Bell Mobility in the News—Week ending April 9, 2010

Beta version of Twitter now available on Blackberry phones

April 13 is launch date for Bell BlackBerry Storm2 9550

Google Nexus One phone is now compatible with Bell Mobility and TELUS Mobility

Instructions for installing the 5.0 operating system on your Blackberry Bold 9000

Bell’s roaming rates to increase

1. Beta version of Twitter now available on Blackberry® phones – Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion has released an open beta version of Twitter for its phones. This new application notifies you of new tweets and replies on the home screen and Blackberry message list, and uses pings for direct messages. You can also use the application to create, view, and edit your Twitter lists, edit your profile and mug shot, and do some customizing of visuals. You can also use back-end fixes to enhance performance. More functionality may be included in the final version. Download RIM’s Twitter for Blackberry from the Test Center in the Blackberry App World app. Canadian and other North American users can also get it from RIM’s BlackBerry Beta Zone. (by Jessica Dolcourt , accessed 4/9/10 at http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20002065-12.html)

2. April 13 is launch date for Bell BlackBerry Storm2TM 9550 – Blackberry’s second-generation StormTM phone is launching April 13. The Bell promotional price for the launch may be around $199.99, but other price points range from $349.95 with a three-year contract to $549.95 with no contract. Bell describes the phone as follows: “The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 Smartphone is for people who want to own the newest technology, while maintaining the ease of communication and connectivity that people expect from BlackBerry.” The new Smartphone is a CDMA device that comes with a 3.25-inch display, WiFi, camera, headset jack, SpeakerphoneTM, full HTML browser, and many other features. The phone will not work on Bell’s HSPA network; it supports only the 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA band. (by Ian Hardy 3/29/10 at mobilesyrup, accessed 4/9/10 at http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/03/29/bell-blackberry-storm2-9550-launching-april-13th/)

3. Google Nexus One phone is now compatible with Bell Mobility and TELUS Mobility – Both versions of the Google Nexus One phone support four GSM radio frequencies (850/900/1800/1900), but the coverage you select will support different 3G/UMTS bands. In Canada, you should select 3G coverage on networks that use the 850, 1900, and 2100 MHz frequency bands; this is recommended for use on Rogers® Wireless, Bell Mobility, and TELUS in Canada. The Nexus One phone also supports WiFi. (by Jerome 3/24/10, accessed 4/9/10 at http://www.gadgetorama.com/news/news_details.php?gorid=5845)

4. Instructions for installing the 5.0 operating system on your Blackberry Bold 9000 – First, download Desktop Manager 5.0 onto your phone from the Blackberry Website at na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/. Next, download the 5.0 OS and save it on your computer. (You can get the official Bell version from crackberry.com/official-blackberry-bold-9000-os-5-0-0-411-bell-mobility.) Don’t install the OS on your phone until the Desktop Manager is fully installed; this may take an hour or so. Then close the Desktop Manager on your phone and begin installing the 5.0 OS; the whole procedure should less than 10 minutes. While you are installing, don’t open the Desktop Manager, even if you’re prompted to. Instead, go to Program Files/Common Files/Research in Motion/Apploader on your hard drive and delete vendor.xml. Empty your recycle bin. Turn off the Internet on your computer. Open the Desktop Manager and wait to get an update. If you get an update that includes the 5.0 OS, you’re done! Enjoy your new 5.0 OS! (by Ricky Beantown 4/8/10, accessed 4/9/10 at http://blackberry.cellcasesandmore.com/blackberry/?p=24446)

5. Bell’s roaming rates to increase – Effective May 1, 2010, Bell’s roaming rates increased to as much as $1.45 per minute from the current rate of $0.99 per minute (varies depending on your plan). In addition, roaming texts increased to $0.75 per minute from the current $0.60 per minute. At least one other carrier, WINDTM Mobile, offers the low rate of $0.25 per minute. Bell also charges $1.45 per minute for all incoming and outgoing calls from the U.S. and $0.75 for each text message sent to the U.S. With these increases, Bell’s rates are catching up with many of its competitors and the rate picture looks bleaker for all cell phone customers. (by Gaurav Kheterpal 2/26/10, accessed 4/9/10 at http://www.thetelecomblog.com/2010/03/26/bell-mobility-flat-roaming-rates-from-may-1st/)

Tags: Bell mobility roaming rates to increase, BlackBerry Storm2 rumored to be coming to Bell Mobility, Google Nexus One on Bell Mobility, installing os 5 on your blackberry bold, Twitter app for BlackBerry

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Bell & Cellarama In The News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.