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Archive for July, 2010
Rogers Drops The Ball On Pride
Jul 5th
Like thousands of others, I headed downtown yesterday, weathering the scorching heat, to support the annual Gay Pride Parade in Toronto. A good time was had by all and the support was clearly evident. What was also evident was Rogers’ lack of service availability in the downtown core throughout most of the afternoon.
I’ll admit, at first I wanted to give Rogers the benefit of the doubt for the lack of service: could it be water damage? I was drenched! Then I looked at my phone and it was in fine working condition. So I turned to my sister’s Blackberry 9700. Nope, SOS as well. I was now perplexed and frustrated. I then (in my true over the top “CellGuru” fashion) began to walk up to people, asking bluntly “Who is your carrier” and “Is your phone working?” It turns out that most consumers with Rogers phones were experiencing an outage, while those on Telus and Bell HSPA were rocking 5 bars, mocking us. I now went from anger to all out jealousy. I was frantic! No tweeting? No BBM? No foursquare? How could I let my many followers know my every exact move?
I am generally known to walk around with 2 lines, one Telus (Motorola Milestone) and one Rogers (Blackberry 9700). Keeping me always connected, but on this day I didn’t have my Android powered Telus device, so I was left with nothing and felt completely naked. Plans ended up falling through and I went home sad and disgruntled. Yes, ALL over lack of network coverage.
But why did this happen? I had just come back from Halifax (where, I may add, the data speeds were blazing fast) happy again with Rogers and their Canadian network coverage which allowed me to keep my loved ones and followers in the loop of events as they happened. Yes, I’m aware the population of Halifax isn’t even close to that of Toronto, but that isn’t my point. Rogers claims the clearest reception and fewest dropped calls but how can I drop a call if my phone isn’t working?
Though Rogers is tested and true, it is fairly well known fact that Bell/Telus’ new HSPA network is faster, simply because it’s less congested than Rogers’. But, this generally relates to the country side, not the Toronto corridor. It wasn’t until a few hours later, and when I was out of the downtown core, that I got ANY network connectivity. Does this mean Rogers is so congested that it’s crashing on itself? Or Bell/Telus is simply stronger when put to the test. Probably the former, but it’s still no excuse. This isn’t AT&T!
I tried calling Rogers and received the generic, “we were aware of an issue and are working on it.” While Canadians take for granted that its biggest network, Rogers, is usually much more reliable than AT&T’s equivalent GSM network, especially in main urban centres. I rarely experience outages on Rogers, and it is even rarer that even EDGE is unavailable; it is usually the loss of 3G temporarily, and EDGE, while slower, is a much more stable, and allows for phone calls to be made.
Yesterday’s experience was the first time in recent memory that Rogers’ network merely failed. Yes, there were thousands of people using its network. But provisions need to be made. Rogers needs to prepare in advance, and put up temporary towers when they know there will be higher demand on their network. I’d love Rogers to comment on this. We will wait and see their response, if any.
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Exciting Times Ahead For QWERTY Android Lovers
Jul 5th
With the MyTouch 3G hitting T-Mobile recently, and the Droid 2 popping up in every leaked picture around, the demand for high-end smartphones with QWERTY keyboards doesn’t seem to be abating any time soon.
In Crotia, a so-called HTC Vision prototype has been making the rounds, and it looks unlike any HTC device yet released. Gone are the smooth curves of the Desire or the flush Black Beauty of the EVO 4G. This looks, for lack of a better term, practical. And why not?
Surely, if this is production hardware, the keyboard will need to be extremely comfortable to take people away from the Droid they love, but give it some GSM love and perhaps Canadians can finally get their hands on a decent QWERTY device.
Specs are speculated to be pretty much HTC-standard now: Android 2.1 with Sense UI, 1GHZ Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP Camera with LED flash, 1+GB storage.
There seems to be some errant buttons on the 4-row keyboard, however, that are stupefying most observers. Some speculate it is to prompt some Sense UI commands, others think it’s going to open the Matrix. We shall see.
(Gizmodo via Android Central)
Rogers Lowers Text Packages For Summer Travelers
Jul 5th
For most Canadians, the hardest part of going anywhere (outside the country) is remaining in touch with friends/family. Roaming charges are often exorbitantly high, especially when if you decide not to purchase a package.
Starting today through to October 31st, Rogers is lowering the US/Int’l text message packages from $12.50 to $5. So add the package and keep in touch, your loved ones will appreciate it.
Read more about the text messaging packages offered by Rogers.
This Week In BlackBerry 6/27 - 7/3
Jul 4th
Bold 9650 Side View
For all you Verizon Tour users who are contemplating upgrading to the Bold, take a look at GuruJustin’s in depth Bold 9650 Review. It will definitely help you make an educated decision as to whether or not its worth it for you. Also keep in mind, there have been zero reports that the Tour will be getting BlackBerry 6. If you’d like to see the latest projection on devices that will be getting BlackBerry 6, click here. Otherwise, hit the jump to see what you may have missed this week in BlackBerry at TheCellularGuru. Everyone be safe and enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!
Facebook Chat Coming To Official BlackBerry App
Jul 2nd
Facebook has recently added a chat option for the BlackBerry app on their end. The Facebook for BlackBerry app doesn’t support chat as of yet, but it is a sign of things to come in the future.
Facebook for BlackBerry v1.8 which has been pushed out to select Beta Zone members, is reportedly much faster than v1.7, but currently does not have the chat option either. The chance that chat will be added to v1.8 before it comes out of beta is slim to none. The chat option will most likely be available in v2.0 which will most likely come with BlackBerry 6 in the fall.
Hopefully users will have the option to turn chat on and off because it could become quite a nuisance otherwise. If you can’t wait until the BlackBerry app supports Facebook Chat, you can download a third-party IM client such as beejive, Nimbuzz, or IM+ to get your fix for the meantime. Personally, I do not use Facebook Chat, so I haven’t tested it on any of those clients.
[Via: BBLeaks, BlackBerryForums]
Verizon BlackBerry Bold 9650 Review
Jul 2nd
I remember how excited I was to ditch my Pearl 8130 for a proper BlackBerry, the Tour 9630, when it was finally released last summer. I had been waiting in anticipation after many rumors of its existence and rushed out to buy one the week it was released. At the time, the Tour was arguably the best BlackBerry RIM had released and without a doubt the best CDMA BlackBerry available.
The Tour had a few shortcomings however, the biggest being the lack of WiFi on the device. When the Bold 9700 appeared later that year, sporting a trackpad instead of a trackball, many began to wonder why the Tour (which had been plagued by trackball issues) didn’t come with the trackpad. The Curve 85XX devices also featured the new trackpad furthering the suspicions that perhaps the Tour was rushed to market and therefore missing a few key features.
Inevitably, talk of a successor to the Tour began. At first the name mentioned was Essex and of course the Tour 2, but as the phone finally came to market, RIM did some last-minute rebranding, leaving us with what we now know as the Bold 9650.
I was fortunate enough to swap out my trusty, but sometimes problematic Tour 9630 for a Bold 9650 for free as mentioned in GuruBlake’s post. Now that I’ve had a chance to get a feel for the device, I feel prepared to give the comprehensive review that only a previous Tour owner can give.
Read on for the full review.
Features
- Optical trackpad for easy and fluid navigation
- Built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g)
- Push to Talk feature
- VZ Navigator® version 6
- VZ Navigator Global capabilities
- Mobile e-mail and messaging capabilities
- Large (2.45″) high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi)
- 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
- Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music; a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack; and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
- BlackBerry® Media Sync to easily sync music as well as photos
- Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr® as well as popular instant messaging services, including BlackBerry® Messenger
- Support for BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for lackBerry smartphones
- 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB microSD(TM) HC cards (a 2 GB card is pre-installed)
- Full HTML Web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP
- Built-in GPS with support for location-based applications and services as well as geotagging
- Premium phone features, including voice-activated dialing, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1)
- Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America as well as single band UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad
- Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for up to 5 hours of CDMA
talk time
Hardware
If you have ever used a Tour you will be right at home here. On the outside everything feels exactly the same except for the trackpad which replaced the Tour’s trackball. That said, as someone who used the a BlackBerry Tour every day for nearly a year, I can attest to all the small things that RIM has done to improve the experience with this device. For starters, the keyboard juts out more than the Tour’s did. While this might sound obtrusive and ugly at first, I assure you it’s not. In fact, it makes it much easier to type on because each key is more accesible. The bottom row of keys is also smaller from top to bottom than on the Tour. This gives the other rows more room while also making the four buttons in line with the trackpad larger and more finger-friendly.
Gone is the wobbly, loose battery door of the Tour, and the screen rippling caused by pressing the buttons below the screen too hard. Overall everything feels tighter and more refined with none of the loose or cheap-feeling qualities of the Tour.
Bold 9650 Rear View
If you were hoping that the microUSB jack had moved from the awkward spot directly next to the keyboard making it impossible to type and charge, then you’re going to be disappointed. RIM did however, move the jack up on the device about an eighth of an inch. I’m not entirely sure what this was making room for (WiFi, extra memory) but I can report that the cases I used on my Tour still work fine on the Bold.
Bold 9650 Side View
The two biggest additions on the Bold 9650 hardware-wise are the inclusion on WiFi 802.11 b/g, and 512MB of memory, which is a significant boot from the Tour’s 256MB. WiFi works just as one would expect, while the doubled memory makes the software side of things much speedier and certainly roomier as far as application space is concerned.
One other thing to take note of is that the Bold 9650 supports OpenGL for 3D gaming, unlike the Tour. If you’re into playing Need For Speed on that tiny screen with no accelerometer controls, then this is your chance.
Software
There aren’t any surprises as far as software goes. The Bold 9650 came loaded with 5.0.0.699 but I wiped it immediately and installed the newest official OS from Verizon (5.0.0.732) on it. Boot time is considerably faster than the Tour 9630, with boot times usually in the 2-3 minute range which is likely due to the boost in memory on the device. While we are on the subject of device memory, it is certainly mentionable what a difference there is in the amount of memory leaks between the Tour and the Bold. On the Tour I would typically see 15-20MB leaks during the duration of a day. With the Bold, my memory hardly fluctuates. The most I’ve seen it drop over the course of a few days is maybe 2MB. Even with this slight drop, my device has over 300MB free compared to a typical 110MB free with the Tour.
Due to the larger amount of device memory, I rarely see slowdowns or stalls even when running several intensive apps at the same time. With the Tour, stalls were a fairly common occurrence which I have heard were caused by the system trying to allocate room for files to be stored temporarily. Because of the extra memory in the Bold, it seems that allocation is much smoother, rarely slowing down the operation of the device.
Battery life is fairly comparable to the Tour but when making good use of the new WiFi radio I was able to get some great battery life. For example: today the Bold has been off the charger for 20 hours and it is currently sitting at 40% which is pretty excellent considering it is using the nearly one-year-old battery from my Tour.
While OS 5.0 is fun and all, and certainly does get the job done, what is really exciting about the Bold 9650, is that it is slated (as far as we know) to run RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 6 operating system. The jury is still out on just how good BlackBerry 6 will be (especially on non-touchscreen devices). Still, it’s exciting to at least have the chance to run the next big iteration of the BlackBerry OS.
Nitpicking
Trackpad Crookedness
While my general impression of the Bold 9650 is positive, I did find a few things to nitpick on. First, the trackpad on my unit is crooked and raised slightly on the left side. The worst thing is, it isn’t just my device. The majority of people in CrackBerry’s Bold 9650 forums are reporting similar crookedness which apparently results from the cable connecting the trackpad being too tight. The trackpad thing is fairly minor, but definitely noticeable after a while and it’s a shame that RIM couldn’t show some better quality control skills here.
Secondly, the speaker volume is significantly weaker than the Tour’s at the exact same settings. I find that an alert on the Tour set at the volume rating 5, is comparable to the Bold with the same tone set at 7 or 8. You may think it’s not a big deal, and that I should just crank the volume and quit complaining. Don’t get me wrong, I have, and it works just fine for customizable profile options. However, for things such as playing music out of the speaker, using the speakerphone, and touchtones, everything is quieter than it was on the Tour. It’s not unbearable by any means, but it certainly is perplexing. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can dive into the engineering screen and tweak sound settings to boost system output. Hopefully we will see a software update to fix this issue soon.
Third and finally, the colored numbers on the Bold’s keys are a faint pink when backlit in a dimly lit room. The end key is a nice dark red, but the number keys are definitely a much lighter hue. This is also a really minor detail, but I find the lack of consistency confusing.
Wrap Up
There isn’t much more to say about it. If you’re on Verizon or Sprint and you are looking for a workhorse BlackBerry, then look no further than the Bold 9650. It’s a rock solid device that has a bright future with support for BlackBerry 6 when it is released. That said, if you’re currently using a Tour, you aren’t missing a whole lot. Unless WiFi is absolutely crucial, or you can’t take the trackball’s shenanigans any longer, then I can’t really recommend throwing down the cash to get a device that is only marginally better. If you managed to score a Bold as a free replacement for your Tour, then congratulations. For a free, no strings attached upgrade this is a pretty sweet deal.
Angry Birds Coming To Android!
Jul 1st
If you’ve ever owned an iPhone or have friends that have one, then you may have heard of a game called Angry Birds. The good news is, it is coming to Android devices this summer. Bad new is, it’s highly addictive and will suck away your life for possibly hours at a time if you get too involved with it. The creators of Angry Birds have posted the above preview of the game running for us all to enjoy and lust after. Rovia has stated the game will be in the Android market for summer and will sell for only $.99 cents. Not bad at all. I guess the Android market was just to big now for Rovia to pass over.
Happy Canada Day from TheCellularGuru.com
Jul 1st
How fitting that Canada turns 143 today and 143 is the short text code for “love”; What better way to spread the love than featuring a rendition of our national anthem by none other than our homegrown rapper Classified.
TheCellularGuru.com is proud to be Canadian and we wish a safe and enjoyable long weekend to all of our readers nationwide.
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