The Death Of An Icon & My Memories Of Life With It

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It was a news out of the blue that sadden me on seeing it and reminded me of the years gone by. What news? The announcement that the smartphone company BlackBerry, had announced that it would be ending support for major BlackBerry OS from January 4, 2022. With this, the company will discontinue offering significant services for its existing devices. Blackberry, one of the most popular smartphone brands of the time before the high-end phone segment became a rage, will be ending support for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 along with previous versions.

The smartphone, which ruled the tech industry years ago, offered a smooth keyboard-centric designs and was a major hit among business executives and working professionals who relied on BlackBerry services that provide a high degree of confidentiality and anonymity. However as high end full touch screen devices became the rage, BlackBerry fell behind and concentrated on their top class QWERTY keyboard. At one point in time I was a BlackBerry fanboy. I was so much in awe of the devices when I first saw/heard of them on an Oprah Winfrey show where, on the launch of a new device, 7105t, she gave everyone in her audience a brand new one of the same model as part of her pre-Christmas giveaway show. Since then I have checked out news of the BlackBerry models and tried to get one for myself.

I got my first BlackBerry back in 2010, a grey BlackBerry Curve 8320 and then in 2012 I got a BlackBerry 9780 which I loved a lot and in March of 2015 I switched to a white Q10. But by 2016 I was feeling the lack of a full touch screen and felt that it was time to make the switch to Android. So in February of that year I switched to a Samsung and then I have bought a few Android devices (currently I have an Oppo and a RealMe) and have never gone back. But it fills me with sadness as I had brand loyalty for a while and it just died out as they weren’t the in thing anymore and also were left far behind the race.

Time To Switch Brands?

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I am still paying of the EMI on my laptop and it’s going ok (it’s a 6 month EMI) but I can’t wait for it to be done as I want to take another EMI on my credit card. I want to upgrade and get a new smartphone. And for the first time since the last three it most probably will not be a BlackBerry.

That is stunning – as stunning a declaration as you can get to hear from me when it comes to brands. I have been a staunch loyal supporter of BlackBerry but lately they have made it difficult for me to remain so. Forget the apps that I am missing out on (although the Uber one really stings) but I can’t afford to buy the latest 2 phones from BlackBerry because of the ridiculous price tags that they place in India. India has a large BlackBerry following but even we are finding it difficult to stay loyal.

The Passport and the Priv are priced way to expensively for my taste. Rs. 62k for a smartphone? What the fuck! I can’t believe it. This from a company that needs to move sales. I can buy 3 laptops for the price of a Priv. 2 for a Passport. But BlackBerry India does not care. They have decided that they only want the rich Indians to buy their latest phones. But I can’t complain. It’s their product and they have the right to choose their prices. I could try and get one from the US or Canada via eBay but…….

So in a couple of months I will be looking for prices online and if I do not get a good option I will be getting an Android phone. Let’s see how it goes.

The BlackBerry Q10 – Review After 13 Days Of Use

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I’ve had my new phone, the BlackBerry Q10 for almost 2 weeks now and have finally gotten used to the touchscreen aspect (after about a week) since this is my first touch screen (it has a QWERTY keyboard as well) that I am using as my personal phone, I am loving it. So I thought I should just mention a few reasons as to why I like it so much.

Excellent keyboard, best I have ever used on a phone. I love the physical QWERTY keyboard on BlackBerry phones and this is my 3rd phone and the smoothest and easiest keyboard to type on. I also like the fact that they have added an HDMI port to connect to a tv or external monitor if you need to do so. Big plus! The 8 MP camera – superb – auto-focus camera with face detection and Time Shift and an LED flash! I am taking some good photos on it and uploading it here, on Facebook & Twitter as well as Flickr & 500px. There is also a front facing 2MP camera (for selfies and vlogs). You have full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps; 720p on the front-facing camera.

I just love the BlackBerry Hub is a unified inbox of all your communication and social networking accounts, which works amazingly well. It’s easy to keep track of your messages in each application that you use – email, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp etc etc. This is truly amazing edition which knocks everyone out of the park. BBM on OS 10 and above comes with video chat and file, screen sharing abilities. Awesome! You get 16GB of storage on the device and a microSD card slot (I currently have a 4GB card in it) and you also have Dropbox and Box.NET integration. The phone came with the apps for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Youtube preinstalled among others. I have only downloaded the Whatsapp & CutePress (for WordPress) apps. Even though it’s not in stereo, the speakers sound amazing for a mobile device like this. I am rocking out on the music as we speak.

Those are my views on the phone after almost 13 days of usage. Internet is fast enough and easy to use. Next I shall focus on some of the apps that I use.

Unboxing My New BlackBerry Q10 (White)

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I finally have my new phone in hand. I ordered the phone via eBay on the 27th of February and was informed that the expected delivery date was the 3rd of March.

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However this morning when I checked the status in BlueDart (courier service) I saw that the device has reached the Cochin office by 11 am today. As their office is just a couple of kms away I knew that I could get it by this afternoon. I waited and by 12 pm I called their office and was informed that I would get it in a couple of hours as they have already dispatched it to be delivered. By 1:30 pm I got the device at my apartment.

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I did a quick unboxing and only then realized that this phone uses a microSIM and that I would need to get a new SIM at the Vodafone office that was nearest to my residence. And so after the unboxing I made my way there and got a new replacement microSIM for my phone.

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And now it’s a matter of getting internet activated (I’m changing data plans), downloading my apps (I don’t use too many and some of them come preinstalled anyways) and getting used to the touch screen portion of the phone. Worst this is that I haven’t backed up my numbers from my old phone to the new SIM and therefore will have to do them manually which is going to take a long time.

Meanwhile, here is the unboxing video. She is to be named “Isabelle”!

BlackBerry Passport

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I am excited for the release of this device. BlackBerry is hoping to capture the hearts and minds of the public with its square Passport smartphone. BlackBerry – formerly RIM – officially launched the device at simultaneous events in Toronto, London and Dubai with the promise that the device would be on sale in 30 major markets by the end of the year. Cost looks like $599 in the US which means it’s going to be price heavy in India and that looks like a problem for the likes of me. But if I can get the money I will try out this phone.

Specs:

  • Screen size: 4.5in
  • Screen pixels: 1440 x 1440 (453ppi)
  • Dimensions: N/A
  • Processor: Snapdragon MSM8974
  • GPU: Quad-core Adreno 330
  • RAM: 3GB
  • Keyboard: touch-enabled QWERTY keyboard
  • OS: BlackBerry 10
  • Storage: 32GB, with microSD slot expandable by up to 64GB
  • Camera: N/A
  • Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • NFC: Yes
  • USB: microUSB v2.0
  • Bluetooth: v4.0
  • Connectivity: 2G/3G/4G
  • Battery: 3,450mAh non-removable battery
 The Passport’s three-row physical (not full) QWERTY keyboard will therefore excite a lot of potential customers. The keyboard also turns into a trackpad when you swipe your fingers over the top of the keys. A major new feature set to launch with the Passport is BlackBerry Assistant – BlackBerry’s attempt to produce a useful voice-control feature. 200,000 units have been sold already including the Amazon stock which was sold out.

Sundown In The Queen Of The Arabian Sea

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Ah, sunset. You are more beautiful & expansive than my humble 5mp camera on my phone can ever capture. Mother nature, Earth, universe – I am but a tiny dust in the wind in the billions of years post the big bang and cannot even begin to describe the grand vastness & awesome of the universe. But one thing is for sure – I will never insult you by crediting all this wonderfulness to some non-existent, insolent deity or deities in the sky who is/are too incompetent & impotent to create anything at all!





All photos were taken on my BlackBerry Bold 9870’s 5 mega pixel camera this evening about a quarter to 7pm.

BlackBerry Abandones Sale Plans

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The state of BlackBerry (formerly known as Research In Motion but changed their name to their flagship product earlier this year) is a sorry one and a particularly sad one for me. A few years ago, before smartphones became the in thing to have, I remember watching an episode of Oprah in which she gave out the then model of BlackBerry to all her audience members. Since then I researched the company and the phones and have always been a loyal supporter of theirs. I unfortunately was able to buy a phone from them only in 2010 (Jan 1st to be exact) and have since changed the Curve 8320 to my current phone, the Bold 9780 last year. BlackBerry has been left behind in the lurch by Apple iPhones and the various Android phones from say Samsung & LG and has struggled really badly for the past couple of years.

BlackBerry went through lots of changes internally. Thorston Heins, a former Siemens executive in Germany, became chief executive in January 2012 after James L Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, the longtime co-chairmen and co-chief executives, resigned in the face of a rapid decline in BlackBerry’s business and the failure of its PlayBook tablet computer. In January of this year a lot of us BlackBerry faithfuls eagerly awaited the launch of the BlackBerry OS 10 and the two new phones the Z10 and Q10 that looked amazing. Heavily promoted the new line of BlackBerry 10 handsets as the company’s salvation they proved, however, to be a commercial failure (with some exceptions in certain areas) and there has been solid talks of an outright sale or a takeover big by another mobile company.

Now the latest news is that Heins will leave after the collapse of a tentative takeover offer from BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, the company said on Monday. Instead of purchasing BlackBerry and taking it private, the largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, and an unnamed group of institutional investors will invest $1 billion through debentures that can be converted into common shares at a price of $10 a share. John S. Chen, the former chief executive of Sybase, will become BlackBerry’s executive chairman and acting chief executive. It remains to be seen as to what will happen to the brand. Almost everyone has written them off and many long time users have move on to get either an iPhone or Android device. I’m sticking with my Bold for the time being, cannot afford anything new at the moment and will wait for a few months to see what is going to happen. I like using the BlackBerry and would want to continue using them for years to come.

What’s On Your Phone?

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Here is a continuation of the customization of my cell phone. Last time out I let you know what ringtones & alerts I use on my BlackBerry Bold 9780. Another huge part of personalization on cell phones are wallpapers and theme. I currently use the default Bold theme on my phone but I have a few wallpapers that I downloaded from Zedge.net (check it out; they have lots of free stuff for all kinds of phones). The one I currently use is this one below on the left and ofcourse on the right is how it looks on my phone:

And now to the apps that I use. I don’t have that many but the ones I do use are:

Gtalk: the Gtalk version for BlackBerry app for my chat buddies who use gmail

Facebook: the official BlackBerry Facebook app

Twitter: the official BlackBerry Twitter app

Foursquare: is a location-based social networking website for mobile devices, such as smartphones.

Molome: It’s kinda like Instagram. For photos and some editing options on your photos

WordPress: the official WordPress for BlackBerry app

Senators : the official BlackBerry app for news, stats & scores of my fav NHL team, the Ottawa Senators

Capture it: is to take a snap of your phone’s screen at that moment. Think ‘printscreen’ on your computer.

CrackBerry app: access to CrackBerry’s forums, discussion boards etc

Tan Leather Pouch For My Phone

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Got a courier delivered to my home this afternoon. I had ordered a tan leather pouch via eBay from BerryNext. I thought it looked cool in the pictures that were uploaded and wanted to buy it. I already have a nice black one but I thought that the tan one looked nice.

This was waiting for me when I got back home. I opened it and here is the pouch.

Feedback – it’s not as good as the ones you get from the company directly. This was a cheaper cost and that’s why I bought it but yeah the pouch doesn’t feel as good and it feels like it could tear off at the seams easily. Oh well, when you buy cheap you get cheap products.

Here is a video of me opening the package.

Designs For The BlackBerry Bold 9780

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Selfridges had brought out the exclusive limited edition BlackBerry Bold 9780 created by leather-happy designer Bill Amberg. At £1000 a pop, these handsets are part of a set of just 60, with 10 of each of the six colours available. The designs feature leather back plates and cases and have apparently “undergone an intricate moulding process to achieve the unique curved shape”.

Amberg said on the launch “”I am excited to be working with BlackBerry on this exclusive run for Selfridges that celebrates the launch of the new Bold 9780. Quality products like this are crying out for something complementary on a functional and stylistic level, which is both beautiful and unique”.

I think they look very nice indeed. There’s also a video on Youtube on the making of the cases.

Meet Melissa Version 2.0

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Well you guys remember that on the 4th of this month I had got a BlackBerry phone? I had a white BlackBerry Bold 9780 delivered to my house and was quite happy with it. But it turns out that it was defective. Well out of 500 order by my friend it turns out that 3 or 4 were faulty. It took just 3 days for me to start having problems. Turns out that when the phone was unlocked some OS issue happened and the phone just froze on Sunday 8th April and refused to reboot no matter how many times I tried. After contacting my friend, I was able to get in touch with the store owner who has shipped the 500 BBs and he asked me to try and get the OS reinstalled, which I did. I visited Reddington (official BlackBerry service centers) and they reinstalled the OS for me. But they also pointed out that there was a problem with the panel of the phone and to ask for a replacement.

On Tuesday I spoke to both my friend and the store owner and it was decided that I would get a replacement phone. I couriered the white phone back to the store which took 3 days and then I had to wait till this Wednesday for them to get me my replacement. They had run out of white and so I said that I would take a black one instead. I received the package today. Look at her all coy & shy still in the bubble wrap.

I must admit that black certainly seems to be the way to go when you buy a BlackBerry phone. The white was cute & sweet but the black looks a lot more sleeker and streamlined. This is the first black BlackBerry I have ever owned. I did like the white one but if there was a problem with it, I didn’t want to be stuck with it. So anyways, the replacement works like a charm and I’m happy. I’ve been charging her on my laptop and I’ve installed some of the stuff I need and configured my emails, Facebook, Twitter, Gtalk, WordPress and now BBM remains.

I really like the look of the phone. I’m not going to call her by another name. This is Melissa v 2.0. Say hi to her, she’s a beauty.

WordPress For BlackBerry

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For a long time I A little while ago I downloaded the WordPress app for BlackBerry from the BlackBerry app world store. Its a free download and its pretty simple to use. Although it won’t replace blogging from my laptop for me, it is still great to be able to blog from your phone. I hadn’t installed this app on my Curve 8320 and so this app, in use for 2 years (need confirmation here people) is still brand new for me.

I hate having to lug the laptop around and also there is only one place where I can currently get free wifi. All other places will require to carry a USB internet device which I am not going to spend money on again, unless I really needed to. I also downloaded a photo app and will be playing with it soon. Also got three themes for the phone.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Unboxing & Review

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Ok I know my unboxing of my new BlackBerry (WhiteBerry) 9780 sucked – no sound except for music and my 2mp webcam sucks too so I can’t do much when it was raining and dark. So here are two professionally done videos. First a look at the box contents….

And then a review. Please forgive the British chick’s clothing :D