ask away

5/15/2007 5:24:04 PM

why do they call it a blackberry?

5/15/2007 5:52:39 PM

i dunno but i'm pretty knowledgeable about some of the more technical/service aspects of blackberrys

5/15/2007 5:53:40 PM

i just bought an 8703e today

[Edited on May 15, 2007 at 5:58 PM. Reason : AN]

5/15/2007 5:58:36 PM

^^^They were going to call it a Strawberry, but the word was to slow to say. So they changed it to Blackberry because it had a faster ring to it. And no, I am not joking. Read it in one of my marketing books.

Quote :

"Name origin RIM settled on the name "BlackBerry" only after weeks of work by Lexicon Branding Inc., the Sausalito, California-based firm that named Intel Corp.’s Pentium microprocessor and Apple’s PowerBook. One of the naming experts at Lexicon thought the miniature buttons on RIM’s product looked "like the tiny seeds in a strawberry," Lexicon founder David Placek says. "A linguist at the firm thought straw was too slow sounding. Someone else suggested blackberry. RIM went for it." (From a Bloomberg article by Anthony Effinger "

[Edited on May 15, 2007 at 6:01 PM. Reason : .]

5/15/2007 6:00:07 PM

why would anyone choose to use a blackberry in an exchange server environment when WM devices provide the same functionalities without the need to install additional server side software?





(I already know the answer to this)



also, do you think the coming Razr v2, which has a Linux Java OS and the ability to sync with exchange servers (again without seconday installs) will displace the blackberry phenomenon?




(I also know the answer to this )

5/15/2007 7:51:21 PM

how in the hell could a simple cell phone displace a blackberry? does it even have a keyboard?

5/15/2007 8:10:25 PM

predictive text with an extensive dictionary, brotha





and honestly, it wont here in the US



but you can bet it's going to be a highly viable option in other locales

5/15/2007 9:48:24 PM

hehe, interesting on the strawberry to blackberry naming. And you know they paid someone 20,000 bucks to think of that name...

5/15/2007 10:18:37 PM

full keyboard >>>>>>>>>>>>> predictive text

5/16/2007 12:22:26 AM

full keyboard >>>>>>>>>>>>>> predictive text >>>>>>>>>>>>> "full" keyboard that is three inches wide

5/16/2007 12:33:46 AM

full keyboard >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "full" keyboard that is three inches wide with predictive text >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>predictive text >>>>>>>>>>>>> "full" keyboard that is three inches wide

5/16/2007 12:39:17 AM

^^ "full" denotes completeness, not physical size.

5/16/2007 1:27:46 AM

i found out today (yesterday) that blackberrys only work (outside the US) in about 8 countries...kinda sucks

i agree a full keyboard is better than a 1-9 phone keypad, however a regular phone keypad with SureType can do a pretty good job of picking up on most words that you would use in your average business email

quick note since this thread seems to have some interest...we got on blackberrys (still not 100% positive on proper plural spelling) about 4 years ago...i work at a construction company so we use nextel since push-to-talk (PTT/walkie talkie) minutes are free and many clients/subcontractors use nextel and therefore PTT...used to set up blackberry webclient and manually use Outlook or Outlook Express to forward every email to the BlackBerry email account...however one major drawback was that all emails on your BlackBerry appeared to be from yourself, since it was your own email account/program that was forwarding...therefore you couldnt reply directly to the original sender...so about 2 years ago (after i switched our email to exchange server) we got a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) which is basically just some software that you put on a dedicated computer that ties into your Exchange (email) Server and essentially synchronizes your "regular" email with your BlackBerry email

While I am the most familiar with Nextel, I do know that Nextel has disadvantages compared to using BlackBerrys from another provider...for one thing, Nextel's PTT function seems to inherently limit cellular/email reception...since Sprint merged with Nextel the overall reception has improved, but the few (I think 2 currently) phones that can use both Nextel's PTT function as well as Sprint's cellular networks are not BlackBerrys...also the only BlackBerrys that Nextel offers (and has offered for the past ~2 years) are the 7520 and the 7100i...the 7520 is the wider unit with the full sized keyboard...very easy for typing emails...the 7100i is Nextel's version of the 71xx series...the main visual difference in the 7520 and 7100i from Nextel and the 7520 and 7100 series from other carriers is the antenna

BlackBerry 7520 - Cingular (no antenna) (although its looks like all non-Nextel 7520s)

BlackBerry 7520 - Nextel (has an antenna for PTT)

I used a 7520 for a couple of years and was pleased with it..from being able to synchronize contact lists and calendars with your personal or work Outlook (or other email app) account, it was very handy for taking your work with you on the road...also the full sized QWERTY keyboard made writing emails or notes vey easy for someone with a basic understanding of a keyboard layout...the 7100 (pictures with Nextel antenna) has a standard phone keyboard but some practice with suretype makes emails fairly easy

The 7520 has a dull low lit screen, but it is completely visibile/legible in sunlight...the 7100 has a brighter screen that looks wonderful indoors, but often has glare issues in the sunlight

anyway I'm rambling, but feel free to ask any questions if you have a BlackBerry or are considering getting one...and I'm no salesman so I'll try to be unbiased if I don't think a Blackberry (or a Nextel) is what you personally need for your own individual needs

5/16/2007 3:19:08 AM

What gets blackberry out of a white cotton shirt?

5/16/2007 4:05:02 AM

Quote :

"i found out today (yesterday) that blackberrys only work (outside the US) in about 8 countries...kinda sucks"

Wow you really don't know what you're talking about there, do you? Maybe the crap that Nextel puts out only works in 8 countries, but Cingular Blackberries (that's plural-more than one Blackberry) works in almost every country in the world thanks to GSM being the world standard. International Blackberry service is $64.99/month and gives you unlimited data in the U.S. and in any other country in the world. The only exception I know is Japan, which uses 3G/2100MHz, a frequency the Blackberry doesn't have yet.

Quote :

"used to set up blackberry webclient and manually use Outlook or Outlook Express to forward every email to the BlackBerry email account...however one major drawback was that all emails on your BlackBerry appeared to be from yourself, since it was your own email account/program that was forwarding.."

Sounds like user error-I set up peoples MS exchange server email every day. The Blackberry redirector option you were using is only there for people who can't figure out how to set up their email correctly.

Quote :

"BlackBerry 7520 - Cingular (no antenna) (although its looks like all non-Nextel 7520s)"

The Cingular Blackberry that you are referring to is the 7290. The one before that was the 7280 (it was blue in color)

With all due respect (and remember, I am saying with all due respect) You probably shouldn't be advertising Blackberry advice. I'm not the be all end all authority on these things, but simply knowing what a BES is doesn't mean you know how to use all the functions of a device. I am a salesman, BTW, I sell these and other PDAs every day. I use the most current unit, the Blackberry 8800c. Those devices you were referring to are ancient/obsolete.



[Edited on May 16, 2007 at 7:22 AM. Reason : img]

5/16/2007 7:09:29 AM

Just like Radio Shack. You got questions we got answers... they aren't right and typically it's because we have only a high school education and training from a 10 year old manual... but we got answers!

5/16/2007 7:19:00 AM

Quote :

"Maybe the crap that Nextel puts out only works in 8 countries"

yes

Quote :

"Sounds like user error-I set up peoples MS exchange server email every day. The Blackberry redirector option you were using is only there for people who can't figure out how to set up their email correctly. "

no

if you have pop3 email through an external provider and dont use an exchange server, that was the easiest way to forward

Quote :

"Blackberries (that's plural-more than one Blackberry)"

good thing regular vocabulary rules apply when talking about trademarked words

5/16/2007 11:26:23 AM

you just have to laugh when a cell phone salesman gets all uppity.

5/16/2007 11:43:01 AM

WHY DONT THEY HAVE BLACKBERRY EGGO WAFFLES?

5/16/2007 12:06:36 PM

That would be so good.

5/16/2007 12:10:58 PM

those are pretty dank, i agree

5/16/2007 12:21:56 PM

Someone send an email to Eggo inc.



or kelloggs




whichever.

5/16/2007 12:37:01 PM

Why can't my user new new mail on his blackberry after a soft reboot and after powering on it goes straight into the cradle and does the sync but his new mail won't show up on the blackberry even tho it does show up in Lotus Notes.

[Edited on May 16, 2007 at 1:02 PM. Reason : .]

5/16/2007 1:02:16 PM

do you use the desktop manager to forward/synch emails or do you use webclient or a BES server?

5/16/2007 1:14:36 PM

Is there a way for me to set up my email on this phone without having to go to the internet or through the enterprise activator? My company won't give me the pw to our enterprise acct, so I have to set up to internet spec.

And what exactly does the desktop redirector do? And does it allow you to use when a comp. is off, or reply to the e-mails?

5/16/2007 1:30:53 PM

can you get me one for less than $50

5/16/2007 1:33:26 PM

^fraid not, although many stores are not allowed to work on any RIM devices and have to ship them off...I've gotten a couple brand new BlackBerrys for $35 but I had to give them the old one to send back and it was at a place we've been going to for years

^^i use the redirector to synch/update calendar events and contacts from my Outlook to my BlackBerry...also to install some programs that are non OTA (over-the-air)...newer BlackBerrys can also do some direct file tree type transfers of images, ringtones, etc

you should be able to set up an email account on your blackberry even without the company's BES server password, as long as your BlackBerry has Internet access...just google "BlackBerry Webclient ________" where "______" is your provider, ie Nextel, Alltel, etc...go to that site and create a new email account...the only info you should need about your BlackBerry are the PIN number and IMEI number...just go to Options and then Status on your BlackBerry...PIN number is an 8-digit alphanumeric code and the IMEI is a 15-digit numerical code...should be the only two pieces of info you need to set it up

I have a Webclient account on my BlackBerry just as a backup in case our internet is down at work

5/16/2007 1:44:31 PM

Except on my phone status it shows a PIN and an ESN(hex) and ESN(dec), neither of which are 15 characters.

5/16/2007 1:57:24 PM

well IMEI is for Nextel

perhaps your ESN (electronic serial number) is what your particular cellular provider's webclient site asks for, as well as PIN?

5/16/2007 1:59:20 PM

it is. The problem is the website http://www.alltel.blackberry.com is extremely retarded, and everytime I try to enter that info in, and then get a username and pw, when i hit submit it says system error. Pisses me the hell off. I need my email on here soon.

5/16/2007 2:16:33 PM

hmmm...i'd try from a different computer...if you get the same error, you should be able to call alltel and get them to set that up for you

5/16/2007 2:17:46 PM

Quote :

"if you have pop3 email through an external provider and dont use an exchange server, that was the easiest way to forward"

No. I am using Road Runner, Gmail, and Hotmail all with no problems. The Blackberry Internet Server gives you the capacity to have 10 different emails coming to one device:



I didn't mean to get uppity-just trying to keep all the info on here correct.

5/16/2007 2:19:25 PM

Why do black people like them so much?

Is it because black is in the name?

5/16/2007 2:38:51 PM

it's because it's the only thing that makes them look productive.

5/16/2007 3:22:21 PM

Quote :

"it's because it's the only thing that makes them look productive."

I'm sure this statement isn't the only thing that makes you sound like an idiot

5/16/2007 4:25:48 PM

if you use email a lot for work they are really great

also in about 5 minutes you can backup all the data...then if you get a new blackberry, even if its not the same model, you can spend another 5 minutes restoring the backup so you dont have to worry about losing data and transferring dozens or hundreds of contacts, etc

5/16/2007 4:40:57 PM

Answer me this one.

In BES 4.1 for domino, why doesn't the collaberation service properly handle annoucements sent to users logged into the sametime client on their blackberry. As a result of the collaberation service not handling these announcments, they are handled by the example handlers in the Sametime toolkit. When these are recieved it tries to pop a GUI on the server. If the colab service is operating as a service, these are never seen but are infact created in the background. If the service is run in the foreground on the desktop of the server they will pop up when recieved. The colab service also does not properly handle events when the sametime server cannot be contacted. This event also rolls back to the sametime toolkit which throws up another pop up.

If this goes on eventually the popups will cause the colab service to suck up 100% of the cpu and bring the server to its knees.

While RIM support was not able to figure this one out, I found the simplest fix was to open the Sametime toolkit JAR and delete the classfiles responsible for the handling the events and popping the GUIs.

5/16/2007 6:48:08 PM

interesting...whatever works...we dont really use the collab service...dont need it as much in our particular application so im not that up on it

i'd expect rim to put out a patch if/when they figure out the source of the problem...course we're on bes 3.0 i believe...on an "if it ain't broke" type approach...its been very reliable...only thing thats ever shut it down was a >30min power outage

5/16/2007 6:55:19 PM

so why do they call it a Crackberry?

5/17/2007 2:30:31 PM

cause once you use it, its hard to not use it

and it rhymes with blackberry

[Edited on May 17, 2007 at 4:27 PM. Reason : .]

5/17/2007 4:27:11 PM

am i to understand that there are only 26 spots for speed dial?

5/18/2007 1:26:20 PM

well they have about 32 buttons (the full sized keyboard blackberries...only about 23 on the slimmer models), more than just one per letter, but you're close

however i have over 800 contacts in mine and can quickly and easily get to any of them by just punching in the first couple letters and/or scrolling

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:29 PM. Reason : .]

5/18/2007 1:29:10 PM

what do you think of the new Curve?

5/18/2007 1:40:46 PM

WHAT IS THE AVG BATTERY LIFE...I JUST BOUGHT A Q A FEW WEEKS AGO AND THE BATTERY ONLY LASTS ABOUT 6-8 HOURS...IF I DON'T HAVE IT ON THE CHARGER OVERNIGHT..I AM FUCKED

5/18/2007 2:04:43 PM

the curve is dope. best one yet imo.

battery life depends on too many things to make that claim.
bluetooth.
exchange activesync (with WM5)
talk time
proximity to towers.

average is about a full day though.

the Q has the worst battery out of all em though.

Ive used 4 different bberry's, Q, PPC-6700, treo 650, 700p and 700w

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 2:23 PM. Reason : but thats just my opinion]

5/18/2007 2:22:54 PM

curve is pretty cool...but like most cool blackberrys it doesnt work with nextel

i recommend extended batteries for any blackberry...i charge mine every night but never run low...good prices on ebay for extended batteries

also you should be able to turn down your display brightness to conserve some power

5/18/2007 3:55:52 PM

Quote :

"Ive used 4 different bberry's, Q, PPC-6700, treo 650, 700p and 700w"

My GF has had the treo 650, ppc-6700, and 700wx

The 650 was ok but I did not like the UI and it would not get on myspace so I got her the 6700.

The ppc-6700 was a complete piece of crap for a phone, completely horrible, could not have been shittier, I liked the keyboard and screen size better but you know its still a piece of crap if the phone sucks on it. It did however work with myspace.

Now she has the 700wx which she likes better. The phone works better on it, it freezes up much more infrequently. The touchscreen works better.

All of these phones were a pain in the ass to dial on. I don't know why the designers did not make the dialing buttons take up the whole screen when you press the phone button. They all crash a lot and require resetting/restarting. The palm OS one not as much as the windows ones but still more than you would expect.

All of them send calls to voicemail like crazy. Even if you don't have it set to automatically check e-mail or anything like that they are hard to get through on. I assume this is because the phone is sending/receiving data all the time. Sometimes I have to call 7 or 8 times to get it to ring.

5/18/2007 4:35:17 PM

Quote :

"Ive used 4 different bberry's, Q, PPC-6700, treo 650, 700p and 700w"

fyi...NONE OF THESE ARE BLACKBERRYS

5/18/2007 4:41:29 PM

I don't have a blackberry, but a friend got one and said they had to pay some $40/mo fee to get email from their plain 'ol POP3 account.

What am I missing? How does a blackberry get email so much better than a treo that it costs over $1/day?

5/18/2007 6:33:16 PM