As a wise man once said, “don’t believe everything that you breathe, you get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve.” I’m not sure exactly what that last part means, but in any case it’s a friendly reminder that much of what we hear comes in the form of rumors. By definition, a rumor might not be true. Thankfully, that’s the case with our lead item in last week’s News From The Wire. The BlackBerry Pearl 9100 appears to be safely and soundly headed to the U.S.
FCC clears BlackBerry 9100 for T-Mobile
Last week on the BBGeekcast I lamented the rumor that T-Mobile would pass on the Pearl 9100. Why, why, why? From most reviews it sounds like one of the best BlackBerry devices to date. Plenty of people loved the original Pearl, and since we haven’t seen a new model in a few years it seems like a perfect time for those users to upgrade. Thankfully, via Engadget, the 9100 has cleared the FCC in its AWS incarnation, which means hello T-Mobile USA.
Not only did an AWS version of the 9100 clear, but so did a version of the 9105. I still haven’t found anyone interested in the model, and I think it will be a bigger flop than the Pearl flip. Still, if it’s your bag, there probably won’t be anything holding you back from buying it from T-Mobile
There is still no word on when the device will drop, but considering the FCC clearance we shouldn’t be too far away.
Tip Of The Week: How to perform hard and soft resets. As we mentioned last week, you can also use QuickPull to simulate a hard reset.
BlackBerry Bold 9800 caught on camera again, and again
It started last week, just after we’d recorded the BBGeekcast. The Cellular Guru, which has been on top of the BlackBerry scene, posted pictures of the Bold 9800 running the new Webkit browser. That’s the image you see above. The tabbed browsing is real as real can be, and if you click through you can see even more images of the device.
Then, on Sunday, The Berry Fix posted its own round of photos, these of a bit higher quality. Here’s the device in a hand, which should give you a good idea of its true size:
BGR’s sources originally claimed a June release for the 9800, and a source for Berry Fix confirms that. It sounds like a three-month exclusive. Will RIM then make a CDMA version? Or will they just stick with the normal Storm line? I’m sure Sprint would like in on the slider action, since they’re not getting the flip, nor are they getting the Storm 3.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the screen will not feature SurePress.
App World 2.0 coming next month?
Yesterday afternoon, Bertrand at Erictric.com mentioned that he had received an invitation for a BlackBerry event in New York. My invitation must still be in the mail. He inferred that the event related to App World, so it doesn’t appear to be a big party for the Bold 9800 release. Bertrand wonders, and I too wonder, whether this will mean the introduction of a new version of App World.
RIM does have plenty of improvements it can make with its application store, so we do hope that the event will cover a new version. I’m not sure, really, what else it could be if it is in fact related to App World. I’d say we have to wait until June 16 to find out, but chances are details will leak at some point before that.
Roundup
Odds and ends from the week.
- I am not satisfied with the two-way Gmail BIS sync. Are you?
- Think Apple and Google will infringe on RIM’s territory? Then read eWeek’s 10 reasons why RIM wins at the mobile game.
- Thinking about buying software? Make sure you’re making the right decision and read our questions to ask when buying premium software.
- The BOLT Browser has upgraded to version 2.1, just in time for RIM’s Webkit browser. Will this be BOLT’s last stand?
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 5/24/10
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 5/24/10