You might have heard of the RIM BlackBerry 9000, but RIM has officially named the smartphone the BlackBerry Bold.  In fact, it’s bold in more ways than one.  The gorgeous display makes it very bold, but it also represents a bold shift for the company.  With the release of the Apple iPhone 3G this summer, Apple saw great success and had record breaking sales.  RIM had to bring its A-game to the table with its next smartphone and after looking this thing over, they brought just that.

   (Credit:  BlackBerry.com) 

BlackBerry Bold and Beautiful

An article on cnet.com explained that the device gets its name from its screen.  The Bold features a half-VGA (480×320 pixel resolution) and a 65,000 color display.  During testing, research group participants continually called the screen “bold,” hence the BlackBerry Bold was born.  The Bold is equipped with a stunning display that shows a great video without any pixelation that you typically get.

It’s 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wides, weighing a mere 4.7 ounces, the BlackBerry Bold is as sleek as ever.  This phone also offers a QWERTY keyboard and endless wireless options.  The wireless options include the quad-ban (GSM 850/900/1800/1900), but the best part about this smartphone is the HSPDA/UMTS (850/1900/2100) support.  This is a first for BlackBerry to introduce this support, and is it ever good to have.

Here are some more features that the BlackBerry Bold offers:

• Improved Web browser, option to view pages in full desktop HTML
• Navigate pages with a trackball, which acts like a mouse cursor
•  2-megapixel camera and video recording capabilities (up to 5x zoom)
• Media player supports MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4, and WMV3 files
• Great speakers with a 3.5mm headphone jack
• Great BlackBerry interface with Dataviz’s Documents to Go suite, for viewing and editing

Get Bold with BlackBerry Bold … in September

Yes that’s right.  AT&T will be the primary provider for the BlackBerry Bold with the expected release to be September 1, 2008.  BlackBerry has always put out great devices and business users have had a special relationship with BlackBerry since they are very user friendly and e-mail access is outstanding.  With the release of the Apple iPhone 3G in early July, it is going to be interesting to see how this might affect BlackBerry sales in September.  Some financial analysts are holding strong for BlackBerry and recommending to buy into the stock now as the prices will rise right up to the release date.  Only time will tell, but until then, we’re going to be bold. 

As the economy is gasping for air and airline prices continue to soar, Americans are looking for something to keep their spirits up.  Well, what would boost your spirits more than jumping aboard an American Airlines flight and finding that you have access to Wi-Fi service?  In the “coming weeks,” American Airlines is expected to roll out “tests of Wi-Fi services” on 15 jets that will run for as long as six months.

Details About Wi-Fi for In-flight Use

Many airlines are developing services that will allow for the use of Wi-Fi while aboard a flight, but American Airlines seems to have the biggest deployment of these services.  In the coming weeks, American Airlines will equip around 15 jets with Wi-Fi services … and the cost for you?  Pretty standard.  They will charge roughly $12.95 for flights that are three or more hours, with prices varying for other flight durations.

So far, none of the U.S. carriers investing in Wi-Fi are expected to offer voice service.  The data services that will be offered are strictly for e-mail, instant messaging and Web browsing.  Voice service won’t be offered due to federal regulations prohibiting phone calls during flights, in addition to how annoying it would be to listen to your fellow passenger jabbing away on their cell phone when you are trying to catch shut-eye.  Depending on the success of the data services, a voice option could be in the works for some airlines though.

Success Rates of In-Flight Wi-Fi

According to ComputerWorld, American ran a free “dress rehearsal” of Wi-Fi service on June 24 aboard a Boeing 767-200 during a round trip flight from New York’s JFK International Airport and LAX International Airport.  American and Aircell (the in-flight Wi-Fi provider) said they were studying the results of the tests, and refused to give any information on how the service scored.  But an Aircell spokeswoman said “customers were excited” about the service.

So this news is exciting for BlackBerry and iPhone users alike as they will be able to tap away on their handheld and have full access to e-mail and the Web.  With airline costs so high, you’d think that airline services might offer Wi-Fi as a perk for people who paid for the $800 flight, but what do I know?  Anyways, people are excited about this and I am too!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow, you’re only a day away!  That’s right Apple fanatics, the release of the iPhone 3G is upon us and soon you will have full access to the fastest data speed available.  Here is a little rundown on what will be available with this nifty phone.

•  Fast 3G speed to surf the web and download email
• Microsoft Exchange — push email, calendar and contacts with ActiveSync
• Maps with GPS — use your iPhone as a GPS 
• AppStore — browse and download innovative apps for your iPhone

The Early Reviews

Well of course Steve Jobs is going to give his good friends/reviewers dibs on the iPhone 3G so they can put a good word in for him.  The following three reviews were done by the three largest national newspapers around (Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today).  Check out what they had to say about the good ol’ Apple iPhone:

Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal

-”If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it’s worth getting the new hardware.” 

David Pogue, New York Times

-“So the iPhone 3G is a nice upgrade. It more than keeps pace with advancing technology, and new buyers will generally be delighted….But it’s not so much better that it turns all those original iPhones into has-beens. Indeed, the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone. That twist may come as a refreshing surprise to planned-obsolescence conspiracy theorists — and everyone who stood in line last year.”

Edward C. Baig, USA Today

- “Extra, extra: iPhone 3G: The Sequel, is worth the wait….It’s cheaper, faster and a lot friendlier for business. Apple’s blockbuster smartphone already had nifty features such as visual voicemail, a splendid built-in video iPod and the best mobile Web browser I’ve ever used. With GPS newly added to the mix, this handheld marvel has no equal among consumer-oriented smartphones.”

Are You Waiting in Line for the iPhone 3G?

After all of the talk and anticipation of this new phone, I think it would be well worth the wait.  Yes, even for you business users.  BlackBerry has consistently been the business phone of choice, but I think Apple will give them a run for their money.  Granted, I’m of fan of many manufacturer’s and I’ll give every phone a chance, but in all honesty, Apple has yet to let me down.

Doors open Friday, July 11 at 8 a.m.