Author Archives: Aaron Baker

One-Pawed Bandit Blitz at PhoneDog.com!

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Like winning free phones?  I do too.  Thanks to the good folks at Pantech, PhoneDog is offering up five Pantech Matrix Pro devices for giveaway on the main website!

I know, it’s not a BlackBerry, but I can’t complain about free goodies!  Here are the details:

  • You must register on PhoneDog.com as a fan in order to play.  We promise we won’t send you anything unless you request to be on our mailing list!
  • Five (5) Pantech Matrix Pro devices will be awarded by the One-Paw Bandit between January 15th and January 25th.
  • Navigate to PhoneDog.com’s One-Pawed Bandit page directly, or look for the “Win Phones” tab at the top of PhoneDog.com.
  • You are given five (5) spins from the website, and an additional five (5) spins from Facebook every day.  Be sure to use them all!  You’d be surprised at the number of wasted spins we see on a daily basis – it breaks our heart!
  • Three (3) identical pictures of fruit or three (3) bells does not constitute a win – it must be three (3) phones.
  • Be sure to come back every day to increase your chances of winning!

We’ve given away 67 phones since January 1, 2009 – you or one of your friends could be the 68th winner!  PLAY TODAY!

BBerryDog’s Live Coverage of CES 2010!

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CES 2010 begins on Thursday, and in addition to joining my PhoneDog colleagues (and performing News Editor duties), I’ll be there to cover all things BlackBerry!  Live feeds, content, videos – it’ll be here on BBerryDog as the information comes in.  For other phone news, be sure to stay tuned to PhoneDog for continuing coverage!

I’ll be tweeting about tech goodness, late night fun, events, pictures, and more.  Be sure to subscribe to my Twitter feed (@PhoneDog_Aaron), along with my colleagues/partners in crime – Noah, John, and Adriana!

RIM releases statement regarding official OS 5.0 releases

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Like you, I was curious when 2009 came to a close and the Tour, Curve 8900, and the Bold 9000 are still sitting with older OS builds.  The folks at CrackBerry reached out to RIM yesterday, and received the following response:

RIM began rolling out BlackBerry OS 5.0 late last year through our carrier partners for supported devices, including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Storm2. We continue to work with our carrier partners to make BlackBerry OS 5.0 available to users on new and other supportable in-market BlackBerry smartphones.

So while RIM held up their end of the bargain, we’re waiting for the builds to pass testing (known as “technical acceptance”) at the wireless companies.  If you’re still upset, be sure to speak with your respective carriers and let them know what you think!

Via CrackBerry

Viper SmartStart coming to BlackBerry platform

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Appearing at CES this week, Viper SmartStart is coming to the BlackBerry platform.  Currently available for the iPhone, Viper SmartStart allows you to open the trunk, start the car remotely, lock the doors, and hit the alarm.  Though the application will be free in the BlackBerry App World, the $29.99 per year subscription fee and the initial $499.99 for the equipment required to run it may deter potential users.

At any rate, it’s nice to see support for the BlackBerry platform.

Via IntoMobile

Boost Mobile to start carrying BlackBerry Curve 8330

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Huge news on the prepaid front this evening, as a source has confirmed to Boy Genius Report that Boost Mobile will be receiving the BlackBerry Curve 8330.  The Curve 8330 will join Boost line on January 13th, and will have a $249 price tag.  Boost Mobile plans will offer unlimited calling, text messaging, and web browsing, and will be $70/monthly for Curve users.

The fact that the BlackBerry Curve 8330 is a CDMA (operating on the “Sprint” MVNO side) device makes it a deal to me, along with the unlimited service for $70.  Why spend $99 monthly on a Sprint Curve 8330, or $149.99 with Verizon and AT&T when you can spend $70 monthly on a Boost Mobile Curve 8330?

What do you think – postpaid or prepaid?  Or better yet, is it worth waiting until a newer BlackBerry lands on the provider?

Via PhoneDog

Beta version of Poynt released to testers, offers improvements

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Poynt 1.5.2.25 has been released to beta testers, and offers numerous improvements, including background weather information (shown above) and gas prices.  When activated, the program offers an animated picture of what the weather is doing in your neck of the woods.  Not to be forgotten, the latest build also allows users to check gas prices in the area (though it’s only available in the US at this time).

It appears that the beta is closed, though you can submit an e-mail to beta@mypoynt.com to be considered for the program.

Via BlackBerry Cool

SMS Statistics allows for monitoring of texts

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Despite the popularity of unlimited text messaging plans, there are still users that opt for limited plans.  SMS Statistics provides reports, statistics, and custom alerts when users have surpassed their incoming/outgoing text message allotment.  Whether you’re frequently going over your plan or want to keep track of SMS usage patterns, SMS Statistics is just what the doctor ordered.

Download the application at BlackBerry Cool.

Win a Speck SeeThru BlackBerry Storm case!

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Thought we were done with the giveaways?  Absolutely not!  Thanks to the great folks at Speck, we’re giving away a Speck SeeThru case for the BlackBerry Storm!  At a $24.95 retail price, the Speck SeeThru for the BlackBerry Storm is a great case.  The rules are as follows:

  1. You must reside in the United States.
  2. You must be following me on Twitter: @PhoneDog_Aaron.
  3. You must be registered in the BBerryDog forums.
  4. You must find the six digit code, hidden somewhere in one of the posts on the website.  It will be marked “(Speck code: XXXXXX).”
  5. You must e-mail your Twitter username, forums username, and six digit code to contests[at]bberrydog.com. Entries missing any of these things will be disqualified.

The contest ends on January 8th at 11:59 PM EST.  Good luck!

Canadian newspaper interviews RIM’s Mike Lazaridis

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On the heels of 2010, Canada’s Financial Post Tech Desk interviewed RIM President and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis about BlackBerry’s future in the decade ahead.  From the first page of the interview:

Financial Post: Maybe we could just start off with what you notice to be some of the biggest changes since the first BlackBerrys rolled off the line about 10 years ago and how things are progressing today? What changes have you seen in the industry?

Mike Lazaridis: Something I was taught when I was a student is this whole idea of compare and contrast. It sounds like they’re redundant, but they’re very different. When we look at what people wanted to do, it was a very communications-centric environment. It was all about communications. What we did, was we discovered that we could use data to provide connection and communications within data environments. So whether it’s a secure connection to your desktop for push email or a secure connection to another individual for some kind of email or messaging capability, that was the killer app. We turned email into instant messaging, that’s what we did. We did it securely and we did it reliably. Ironically, that continues to differentiate us today.

Read more at the Financial Post Tech Desk.

Ten years of BlackBerry

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For those that have BlackBerry-wielding family members that aren’t as versed in the technology like you and I are, I highly recommend Engadget Mobile’s Ten years of BlackBerry editorial, written by Chris Ziegler.  For those that aren’t as BlackBerry-savvy, it offers a perspective of where RIM began, how its progressed over the decade, and where it is now.  One thing is for certain: there’s no doubt that the past decade, while challenging, has brought an incredible amount of growth to RIM.

Chris’ editorial is an absolutely phenomenal read, and can be found here.  Where do you think RIM will go in the next ten years?

OS 5.0.0.395 available for Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8530

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Not happy with the stock OS build that came with the Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8530?  OS 5.0.0.395 is officially available, and while there’s no change log to be found, it’s a step ahead of the OS (5.0.0.337) found on Verizon’s version of the device.

OS 5.0.0.395 can be downloaded at Sprint’s BlackBerry page here.  Download it and share your thoughts in the comments and forums!

New pictures of the BlackBerry Tour2 9650 surface

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In the clearest pictures seen on the internet to date, BGR has taken an up-close look at the BlackBerry Tour2 (Essex) 9650.  Here is what they found:

  • The keyboard is still great, despite the removal of space for the trackpad.
  • The phone is snappier than the original Tour, and no slowdowns have been reported.
  • Physical size is almost (if not exactly) the same size as the Tour 9630.
  • Wi-Fi works well.

For those that purchased the Tour when it first came out, how do you feel about this device launching in the immediate future?

Via: BGR

Update: BlackBerry BIS down again?

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For the third time this month, it appears that there’s an IT issue in Waterloo.

Reports are scattering around about a North American BlackBerry BIS outage, affecting e-mail, data, and any data-centric program.  The outage doesn’t seem to be tied to any carrier, and the ETA for resolution is 3-24 hours.

Anyone else having issues?  Sound off in the comments and in the forums…

Update: All seems to be resolved.  RIM’s official statement:

A service interruption occurred Tuesday that affected BlackBerry customers in the Americas. Message delivery was delayed or intermittent during the service interruption. Phone service and SMS services on BlackBerry smartphones were unaffected. Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure. RIM has taken corrective action to restore service.

RIM has also provided a new version of BlackBerry Messenger (version 5.0.0.57) and is encouraging anyone who downloaded or upgraded BlackBerry Messenger since December 14th to upgrade to this latest version which resolves the issue. RIM continues to monitor its systems to maintain normal service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers.


BBerryDog BlackBerry Bluetooth Headset HS-500 contest winner!

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BlackBerry Bluetooth Headset HS-500

Congratulations to Alexander Hosefelder for winning the BBerryDog BlackBerry Bluetooth HS-500 headset giveaway!  Again, special thanks to RIM for graciously providing us with one to give to our readers!

Alexander’s entry is below:

Well, why do I love my BlackBerry?

I love how it looks and how everyone around me takes notice when I pull it out of my pocket.  I love that it makes every one of my friends jealous because their phones can’t do half the stuff my BlackBerry does.  I love the push notifications and the possibility to instantly reply on facebook and twitter.  In fact I love my BlackBerry so much I cant walk around without looking at it for 5 minutes.  I’m always connected to all of my friends; my BlackBerry is pretty much my ‘gate to the world.’  I love my BlackBerry because I can do everything I love with it: sending messages to my friends, updating my social networks, browsing the web, listening to music and of course – making phone calls.

In Germany the BlackBerry commercials say “love what you do” and what can I say…when I have my BlackBerry with me I love what I do. ;)

In a nutshell, it was a phenomenal way to describe the numerous functions that differ a BlackBerry from the rest of the pack.  Congratulations, Alexander – your headset is on the way.

Stay tuned to BBerryDog for more giveaways!

Fandango app now available for BlackBerry

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After reporting about it a few weeks ago, I’m pleased to say that the Fandango app is now available for BlackBerry (though oddly enough, it’s not in the App World as of yet).  Through the app, you can browse movies and showtimes, find specific theater information, buy tickets, and more.  Download using the two links below, and hit the comments section and forums with your thoughts!

Download for trackpad/trackball devices here.
Download for touchscreen devices here.

Via: CrackBerry