Comments on: RIM kicking up a Storm

By: Darren

Darren — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:10:37 +0000

I have to admit that upgrading the 8800 to OS 4.5 didn’t go too well. Having deleted the old OS during stage 1, it didn’t bother going onto stage 2… adding the new OS. Result: one BlackBerry out of action. Problems didn’t stop there, as the BlackBerry Desktop refused to recognise the device was attached at the crucial moment (the part where it puts the new OS on). After some perseverance it’s all fine and OS 4.5 has some nice new touches and UI improvements.

By: Ben Poole

Ben Poole — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:16:46 +0000

A new record with the Peal this week: three freezes, two dropped calls before they’d even started, and two “ghost” notifications (the phone wobbles & flashes red, but no message, call or calendar event).

I guess I must have a lemon. Albeit a slow-blooming one

By: Darren

Darren — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:59:31 +0000

@6 – I’ve had an 8800 for about 16 months and I’ve not noticed any issues with the sound in situations with background noise, or problems with drop-out. The only crash problems I’ve experienced were with older versions of the Sametime client but haven’t had any crashes since Sametime 8 was installed.

By: Ben Poole

Ben Poole — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:10:32 +0000

I am using a BlackBerry Pearl, which is 12 months old. I am told this was one of the first BlackBerries that actually make for decent phones. Well if that’s the case, they still have a lot of work to do. Maybe I was just spoiled by using Nokias up until I got the Pearl. I’ve also tried a couple of decent Curves, and call quality was about the same. If you’re in a quiet environment, it’s fine. Get any background noise going, and it goes to pot. Maybe they need to get better mics.

I’m not permitted to upgrade yet, and my network is Vodafone in the South-East of England — signal strength etc. is fine, the Pearl just chooses to drop out a lot.

By: Sean Ryan

Sean Ryan — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:41:06 +0000

Good Day Mr Adams,

Nice to see you recognizing our products and the value that they offer. Now in your esteemed position I am pretty confident that Vodafone or even one of my colleagues might be able to accommodate you with a seed device. drop me a note and I will see what I can do.

Now it sounds like Mr Ben Poole might be using a very old BlackBerry as the voice quality on the Curve, Perl, 8800 and the Bold is pretty good in my opinion. Network stability…mmmmm interesting. Call your provider?

Time to upgrade old chap.

Cheers
Sean – Down under

By: Ben Poole

Ben Poole — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:25:04 +0000

It does indeed look like a badly-needed update to the BlackBerry line.

For all the vaunted “maturity” of the RIM product range, I do have a couple of beefs about these devices though:

1. As phones, they’re pretty pants (at least, the BlackBerries I’ve tried) — call quality and network stability isn’t all that good.

2. The newer handheld OSs tend to be somewhat — how can I put it — crashy

By: Florida Steve

Florida Steve — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:35:30 +0000

So call RIM. After all, their devices are aimed squarely at the business market and who better to promote their latest and greatest but the people who sell the best software for it.

Once again, you are at the mercy of the Bean Counters who have no idea what it takes to be effective in your position.

I bet the RIM guys don’t go out with an 8800 in their pocket.

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:58:09 +0000

To buy a BlackBerry Bold without a sim (i.e. without a contract) is £350, so this will be the same or more (most likely more). Without going into details, there is no way that I would be able to expense this.

By: Florida Steve

Florida Steve — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:08:25 +0000

So go and get one. Surely a justifiable business expense.
If you are out there promoting the Lotus brand and this device is the best selling tool for the job, then you should have one and Lotus should pony up the readies.
You always have the latest software to show customers so why shouldn’t you impress them with the latest gadget that supports it.

Alternatively, call those nice people at RIM and explain why you must have one…… I’m sure they’ll oblige