T-Mobile Accessories

T-Mobile USA has taken the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 live on its website. Already a hit overseas, this business-oriented smartphone is a cross between the recently released BlackBerry Bold and the Curve 8300 with a something little extra thrown in. Read our full comparison and review here. Heres some phone specs: Size: 2.4 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches Weight: 3.9 ounces Included battery: 1400 mAhr Lion Talk time: up to 5.5 hours Standby time: up to 15 days Band frequency: 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz The accessories that are included with the box are as follows:   256MB Memory Card Battery Charger USB Cable Stereo Hands-Free Headset BlackBerry Desktop Software

Tmonews claims that T-Mobile business customers will have the ability to purchase the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 starting next week, on January 19th. This early launch is certainly welcome news for business customers eager to get their hands on this hot little device. The national release date for this phone is still Feburary 11.

This powerful new BlackBerry features:

a large, vivid display - the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone

a 512MHz next generation processor for fast and responsive performance

3.2-megapixel camera with image stabilization, digital zoom, flash and the ability to record video and play video

MP3 player

3.5mm stereo headset jack and headset

hot-swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot with a 256MB card inserted and support for memory cards up to 16GB  

The oh so very sweet treat weve all well all G1 users have been waiting to gobble up is about to be served.  An internal memo within T-Mobile, has surfaced,  confirming that the CUPCAKE update will be sent to G1 phones by mid January 2009.  This “Over The Air” update by T-Mobile for G1 users should be received as soon as Sunday January 11th, 2009.  G1 owners will receive a pop up notification automatically from T-Mobile - then you would simply approve the upgrade and it is done automatically.

 

The most appetizing changes from the CUPCAKE update will be the ability to record video, stereo bluetooth support and a virtual keyboard.  Read on for a full menu of yummy revisions.

MMS New features Save attachments from MMS. Significant bug fixes Faster conversation list scrolling Email Significant bug fixes Accounts that were marked “never check” are not auto-checked. Date & time displayed using user preference e.g. 24 hr vs. AM/PM. cc: displayed in message view. Relaxed POP3 parser rules so it works with non-compliant email servers. Password quoting bugs in IMAP.  Makes it work for users with funny chars in their password e.g. spaces. Various sources of errors in auto & manual account setup. Improvements on how we report various connection errors. Makes it much easier for user to diagnose failed account setups. New-mail notifications for POP3 accounts. Properly recover from POP3 connection failures, so that the next connection has a chance of working properly. Remove automatic accounts setup entries that were broken or not testable.  Minor fixes to a few of the remaining entries.  Improvements to warning dialogs used for a few special cases. New accounts are now set to check every 15 minutes instead of defaulting to “never”. Fixed a bug causing approximately 1 in 25 outbound messages to freeze up the IMAP connection to a Gmail based server when transferred to the Sent folder.  This broke the entire connection so new messages could not be downloaded either. Unit test framework so Email can be extended & tested more reliably. Fix IMAP manually-created accounts so message delete works properly. Alarm Clock Significant bug fixes Alert now plays audio/vibe directly, rather than through AlarmManager. AlarmClock alert starts playing audio/vibe in its IntentReceiver, rather than on activity start. These changes should prevent alarms from being blocked by modal dialogs. Package Installer Significant bug fixes Bugs related to replacing existing applications. Settings New features New menu option to list running processes in Settings->ManageApplications. Music New features Music playback fades in after suspending for phone call. New media search intent allows for 3rd party apps to launch or respond to media searches based on artist, album, or title. Affects: Music Player, YouTube, Browser applications. Browser New features Updated WebKit browser core, synced with Nov 2008 WebKit version. Support for new, optimized JavaScript engine SquirrelFish. Copy / paste is enabled in the browser. To copy with touch, press and hold the shift key and select the text. Releasing the shift key or ending the touch drag copies the text. To copy with the trackball, press and hold the shift key, move the cursor to the selection start, click the trackball, and move the trackball to the extend the selection. Releasing the shift key, or clicking the trackball a second time, copies the text. Find is enabled in the browser. To find text, choose it from the menu and type the text to find. Drawing has been sped up substantially by supporting partial content invalidates and partial screen invalidates. Pages with animations are 5x faster. VoiceDialer New features VoiceDialer supports ‘open app’ command Camera/Gallery New features Video recorder mode Share intent for videos Video thumbnails Local file playback Download manager   New features  Support for HTTP codes 301, 302, 303 and 307 redirects. HTTP code 503 is now handled, with support for retry-after in delay-seconds. Downloads that were cleanly interrupted are now resumed instead of failing. Applications can now pause their downloads. Retry delays are now randomized. Connectivity is now checked on all interfaces. Downloads with invalid characters in file name can now be saved. Framework New features Support of touch events in WebView. New JavaScript engine SquirrelFish in WebView. Input method framework, for soft keyboards and other on-screen input methods.  Includes new APIs for applications to interact with input methods, and the ability for third party developers to write their own input methods. Access to the raw audio data for playback and recording from application code. New PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT option. Support for top-level boolean resources. Tactile feedback to the LockPatternView. Tactile feedback can be enabled/disabled by going to Settings > Security & location and then checking/unchecking “Use tactile feedback”. Note that this can be used independently of the visual feedback of the lines ”Use visible pattern”. Thus it gives users a middle ground between showing the lines on the screen and having no feedback at all. PackageManager changes to support un-installation of partially installed applications. Added new flag PackageManager.GET_UNINSTALLED_PACKAGES to include partially installed apps in all relevant PackageManager api’s. ManageApplications screen now lists such partially installed apps and the user can uninstall these applications completely. Support third party updates of system applications. New menu options in Settings->ManageApplications to list updated system applications.  Framework support to list current running processes. New API in ActivityManager. Framework feature to declare required configurations by applications. New manifest attribute uses-configuration in android manifest. Hardware accelerated video encode video recorder in opencore. Simplified SREC speech recognition API available. Streaming audio I/O for applications. Significant bug fixes Fixed issues with saving state in the view hierarchy, so that you can properly subclass from something like TextView and create your own state that inherits from that provided by TextView. TextView now implements onKeyMultiple, so that flinging the trackball will result in accelerated scrolling. This required some changes to movement methods, and included some improvements to the acceleration computed when flinging. Framework bug fixes in PackageManager to share/un-share permissions for applications with shared uid’s. Significant rework of Settings->ManageApplications Performance and UI enhancements. A number of settings in android.provider.Settings.System were moved to android.provider.Settings.Secure. Only system software can modify these settings. Additionally, a new permission, WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS, is required to access these settings. The old constants in Settings.System have been deprecated.  It is possible to read settings values via Settings.System using the deprecated constants. However, attempts to modify these settings via Settings.System will result in a log message and the setting value will be left unchanged. Many bug fixes in the media framework Bluetooth New features Support for A2DP & AVRCP profiles. Significant bug fixes First connection after pairing always fails on many carkits. Mini Cooper and some late model BMW cars fail to use Bluetooth or take 2 minutes for Phone Book transfer. System software New features New kernel based on Linux 2.6.27. Improvements to the wakelock API. Work to transition to the USB Gadget Framework underway. Basic x86 support. Radio & Telephony New features SIM Application Toolkit 1.0. Green CALL button is no longer a shortcut for “add a new call”. This has been a rarely used feature and confusing if triggered accidentally. Longer in-call screen timeout when using the speakerphone. “Show dialpad” / “Hide dialpad” item added to the in-call menu, to make it easier to discover the DTMF dialpad. Significant bug fixes An obscure case where the Phone UI could cause the device to not go to sleep on its own. This would happen if user bails out of the in-call screen by hitting HOME, followed by the call disconnecting remotely. Don’t allow a single tap to open the in-call dialpad. It is now required to touch and drag it.  This makes it much harder to accidentally open the dialpad by touching the screen with your face.

 

T-Mobiles new edition of the Shadow has made an appearance at CES. Its official launch party was on Tuesday night. It is somewhat like the previous Shadow, still manufactured by HTC, and has the same name.  The phone still kept its slider feature and the sure-type like keyboard. This version has a curvier look and comes in two color options, black/burgundy and white/mint.

The phone  runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and it is hot spot enabled to work with T-Mobiles unlimited hotspot calling service. The phone is also WiFi enabled. It also has a faster processor of 260MHz compared to the previous version running 201MHz. It connects quickly to Windows PC and Microsoft Exchange e-mails. The phone also has a 2.6" LCD screen, 2 megapixel camera eh. with video capability, and takes up to 8Gb memory cards. T-mobile did not give details about pricing but spectators think it will be priced similar to the last Shadow, at around $150. T-mobile did however say to expect the new T-mobile Shadow to be available in the "coming weeks."

 

The story first leaked around late December, the gossip was T-Mobile would be sending out extended life replacement batteries to all G1 owners, to make up for a lack power the current 1150 mAh G1 battery delivers.  Well this just in, a reader e-mailed androidguys regarding a conversation with a T-Mobile supervisor about said rumor:

Just wanted to let you guys know that i just got off the phone with a tmobile supervisor who confirmed that replacement batteries are being sent out and that there was an internal memo sent around that extra batteries are being sent out free of charge and there will be no need to send back your old one! He was unable however to confirm whether or not they would be of a higher capacity or not.    

Granted a spare battery would be nice, but I think in this case size does matter…..so again I’ll be holding my breath and crossing my fingers!  

You could win a BlackBerry Curve 8900 prize pack to share with your Fave 5. Prize pack includes 6 BlackBerry® Curve™ devices plus three months of free service from T-Mobile®. Enter now for your chance by visiting the Tmobile website to win. A new winner is selected every day.

 

Bellevue, Wash., and Waterloo, Ontario - January 7, 2009 - T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Research In Motion RIM Nasdaq: RIMM: TSX: RIM today announced that T-Mobile® will offer its customers the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone, the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile, in a stunning titanium-colored finish with chrome highlights, combines an elegant, compact design with a wide range of popular features and an easy-to-use full-QWERTY keyboard.  It features built-in GPS and support of location-based services. It also allows easy access to social networking sites and has built-in Wi-Fi® 802.11 b/g supporting both voice and data, making it easier to stay connected to family, friends and colleagues. "T-Mobile is thrilled to bring our customers such an elegant and powerful way to communicate with the important people in their lives," said Travis Warren, director, device marketing, T-Mobile USA. "The BlackBerry Curve 8900 offers T-Mobile customers the benefit of a full-QWERTY keyboard in the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet." In addition to a sleek, stylish design, the powerful new smartphone includes a large, vivid display - the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone - as well as a 512MHz next generation processor for fast and responsive performance. The handsets advanced multimedia capabilities include a 3.2-megapixel camera with image stabilization, digital zoom, flash and the ability to record video and play video, a music player, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and headset, and a hot-swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot with a 256MB card inserted. With support for memory cards up to 16GB, customers can carry, capture and enjoy more of their music, pictures and video anywhere they go. "The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 features a compact and refined design that looks and feels great.  It gives you everything you need to stay connected and entertained," said Mark Guibert, vice president, corporate marketing, Research In Motion. "With rich multimedia capabilities, exceptional mobile email and messaging features, enhanced Web browsing, a premium phone and easy access to social networking communities, including Facebook®, Flickr®, and MySpace.com®, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 helps you make the most of a busy lifestyle that spans well beyond normal business hours." T-Mobile customers can continue to get great mobile coverage and unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling with T-Mobiles Unlimited HotSpot Calling service as well as unlimited nationwide calling to five people with T-Mobile myFaves® service.* As a quad-band world phone, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 supports international roaming, extending the ability to stay connected while traveling abroad. The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone from T-Mobile is anticipated to be available in February at T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online at http://www.T-Mobile.com.  Prior to retail availability, customers can learn more about the BlackBerry Curve 8900 at www.BlackBerry.com/NewCurve8900. About T-Mobile USA, Inc. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AGs Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the worlds leading companies in mobile communications. By the end of the third quarter of 2008, 127 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group - 32.1 million by T-Mobile USA - all via a common technology platform based on GSM, the worlds most widely used digital wireless standard. T-Mobiles innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit http://www.T-Mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. About Research In Motion RIM Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIMs portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless HandheldTM product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market Nasdaq: RIMM and the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: RIM. For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com. Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIMs products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIMs periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and are used by T-Mobile under license. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. Neither RIM nor T-Mobile assume any obligations or liability and make no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

*Unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling requires Unlimited HotSpot Calling mobile plan, qualifying rate plan, broadband Internet connection and wireless router. Regular plan minutes are used when call does not originate on Wi-Fi network. For more information about Unlimited HotSpot Calling, visit http://www.T-MobileAtHome.com.  myFaves only applies to calls directly between two people and allows unlimited nationwide calling to five U.S. numbers.  Use of some device features may require a specific plan and incur separate, additional charges. See T-Mobile.com for rate plan information, charges for features and services, and other details.

Looks like the folks over at BGR still have a few tricks up their sleeve before the year runs out... Check out this picture of a release schedule from T-Mobile showing the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 launching on Feburary 18.

 

This is going to be the hottest business device for 2009, I can just see it now...

T-Mobile is rumored  to be sending out a late Christmas Gift to all G1 owners....a much desired Christmas gift....an extended battery with a compatible replacement battery door.  The current 1150mAh battery, as we all know, just doesnt cut it, and frustrated T-Mobile customers have spoken out.  A notice will be sent out to G1 owners either via mail or email about this in the coming weeks.  There has been no formal announcement within T-Mobile, but thier PDA support is aware of this.  A T-Mobile representative states, “After everything they did, and the amount of time put into this extended battery project, I doubt they would scrap it now.”  Ill be holding my breath and crossing my fingers for this one.

It might still be in the rumor stage but at this point, the stats on the G2 are becoming more and more clearer. See this BGR report for full details - the latest is that the G2 is due out in April 2009 and will have no external keyboard. There will be a trackball, yes, as in the BlackBerry trackball.  In addition, it seems that the phone is going to be available on more than 1 network, although we dont know which other one than T-Mobile. Oh yeah, and the other network wont be allowed to call it G2 because thats T-Mobiles proprietary name.....