by Robb Dunewood on November 12, 2009 · 8 comments
As many of you may already know, memory has been a point of contention for BlackBerry users for quite some time. To get straight to the point, there simply isn’t enough of it. Sure, the newest devices have 16 gig media cards and 2 gigs of internal memory, but, you really only have 256 MB of application space. Once you factor in the OS you are probably only talking about a 100 MB or so from which to install and run applications and if you don’t have a BlackBerry Storm2 or better, the problem is dramatically worse.
The big hit at the BlackBerry Developer’s Conference this week was OpenGL ES which brings 3D graphics support to BlackBerry applications. Starting with the BlackBerry Storm2 and the BlackBerry Curve 8530, developers are going to deliver applications and games that rival what you see on the the iPhone. The problem for RIM, however, is that 3D graphics take up space. They take up a lot of space and the BlackBerrys antiquated way of handling memory is going to be a huge bottleneck.
BlackBerry App World’s ability to archive rarely used applications and store them on your media card allowing you to reclaim that precious application memory is great feature, but, it gets really old really quick when you have do it with apps you use regularly simply because you are out of memory.
In this video of what I believe to be a Rogers BlackBerry Storm 9520, Scott4551 demonstrates web browsing via Wi-Fi. All I’ve got to say is that I certainly hope this improves by the time the BlackBerry Storm 2 ships.
Download speeds are faster, but, other than that, things look pretty much the same as they do on the original BlackBerry Storm.
by Robb Dunewood on September 29, 2009 · 7 comments
Last week Research in Motion reported a less than stellar Q2 Fiscal 2010 and their stock price took pretty big stumble. Just last Wednesday RIM’s stock price (ticker RIMM) was up over $85. This morning it sits at $67.10.
I am not an investment professional nor do I offer any financial advise. I do wonder, however, with all the new BlackBerry devices about to hit the market, with OS 5 seemingly right around the corner, with the reduced prices on the high end prosumer devices and especially the lower end consumer devices, is Research in Motion ready for a run?
As you read the title of this post you may be thinking, “But, isn’t there already a Google Voice client for the BlackBerry”, and, you would be correct. Google released both Google Voice for BlackBerry and Android just over a month ago.
The Google Voice for BlackBerry application works and does what it is supposed to do, however, there are no bells and whistles, and, judging by the polish that most other Google Apps for BlackBerry have, one could reasonably assume that Google purposely made the official Google Voice for BlackBerry app as drab as humanly possible while still maintaining what little functionality they did include.
Udate: Actually added the 10 reasons RIM needs to update the BlackBerry Browser immediately
<rant>
When I first started writing this post, I actually intended to list out 10 reasons why the web broswer on the BlackBerry needs to be updated. The truth of the matter, however, is that only one reason is really necessary…
The web browser on the BlackBerry sucks!
I am sitting here playing with a Palm Pre, a T-Mobile G1, and an iPod Touch. All three of these devices use a web browser based on the WebKit open source browser engine. It’s debatable which of the three offer the best browser experience, but, at the end of the day, all three are really good.
I am not saying that RIM needs to make a web browser based on WebKit, but, with most carriers offering pretty good 3G speeds and 4G being right in addition to the days of BlackBerry devices without Wi-Fi looking like they are numbered, RIM needs to come out something that can at least legitimately get in the game.
The mobile web has arrived, but, not so much for BlackBerry users…
I was just reading on Venture Beat that Wal-Mart will sell the T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520, which goes on sale Aug. 5th, for $48.88. This is compared to $129.99 at T-Mobile. This got me to thinking, does T-Mobile actually expect consumers to buy these devices directly from them?
I am sure that by the time Aug. 5th comes around, it will be pretty well known to people looking to get an inexpensive BlackBerry that Wal-Mart has the best deal in town. If you happen to be willing to pay over $80 more to get the Curve 8520 from T-Mobile, why not make it a cool $100 and get a Curve 8900, which, for $20 more, is a much better device.
Granted, you may not get the optical trackpad and may have to way a few hours until someone leaks BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac online to get your Mac compatibility, but, the 3.2 megapixel camera compared to 2.0 megapixels, the camera flash, and GPS, among other things make that additional $20 well worth it.
I just read an interesting post over on Switched titled 10 Ways BlackBerry Beats The iPhone. We’ve probably mentioned each of the 10 points over the years, but, its nice to see a not-so-BlackBerry-specific blog echoing the same sentiment.
