Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm 2 will be available to Verizon Wireless customers Wednesday, according to the carrier.
BlackBerry Storm 2
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Like its predecessor, the BlackBerry Storm 2 will feature a touch screen. Unlike the BlackBerry Storm, though, the Storm 2's SurePress "clickable" display doesn't actually move (except for around corners). Instead, the display provides an electronic feedback that mimics the feeling of a click. It also features multi-touch support, allowing users to click two keys (like shift plus a letter) on the virtual keyboard at the same time.
Aside from a revamped touch screen, the Storm 2 offers built-in Wi-Fi and EV-DO Revision A. The Storm 2 provides global support, allowing users to make calls and get 3G data overseas, thanks to an included SIM card. The phone comes with 256MB of flash memory, and 2GB of "onboard" memory. It also ships with a 16GB MicroSD card.
The Storm 2 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0. According to Verizon, the new software will improve the device's typing and selection accuracy. It also features more use of animations.
The Storm 2 has a 3.2-megapixel camera and video recording. The phone comes with BlackBerry Maps, which allows users to access turn-by-turn directions and maps, and to find local businesses. RIM has also included Verizon's VZ Navigator service, which adds voice-guided directions, but costs an additional $9.99 per month.
Like some of the latest BlackBerry smartphones, the Storm 2 will provide access to the BlackBerry App World. It also supports Verizon's tethering service.
The phone features a removable battery that, according to Verizon Wireless, will offer up to 5.5 hours of talk time. It asserts that the battery will last for 11 days on standby.
When the Storm 2 hits store shelves for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, both RIM and Verizon will be hoping that users have forgotten about the mistakes made in the original BlackBerry Storm. That phone's touch screen and software annoyances yielded some unhappy customers. It also failed to break three stars in a CNET review last year.
That said, Bonnie Cha at CNET Reviews had an opportunity to check out a near-final version of the Storm 2 recently. According to Cha, the Storm 2's SurePress touch screen is much improved over its predecessor. She was also happy to see Wi-Fi make its way to the follow-up smartphone. Still, she found that the software reset spontaneously at times and that, overall, the GPS performance was sub-par.
Check out CNET's full evaluation of the BlackBerry Storm 2 here.
Vonage Mobile for the iPhone, iPod Touch.
(Credit: Vonage)Voice over Internet Protocol service provider Vonage on Monday announced that it has launched its first mobile apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry devices.
Dubbed Vonage Mobile, the company's free VoIP app enables users to place international calls from their mobile devices. iPod Touch owners can do so by placing calls through Wi-Fi. BlackBerry owners will transmit calls over the cellular network only. iPhone owners will be able to place calls from Wi-Fi or through AT&T's network.
According to Vonage, its app will help users save up to 50 percent on international calling charges levied by carriers. After downloading the app, users need to enter an international number. They can also select a call recipient from their existing iPhone or BlackBerry contacts list. Those who receive calls will see the user's cell phone number on their caller IDs. Charges will be taken against the user's credit card, which they need to input when they first start using the app.
For now, Vonage is offering per-minute rates. The company said in a statement that by the end of the year, it will offer the Vonage World plan to users. Vonage World for home users currently allows them to make calls to more than 60 countries for $24.99 per month.
Vonage's app launch comes on the heels of controversy over whether Google's similar Voice app should have been denied access to Apple's App Store. The debate still rages on.
Vonage's new mobile app is available now in Apple's App Store and Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World. Both versions are free.
This week's episode of The Digital Home Podcast takes a look at the value of video game consoles and determines which is best. We also give you this week's site of the week! Check it out.
Listen now: Download today's podcastSubscribe now: iTunes (audio) | RSS (audio)
Shownotes for EPISODE 202
RIM set to release Mac-syncing software
Apple App Store hits 2 billion downloads, 85,000 apps
Which console now provides the most value?
New Xbox 360 holiday bundle announced
This week's cool site: Twt.fm. Check out my hands-on look here.
And as always, follow me on Twitter!
The long-awaited BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac is finally at hand, Research In Motion announced Wednesday.
The new desktop software, designed specifically for Mac users, will be available as a free download on RIM's Mac page, starting at 10 a.m. PDT Friday.
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac allows people to sync data with Mac apps for contacts, appointments, tasks, and notes. The software also allows people to schedule back-ups, encrypt files, and perhaps most importantly, install software updates for their BlackBerry devices.
RIM's new BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
(Credit: Research In Motion)Apart from the business side of things, RIM said the software features BlackBerry Media Sync, allowing people to sync their iTunes music with their BlackBerry. According to the company, people can choose the playlists they want, and all the included tracks will be transferred to the smartphone.
BlackBerry Desktop Manager requires Macs to be running Mac OS X 10.5.5 or higher. Any stragglers still running Mac OS X Tiger or haven't updated their Leopard installations will be left out. The BlackBerry itself must be running BlackBerry OS 4.2 and higher.
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac is one of the most anticipated releases from RIM in quite awhile. Unlike iPhone software, which works with both Mac and PCs, BlackBerry Desktop Manager has only been available for Windows users. Until now, a third-party tool has been needed for BlackBerry devices to sync with Macs.
BlackBerry Tour, which is available to both Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers, is under scrutiny for trackball issues that have led some Tour owners to return the smartphones.
The question is: how widespread is the problem?
TownHall Investment Research's David Eller said in a research note this week that he has consulted "experts" who have determined Research In Motion is having a "big trackball problem, especially with the Tour," which was launched in July.
BlackBerry Tour
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Eller wrote that BlackBerry Tour owners are being forced "to clean the trackball frequently and preferably with compressed air." When they don't clean the trackball, the issues get worse, leading them to bring the device back to the store for repairs or returns.
It has gotten so bad, Eller contends, that Sprint's "return rates have been climbing toward 50 percent."
A 50 percent return rate on a mobile phone would be huge. But Sprint is telling a much different story.
"We experienced a small percentage of early production Blackberry Tour smartphones with trackball issues," a Sprint representative said in a phone interview Wednesday night. "As soon as the issue was identified, we worked closely with our partners at RIM to resolve the problem quickly. Any customer experiencing issues with the Tour should visit a Sprint service and repair center."
Sprint, which said it had never worked with TownHall Investment Research prior to the research note's release this week, said the number of BlackBerry Tour returns it experienced "weren't even close to 50 percent." The Sprint representative said it was "a very small percentage." He wouldn't release exact figures but did say the percentage was in line with other new devices that experience some hardware problems at launch.
But Eller didn't only mention Sprint. In the same note, he wrote that "Verizon is experiencing serious problems with the Tour." He claimed that "Verizon will soon be getting new smartphones from Motorola and Palm that compete with RIM. Verizon is angry about this recurring trackball problem and is telling its retailers to expect strong support for the new Motorola phone."
However, Verizon spokesman Jim Gerace said in a phone call Thursday that the "BlackBerry Tour has the lowest return rate of any smartphone Verizon Wireless is selling. In fact, its return rate is one of the lowest among all the products our company sells."
That said, Gerace did acknowledge that BlackBerry Tour devices did experience trackball issues when they were first released. He said that his company "caught it pretty early and we didn't sell many with the bad trackball."
Gerace offered a biting response yet when I asked him about the accuracy of Eller's contention that Verizon is angry at RIM and will be strongly supporting a new Motorola device.
"That is blatantly not true," Gerace told me. "Just look around at our advertising. Does it look like we're not pushing the BlackBerry Tour?"
RIM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Research In Motion's BlackBerry browser isn't poised to match Safari on Apple's iPhone, a glaring problem as the smartphone maker attempts to compete in the mobile-browser market. But RIM appears to be addressing this issue with its latest acquisition.
Torch Mobile, a WebKit developer that offers the Iris mobile browser, announced Monday that it has been acquired by RIM for an undisclosed sum.
"Our team of developers will join RIM's global organization and will now be focused on utilizing our WebKit-based mobile browser expertise to contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the BlackBerry platform," Torch Mobile wrote in a statement on the company's Web site.
RIM's decision to acquire Torch Mobile might be a smart one for the company. WebKit has become the (unofficial) standard in the smartphone market, providing users with a superior browsing experience than what is currently offered on BlackBerry smartphones. It's widely considered to be fast and robust. Most importantly, it's open source.
Several RIM competitors, including the iPhone, Palm's Pre, Symbian S60 phones, and Android-based devices use WebKit to power their respective browsers. RIM ostensibly felt that it needed to level the playing field.
Earlier this month, market analyst at TD Securities, Chris Umiastowski, said that RIM representatives are promising a BlackBerry browser on-par with the iPhone's browser by the summer of 2010. That news was followed by a report from the Boy Genius Report claiming RIM will integrate Flash and Silverlight support into the BlackBerry browser.
Torch Mobile might be the first step towards achieving that goal.
RIM did not announce its plans for Torch Mobile or its browser. Terms of the deal were also undisclosed. But at this point, it seems that the question of if RIM will release a WebKit-based browser needs to be replaced by a question of when it will be offered in BlackBerry devices.
Let me quickly walk you through my obsession with smartphones. Dating back to 2006, I've used a Palm Treo, two iPhones (a first-gen and the 3G), a BlackBerry Storm, and a BlackBerry Bold.
The Palm Pre comes out Saturday. I must have it.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)I first owned the Palm Treo. But when the first-generation iPhone was released, I had to have it, so I decided to enter into an AT&T contract and carry two phones. After a few months, I ditched the Treo and stuck with the iPhone. Then Apple released the iPhone 3G. I bought it the day it was released.
When Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry Storm, the company sent it to me to try out. I had it for about a month. It was a poor experience, so I happily sent it back and stuck with my iPhone 3G.
A couple of months ago, I announced on these pages that I decided to ditch my iPhone in favor of the BlackBerry Bold. I reasoned that the Bold was better for what I needed. And as great as Apple's App Store is, it wasn't enough for me to want to keep the iPhone.
So since April, I've been the proud owner of a BlackBerry Bold. It's a well-designed device that has enhanced my ability to communicate, and I like it more than the iPhone 3G (and every other smartphone I've used).
I thought it was over. I believed that for the next year I'd be able to stop myself from buying another smartphone.
And then I started to feel the Palm Pre itch. I researched it. I wrote about it. I did everything I could to see whether it was something I would want. CNET posted its review of the Palm Pre this week and, well, that ended the debate: I'm buying a Palm Pre. I'll be carrying two smartphones around once again.
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BlackBerry Storm 2 needs some improvements.
(Credit: Don Reisinger/CNET)Research in Motion said Monday that it plans to release a new version of its BlackBerry Storm. Speaking to Reuters, company CEO Jim Balsillie said that the time is right for a new BlackBerry Storm. He believes the market is "very large and untapped."
He went on to say that the BlackBerry Storm was "a huge success in terms of sales and adoption." Balsillie said he believes the next iteration of the mobile phone could enjoy the same kind of success he claims its predecessor did.
I had the opportunity to use the BlackBerry Storm when it was first released. It was a mess. I had trouble clicking the desired icons, and I was generally unimpressed with the device's OS. The idea of "clicking" the screen to access the desired app, while good on paper, turned out to be a nightmare, in my experience. I was disappointed with the BlackBerry Storm.
But that doesn't mean I'll automatically rule out the BlackBerry Storm 2 (or whatever it will eventually be called). I think RIM had a good idea with the first device, but now it needs to refine its offering.
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I'm now the proud owner of a BlackBerry Bold.
For a while, I was trying to decide if I wanted to ditch my iPhone 3G for the Bold. After some research and hands-on time with Research In Motion's beauty, I decided that it was in my best interest to escape from Apple's grips.
But there was a problem: the BlackBerry Bold is expensive. If you're not eligible for a two-year upgrade, the Bold will set you back $550 at the AT&T store. If you're new to AT&T or eligible for the upgrade price, you pay $399.99.
I didn't want to spend that much on a mobile phone that replaced another expensive gadget. Plus, I wasn't eligible for an upgrade. So I decided to head down to the AT&T store to talk with a representative to figure it all out. And much to my surprise, he and I determined that I would end up paying just $30 for the Bold.
Here's how it worked:
... Read moreI told my Twitter followers Monday that I've decided to swap my iPhone 3G for a BlackBerry Bold. Though I believe the iPhone 3G is a nice device that has gotten better with age, it's time for a change.
Should we hate you, BlackBerry?
(Credit: RIM)Some of my followers disagreed. In a matter of seconds after telling them that I was switching to a Bold, I was inundated with comments discrediting the BlackBerry. Some folks mentioned the issues they have with it, while others decided to be more biting.
One commenter, "aphony," replied that it was "awful" that I was switching to the BlackBerry Bold. He said that he gets "nauseous when someone claims they don't like the iPhone."
"MarkCharge" said that I was "an idiot" for switching to the Bold. "Rahulunbhatia" told me that he "has used both" and "the iPhone is much better." "JKing29" said that I'm "crazy" for "going from a good phone to a bad phone."
Though there were a few folks who said that I'd be happier with the Bold, the overwhelmingly negative responses got me thinking: what's up with all the BlackBerry hating?
I've had an iPhone 3G since its release and I've tested the BlackBerry Bold. I like them both. Am I alone?
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