Blackberry 8520 not basic enough

The news is that RIM is after the African smartphone market. Well, they should. As far as I’m concerned they should have done this a long time ago.

However, should RIM be serious about Africa, they need a very basic Blackberry smartphone, and I recommend that it comes with the following features:

- a flashlight
- superb battery life
- FM Radio
- a camera
- hardware QWERTY keyboard
- costs about the same as the Nokia Asha 302/303

RIM may skimp on some of the advanced features and apps that are usually bundled into regular Blackberry devices in order to deliver this, but I can assure them that the segment of the market that they are now after don’t care for those super-duper advanced features.

Such a basic Blackberry with the specifications above would translate to an easy win for RIM in the African smartphone market.

The Blackberry 8520 is not basic enough to deliver the African smartphone market to RIM. As a matter of fact, the above hypothetical basic Blackberry will also eat the lunch of many feature phones in the market.

Can it be done? I believe that it can. Will it be done? Only the brass at RIM can answer that.

Yesterday morning, in the Mobility Blog group, I woke up to news that official OS 7.1 updates are now available for both the Blackberry 9900 and 9810.

I downloaded the update file for the 9900 right on my device itself in a matter of minutes on Etisalat’s 3G service. It is a 273MB file in size. Tonight, I finally carried out the update and I am currently testing things out.

RIM says that OS 7.1 brings the following to the table:

Mobile Hotspot: Turn your BlackBerry 7.1 OS device into a Wi-Fi® router anywhere, anytime! The new OS seamlessly provides Internet access for up to five Wi-Fi devices, including laptops and tablets.

Universal Search: For this new release, we wanted to focus on the intelligence of our system and our apps – in other words, we wanted to create an intuitive experience that does the thinking for you. For example, Universal Search now has a new auto-suggest feature that that intelligently filters Bing® search results to offer you a variety of relevant Web sites based on your search terms.

BlackBerry® Tag: Share contacts, media and files, and even invite friends to BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM) through a simple touch. BlackBerry Tag unlocks near field communication (NFC) capabilities for everyday use and makes sharing a lot faster and much more personal.

Wi-Fi® Calling (where available): With BlackBerry 7.1 OS, you’ll be able to make Wi-Fi calls using your carrier’s Wi-Fi calling service (aka UMA-lite or GAN-lite). Wi-Fi calling allows you to save your talk time minutes and make phone calls over any Wi-Fi network. Not all carriers offer such a service so check with your carrier for availability.

FM Radio: The BlackBerry 7.1 OS update will let BlackBerry® Curve™ 9360 and 9380 smartphone customers enjoy FM radio. The Curve models include a built-in FM radio so you can tune in to local FM radio stations. Simply plug in your headset to boost the reception (it acts as the antenna). Plus, no data usage or data plan required!

BlackBerry® Maps: When you launch the new BlackBerry Maps you’ll be able to discover special offers, coupons and discounts from nearby vendors – and, of course, you can act instantly by calling about the deal, finding the best route to get there, or grabbing the coupon code.

Surprise With Mobile Hotspot!

I have about 5GB left on a bundle plan from Etisalat which I am using on the 9900, and I really do need to use it. Before now, that SIM was in a mifi device. Anyway, I fired up the Hotspot function and got it rolling. I notice that the interface is a bit different from what I saw earlier on the 9810. But that wasn’t all.

In a previous article, I reported from a test that I ran on the Blackberry 9810 that the running the Hotspot deactivated BIS on the device. Well, I have good news this time: the Hotspot on the 9900 runs simultaneously with the BIS service.

As I type this, I am active on BBM and other Blackberry services while the BB Mobile Hotspot is active sharing internet service with other connected devices. Of course, this is exciting news! Blackberry OS 7.1 users (at least on the 9900) can eat their cake and have it. Sort of.

Note though that the hotspot does not share from your Blackberry Internet Service. It shares from your airtime or an internet bundle, if available.

Yes; some readers will scream and pout about that. It is my opinion that this is a network-dependent thing. Etisalat has chosen not to let BB Complete users tether. That makes sense, considering that they offer unlimited browsing and downloads, or else the service would degrade.

Download OS 7.1 for 9900 and 9810: Official: OS 7.1.0.284 For BlackBerry Bold 9900 & Torch 9810 Via T-Mobile USA

You know the saying, be careful what you ask for.

Symbian and Blackberry used to be known for their resource efficiency in terms of both power and data consumption. Along came the new kids on the block, iOS and Android, and after having a taste of the fancy user interfaces on those platforms, lots of Symbian and blackberry users began to complain.

Well, Blackberry has since fleshed up their UI, and the new Nokia Belle has a UI at par with modern standards. The problem is, to power those new UIs, more powerful processors had to be introduced. Enter the new range of blackberry OS7 and the new Nokia Belle smartphones.

Guess what?

Blackberry users now swear by their fathers’ beards that battery life on the new devices is crap. Errr…that sounds like something that Android and iOS users have been complaining about for years.

The odd part is that Nokia Belle users seem to still find satisfactory battery life on their devices. As a matter of fact, almost everyone with a Symbian Anna device who upgraded to Nokia Belle has spoken of improved battery life. What do you know?

Okay, so Nokia Belle seems to be the exception. Still, we cannot ignore the teaming BlackBerry masses who are currently frustrated with the power consumption on their devices. A member of the Mobility team has sworn to downgrade her Torch 9810 from OS7.1 down to OS7 because of this very issue. She had much better battery life on OS7.

RIM also didn’t help matters: the previous flagship, Bold 9780 had a 1500 mAh battery, while its replacement, 9900, has a 1230 mAh battery. Excuse me?

I must also add that having played with at least three OS7 BlackBerries, it seems to me that these new devices often feel a bit under-powerd in use – even when 1GHz processors run the show. Perhaps, the need is for more RAM. The bold touch 9900 has only 768 MB. Why, anyone?

Using WebOS on the HP TouchPad, I often get that feeling that the processor is trying to keep up with the very fluid and nice interface.

These all lead to frustrating moments at times, inspite of the benefits and positives of these devices.

Still, inspite of these, we must embrace the future, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us. Fluid user interfaces are both the present and the future.

No-one seems certain about the future of WebOS, but at least BlackBerry fans can look forward to OS10 in hope.

This one has been a long time coming. Blackberry fans on Mobility blog have been waiting for this. The current top dog BlackBerry, the Bold 9900, is arriving at Mobility Towers in the next 48 hours or so. That means a juicy review is coming this way. Expect some BlackBerry app reviews too. In addition, Mister Mobility has been off BB for far too long and missed all the fun going on in the Mobility BlackBerry groups.

I am dying of excitement. I hope I don’t complete the dying process before this baby gets into my hands. Pray for me.

I disliked Blackberry smartphones for both objective and subjective reasons. So it may be viewed as hypocritical that I still went ahead to get one for myself, albeit the entry level 8520.

While I find the Blackberry largely uninteresting in design and features, its capabilities as an email device of choice is largely indisputable and unrivaled. Its encrypted push email also keep it at the top of the game for corporate users. Well, I guess this is expected for a company that has been in the messaging business for almost 25 years.

Email accounts that use the push method for message retrieval enable you to have email messages delivered directly to you as soon as the message is received by your email provider instead of checking periodically or manually for new messages.

The BlackBerry listens for new information and notifies the user when it arrives. The BlackBerry does not poll the server to look for updates. It simply waits for the update to arrive and notifies the user when it does. With e-mail, a copy of each message also goes to the user’s inbox on the computer, but the e-mail client can mark the message as read once the user reads it on the BlackBerry.

The ease of use and the relative affordability of maintaining (not acquiring) make the option of carrying a Blackberry alongside my Android mobile of choice a necessity. Many others share the same opinion too. And this is probably the reason why RIM’s recent free-fall as the mobile device of choice has not hit the dirt yet.

Thanks to the data efficiency of the Blackberry OS, the device has also become very popular among the mobile networks too. With as little as N1400 per month for the single email BIS variant, you have almost unrestricted use of your email and allied services for a month.

Alternatives To BlackBerry Email?

On the other hand, if you have a fanatical dislike for the Blackberry, like I did before economic reasons made me have a change of heart, and would rather stick to your device of choice, alternatives abound.

Microsoft Exchange email is probably the best known and most widely used email platform in the world and has push email capabilities. In fact, the Blackberry platform rides on it. On iOS and Android devices, push email is supported for the following email account types; Microsoft Exchange, Gmail and Yahoo! Other email accounts such as POP, IMAP or AOL accounts do not support push message retrieval but can instead be setup to fetch mail at specified intervals or manually when the Mail application is opened.

Google email, Gmail, is compatible with Microsoft Exchange using Google sync. Once you have an existing data plan on your Smartphone, you can easily configure this on your mobile. And for those with personal domain names, you can easily change the MX records of your domain name and jump on board Google Apps email and enjoy, probably, better featured email services than you will get on your blackberry.

However, one major limitation is that a lot of mobiles only allow one Microsoft exchange account to be configured. Lately, however, devices based on Android and iOS allow almost limitless exchange accounts, a plus over Blackberry’s 10 email account limit. They even go further by allowing you to add Yahoo accounts freely without a need for the $20 Yahoo premium upgrade.

Another downside is that the amount you would be paying for data allocation to power this email service on a non-Blackberry device is substantially more.

Some people swear that the push email offering from Blackberry is significantly better than that on any other platform. I tend to agree. On closer look, this difference may be attributed to the different methods in which push email operate on different platforms;

Push Email On Blackberry

When you have a new email, RIM sends a notification to your device over the phone network, in much the same way as an SMS text. This tells your phone that a new email is available and that it should connect to the server and download it.

On iOS

Either your phone is set to connect to the server at a predetermined interval (every 15mins, 30 mins, 1hr etc), or it’s set to maintain a constant connection to the server in order to receive emails in real time.

Both methods are fundamentally different and the advantage of the Blackberry method is that it saves a considerable amount of power. In contrast, the iOS method is somewhat of a battery drain. If Apple truly wants to compete with RIM in the email stakes, it should perhaps consider offering true push notifications like RIM, in conjunction with the phone networks.

How long Blackberry would continue to stay relevant with this advantage is any body’s guess but I doubt if it will be for long. In the meantime, all hail the current king of mobile email!

The Blackberry P’9981 phone that came out of the partnership between Porsche design and Blackberry has been making the rounds in previous weeks with varied opinions from practically everybody that hears about the phone.

FEATURES

First off the phone runs on the Blackberry 7 OS and features a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU with 768MB of RAM. It also has a 2.8-inch touchscreen with a screen resolution of 640 x 480 powered by a 1,230 mAh battery.

Other features that the P’9981 sports are GPS, Near Field Communication(NFC) and a 5MP camera that has a LED flash and shoots 720p videos.

Even though this phone is made and is marketed as a premium product, it’s chasis and to some extent shape is based off the Blackberry Bold 9900. It features a custom user interface skin that matches the styling and also comes with a price tag of $2,300.

PRICING

That last paragraph must have gotten your attention because this phone costs $2,300 which when converted to Naira is a whooping 365,700 Naira minus shipping and retailer charges.

It is that expensive because of premium materials used in the manufacture, the craft involved and hey it has Porsche in the name which among the wealthy screams splendor and swag.

I further investigated by going to the Porsche Nigeria website to check out the price of Porsche cars and the cheapest car was the Cayman which cost 11.5 million Naira and the most expensive being a Panamera Turbo S which goes for 49.5 million Naira.

By analysis, Porsche’s do not come on the cheap side so i wasn’t really surprised when someone told me that it goes for 400 thousand Naira in Nigeria at the moment. Several people however are so stunned by the price that someone even asked me one day if it had unlimited “pinging”.

CONCLUSION

Many people fail to grab the concept of such a product like the P’9981 and that it is not a mainstream product but a product that is exclusively made for those that can afford it. Business men and stinkinly rich millionaires fit the profile of people who aquire such devices like this most times as a show of wealth and splendor.

What do you think about the Porsche Design P’9981 by Blackberry and if you had the capacity to buy it would you?

Sources: Porsche Nigerian Website, Porsche Design Page

News that RIM’s co-CEOS Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis have stepped down is all over the place. News also has it that Thorsten Heins, one of RIM’s co-COOs, is now CEO.

I first got wind of the news on Twitter this morning, and I was shocked to find that some people were already rallying with statements like, “RIM Co-CEOs step down, RIM is burning”.

In response to that, I tweeted this:

Does a CEO quitting mean that a company is burning? Not necesarilly. We just throw words around carelessly these days. Come on guys!

Freedom of speech is a lovely thing, but that freedom comes responsibility. To think. To understand. To weigh our words before speaking.

I think that it is irresponsible and non-constructive for us to make alarming statements. They do more damage than good.

If you see specific problems with a product or company, spell them out and spell out possible ways out. That’s constructive engagement.

Just saying that something “sucks” or is “burning” is childish, insipid, and many times irresponsible.

How do you even define “burn” in this scenario? it just paints an inflammatory picture. No pun intended.

Just after I began writing this article, I ran into a tweet from @amasonic that touched on another aspect of this subject:

One of the perils of our modern world today is that ppl don’t take time to understand contemporary issues in-depth b4 forming opinions

I see a lot of that on Facebook, Twitter and even here on Mobility blog. But its worse than that. If it is just a matter of forming opinions, it might not be so bad. But people form opinions without understanding issues in detail and then recklessly broadcast those opinions.

I will always stand for responsible use of freedom of speech, and I do not suffer fools gladly. Regulars on this blog know how strong my stand is when it comes to people being irresponsible with their comments.

Inflammatory statements cause more damage than we can ever tell. RIM may be in trouble, I agree – and trust me, everyone has troubles; just of different sorts and magnitudes.

I have had trouble more than many of you will ever know, and there were times it looked hopeless. Thankfully, I deal with them. I am just glad that there were no idiots around to get on Twitter screaming, “The end has come for Mister Mobility!”

When people start saying that RIM is burning, I really do not know.

I have observed that often the more knowledgeable people are more guarded in their statements. I respect people like that. They know the implications of their words.

To you, dear friend, a BlackBerry (or any other) device may just be a mobile. But to others – many others – it is years of investments, and to even many more, its jobs and livelihood.

Think about that.

Having had a BlackBerry 9360 with me for review for the last two weeks, it is now time for it to go. I have found it an interesting device to use – like all others, it has its strengths and its flaws.

However, one flaw that bugs me now when I have to let it go is the fact that the unique PIN that I have used for communicating with other BB users on Blackberry Messenger (BBM) also has to go.

You see, the BB PIN is tied to each specific device. When the device goes, your PIN goes. See the consequent problems?

The problem of retaining your BBM contacts is easilly solved. always backup your BBM contacts on a regular basis. Back them up to your microSD card and make suire that you retain that when changing BlackBerry devices. Slot the card in your new device and restore your BBM contacts. done.

Or use BlackBerry Desktop Manager to switch devices. Your BBM contacts will be automatically transfered to your new device.

The Unsolved Problem

If, however, you have printed your PIN on your business card, letterhead or other literature, or posted it online like I recently did….. errrr… you have to print new materials or go modify your webpage/s. Gross.

The Solution

It is more expedient that the BBM PIN be attached to users’ Blackberry IDs or accounts, so that its a permanent contact that one needs not worry about. I hope that RIM effects a change to reflect this.

At the moment, this device-specific PIN is a clog in having people adopt their BlackBerry PINs as important contact information.

PS: If you added me to your BBM contact list, I’m off BBM till I have to review another BlackBerry device. I do have your details backed up, and I will show up as soon as I am BB active again.

For now, that PIN now belongs to someone else. Yes; shame.

But the Mobility BBM Group is still active, and I have granted Admin privileges to a few trusted individuals, so do keep having fun!

RIM have had a hard year in 2011. There were a number of server failures. The BlackBerry PlayBook has had dismal sales. RIM also had to rename their next generation OS version from BBX to BlackBerry 10. And now, their financial value is down over 70% in a year. A bad year indeed.

Mobility blog has a fast-thriving BBM group. Someone asked this question there yesterday: “Does RIM really need the American market to survive?”

The answer, in my opinion, is a No, and I will state why. First take a look at the following:

• There are a number of mobile manufacturers who build exclusively for the Japanese market and are doing fine. One market, yet healthy and profitable.
• Huawei has slugged its way up to the top 5 manufacturers list without being able to win the U.S. market.
• Market advisers have often said that it makes sense to focus on where one has comparative advantage or where you have a ready market.
• Motivational speakers will also tell you to go where you are celebrated. For RIM, that should mean that they focus their most energies elsewhere, if only for now.

RIM Needs To Go Radical – In A Different Way

Here is a saying of mine. For the records, I made it all up, and it reflects my often non-conformist, adventurous and radical nature:

Doing and saying what is popular may indicate a lack of creativity, courage or intelligence. Possibly all.

Every manufacturer is copying the iPhone, though they won’t admit it. In my opinion, they all lack either courage to be different or creative. Possibly both.

Some so lack this creativity that they copy its weaknesses too – hook, line, and sinker! Bummer!

Interesting enough, the iPhone didn’t become so popular by copying anyone. Go figure.

RIM, Stand Out

RIM, stick with your strengths – those great keyboards, that excellent form factor, and your security. But be creative.

For example, provide the option to choose to use a BIS plan or not for internet access on your devices.

By all means stick primarily with QWERTY keyboards. Add a Communicator form factor (side-sliding QWERTY). Keep one full touchscreen range. But let your mainstream devices be those great candy QWERTYs that people so love.

Full touchscreen slabs may be popular, but it doesn’t mean that the QWERTY market is not sustainable. It is! And for now, RIM is king there.

Stand out! Don’t conform!!

Go Where You Are Celebrated

RIM has the strongest following anywhere but the US market and need to wake up to this reality. In the UK, BlackBerry devices are still some of the most desirable smartphones. There’s also the Netherlands, Brazil, and Nigeria, among several others.

RIM needs to focus their energies in these places.

If RIM is waiting for BlackBerry 10 to turn things around for them in the U.S. and in the eyes of the U.S. media, they are probably in for a surprise. On the contrary in the markets where RIM has good mindshare, both users and the media are constantly singing the praise of BlackBerry and talking about how awesome it is. RIM needs to focus on the markets where it needs the least energy to sell.

RIM will continue to sell to their die-hard customers in the U.S. too, but that is not where they are celebrated now.

Africa, South America, Asia

RIM needs to ride on the wave and hype that BlackBerry already has in these regions. The hype is much, though Blackberry devices are not really as popular.

So many people in Nigeria think that Blackberry is the most popular phone in Nigeria right now. Even media houses and tech people (who should know better) help spread this impression though it is very untrue! That’s tremendous market advantage.

Young and mid-age people in several countries across the world are going Blackberry-gaga. That’s where RIM should be looking.

My almost 70-year old dad wants a Blackberry. His business partner has one. Almost every university undergraduate wants one. My kids want one each too.

They know a BlackBerry when they see one. Think about that. I can’t say the same for most other brands.

Come on, guys! Come and ride on this! Get on TV, in newspapers, on blogs, and on buses – and push this thing!

Push it, or go the way of the dinosaurs.

Conclusions

RIM did not achieve its great successes because of the American market. They achieved it when they started selling their BlackBerry phones elsewhere on the planet. That is exactly what they need to keep doing and pushing harder.

If you know anyone in RIM who can pass this article up, please refer them to it. I would hate to have to refer to this article a year from now with regrets.

I rest my case.

Here are some comparison pictures of the Blackberry Curve 9300 (running OS 6) and its upgrade sibling, the 9360 (running OS7).

Specs-wise, the 9360 leaves the 9300 in the dust, but you also have to see them together to appreciate the beauty and sleek lines of the new guy, the 9360.

Left: 9360. Right: 9300

Top: 9300. Bottom: 9360. Note how slim the 9360 is.

The 9360 is sure a looker. But it doesn’t end there. It runs on an 800 MHz processor and 512 MB RAM, and has a 5 megapixel camera. Under the hood, there’s also A-GPS and NFC. Note that display is non-touchscreen – which is not necessarily a bad thing.

This is a Curve that can hang around Bolds without feeling or looking out of place. I call the Blackberry Curve 9360, a bold new Curve.

Review coming up as soon as possible.

RIM has just announced two new smart phones the Bold 9790 and the Curve 9380.

I am looking at the all-touch Curve 9380 and thinking of why I believe it can be better than the previous touchscreen BlackBerry smartphones such as the BlackBerry Storm series.

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is the first touchscreen Curve in the market. Over the years I’ve seen that people have a tendency to believe that BlackBerry Bold and Curve are the best products from RIM. People have not been very satisfied with the BlackBerry Storm series as the Touchscreen experience was sub-par to that from the competition.

However, of late, RIM has come up with huge improvements to the touch screen experience on their devices. That’s why I believe that the BlackBerry 9380 has advantages over past all-touch BlackBerry devices and thus promises to be a great smartphone.

Some of the key features of the 9380 are -

- 360 x 480 pixels, 3.2 inches display

- 806 MHZ processor

- NFC support

- BlackBerry OS 7

We’ve already learnt that BlackBerry has enhanced the NFC experience by introducing BlackBerry Tag. As 9380 will not be as expensive as the BlackBerry Torch or the recent BlackBerry phones, it will be a great buy for someone who wants to stay up to date with media and social networking experience.

I really hope that BlackBerry can provide better touchscreen performance in their latest phones which will be a key improvement in order to impress consumers.

We’ll find out how the BlackBerry Curve 9380 performs once it hits the stores in the up coming weeks.

RIM has announced two new smartphones running BlackBerry OS 7. Below are brief specs sheets of the respective devices.

BlackBerry Bold 9790

• 2.45″ touchscreen display
• 1GHz processor
• 768MB RAM
• 8GB internal storage
• 5 megapixel camera
• Augmented Reality technology
• HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC

BlackBerry Curve 9380

• 3.2″ all-touchscreen display
• 806MHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB internal storage
• 5 megapixel camera
• Augmented Reality technology
• HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC

The new devices will begin to be available from various carriers around the world over the coming weeks.