Google's translation engine ain't exactly perfect, but it seems to get at the edges of facts in a de internet.com article posted today that implies the BlackBerry 8800 will be unveiled February 12 and released sometime in March.
I just love the way Google translates this stuff. It has a rhythmic, almost high-tech pidgin English ring to it.
But you don't want me to talk about the translation. You want me to write about what the translation says.
Macworld UK's Rosemary Haworth is out with a highly favorable review of the Vodafone BlackBerry Pearl 8100.
As we do with many other reviews, let's give this one the ol' Pros/Cons/Verdict treatment, K?
Yo Rosemary: Pros: Fantastic svelte design, scroll ball is an improvement over the wheel, built-in camera, plus email and internet access
Cons: PocketMac doesn't currently work with it so there's no syncing, scroll ball takes some getting used to.
Cons don't seem to drag down Rosemary's view of the Pearl tho.
"This is undoubtedly the jewel of the BlackBerry range," she writes. "The candybar design has come a long way since RIM's original device, which was far broader and took up the whole width of your palm. This sleek black number weighs just 89g and can properly be called a phone rather than a PDA with all the bulk that such a term implies."
Howard Forums Member limborepublic has trouble dancing under the bar on this one.
Based in the UK, limborepublic writes that his OS.67-powered BlackBerry Pearl stopped receiving emails about an hour ago. (I know that's a T-Mobile BlackBerry but that's how email looks on any Pearl.
"It just stopped receiving mail, even though it was still polling/searching and half a dozen mails arrived on my desktop," he writes. "I hadn't changed any settings - or even touched the thing, and the only way I could fix it was by turning it off and then on again, at which stage it worked just fine."
But limborepublic is not happy with those results. He's traveling (hmm, maybe to a warm tropical republic where they do the limbo?) Regardless (sorry, irregardless ain't no word) of whether or not he is traveling and where, the turning off and on is a bother, brother.
Although a formal announcement has not yet been made, it seems as though the Vonafone U.K. site is now listing the BlackBerry Pearl.
The banner is at the top of this post.
Vodafone's site also refers to a six-month half-price "line rental" promotion for the Pearl. The promotion also appears to entail free Pearl's for most pricing plans.
Let's see what pricing plans Vodafone is offering for the Pearl.
I've been trying to make sense of the invitation BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion has been sending out to journalists to attend an "exclusive BlackBerry press event" in London September 6.
As first reported on Unstrung, the invite specifies "an exciting development with BlackBerry."
My first reaction is one of cynicism from a career of having received these announcements. I have yet to receive an invite for a "ho-hum development." At least one that would own up to being hum-drum.
So what could it be?
Everyone seems to think this will be the place and the time that T-Mobile's flavor of the camera-capable, BlackBerry 8100 Pearl will be announced. Since the invite is for an event in London, then maybe we should spell the word "flavour."
Yes, that would be one scenario, but I would not put it past RIM for this to be a Vodafone announcement- and not necessarly the 8100.
Why? Well, with documentation pointing to a U.S. Pearl launch in mid-September (and as late as September 28), I am not entirely convinced that the U.K. announcement will scoop North America by more than a week. That's not the way RIM has done things in the past.
But of course, RIM has not had a CameraBerry in the past, either.
Verdict? Given this is taking place in London- where Vodafone is based- This could be a Vodafone announcement, and not necessarily an 8100 either.
Unlike all other BlackBerry models to date, there won't be any carrier-specific letter labeling on this new camera-ready 8100 series.
By "carrier-labeling," I mean no more BlackBerry (model number) "c" for Cingular, "t" for T-Mobile, "g" for Verizon, "v" for Vodafone, "r" for Rogers, etc.
We hear this decision has been made to cut down on market confusion, as well as to reduce expenses incurred by re-plating physically identical devices.
"The launch of the two new BlackBerry handsets reinforces over-arching vision of delivering true mobility to Australian businesses and their employees, Vodafone Australia Business Markets general manager Edward Goff said.
Goff actually did add something newsworthy: broadband-modem enabling dashboard software in the BlackBerry 8707v will launch in September.
Australian site mobilised (jingoistic American spell checker always catches those British Commonwealth "s" for "z", mate) offers a of the $699 AU (that'd be $53.50 U.S.)Vodafone BlackBerry 7130v.
Most of the review is a rundown of the specs, as opposed to an assessment of the functionality indicated by these specs.
But I am able to glean at least some opinion from the last graf of this review.
The unbylined reviewer does not think the BlackBerry 7130v is "the prettiest," but he/she/they seems pretty juiced about the exceptional battery performance (432 hours of standby time), push email, instant messaging support and GPRS capabilities.
Jones draws as reference usabilty gurus Nielsen Norman Group's just-released "Intranet Deisgn Annual 2006: The Year's Ten Best Intranets."
"Judges fund that many winners share common strategies," Jones writes, "such as mobile access with Intranets optimized for the BlackBerry, multimedia systems making use of video to increase productivity, and special brand names for Intranets."
U.S. winners include Capital One, IBM, Merrill Linch and Staples. Of the ten winners, two coincidentally happen to be telecom providers with BlackBerry offerings: U.K.s Vodafone and O2.
"O2 has a special mobile edition of its intranet that's optimized for the BlackBerry and strips the homepage down to a few of its most useful links," Jakob Nielsen writes in the report.
Vodafone Italia and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion introduced the BlackBerry 7130v in (you only get one guess where) Italy today.
As with the other BlackBerry 7130 models, the BlackBerry 7130v has 64 MB of flash memory and light sensing technology that sets screen and keyboard lighting levels based on the surrounding environment.
The BlackBerry 8707v will operate on Vodafone Italy's UMTS network, which covers some 70% of Italy's population.
As with other 87xx series devices, this one has 64 MB flash memory and supports attachment viewing of popular file formats including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect and Adobe PDF. Its high resolution QVGA (320x240) LCD display can show more than 65,000 colors and it incorporates intelligent light sensing technology automatically that adjusts the display and keyboard brightness to optimize visibility in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.
OK, let us run what Vodafone Italia's 807v promo announcement thru Babelfish:
"BlackBerry 8707v allows you to manage the e-mail in mobility, to receive the email in real time, to visualize encloses to it to you in all forms to you more diffuse, to sinncronizzare the contacts with those of your PC and automatically to modernize to appointments and reunions of your agenda, with the offered velocita one from the UMTS."
"Sinncronizzare the contacts."- sounds great rolling off the tongue.
Vodafone Spain and BlackBerry have just announced they are launching the BlackBerry 7130v to individual and corporate users in Spain.
The companies said they are positioning the device as one which is ideal for those users who prefer a slim handset with wireless functionality.
"A key factor for success in juggling both a career and a busy personal life is the ability to access information when you need it," RIM's vice president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa Charmaine Eggberry said in a statement.
I love it: BlackBerry-Eggberry...
"The BlackBerry 7130v keeps users connected to the people and information they need to make better and faster decisions on the move," Eggberry added. "The BlackBerry 7130v also delivers these advantages in a sleek mobile phone design making it ideal for people looking to replace their older mobile phone."
At the time I made this post, the 8707v was not yet posted on the Vodafone Ireland ste. But give it a day or two at most.
Obligatory happy talk:
"BlackBerry from Vodafone has become hugely successful in Ireland, helping mobile staff to save time and boost efficiency. Likewise, thousands of companies are benefiting from our UMTS network," says Shane Brodbin, BlackBerry Product Manager at Vodafone Ireland.The BlackBerry 8707v leverages the Vodafone network to provide BlackBerry customers with access to the Internet, e-mail, phone and corporate data applications quickly while out of the office."
If you are an existing or prospective Vodafone subscriber, and have either just bought or are thinking about buying a BlackBerry 7130v, you'll be interested to know that the BlackBerry Technical Knowledge Center has just posted a Getting Started Guide for the 7130v.
As with all GSGs, this one has a cover shot of the handset, with arrows pointing to the features.
If you agree that you can't tell a Getting Started Guide from the cover, well, then, the Table of Contents will tell you the knowledge that awaits within:
Howard Forums Member
of the $699 AU (that'd be $53.50 U.S.)Vodafone BlackBerry 7130v.
