Australia-based diversified telephnony services provider Optus and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion are
introducing the BlackBerry 8700g in Australia.
No pricing info yet, but here's some precedent. The three BlackBerry models Optus currently offers, and their
price in Australian dollars are the BlackBerry 7100g, $659; the BlackBerry 7290, $789; and the BlackBerry 7730, for
$899.
SingTel-owned Optus joins Vodafone Australia in introducing the 8700 series BlackBerry in that nation. Vodafone's
model is the virtually identical BlackBerry 8700v.
T-Mobile Germany, flag cellular carrier for that nation's Deustche Telekom, is teaming up with BlackBerry-maker
Research In Motion to introduce the BlackBerry 8700g in that nation.
Both the carrier and RIM say the 8700g should be available in early February. Which, as I post this, is less than
three hours away.
The 8700g joins the BlackBerry 7290 and BlackBerry 7730 in T-Mobile Germany's BlackBerry stable.
Total Solution Technology has just released its ArmorPlus for BlackBerry line, a BlackBerry systems board hardware add-on with software capable of such applications as fingerprint capture, credit card processing and even some camera functionality.
Basic pricing is $395, with extra functionalities priced on an a la carte basis.
Currently, ArmorPlus is available for the BlackBerry 7730, 7750 and 7780.
Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor ASA, has announced today it has agreed to buy Vodafone
Group Plc's Swedish business for 1.04 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Vodafone
Sweden is the country's third-largest mobile-phone company.
Both companies say the acquisition of Vodafone Sweden will enhance Telenor's position in Sweden, while increasing Telenor's Scandinavian mobile customer base by 37 per cent,
totalling 5.6 million subscribers.
The purchase from Vodafone doesn't mean that Vodafone is leaving Sweden. Telenor and Vodafone say they have agreed the terms of a Partner Network Agreement in Sweden, allowing
Telenor, Vodafone Sweden and Vodafone customers to "benefit from Vodafone's
global brand, products and services in Sweden."
Vodafone Sweden's lineup of the BlackBerry 7100v, BlackBerry 7290 and BlackBerry 7730 should not be affected by the transaction, which is expected to close early next year.
With more than 145 million landline and mobile customers in Europe, Latin America and Africa, Madrid, Spain-based Telefónica S.A. is one of the world's largest mobile, Internet and landline access providers.
Today, Telefónica is announcing it is acquiring U.K.-based O2 - the wireless business that was spun off by BT (formerly Birtish Telecom) in 2001. O3 has 24.6 million subscribers in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. Purchase price is about $31 billion U.S.
O2 currently carries four BlackBerry models- the BlackBerry 7730, BlackBerry 7290, BlackBerry 7230, and BlackBerry 7100x. That roster, plus O2's service plans, should not change as a result of the acquisition.
Both companies say that O2's current management will continue to operate the business, which will retain its brand and its headquarters in the UK.
Vodafone Sweden business customers that use the Nokia 9500 Communicator, Nokia 9300 smartphone or Sony Ericsson P910i can now also use BlackBerry Connect to manage their e-mail while on the go.
The 'BlackBerry from Vodafone' portfolio for the Swedish market also currently includes the BlackBerry 7230, BlackBerry 7100v and BlackBerry 7730
"Many Swedish companies have requested BlackBerry services on mobile phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson; therefore we are delighted to present this piece of news," said Klas Wallstrom, Head of Business Segment, Vodafone Sweden This means that even more Swedes will discover the advantages of BlackBerry and see for themselves how wireless e-mail simplifies worklife and makes it more efficient,"
Today, I have been fielding a few comments from T-Mobile BlackBerry-users/BBHub readers that its been impossible to log on to the section of the T-Mobile website where you manage your BlackBerry service.
I've checked some of the other BlackBerry boards and there doesn't seem to be reports of this problem. But someone has to report it first.
So what I am asking you T-Mobile BlackBerry users is: "have any of you had problems logging in to the site today?
If yes, I wonder if any of this has to do with issues surrounding Handheld Software Version 4.0 4.49, a 31 MB file which was just posted in the T-Mobile BlackBerry Upgrade section of the T-Mobile site..
Ned Johnson and Martin Trautschold are consultants with more than eight years of combined experience working with BlackBerry using corporate and individual clients. Trautschold, in fact, has presented at the Annual RIM BlackBerry Wireless
Enterprise Symposium.
Now, Trautschold and Johnson have combined to write two BlackBerry Made Simple 150-plus page PDF formatted e-books for BlackBerry users.
Ned Johnson and Martin Trautschold are consultants with more than eight years of combined experience working with BlackBerry using corporate and individual clients. Trautschold, in fact, has presented at the Annual RIM BlackBerry Wireless
Enterprise Symposium.
Now, Trautschold and Johnson have combined to write two BlackBerry Made Simple 150-plus page PDF formatted e-books for BlackBerry users.
The BlackBerry news and reviews site RIM Road has a new review of a mobile synchronization tool called MiniSync Plus.
I found the review helpful, as well as incentivizing to find out more.
Taking that device on the road with you is so much easier than dragging around a synching cradle. It extends to 35 inches in length, and works with most BlackBerry models. Manufacturer BoxWave has added new versions for the BlackBerry 7780, BlackBerry 7750 and BlackBerry 7730. Listed at $24.95, these MiniSync Plus' are on sale from the BoxWave site for $18.95.
Here's how the product handles synching:
Gently tug the BlackBerry connector and USB connector. This will extend your miniSync cable.
Connect one end of the miniSync cable to your BlackBerry and the other to your PC. You are now ready to sync up.
Pix2Phone is one of the coolest PC-to-BlackBerry digital photo import tools I've seen. Plus, its free.
Here's how it works.
Point your PC Web browser to the Pic2Fone website at (you guessed it!) www.pix2fone.com.
Download and install the Pix2Fone browser extension. The extension works with Internet Explorer and Firefox.
When you are ready to import a photo from your hard drive to your BlackBerry, open the folder on your PC where your photos are stored.
Right-click on the file name of the photo you want to export to your BlackBerry.
A drop-down menu appears. Select Save Picture to Mobile Phone. Your chosen image is sent from your PC to the Pix2Fone Web service.
The Pix2Fone service will process your request and format the image you have chosen for optimum display on your BlackBerry. (If you are using the Pix2Fone service for the first time, you will be asked to enter the name and model number of your device.
After the photo is formatted, a download code appears on your PC.
Print out the download code, and then point your BlackBerry Web browser to: wap.pix2fone.com.
When your BlackBerry browser calls up that address, enter the download code you received on your PC. The picture then loads to your BlackBerry.
Pix2Fone is compatible with BlackBerry 7100 series models, as well as BlackBerry 7230, BlackBerry 7280, BlackBerry 7290, BlackBerry
7730, BlackBerry 7750 and BlackBerry 7780.
I've just noticed that BlackBerry Ring Tone Megaplex has just passed 23,000 downloads on Handango.com.
Given that many other fun and useful utilities do well with amassing 100 downloads, the popularity of the Ring Tone Megaplex is that much more amazing.
For that one price, you get unlimited download access to the more than 1,000 tones in the Ring Tone Megaplex library. The library inventory is updated at least once a week, sometimes more.
Ring Tone Megaplex is compatible with most 7xxx series BlackBerry devices. Once you purchase, download and install Ring Tone Megaplex, you access the service via their proprietary interface, not through an open Web site.
RingTone Megaplex' list price is $19.95, but I found it listed on mobile software site Handango.com for $17.96. That's 10% off.
As you might suspect, the Read link below this post takes you to the main BlackBerry Ring Tone Megaplex page on Handango.
A new downloadable game for BlackBerry rates your skill on the amount and numerical value of balls you can make disappear on the playing board (shown at right).
Players get points for each ball that they disappear. Generally speaking, if you move one ball to an adjacent box with a same-colored ball already there, one ball disappears and you get points for it. You can move balls horizonally, vertically or diagonally.
Designed for the BlackBerry 7700 and 7100 series, KoLines costs only $2.95 and is downloadable from the Web site of mobile device software developer Handango.com. I've placed a hotlink to KoLines' download page in the Read link directly below this post.
T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check will let you pull down the latest quality-of-call ratings for almost any address or intersection in most of the carrier's U.S. metro calling areas.
A great idea before you sign up with T-Mobile and get your BlackBerry 7730, 7230 or 7100t phone.
All you do is go to the Personal Coverage Check page on the T-Mobile Web site and enter your address or intersection.
Click Search and a map will come up. The intersection you entered will have a big X, and the immediate vicinity will be marked in any of several shades from Green ("Great") to a lighter shade of Gray ("you're breaking up").
Click the Read link directly below this post, and you'll get there.
Last month I reported that due to some problems with Hewlett-Packard's iPaq h6315, T-Mobile was pulling the product and touting the BlackBerry 7730 as an exchange option.
But things may be gettng better for the beleaguered 6315. HP has issued a downloadable update that, it claims, makes the device's wireless connectivity more controllable and less subject to lockups.
The 23.8 megabyte update also fixes issues related to call-waiting problems, and throughput failure for certain keypad-generated phones.
T-Mobile seems to be hedging its bets. The iPaq h6315 is available for sale again on its Web site, but the exchange program is still in place.
Australia-based diversified telephnony services provider Optus and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion are
introducing the BlackBerry 8700g in Australia.
Total Solution Technology has just released its ArmorPlus for BlackBerry line, a BlackBerry systems board hardware add-on with software capable of such applications as fingerprint capture, credit card processing and even some camera functionality.
Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor ASA, has announced today it has agreed to buy Vodafone
Group Plc's Swedish business for 1.04 billion euros ($1.2 billion). 
With more than 145 million landline and mobile customers in Europe, Latin America and Africa, Madrid, Spain-based 
Today, I have been fielding a few comments from 
Ned Johnson and Martin Trautschold are consultants with more than eight years of combined experience working with BlackBerry using corporate and individual clients. Trautschold, in fact, has presented at the Annual RIM BlackBerry Wireless
Enterprise Symposium.
The BlackBerry news and reviews site 
Pix2Phone is one of the coolest PC-to-BlackBerry digital photo import tools I've seen. Plus, its free.
I've just noticed that BlackBerry Ring Tone Megaplex has just passed 23,000 downloads on Handango.com.
A new downloadable game for BlackBerry rates your skill on the amount and numerical value of balls you can make disappear on the playing board (shown at right).
Last month 
