BlackBerry 8700

Grameenphone Introduces BlackBerry To Bangladesh

January 10, 2008 by Robb Dunewood 2 Comments

Grameenphone Ltd. and Research In Motion yesterday announced the launch of the BlackBerry wireless solution to business users in Bangladesh.

Grameenphone is the first company to offer BlackBerry service Bangladesh and will start of offering the BlackBerry 8700 and BlackBerry Pearl along with BES and BIS service.

Anders Jensen, CEO at Grameenphone said: “The BlackBerry platform is the gold standard in mobility for business users around the world. We are proud to be the first mobile operator launching the BlackBerry platform in Bangladesh, bringing in the next level of global connectivity for businesses.”

Read the full press release…

BlackBerry Goes To China

October 24, 2007 by Robb Dunewood 1 Comment

It looks like the BlackBerry has officially made it’s way to the People’s Republic. Alcatel-Lucent and Research in Motion have just announced that they have inked a deal making the the BlackBerry 8700 the first smartphone offered enterprise customers in China.

“This strategic partnership perfectly matches Alcatel-Lucent’s global presence and strength in the Chinese market with the global awareness and popularity of RIM’s BlackBerry brand,” said Frederic Rose, President of Alcatel Shanghai Bell and President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Asia Pacific activities. “This agreement strengthens the distribution frame agreement that Alcatel-Lucent and RIM signed last year covering Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia and now extends to China.”

Read the full press release…

Nvidia CIO, George Stelling, Says His BlackBerry is “Like Oxygen”

October 27, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 5 Comments

It looks like the George Stelling, the CIO of Nvidia, just might be a BlackBerry addict.

In a Forbes.com Executive Toy Box, Nvidia’s top tech guy says that his BlackBerry 8700 is “Like Oxygen”. “I need it. It’s with me everywhere, even at the gym.”

If George could make three changes to his BlackBerry he would add satellite radio, add the ability to download and play news clips and and videos, and finally add voice recognition software that would allow him to dictate email while in the car.

George may be a bit behind the times on the capabilities of his BlackBerry. Aside from satellite radio, the BlackBerry can do all the other things on George’s wishlist.

More on the BlackBerry 870* Bluetooth Modem Tether

October 18, 2006 by Robb Dunewood Leave a Comment

Alex King has received numerous questions in response to his bounty for the BlackBerry 870* Bluetooth modem tether for OS X that was claimed yesterday.

He has been asked so many questions that he has created a FAQ of sorts that answers questions like release dates, speed, if the bluetooth modem tether works on Windows PCs, etc.

I don’t want to steal too much thunder so if you are interested in using your BlackBerry 870* device as a Bluetooth modem for you Mac or your PC, head on over to alexking.org.

BlackBerry 870* Bluetooth Modem Tether

Bluetooth Modem Tether for Mac Bounty is Claimed

October 17, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 2 Comments

We have talked, a couple of times, about a bounty that Alex King set up to get a Bluetooth modem tether from an 87xx series BlackBerry to a Mac running OS X. The September 30th deadline was reached without anyone claiming the bounty, however, Alex extended the time frame because a promising submission, although not complete, came in at the last minute.

Well, all you Mac users should be glad that Alex extended a grace period because Daniel Pasco has created a solution for using a Blackberry 870x series device as a Bluetooth modem for a Mac running OS X.

Daniel is hard at work polishing it up and quashing the little quirks that exist in the early dev stages of any product, but it already has been tested and works with the 8700g (T-Mobile) and the 8703e (Sprint and Verizon).

Alex and Daniel hope to have version ready for testing by the bounty contributors soon.

BlackBerry Bluetooth Moded Tether for Mac

bbTV is coming to Canada… We aren’t missing much in the States…

August 8, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 3 Comments

When I got up this morning I, along with all other CanWest MediaWorks VideoPlayer beta testers, had an email informing us that the beta trial was coming to an end, however, CamWest is about to unveil their commercial product, bbTV^TM.

If I am honest, I was not all the impressed with the CanWest’s VideoPlayer. In fact, I was kind of disappointed. Needless to say, I would not pay for bbTV even if I lived in Canada. The graphic at the top of this post is kind of telling. The video quality of VideoPlayer is just a tad bit better than that. Having to download entire video clips to your 8700 or 7130 is not the way to go either. Download times were not too bad on Verizon here in the States, but pretty horrible, from what I hear, on just about every other carrier.

CanWest and Sona Mobile, I give you props for being the first to offer Multimedia on the BlackBerry, however, you should get a team of engineers to figure out how to make your video stream and flat out look better. If there is ever a plan for bbTV to fly in the U.S., take a look at V Cast from Verizon, Sprint TV, and the ESPN phone. You will see that you still have a lot of work to do.

Introducing the BlackBerry 8700b (The b stands for Bling)

July 26, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 6 Comments

With all the rumors out about new BlackBerry models coming out with joysticks, built-in digital cameras, and removable memory slots, this little gem of a device almost got passed us.

Here is a shot of big time Hip-Hop artist and producer Pharrell sneaking us a peak of the upcoming, 18-karat gold plated, if you’re a true baller you’ve got to have one, BlackBerry 8700b. (The b stands for Bling)

This BlackBerry doesn’t have a camera, but, chances are if you are carrying this bad boy around with you there are always some paparazzi near by that would be more than happy to take a quick picture for you.

[via Celebrity BlackBerry Sightings]

For those of you who take RIMarkable waaaay too seriously, there is not really a BlackBerry 8700b, however, the BlackBerry 8700 that Pharrell is holding really is 18-karat gold…

Pharrell Williams

SONA Mobile VideoPlayer… First Thoughts

June 27, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 14 Comments

So, I downloaded the CanWest MediaWorks’ VideoPlayer for BlackBerry powered by SONA Mobile yesterday and have had a chance to play around with with it a bit. I know that it is currently in beta, however, my first thought is that VideoPlayer is quite horrible compared to what you get on Windows Mobile and Palm devices.

My first issue is with the quality of the video playback. It is quite grainy and difficult to see. Now, I am only running VideoPlayer on a BlackBerry 7130e and video quality may be better on the more powerful BlackBerry 8700, however, it is pretty darn bad on the 7130e. The sound quality is OK, however, I didn’t see a way to adjust the volume during playback.
[Read more…] about SONA Mobile VideoPlayer… First Thoughts

Jim Cramer thinks that a Verizon BlackBerry 8700 will spike RIM’s stock

June 23, 2006 by Robb Dunewood Leave a Comment

Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, who is not a big fan of Research in Motion, thinks that when Verizon releases the BlackBerry 8700 model “sales will soar”.

Cramer still doesn’t view Research in Motion as an investment because it is”like a rollercoaster”, however, states that the stock is at a “beckoning” level and that he thinks that RIM will report better-than-expected earnings in Q1 of fiscal 2007.

Cramer believes that RIM will bounce back as soon as the BlackBerry 8700 hits Verizon stores and that is the time to trade the stock.

The BlackBerry 8700 is up for an All That Rocks MTV Award

June 21, 2006 by Robb Dunewood 1 Comment

Believe it or not, the BlackBerry 8700 is up for an MTV award. MTV2 is running an “All That Rocks” promotion and the BlackBerry 8700, along with the Sony PSP, and the Video Ipod, are nominees in the Most Critical Hardware category.

You will have to tune into MTV2 on July 30th at 9:00 P.M. to see if the BlackBerry 8700 wins.

MTV, MTV2, MTV Award, All That Rocks