Wherein we speculate why the BlackBerry Storm doesn’t have Wi-Fi

Why is it that the BlackBerry Storm doesn’t have Wi-Fi? If you believe BoyGenius—and how could you not!—it’s because Verizon Wireless doesn’t want it to have Wi-Fi. That’s a fine conspiracy theory, yes, but consider the following:

• Name one CDMA BlackBerry with built-in Wi-Fi. You can’t.

• Doesn’t VZW require you to have a BlackBerry data plan? So it’s not like having built-in Wi-Fi prevents VZW from making money

Now, whether or not VZW was concerned with battery life and/or performance is another matter, but to imply that VZW is some James Bond villain hoarding all the Wi-Fi is silly, I think.

Source: CrunchGear

Orange UK halts BlackBerry Bold sales

Orange UK has temporarily stopped selling Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Bold while it tries to figure out a solution to unspecified 3G-related problems on the handset.

The operator halted sales of the popular handset on Friday. According to a spokesperson, sales will resume when a software fix becomes available, though no date was given.

“Orange UK is committed to providing the BlackBerry Bold to its customers in the U.K.; however, Orange UK and (BlackBerry manufacturer) RIM are currently working on providing a maintenance release of software to address some reported 3G-related concerns,” a statement from Orange on Monday read.

“Although the reported 3G concerns have been limited to a minority of Orange customers in the U.K., Orange UK and RIM both take customer concerns very seriously and felt it was prudent to introduce a maintenance release of software for Orange UK customers,” the statement continued. “Orange UK and RIM apologize to customers for any inconvenience and expect to provide a software maintenance release soon.”

The company declined to give details to ZDNet UK about the problem. The BlackBerry Bold is the first in RIM’s line of smartphones to include high-speed 3G, or HSDPA, connectivity.

Source: Cnet

Xberry lives brings Xbox Live to your BlackBerry

By Matt Burns

You have to imagine that at least a few Xbox Live users have a BlackBerry and this app is aimed right at ‘em. XBerry Live! seems to do about everything a Live user would want on the go, but be warned that this BlackBerry app isn’t going to make your day go by any quicker. Just think, it’s around 2 o’clock and you see all your buddies gaming away on COD4 while you have a stack of TPS reports right next to you. How’s is that going to make you feel? Probably like you were back in High School and done with your day by 2?

Blackberry Storm already next month

Network operators Vodafone and Verizon Wireless will sell Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Storm smartphone from next month, the companies said Wednesday. The Storm will be available from Vodafone in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Romania, Spain, Italy, France (via partner SFR), India, Australia and New Zealand from next month, and from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. With a touchscreen interface, the largest screen size ever on a BlackBerry device and a long list of features, the Storm will be a worthy competitor to Apple’s iPhone all over the world, according to Ben Wood, analyst at CCS Insight. Pricing will be announced in the coming weeks, according to RIM.

The Storm is the first touch-screen BlackBerry device and has what RIM calls a “clickable” screen: The user feels the screen being pressed and released, similar to the feeling of a key on a physical keyboard or a button on a mouse, which should make it easier to type, according to RIM. The touchscreen technology is very impressive, according to Wood, who describes the 3.26-inch, 480 by 360 pixel screen as a big key. “They have reinvented the touchscreen with the Storm. It’s not as good as a qwerty keyboard but it comes close,” he said. The Storm measures 112.5 millimeters x 62.2 mm x 13.95 mm and weighs 155 grams, compared to 115.5 mm x 62.1 mm x 12.3 mm and 133 grams for the iPhone. Users can surf the web and download email using either EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access), but there is no Wi-Fi.

Google Street View goes mobile

Street View endows Google Maps with a driver’s-eye view of the world, and now people actually on the street will be able to use it, too.

The company announced a new version of its Google Maps for Mobile software that includes support for Street View, as well as walking directions and reviews of businesses. Google said the new version is faster too.

The new features work on BlackBerrys with color screens and on mobile devices with Java abilities. Sorry, iPhone users. Visiting the Google site with an iPhone produces this message: “Sorry, Google Maps does not work on your Apple iPhone.”

The move isn’t a surprise. Google demonstrated Street View on a phone using the company’s Android operating system in May, hooked into the phone’s hardware so the view would change according to which way the user oriented the phone. The Android phones are due to be announced Sept. 23.

The Google Mobile blog now has some details and an explanatory video.

I downloaded, installed, and ran (once I figured out the new icon) the software fine on a BlackBerry. Launching it shows a start-up screen with the Street View person icon with brief instructions.

I did find the new version of the software somewhat more responsive, though data transfer speeds still impose a fair amount of waiting.

The Street View option is enabled when you click on an area; after a pause the software tells you whether Street View is available, and clicking the option overlays a pretty small Street View window atop the map. Using the scroll wheel pans the view left or right, again with some waiting on the network.

Source: Cnet

RIM announces ‘lifestyle’ apps for BlackBerry

SAN FRANCISCO–In what looks like an attempt to compete toe-to-toe with Apple’s iPhone, Research in Motion announced a slew of new integrated application deals on Thursday to make its e-mail-optimized smartphone more appealing to consumers.

E-mail was the killer application that catapulted RIM’s BlackBerry device into near cult status in the corporate world. And now the company is trying to win the hearts and minds of consumers, not only with new phones–like the flip-style Pearl 8220, which was announced on Wednesday, or the BlackBerry Bold, which recently launched in the North American market–but it’s also loading BlackBerry devices with what its co-CEO Jim Balsillie called “lifestyle” applications.

On Thursday, here at the CTIA fall 2008 trade show, the company made a series of announcements about different applications it’s customized for BlackBerry devices.

This is not the first time that RIM has announced special relationships with specific application developers. At last year’s CTIA Fall trade show, it announced it had integrated the Facebook application into its platform. Balsillie said during a keynote address here Thursday that the Facebook for RIM application, which launched about a year ago, has been downloaded 2.5 million times.

“It’s been the fastest take up of any application that we’ve ever had,” he said.

But now RIM has upped the ante adding a slew of new customized applications for its smartphones including: a deal with Microsoft to integrate search, MySpace to provide quick access to another social-networking site, TiVo to offer remote scheduling and browsing to a DVR, Ticketmaster to buy concert and event tickets on-the-go, and Slacker to offer a music library for BlackBerry users.

Here’s a closer look at the announcements.

Microsoft mobile search
RIM has integrated the Microsoft Live Search engine into the BlackBerry Browser making Microsoft the default search engine for BlackBerry devices. The mobile search platform will let BlackBerry users get contextual, location-based search results or look for nearby points of interest, such as restaurants or movie theaters, from inside BlackBerry Maps.

Availability: Microsoft Live Search for BlackBerry smartphones is expected to be available later this year with support for multiple languages.

Separately, Google announced earlier this week that it’s launched Google Mobile App for BlackBerry, a free download that offers faster search and a slew of Google services for BlackBerry devices. The new mobile application gives Blackberry users Google Apps support, a search history, software update alerts, and easier access to Google programs like Gmail, Maps, and News.

TiVo
RIM is also working with TiVo to allow BlackBerry users to search recordings on their TiVos and schedule future recordings while on-the-go. In the future, Balsillie said that BlackBerry users will even be able to view recorded shows on their BlackBerrys.

Availability: The first software application from RIM and TiVo is expected to be available later this year.

MySpace
First it was Facebook, and now it’s MySpace. RIM will now offer customized access to the popular social-networking site, including instant, push-based messaging to BlackBerry and MySpace users, real-time status and mood updates, camera integration, and optimized photo management. Also as part of this collaboration between the two companies, RIM has created a BlackBerry community page on MySpace for users to access BlackBerry smartphone, content, videos, games, ringtones, skins and other features.

Availability: MySpace for BlackBerry is expected to be available globally in October.

Ticketmaster
RIM has also teamed up with Ticketmaster making its BlackBerry phones the “Official Smartphone of Ticketmaster.” What this means is that BlackBerry users will be able to browse, search, and purchase tickets to live concerts and events from their phones. BlackBerry users will also be able to browse music and sample cuts. And they’ll be able to sign up for e-mail alerts to get information about upcoming music and sporting events.

Availability: The deal with Ticketmaster is exclusive to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. And the application will be available by the end of the year.

Slacker music
BlackBerry isn’t likely the first smartphone most people think of when they think music, but RIM is looking to change that. RIM has partnered with the streaming Internet radio music site called Slacker, which allows people to create and stream customized music channels, to offer a new music experience for BlackBerry users. The music can be streamed or users can store up to 1,000 tracks on their phones so that they can listen to music even when they’re not connected to the network. Balsillie said that the device automatically syncs to the music site when users enter a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Availability: The Slacker-optimized application will be available sometime in October.

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