Rumour: Bell Samsung Vibrant not unlockable
Aug 7th
Now this won’t really be news to anyone except Canadians who want to unlock their newly-minted Bell Vibrant to be used on another provider, but it turns out that the device for whatever reason is not unlockable. There is a thread going on at Howardforums where the consensus seems to be that no company can seem to find a suitable unlock algorithm for the phone, and for most new Samsung devices. Bell will, after 30 days and for $75 dollars, sell you an unlock code for the device, but the price seems exorbitant.
Besides the iPhone, which is either factory or software unlocked, this Samsung device is the first I’ve heard that is hard to crack.
Remember, BlackBerry devices are always going to be easy to crack, and they can be obtained from our store should you need one. This goes for the Torch 9800 when it is released, too.
BlackBerry Saved in Saudi Arabia
Aug 6th
BBC is reporting that the ban of BlackBerry service in Saudi Arabia has been lifted. Reports of devices not working for upwards of 4 hours have come in, while RIM has apparently found a solution that satisfies Saudi authorities.
In an earlier statement, RIM made the statement that they “cannot accommodate any request for a copy of a consumer’s encryption key, since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator or any third party, ever possess a copy of the key.”
This can be troubling news that some agreement was made as it means either the Saudi government backed down a little (unlikely), or RIM gave in and created access. Hopefully the latter isn’t the case as it would likely mean the same would be implemented around the globe.
What are your thoughts on this situation?
[Via: BBC News]
Live Images of BlackBerry 6 on the Bold 9650 Appear
Aug 6th
As a Bold 9650 owner I have been following BBleaks pretty closely for a chance to get a leaked version of BlackBerry 6 onto my Bold. The last few days have been pretty interesting with lots of teaser tweets and even time frames for when the leak would be available. Unfortunately those leaks haven’t come to fruition just yet, leaving 9650 users with OS 5 for a little longer. In the meantime however, BBleaks has posted some shots of BlackBerry 6 running on their 9650. The build shown is 6.0.0.80 and early tests conclude that the build is pretty sluggish, but I doubt that deters many users from wanting it. For now we are just going to have to wait a little longer, but feel free to take a peak at what BlackBerry 6 will look like on the Bold 9650 after the jump.
HTC Desire Available From Telus for $79.99! Whoa!
Aug 6th
Seriously?
Ok, so we actually knew this was coming, but looking back at it, we didn’t realize how important this phone would be to the Canadian Android market once the iPhone 4 was released. And since Telus is wisely pricing this phone at a very cool $79.99 on a 3-year term, I have no doubt that it is going to push a lot of people weary of the iPhone’s issues over to this bad boy.
The Desire is essentially the Nexus One on steroids. Which is a very, very good thing. While it doesn’t have the same “oomph” of the Bell Samsung Vibrant, its implementation of HTC Sense is a huge advantage compared to Samsung’s attempt to “improve” Android with their own TouchWIZ3 overlay. Consider as well that the Desire is half the price of the aforementioned Bell device, and we are talking a seriously attractive deal.
As for the upgrade path of the Desire, we know that unlocked European versions of the phone have already seen Android 2.2 released officially, so while the device is being released with 2.1, it shouldn’t be long before it sees Froyo. Right, Telus?
Check out the hella cool HTC Desire at Telus’ website, or go into a store to touch one.
Droid X Froyo Update Coming in “Early September”
Aug 5th
With the HTC EVO 4G and even the Motorola Droid getting Android 2.2 recently, we all know the Droid X is feeling a little left out. Today on Motorola’s support forum we got out first official word of an early September drop date for the update. An extra special fix is supposed to be mixed into this frosty dish of Froyo, as issues with Exchange 2003 email are expected to be fixed. While we are sad to see the previous promised release date-which put the update in the August time frame-come and go, we won’t complain that Motorola wants to add a little extra stability to the build.
[Via Motorola Support Forum]
Updated: RIM let a bunch of garbage into App World today!
Aug 5th
I was browsing App World about an hour ago and I couldn’t help but notice the ‘Newest’ apps page was flooded with eBooks. Since this whole slew of eBooks seemed to be from the same company, I figured I’d download one just to see what the UI was like. First of all, it’s very misleading that a lot of these books are labeled as ‘FREE’. They are just samples, so you will have to make a purchase if you want to read more than a few pages. Second, The text layout was horrible. As you can see in the image after the jump, a lot of words were smushed together. I downloaded a second ebook just to double-check and got the same results.
Hit the jump because I’m not done talking…
The same company also has some paid books that you cannot sample, and I’m sure the text layout still suffers. How would you feel if you purchased an ebook and had to read a couplehundredpages ofthis? Probably not too happy. RIM should really be held responsible for approving all of those shoddy books for App World without checking at least one of them. This really shows RIM obviously doesn’t stick to the testing they claim on their App World developer FAQ..
How does RIM determine if an application is suitable for BlackBerry App World?
RIM will review a submitted application for content suitability and perform technical testing to ensure the application meets the BlackBerry App World Vendor Guidelines.
I’m not saying they should wear turtlenecks and stop every app at the door for an extensive review, but set some ground rules. For a start, when a developer submits over 10 apps in a single day, that should raise a red flag. C’mon now!
On another note, I have nothing against reading, but eBooks aren’t really apps. They’re books. If it was one was added here or there, it wouldn’t be an issue, but being that almost half of the 25 newest apps are eBooks, that really ruins the whole newest apps page. Regardless of whether or not RIM lets this spam to continue or not, they should create separate pages for newest apps, themes, and books. The whole point of App World 2.0 is supposed to make browsing for apps easier, so let’s see if RIM makes some necessary changes before it comes out of beta.
UPDATE: I just checked App World again and 17 of the 25 newest apps are ebooks from For-Side.com Co Ltd. None of the new books are free and some of them are priced as high as $11.99. How RIM is continuing to approve all of these shoddy ebooks without checking their quality is beyond me. I don’t really know if anyone is buying these ebooks, as I haven’t seen reviews on any of them as of yet. I wonder if RIM will catch on before they have a bunch of angry App World shoppers on their hands?
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Samsung Gem - a Wave with Android for Verizon?
Aug 5th
Verizon peeps have all the luck. According to a leak by IntoMobile, the Samsung Gem will be a lower-cost version of the Fascinate, running Android 2.1, when it is released sometime soon. The Gem looks not-so-vaguely like the newly-released bada phone, the Samsung Wave, on which the company installed their own awful software onto some beautiful metallic hardware. Honestly, 800×480 Super AMOLED on a 3.2″ screen is GORGEOUS. That the UI and apps are wholly unusable is infuriating.
So Samsung must have taken a cue from their manufacturing process; they know they’re not selling a ton of Wave devices, so why not take the hardware as is, or close enough, and slap some Android love on it. Makes perfect sense to me. Heck, I’d buy one if the price was right.
Along with the Gem, the Fascinate will be coming to Verizon in the next few weeks as well. This is their Galaxy S variant and shows little difference to the already-released Captivate and Vibrant, on AT&T and T-Mobile respectively. Rogers will also soon be getting the Captivate, and Bell the Vibrant even sooner, this week in fact.
(IntoMobile)
Google Keeps the Nexus One Alive as an Official Developer Phone
Aug 5th
Whew, that was a close one. Just when we thought HTC’s Nexus One was gone for good, Google’s Developer Blog has announced that the phone will still be available for Android Developers to purchase for $529. You will of course need to be a developer to be eligible to purchase a Nexus One so perhaps that $25 registration fee is worth it if you missed your chance to snag the phone earlier. Thanks Google, we were worried sick that we would lose the most hackable Android phone ever.
[Via Android Developers Blog]
Android OS Takes the Lead from BlackBerry in Q2
Aug 5th
Watch out RIM and Apple, the little green guy is knocking on your front door to claim the title of most sold smartphone operating system in US 2nd quarter of 2010. NPD is reporting that Android had 33% of US device sales followed by RIM with 28% and Apple with 22%. NPD is crediting HTC and Motorola with the huge surge in Android device sales and we certainly don’t disagree. It looks like Android definitely has the momentum to hold the top spot in the US smartphone market, and with RIM’s slightly disappointing BlackBerry Torch 9800 launch yesterday it doesn’t look lik RIM will be taking back their title anytime soon.
[Via Business Wire]
InsideBlackBerry sheds some more light on new BlackBerry browser
Aug 4th
InsideBlackBerry has posted up some more screenshots of the upcomig WebKit browser, while going into detail with several features. Some of these features are pretty much common knowledge by now, and some not so much. Hit the jump to view the full post and see if there’s anything you may have missed>>
New Start Page
Unlike the desktop experience in which browsing sessions are usually less frequent but fairly long in duration, mobile browsing sessions are frequent, short, and focused. In most instances, users open their browser with a specific site in mind; therefore, enabling quick access to that site is critical. In BlackBerry 6, we have streamlined the BlackBerry Browser start page and implemented a single URL and search entry box to make sure users can get to websites quickly. Users can simply start typing any search term to quickly initiate a search, pin-point a specific URL within the Bookmarks and History sections, or just enter in a new URL for the first time.
To further simplify access to favorite and commonly used sites, users can now save bookmarks directly to the Home Screen!
Tabbed Browsing
There is no doubt the new BlackBerry Browser in BlackBerry 6 will be used more frequently than any previous BlackBerry Browser. Powered by the new WebKit rendering engine, the browsing experience is enjoyable, and the content and applications served to the new browser are graphically rich. To help users make the most of this new experience, we added a few new features to help access and manage more content. For example, the new “tabbed” browsing feature is a great way to quickly switch between and view new content. Simply select the “Tabbed Browsing” icon on the top-right corner of your BlackBerry Browser to switch between tabs or create new ones. The icon will also always display the current number of open tabs.
Social Feeds Integration and Options Menu
The BlackBerry Browser’s integration with the new Social Feeds application will make it easy to discover and subscribe to new RSS feeds within your favorite sites. Simply select the drop down menu beside the “Tabbed Browsing” icon, and you’ll find the “Subscribe to RSS Feed” option along with a few other useful options. Interestingly enough, the ability to add RSS feeds has long been an option in the BlackBerry Browser, but the feature was not as easy to use in previous versions. BlackBerry 6 makes it fun and easy to discover, add and read new feeds!
Users will also find that we have revamped the “Browser Options” screen! Previous versions of the BlackBerry Browser “Options” screen could sometimes be confusing for new users. Aside from obvious aesthetic changes, we have streamlined the “Options” screen by eliminating options that are no longer needed due to performance improvements. (For example, we’ve automated transport selection so users no longer have to set their default browser!) Basically, we’ve cleaned house, and made sure the BlackBerry Browser works more efficiently!
Viewing Content Made Easy
In addition to updating and improving the BlackBerry Browser UI, we also worked to enhance the user experience when interacting with content. Significant effort has been made to make panning and zooming in on content much smoother. For touch screen-enabled BlackBerry smartphones, we have enabled pinch to zoom controls, and for all smartphones with trackpad navigation controls, users can quickly and smoothly zoom by holding ALT while using the trackpad.
To make reading text-heavy content simple on BlackBerry 6, we’ve introduced an “Automatic Font Size Adjustment” feature which allows users to quickly resize and confine content to the width of the screen. This new feature minimizes the need to pan horizontally to read “the entire story”. This feature couldn’t be easier to use on touch screen-enabled BlackBerry smartphones: just double-tap the article with your finger and the BlackBerry Browser does the rest!
Overall, the Browser development team here at RIM® is anxious to introduce the new BlackBerry Browser and show you all what we’ve done. This post only introduces a few of the many new concepts in BlackBerry 6. Post a comment and tell us what you think or of anything else you’d like to know about the BlackBerry Browser.
[Via: InsideBlackBerry]
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