• blackberry,  pearl,  rim,  sprint

    BlackBerry OS 4.5 Update Posted

    February 5, 2009 /

    Sprint has make good on their word to post the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and Pearl 8130 OS 4.5 upgrade on their website before the end of the day Friday. BlackBerry users rejoice! Sprint has packed in some very nice goodies for their customers who are using older Berries.

    Software Feature Enhancement with 4.5:

    • Send Multi-Media Messages (MMS) which enables sending of text messages with picture and other file attachment.
    • View emails in HTML email format. Users can easily change their email format setting to HTML for emails to appear just like they do on your PC. Will work automatically for BlackBerry Internet Service customers. Requires BES 4.1, Service Pack 6 for BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers (verify with your company’s IT department).
    • Free/Busy Calendar Lookup for BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers immediately lets you know all attendee’s availability. Not available to BlackBerry Internet Service customers. Requires BES 4.1, Service Pack 5 for BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers (verify with your company’s IT department).
    • Remote search for email for BlackBerry Enterprise Service customers creates more access to emails that are not stored on your device but remain stored remotely on your email server. Not available to BlackBerry Internet Service customers. Requires BES 4.1, Service Pack 5 for BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers (verify with your company’s IT department).
    • Word completion for SureType keyboards allows for faster typing on BlackBerry Pearl 8130.
    • Automatically generate a music playlist with specific criteria based on artist, albums or genre.
    • Video recording attachment view supported.
    • Create a Voice Note and attach to an email or Multimedia Message(MMS). Or record a voice note and save for playback when needed.
    • Dataviz Documents To Go Application gives you the ability to download and save a file to your BlackBerry to view or edit later. Requires Visit the DataViz® website to register with DataViz and download an update for Documents To Go that includes Sheet To Go.

    I know that many Sprint BlackBerry customers have been vocal in asking for MMS support on their devices. I’m also glad to see Sprint roll in support for HTML email and going the extra mile to include DataViz Documents To Go.

    Be sure to check back over the next few days as I do plan on posting my experiences with the upgrade process and with the new software features.

    Download the update now…

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  • blackberry,  pearl,  sprint

    Sprint Releases BlackBerry OS 4.5 for 8130, 8330

    February 5, 2009 /


    For Sprint’s BlackBerry customers, it has been a long wait for the certified version of BlackBerry OS 4.5 for the 8130 and 8330. For the last few months, Sprint Berry owners watched as fellow addicts on other carriers received their updates before us. Today, Sprint has announced that the wait is finally over!

    On the Sprint customer service forums, BuzzAboutWireless.com, the comapny writes:

    “Sprint is pleased to inform you we have approved final software for upgrade 4.5 on BlackBerry Pearl 8130 and BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphones. Although we are getting this to you later than hoped, we are confident our extra testing and evaluation will deliver a better experience.

    Upgrade 4.5 software should be available at www.sprint.com/downloads later this week. When you arrive at the Web site, please select the BlackBerry device you use (Pearl or Curve), and our Web site will outline all the new and enhanced features with software version 4.5, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to update your smartphone. As mentioned previously, among other great features offered by the BlackBerry software 4.5, you will also now have MMS functionality with your BlackBerry.

    If you have loaded 4.5 software directly from the RIM Web site, we recommend you re-register your smartphone (go to Options>Advanced Options>Host Routing Table>select the menu key and choose “register now” )to ensure all software has loaded properly.

    Software versions of 4.5 for 8830 and 8703e BlackBerry models will be available very soon. We will update you as they become available.”

    I just checked the Sprint software downloads page for the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and it still has the link to OS 4.3, however, a Sprint representative on the BuzzAboutWireless forums has indicated that the OS 4.5 software download link will be made available soon.

    “I just finished speaking with the team responsible for posting the update on sprint.com/downloads and they assured me that it would be done later today or tomorrow.”

    This is great news for people who are addicted to their BlackBerry and who have been waiting to turn their email device into a real work horse by adding DataViz’ Documents To Go to their device. I was surprised to learn that by switching to a BlackBerry as my everyday device that I would no long be able to have the rich document editing capabilities that I had grown used to with Documents To Go on my Palm Treo 755p.

    Check the Sprint downloads page to get the update as soon as it is posted. You can discuss the update on BuzzAboutWireless.

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  • blackberry,  htc,  rim,  rumors,  sprint

    BGR: Sprint Smartphone Line Up Leaked

    February 4, 2009 /

    BoyGeniusReport.com has gotten then hands on some upcoming handset changes coming to Sprint over the next few months. Take the list with a grain of salt, as I agree with Mr. Epstein that it will likely be “later” than “sooner” for the Palm Pre to launch, especially if Sprint is sitting on a large inventory of blue Treo 755p handsets.

    Device Name – Projected Warehouse EOL – Replacement (if available)

    Palm 755P (blue) – Late May – Palm Pre (target in-stock 3/15)
    Palm Centro (berry) – June
    Palm Centro (green) – July
    Palm Centro refresh (black) – July
    Palm 800W – April – Palm Treo Pro (target in-stock 2/15)
    RIM BlackBerry 7100i – August – RIM BlackBerry 8350i
    RIM BlackBerry Pearl (red) – May
    HTC Touch Diamond – July
    LG Rumor (blue) – Mid February – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
    LG Rumor (green) – Mid March – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
    LG Rumor (black) – Mid April – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
    Samsung M520 Lumina – Mid April – LG LX370 (slider)
    Sanyo 6750 Eclipse (pink) – June
    Motorola Q9C – Mid June
    Sierra 597E – July – Sierra 2-in-1 Aircard
    Motorola VE20 – July

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

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  • centro

    Palm Centro Comes to Bell Mobility

    February 3, 2009 /

    Today, Palm launched the Centro in Canada on the Bell Mobility EVDO network and is available in the same midnight blue color that was previously released in Mexico and here in the United States on Verizon Wireless.

    “Centro is the best example of a user-friendly smartphone that’s both fun and easy to use,” said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. “Centro’s sleek and lightweight design makes it perfect for first-time smartphone users who want voice, text, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities all wrapped into one compact device.”

    “Bell Mobility is pleased to add the Palm Centro to our industry-leading lineup of smartphones, all of them with access to the fastest and largest network across North America,” said Adel Bazerghi, Bell Mobility’s senior vice president of Products. “Clients who choose the affordable Palm Centro will love the instant access to great mobile applications like Facebook for Palm and Google Maps.”

    The Bell Mobility edition Centro will sell for $49.95 (Canadian Dollars) with a 3-year service agreement. Bell customers can purchase a Centro for $399 without a service agreement.

    For more details, visit the Bell Mobility website.

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  • Uncategorized

    Changes to Palm’s Board of Directors

    February 3, 2009 /


    Palm is reporting, by way of a SEC Form 8-K filing, that Donna Dubinsky has left her post on Palm’s Board of Directors. Ms. Dubinsky has been replaced by Rajiv Dutta, who was designated by private investment firm, Elevation Partners.

    “Under the Agreement, Elevation has the right to designate an additional director for election to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).

    On January 26, 2009, and in light of the Board’s desire to maintain its current size, Donna Dubinsky offered to resign from the Board immediately in advance of the election to the Board of a director designated by Elevation. Ms. Dubinsky’s offer to resign as a director was not the result of any disagreement with the Company.

    On January 30, 2009, Elevation designated Rajiv Dutta for election to the Board. Mr. Dutta retired as the President of eBay Marketplaces and Executive Vice President of eBay Inc. in October 2008 and as a member of eBay’s board of directors in July 2008. The Board is expected to meet shortly to consider Ms. Dubinsky’s offer to resign from the Board and Mr. Dutta’s election to the Board.”

    The full Form 8-K report can be found on Palm’s Investor Relations website.

    In addition to working at eBay, Mr. Dutta has also recently worked at PayPal (June 2006 – January 2008) and at desktop VOIP pioneer Skype (October 2005 – June 2006) according to an executive profile on Forbes.com.

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  • blackberry

    The President Gets to Keep His Berry

    January 29, 2009 /

    In the grand scheme of things, there are more important things going on both here in the United States and abroad, but being a technologist, I’m excited that our new President, Barack Obama, will get to keep his beloved BlackBerry. Cool!

    I like the article that appeared on BlackBerryCool.com:

    “Want Obama wants, Obama gets. Scoring the first major victory of his nascent term, the White House announced today that President Barack Obama will indeed keep his BlackBerry (eat it, Sectera Edge). President Obama will use the BlackBerry to keep in touch with “senior staff and a small group of personal friends.” As we’ve mentioned previously, Obama’s decision will have significant effects on the transparency of his communications.

    Gibbs said the presumption from the White House counsel’s office is that e-mails will be subject to the Presidential Records Act, the law that requires the National Archives to preserve presidential records. But he also said that some exemptions in the law allow for “strictly personal communications.” He did not say how that classification would be determined but made clear that the device could be used for both business and personal communication.

    How did Obama get the deal done? By turning the NSA loose on his BlackBerry:

    On Monday, a government agency said that the Obama administration — but that is probably the National Security Agency — added to a standard BlackBerry a super-encryption package…. and Obama WILL be able to use it … still for routine and personal messages.”

    Rock on, Mr. President!

    [Via BlackBerryCool.com…]

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  • pre,  rumors

    Rumor: Palm Pre Unlocked GSM Specs

    January 28, 2009 /

    Looks like Sprint isn’t the only one jumping the gun and prematurely posting details about Palm’s upcoming hardware. This time the mobile electronics retailer Elite-Electronix has posted what appears to be a pre-order page with the full product specs for Palm’s not-exactly-announced-but-we-knew-it-is-coming unlocked GSM Pre smartphone. The site also lists the unlocked GSM Pre as having a $599.95 USD price tag with an expected ship date as June 2009.

    [Thanks to Mark for the tip.]

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  • windows mobile

    HTC Announces the New Touch Cruise

    January 26, 2009 /

    HTC, the company best known for their stylish smartphone design kung-fu, has announced their latest smartphone, the HTC Touch Cruise.

    The Touch Cruise is a Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 powered smartphone that features another stunning industrial design. The Touch Cruise just looks great!

    Included in HTC’s latest smartphone is a built-in GPS that not only integrates with an optional vehicle cradle to provide turn-by-turn navigation, but also integrates with HTC’s new Footprints software. With the GPS enabled Touch Cruise and Footprints, customers are able to take photos and an audio recording while tagging the photo with co-ordinates provided by from the GPS receiver.

    “The new HTC Touch Cruise is the first mobile phone to offer HTC Footprints, an application experience that enables people to permanently chronicle their special moments by capturing a digital postcard on their phone. Once captured, Footprints provides the ability to take notes and an audio clip of that favourite restaurant or special place while identifying its specific geographical location. In addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS co-ordinates, Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or area.

    Flipping back through their photos, HTC Touch Cruise users will be able to retrace their steps to that exact location in just a few touches. Unlike other devices with geo-tagging functionality, HTC Footprints works effectively outdoors and indoors, offering a more accurate record of location for future reference and navigation.

    “Just as we have seen GPS technology transform how people navigate to new places, we are now seeing location-based applications like HTC Footprints changing how we interact and carry our memories,” said Peter Chou, President and CEO, HTC Corporation.”

    The published specifications for the HTC Touch Cruise are:

    • Size: 102 x 53.5 x 14.5mm
    • Weight: 103 grams
    • WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
    • Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
    • 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
    • HTC TouchFLO™, 4-Way navigation wheel with Enter and HTC Footprints™ buttons
    • 3.2 MP camera, with fixed focus
    • Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM, 256 MB RAM
    • microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
    • Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
    • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g wireless
    • GPS/A-GPS
    • Interface: HTC ExtUSB (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
    • Battery: 1100 mAh
    • Talk time: GSM: up to 400 minutes
    • Standby time: GSM: up to two weeks
    • Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz

    HTC is expected to begin shipping the Touch Cruise later this spring. For more details, check out the HTC Touch Cruise website.

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  • pre,  rumors,  sprint,  treo

    Rumor: Best Buy to Sell the Palm Pre

    January 26, 2009 /

    It looks like Sprint is angling to iron out a deal with electronics retailer Best Buy to be retail sales location for Palm’s newest smartphone, the Pre, when it goes live later this year. Information news website Bloomberg.com writes:

    “Sprint Nextel Corp., the money-losing U.S. wireless carrier, is in talks with Best Buy Co. to sell Palm Inc.’s Pre once the phone makes its debut this year, potentially putting the device in more than 1,000 stores.

    “I’m really excited that they’re back in the game,” Score said of Palm in an interview. “We’re working with Sprint on that, but no official announcement as of yet.”

    Palm plans to introduce the Pre, which uses its new WebOS operating software, in the first half of 2009. Sprint spokeswoman Michelle Mermelstein said the company hasn’t confirmed any decisions about its retail partners and declined to give further details on pricing or the date of the release. Palm spokeswoman Leslie Letts didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. “

    In a separate rumor, it is said that Palm’s latest Windows Mobile smartphone, the Treo Pro, could be coming to Sprint as soon as February 15.

    [Via PalmInfoCenter.com…]

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  • pro,  rumors,  sprint,  treo

    BGR: Sprint Treo Pro Appears, Then Vanishes

    January 22, 2009 /

    The Boy Genius Report is reporting today that the Palm Treo Pro make a brief cameo appearance on the Sprint online store today and then just as quickly disappeared.

    There have been a lot of rumors around the Internet about Palm’s next Windows Mobile device on the Sprint network, including photos of the retail packaging of the Sprint Treo Pro edition. Earlier this week, PalmInfoCenter was reporting that the new CDMA edition of the Treo Pro will get a bit of a boost from the rumored hardware tweaks over it’s unlocked GSM cousin.

    The good news is that the Pro is coming to Sprint and the cost of the device with a qualifying 2-year contract agreement will be $249 after rebates are applied.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

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