February 20th, 2008

Remember this, BlackBerry: when it comes to customer communications, it's NOT all about the carriers

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 9:16 pm

Categories: Carriers, News, Outages

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Outage, Carrier, Handhelds, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Once again, there were scattered BlackBerry service outages yesterday. This time, it was maintenance on the BlackBerry Internet Service side of the business. The one that forwards your other email account messages to your BlackBerry.

Unfortunately, yesterday proved that when it comes to letting customers know what the you-know-what is going on, BlackBerry’s notification processes are extremely flawed.

These outage notification processes seem to entirely consist of:

Email alerts directly from RIM to key commercial accounts.

There doesn’t seem to be a system in place for letting smaller accounts, and individuals who access BlackBerry services via their cell carrier from knowing what is going on.

No “we have reports of scattered BlackBerry outages” notifications on the BlackBerry and RIM sites. There also doesn’t seem to be a regular structure in place for letting carriers know of these disruptions in a manner that would enable these carriers to post outage-related notifications and updates on their own sites.

These have been flaws ever since I can remember.

Plainly, these flaws call not only for engineering new business processes that let all BlackBerry customers know about outages.

If it means taking a few carriers by the scruff of the neck and getting them in the customer alert loop, then so be it.

I still have my doubts this will be done right away. Even if the will to do so was there, BlackBerry is so subservient to their carriers I doubt they lack the will or the vision to architect subscriber alert systems such as the type I am proposing here.

February 7th, 2008

Report: Hotspot @ Home BlackBerry 8820 to T-Mobile on March 5

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 2:06 pm

Categories: BlackBerry 8820, BlackBerry Rumors, Carriers

Tags: T-Mobile, RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Tipsters to Boy Genius Report, well, report that T-Mobile will start sellng the BlackBerry 8820 on March 5.

The model, which has form and functional identical to the AT&T BlackBerry 8820, is said to be supporting T-Mobile Hotspot@Home Service.

More details on the way…

December 12th, 2007

What a cool idea dept.: First-ever dedicated BlackBerry store opens

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 5:03 am

Categories: Carriers, News

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Wireless, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Hayden of BlackBerry discussion and forum site Pinstack notes that the world’s first BlackBerry-only store has just opened.

Apparently the first of its kind, the store is an exclusive deal between BlackBerry-maker Research Inb Motion, and Wireless Giant of Madison Heights, Michigan.

On premise, you can purchase BlackBerrys (hey no surprise there) as well as accessories and ad-on software apps.

What’s even cooler, you can get activation from the big four BlackBerry carriers:  AT&T Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The five-member staff also will train users at the store or on work sites.

The store is the first of its kind in the $140 billion wireless communications industry, an industry-watcher said. It is not a franchise and there are currently no plans to build another one, said Nadine Stafford, marketing director for Wireless Giant.

Despite the coolness of all-under-one-roof complete major BlackBerry carrier availability, this is apparently a one-off. No further plans to build more. Given the degree of convenience, that’s too bad, IMHO.

September 28th, 2007

My "divorce" from SprintNextel becomes final today! Read my reasons

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 5:24 am

Categories: BlackBerry Curve 8300, Carriers, Case Histories

Tags: Nextel Communications Inc., BlackBerry Curve, RIM BlackBerry, Sprint Communications, Handhelds, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Today’s the day I officially stop being a SprintNextel BlackBerry subscriber, and launch my ATT Mobility account for my newly purchased BlackBerry Curve.

Or to put it another way, my “divorce” from SprintNextel becomes final today.

I got into this relationship more than two years ago, when I signed up for two years with Nextel for my once-hip BlackBerry 7520.

The device served me just OK. The cell service from my cliffside condo overlooking downtown Portland faded in and out.

Customer service and invoicing rhymed-with-ducks. When I added Sprint EV-DO to my laptop, Sprint never seemed to be able to figure out how to get all my services on one bill. Online, there was never any clear demarcation about whether the services I needed to perform (such as pay my bill) would be available on Sprint.com, Nextel.com, SprintNextel.com, or wherever.

Go to a SprintNextel-labeled retail store, and if the location started as a Sprint store before the merger more than two years ago, I found that all too often, legacy Sprint inventory, services and in-store expertise was plentiful but Nextel’s was not.  Maybe there was one store employee who “knew about” Nextel products, but h/she was out to lunch (literally and/or figuratively), on a cigarette break in the parking lot, etc.

Then, there was the issue earlier this year with SprintNextel booting customers who asked too many questions too often or roamed “too much.” After backtracking and thankfully reversing this policy when it impacted our men and women in uniform, SprintNextel ignored the public outcry against this policy and went about booting more than 1,000 loyal subscribers.

As my two-year SprintNextel BlackBerry contract’s September 12 conclusion approached, I assessed what I wanted in my next BlackBerry. I wanted a camera, and sorry BlackBerry Pearl lovers, but I wanted a BlackBerry with a QWERTY keyboard.

There is a camera-enabled Sprint BlackBerry Pearl coming real soon, and of course there are plenty of QWERTYs.  But the more I tried out the sleek, ATT-branded BlackBerry Curve, I realized that was what I wanted.

Corporately, I have no love for ATT. They are a monopolist. But they came to my wallet with an offer for a new BlackBerry Curve for $179.99 (after rebates). Worked for me.

I may or may not be glad to see you, but that is an ATT BlackBerry Curve in my pocket. Heh.

September 23rd, 2007

T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8320 is now available

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 10:46 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Curve 8300, Carriers

Tags: T-Mobile, Video, RIM BlackBerry, T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8320, Corporate Communications, Wireless LANs, Handhelds, Wi-Fi, Wireless, Marketing

T-Mobile USA and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion formally announced the Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry Curve 8320.

The device, which is available in titanium and pale gold,  supports T-Mobile’s HotSpot @ Home for nationwide calling.

There’s also a two-megapixel camera, a music and video player, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and a microSD card slot for expandable memory storage. Access to personal and corporate e-mail accounts, and Web browsing is fast and easy thanks to the powerful BlackBerry platform, Wi-Fi connectivity and T-Mobile’s robust nationwide EDGE network.

• Key features of the BlackBerry Curve 8320 from T-Mobile include:
• Impressively small and lightweight design at 4.2” x 2.4” x 0.6” and approximately 3.9 oz.
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) connectivity for expanded coverage, as well as faster Web browsing and file downloading
• Support for T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, offering great mobile coverage and unlimited calling over a Wi-Fi network
• Enabled for T-Mobile’s myFaves SM so customers can stay in touch with those who matter most with quick, one-click access via instant message, e-mail, or by calling or texting their five favorite contacts from the home screen
• Popular instant messaging clients: AOL, Yahoo!,Windows Live, Google and ICQ.
• 2-megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom, built-in flash, self-portrait mirror and full-screen viewfinder
• Advanced multimedia player with search capabilities, full-screen video playback, stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP/AVRCP), 3.5mm full-size stereo headset jack and dedicated volume controls - supports MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA audio and MPEG4, H.263 and WMV video formats
• Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry (included with BlackBerry Desktop Manager software), which allows you to easily search for media files on their computer, view and organize them, create MP3 music files from CDs, add audio tags, create playlists and automatically copy or convert pictures, music and videos for optimal playback
• Llight-sensing technology that automatically optimizes the screen, trackball and keyboard lighting for indoor, outdoor and dark environments
• E-mail and memo spell-checking available in various languages including English, French, Italian, German and Spanish
• Premium phone features with Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), dedicated ’send’, ‘end’ and ‘mute’ keys, noise-cancellation technology to offset background noise, a low-distortion speakerphone for hands-free conversations, and Bluetooth support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits and Bluetooth peripherals
• Intuitive call management features such as smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi network support for international roaming
• BlackBerry Maps, a mapping application that provides customers with driving directions
• Built-in Handango InHand catalog of additional software applications available for download
• Support for polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI ring tones
• Expandable memory storage via MicroSD expansion slot.

September 18th, 2007

AT&T sends letter to BlackBerry users about BB addy change from Cingular

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 9:38 am

Categories: Carriers, News

Tags: Cingular Wireless, AT&T Corp., RIM BlackBerry, E-mail, E-mail Address, Russell Shaw

Gregory Jackson, who is a Member of the Yahoo! BlackBerry Users’ Group, has just posted this note he has received today from AT&T Mobility announcing a widespread BlackBerry address change from Cingular to AT&T

At AT&T, your business is important to us as we continue our efforts to raise the bar and enhance your service. This message is to inform you of an important upcoming change to your BlackBerry email address.

In October and November, all users with a mycingular.blackberry.net email address will be changed to a new att.blackberry. net email address. This change will occur automatically during this period.

Once your BlackBerry Internet Service email address has been changed, you will receive a confirmation message. Your BlackBerry email address account settings will be retained to the extent possible and any existing emails currently stored in your mycingular.blackber ry.net inbox will be accessible via your new att.blackberry. net inbox. Integration with an Internet Service Provider, IMAP or POP3 account, should not be impacted.

Email messages intended for your old name@mycingular. blackberry. net address will be automatically redirected to your new name@att.blackberry .net address until March 1, 2008. We encourage you to reach out to your important contacts to inform them of this upcoming change, as all messages sent to your old email address will no longer be automatically redirected to your new email address after March 1, 2008.

Thank you for choosing AT&T for your BlackBerry solution needs.

Any of you receiving these email messages as well?

September 17th, 2007

ATT is planning these BlackBerry purchase rebates

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 10:37 pm

Categories: BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry Curve 8300, BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Promotions, Carriers

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, ATT, Russell Shaw

According to this chart adapted and P-shop stitched from a Boy Genius Report posting, ATT is revving up the rebate machine for several BlackBerrys.

To save your eyes from squinting, the rebates will be $100 on the ATT flavors of BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Curve 8320, and $50 on the BlackBerry 8700c, BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry 8820 and BlackBerry Pearl.

August 16th, 2007

Report: In deference to Apple iPhone, ATT BlackBerry 8820 will "neuter" GPS

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 9:27 am

Categories: BlackBerry 8800, Carriers

Tags: Apple iPhone, AT&T Corp., Apple Inc., GPS, Russell Shaw

Doug at BlackBerry Cool has just posted that they’ve received a tip from an inside source at AT&T that the GPS funcitonality will be locked down on the AT&T BlackBerry 8820 due mid-September.

Under this arrangement, the only GPS-like third party software compatible with the AT&T BlackBerry 8820 will be TeleNav.

Doug feels, as do I, that this move is in large measure because AT&T did not want the 8820 to be loaded up with a feature that would prove competitive with the iPhone. And as to the iPhone, AT&T is barely into that five-year U.S. exclusivity window.

We’ve just received word from one of our friends inside AT&T that the US carrier has been successful in their attempts to lockdown the GPS functionality in their upcoming BlackBerry 8820 so that the only functioning 3rd party software will be TeleNav.

“Sounds a little crazy, until you realize that a GPS/Wi-Fi’d device with push email and no funny-texting touch screen that’s subsidized in price sounds a bit more appealing than a $500 device that enterprise customers can’t use,” Doug writes.

Doug’s source tells him that BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is quite pissed, but went along. Not that they had much choice. The source indicated that AT&T told iRIM if they refused to lock GPS and other third-party software too competitive with the iPhone, that would be it insofar as future RIM devices carried by AT&T.

RIM did go along. Reading Doug’s post, it is obvious that the BlackBerry corporate culture is one in which the carriers have the most influence. Compare that to Apple-AT&T, where Apple has been calling the feature-set and marketing shots.

August 8th, 2007

BlackBerry 8310 with GPS due this fall

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 9:29 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Curve 8300, BlackBerry Rumors, Carriers

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Rogers Wireless, GPS, Russell Shaw

Doug at BlackBerry Cool posts that according to a tipster named Rogersdude, the black-colored variant BlackBerry Curve soon to be sold by Rogers Wireless in Canada will be the GPS-enabled BlackBerry  8310.

Word is it that Rogers has felt they’ve underpromoted the original Curve in favor of the BlackBerry 8800.

“The Curve still ended up performing beyond expectations, however, while the 8800’s performance was lackluste,” Doug writes, (so)Rogers doesn’t want to make the same mistake twice and is going to heavily promote the device.

The 8310 launch will probably happen several weeks time after the BlackBerry Pearl 2 launch, scheduled for Rogers in mid to late September, and on AT&T about a week before that.

Can’t have too many launches too close together!

July 17th, 2007

BlackBerry 8820 dual-mode WiFi-cell BlackBerry announced

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 1:34 pm

Categories: BlackBerry 8800, Carriers

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Russell Shaw

As had been widely expected, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry 8820 today.

RIM points out that the BlackBerry 8820 is the first dual-mode BlackBerry handset, combining EDGE/GPRS/GSM cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity for data access and voice support through UMA (unlicensed mobile access) for fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service offerings from various wireless carriers around the world.

Features:

• QWERTY keyboard
• 320×240 display
• Built-in GPS;
• Expandable memory slot compatible with microSD memory cards up to 32GB.

AT&T gets first dibs, later this summer.