Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry devices and servers, are getting ready to kick another new model out the door - the BlackBerry Electron. It looks a lot like the 7290 in size and basic shape, but also appears to have features you typically see on the 7100 series.

The higher-resolution screen will be a welcome addition, and the idea of programmable keys is also something I'd definitely take advantage of.

And perhaps the best part: EDGE network capability. About time! Plus a speakerphone.

Only one thing more to hope for: Will it play MP3s and have a SD card slot? Well, we can always hope.

(via BlackberryCool)

Fellow IT-management type Alex Scoble posed a wireless question in the comments from a random post yesterday (one that pictured my trusty Blackberry 7290), which led to a short series of comments of back-and-forth on wireless voice/data coverage. After thinking about it some more, I realized that I'm asked this type of question often, so I figure I'll harvest some of the comments content and create a new post here. After all, it's all about the conversation, and besides now I'll have a link to email to people, heh...

The in-building wireless coverage problem can be the scourge of many an IT manager. In-building dead-spot complaints have been known to pressure many IT pros to dump otherwise good carriers to go with another one that may offer good service at their micro-location, but which doesn't meet the business' other, broader needs. Not to mention the fact that the cost of simply changing carriers can be quite expensive.

If you have an in-building wireless overage problem, don't automatically assume changing carriers is the best or only way to solve it. Instead, exercise your two key options: Call your carrier and tell them you need them to provide you with a solution, and/or think about finding one yourself.

One of our teams recently finished a three-month review of many of the mobile providers available here. First of all, it's important to know that each carrier emphasizes a slightly different market. While T-Mobile's pricing was attractive, honestly their coverage was lacking outside the metro areas, which was a problem for our specific needs. Their people are great, and where it works it works well, but the remote coverage was our concern. Nextel was similar to T-Mobile in that regard. Verizon and Cingular have the broader coverage fairly well nailed down compared to their competition (especially when it comes to worldwide coverage, which we care about), but they, too have frustrating coverage gaps and spots. We looked at the other carriers, as well. In short, they all have their good and not-so-good points, and each caters to a somewhat different set of business needs. Most importantly, it's important to note that no carrier is perfect, especially in-building. You will always have one employee (probably a justifiably important one) that can't make calls unless they (literally) walk down to the corner from their home and press their phone to the stop sign pole. That's just the nature of wireless service in the US right now, and hey - it's a big country.

Also keep in mind that the phones you buy can make a difference. quad- and tri-band phones allow you to roam off network when the carrier's network is not available, and typically help to allow good worldwide coverage. Make sure you research those kinds of needs closely. Also realize that if your carrier's network is available, it won't matter how many other bands and providers are available if the phone is "locked" or set to use only the preferred networks - so while you are evaluating, ask questions about this and play with the phone's software switches for network preferences.

So anyhow, from experience I always recommend choosing a carrier based on what they can do for you in the macro sense: Do they provide the level of coverage needed in the areas where you move and travel to do business? Is the price right? Get test devices for a couple weeks and do a real-world evaluation with real people - you'll find that coverage maps and sales people don't tell you everything you need to know. After you've weighed the options and chosen a carrier, you're often best off to look to specialized technology to provide good coverage in places like offices buildings and exec homes. And you might be surprised how low the costs can be.

For example, check out http://www.spotwave.com/ - I have had one of their SpotCell devices, which are quite good, for a couple years now, and I know they've made refinements and improvements since then. The SpotCell package uses a directional collector antenna to gather the signal, and a donor antenna to provide wireless coverage to the location where it's installed. It's pretty cool an can solve some serious dead-spot problems. I originally got one through AT&T Wireless (now Cingular) to solve a residential problem and was able to move it to another location for a while to solve a problem there. I actually need to call them and ask about an update for it for my area, and I can tell you from past experience that they are quite willing to provide excellent customer service when you contact them. If you're looking to outfit a smaller office or someone's home (under 5,000 sq. ft.), it may be worth the small-ish investment, since these devices start out at about $1000. Larger office buildings might need more than one coverage device, and the SpotWave people can quickly help figure that out. I also have another brand of wireless extension kit similar to the SpotWave technology (I'll have to climb up and look at it to see what brand it is), but it's not nearly as friendly or intuitive to set up. The SpotCell is so simple to make work, even a five year old could do it (well, except for the antenna mounting part I guess).

I am also told on fairly good authority that there are some IP-based in-building devices coming to the market that act as a mini/micro indoor-coverage site - you can just plug them into your Internet connection and they'll "talk" back to the wireless carrier via VPN or similar method. I know T-Mobile is working on them now and will probably announce something before too long. But the carriers are staying pretty tight-lipped about announcing availability right now for some reason, probably because they know they have to do it right the first time and support needs to be solid, which means fuzzy launch dates until it happens. That will be an interesting space to watch.

I've recently gone on a run of trying all kinds of new devices in the PDA/MobilePhone/Email-Enabled-Device arena. I have used various Blackberry devices for a few years now (and have been using the Blackberry phone devices since they were first born). I have occasionally moved to other devices to try them out and see if they would suffice for use in my work. Recently I undertook that sort of project, evaluating various mobile carriers and their networks and devices, so it's been a real gadget-land around these parts since around the first of the year.

I won't be writing about the networks and service providers (maybe some other time), but I did want to catalog some of what I encountered, the geeky part of the project: All these nifty mobile devices.

It's worth noting right up front that as a general rule, I've pretty much always been disappointed with more-than-just-a-phone devices whenever I've tried them, for one reason or another. My experience has been the same with most of this latest run of devices I have tested. Also, I wrote this entry/review over the course of the past couple months, going back to it periodically to document bits of my experience over time.

To cut to the chase, let me jump to the end of my story briefly: As of yesterday I am back (by choice) with a Blackberry phone from Cingular - the very same model of phone I had before this whole testing process started. It's a RIM 7290 device. And that's a choice I made after using a whole slew of what people say are the coolest, newest phone/PDA/email/whatever devices.

You know what they say - Once you've had Blackberry, you can never go backberry. Or, uh, something like that... Sorry. Bad joke. But it's true.

My recent device trials (and tribulations) have included the Audiovox 5600 smartphone running Windows Mobile 2003 from AT&T/Cingular (which has been the rage among bloggers the past several months - it's unofficial nickname is the "Scoble Phone") and the Blackberry 7100t phone from T-Mobile. I've also used the Blackberry 7100g (Cingular) and the PalmOne Treo 650, both from Cingular. Rounding out the list was the Siemens SX66 device, which has a slide-out keyboard and WiFi built in, running the PocketPC Phone Edition of Windows Mobile 2003.

In each case, there were things I liked about these devices, and there were things I didn't like.

Audiovox 5600 SmartPhone (running Windows Mobile 2003 - ATTWS/Cingular)

I'll give Audiovox kudos for making a really cool phone in the gadgety sense, but I have to give it lower scores in terms of it's practical utility. Keep in mind, I use this kind of device as a tool, one that I use constantly for communicating and staying in touch for work. The "Scoble Phone" has been hyped up as the only device you'll need to carry around, and it has all kinds of nifty things on it, like mobile MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, the ability to use Mini-SD cards for tons of extra storage, a built-in still/motion camera (of very mediocre quality), etc. But the software apps are a little glitchy, and I lost count of how many times this thing either reset itself or required me to pry the battery out of the back and replace it in order to get it started and working again. On top of that, while the geek/nifty factor is fairly high (I can see how Windows Mobile is a useful and appealing mobile OS), the practical/regular use score is low - it just doesn't work that well for me, beyond its simple use as a phone and SMS device. Text input is T9, which is cumbersome at best and impractical for work. Bluetooth for hands-free use worked somewhat reliably, but was problematic from time to time. Audio quality was good. It's small and compact and has a certain "neato" quality. But it doesn't allow me to quickly and efficiently communicate, except via voice calls. I handed it back. I liked the phone, but it didn't work for me, not even close. And by the way - as of the time of this writing, Cingular is not offering the phone on its web site.

Blackberry 7100t (T-Mobile) and 7100g (Cingular)

These two devices are essentially identical in terms of the guts and the software running on them, but the Cingular device has a better form factor and body/shell - It's a lot more solid, the keyboard is laid out better and is easier to use, and I get a strong feeling it would last longer than the T-Mobile model in a durability sense. Text input is a unique hybrid type - the keyboard has a standard qwerty style layout like all Blackberry devices, but instead of one letter per key like others by RIM, the 7100 series has two characters per key. It does the predictive text thing, a lot like T9 does on a mobile phone keypad, but it's considerably more accurate and a lot faster to type with. Making the move from a standard-keyboard Blackberry to this device takes a little getting used to, but after a few days I found myself fairly comfortable with the layout. Bluetooth hands-free functionality was flawless and reliable - better than the Audiovox phone. RIM figured out some good things with this device, but there are a few things missing that keep it from being a truly killer device: There's no MP3 support like you get in the other phones tested, and the ear-piece audio level at max volume is painfully quiet (a common complain with Blackberry phones that really needs to be addressed). There's no camera, and since this is a biz-class device, that makes sense. But RIM should really consider building a model with a camera option, an SD slot, MP3 capabilities, an MP3 voice recorder, MSN instant messaging (they included Yahoo! and AOL on this one, so why the heck not), and better audio capabilities (ring tones, music, etc). In fact, a Windows Mobile device that actually shipped with the vaporware (to date) Blackberry Connect software package would have me running for the store. But, progress is progress, and all in all the 7100 is a pretty good tool that makes some improvements on earlier models. But hey, put the standard RIM keyboard back, please - if it ain't broke, well - you know... I returned both these devices as they were loaners, but I'd recommend them to others, and a few people I know have bought these recently - and they're thrilled with them.

PalmOne Treo 650 (ATTWS/Cingular)

Topping out in the community's collective Bling! category is the PalmOne Treo 650, a nice looking and feeling PalmOS-based SmartPhone with lots of counterintuitive functionality and mediocre documentation. Now I remember why I left the PalmOS behind a few years ago. You'd think I'd have remembered, but sometimes we just need to be reminded. This is another phone with a so-so-quality camera built in (better in overall image quality than the Audiovox 5600, but with the same low 640x480 resolution). It has a full keyboard built on, which is arguably it's most redeeming factor, but in daily use the keyboard feels lumpy, klutzy and crowded compared to any RIM/Blackberry device I have used. The Treo uses a touch screen and a slide-out stylus for screen navigation, as well as a set of directional and select buttons. The screen is bright and contrasty, which is nice. Battery life is fairly limited when you're actually using it. Call audio is excellent, and is louder in earpiece volume when compared to the other devices mentioned here. The email setup and use of multiple email programs ranks a "so-so" score, and overall it was clunky to use. I can't count how many clicks, scrolls and stylus gestures/touches it took to do even the simplest activities. If I am sitting in a chair, have some time, and have both hands completely free and nothing else to distract me, I can use this device. But I don't want to. Returned to sender, can't recommend it.

Siemens SX66 PocketPC Phone (running Windows Mobile 2003 - ATTWS/Cingular)

I was excited about getting my hands on this device, and hopeful that it would meet my needs and satisfy the usability/utility requirements. I also hoped it would have Blackberry Connect software on it, as was advertised some places and rumored at others. It didn't have it, but I tried it anyhow. The first things I noticed was that I was able to use it with my Exchange server (the Audiovox device crapped out if I tried to use a "space" character in my password. I had thought [assumed] the inability to use a space in a password was a limitation of the OS, but this device proved me wrong). The screen on this thing is very nice, and the backlight is bright and contrasty. Bluetooth worked better than any of the other devices in hands-free mode, and the keyboard makes it more accessible and usable than the Audiovox device by far. But the keyboard's pimple-style chicklet bubble layout was painful to use in the real wold - keys are tiny and way too close together unless you;re six years old (probably not the target market). Battery life was pretty awful, especially if you use the WiFi at all. Even without using WiFi, the battery was dying on me regularly between charges, and since there's no USB charging with this thing I could not charge it in the car or anywhere convenient (You have to charge in the cradle, which is plugged into the wall via a power adapter, or you use the same wall plug adapter with a socket adapter to go straight to the device. So be prepared to be tangling the wall adapter cord up a lot to carry it with you everywhere, or else plan on a dead phone periodically - dumb). To top it all off, this morning I grabbed the device and went to turn it on, but it did not respond. Yet, the little green service light was flashing so I knew it had power to it. I pulled the battery put it back (the Windows Mobile version of CTRL-ALT-DEL), but still no response. I started driving to work and tried it again while I was stopped for coffee at the local store. Voila! Up it comes, but totally reset, nuked, blown away, default ROM settings - everything I had set and stored before was gone. Good thing the important stuff was on my SD card... I've read and heard rumors of serious software problems with this phone, and when you combine that with the lame keyboard that looks cool but isn't at all usable, well... Returned, with prejudice.

Back In Black - or, Right Black Where I Started From

So, as of this morning I am back running on a Blackberry 7290 phone with the latest, solid Blackberry software. This is the same model I gave up a few months ago to do the testing. Sure, it's not as fancy in many ways as the 7100-series, but it's got the best keyboard and it works, works, works. And probably the best test of all was this: Within one minute of picking this thing back up and setting a couple of device options to something other than BB's defaults, I suddenly found myself orders of magnitude faster and more productive than I was with any of the other devices I'd tried.

RIM got something right when they built the Blackberry. Then they added a phone to the device. Then they did this funky keyboard thing with the 7100 that works pretty well. It works, and it is usable.

There's a great book I've held onto for a few years now called "Don't Make Me Think" by author Steve Krug. It's all about usability (as related to web design, but that doesn't matter, the same concepts apply here). The reasons the Blackberry devices are all so good is because they are truly intuitive - I don't have to spend my time clicking and clicking and tapping and clicking just to try to find some simple function, and the user interface is so intuitive it becomes almost reflexive to use. RIM wins because their devices have utility. It's because they're reliable. It's because they're usable. I have confidence that RIM/Blackberry will keep that as their core philosophy, and so I am very much interested to see what will come next from the company.

But damnit, I still want to see and use a good, reliable phone that runs Windows Mobile latest edition, with Blackberry Connect software on it! PLEASE! There's a lot of room for growth, and it's not all about smaller, smaller, smaller, or geekier, geekier geekier... It's all about usable, usable, usable. Size is just one part of usability. Geeky is fun, but not always practical. Who will end up winning this game? Can't wait to see.

But for now, Blackberry's in the lead in my book.

I recently started carrying around a Blackberry 7290, which (aside from the fact that it’s an electronic leash) I like a lot. One of the complaints I have about it, though is a lack of anything beyond the stock, simple, same-old Blackberry ringtones. Well, as it turns out, you can add ringtones of your own. If you were to search the depths of the help file on the device, you’d find some information about this, but – I mean come on – who actually reads help files?

Now, granted, you’re limited to the relatively simple audio implementation supported by the Blackberry device, meaning MIDI files only – and you can’t play polyphonic sounds on these devices. But in Crackberryland, just having the ability to add my own personalized sounds is a welcome fix!

So, if you want to try it yourself – here you go. Keep in mind, I am working from the point of view of a being a RIM7290 user with service from AT&T Wireless – uh, I mean Cingular. So, that’s what you’ll see here. This should work with certain other models and service providers as well, but since I don’t have other devices to test with, you’ll just have to try for yourself. Feel free to comment here (see comment link at end) with your experiences.

Step One: Get your Blackberry’s web browser working – Hopefully you’re already good to go in this area. You’ll need to use the M-Mode browser and go to a page on the Internet that will provide you with the MIDI files.

Step Two: Find some good MIDI files – There are two common ways to do this, but ultimately this step involves simply downloading a MIDI file to your device from a location on the Internet:

Option A: Just find some random MIDI links and load them… One way to do this is to browse to a site that has links to MIDI files and just click the links. For example, point your Blackberry’s browser to http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/midi/?plain (found it searching on Google) and if your browser cooperates, you’ll be able to click on a midi file link:

Option B: Use a site that has lots of MIDIs and makes it easy (note - web addresses updated 3/2008)… Namely, you really can’t beat the amazing number of selections available at the Free Ringtone Heaven, and you can easily use this site to update your Blackberry’s ringtones. Browse to http://www.freeringtoneheaven.com in your computer’s web browser and find ringtones you want to try (there are more than 49,000 cataloged there). You can listen to the MIDI files on  your computer, but remember they will sound different (much simpler) on your Blackberry. Once you’ve found a few choice audio files, make note of their ID numbers and point your Blackberry’s M-Mode browser to http://www.freeringtoneheaven.com/wap.php (this link works on your Blackberry, but on your computer it may throw an error – this is normal). You’ll see a screen where you can enter the ID number of each MIDI file you want to load – one at a time:

Step Three: Listen to the files and save the ones you like to your Blackberry Device – It turns out when you launch a MIDI file, the Blackberry 7290 has a player for the format. As soon as it is downloaded, the MIDI file will start playing on the handheld.

You’ll see three round buttons in the Blackberry audio player – One starts the audio file, one stops it, and the other gives you an action menu – which includes the option to save the MIDI file to the handheld:

A couple of quick hints about MIDI files for the Blackberry:

• Dealing with file names can get kinda goofy on the Blackberry. I downloaded The First Noel and ended up with a sing called “Get” on the handheld – which is the name send down via the PHP app on the Icarus web server. Annoying, but there is a way to deal with it, you can rename the MIDI files as you are saving them – just move the cursor to the “File:” field in the Save File dialog (pictured above) and give the file a more meaningful name before you save it.
• Small MIDI files are usually simple MIDI files, and that’s a good thing for our purposes. Simpler – in terms of the number of instruments playing at once – will more often than not translate into better sound on the Blackberry, since it seems to play only one MIDI voice/channel at a time. Of course, so if you find a MIDI file you really like, you can always try it and delete it if it doesn’t sound good enough on the handheld.

You can delete audio files you don’t want any more by going to Profiles on the home screen, clicking the wheel once and choosing Show Tunes…

…and then highlighting the file name, clicking one more time, and choosing Delete from the menu. Bye-bye MIDI file.

You can choose where to use your new MIDI files just like you would any other Blackberry ring or alert tone.

That’s about it – enjoy!

My Blackberry phone device up and died on me as soon as I got to Hawaii a couple weeks ago (a blessing in disguise to be sure), so I got a replacement this week. The new one is the Blackberry 7290 model - the latest rendition of the smaller form factor devices with the full keyboard. It's nice. Have fun with an online tour here.

Want to add ringtones? Instructions here.

Some things I like about it:

• Nice, contrasty, clear color screen
• CallerID info is now big, bold and easy to read, and backlights itself for dark places
• A new Help icon on the home screen that works really well
• VERY bright back-light, and two-stages of brightness (hit the back light button once for half light, again for full brightness, again to turn off - cool)
• Color background images for the home screen and the "screensaver" mode, and a new icon on the home screen called "pictures" that I'll have to explore a bit
• Bluetooth (YAY!) (but no printed documentation in the box on how to use it - Go to the help icon on the device's home screen - that only took me a day to find... Once you enable and configure it in the device settings an icon is added to your home screen, as well)
• Quad-band radio on AT&T (850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS) means noticeably improved network coverage over other devices I have used
• USB charging and connector uses a standard USB cord with the itty-bitty plug on the device end, same as several other devices I use like my MP3 player
• Improved keyboard layout (subtle)
• Better information on the home screen - if I enable wireless calendar sync with Exchange for example, the icon on the home screen changes to indicate it's active in that mode. In vibrate mode, the profile icon (which is moved to the home screen, by the way - that took me another hour to find heheh) gets an overlay of - uhhhh - a vibrate gylph or something like that.

A couple of things are really bugging me, though:

• I can't get the RBRO code to work on the browser that's installed on this one. If I go to Google, I'd like to be able to choose to use HTML only. I'll have to play with this some more. Trying to view a larger HTML page results in an error that the page is too large to convert to "HDML" - whatever that is... That sucks, guys.
• The thumb wheel used for navigation is a little too stiff and slick compared to other BB models like the 7280 or 7780, which means my thumb slips a lot. I am sure I will adjust, it just bugs for now.
• Mine came with a version of the v3.6 desktop software in the box that needs to be updated to ensure wireless calendar works correctly. If you use it, get SP3a. Hmph.
• Still uses the old style ring tones. Come on, guys - polyphonic tones have been around for quite a while now - what's up with that? UPDATE: At least you can add your own simple MIDI files!
• Maximum volume on the earpiece is lower than on other models. It makes it harder to use in noiseier environments. But it's still adequate, just not as nice as other Blackberry phones I have used.

Other than that, I am pretty happy with this thing. It's (for the most part) a real improvement.

Update: ATTWS/Cingular customers with newer model RIM devices (like the 7290 for example) may find this method does not work. If so, call your service number and tell them you want them to activate your HTML browser on your device. It will be like wireless magic, and you'll be all set.

WAP browsing not working well for you? Feel the need to see the Google graphic when you go to do a search? Are the sites you're trying to browse simply broken when you try to view them on your RIM device in WAP mode? If you have a RIM Blackberry with the newer software, do this (mine's a RIM 7280 on AT&T Wireless, your mileage may vary):

1. Go to the M-mode web browser.
2. Choose Options.
3. On the keypad, type “RBRO” (without the quotes). An additional five or so menu items will appear.
4. Click on “Browser Configuration.”
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and look for the “Constrained Content Mode” field. Change this from “WML Only” to “Unconstrained.”
6. Click the wheel and choose “Save Options.”
7. Again, go to “Browser Configuration.”
8. Scroll down a few lines from the top to “Content Mode.” Change it from “WML only” to either “WML & HTML” or “HTML only” (your choice).
9. Click the wheel and chose “Save options.”
10. That's it. You can now browse HTML, graphics and all - just make sure your bandwidth allocations won't mean a big bill at the end of your billing month!