Archives for December 2008

Thoughts On The BlackBerry Storm From An iPhone User

December 4, 2008 by Rod 24 Comments

A colleague of mine that happens to be an iPhone user but had to get a Verizon BlackBerry for work decided to write down his thoughts on the BlackBerry Storm. I posted his commentary below and would like to know what you guys think…

I am what Apple people would call a recent switcher but I converted from the Apple iPhone 3G to the Blackberry Storm. I have been an extremely happy iPhone user since it released nearly 18 months ago. I suffered through all the bugs, dropped calls, user interface issues, and many other issues. I got the Blackberry because I had to switch to a corporately managed phone plan on Verizon and the Storm is the closest experience to an iPhone I could get.

The Calm before the ‘Storm’

While I waited for my Storm to arrive I used a BlackBerry 8830.. In the following paragraphs I’ve chronicled my initial experiences, both as a business and casual user of my BlackBerry Storm. I am tolerant of technology and understand that bugs are part of technology and I trust that good companies will sort out the bugs quickly. In many cases I’ve outlined where I feel the Storm/Verizon could have learned from its iPhone/ATT competition.

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BlackBerry Storm Screen Scratch Test

December 4, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 10 Comments

Just in case you were wondering how scratch resistent the screen on the BlackBerry Curve is, it looks to be pretty resistent. I, however, still STRONGLY reccomend that, if you have a BlackBerry Storm or plan on getting one, you invest in some type of screen protector like Invisible Shield or something similar.

The BlackBerry Storm actually comes with a screen protector already on it but it appears to be the kind that will wear out over time. Do yourself a favor and buy a screen protector. They are definitely worth the $7.00 to $20.00 that you will pay for them.

[Via MobileSyrup]

RIM Looking To Buy Certicom For $1.50 Per Share

December 3, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 3 Comments

Research in Motion today announced that it intends to make an offer buy all shares of encryption software company Certicom $1.50 Canadian per share. This represents a 76.5% premium of Certicom’s closing price yesterday, Dec. 2nd.

Beginning in February 2007, RIM commenced discussions with Certicom management to evaluate a potential transaction. At various points since beginning discussions, RIM has conducted certain due diligence on the business and we continue to believe Certicom is a natural fit for RIM. Our collective expertise and business resources would increase the adoption of Certicom’s technology,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of RIM. “We believe our proposed offer is fair, reflects the full value of Certicom and takes into account the growth prospects and potential synergies made possible by this transaction. As we are unable to engage Certicom management in a meaningful dialogue to advance the terms of a potential transaction, we believe it is in the best interests of our respective shareholders, employees and customers to make this attractive offer directly to Certicom shareholders now.

Read the full press release here…

[Via Reuters]

Research In Motion Lowers Q3 Expectations

December 3, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 4 Comments

I was just listening to SquakBox on CNBC and and it looks like Research in Motion’s quarter is going to be worse than they initially thought it would be.

RIM is expecting it’s quarterly earnings for Q3 which just ended last month to be between 81 and 83 cents per share. That is down for the 89 to 97 cents per share that RIM guided at the beginning of the quarter.

The market hasn’t opened yet, however, RIM’s stock (RIMM) is down under $35 per share in after hours trading.

The Mobile BlackBerry Homepage Has Been Updated

December 2, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 2 Comments

Research in Motion has recently updated the mobile.blackberry.com mobile BlackBerry website. The new portal is a little cleaner, a lot faster, and is much easier to naviagate. My only issue with it is that there aren’t any free games for the BlackBerry Storm.

MySpace For BlackBerry Has Been Updated

December 2, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 7 Comments

We are not quite sure what RIM did, however, MySpace for BlackBerry Smartphones has been updated. You can get the the new version by visiting mobile.blackberry.com from your device’s BlackBerry Browser.