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Godzilla07
Oct 4, 2008

The BlackBerry Megathread



Welcome to the BlackBerry Megathread. Most people in this thread own Android phones or an iPhone, but we still post in here to laugh at RIM and people still stuck on contract with BlackBerrys that work didn't pay for.

Current BlackBerrys

The Torch 9800 is the latest BlackBerry and the OS 6 flagship. Exclusive to AT&T. It is supposed to bring the RIM line into 2009 2010. It finally has a WebKit browser and it has Universal Search which according to reviewers, is pretty nifty. It'll make a great upgrade to that Bold 9000 you got from work 2 years ago which is now crippled due to lack of memory.

The Bold 9780 is a 9700 with its specs bumped up a little. 5 MP camera, and 512 MB of RAM. It's blacked out also out of the box. If you have a 9700, don't get this phone as it's only a minor spec bump.

The Bold 9650 is for you folks out there that have Verizon or Sprint as the corporate carrier. It's similar to the 9700 except it's larger, heavier and has twice the RAM. Improvements over its predecessor, the Tour 9630 are Wi-Fi, trackpad and twice the RAM. It'll get OS 6.

The Pearl 3G or 9100 is the successor to the original BlackBerry Pearl. RIM stuffed the guts of a 9700 into this. Neat little phone I guess. Available on AT&T.

The Style 9670 is a successor to the Pearl Flip. It's a decent little phone for $100, but there are better options out there (Optimus S on Sprint.)

BlackBerry 6 or OS 6



BlackBerry 6 is the latest BlackBerry OS. It is RIM's attempt to keep up with Android and iOS. I guess RIM was targeting the 2008 version of those platforms.

Anyways, OS 6 features a new user interface designed for touchscreens. I can no longer say that I could go back to my 8700 made in 2005 and have the same interface as a 9700. No more menuitis. I don't think it's going to be very fun for those on a 9700 or 9650 because it looks designed for touchscreens.

You're finally, finally getting a real web browser. Universal search is another feature of OS 6. RIM is also putting heavy, heavy social aggregation into OS 6 (Facebook, Twitter, RSS.)

Here's an in-depth review of OS 6 from CrackBerry. Keep in mind that it's heavily biased.

Will my BlackBerry get OS 6?

If you're on a 9700, 9650 or Pearl 3G, you're guaranteed to get it. On a Storm 2, another device within this timeframe? Sucks for you, but then again, why did you buy a Storm 2?

Why should I get a BlackBerry?

Work pays for it and you don't want to get another phone. Carry around an iPod touch to keep your sanity, you'll lose it eventually after using an Android phone or an iPhone 4.

Rumors

The Storm 3 might have been canned. That's probably a good thing for RIM.

Applications

This is if your IT policy lets you install applications. Or you're stuck in contract with a BlackBerry right now and would love to get a modern smartphone, but can't.

SocialScope: The best BlackBerry app. Includes good Twitter and Facebook integration. SocialScope is good for BlackBerrys because it has a nice Twitter part and it makes Facebook on your BlackBerry not agonizing. The only thing about this application is that it requires an invite and invites are very hard to get by. Same with updates, I didn't get an update for nearly a year.

Twitter for BlackBerry: Like Twitter but don't have a SocialScope invite? Get this. It's pretty nice and isn't lacking any major features or anything. Also the official app from RIM.

ÜberTwitter: For people that don't like the official Twitter app.

Facebook for BlackBerry: It's either this or the mobile site. Painfully slow to load and to use. RIM should really get around to updating this thing.

Pandora: Pandora app for BlackBerry. It works as intended, just make sure to enable high-quality streaming over cellular data in settings if you're on a 3G device.

Google Maps: Good maps from Google.

Google Sync: Sync your contacts with Google, but it's kinda borked.

Google Voice: Voice app for your BlackBerry. Very basic as Voice is on any platform that isn't Android.

Dropbox: That's right, BlackBerry users finally have mobile Dropbox. Mobile Dropbox is for when you're too lazy to plug in your phone to move some small files. It excels at this.

QuickPull: This application does battery pulls without having to pull the battery. Essential if you're on a low-memory device. You can even schedule daily battery pulls if you want.

BeejiveIM ($15 for 1 device/$20 for lifetime license): The best application I've used on a BlackBerry, hands down. A lot nicer to use than having 1000 different IM clients open. It does instant messaging and it does that very, very well. This is a desktop-class IM client.

BerryWeather ($9.95): A good weather application for your BlackBerry. Way overpriced but being that it's a BlackBerry app, it's the norm.

BerryBuzz ($5.95): You can change the different colors that your notification light flashes on a per-app basis. You can also tell it to flash for how long, etc… Another overpriced app.

PodTrapper ($9.99): A good podcast application, so I've heard.

QuickLaunch ($4.99): Shortcut application. Access whatever you want from the device from a shortcut menu.

Vlingo Plus ($19.99): Jealous of Android users and their cool voice commands? This does sorta the same thing.

Xobni for BlackBerry ($9.99): An improved contacts app for your phone.

Godzilla07 fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Dec 24, 2010

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guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
That's a much-improved OP, thanks for the work.

Diafthora
Sep 22, 2003

All I wanted to do was introduce him to Mr. Axe
Replying from previous thread:

big mean giraffe posted:

Socialscope lite's the way to go imo. So much better than anything else I used.

I have yet to try Socialscope since its invite only right now, and I don't have one :( It was actually what I wanted to try first before Ubertwitter, so if anyone has an invite or something, I wouldn't mind giving it a try :)

Ideologue
Jan 25, 2006

by Fistgrrl
I didn't get a Storm (1 I guess), but I'm kind of looking forward to the Storm 2. Hopefully they'll have refined it a lot more and people's complaints will go away. And yeah, much better op than before, good job!

Diafthora
Sep 22, 2003

All I wanted to do was introduce him to Mr. Axe
Oh hey, I never knew about Palringo, so thanks a lot for that, OP :)

To contribute to the recommended apps list, here's some of my favorites:

Free apps:
Capture It: Simple little program that lets you take screenshots of your current screen.

Google Sync: Syncs your BB's contact list and calendar with Google's

Viigo: RSS reader, stocks, news, weather, shopping, entertainment. Its pretty much newspaper for your BB. They're also supposed to include a Twitter feed in their next version.

Slacker: Its an alternative to Pandora. When it was mentioned in the last thread, it was version 1.0. They're at version 2.0.2.0 now.

I Love Blackberry: App that keeps track of how often you use your BB.

Weatherbug: I prefer this over BBWeather. It also shows you the current temp of your location when you highlight the app, so you don't even have to open it.

Paid apps:

Telenav: Audible turn by turn GPS navigation. Best navigation app for the Blackberry, hands down. If you're on AT&T/Sprint, its simply AT&T Navigator or Sprint Navigator. Its $9.99/mo, but their site has other options as well. I travel a lot and I probably use this more than anything else. Definitely worth the price if you want true GPS on your phone. First 30 days are free.

Texas Hold'em King 3: Pretty self explanitory :) What makes this great is that there's online play that even lets you chat while playing. Probably the biggest time waster for me. Costs $5.99

Documents To Go: Its essentially Office for your BB. You can view/edit all standard Office files. Can read PDFs too. There's a 30 day free trial, but this one's not cheap. Its $69.99 for a non-expiring license or $49.99 for a year. Definitely recommended if you're a professional and read a lot of emails with attachments. Since its a PDF reader too, makes for a good eBook reader as well, I guess.

Godzilla07
Oct 4, 2008

So you don't want to pay $70 for a Docs to Go license when all you need is the ability to create documents, use this. I'd add this along with a few more app links into the OP but I'm tired and frustrated about my browser on .250. It doesn't show the Internet Browser (BlackBerry splash screen), there's only T-Mobile and Hotspot Browser.

flyboi
Oct 13, 2005

agg stop posting
College Slice
You might want to throw a personal assistant into the list of free apps. It allows you to keep track of your finances and bills by adding accounts to it. Free for up to 5 accounts and then there's a subscription fee but the cost escapes me at the moment for it.

http://www.pageonce.com/pageonce-blackberry.html

Senseless Optimism
Mar 6, 2008

by Tiny Fistpump
I lost my storm last night at the bar, and I desperately need some sort of phone. I would just use and older one, however I'm on vacation 1000 miles from home. I checked the paper this morning and there's an unlocked bold for sale for $350. I have verizon, and I've been wanting a bold because my storm was kind of a piece.

Basically, would I be getting ripped off? I don't wanna wait too long because someone else might snatch it up. Thanks!

Alfalfa
Apr 24, 2003

Superman Don't Need No Seat Belt

Senseless Optimism posted:

I lost my storm last night at the bar, and I desperately need some sort of phone. I would just use and older one, however I'm on vacation 1000 miles from home. I checked the paper this morning and there's an unlocked bold for sale for $350. I have verizon, and I've been wanting a bold because my storm was kind of a piece.

Basically, would I be getting ripped off? I don't wanna wait too long because someone else might snatch it up. Thanks!

I'm going to say yes since a Bold wont work on Verizon.

Praesil
Jul 17, 2004

so my Bold used to have wifi, but after getting it set up for my work network, there is no longer a wifi option undder services.

I can safely assume then that my employee's IT policy is to disable wifi, correct?

Godzilla07
Oct 4, 2008

Senseless Optimism posted:

I lost my storm last night at the bar, and I desperately need some sort of phone. I would just use and older one, however I'm on vacation 1000 miles from home. I checked the paper this morning and there's an unlocked bold for sale for $350. I have verizon, and I've been wanting a bold because my storm was kind of a piece.

Basically, would I be getting ripped off? I don't wanna wait too long because someone else might snatch it up. Thanks!

At least you got the right time to lose your phone because the Tour should be coming out within a month. And yes, you'd be getting ripped off because the Bold is GSM and Verizon is CDMA. 2 incompatible technologies don't mix.

flyboi
Oct 13, 2005

agg stop posting
College Slice
A friend of mine is going through some nasty legal battles with another abusive person and needs to record phone calls on their storm... Does anyone know if this is possible? I've been searching for a few days but so far I've found nothing.

The Diddler
Jun 22, 2006


flyboi posted:

A friend of mine is going through some nasty legal battles with another abusive person and needs to record phone calls on their storm... Does anyone know if this is possible? I've been searching for a few days but so far I've found nothing.

I have no idea if anything exists for this, but if an application existed for this, almost every use for it would be illegal...it's gonna be tough to find something. Depending on the urgency, I would recommend getting a good microphone (or something like it) and trying to record through that.

Has your friend verified the legality of this? If he hasn't, he should; mostly to verify that if he wants this for evidence it will be allowed. If he has, maybe the person who said this was a good idea would have some hints as to how to do this.

It's almost certainly going to have to be an analog solution, though.

Ideologue
Jan 25, 2006

by Fistgrrl

flyboi posted:

A friend of mine is going through some nasty legal battles with another abusive person and needs to record phone calls on their storm... Does anyone know if this is possible? I've been searching for a few days but so far I've found nothing.

I don't know the legality of recording without informing the other party, but http://123spoof.com/ lets you record calls among other things...

flyboi
Oct 13, 2005

agg stop posting
College Slice
It is for archival reasons not being used in court but she can't change her number so things like 123spoof and grandcentral are out of the question. I already suggested that. They tried getting a mic/tape set from radioshack and using the speakerphone but the second party already knew something was amiss when this happened. They want an application that will do it. I know that you can record yourself talking on most apps but I've yet to find one that records the other person.

flyboi
Oct 13, 2005

agg stop posting
College Slice
http://gpsed.com/mobile?blackberry

pretty nifty app if you want to track runs or something... not as robust as nike+ but hey!

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no

Diafthora posted:

Telenav: Audible turn by turn GPS navigation. Best navigation app for the Blackberry, hands down. If you're on AT&T/Sprint, its simply AT&T Navigator or Sprint Navigator. Its $9.99/mo, but their site has other options as well. I travel a lot and I probably use this more than anything else. Definitely worth the price if you want true GPS on your phone. First 30 days are free.

Also want to throw in that the Verizon VZNavigator is pretty much the same deal (not sure about live traffic), and it's a feature that's prorated. That is, if you only use it for a day then cancel it, you only get charged $0.33.

Iron Beagle
Apr 27, 2007
I am so surprised by the great battery life my new Curve 8900 has been getting! My Verizon Curve didn't have this great of battery life, only lasting about a day or so, and my Pre and iPhone wouldn't be able to make it through the whole day usually.

With the 8900 I unplugged it from its charger at 9am yesterday, have been using it extensively, downloading programs, talking on the phone more than my average, lots of BB Messenger, lots of texting, web browsing, pretty much everything I can do and the battery still has 30% left! The lack of 3G may be a detractor for some, but I feel that it has blessed me with awesome battery life that the competition just can't match. Bravo RIM on making the 8900 have great features and still have great batterylife.

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007

Excuse me, pardon me, sheer perfection coming through
What's the difference between the Tour and the Onyx, aside from CDMA/GSM and Trackball/Touchpad?

goku chewbacca
Dec 14, 2002

Iron Beagle posted:

I am so surprised by the great battery life my new Curve 8900 has been getting! My Verizon Curve didn't have this great of battery life, only lasting about a day or so, and my Pre and iPhone wouldn't be able to make it through the whole day usually.

With the 8900 I unplugged it from its charger at 9am yesterday, have been using it extensively, downloading programs, talking on the phone more than my average, lots of BB Messenger, lots of texting, web browsing, pretty much everything I can do and the battery still has 30% left! The lack of 3G may be a detractor for some, but I feel that it has blessed me with awesome battery life that the competition just can't match. Bravo RIM on making the 8900 have great features and still have great batterylife.

I think you have a lack of 3G data support to thank for that. Also, signal strength has a lot to do with battery life -- power loss searching for signal and increased power needed to transmit to the tower. CDMA EvDO is especially power hungry compared to 1X or GSM/Edge voice and data.

Huxian
Nov 12, 2008

"It's not just the swearing either. She's got quick fists too."
How did I not know about the new Blackberry Onyx? If I knew they were coming out with a Blackberry with 3G for T-Mo, I would've never switched. :(

Huxian fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Jun 25, 2009

Diafthora
Sep 22, 2003

All I wanted to do was introduce him to Mr. Axe

Iron Beagle posted:

I am so surprised by the great battery life my new Curve 8900 has been getting!

Are you also running the latest firmware? I, and many others, have found that the latest one right now has greatly improved the battery life from previous versions as well. It should be 4.6.1.231.

big mean giraffe
Dec 13, 2003

Eat Shit and Die

Lipstick Apathy

mediaphage posted:

What's the difference between the Tour and the Onyx, aside from CDMA/GSM and Trackball/Touchpad?

Onyx also has wifi and a different keypad I believe.

Gimik
Sep 3, 2008

Paramour posted:

How did I not know about the new Blackberry Onyx? If I knew they were coming out with a Blackberry with 3G for T-Mo, I would've never switched. :(

dont most places have a 30 day refund policy? is it too late to opt out with that?

Iron Beagle
Apr 27, 2007

Diafthora posted:

Are you also running the latest firmware? I, and many others, have found that the latest one right now has greatly improved the battery life from previous versions as well. It should be 4.6.1.231.

I'm running 4.6.1.114

I assume 4.6.1.231 is one of the firmwares you need to manually flash to your phone? I always see those popping up over at Crackberry but never put the effort in to really figure out how to do it and if there are any pitfalls to doing it. Even better battery life sounds like a killer reason to update though!

I'm still running off my first charge, this is great. 15% left and I'm going to see just how far I can push it.

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007

Excuse me, pardon me, sheer perfection coming through

big mean giraffe posted:

Onyx also has wifi and a different keypad I believe.

Ah, okay. The lack of wifi doesn't concern me, frankly. For most of what I do on a phone, 3G is perfectly sufficient and I'm rarely in an area without a 3G signal.

Diafthora
Sep 22, 2003

All I wanted to do was introduce him to Mr. Axe

Iron Beagle posted:

I'm running 4.6.1.114

I assume 4.6.1.231 is one of the firmwares you need to manually flash to your phone? I always see those popping up over at Crackberry but never put the effort in to really figure out how to do it and if there are any pitfalls to doing it. Even better battery life sounds like a killer reason to update though!

I'm still running off my first charge, this is great. 15% left and I'm going to see just how far I can push it.

Its really simple to do, really. You just need to install the latest Blackberry Desktop manager, which is on BB's website, then download and install the firmware you want. Once that's set up, run BB desktop and plug in your BB via USB. It should automatically detect and tell you there's a new firmware to install. Just follow the instructions and let it do its thing automatically. It also creates a backup of your current BB settings, contacts, messages, etc. so you won't lose it. Takes about 15 minutes of just leaving it alone.

Huxian
Nov 12, 2008

"It's not just the swearing either. She's got quick fists too."

Gimik posted:

dont most places have a 30 day refund policy? is it too late to opt out with that?

Haha, I'm still on T-Mo, but just with a phone I bought from eBay.

Huxian fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Jun 26, 2009

solarisin
Jun 23, 2009

Horizontally Opposed
question: is beejive/IM+ worth it if you only use AIM?

BoyBlunder
Sep 17, 2008
Question for the gmail users out there:

Do you use the gmail client or the BlackBerry mail client for reading/composing messages? Why?

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob

BoyBlunder posted:

Question for the gmail users out there:

Do you use the gmail client or the BlackBerry mail client for reading/composing messages? Why?
I used to use the Gmail app, but they added better native support recently, so I switched over to the BB client. I still keep the app installed so I can use the search function once in a blue moon.

The app works, but it's limited. It can't do some very basic things, like attachments, or at least it couldn't last time I checked.

toybux
Feb 15, 2002

fuck you
i'm a quarterback
How good is the Blackberry webbrowser compared to IE for WinMo? I mostly use it for reading blogs, etc so I don't need it to be great or anything, but I don't think I've ever actually used their browser.

Medullah
Aug 14, 2003

FEAR MY SHARK ROCKET IT REALLY SUCKS AND BLOWS

toybux posted:

How good is the Blackberry webbrowser compared to IE for WinMo? I mostly use it for reading blogs, etc so I don't need it to be great or anything, but I don't think I've ever actually used their browser.

I like it 10 times better than IE, but I recommend installing Opera Mini which is 100 times better than IE.

Jake Gittes
Jul 11, 2006

me irl

BoyBlunder posted:

Question for the gmail users out there:

Do you use the gmail client or the BlackBerry mail client for reading/composing messages? Why?

I'm a fan of the Blackberry BIS service for email for no other reason than it's what the folks at RIM designed the Blackberry to do. That being said, I have Google Sync on my phone in order to sync all my calendar events and contacts with my gmail account, and I'm just happy as a clam. Outlook be damned.

BoyBlunder
Sep 17, 2008

Jake Gittes posted:

I'm a fan of the Blackberry BIS service for email for no other reason than it's what the folks at RIM designed the Blackberry to do. That being said, I have Google Sync on my phone in order to sync all my calendar events and contacts with my gmail account, and I'm just happy as a clam. Outlook be damned.

Are you able to mark items read on gmail that you read on the BIS client?

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob

BoyBlunder posted:

Are you able to mark items read on gmail that you read on the BIS client?
Yeah, things you read on BIS are marked read in Gmail. You can't archive using BIS though, only delete; the app can archive.

BoyBlunder
Sep 17, 2008

guppy posted:

Yeah, things you read on BIS are marked read in Gmail. You can't archive using BIS though, only delete; the app can archive.

how do you do it cause it doesn't work when i do it :(

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
I don't know what to tell you. It just happens for me.

Jake Gittes
Jul 11, 2006

me irl

BoyBlunder posted:

Are you able to mark items read on gmail that you read on the BIS client?

That doesn't happen for me, but that's never really been an important feature for me either. I usually just keep tabs on my email from the blackberry and do all the archiving and marking messages as read on a pooter.

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The Diddler
Jun 22, 2006


BoyBlunder posted:

how do you do it cause it doesn't work when i do it :(

You have to open the email, I don't think there is an option. I would check to see if your email is set to auto-reconcile. I think it usually is, but it might not be.

If neither of those work, then I got nothin'.

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