Category — Device reviews

Although it’s impressive that the iphone outsold the blackberry and it’s also impressive that the gphone has 1.5 million pre-orders, keep the following in mind:

1. RIM has not been able to launch the Blackberry BOLD in the U.S. (the largest market for them) due to issues AT&T has been having with certifying it. If the BOLD had been on sale the last few months as expected, the numbers would look very different
2. RIM is releasing a few new consumer driven devices over the next two months including the new clam-shell pearl, a curve with push to talk, and the thunder - RIM’s touch screen version meant to compete with iphone head-on
3. Don’t confuse pre-orders by a carrier with sales to consumers. They’re very different… and most initial reports on the gphone say it’s no iphone killer as it’s heavier, clunkier and the interface is nothing new or innovative. No word yet on who will be the first carrier in Canada to carry it either.

2009 is shaping up to be the year of the smartphone as all the major players are releasing “iphone killers” and you can expect Apple to have a few surprises of their own. More competition and choice can only mean good things for consumers. 

The Blackberry Storm was formally announced this morning to the press and on their fan page on facebook.

Many had been predicting that a touch screen interface added to an already impressive blackberry architecture would be the perfect storm of form and function to take on the iphone. 

Although initial images and specs look impressive, I have some concerns over its ability to truly compete in the consumer smartphone space: 

1. No Wifi - I don’t know how any manufacturer can release a consumer smartphone device and not offer wifi. It’s in the Bold - why not the Storm? It’s possible that the Canadian versions will include Wifi, but the versions being released on Verizon and Vodafone do not have it
2. It weighs more than the iphone and has a slightly smaller screen. Although it looks like the sleekest blackberry to date, it needs to compete in the cool department and wear as well as the iphone as a fashion device
3. No app store - or equivalent. The ability to personalize and customize an iphone through the dummy-proof app store is a huge contributor to the success of the iphone. Microsoft and Nokia are building their own app stores, where’s the bb store? 

Having said that, the storm addresses one of the biggest complaints from iphone users - adding tactile into a touch screen. Apparently the new touch screen will mimic hitting a real keyboard - but on a touch screen.

This will make a lot of people happy (assuming it works well), although I don’t know why they chose their “suretype” keyboard as the default interface. This is the same interface found on the Pearl where 2 letters occupy each key.  Turning the phone horizontally switches the keyboard to full QWERTY - which is a great feature and something iphone users have also been asking for. 

The storm comes with an impressive radio frequency capability - meaning it will work virtually anywhere in the world out of the box. This is especially useful for the business traveller. 

Mac owners will be able to sync to the Storm without a third party suite via the BlackBerry Media Sync program for Mac.

Similar to an iPhone, Media Sync will let users choose to sync all or only some play lists, and will give a certain amount of control over storage. Owners pick whether to load music to built-in memory or an add-in card, and have an iPod shuffle-style ability to reserve a certain minimum of free memory on their BlackBerrys for more essential info.

Should you buy a storm over a 3g iphone? 

I will definitely be picking one up when it hits retail in Canada - which should be in about 6 weeks.

About a month ago I managed to get my hands on a hot new Palm Centro -  the smallest and lightest Palm OS based smartphone to date.

This was a trip down sentimenal lane for me as my Palm treo 650 was my first smartphone and it remained a favourite for nearly two years until it started falling apart from use and abuse… although I still fire it up once in a while for a few games of bejeweled - which was never as fun to play on my iphone or blackberry. 

Here are some things I really like about the Centro: 

1. Better battery life than previous generations. Even with tones of texting, I can gets a good two days on one charge - far better than the iphone or my blackberry bold. 
2. Document viewer is awesome - it essentially brings full Office 2007 support to the Centro with ability to view, edit and create native documents. PDF files are also easy to view out of the box
3. Touch screen is great. They’ve always had this, and it still rocks.
4. Full keyboard - I could never get used to the 2 letters per keys on the blackberry Pearl - so it’s nice to have what feels like a reasonably sized keyboard for a device that is about the same size. 
5. Easy to carry - feels more like a phone than a mini-computer
6.  Micro SD slot – but you have to take the back cover off to get at it 
7. Simple Email setup
8. Lots of free apps - but having been spoiled by the Apple App store - finding them just isn’t as easy 
9. Screen is amazingly sharp, much nicer than the treo 

What could be improved:

1. Back cover is a pain in the butt to put back in place. It didn’t slide very easily and it takes way too long compared to my other devices
2. More applications would be great - and an easy way to find them. My favourite application was maps. I liked to plot where I was going, plotting it against my current location, and trying to beat the estimated time maps returned
3. Bigger screen. Some of those buttons could be moved to the side of the phone or eliminated making the screen that much bigger… although for those looking for a smaller smartphone, the trade-off may be worth it
4. No wifi (boo!) or true GPS
5. Decent camera, but it could use a flash
6. Still freezes sometime. This is alleviated by plugging it into a computer or doing a soft-reset
7. Touchscreen needs to be re-calibrated every once in a while

Should you buy one? 

If you prefer a smartphone that looks more like a real phone… the Centro is a great option for you to consider. It’s got a great price point ($99) and gives you pretty much all the features you get with the blackberry pearl - minus the instant email and sleeker design.

Having a full keyboard is also refreshing.

Earlier this week I managed to secure one of the first corporate issued blackberry BOLDs that were sent to us by Rogers.

After about 20 minutes I had successfully swapped my SIM card, loaded the new desktop software on to my laptop and had fully synchronized my email and other data to my new device.

First impressions? The Bold  is the best and most complete Blackberry ever put to market.

It comes with: A super fast processor, wicked resolution, an improved design, Wifi, Bluetooth, and keys that don’t feel like cheap plastic (a la curve).  The web browser does a pretty good job at rendering desktop websites, and finally there is a way to manage your media files. It’s a bit wider than the 8800 - but it’s a bit thinner too.

Here are some things I really liked:

1. Copy and paste - so simple… but so necessary. Still can’t believe this isn’t a feature on the iphone
2. Flash with the camera - again something the iphone lacks
3. Video capture
4. New media capabilities for music and video - you can even sync with itunes… but it’s still not as easy to use or figure out as the iphone
5. Crystal clear screen with incredible resolution -  the best so far from Blackberry.
6. Like the iphone, the Bold is 3G - meaning it runs on Canada’s fastest wireless network. Download speeds here in Toronto are similar to broadband at home
7. Improved icons and operating system make for an improved overall user / device experience
8. Battery life seems pretty good. I went a full day of normal usage and still had half the bars left
9. Micro-SD card slot - that is accessible without having to remove the battery. NICE.
10. Overall aesthetics of the device.
11. Keyboard - the keys actually feel bigger than my 8800. There’s a certain comfort to tactile typing

Things I didn’t like:

1. SMS is now a separate icon… and doesn’t come as one of the default icons on the main screen. I figured out how to reorder the icons, but it took me a few minutes. I understand why this is separate as that’s how most other platforms deal with it, but I wonder how many existing blackberry users who are used to seeing SMS in their email inbox will be confused or lost by this subtle change.
2. There is no intuitive way to download other widgets directly from the device. This probably wouldn’t have been a complaint before Apple introduced the App store… but it’s something that is really missing now.  4 widgets came pre-loaded in the download folder (yahoo, facebook, Google talk and bb help), but what about the rest? Missing the App store here…
3. Speaking of widgets, I still really dislike the blackberry facebook widget. It’s completely out of sync with the iphone version… even the generic mobile web version is more intuitive and functional.  I was hoping that with the new device there’d be a newer version…

Other oddities / observations

1. Love the auto-correct feature - although some of the interpretations are funny. I sent an SMS to my girlfriend with “xoxoxoxoxo” and when I accepted the auto-correct it replaced it with “zigzag”
2. When you download widgets you often have to click to accept terms and conditions. It’s not intuitive to see that “decline” is pre-selected and once you do accept, you aren’t brought back to the main screen. I had to back out of the terms screens to see my new icon
3. A proper craddle is missing from the box. The Bold comes with a neat retro-looking clock that activates when you are charging - so wouldn’t it be nice to have a cradle so that it actually acts as a clock on your desk?  

Should you buy a Blackberry Bold?

If you love your current blackberry, you will absolutely love the Bold. It’s by far the best device created to date. 

By improving on the best mobile device for professionals (by adding in some features found previously only on consumer devices), you’ve got a great device that should sell really well.

If you’re still unsure and you are still coveting the iphone… wait a few months for the Blackberry Thunder (now rumored to be called the Javelin) which will be a full touch screen version of the Bold.