David’s Musings

One week in, and I absolutely love my Blackberry Bold from AT&T. With many delays, it was a long time coming, but worth the wait.

This is my eighth Blackberry which seems a bit greedy, and it’s only been six months since I bought the Curve, which is a little strange I admit, but, hey, I’m a glutton for new gadgets and technology.

The feel and usability of the Bold is fantastic. There have been many reviews already done, so I don’t want to replicate. You notice the speed and stability more than anything. There is more internal memory to let your applications run smoothly and load quickly. The screen is fantastic and you can watch video in glorious detail. I slapped in a 8GB card and have some films and television to watch when I’m on the move. The keypad is quiet, solid and responsive.

The improved Blackberry Browser tied with the crystal sharp screen gives a great web-experience. With 3G you can watch streaming clips from YouTube. If you take photos and video, it is now very speedy to take these off onto your PC or iMac via USB compared with previous Blackberry models.

AT&T and Blackberry put some good thought into the UI and the look and feel. The themes are crisp and fresh. I seem to have Wifi and Bluetooth switched on at all times. Even by doing that, the battery lasts a good 1.5 days with pretty heavy use. I have to say even though the device is 3G, I don’t notice it making a huge difference with normal Blackberry use. Emails come through the same as the previous models. When you browse, you don’t notice a huge difference either. However, if you download attachments, pictures or applications - that’s when you do notice it making a huge difference.

The camera is the same as my old Curve, 2MP, so no real change there. But again, because of the processing speed of the Bold, the videos I record are crisp and not jumpy

I’ve found two bugs in the software: On one occasion, the red light stayed on constantly and I had to reboot - and the other was that the colours of the writing of the keys in the calculator app sometimes act strangly when pressed. Apart from that, everything else is fine.

The only thing I don’t like too much is the specially commisioned music themes for the Bold by Stewart Copeland. They sound like a two-legged cat walking over my daughters Schoenhut (you might have to Google that!)

Blackberry Bold specifications:

• Size - Length: 114mm, Width: 66mm, Thickness: 14mm
• Weight (with battery) - 133g (same as the 88xx series. I can attest to it!)
• Memory - 1GB on-board (storage) and 128 MB Flash (applications)
• Battery - 1500mAhr lithium cell
• Est. Battery Life - Standby: 13 days, Talk Time: 5 hours
• Network Support - UMTS: 2100 / 1900 / 850MHz, GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz, GPRS, EDGE and HDSPA networks
• Wi-Fi - 803.11a/b/g enabled
• Display - HVGA, 480 x 320 pixels, Transmissive TFT LCD, supports over 65k colors
• Media Player, Video Support - DivX 4, Div X 5 & 6 are partially supported, XviD is partially supported, H.263, H.264 and WMV3
• Media Player, Audio Support - .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, Professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
• Media Player, Audio - BlackBerry Media Sync allows you to transfer your desktop iTunes music to your BlackBerry
• Camera - 2.0MP, 5 x digital zoom (with flash)
• GPS - internal GPS with extended ephemeris
• Bluetooth - Bluetooth v2.0, all the normal stuff and Bluetooth Stereo Audio via A2DP and AVCRP
• USB Port - Enables charging and high-speed data synchronizations via USB
• Browser - HTML browsing, view movies/clips from websites built for mobile streaming, RSS feed support
• Cost with USA AT&T from $299.99 for 2 year contract or upgrade with rebate - the no commitment price $549.99 (as at 20 Nov 08)

I had my first hands-on experience with the new T-Mobile G1 today and was more impressed than I thought I would be.

This little wonder is out officially tomorrow, but I got a sneak peak.

Firstly, I was really impressed with the shape and how it fits in your hand. I was not originally a fan of the bent bottom, but the way it moulds into your palm for calls is excellent. Within minutes I found the whole interface very intuitive.

The screen flips out very easily to reveal a perfectly functioning keyboard with great responsiveness. I was navigating so easily with the keyboard and buttons, I forgot about the touch-screen!

The applications are too many to mention, but even Google Maps has a nice twist to it. Run it, it’ll find your location, and with the built in e-compass as you turn the street view changes to actually reflect a 360 view. Very strange, but clever and cool.

I’m told the battery life is good, even with 3G on all day with average use. The iPhone 3G’s battery from experience isn’t too good for an average user and won’t last the day.

The camera is a powerful 3.2 megapixel one, with autofocus. Even down to a macro-level I was impressed with the quality. A neat application I saw was a bar code scanner linked to the camera. Scan a bar code in a shop, and instantly it brings up the details - and even links to Amazon to see what they’re selling it for - and buy it there and then. Clever.

The whole look-and-feel, UI and navigation has been given much thought. Again, after a short time, I was moving around the screen and applications like a pro.

I don’t think it’s a serious contender in the corporate space yet, but as soon as the applications appear similar to ActiveSync and security is proven, it’ll be a winner for sure. These will still fly off the shelf tomorrow without a doubt.

Over the weekend, I took the plunge and updated the firmware on my Blackberry 8310 to the new Blackberry OS 4.5. This is obviously not recommended as there could have been all sorts of issues, but, for now, things are looking pretty good and pretty stable.

I wanted to upgrade as, (a) I’m impatient, and (b) the upgrade brings massively improved functionality - the main ones being, better media player, video recorder, HTML email, better user interface, availability search for calendar invites.

So how did I do it? Here’s how. And please, do not contact me if you have problems. I don’t recommend this unless you think you know what you’re doing!

These instructions are only for owners with a Blackberry 8310. I am on the AT&T network in the USA. This method has not been tested by me on any other network or anywhere else in the world. Also, to get the full functionality of things such as HTML email, your BIS service must be running BIS 2.5 - but I believe they all are now.

This process may remove any applications you have installed and may remove your corporate policy if you have one. Be warned.

Also, start to finish, this process can take an hour or more. Once you start, you can’t stop, so make the time.

1. Ensure you have the latest Blackberry Desktop software installed. You can get it here: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/

2. Install the Blackberry Desktop software.

3. Download the latest OS firmware from here, the only place to offer it right now - the Germany Vodafone site. (By the way, the official release by US operators is looking to be released around September if you can wait that long)

4. Install the OS firmware download.

5. Plug in your Blackberry, your device will be identified and the upgrade process should begin. The process, as I’ve said already, can take a long, long time. Lots of rebooting and white screens are normal. Be patient.

If you end up with a white screen with small icons and the number 507/543, simply connect to Desktop Manager again and run the application loader once again.

Good luck and enjoy! I’m certainly loving the new look.

Yesterday I bought a new Blackberry, the Blackberry Curve 8310. My Blackberry Pearl 8100 had served me extremely well - it was a very faithful device. However, after around a year and a half, the silver paint was wearing off, the camera started to blur, the connection would start to drop and reconnect and the back would occasionally fall to the ground.

I had to find a suitable replacement. I wanted to definitely get a Blackberry, and I definitely wanted a camera. I didn’t really think I would ever use wifi on a device - and if I had to choose between GPS and wifi, I’d go with GPS. I’ve never had a problem with the speeds over GPRS or EDGE when using a Blackberry.

I also thought about the new Blackberry 9000 that will be out later in the year. However, from what I’ve heard and read, the specifications sound great, but the battery life seems poor. The cost of the unit will be fairly substantial too. It’s supposed to have a high quality finish and the photos leaked seem to suggest that, however from people I know who have actually touched them, it seems to have a plastic feel to it. I cannot be sure that’s true.

The 8310 is my seventh Blackberry, but not my seventh phone. Can anyone out there beat that?! You can have a look at all the Blackberry devices I’ve owned at an old post here. A sample photo taken in bad light with the flash can be seen here. It doesn’t look too bad at all:

So, I wanted to go back to a bigger screen, a ‘proper’ keyboard and have a decent camera. Hence my choice of the 8310. So what have I noticed so far:

• The keyboard is great. A big improvement on the last wide Blackberry I had, the 8700g.
• It has a great feel to it, seems solid in its build
• The camera is a huge improvement on the Pearl 8100. Obviously it’s a 2MP camera now, but the interface, the larger screen and a flash that is much improved makes a huge difference
• The GPS functionality is great. I use the free Google Maps for Blackberry. When you run the application it first triangulates via mobile phone towers and locks you into around 500-1000 metres. However, in seconds, the GPS kicks in and pulls you into your actual position. I’ve seen it get as close as one metre.
• The general UI is very much improved and speed of the device is noticeably better than the Pearl. I can actually watch video and listen to music (in stereo) on my Blackberry now via my additional 1GB card
• I have a tethered modem tariff via AT&T and the speeds I get are fantastic

I’d highly recommend this Blackberry.

There are some iPhone video clips working their way around the internet right now more quickly than Rick’s Astley’s, “Never Gonna Give You Up” Rick Roll video. The new look iPhone mark two is soon to be on the shelves of your nearest AT&T and Apple store. The iPhone 2, which most people believe will be announced at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June (a year after his older brother) is looking very, very good indeed.

This video shows some of the new look interface, which hasn’t changed a great deal apart for a few new options and the version 2 firmware. The new 3G, GPS iPhone is a little slimmer with a matt-black finish instead of the polished silver we all know and love.

Take a look at the clip here:

I was looking at my Blackberry today and started thinking how many applications I now use that I find indispensable that are not part of the standard install.

I’m going to list them here to share - but also as a handy reference for me to download these applications in the future if I need them!

All Google Blackberry applications

You can get all the current Blackberry applications from one single point. This download will help you configure a Google installer which will keep all the applications up-to-date going forward. You can select which applications you wish to install and those you don’t. You can download it here:

(From your Blackberry Browser) http://www.google.com/m/products

The applications I have installed on my Blackberry are Google Maps, Google Search and Mail by Google. I don’t seem to get any value out of the others.

Note: If you have a hosted email account with Google, (as I do), you need to download the Mail application separately here:

(From your Blackberry Browser) http://m.google.com/a

Viigo

Viigo is an application to centralise and sync your RSS feeds. It’s probably the application I use the most on the Blackberry. I recommend it highly - and you can download it here:

(From your Blackberry Browser) http://www.getviigo.com

You need a free account to access this service. You can setup one through your Blackberry or on their website at http://www.viigo.com

Facebook

If you like to follow your friends and family, Facebook is available for your Blackberry. The application truly integrates with your Blackberry and shows messages received in your status bar along with normal email messages

(Browser install via USB) http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/soci…

(From your Blackberry Browser - select the Facebook download) http://mobile.blackberry.com

Twitter (TwitterBerry)

If you want to update your Twitter status on-the-move without using your SMS function, you should consider TwitterBerry. TwitterBerry also offers you the function to list out Friends and Public timelines

(From your Blackberry Browser) http://www.orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/

Yahoo Go!

Yahoo Go! gives you access to your Yahoo account, email, Flickr, RSS, Sport, Finance, Weather and Maps and is certainly a polished product. The download is not small but can be downloaded over the air at:

(From your Blackberry Browser) http://go.get.yahoo.com

Blackberry applications

Blackberry have various promotions and recommendations available to download via your phone by pointing your Blackberry browser to: http://mobile.blackberry.com

TV Guide (USA)

To download an excellent TV Guide application point your Blackberry here: http://tvguide.handmark.com

So, those are the applications I use - any I’ve missed, or any you cannot do without?

I haven’t posted for a while, so I thought I’d make a few technology predictions for 2008. I’ll check back on this post in January 2009 and see how close - or far - I’ve been:

Apple iPhone

I don’t actually see a new iPhone being launched during 2008. There’s lots of speculation around it, but I do feel Apple are some way away in bringing out a second version with something like 3G. The first version still has to appear in APAC markets, so until it does, I don’t see Apple releasing the next. My other prediction is that they’ll realise some killer apps, plus the long awaited Microsoft ActiveSync technology to allow the iPhone to work with corporate Exchange email

Sony PS3 Home

Sony will release their long-awaiting virtual reality world, Home, to replace the cross-media bar (XMB)

Blackberry handsets

Blackberry will reveal a new handset that will have a longer, wider screen. However, I don’t believe it will have a touch screen as predicted - but a folding or movable keyboard. Blackberry never bring out phones with a camera, GPS and WiFi packaged together - they always mix it up - but I believe the next generation of phone will have all of these - but still probably be GPRS not 3G

Offline browsing, web-to-go

We are going to see more use of offline browsing tools and application in the next year such as Google Gears, Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight. There will be more opportunity for offline browsing and then syncing-up your sessions and work once you’re back online

Apple Reduced Size Laptop

I see Apple creating a new small laptop with a screen of less than 12 inches and weighing in pretty light. Perhaps this new mini-laptop will have a touch screen such as the iPhone. With new Intel chips on their way such as Silverthorne that are notable for their very small size, speed, computing power and very low power consumption, Apple will be well placed in this area. These minature laptops will probably pave the way for a new iPhone flavour - but not until 2009 at least.

I hate to be beaten to something techy and good, but my work colleague Dean today pointed me towards Yahoo! Go 2.0 for the Blackberry. I have a Pearl and he has the 8800.

One quick mobile over-the-air install later I was suitably impressed. This is a client that sits on your Blackberry and links and syncs with your Yahoo! account.

You can access your email, create an RSS list and links nicely through to your Flickr account, Yahoo! Maps etc. I don’t have GPS on my Blackberry, but Dean has - and his position was plotted up to about 1 yard on the map. Very cool. We were actually outside our staff restaurant having lunch under a green umbrella. The dot indicating his position on the map was a green dot. Dean, it was futile attempt to sell the idea I would think the map was a live picture…

The interface is very polished for an application on the Blackberry - however, it’s quite a chunky application weighing in around at a 800K install.

Nice one Yahoo! I think you’re doing lots of cool things right now but they somehow don’t get the visibility they deserve.

The Google guys and girls have done it again and somehow improved on the Google Maps formula. You can now view 360-degree street views from within the Google Map website. Not only can you view traffic, plain map, satellite or a hybrid view - you can now place a miniature figure over a street that has been enabled and you can view the image all around that location.

At present, it’s working in only a few locations - but check it out, by clicking here.

My eternal thanks go out to Ed_NYC for solving this issue and passing on the details so that I can share.

Further to my posting here and here, we now have a solution to pairing the Blackberry Pearl 8100 with the TomTom GO 910 via Bluetooth and getting the Pearl to access TomTom Plus services. It’s been a long journey - but we’re now there. This appears here first, even TomTom do not have an update on this!

First, some prerequisites. This solution is for a Blackberry Pearl 8100, with a data-service tariff on the US network T-Mobile linking to a TomTom 910.

First, you need to ensure your Blackberry Pearl’s firmware is the latest version. Read my article here on how to upgrade your firmware. (Again thanks to Ed_NYC)

When you have it up-to-date, you need to take the following steps:

Ensure your APN settings on your Blackberry is set to wap.voicestream.com. To do this, go to Options > Advanced > TCP

You then need to pair via Bluetooth your Blackberry with the TomTom. This should be a straightforward step.

You then need to create the data setting profile by hitting the TomTom traffic item. If you don’t have a data connection already setup, it will start to take you through the steps to create one.

You need to select Blackberry 8100 and the USA option. When it comes to the connection type (T-Mobile (I), (II), (III), etc) you can click the manual button to create this from scratch.

The APN should be wap.voicestream.com

Username: {keep this blank}

Password: {keep this blank}

Select Automatic for both the IP/DHCP and DNS server option

Dial: *99#

Login script: +cgdcont=1,”IP”,”wap.voicestream.com”

The TomTom should now connect and you’ll be good to go.

Update: 15 January 2008 - Setting up AT&T Blackberry Pearl with TomTom Traffic

I recently moved my network service from T-Mobile in the USA to AT&T in the USA. Things seem much easier to setup to pair the Pearl with TomTom Traffic.

1. First check the firmware of your Pearl - I have v4.2.1.66 (Platform 2.3.0.57) - anything less than this might not work. You can always upgrade your handheld software by visiting the AT&T site at www.att.com/blackberry
2. Check your Blackberry plan with AT&T - you must have the extra teathered option in your tariff. I pay $59.99 a month for the Blackberry data and teathered modem option
3. Obviously - switch on Bluetooth on your phone and pair as normal with your TomTom
4. However, when it comes to the selections - do not pick the obvious (AT&T), choose the Cingular connection (not MediaWorks). You should not have to change any connections and you should be setup within seconds

My thanks go to Ed_NYC on this one for flagging new firmware that has been released for the Blackberry Pearl. The solution is a bit of a hack, but I’m willing to share it here.

My device is a US T-Mobile Blackberry 8100. I haven’t tested this on any other device. Use this solution at your own risk.

The latest firmware to be released for the Blackberry Pearl is version 4.2.1.66, T-Mobile US are currently only offering version 4.2.0.64 on their website. Therefore, we need to get it from elsewhere if you can’t wait for T-Mobile US!

Again, as a disclaimer, I don’t suggest you do this, it’s just for information only. Also, if you have BES enabled (i.e. you use your device over a corporate network), you may need your Blackberry administrator to wireless activate you again after the upgrade. However, after about 5 minutes after the upgrade, my wireless activation seemed to just start automatically.

The only mobile operator that seems to offer this download at present is TIM in Italy. Here we go, but a word of warning before you get started, you will need to put a good uninterrupted two hours aside to get this working. Once you start, you can’t stop!

To give you a sense of timings I started at 22:43 and finished the update at 00:25.

1. Download the new firmware, by visiting this page.
2. Once you have the download, run it and install the Blackberry Desktop software.
3. If you do not have an Italian TIM mobile device, you’ll need to delete the vendor.xml file after the install. This can be found at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\vendor.xml
4. Connect your Blackberry Pearl via the USB cable and run the Blackberry Desktop software. On syncing, the Desktop software recognises that an update to the firmware should happen and will take you through the steps with the Blackberry Application Loader
5. Just step through these selections, I would suggest taking the time to backup your device when the installation suggests you do
6. After an eternity (around 40 minutes) the update should be complete. Your Blackberry Pearl will take time to reset and reboot - and that’s the hard bit done. You now have firmware version 4.2.1.66 on your Pearl - congratulations!

Once this update is done, you’ll see changes to the areas of core functionality, supplemental SureType wordlists (financial, legal and medical terms), better attachment handling, Blackberry Maps, Blackberry Messenger, BrickBreaker and the embedded US PST patch

One of the best updates is that you now have a Desktop View on your Browser. If you switch to this, you get an arrow to move around with the trackball. In the options of your browser, you can switch to the Default of Desktop View and you can also set minimum font size, image quality and enable JavaScript Location support.

If you use the T-Mobile Zen theme, when you hit the Blackberry key, it no longer comes up in the list format, it is now a page of icons, just like the 8800 version. I like this!

SureType also now seems more accurate and some fonts, icons and signals bars look more polished. I have also noticed there are new sounds available (like the ones on the 8800), which is great, also a new looking calculator. Seach is slightly different as you can opt to search your encrypted messages.

When I find out more, I’ll post it up here.

It is my hope in the long run that this firmware upgrade will solve the problem of my Pearl syncing with my TomTom for Plus services. Until I figure that one out, enjoy the new functionality.

Update 24 April 2007
This is now solved, take a look at the article here:
http://davidburden.com/blog/?p=162

Further to my posting here at the beginning of February it seems that I’ve run out of options to get TomTom Plus services to work through my TomTom 910, through Bluetooth through to the data service on the US T-Mobile service.

I’ve tried every combination and permutation under the sun to get this to work. I even had to bribe our Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) administrators at work to help me out - but no luck.

I’m distraught to be honest. Two decent bits of kit that won’t talk to each other. Let me take you through some things I checked to save you the time.

First of all, I contacted TomTom customer support with a query. After 48 hours I got a poor reply on how to configure a Razr phone via Cingular. I have noticed however in the last couple of days they have updated their list of supported phones.

If you visit tomtom.com/phones you’ll see that hands-free calling is supported with the Blackberry Pearl 8100, nothing else.

I also phoned T-Mobile technical support. I spoke to a very friendly and helpful guys who spent probably 20 minutes with me - but we had no joy. The main thing we tried was tweaking the connection string each time. (Taking commas out, capitalisation, removing text in the quotes, etc) We also tried to enter wap.voicestream.com in the APN settings on the Pearl under Options > Advanced Options > TCP.

One thing I think everyone is in agreement about is that the APN to be used on the TomTom is wap.voicestream.com as the data plan is routed through this for all Blackberry devices.

The third thing I noticed was that because I was on a BES, some services were missing from my Bluetooth profile on my Blackberry Pearl. If you’re not on a corporate network, you shouldn’t have this problem, but by default Desktop Connectivity and Wireless Bypass are disabled via the BES administrator. These need to be activated by your friendly administrator.

Your Bluetooth Options screen should look something like this:

Device name: Blackberry 8100

Discoverable: Yes

Allow outgoing calls: Yes

Address book transfer: Enabled

LED Connection Indicator: On

Services:

Headset, Handsfree, Desktop Connectivity, Wireless Bypass

If you can’t see all these services, you’re probably on a restricted profile via your corporate BES.

So, that’s where I am at the moment, still without TomTom Plus services and not happy.

Two other little snippets that I’ve found in regards to the Blackberry Pearl recently. Even though I have a 1GB memory card, I can’t save any applications to it. This is causing me space problems on my Pearl as I currently have stacked it above and beyond the standard applications with Newsclip, Google Maps, Opera Mini, Sudoku, Ka-Glom, Mail by Google and Instant Messaging. (All of these applications are fantastic by the way, especially Newsclip, Google Maps and Mail by Google)

Secondly, Microsoft Office Communicator for Blackberry doesn’t work on the Pearl. It’s a shame as it’s an application I used frequently on my previous Blackberry. However, I think this is more of an issue of our BES being a few versions behind.

Virtualreach - Newsclip free trial

Operamini

The new Blackberry 8800 is soon to be released. It’s a thing of beauty, but it’s missing a camera, so I’ll stick with my Pearl for now. I’ve also got used to having a phone which is phone sized!

The phone features most functionality found on the Pearl. It does have GPS built in that is compatible with its own Blackberry Maps and other location based services (LBS)

It has a high-capacity battery that seems to be able to give up 24 days standby and 5 hours talk time! The phone will be initially released on Cingular only in the USA.

You can find out more at:

http://www.blackberry8800.com

Update 24 April 2007
This is now solved, take a look at the article here:
http://davidburden.com/blog/?p=162

It was my birthday on Wednesday and Mrs Burden bought me a spanking new TomTom 910. TomTom allows you to link up to a mobile phone via bluetooth and download additional data services such as traffic information and weather. I’ve tried everything to get these two devices to pair, but to no avail.

I’ve spoken to US T-Mobile, read forums, and contacted TomTom support (yet to hear a response)

This is a last ditch effort to see if anyone out there can help. If you’ve linked a TomTom to a Blackberry Pearl 8100 via bluetooth for data services, please get in touch!

Update 9 February 2007

I have still had no luck pairing my TomTom 910 with my Blackberry Pearl. It pairs via bluetooth for hands free calling, but that’s about it. There is a link on the TomTom site that shows a grid of compatible phones. I feel it must be a little out of data as Blackberry 8100 can be selected as a phone on the TomTom options screen. Check at this link for the compatibility of your phone:

http://www.tomtom.com/phones/index.php

I was excited to get permission from my bank manager (wife) to go and buy the new satellite navigation system TomTom Go 910. I’ve had the original TomTom for a few years now and love it to bits - it’s one of my best gadgets.

When I relocated to the US, I bought the maps to replace my Europe ones and everything worked just fine. However, on closer inspection, the 910 just doesn’t step up at the moment. I like the screen and the UI, but the maps are still way out of date. The housing development where I live has been around for two years, but it’s not on the map. I’ve also found that my Blackberry 8700g isn’t compatible with the system. I can carry out hands free dialing through the TomTom 910, but I cannot use any data services through Bluetooth. So, I remain with my original until I get a better offer!