved it should move quick from there (it probably also explains why RIM is pretty confident the smaller 1230mAh battery in the 9900 will still get good battery life – they’re killing it with the code). Now having only one chipset to worry about for both GSM and CDMA will definitely speed things up for RIM down the road once they get through the process one.
Beyond the radio side, RIM would also would have had to put a ton of time into adapting the BlackBerry OS for some of the other features offered by the new chipset, like the dedicated GPU which RIM is tapping into to power what they have dubbed as “liquid graphics.” Yet another reason for the delays, which I’ll save for another article to dive into, could be the fact RIM forgot about phones for a little bit while they worked around the clock to push out the PlayBook.
Thinking back to when I first went hands on with the new touch Bold at BlackBerry World in May, I pretty much felt that was a device that RIM could put on sale right then and there (and I probably would have bought ten). Sure, it still had a few little bugs, but it felt ready enough for me. After yesterday’s earnings call, I get the sense that it’s ready enough for RIM too at this point, but they just need to finish getting through this TA process yet again.
So if you’re reading this and happen to work for a carrier in the T.A. department and test this stuff out, do CrackBerry Nation a favor and approve it fast! I want my BlackBerry Bold 9900 aready!
via:cb
BlackBerry Bold 9780 users get another OS today to help with those mid-week blues. From Orange Poland we have OS 6.0.0.576 ready to go. This one is official but no new of whats new and improved just yet. If you do install, be sure to hit the forums and let us know what you find. As always, use caution when installing this or any OS. Now go get it!!
If you’re seeing this post and thinking to yourself what the heck is a BlackBerry Bold 9790? you’re not alone. We’re kind of stumped by the existence of this one, though I’m thinking it’s the device we have talked about previously that went by the codename Onyx III. With a look that’s very similar to the BlackBerry Bold 9780, the 9790 shown in the photos (more pics below) apparently packs a lot of the next-generation stuff that we’ll be seeing in the BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, including:
Continue reading BlackBerry Bold 9790 (Onyx III?!) Photos Emerge!
Gist for BlackBerry has been updated to support additional devices. Previously the app was only available for the BlackBerry Torch, but the new update brings support for the Bold 9700/9780, Bold 9900/9930, Style 9670 and Tour 9630. Gist was acquired by RIM a few weeks back and good things should be on the horizon beyond their BlackBerry app (think integration). Gist is a great contact management tool that lets you keep all of your contact info across all networks in one neat place. Use the BlackBerry app to access the info and login from the web to tweak to your hearts content. Gist is available free in BlackBerry App World.
More information/download of Gist for BlackBerry or click the QR Code below from your Blackberry Smartphone
[qrcode pix=170]http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/42426?lang=en[/qrcode]
via:CB
Night Hawk Computers Blackberry Alliance 