Cell Phones

[Krypto]

For the least amount of problems, I think it's still the original one, but .99 is very close. .99 does have better performance though (smoother, faster) and is getting much closer to what the next official release will be like. Its working great for most people. I did notice that the cursor mode gone in the browser though, and I had to do more battery pulls because of some application issues, but that just seemed to be me mostly. But yeah .99 is really the one to try, especially if you're having issues with the current OS.

[Mark_Kokolsky]

I have to say im pretty impressed with how well .99 seems to be working on mine. With .90 i was doing battery pulls almost daily, i have yet to have to restart it with .99, and the biggest thing ive really started to notice is better battery life. Before i had to charge it daily or it would die the next day,i just went all day yesterday and checked at night and it was at 90% still.

[zimer]

I actually logged on at Blackberry official site >> Download >>> Telus and .109 showed. Isn't this a bit confusing?? You probably are right?? A week ago I received a call from Telus Support as I had some "download" problems (though I fixed it myself) to make sure everything was okay. Anyways I asked if Telus had any idea when would the new OS be available? Telus had no idea and asked me to check Telus site often.

I had presumed that the final version would end at .100 then to 4.8 or something like that and so on.

Any new Apps worth downloading? Received an email from Poynt, Storm version should be out soon, actually I looking forward to it some true Canadian content.

Did download viigo,Nintai,tiltris,VisualArt so far, next ap news service, google maps (though GPS they say will not respond),weathernetwork (canadian content),captureIt, QuickPull(though some say counter does not change to zero as it would if an actual battery pull),free version BeamReader etc......

Any thoughts or concerns on Googles Latitude? Several Canadian News program have talked about some privacy concern, not sure if this good or bad not that I need to worry? 

zimer 

[zimer]

Mark, besides Battery Life (this is good news), anything else that changed?? I am finding accelerometer at times sluggish OR maybe its just me getting used to? I am though comparing this to Touch Ipod (don't have one). 

Some have talked about Wi-Fi, if this can be added via software update OR it has to be hardware based. That I guess is the only feature missing comparing to Iphone not sure why RIM didn't look at this?

Please post your thoughts on .99.

zimer 

[Mark_Kokolsky]

The accelerometer seems pretty good on it, im sure there are a few tweeks that they can make still but overall not too bad. As for the wifi portion unfortunately there is no way to get wifi on your telus storm. The reason for this is because telus, with this phone, had to put all the gsm stuff since its a world phone, their normal cdma chipsets, and GPS. So there pretty much isnt any room for the wifi parts. Same idea as with some of the rogers blackberries excluding the bold, they had to choose one technology to put in them. But with that said, I know personally im on telus' unlimited data plan, which in my opinion means, i dont really need wifi. I can go anywheres and not have to worry about choosing networks or anything like that, and since its "3G" it gives you a browsing experience that isnt that much slower than high speed at home. Some people will argue that, but personally im fine without having it since i have unlimited.

[Krypto]

I'm in agreement with Mark... with the unlimited plan, it isn't an issue - I checked my speeds and I'm actually getting 560-708kbps speed (not exceptional, but pretty darn impressive nonetheless).  Now it just so happens that Rogers is actually expected to release a Storm 9520 later this year.  This one will have wifi, but my guess is that it's because it doesn't have the CDMA chip inside.  The catch though is that it won't be a true world phone as some areas (not many, but a few) only use CDMA technology - most of this is in Asia and the Carribean.

[zimer]

I too chose to go unlimited on browsing and email.

I was actually pondering RIM's mind set when assembling a revolutionary device that was new to Blackberry line of mobiles and against all odds when record sales were being posted on Iphone in the US and Europe?  

I didn't attempt to measure the speed but at times I am sure that if the site content is too graphical, it does take some time to load. Is it fair to suggest next generation of "Touch Screen" for other Telco's, in US,Europe and Canada, chances very likely that is consumers demand Wi-Fi, would be added??

Good discussion, thanks.

zimer 

[Krypto]

I think the day that the whole world starts using the same format for cellular communication is the day that the world gets a lot more fun and interesting devices.  Those of us in North America really miss out on some neat devices that are available elsewhere but not here.

[zimer]

My sentiments exactly. 

A typical example was when Apple was told in Germany and several other European countries I believe that it had to offer Iphone to several Telcos not just one, unfair competition. In Canada, unfortunately Rogers was the only one with 3G Network.

I also heard that RIM Team has been out and about trying for Software Developers to come to the table for (competitor) Store Front, apparently they also talked to developer for "Shazam" same one in Iphone. I think it was suggested that Storm version would be under development. This good news for us Storm users.

Just awaiting for (competitor) Store Front to come "Live", wouldn't be surprised something like Itunes too, you think or is that wishful thinking!!

zimer 

[Krypto]

Well, as a Telus network person, you might be interested in knowing that Telus Mobility actually offers a huge selection of songs for downloading, and apparently, they're expanding into territory beyond iTunes by supporting a lot of Canadian Artists who might not make the iTunes route.  You can do unlimited downloads for $20/month or you can download individual typically for $0.99.  And the best part is that they have this service synced so that you can download them at home or you can download them directly to your phone.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for consideration...

(Note that I'm only stating this as Future Shop no longer has it's own version of a music downloads site).