WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING!?
Seriously?
I mean is this some inside joke nobody fucking gets?
Anyone?......Bueller?
Anyone?......Bueller?
ASG
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Understanding the latest RIM service outage, and how BIS works
Here we are on Thursday, the day after "Black Wednesday" for BlackBerry users around the world woke up to find that their BBM, Browsing, Email, and anything that required data ground to a halt. It was as if in the blink of an eye, we were thrust back to the 90's and left out for the wolves.
I figured this would be a good time to explain how the BlackBerry data systems work, how things come crashing down so quickly, and why it takes time for them to become operational.
Blackberry is known for its bulletproof encryption and security. The President of the United States uses one for gods sake. This level of security doesn't come from a $49.95 Norton program.... No no. It comes from massive RIM data centers placed strategically around the globe. These centers are the lifeblood of every single BlackBerry on the planet (at last check, around 70 million of them), and 99.99% of the time, they work flawlessly and you don't even know they exist.
Regular Smartphones like the iPhone and Androids connect to data directly through the Carriers networks. This allows for a -little- faster data connections, but in theory it also makes it vulnerable to interception, and therefore less secure. Blackberry devices access data in a different manner. When you type out a BBM or an Email, once you press send, a process starts that many are unaware of. I'll use a BBM message as an example:
PIN ABC123 types "Dude, where's my car?" to PIN DEF456 and presses send. The message is sent to the RIM server in his/her region, which then sends the message out to the receiving BlackBerry's PIN. While this process is happening, a check-mark displays on PIN ABC123's device. As soon as PIN DEF456's device receives the message, the familiar "D" is displayed on the senders device.
So what happened here? Isn't that just like an SMS message but with a fancy PIN? Not really. The key here is the PIN number. All BlackBerry's are assigned a PIN during manufacturing. It's not something that's issued and can be changed like a phone number, its coded into the device itself and can never be changed or stripped. This PIN allows encryption to take place as soon as any data whatsoever enters or leaves a device. Without it, you will have no access to the Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) and as such no data on your device. The RIM servers use the PIN to identify a subscribed device and dish out data. To successfully send just a simple BBM, the server needs to identify your PIN, package the data, identify the receiving handsets PIN as a subscriber, and forward the message. Only the intended PIN will be able to unpack the data and display the message. Bear in mind this all happens in mere seconds, and really no one ever gives it any thought.
So a server goes down.. what happens?
Well to put it bluntly, all hell breaks loose. With the relaying server down and unable to forward any messages or data, you are left in limbo as you cannot access carrier data with a BlackBerry. Think of it this way; Many of you are reading this on a laptop using WIFI. Go shut off your router, but leave your modem on. What happens? Your computer no longer has access to the net even though there IS a working data source (your modem) just feet away. Think of the modem as the carrier network, and the router as a RIM server. Without one or the other, neither work properly.
Now go ahead and grab a 1TB wireless portable hard drive, and fill it to capacity using USB. Turn your WIFI back on and wirelessly dump its entire contents back on to your computer. Slow right? When RIM servers go down they store every single email and the majority of PIN/SMS messages to be sent once the service is restored. Its a massive amount of data given the amount of subscribers. They could just dump all the data and restore things rather quickly, but the email that has a $1 million dollar contract or the emails containing job offers etc. will all be lost... And you'd better believe someone would be pissed. It takes more time to bring things back to normal, but in the end, the result is much better than dumping the data and starting from scratch.
This is a REALLY simple explanation of the BlackBerry system, it's much more complex than what I described, but I don't want to get really long winded and technical. I hope this helps to let people better understand the methods behind the madness of the BlackBerry systems, and what happens during an outage.
..... one more thing....
Stop with the BBM forwards claiming to restore service or to prevent your contact list from being deleted. RIM doesn't know nor care about your contacts, nor does forwarding a BBM do anything more than clog up the system more. Stop it. People claiming it to "really work!!" need to be muzzled and their BlackBerry's taken away forever.
ASG
I figured this would be a good time to explain how the BlackBerry data systems work, how things come crashing down so quickly, and why it takes time for them to become operational.
Blackberry is known for its bulletproof encryption and security. The President of the United States uses one for gods sake. This level of security doesn't come from a $49.95 Norton program.... No no. It comes from massive RIM data centers placed strategically around the globe. These centers are the lifeblood of every single BlackBerry on the planet (at last check, around 70 million of them), and 99.99% of the time, they work flawlessly and you don't even know they exist.
Regular Smartphones like the iPhone and Androids connect to data directly through the Carriers networks. This allows for a -little- faster data connections, but in theory it also makes it vulnerable to interception, and therefore less secure. Blackberry devices access data in a different manner. When you type out a BBM or an Email, once you press send, a process starts that many are unaware of. I'll use a BBM message as an example:
PIN ABC123 types "Dude, where's my car?" to PIN DEF456 and presses send. The message is sent to the RIM server in his/her region, which then sends the message out to the receiving BlackBerry's PIN. While this process is happening, a check-mark displays on PIN ABC123's device. As soon as PIN DEF456's device receives the message, the familiar "D" is displayed on the senders device.
So what happened here? Isn't that just like an SMS message but with a fancy PIN? Not really. The key here is the PIN number. All BlackBerry's are assigned a PIN during manufacturing. It's not something that's issued and can be changed like a phone number, its coded into the device itself and can never be changed or stripped. This PIN allows encryption to take place as soon as any data whatsoever enters or leaves a device. Without it, you will have no access to the Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) and as such no data on your device. The RIM servers use the PIN to identify a subscribed device and dish out data. To successfully send just a simple BBM, the server needs to identify your PIN, package the data, identify the receiving handsets PIN as a subscriber, and forward the message. Only the intended PIN will be able to unpack the data and display the message. Bear in mind this all happens in mere seconds, and really no one ever gives it any thought.
So a server goes down.. what happens?
Well to put it bluntly, all hell breaks loose. With the relaying server down and unable to forward any messages or data, you are left in limbo as you cannot access carrier data with a BlackBerry. Think of it this way; Many of you are reading this on a laptop using WIFI. Go shut off your router, but leave your modem on. What happens? Your computer no longer has access to the net even though there IS a working data source (your modem) just feet away. Think of the modem as the carrier network, and the router as a RIM server. Without one or the other, neither work properly.
Now go ahead and grab a 1TB wireless portable hard drive, and fill it to capacity using USB. Turn your WIFI back on and wirelessly dump its entire contents back on to your computer. Slow right? When RIM servers go down they store every single email and the majority of PIN/SMS messages to be sent once the service is restored. Its a massive amount of data given the amount of subscribers. They could just dump all the data and restore things rather quickly, but the email that has a $1 million dollar contract or the emails containing job offers etc. will all be lost... And you'd better believe someone would be pissed. It takes more time to bring things back to normal, but in the end, the result is much better than dumping the data and starting from scratch.
This is a REALLY simple explanation of the BlackBerry system, it's much more complex than what I described, but I don't want to get really long winded and technical. I hope this helps to let people better understand the methods behind the madness of the BlackBerry systems, and what happens during an outage.
..... one more thing....
Stop with the BBM forwards claiming to restore service or to prevent your contact list from being deleted. RIM doesn't know nor care about your contacts, nor does forwarding a BBM do anything more than clog up the system more. Stop it. People claiming it to "really work!!" need to be muzzled and their BlackBerry's taken away forever.
ASG
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Sunday, 2 October 2011
2 Months later, the Bold 9900 thoughts and review.
Many of you haven't had a Bold for as long as I have. I managed to get mine a little before everyone else, and have had 2 solid months with this thing strapped to my hip. I'll go through the good, the bad, the ugly, and the amazing in the next few paragraphs. Join me.
I have had my share of Blackberries over the years. I started with the ol 7290, up to the Pearl, Curve 8330, 8900, Storm, Storm2, Bold 9700, Torch, Bold 9780.... and now the behemoth 9900. (To be fair, I have also had the Palm Treo (WM5!!) HTC Touch, iPhone 3G, 3Gs, 4, HTC Sensation, and toyed with a Samsung Galaxy S II).
The weeks before the 9900 was in my hands were painful weeks. I had my 9800 sitting in a drawer with a fried radio, and my 9780 was driving me nuts. I needed something new from RIM or I was going to go batshit. I activated my iPhone4 out of spite, and like a sign from the RIM gods, the 9900 was in my hands a little over 10 days later.
This phone is a monster. If you read my pre-release review, you'll know where I'm going with this.
It's hands down the most beautiful and well built piece of smartphone hardware I have had the privilege to hold. Its heavy but not heavy, solid but not sterile, and functional in all aspects of its design. The screen resolution is a ball-hair shy of retina class, and the human eye would be hard pressed to know the difference. The keyboard is classic RIM. It just works, and it works better than any QWERTY I have used on any smartphone including my past RIM devices. It feels like a Flagship device should. Holding it next to a 97XX class device is like putting a Bentley next to a Honda Accord - Sure the Accord works like a champ and will last forever, but it's not a Bentley.
OS7 is a fresh take on the classic BBOS. It will be nothing for past BB users to pick it up and feel like they are somewhere familiar. It's fast as all hell, responds instantly to taps and commands, and I have yet to see that god-damned spinning clock except very briefly when an app is installed or the OS is just starting up. Bringing me to my next point, no more 10 min boots a-la Storm era phones. 45-60 seconds from power on and you are up and running.
The browser loads pages fast and accurately, and full-whack (non mobile) webpages are no longer the bane of many a smartphone users. HTML5 works like a charm, and you'd almost (almost) think that there was flash player loaded (It's not, as many people mistake. HTML5 pretty much gives you the flash experience without the Adobe program requirements). Connecting to WIFI takes mere seconds, and BIS loads up just seconds later, waiting is a thing of the past.
Bluetooth and Bridge are stable and nimble in this device. I quickly bridged to the PlayBook and kept it there all day without fail, however there are still some notification bugs with BBM and Email on the PlayBook (Nothing earth shattering or even important, just a minor hiccup). Bridge speed is not greatly improved even with the "4G" capability of the 9900, as it is choked by the limits of Bluetooth, but in a pinch the bridge will work as it should (when not in a wifi area).
Battery thus far has been fairly good to me. I can get through a day of heavy use and not worry. I do wish they kept the larger 97XX battery - but understand that it was changed to thin out the design of the phone. It charges just as fast as the 97XX series devices, and it pretty much sucks the power directly from the Sun if you plug it into a Playbook charger(Not even kidding. I'm talking inside an hour from 5% to 100%).
The camera.. it's.. there. It's not the greatest, it's not the worst. Does it get the job done? Most of the time. Closeup(macro)? No. Not really. Scenes and general pictures? Sure. It's not a professional camera, so I don't (and never have) expect professional results. A little improvement would have been nice (maybe some auto focus), but there isn't much I can do about that now. Video (at 720p) in good lighting rocks. The sound and picture quality is outstanding given the shi......er questionable quality of the still camera.
Call quality is outstanding, and reception is never an issue unless you are 4 floors underground betting on Russian Roulette (or underground parking for the less adventurous).
Overall thoughts....... BEST BLACKBERRY EVER. Can't say enough about this phone. RIM turned up the heat on this one, and it came out a winner on all fronts. If they keep this up, we will see RIM once again dominating the universe with its Berries.
ASG
I have had my share of Blackberries over the years. I started with the ol 7290, up to the Pearl, Curve 8330, 8900, Storm, Storm2, Bold 9700, Torch, Bold 9780.... and now the behemoth 9900. (To be fair, I have also had the Palm Treo (WM5!!) HTC Touch, iPhone 3G, 3Gs, 4, HTC Sensation, and toyed with a Samsung Galaxy S II).
The weeks before the 9900 was in my hands were painful weeks. I had my 9800 sitting in a drawer with a fried radio, and my 9780 was driving me nuts. I needed something new from RIM or I was going to go batshit. I activated my iPhone4 out of spite, and like a sign from the RIM gods, the 9900 was in my hands a little over 10 days later.
This phone is a monster. If you read my pre-release review, you'll know where I'm going with this.
It's hands down the most beautiful and well built piece of smartphone hardware I have had the privilege to hold. Its heavy but not heavy, solid but not sterile, and functional in all aspects of its design. The screen resolution is a ball-hair shy of retina class, and the human eye would be hard pressed to know the difference. The keyboard is classic RIM. It just works, and it works better than any QWERTY I have used on any smartphone including my past RIM devices. It feels like a Flagship device should. Holding it next to a 97XX class device is like putting a Bentley next to a Honda Accord - Sure the Accord works like a champ and will last forever, but it's not a Bentley.
OS7 is a fresh take on the classic BBOS. It will be nothing for past BB users to pick it up and feel like they are somewhere familiar. It's fast as all hell, responds instantly to taps and commands, and I have yet to see that god-damned spinning clock except very briefly when an app is installed or the OS is just starting up. Bringing me to my next point, no more 10 min boots a-la Storm era phones. 45-60 seconds from power on and you are up and running.
The browser loads pages fast and accurately, and full-whack (non mobile) webpages are no longer the bane of many a smartphone users. HTML5 works like a charm, and you'd almost (almost) think that there was flash player loaded (It's not, as many people mistake. HTML5 pretty much gives you the flash experience without the Adobe program requirements). Connecting to WIFI takes mere seconds, and BIS loads up just seconds later, waiting is a thing of the past.
Bluetooth and Bridge are stable and nimble in this device. I quickly bridged to the PlayBook and kept it there all day without fail, however there are still some notification bugs with BBM and Email on the PlayBook (Nothing earth shattering or even important, just a minor hiccup). Bridge speed is not greatly improved even with the "4G" capability of the 9900, as it is choked by the limits of Bluetooth, but in a pinch the bridge will work as it should (when not in a wifi area).
Battery thus far has been fairly good to me. I can get through a day of heavy use and not worry. I do wish they kept the larger 97XX battery - but understand that it was changed to thin out the design of the phone. It charges just as fast as the 97XX series devices, and it pretty much sucks the power directly from the Sun if you plug it into a Playbook charger(Not even kidding. I'm talking inside an hour from 5% to 100%).
The camera.. it's.. there. It's not the greatest, it's not the worst. Does it get the job done? Most of the time. Closeup(macro)? No. Not really. Scenes and general pictures? Sure. It's not a professional camera, so I don't (and never have) expect professional results. A little improvement would have been nice (maybe some auto focus), but there isn't much I can do about that now. Video (at 720p) in good lighting rocks. The sound and picture quality is outstanding given the shi......er questionable quality of the still camera.
Call quality is outstanding, and reception is never an issue unless you are 4 floors underground betting on Russian Roulette (or underground parking for the less adventurous).
Overall thoughts....... BEST BLACKBERRY EVER. Can't say enough about this phone. RIM turned up the heat on this one, and it came out a winner on all fronts. If they keep this up, we will see RIM once again dominating the universe with its Berries.
ASG
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
I'm tired of this Goddamn Playbook
**DISCLAIMER** I wrote this out of frustration. I am not editing it in any way except for this disclaimer. I DO like the PlayBook, I seriously and honestly do. I am just frustrated with it. DEVELOPERS: Keep Developing. Give us a reason to want it more, to want two (for whatever reason), and if anything to throw it in iPad owners faces. RIM: Prove me wrong. That's not a challenge, that's a real request. Force me into a retraction. Make me love it again. I LIKE it.. but I want to love it.... Make it happen. **END DISCLAIMER**
I gave it a chance. I was there at 6am on April 19th waiting for it. I brought it home, and marveled in its construction, its feel, and its slick QNX operating system that we were promised would be the best thing to come out of RIM since the the first Berry rolled off the line many years back. I waited - Patiently - for the promised updates. I waited some more. Updates came and brought pretty much fuck all. [sarcasm] Airplane mode was nice, so was Demo mode or whatever it's called[/sarcasm]. I waited, and waited. 60 days came and went.. no native email and no useful calendar (Fuck you Bridge fans. I don't even wanna hear about how it works with Bridge - I KNOW and it's NOT ENOUGH).
"Shit my Blackberry is in the car but I need a phone number, I'll just check my Playb..... oh wait"
Yeah that happened too.
I hated on RIM pretty bad. I was sitting with a 9780 and a 9800 that were both due for the shredder, and nothing in sight from RIM. ENTER THE 9900! "ZOMG I LOVE RIM! I'M PRETTY SURE THIS PHONE WAS CAST FROM ANGEL TEARS!!!!!!"... Those were my thoughts for a few weeks, and don't get me wrong, I love my 9900. I personally think its one of the finest pieces of smartphone gear ever made.
That's not the subject at hand here. What I am here to discuss is the little engine that couldn't AKA the BlackBerry Playbook.
I'm done with this friggin thing. The hurry up and wait game is over, and I'm not looking back. It's a shame since the hardware and screen are unparallelled in the tablet world, but the OS and the lack of anything remotely useful aside from the browser makes it immediately worthless. It's like running a Ferrari 360 that's governed to 40kph. Its painful because I WANT to love this thing, I just can't. I side loaded the Android player a few weeks before a random RIM update nuked it, and I saw potential. Now today we get the news that pretty much any half decent Android app is going to be useless on the PB. Thanks RIM, we'd expect nothing less than another halfassed piece of software.
Today the value of a PlayBook dropped to "junk stock" status. Amazon just cloned it (with lesser specs, I know), and the price point they are launching the Fire at has pretty much put the PlayBook into the Endgame part of its short life. I hadn't written the PB off until this afternoon, but now that I have given it some thought, I firmly believe it's over.
2.0 should have come out the SECOND Amazon ended that press conference. It would have been a welcome "Fuck you Amazon, we got this" from RIM. Nothing came. Their (many) twitters went on about finding your ringtones and random shit about Adobe that no one really cares about. No mention of anything related to the curb stopming they just got from Amazon.
Goodbye PlayBook. You'll find a nice home in my closet, and perhaps one day... one day, you'll see the outside world once again.
ASG
I gave it a chance. I was there at 6am on April 19th waiting for it. I brought it home, and marveled in its construction, its feel, and its slick QNX operating system that we were promised would be the best thing to come out of RIM since the the first Berry rolled off the line many years back. I waited - Patiently - for the promised updates. I waited some more. Updates came and brought pretty much fuck all. [sarcasm] Airplane mode was nice, so was Demo mode or whatever it's called[/sarcasm]. I waited, and waited. 60 days came and went.. no native email and no useful calendar (Fuck you Bridge fans. I don't even wanna hear about how it works with Bridge - I KNOW and it's NOT ENOUGH).
"Shit my Blackberry is in the car but I need a phone number, I'll just check my Playb..... oh wait"
Yeah that happened too.
I hated on RIM pretty bad. I was sitting with a 9780 and a 9800 that were both due for the shredder, and nothing in sight from RIM. ENTER THE 9900! "ZOMG I LOVE RIM! I'M PRETTY SURE THIS PHONE WAS CAST FROM ANGEL TEARS!!!!!!"... Those were my thoughts for a few weeks, and don't get me wrong, I love my 9900. I personally think its one of the finest pieces of smartphone gear ever made.
That's not the subject at hand here. What I am here to discuss is the little engine that couldn't AKA the BlackBerry Playbook.
I'm done with this friggin thing. The hurry up and wait game is over, and I'm not looking back. It's a shame since the hardware and screen are unparallelled in the tablet world, but the OS and the lack of anything remotely useful aside from the browser makes it immediately worthless. It's like running a Ferrari 360 that's governed to 40kph. Its painful because I WANT to love this thing, I just can't. I side loaded the Android player a few weeks before a random RIM update nuked it, and I saw potential. Now today we get the news that pretty much any half decent Android app is going to be useless on the PB. Thanks RIM, we'd expect nothing less than another halfassed piece of software.
Today the value of a PlayBook dropped to "junk stock" status. Amazon just cloned it (with lesser specs, I know), and the price point they are launching the Fire at has pretty much put the PlayBook into the Endgame part of its short life. I hadn't written the PB off until this afternoon, but now that I have given it some thought, I firmly believe it's over.
2.0 should have come out the SECOND Amazon ended that press conference. It would have been a welcome "Fuck you Amazon, we got this" from RIM. Nothing came. Their (many) twitters went on about finding your ringtones and random shit about Adobe that no one really cares about. No mention of anything related to the curb stopming they just got from Amazon.
Goodbye PlayBook. You'll find a nice home in my closet, and perhaps one day... one day, you'll see the outside world once again.
ASG
Monday, 25 July 2011
Research in Motions PlayBook Repair Nightmare
To begin, I am not the one that sent anything in for repair, I am just posting this in hopes of getting some attention from the powers that be at RIM, and the general public.
An avid forum member at www.crackberry.com named Smakberry sent her PlayBook in for repairs due to a power issue. The device was dying, showing no charge when it has a charge, and only working when plugged into the wall. After going through the process of contacting RIM, getting an RMA issued, sending it in, and waiting... she received a reply... as copied below.
Thank you for contacting BlackBerry Technical Support. It has been a pleasure to work on this issue with you.
Our records indicate that you have an incident open with us that has not been resolved, (INC000023325205) .
This Incident is Regarding to a RMA service (Repairing service). The Repair Plant has determined that your PlayBook was deemed BER (Beyond Economical Repair) due to excessive liquid damage. As this is the case we have to option for you
1.To scrap the PlayBook at the Repair Plant, on site.
2. Have the Playbook returned to you unrepaired.
There are not fees for either option so let me know if you have any further questions. We will await your response on how you would like to proceed.
Ok. First of all, I'm not even going to start on the award-winning spelling and grammar in the email. That deserves an entire blog post of its own. The real problem is that they can't prove that there is any damage done to the device, as it was sent for service down in the South USA, and Smakberry is from Canada. At the very least, a picture or something as PROOF of liquid damage would be the VERY MINIMUM that RIM (or their 3rd party repair depot) should provide. Smakberry adamantly promises that it never got wet - and we believe her. Sure I know some readers may think that its a load of crap and it HAD to get wet... I disagree. After doing my time at an RMA facility, I can tell you that first; it's not a bunch of geniuses working at these places (Can you work a Torx driver and a case opener tool? Welcome aboard!). Second; The burden of proof lies solely on RIM to provide evidence of Liquid Damage given that the Playbook has no user accessible panels to remove and inspect themselves. Moisture strips don't cut it. A humid day can set those babys off and should NOT be the jury in denying a warranty claim - They should be used as a tool to investigate further ONLY.
Last point is that it's not RIM doing the work, its a 3rd party depot that probably fixes any number of electronics, has a quota, and gets paid whether they fix it or write it off. RIM needs to step up to the plate here, and not in the form of a poorly worded email sent in haste to tell a customer "Sorry, you're Fucked". Either provide proof, or replace the unit. IF there IS liquid damage, I want to see those pics so I can see if the battery leaked all over, in which it is RIM that is at fault for putting in a bad battery. Also if by some miniscule chance that they have proof of valid liquid damage, at the very least offer her a solution other than scrapping the goddamn thing.
If RIM can't provide any of the above, send her a PlayBook. Send it now, and make it snappy. RIM is walking a fine line when it comes to retaining customers, and the last thing they need is more bad press - and more unhappy customers.
FIX IT RIM. DO THE RIGHT THING.
ASG
An avid forum member at www.crackberry.com named Smakberry sent her PlayBook in for repairs due to a power issue. The device was dying, showing no charge when it has a charge, and only working when plugged into the wall. After going through the process of contacting RIM, getting an RMA issued, sending it in, and waiting... she received a reply... as copied below.
Thank you for contacting BlackBerry Technical Support. It has been a pleasure to work on this issue with you.
Our records indicate that you have an incident open with us that has not been resolved, (INC000023325205) .
This Incident is Regarding to a RMA service (Repairing service). The Repair Plant has determined that your PlayBook was deemed BER (Beyond Economical Repair) due to excessive liquid damage. As this is the case we have to option for you
1.To scrap the PlayBook at the Repair Plant, on site.
2. Have the Playbook returned to you unrepaired.
There are not fees for either option so let me know if you have any further questions. We will await your response on how you would like to proceed.
Ok. First of all, I'm not even going to start on the award-winning spelling and grammar in the email. That deserves an entire blog post of its own. The real problem is that they can't prove that there is any damage done to the device, as it was sent for service down in the South USA, and Smakberry is from Canada. At the very least, a picture or something as PROOF of liquid damage would be the VERY MINIMUM that RIM (or their 3rd party repair depot) should provide. Smakberry adamantly promises that it never got wet - and we believe her. Sure I know some readers may think that its a load of crap and it HAD to get wet... I disagree. After doing my time at an RMA facility, I can tell you that first; it's not a bunch of geniuses working at these places (Can you work a Torx driver and a case opener tool? Welcome aboard!). Second; The burden of proof lies solely on RIM to provide evidence of Liquid Damage given that the Playbook has no user accessible panels to remove and inspect themselves. Moisture strips don't cut it. A humid day can set those babys off and should NOT be the jury in denying a warranty claim - They should be used as a tool to investigate further ONLY.
Last point is that it's not RIM doing the work, its a 3rd party depot that probably fixes any number of electronics, has a quota, and gets paid whether they fix it or write it off. RIM needs to step up to the plate here, and not in the form of a poorly worded email sent in haste to tell a customer "Sorry, you're Fucked". Either provide proof, or replace the unit. IF there IS liquid damage, I want to see those pics so I can see if the battery leaked all over, in which it is RIM that is at fault for putting in a bad battery. Also if by some miniscule chance that they have proof of valid liquid damage, at the very least offer her a solution other than scrapping the goddamn thing.
If RIM can't provide any of the above, send her a PlayBook. Send it now, and make it snappy. RIM is walking a fine line when it comes to retaining customers, and the last thing they need is more bad press - and more unhappy customers.
FIX IT RIM. DO THE RIGHT THING.
ASG
Thursday, 30 June 2011
The Blackberry 9900
First off, I have owned RIM products since it was a massive blue brick with a clicky wheel that broke ALL-THE-FUCKIN-TIME.... I have owned Curves and Tours and Storms(fml), Torches and Bolds... They were all (minus the Storms and the blue bricks) half decent devices. My current full time device is a Bold 9780, and the HTC Sensation 4G (another bad-ass motherfucker that I'll write up next).
I recently got my hands on a 9900 for an hour or so. I had to do a few things before I was allowed some supervised alone time with the device though... I had to give up my 9780, my Playbook, my camera, and agree to a TSA style pat down. RIM doesn't fuck around anymore when it comes to not wanting anything else leaked for a pre-release device (I think they have their hands full with the people that have the thing and are showing it off like a new set of tits). Once the reluctant RIM employee handed me the device, I was faced with a crossroads..... A decision... Do I throw my coffee at the guy and run? Or do I behave and simply do a run thru... Option A had it's advantages and disadvantages (Fired, Jail etc)... While option B seemed pretty pussy-ish but more likely to result in a certain level of trust with RIM and any other pre-release hardware they might wave infront of me. B it was. I put my man card down and was ready to rock.
First of all... this thing has a feel to it that I have been dying for. It doesn't have the light, plastic-rubber faux leather Chrysler Cordoba feel... It's more like a solid, smooth, refined Porche feel. The aluminum bezel combined with the smooth carbon fiber back back and glass screen make it feel like a 'flagship' phone should. My 9780 is great, don't get me wrong.. but it's far from a flagship device. If anything, out of the current RIM lineup, I'd say the Torch (gasp!) has more of a flagship look and feel. The Bold needed this update.
Getting into the OS was like visiting familiar territory. Having come from using os 4.X back in the day up to os 6.X now... They made it an easy transition. Similar Icons, Menus, and feel to the system. The difference is the thing was fast as all hell. I'd swipe, it'd respond. I'd open something, it's actually open. I never saw that fucking clock that burned into my Torch screen ONCE. There was a slight lag when I was swiping thru the pictures, but I was swiping as fast as I could. I wasn't here to pussyfoot around this thing, I wanted to see what it did. I opened the browser, messaging, pictures, camera, setup, and anything else I could in an attempt to bog down the OS. It took it like a champ for the most part, with only a few slightly sluggish responses when I was hopping back and forth from app to app (I use the term sluggish loosely... It was still pretty fast, but when the thing opens up apps before my finger is off the screen in a normal situation, and now it took... oh a second or so.. it counts as 'sluggish'). Anyhoo... a solid OS from what I experienced.
Browsing was a treat. Fuck OS 6. Fuck it and the horse it rode in on.... Especially it's browser. This one actually worked. Pinch zoom worked like it should, fast and accurate. Flick scroll actually scrolled when flicked and didn't sit there like a red-headed step child waiting for the bus (I'm looking at YOU Torch). Tabbed browsing didn't bog down the OS or the browser, and the combo touch screen/trackpad combo made clicking links a breeze. It worked, and it's still in god damn beta.
Picture quality seemed pretty standard, solid performance and shutter speeds, low light shots or back lit shots still sucked ass like they do with any phone (or camera if you really suck at taking pics), and the video camera did what it should. I should note - auto focus while taking a video seems less retarded than it does on my 9780. My 9780 video autofocus loves to focus on carpets and grass while I'm trying to film something other than... well carpet or grass. The 9900 seemed to realize that taking vids of carpets was indeed not the intention, and focused well on whatever you were putting in the center of the shot. I can't comment on the HD video on a TV as the RIM guy wouldn't let me try it. Same goes with pics on a computer... I can't comment on their blowupability (new word!), but from zooming in on the phone, they seemed pretty decent.
The only thing I could connect it to via Bluetooth was my 700 series Blackberry headset. It paired like any other phone does - Quickly and without any fuss. Bridge was installed, but the RIM gatekeeper held onto my Playbook with iron fists, and as such I couldn't bridge it.
In my haste to go through as much as I could, I failed you readers... I didn't even look at the OS release numbers. I am sworn by an NDA to not disclose the Carrier, but fuck it... it was on Telus HSPA+(Canada). I did a lot more, but those are the highlights, and I'm just too damn lazy to write anymore. Sound off if you want to know anymore. I MIGHT be able to get my hands on it again, and if I bribe and beg.. MIGHT be able to actually take some pics, but I'd have to do some pretty low things to get a video, so I doubt that\s happening.
ASG
I recently got my hands on a 9900 for an hour or so. I had to do a few things before I was allowed some supervised alone time with the device though... I had to give up my 9780, my Playbook, my camera, and agree to a TSA style pat down. RIM doesn't fuck around anymore when it comes to not wanting anything else leaked for a pre-release device (I think they have their hands full with the people that have the thing and are showing it off like a new set of tits). Once the reluctant RIM employee handed me the device, I was faced with a crossroads..... A decision... Do I throw my coffee at the guy and run? Or do I behave and simply do a run thru... Option A had it's advantages and disadvantages (Fired, Jail etc)... While option B seemed pretty pussy-ish but more likely to result in a certain level of trust with RIM and any other pre-release hardware they might wave infront of me. B it was. I put my man card down and was ready to rock.
First of all... this thing has a feel to it that I have been dying for. It doesn't have the light, plastic-rubber faux leather Chrysler Cordoba feel... It's more like a solid, smooth, refined Porche feel. The aluminum bezel combined with the smooth carbon fiber back back and glass screen make it feel like a 'flagship' phone should. My 9780 is great, don't get me wrong.. but it's far from a flagship device. If anything, out of the current RIM lineup, I'd say the Torch (gasp!) has more of a flagship look and feel. The Bold needed this update.
Getting into the OS was like visiting familiar territory. Having come from using os 4.X back in the day up to os 6.X now... They made it an easy transition. Similar Icons, Menus, and feel to the system. The difference is the thing was fast as all hell. I'd swipe, it'd respond. I'd open something, it's actually open. I never saw that fucking clock that burned into my Torch screen ONCE. There was a slight lag when I was swiping thru the pictures, but I was swiping as fast as I could. I wasn't here to pussyfoot around this thing, I wanted to see what it did. I opened the browser, messaging, pictures, camera, setup, and anything else I could in an attempt to bog down the OS. It took it like a champ for the most part, with only a few slightly sluggish responses when I was hopping back and forth from app to app (I use the term sluggish loosely... It was still pretty fast, but when the thing opens up apps before my finger is off the screen in a normal situation, and now it took... oh a second or so.. it counts as 'sluggish'). Anyhoo... a solid OS from what I experienced.
Browsing was a treat. Fuck OS 6. Fuck it and the horse it rode in on.... Especially it's browser. This one actually worked. Pinch zoom worked like it should, fast and accurate. Flick scroll actually scrolled when flicked and didn't sit there like a red-headed step child waiting for the bus (I'm looking at YOU Torch). Tabbed browsing didn't bog down the OS or the browser, and the combo touch screen/trackpad combo made clicking links a breeze. It worked, and it's still in god damn beta.
Picture quality seemed pretty standard, solid performance and shutter speeds, low light shots or back lit shots still sucked ass like they do with any phone (or camera if you really suck at taking pics), and the video camera did what it should. I should note - auto focus while taking a video seems less retarded than it does on my 9780. My 9780 video autofocus loves to focus on carpets and grass while I'm trying to film something other than... well carpet or grass. The 9900 seemed to realize that taking vids of carpets was indeed not the intention, and focused well on whatever you were putting in the center of the shot. I can't comment on the HD video on a TV as the RIM guy wouldn't let me try it. Same goes with pics on a computer... I can't comment on their blowupability (new word!), but from zooming in on the phone, they seemed pretty decent.
The only thing I could connect it to via Bluetooth was my 700 series Blackberry headset. It paired like any other phone does - Quickly and without any fuss. Bridge was installed, but the RIM gatekeeper held onto my Playbook with iron fists, and as such I couldn't bridge it.
In my haste to go through as much as I could, I failed you readers... I didn't even look at the OS release numbers. I am sworn by an NDA to not disclose the Carrier, but fuck it... it was on Telus HSPA+(Canada). I did a lot more, but those are the highlights, and I'm just too damn lazy to write anymore. Sound off if you want to know anymore. I MIGHT be able to get my hands on it again, and if I bribe and beg.. MIGHT be able to actually take some pics, but I'd have to do some pretty low things to get a video, so I doubt that\s happening.
ASG
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