Bold

Smartphones for world travelers (roundup)

If you're in the U.S. and frequently travel overseas for business or pleasure, a smartphone with world-roaming capabilities is a good thing to have in your travel kit. The smartphone part of the device gives you access to all the productivity tools you need to get work done on the road, and the world roaming lets you touch base with your colleagues, friends, and family back in the States.

Here are six of the latest world phones we've tested recently, but there are plenty more to choose from.… Read more

RIM just looks like a bargain

Research In Motion's stock may look like a bargain, but looks can be deceiving.

RIM has seen its shares tumble by 71 percent since February, and many of its problems are well understood at this point. But the unlikely scenarios of a takeover or drastic strategy change suggest that the company will continue to be mired in its problems, leaving little opportunity for optimism, according to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu.

"On the one hand, we must admit RIM is today a bargain in many respects, and we can imagine new directions to get the company out … Read more

Is the keyboard the only thing keeping BlackBerry afloat?

The other day I was taking a spinning class at the gym and I looked over at the woman next to me and noticed she had both a BlackBerry Bold and an iPhone 4 propped up on her bike's handlebars. This was New York, where it's not unusual to see people pounding out e-mails in the middle of a spinning class at 6:30 a.m. But most people just do it on a single phone. However, this woman, who turned out to work for a hedge fund, had some double-barrel e-mail action going.

"Let me guess," I said after class. "BlackBerry's for work. iPhone's personal."

"Uh, yeah," she said a little embarrassed.

"Well, here's my question. If you could only have just one of those two phones, what would it be?"

She thought about it for a moment and said, "The iPhone, I guess. The BlackBerry's great for e-mail but basically useless for everything else."

"But you seem to be doing e-mail OK on the iPhone."

"Yeah, but I can't type nearly as fast. I really need the keyboard. And there's just something about the BlackBerry keyboard."

"So the only reason you use the BlackBerry is because of its keyboard?"

"Pretty much. And I know the interface and can navigate it really fast. Why are you asking?"

Sprint offers Bold 9930 at $199.99 after Web-only discount

As we mentioned last week, Sprint has released both the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and the BlackBerry Bold 9930 today. However, instead of the $249.99 price point that was announced originally, you can now get the Bold 9930 for $199.99 after a $50 Web special if you buy it from Sprint's online store. After our tirade about how expensive the Bold 9900/9930 was, we think $199.99 is definitely a much more palatable price.

However, the $50 discount is not available in other sales channels, and the usual two-year agreement still applies (with a new line or eligible upgrade). So if you must have a new Bold 9930, get it online, as it seems to be cheaper that way. … Read more

BlackBerry crop comes up sweet, sour: Review roundup

This week we had a chance to review RIM's latest crop of BlackBerry handsets, which the company initially announced at BlackBerry World back in May of this year. They are the BlackBerry Torch 9810, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 (the Torch 9860 is the same phone but for GSM carriers), and the BlackBerry Bold 9930 (similarly, the Bold 9900 is its GSM sibling).

The one unifying characteristic they share is that all of them ship with the BlackBerry OS 7. OS 7 improves upon OS 6 with voice-activated universal search, Liquid Graphics technology that promises better graphics and animation, support … Read more

Skype Wi-Fi launches

Researchers say cell phone radiation may lower sperm count, AT&T cuts its texting plans down to one, and Skype launches an app for iOS that lets world travelers use Wi-Fi hot spots on a per-minute basis.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Scoop: RIM in talks for BlackBerry music service

At a time when Research in Motion needs to sex itself up, the Canadian smartphone maker is in talks with the four largest record companies about launching a new music service to run on top of BlackBerry Messenger, the company's instant-messenger service, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations told CNET.

RIM has signed a deal with at least one of the top-four record companies and is close to signing at least two others, the sources said, adding that a test version of the service could be rolled out within the next few weeks.

The BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service is an instant-messaging service that enables owners of BlackBerry phones to chat instantly via the Internet with one another. Details about how RIM's new music service would work with BBM are few and a RIM spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The major labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music, are eager to see new retail services and to continue being part of mobile devices, especially smartphones. Yesterday, pre-paid carrier MetroPCS Communications announced that Android phone owners who subscribe to the company's $60-per-month rate plan can receive access to the music-subscription service Rhapsody. … Read more

BlackBerry Bold's price tag is just plain crazy

commentary The BlackBerry Bold may be out of the smartphone game before it even gets into it.

T-Mobile USA said today that it will sell RIM's latest flagship phone, the BlackBerry Bold 9900, for $299.99--after a $50 mail-in rebate. That follows the Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel variant of the smartphone, the Bold 9930, which will retail for $249.99 at both carriers.

But when the bar for a vast majority of smartphones--even high-end ones such as Apple's iPhone--is set at $200, and you go over, that's a problem. For RIM, the premium price is going … Read more

After a long wait, T-Mobile releases BlackBerry Bold 9900

Google and Motorola Mobility's impending nuptials may be grabbing a huge amount of newsprint this week, but Research In Motion is doing everything it can to assert its presence in the mobile world as well. First it released the first BlackBerry OS 7 devices with Verizon's BlackBerry Bold 9930, AT&T's BlackBerry Torch 9810, and Sprint's BlackBerry Torch 9850, and tonight T-Mobile finally got around to spilling the release details for its BlackBerry Bold 9900.

Of course, the news is no surprise given that T-Mobile first said that it would carry the device last May … Read more

BlackBerry's Bold 9930 is the best Bold yet, but is that enough?

We've had the pleasure of playing around with the Bold 9930 for a day or so, so we'll cut to the chase: the BlackBerry Bold 9930, and by extension, the Bold 9900, is the best Bold handset BlackBerry has ever made. It is a wonderfully sculpted device that marries curves with stainless steel, and high-quality glossy plastic with soft touch bezels. We admittedly rolled our eyes at RIM's claim that it is the thinnest BlackBerry ever, but the device's slender profile does add to the phone's sleek and elegant aesthetic. We're also very happy … Read more