tOMPSON’s blog

It seems like HTML email for BlackBerry devices is just around the corner. The new version 2.5. of BlackBerry Internet Service allows it and if the device is on OS version 4.5 it will render HTML. See this official RIM document for detailed information. Now it is just a question of how quick the carriers will update their BlackBerry Internet Service.

Meanwhile Vodafone Germany released OS 4.5 for all their devices. Now I hope it is just a matter of time until the corresponding versions of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and Professional services to enable the features of the new OS.

This concept video of Firefox mobile looks promising. I hope the next generation BlackBerry devices will be able to run it - although the concept is focused on touchscreen devices.

Found on vowe.net: The keynote Steve Jobs held on WWDC 08 presenting the iPhone 2 cut down to 60 seconds:

A lot new information for us BlackBerry fans while the WES is going on. While the BlackBerry Bold was officially announced on the first day:

BG wrote about another BlackBerry device coming out this year: The BlackBerry touchscreen device (codename Thunder) many rumors this year already talked about. Although I am quite sure I would prefer the Bold against the Thunder I am very curious about how the Thunder will look and feel like.

Meanwhile the first “sepcial customers” get the Bold while rumors predict that the Bold will be available some when between October and December this year. This seems way to far away - I need one now!

Another two interesting things from the WES: There will be multiple battery covers for the BlackBerry Bold in different colors feeling like some sort of leather. Unify4Life shows some interesting kind of software for the BlackBerry that allows to control your home entertainment system.

Something funny at the end: I think this video of the RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie shows that he has a lot of humor:

Today Opera Mini 4.1 was released. This version comes with the following new features:

• up to 50% faster
• Find text within a Web page
• Auto-completion of URLs
• Download and upload files
• Save pages for offline viewing

As every former version of Opera Mini I already downloaded and installed it on my BlackBerry - go to www.operamini.com and grap it there.

Tonight the BlackBerry Bold (formerly know as BlackBerry 9000) was officially announced by RIM. Go here for the official press release and check out the new dedicated site. Previously the hard specs already were around on the web:

• Size - Length: 144mm, Width: 66mm, Thickness: 14mm
• Weight (with battery) - 133g (same as the 88xx series)
• Memory - 1GB on-board plus 128 MB Flash
• Battery - 1500mAhr lithium cell
• Est. Battery Life - Standby: 13 days, Talk Time: 5 hours
• Network Support - UMTS: 2100 / 1900 / 850MHz, GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz, GPRS, EDGE and HDSPA networks
• Wi-Fi - 803.11a/b/g enabled
• Display - HVGA, 480 x 320 pixels, Transmissive TFT LCD, supports over 65k colors
• Media Player, Video Support - DivX 4, DivX 5 & 6 are partially supported, XviD is partially supported, H.263, H.264 and WMV3
• Media Player, Audio Support - .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, Professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
• Media Player, Audio - BlackBerry Media Sync allows you to transfer your desktop iTunes music to your BlackBerry
• Camera - 2.0MP, 5 x digital zoom (with flash of course)
• GPS - internal GPS with extended ephemeris, BB Maps is standard
• Bluetooth - Bluetooth v2.0, all the normal stuff and Bluetooth Stereo Audio via A2DP and AVCRP
• USB Port - Enables charging and high-speed data synchronizations via USB “A” to mini-USB “B” cable
• Browser - HTML browsing, View Movies/Clips from websites built for mobile streaming, RSS feed support

My favorite features? Definitely the internal memory upgrade to 1GB, the new screen resolution and the possibility to synchronize iTunes with the BlackBerry (I am thinking about podcasts on my BlackBerry!).

What a great day for BlackBerry fans. First some pictures of the BlackBerry 9000 devices from ebay, and now BoyGenius got hands on an internal specs sheet for the upcoming OS 4.6. Very interesting are the browser enhancements:

• JavaScript 1.5
• CSS 2.1 (Lists, Box Model, Positioning, Floats, Visual Effects, Tables, Colors, …)
• DOM L2
• HTML 4.01
• XMLHttpRequest (Ajax on BlackBerry - yeah!)
• inline Streaming video

Seems like the browser will get some huge improvement! In the documents there is an example picture of the CNN page:

See this gallery for more details.

It seems like there are BlackBerry 9000 devices out in the wild. Someone tried to sell two devices on ebay but the auction has already been closed. The closeup picture from the auction shows a blurry image of the device with the protection foil on:

It seems like the pictures from earlier posts are pretty equivalent to the real device.

Meanwhile rumors for a second BlackBerry series with touchscreen are getting louder and louder. I am holding it with the guys from BerryReview: I would like to see a BlackBerry with a bigger screen an a keybard than a touchscreen device. I can not imagine that a touchscreen could replace the keyboard for writing emails.

Man, RIM did quite well over the last years in establishing as THE provider of mobile enterprise services. I wish I would have invested some money into their stocks - they made 4000% in the last 5 Years.

At the moment I think it would be the wrong time to buy. Not just because the whole stock market is on fire but because it seems like RIM is having a rest on that they have achieved so far. The iPhone is entering their market and nothing really new has come along from RIM the last couple of months.

I thought we will see some new devices and features around WES in May but it seems like at least the devices are delayed until the second half of this year. So the only hope left is that we will see OS 4.5 and a couple of new features - maybe HTML rendering? Come on RIM! We CrackBerries need some new stuff!

In one of its posts today Fake Steve Jobs writes about our chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer. He came across this article on Spiegel Online about the BZÖ accusing our “emperor” of breaking the law by unlocking his iPhone. And the picture of “Gusi” used in this article is really looking like “he is wearing the Dr. Evil jacket”