MyBlackberryWorld

Blackberry App World is coming to Malaysia

2010-01-21T11:39:00.001+08:00

Good news for Celcom users! App World is expected to roll out within the next 1-2 months! I haven't had an announcement from Maxis yet but I'm quite sure they'll follow suit.

Source:

At a recent press conference with Celcom Axiata, the company said that it will soon make available the Blackberry App World in Malaysia.

Senior vice-president for marketing Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin told the media that Celcom is currently working closely with Research In Motion (RIM) to make available the Blackberry Apps store in Malaysia. He expects that to be completed within one to two months.

Zalman added that at the moment, the Celcom Channel X portal currently has about 4,000 Blackberry apps for download.

Celcom has a 52% Blackberry market share in Malaysia and it is currently the largest Blackberry seller in the South-East Asia. The company targets to sell at least 70,000 Blackberry devices this year.

Blackberry Bold 9700 Review

2009-12-01T00:43:00.000+08:00

There have been quite a few reviews on the Bold 2 9700, but thought I would share my own personal thoughts of it especially in relation to its use in Malaysia and a direct comparison to its predecessor the Bold 9000. To avoid confusion I would refer to each of the Bolds by its model number.

Looks: Size & Weight:

The 9700 does look quite sleek but doesn't push any design boundaries sticking very firmly to its Blackberry roots. Rubberized buttons, chrome finish and a leather backing still makes it feel like a premium phone but it doesn't stand out as much as a phone say like the Droid. In fact it looks very similar to a Tour + Curve combined.

The 9700's size has been shrunk a lot and is now just very slightly longer than the Curve 8900 (in fact unless you put them side by side, you won't see the difference). It is a HUGE difference from the 9000.

Weight of the 9000 is 136 grams while the 9700 is slightly lighter at 122 grams. Holding it in your hands, it's hard to tell the difference except that the 9700 feels a lot more 'dense'.

: 9000 on the left, 9700 on the right

: Back view. Both using the leather backing.

: As you can see the 9700 is slightly thinner

: The memory card slot is only accessible once you take off the cover on the 9700. It's that groove in between the camera and flash.

Minor gripe is that unlike the 9000, the 9700's memory card slot can only be accessed when taking off the battery cover. The 9700's battery cover mechanism is a simple sliding mechanism as compared to the 9000's dual clips but the 9700's cover still fits snugly without rattling and makes those battery pulls a lot easier.

Keyboard:

The keyboard has been shrunk slightly and those who are used to the 9000's plush keypad will find that it takes a while to get used to the 9700's. However it is worth noting that the 9700's keyboard occupies almost the entire width of the phone as compared to the 9000 which still has a chrome edge, so you aren't losing as much as space as you would think.

Tactile wise, there's a good bounce to the keypad, similar to the 9000 and typing is a pleasure and feels less plasticky than on the 8900 or the 8520 .

Trackball vs Trackpad:

This is an obvious win for the 9700. The first few seconds felt weird when you were used to feeling a sphere for rolling about but the trackpad works VERY well. Slight strokes were detected and it was a lot more responsive than the trackball. No more dirt and grime to ruin your experience and no more replacement trackballs.

After a few days of use, you realize how it changes your experience of your Bold positively and to me is a significant step forward.

Battery Life

This was another very pleasant surprise. Now the Bold 9000 and 9700 use the exact same battery. For testing purposes, I used my 9000 battery inside my new 9700 one just to see how much of a difference it would make. Previously on OS5.0, the 9000 would last maybe about 14-16 hours before going into the red with moderate use. Now this jumps DRASTICALLY with the 9700. Using the exact same 1500 mah battery, it lasted past the 20-22 hour mark with moderate to heavy use with 3G on. In fact I think it might have gone well past 24 hours but I decided it was best to charge it to prepare for the upcoming day. This is pretty amazing considering it packs the same processor and it's on 3G.

The 9700 also seemed to get a lot less hot than its predecessor which sometimes can feel a bit toasty.

Call Quality/3G Signal

Nothing that notable here. Similar sounding to other Blackberry phones. It is perhaps a little clearer as the ear piece is less depressed as compared to other Blackberry models. I haven't had extended time to test whether calls are dropped but as of yet, no dropped calls yet.

I found something particularly peculiar. Whenever I streamed Youtube or Flycast my connection to the Blackberry servers will cut off but the streaming will go on with no issues. Once the youtube video ends, it would resume the 3G connection after a short wait. Not sure if this is a telco, OS or hardware issue. I had similar issues with the 9000 so perhaps it's a telco issue.

Speaker

The sound from the speakerphone seems slightly inferior to the Bold's sounding slightly more tinny and had a more 'echoey' effect. This is probably a result of the shrinking of the form factor. It is however still decent and can be used for casual listening.

OS5.0 and Responsiveness

I won't cover this too much here as I have done so in my previous post but compared to the 9000 running on OS5.0, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did seem a tad snappier and more responsive than the 9000 despite it running on similar hardware. I believe I can attribute this to the 9000's OS5.0 build still being a beta unreleased version while the 9700 being a more refined version.

Browser did feel more snappy with it loading pages with no issues.

I did notice that the Blackberry Messenger now allowed you to decide which size to send your pictures in (something I did not notice previously on my 4.6 build which forced you to send in full resolution) which is a very important and nice touch. Having already wiped my previous Bold of all data, I am unable to test if that BBM had a similar feature.

Camera

The pictures the 9700's 3.2 megapixel camera takes are pretty respectable and performs its job well. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Last pic is a low light picture taken at 6.40 PM.

Screen

Screen is luscious with it boasting a 480x360 resolution (same as the 8900 curve and the Storm 2) which is up from the 9000's 480x320 resolution. Ultimately this to me makes little difference as the screen is too small to actually notice such minor differences.

New Buttons

There's now 'buttonless buttons' on top of the 9700. The left one locks the keypad while the right one sends the device into standby. A nice touch but I remembered accidentally putting the phone on standby and looking all over for the Mute button. Yes, real men don't read manuals...

Price Currently

The 9700 is available in Malaysia from unofficial sources ranging from MYR2500-3000. Prices are similar in Singapore. Prices are continuing to climb as demand shoots up. I bought mine at MYR2700.00. Frankly this is way too much to pay for a slight revamp of the 9000. I expect prices to be a lot lower once Celcom and Maxis officially release it though there has not been a price indication so if you are not in a hurry, I suggest you wait.

For reference when the Bold 9000 was first released it was at RM1800.00 and then price increased to RM2.2-2.4k.

Conclusion

The Bold 9700 is a good update improving on all of its predecessor's shortcomings (browser is still not perfect but has improved). However it also does not introduce anything really new or revolutionary and hence cannot be considered a 'must-upgrade'. I would however recommend this highly for anyone moving from the older 8xxx series or are new to Blackberries. The Bold 9700 provides a stellar 'Blackberry' experience with no major gripes besides its currently high price.

Pros:

Amazing battery life
Great trackpad experience
No obvious flaws
Good responsiveness
Camera is pretty respectable

Cons:

Currently expensive price
Nothing revolutionary, just an update of the Bold 9000
Still needs a new browser
Smaller keyboard might not suit those with big fingers

How to Reset your Blackberry - without taking out the battery!

2009-04-16T16:02:00.002+08:00

Quite a few people have asked me on how to reset your blackberry without pulling out your battery. Powering off your Blackberry and turning it back on is not the same thing. It merely puts it in a sort of 'standby' mode.

The key combination you need is the following:

Left-Alt + Right Shift + Delete

Remember to hold the preceding keys until you see the device reboot!

The reboot takes QUITE a while so don't panic!

Always good to reset your Blackberry now and then to clear up application memory!

A few people have also discovered the application in newer Blackberry OSes, called Memory Cleaner. The purpose of this Memory Cleaner is not the same as a reset but functions as a privacy mechanism to delete data that may contain sensitive info from the device such as browser caches and clipboard data.

Sync your Blackberry Calendar with Google!

2008-11-29T18:52:00.002+08:00

Looks like Google now has developed a nifty app for Blackberries!

BlackBerry mobile devices
If you carry a BlackBerry smartphone, Google Sync for BlackBerry synchronizes your device's native calendar with Google. You can access your Google Calendar even when you don't have network coverage and get alerts for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration. It automatically runs in the background, so you can attend to other tasks and still be reminded of your appointments.
Features

Synchronize your contacts. Get your Gmail contacts quickly and easily to your BlackBerry smartphone. With Sync, you can have access to your address book at any time and place that you need it.

Get calendar alerts. Using your BlackBerry smartphone's native calendar, you can now access your Google calendar even when you don't have network coverage, and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration. It automatically runs in the background, so you can attend to other tasks and still be reminded of your appointments.

Always in sync. Your calendar and contacts stay synchronized whether you access it from your computer or your phone. You can add or edit contacts or calendar entries right on your BlackBerry smartphone or on your Google account on the web. Synchronize one or many calendars at the same time.
Source: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/

I haven't got to try it yet due to my Bold going for repair (sweaty thumbs + trackball never a good idea).

Blackberry Bold 168 OS Beta Release in the wild

2008-11-05T11:30:00.004+08:00

There's a Beta 4.6.0.168 Bold OS out which reportedly solves further memory issues on the 162 build. Google "4.6.0.168" and you will find the link to download the OS.

Please do not do this unless you know what you are doing!

The 162 build has been pretty stable though there are some memory leaks that require a reboot after about a week and a half.

Will keep everyone updated on the status of this OS version. Here's hoping browsing would be better!

Celcom/Maxis Service Disruption

2008-10-23T12:01:00.003+08:00

There is currently a service disruption with 3G and 2G as confirmed by a Celcom representative due to certain upgrades they are performing.

Thus, even though you may be shown as 'connected' to the network, you may find that you are not able to perform any data related tasks including e-mail and surfing.

No ETA has been provided as of now.

Update: Apparently Maxis were also having issues.
Update: This has been resolved

Reuben's Overdue Blackberry Bold Review (and why you should get one)

2008-10-17T15:10:00.003+08:00

Right, a pretty overdue Blackberry Bold review which has been probably done to death but I'm finally comfortable in writing a review after using it for several weeks and given time for problems to crop up.

I'll keep it more based on personal experience rather than the Bold's features which have been overdone already.
Pros:

Amazing screen, crystal clear and probably the best screen on a mobile phone at this point in time
A lot more responsive with the faster processor than the Curve and the extra memory seems to help with running more programs at once (especially IM applications which hung constantly on my Curve).
Camera is clearer than the Curve although technically the same.
Rock stable (see proviso in Cons later) and has not crashed for more than 2 weeks
Great connectivity options with Wifi, 3G, EDGE and GPRS.
Call quality has improved on the Curve
Speaker quality is also decent now so you can actually listen to music without headphones (not great but hey, sometimes you just want some background music and not have crappy tinny sound coming out).
Price has dropped from initial estimates during the offer period it was in the low RM2000s and now it's in RM2499 from Celcom though I believe there are some discounts available for new accounts. Makes it more compelling to go for the Bold instead of the initial estimate of RM2800.
Looks extremely sexy
Updating the OS took a lot shorter (maybe about 15 minutes instead of the half or hour or more on the Curve).
In my opinion the best Blackberry out at the moment

Cons:

The OS (version 4.6.0.126) is pretty flaky out of the box which crashed repeatedly, had immense battery issues (certain days it would die within one afternoon), and constant 'hangs'. This OS is shipped by default in both Celcom and Maxis Bolds. This to me was a very bad thing as it gave people a bad impression of the Bold especially since it's only a minority of users who know how to upgrade their BB OSes. Staff from the telcos also seemed to be generally oblivious to this. Upgrading to the current 162 build (which is not even available from Celcom/Maxis' website but a third party site (crackberry.com) solved all these issues.
Battery life is slightly worse than the Curve with 3G on. On light use, with 3G on it can last about 2 days without charge but on regular use it would fall flat in about a day or so. It will definitely last the day and it's still decent considering the power packed in the device. Running the media player is also extremely battery consuming.
Browsing experience has improved with better support in displaying websites in its intended nature but still sluggish in loading as compared to the Iphone despite the 3G speed. Still decent enough for general usage but it's not too fun to use.
Media functions have improved but still not as intuitive as the Iphone's. Also codec support is still not all-encompassing with divx files being a hit or miss. In most cases you would still need to do encoding conversions. Processor still not powerful enough for full sized DivX/Xvid videos. This may be just a hardware limitation on phones in general at this point in time rather than a flaw.
Default Headset quality was poor with a tinny sound on music though it was comfortable on the ears.
Youtube does NOT work on Celcom's network. Unsure about Maxis' network but unless you are going through wifi, Youtube is confirmed as non-working. Celcom is working on a resolution and they are not the only telco experiencing this problem. This is a Network issue rather than a Bold problem but really disappointed me as I really wanted to youtube while I was waiting for things.
For some reason I didn't really like the leather at the back as I was also afraid of scratching it with my fingernails and kinda became sticky with my sweaty hands a lot faster ;P Minor quibble.

Conclusions

The Bold is a gorgeous device and I absolutely love it. However if you were looking for a lifestyle device, then the phone will probably disappoint in this regard when compared to the Iphone though it has done a decent job at it.

It has covered all the previous weaknesses of the Curve and improved on it but there is still room for improvement on its Media functions.

Also the Telcos should be more proactive about updating their OS versions on their phones or at least inform people of this option. People expect their phones to work out of the box and mind you that most people will not update their OS versions so their experience is based unfairly on poor software (which has already been rectified) on what is otherwise a great phone.

Orange UK puts Bold on hold?

2008-10-11T11:31:00.005+08:00

The lads from MobileTechAddicts scored an Orange UK internal statement that says:

" Following reports of software issues with the BlackBerry Bold handset across a variety of mobile operators, Orange has decided to act in the interest of its customers by suspending shipments of the device in the UK. We are currently awaiting feed back from RIM as to when an industry wide fix for these issues will be in place, and expect this suspension to be an interim measure.We apologise for any inconvenience this issue may cause you.BlackBerry/RIM are doing everything they can to resolve this issue and will be completing full testing and validation to ensure future handsets do not have any quality issues. This may take a couple of weeks so it’s up to us to do what’s best for our customers."

I would love to know exactly what these "software issues" are. I hope it has something to do with the delay/lag/unavailability of contacts experienced with BlackBerry Messenger, the occasional call failures, random reboots and data connection timeouts, that have been reported. That means it will be addressed soon... I do suffer the BBM delay/unavailable contact issue and it's beginning to be a PITA! It seems the problem is present on both Celcom and Maxis networks, so can't single out one carrier or pin the blame on network configuration.

Using Bold as a Bluetooth modem with MacBookPro!

2008-09-27T22:34:00.007+08:00

Ok so the picture isn't very clear but you may be able to make out that I'm connected to the internet on my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.5.4) via a Bluetooth connection with my Bold (4.6.0.147)

You need to use the modem script for the Curve which you can find here together with some setup instructions.

Since I am running on Celcom, the telephone number should be "celcom3g" and the account name is "guest" and password is also "guest".

I'm not sure if it works with a Bold on the Maxis network but it should. At any rate,I know the telephone number should be "unet" but I'm not sure about the username and password. If someone on Maxis can confirm that it does work, that would be great. Also don't forget to tell us what accountname and password to use.

Many thanks to my mate Moorey, the proprietor of the best Apple Authorized Reseller in Kuching; IT Fusion for the heads-up!

Celcom Bolds have arrived in Kuching!

2008-09-24T23:47:00.004+08:00

Celcom-Vodafone Bold's began trickling into Kuching Tuesday, albeit in small quantities.

A few folks who had pre-ordered their Bolds received them late afternoon. More will undoubtedly follow, so lets hope the trickle turns into a raging river of Bolds!

One thing I noticed was that the Bolds had OS 4.6.0.126 which is somewhat old. I upgraded my units to 4.6.0.147 immediately as it seems to be more stable and have greater battery life as well (according to a person who should know; he had his Bold run out of battery by 2:30 p.m. once).

Unfortunately, Celcom Bolds do not come with Skins as free gift (darn it.. I did try!) but it does have the usual leather pocket sleeve that comes standard. Better then nothing I suppose.

Javelin review by crackberry.com

2008-09-21T00:18:00.008+08:00

Crackberry.com has done another great review of a yet to be released device; the Javelin.

We hope to see this sweet little device in Malaysia not too far in the future. I have personally seen an engineering set a few weeks back and it does look sweet. Click here to read about my little encounter.

To read more about crackberry's in-depth review, click here

Maxis requirement satisfied

2008-09-20T22:50:00.005+08:00

It's been a hectic week for me but it looks like we're out of the woods for now.

A last minute PO from Maxis will be satisfied once the second and final delivery is made on Monday for a quantity of authentic BlackBerry skins for the Bold and the Curve.

If you're on of those that booked a Maxis Bold and you receive a free skin when you collect your device, just remember, it's from Soleen Strategies stock. I hope to continue to satisfy all your BlackBerry accessory requirements in the future.

Baha

Problems with "crossover" to the new site

2008-09-18T23:12:00.004+08:00

I'm somewhat gutted. Having implemented the integration of the myblackberryworld blog with my new corporate website (www.soleenstrategies.com), I have discovered that people who have bookmarked my site as myblackberryworld.blogspot.com are unable to access it as the redirect isn't working properly. I'm not sure why.

I hope my viewers will realize the confusion (we're not offline, we have just relocated) and come back to the site again. I was under the impression that blogspot would redirect to the new site, but despite me checking and double checking the settings, it doesn't seem to be doing it. I'm gutted.

Javelin sells on eBay for USD17,100.00!

2008-09-18T14:03:00.005+08:00

Wow this is crazy! USD 17,100.00 which translates to about RM59,217.30

If I had known this, I would've grabbed the engineering set I was playing with in Celcom and ran out of the building. The things I could've done with RM59K let me tell you!

We've gone live! Well.. almost...

2008-09-15T21:38:00.007+08:00

In line with a complete overhaul of our corporate image, I'm glad to report that our new website is ALMOST ready for prime time.

A few tweaks left to do though, a few linking problems and also the keyword search is not yet functioning, but otherwise, we're good to go.

We hope to have a proper database up and running soon where you can see the full range of our products. At present, we don't have any facilities that will cater for online purchases, but perhaps we will see to that in the not too distant future.

If you spot any problems or if you have any constructive criticism, please feel free to email us. We are constantly trying to evolve, adapt and overcome in order to serve you better.

Baha

Kuching launching of Celcom Bold

2008-09-11T13:03:00.005+08:00

Celcom Bigwigs were in town yesterday to officiate the launching of the BlackBerry Bold held at the Blue Cube outlet in The Spring Mall in Kuching.

Officially retailing for RM2499 but if you pre-order, it will be yours for the low price of RM2188 but only during the pre-order period. So better get your skates on folks!

I won't bore you with the usual tech specs of the Bold, I believe, there has been enough press coverage about this iconic device already.

Hopefully, stocks will begin to "trickle" in starting sometime next week; naturally, Sarawak is not top of the list but I hope that we're not too way down the list. Apparently, outside KL/Selangor, Sarawak is the 2nd highest growth area for BlackBerrys in Malaysia...Wow!

RIM introduces the Pearl 8220

2008-09-11T12:34:00.006+08:00

It's official! RIM has announced the "Kick Start" under the designation Pearl 8220. No definite word yet on when it will be available in Malaysia but Q1 sounds more realistic.

This BlackBerry is definitely targeted at the "younger" generation with it's compact and stylish design. I may even get one to replace my 8110 as my "backup" BlackBerry...

Read more here

The new and improved...

2008-09-08T10:00:00.003+08:00

Hi there,

You've probably noticed a big difference in the site. I have decided to integrate the blog into my new corporate website for my company; Soleen Strategies Sdn Bhd.

Soleen Strategies has been appointed by Z3 as the reseller for authentic BlackBerry accessories for Malaysia and in line with this development, we have decided to overhaul our entire corporate image.

The corporate site is still rather "skeletal" at the moment, please bear with us while we get the site running 100%. Scanning images and adding content can be tedious but we're on it

Baha

Otterbox Defender series for the Bold

2008-09-03T23:28:00.014+08:00

Coming soon! An OtterBox product especially for the Bold and I am definitely going to get this for myself and also try and push this to one of the retailers to sell to the Malaysian BlackBerry toting public.

Price is set at USD49.95 if you buy from their website at www.otterbox.com but you have to factor in shipping and possible excise duty, so it's going to be quite expensive.I usually can get it cheaper and if the interest from the public is there (resulting in the retailers wanting to carry it), I can import large quantities to lessen the cost to the consumers.

And let the battle begin...!

2008-09-03T23:14:00.004+08:00

As you may know and seen the ads in the papers, Celcom and Maxis have both launched the new Bold! They seem to be falling over themselves to see who can outdo the other in terms of marketing, advertising and of course price! The winner will be the consumers; folks like you and me.

Even though the Bold was "launched" 2nd September, it will not actually be available for sale until 15th September and then only in limited quantities and with a long waiting list on both carriers, it may be a while before it reaches Sarawak in sizable quantities. But it's coming nevertheless!!

Price? Expect a war here. Celcom is releasing it at RM2499 but for Celcom PowerTools customers only (corporate lines), then shortly after, Maxis announces it's going to sell it for RM2199 to personal and corporate users!

Expect Celcom to counter somehow.... and the winner will be?? You and me!

Mobile Number Portability

2008-09-03T11:46:00.004+08:00

This was announced last week but due to my hectic schedule, I was unable to mention it here.

Right now, it's only available in the Klang Valley for pre-paid customers only. Come October, it will be available nationwide and for post-paid customers as well. Basically, this will allow subscribers to change their carrier while still keeping their current mobile number, which is a great thing; gives the consumers choice and pressures the carriers to improve their quality of service as consumers are able to switch for merely RM25/-

A few things to ponder here; is this service available for BlackBerry users? You probably have to reconfigure your account with the new carrier's BlackBerry website. Will the old carrier automatically release your PIN from the network?

I'm quite excited about this as I have a few numbers on different networks that I would like to switch to a new carrier. As Malaysians, we also have to t stop looking at the "carrier" prefix as a means of identifying which network a person belongs to.. that could be confusing at first. I know it will be for me!

Be Bold. With Celcom

2008-09-03T11:39:00.003+08:00

September 2nd was launch day for the BlackBerry Bold by Celcom in KL.

Before you all go out running to the nearest Celcom dealer or a Celcom center, please note, the LAUNCHING was on the 2nd, the actual devices will not be available until September 15th!

I do advise you to go and put your name down on the waiting list though. The list is long and growing longer as the days go by; the Bold is causing a tremendous stir in the Malaysian smartphone market. I believe, on Maxis, it is also the case. So regardless of which network you're on, if you want the Bold, sign up now!

The Definitive Bold review by apcmag.com

2008-08-13T21:11:00.004+08:00

This is one in-depth review so check it out here!

I pretty much agree with it, especially with the part about the screen. You have to see it to believe it folks!

Not long more to wait.. so be patient OK?!

Celcom Kuching GPRS Interruption...yet again

2008-08-07T17:35:00.004+08:00

As at 5.30 PM, for the 2nd or 3rd time in less than a month, Celcom's Blackberry GPRS service dies yet again in Kuching. According to Baha, his 3G service died as well.

This does not seem to be affecting those in W. Malaysia. Have tried to call Celcom for news but have not been able to get through.

Will keep everyone posted.

To Celcom: Many of your users have gone past the point of anger to just apathy. The Blackberry service that was promoted as an essential tool for the business user has turned out to be far from that with its frequent outages which reflects very badly not only on your company but on us as well who have promoted your service to our friends and colleagues. I highly suggest the implementation of a status page at the very least with some form of official announcement as to outages. At the very least, we know what to fume at. In any case, the service level is simply unacceptable.

Update: Service was restored something early this morning. Definitely was up at 7.10AM when I woke up.

Bold available for pre-order on Maxis, but not for Kuching?

2008-08-07T08:43:00.004+08:00

Many thanks to drooler from bbsabah.net for giving us the heads up that Maxis is now accepting pre-orders for the bold on their website.

When you sign up for pre-order, it will ask you to state from which Maxis center you would prefer to pick up your set from. It list the usual centers in West Malaysia as well as Miri and KK BUT NOT Kuching!? WTF is up with that?