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
Showing posts with label Blackberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blackberry. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 October 2011
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
Thursday, 16 June 2011
The Result of the Playbook Heat Stress Test
I guess I should have started the last post with a disclaimer... I forgot... So here it is...
***DISCLAIMER***
DO NOT TRY THIS, DON'T DO IT, DON'T THINK ABOUT DOING IT, DON'T TRY A MODIFIED VERSION OF THIS TEST, DON'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT THIS IS EVER A GOOD IDEA TO EVEN FATHOM.
***END DISCLAIMER***
Ok. Now that that's over with, on with the show.
I wandered out to my truck to collect my Playbook and 9780 not really knowing what to expect. I REALLY wanted to just swipe down on the Playbook screen and have it come to life, and press the sleep key on the 9780 and have it greet me with the familiar home screen. NOPE! "Fuck" I muttered. I pressed the power key on the playbook... Nothing. "FUCK FUCK" I more vocally muttered. In a frantic, desperate attempt to breathe some life back into the Playbook, I plugged it into my Micro USB car charger... Nothing. At this point I didn't give a shit about the cooked 9780... I have two... And a Torch... One less means nothing....
For a minute I was ready to call it DOA... But wait.. In my initial attempts, I didn't notice that the thing was warm... Really warm still. I brought it inside and started a SLOW cooling process. I waited about 30 min before I tried to power on again, and this time I also did the "hold power button for 10 seconds, release, press again" routine, and the hard reset routine... Nothing.... "GOD DAMNIT". I went upstairs and decided to plug in the standard charger that it came with.... Nothing.
Before I continue.. I know lots of people probably think "Must-be-fuckin-nice to just cook $1100 in electronics and not give a shit". Well yeah, it is nice actually. However I don't have unlimited funds, and am by NO means rich. I just happen to have access to pretty much any device at almost any time, and can do pretty much whatever I want with them. Case in point - I'm on my 3rd Torch and 2nd Bold in less than 6 months.
Anyhoo, back to the results.
It seems all attempts at reviving the playbook had failed. The 9780 came back to life after it cooled down, but its battery was sitting on the red, and that's unheard of for the mighty 9780 after just one day. After charging it for about a half hour, I popped in my SIM and ran it through its paces. I made calls, browsed the net, connected WIFI and Bluetooth, and it all worked. Nothing can kill the Bold. Not even an Idiot that intentionally tries to.
"What was that?" I said to myself.....
There it was, out of the corner of my eye.... It was like looking into the eyes of a god damned angel.. The familiar off-Green pulse of POWER ENTERING THE PLAYBOOK!!!!!!
I flew across the room and hammered down on the power button. "Come on you little bastard START" I yelled like a Doctor trying to resuscitate a patient. The little red light blinked for a couple of seconds then went off like the eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield, and then I saw it. "Blackberry Playbook" snapped to the screen. "AAAAHAHAHA ITS ALIIIVE" I yelled. It powered on without a hitch, Bluetooth found my Torch, and I turned on WIFI which as usual found my network in no time. It worked. The son of a bitch worked.
Battery showed 54% and that's after charging it for who knows how long (one hour at max), so I figure it was pretty run down as well. Later that night it reached 100%, and now today after using it like a normal person should, the battery is sitting at 76% which tells me that the cells are doing exactly what they should.
There must be a "This guy's an idiot" protection sequence for when you push it too far. Just like the Torch won't charge when the battery gets too hot, I'm thinking the PB shut down after reaching a critical temperature. Who knows. I'll ask when I get the chance to talk to RIM again.
There you have it. They both lived, but not without a few scary hours of "I killed it" running through my head.
Hope you enjoyed my first of many adventures. No I won't be trying this with the iPad or iPhone... or ever again to be honest. However if I do leave any of the above on the front seat of my car this summer, I'll be sure to post the outcome.
Next post I'll be ranting about the RIM conference call on Earnings and forecasts. Stay Tuned.
ASG
***DISCLAIMER***
DO NOT TRY THIS, DON'T DO IT, DON'T THINK ABOUT DOING IT, DON'T TRY A MODIFIED VERSION OF THIS TEST, DON'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT THIS IS EVER A GOOD IDEA TO EVEN FATHOM.
***END DISCLAIMER***
Ok. Now that that's over with, on with the show.
I wandered out to my truck to collect my Playbook and 9780 not really knowing what to expect. I REALLY wanted to just swipe down on the Playbook screen and have it come to life, and press the sleep key on the 9780 and have it greet me with the familiar home screen. NOPE! "Fuck" I muttered. I pressed the power key on the playbook... Nothing. "FUCK FUCK" I more vocally muttered. In a frantic, desperate attempt to breathe some life back into the Playbook, I plugged it into my Micro USB car charger... Nothing. At this point I didn't give a shit about the cooked 9780... I have two... And a Torch... One less means nothing....
For a minute I was ready to call it DOA... But wait.. In my initial attempts, I didn't notice that the thing was warm... Really warm still. I brought it inside and started a SLOW cooling process. I waited about 30 min before I tried to power on again, and this time I also did the "hold power button for 10 seconds, release, press again" routine, and the hard reset routine... Nothing.... "GOD DAMNIT". I went upstairs and decided to plug in the standard charger that it came with.... Nothing.
Before I continue.. I know lots of people probably think "Must-be-fuckin-nice to just cook $1100 in electronics and not give a shit". Well yeah, it is nice actually. However I don't have unlimited funds, and am by NO means rich. I just happen to have access to pretty much any device at almost any time, and can do pretty much whatever I want with them. Case in point - I'm on my 3rd Torch and 2nd Bold in less than 6 months.
Anyhoo, back to the results.
It seems all attempts at reviving the playbook had failed. The 9780 came back to life after it cooled down, but its battery was sitting on the red, and that's unheard of for the mighty 9780 after just one day. After charging it for about a half hour, I popped in my SIM and ran it through its paces. I made calls, browsed the net, connected WIFI and Bluetooth, and it all worked. Nothing can kill the Bold. Not even an Idiot that intentionally tries to.
"What was that?" I said to myself.....
There it was, out of the corner of my eye.... It was like looking into the eyes of a god damned angel.. The familiar off-Green pulse of POWER ENTERING THE PLAYBOOK!!!!!!
I flew across the room and hammered down on the power button. "Come on you little bastard START" I yelled like a Doctor trying to resuscitate a patient. The little red light blinked for a couple of seconds then went off like the eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield, and then I saw it. "Blackberry Playbook" snapped to the screen. "AAAAHAHAHA ITS ALIIIVE" I yelled. It powered on without a hitch, Bluetooth found my Torch, and I turned on WIFI which as usual found my network in no time. It worked. The son of a bitch worked.
Battery showed 54% and that's after charging it for who knows how long (one hour at max), so I figure it was pretty run down as well. Later that night it reached 100%, and now today after using it like a normal person should, the battery is sitting at 76% which tells me that the cells are doing exactly what they should.
There must be a "This guy's an idiot" protection sequence for when you push it too far. Just like the Torch won't charge when the battery gets too hot, I'm thinking the PB shut down after reaching a critical temperature. Who knows. I'll ask when I get the chance to talk to RIM again.
There you have it. They both lived, but not without a few scary hours of "I killed it" running through my head.
Hope you enjoyed my first of many adventures. No I won't be trying this with the iPad or iPhone... or ever again to be honest. However if I do leave any of the above on the front seat of my car this summer, I'll be sure to post the outcome.
Next post I'll be ranting about the RIM conference call on Earnings and forecasts. Stay Tuned.
ASG
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Playbook Heat Stress Test
I figured that the majority of us are working our asses off every day, and many of us will take our beloved devices with us in our cars and make the daily haul to our jails...er work. I'm sure many of you also occasionally leave whatever you don't have strapped to you in your car for the majority of the working day. I know in the mornings I can barely put my pants on, let alone remember to bring everything from the car to the office, and have often left a laptop or tablet and RARELY but sometimes my Blackberry/iPhone. I generally put all this extra crap in the back seat floor - so as to be both out of the sun and away from prying eyes. But what if... what if we left something like a Playbook or an iPad out in the direct sunlight on a scorcher of a day? Well we shall find out today my friends.
I charged up my Playbook and my spare 9780 last night, and am currently putting them to the test. The Playbook is powered on, Bridged to the 9780, and both are sitting on my dashboard. Outside temperature about two hours before I wrote this is 91 Degrees, and inside my truck it's more like 115-120 (black leather does that and beyond). Add to that the sun absorbing Black material both the Bold and the PB are made out of, and the actual device temperatures are extremely high(I went to take the pic I tweeted earlier, and both devices were hot as hell... to the point of being unable to handle). Will they survive? Will the battery cells cook beyond all recongition? Will the Bluetooth Bridge stay connected? What about an auto-protect mode? We shall see what happens. I really don't want to go get a new tablet, and to be honest I forgot to back the damn thing up last night, so I'm hoping all ends well. The test began at the official sunrise time here in Toronto - 05:39, and I am ending the test at the official 'sunset' time - 21:01 Eastern as per Environment Canada.
ASG
I charged up my Playbook and my spare 9780 last night, and am currently putting them to the test. The Playbook is powered on, Bridged to the 9780, and both are sitting on my dashboard. Outside temperature about two hours before I wrote this is 91 Degrees, and inside my truck it's more like 115-120 (black leather does that and beyond). Add to that the sun absorbing Black material both the Bold and the PB are made out of, and the actual device temperatures are extremely high(I went to take the pic I tweeted earlier, and both devices were hot as hell... to the point of being unable to handle). Will they survive? Will the battery cells cook beyond all recongition? Will the Bluetooth Bridge stay connected? What about an auto-protect mode? We shall see what happens. I really don't want to go get a new tablet, and to be honest I forgot to back the damn thing up last night, so I'm hoping all ends well. The test began at the official sunrise time here in Toronto - 05:39, and I am ending the test at the official 'sunset' time - 21:01 Eastern as per Environment Canada.
ASG
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