Seamless GSM and Wifi handover for blackberry and

[Wise Young]

Wifi is coming to cell phones and it is not only for the iPhone. So, the Blackberry 8820 (Source (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/14/review_blackberry_8820/)) can transfer from your GSM cell phone signal to a wifi connection over internet. What? Say again? You can do that? Yes, this is what the new Blackberry 8820 can do. You are talking on the phone in your car over the standard cell network over GSM. When you step into your house where you have a wireless wifi, it will swtich seamlessly over to that and communicate over internet. This means that if you have poor cell connections inside your house, you wifi internet connectivity would be able to take over.


http://i.n.com.com/i/ne/p/2007/718blackberry8820413x550.jpg

Note that Blackberry has had a wifi model for some time now... a blackberry that only works through wifi (Source (http://www.wifinetnews.com/archives/004805.html)).

Everybody is waiting for the Blackberry Curve that will be released by T-mobile on September 24:
http://www.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/blackberry-curve-8320-wifi-leak-tmobile.jpg
It will have the works... GPRS, Edge, and Wifi connectivity, a 2 MP camera, microSD expandable memory slot (note Toshiba has a 8 Gb card). You will need to get the new T-Mobile @home wireless package. It will work in all the t-mobile hotspots.

Wise.

[Scott Pruett]

Oh how I need this... no lie.

Come on AT&T, get on the ball. T-Mobile is lame in my area & I already have a contract w/ you. I'd even give up my beloved Pearl for this funtionality.

BTW, the 8100 won't support > 2gb microSD cards AFAIK.

[wheelchairTITAN]

I never understood my son's need for his BlackBerry until I got one about a month ago. I turned down the 8800 with GPS ... I have that in my van.

Turned down getting the 8800 based on my son’s recommendation of keys and how they work and feel. The 8800 was $200 more than the 8300 because the 8800 has a built in GPS chip.

He is a "professional" text messenger who masquerades as a university student whose life it seems linked to this device. These young people live on this thing (how can I overlook the negative review information from someone, even if he is my son).

The key board on the 8800 is a QWERTY but not quite at the standard of the 8700 or the 8300. ( personal preference).

Having used my son's earlier Pearl (8100) on a few occasions - too small a keyboard for this oldie - before he got his new Curve in June, I last month opted for the BlackBerry 8300 (Curve) because of its keyboard .. it has a better feel when you use. Beside it looks darn fine! Will I use the camera or the music features ... very little I suspect.

I now know why this product is called the “CrackBerry”.

Given all the features in my 8300 and now seemingly appearing on all my tech gadgets/toys/support devices ... I know I have more computer and computer application redundancy in my van than they had going to the moon the first time.

Now where is that GPS device so I can get home?

[wheelchairTITAN]

Oh how I need this... no lie.

Come on AT&T, get on the ball. T-Mobile is lame in my area & I already have a contract w/ you. I'd even give up my beloved Pearl for this funtionality.

BTW, the 8100 won't support > 2gb microSD cards AFAIK.Hey Scott .. the following site lists up to 4GB as useable in the PEARL. My son had a 2GB in his PEARL and it worked fine. You might want to check this site out.

The following mobile phone (cell phone) memory cards are compatible with your BlackBerry Pearl 8100. Every mobile phone memory card we offer is manufactured to the highest standard and carries a 2 year minimum warranty. Your BlackBerry Pearl 8100 accepts Micro SDHC cards. The largest Micro SDHC card you can use in your BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is 4096MB.
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/compatible-memory/Mobile_Phones/BlackBerry/BlackBerry+Pearl+8100

[Wise Young]

I have an one-year old 8700 that has worked all over the world for me and I didn't think that I wanted to upgrade until I read a review indicating that they can connect and even handoff seamlessly over wifi. I am currently using T-mobile. However, I am unable to find the plan for internet voice on the T-mobile website (Source (http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/default.aspx?plancategory=7)).

It is difficult to find blackberry information for Mac users. While RIM has not released a free Mac-RIM sync software that works and, while there have been enormous demand for some way to using the Blackberry as a internet modem for the Mac, there was simply no usable commercial package. But, the following is a web site that tell you how to use your blackberry as an internet modem for a Mac.
http://perishablepress.com/press/2007/06/12/blackberry-curve-as-bluetooth-modem-for-mac/

and here is a commercial package that does so, but it requires you to set up a proxy web server that is connected to internet.
http://brainmurmurs.com/products/pulse/index.php
http://brainmurmurs.com/products/pulse/download.php

Wise.





I never understood my son's need for his BlackBerry until I got one about a month ago. I turned down the 8800 with GPS ... I have that in my van.

Turned down getting the 8800 based on my son’s recommendation of keys and how they work and feel. The 8800 was $200 more than the 8300 because the 8800 has a built in GPS chip.

He is a "professional" text messenger who masquerades as a university student whose life it seems linked to this device. These young people live on this thing (how can I overlook the negative review information from someone, even if he is my son).

The key board on the 8800 is a QWERTY but not quite at the standard of the 8700 or the 8300. ( personal preference).

Having used my son's earlier Pearl (8100) on a few occasions - too small a keyboard for this oldie - before he got his new Curve in June, I last month opted for the BlackBerry 8300 (Curve) because of its keyboard .. it has a better feel when you use. Beside it looks darn fine! Will I use the camera or the music features ... very little I suspect.

I now know why this product is called the “CrackBerry”.

Given all the features in my 8300 and now seemingly appearing on all my tech gadgets/toys/support devices ... I know I have more computer and computer application redundancy in my van than they had going to the moon the first time.

Now where is that GPS device so I can get home?

[wheelchairTITAN]

I have an one-year old 8700 that has worked all over the world for me and I didn't think that I wanted to upgrade until I read a review indicating that they can connect and even handoff seamlessly over wifi. I am currently using T-mobile. However, I am unable to find the plan for internet voice on the T-mobile website (Source (http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/default.aspx?plancategory=7)).

It is difficult to find blackberry information for Mac users. While RIM has not released a free Mac-RIM sync software that works and, while there have been enormous demand for some way to using the Blackberry as a internet modem for the Mac, there was simply no usable commercial package. But, the following is a web site that tell you how to use your blackberry as an internet modem for a Mac.
http://perishablepress.com/press/2007/06/12/blackberry-curve-as-bluetooth-modem-for-mac/

and here is a commercial package that does so, but it requires you to set up a proxy web server that is connected to internet.
http://brainmurmurs.com/products/pulse/index.php
http://brainmurmurs.com/products/pulse/download.php

Wise.Thanks Wise for the information.

I am considering getting a MAC again. I haven't used one for 12 years. It was the only machine I used when I worked at a university.

With the compatability issue of Mr. Softie OS and the Mac OS resolved it will be my next purchase.

The new MAC product release from just a few weeks ago was and is an amazing desktop machine.

Also I am waiting for the new release of upgraded MacBook Pros and the new MAC OS scheduled for the fall. I suspect the MacBook Pro upgrades will be out in late winter or next spring.

The points you raise about the connectivity of the BB and a MAC had never entered my thinking.

Thanks for raising my thinking to include how other devices may or may be accessible to the BlackBerry OS and hardware.

I think I inferred I had an 8800 in my van in an earler post. I just have a regular 10 year old hands free Nokia. My reference was to GPS was for an add on GPS device.

[Rononwheels]

Hi,

I am not yet a Blackberry user yet, but have found a couple of great user
forums :) Pinstack (http://www.pinstack.coml) and Blackberryforums (http://www.blackberryforums.com/) They both have Mac forums.

Pinstack Mac (http://blackberryforums.pinstack.com/f56-mac_blackberry.html) forum. Blackberryforums Mac (http://www.blackberryforums.com/mac-users-corner/) forum.



It is difficult to find blackberry information for Mac users. Wise.

Ron.

[Scott Pruett]

Thanks for the memory post wheelchairtitan - good to know. I don't keep much media on the BB anyway, so the extra 2gb wouldn't serve me much. I haven't even filled 1gb. If I used it for music, different story... but my ipod is more intuitive for that.

As for mac support, *shrug* no, it's not great, and yes pinstack/bbforums are helpful, but I had to buy a Windows machine for work anyway. I just use that when I need to (not often). The BB does pretty much everything needed (for me) w/o a computer.

My email is already synced across 3 computers (2 mac, 1 pc), one account being gmail. Works as it should on the BB as well, and is crazy fast (gmail particularily). The one thing I've yet to set up is a wireless sync w/ Google calendar (i.e. update the BB's cal & it updates on Google's end automatically, and vice-versa). Currently my BB's calendar does everything I need, but I don't have it saved anywhere else.

Using the BB as a Bluetooth or tethered modem works easier through OS X, but works fine on Windows too, once you figure out how to set it up.

[Wise Young]

Thanks for the memory post wheelchairtitan - good to know. I don't keep much media on the BB anyway, so the extra 2gb wouldn't serve me much. I haven't even filled 1gb. If I used it for music, different story... but my ipod is more intuitive for that.

As for mac support, *shrug* no, it's not great, and yes pinstack/bbforums are helpful, but I had to buy a Windows machine for work anyway. I just use that when I need to (not often). The BB does pretty much everything needed (for me) w/o a computer.

My email is already synced across 3 computers (2 mac, 1 pc), one account being gmail. Works as it should on the BB as well, and is crazy fast (gmail particularily). The one thing I've yet to set up is a wireless sync w/ Google calendar (i.e. update the BB's cal & it updates on Google's end automatically, and vice-versa). Currently my BB's calendar does everything I need, but I don't have it saved anywhere else.

Using the BB as a Bluetooth or tethered modem works easier through OS X, but works fine on Windows too, once you figure out how to set it up.


Scott, by the way, I liked the movie 300 (or perhaps it should be 301) very much.

I use PocketMac to upload addresses and calendar to my Blackberry 8700. It works okay. I am afraid to synchronize it because I think that it is so easy to wipe out addresses in the Mac address book or the Blackberry. I wish that they had a synchronization mode that copies bilaterally what is not on the other address book. It will load the Mac Calendar database and also the Now-Up-to-Date caldendar database to the Blackberry. Recently I switched to using the Google calendar (so that multiple offices can enter and alter my calendar) and I have not yet figured out how to transfer from Google calendar to the Blackberry. So, I have to do it manually.

To date, I have not been able to use my blackberry as a modem. The brainmurmur package requires that one sets up a proxy server that is connected to internet. It is also apparently quite slow. I got really tired of waiting for blackberry to come through with the script to do it and they actually never did provide it. It had to be hacked and is not well-supported. This is in contrast to Sprint. I am able to connect my computer to my sprint phone and use it anywhere in the United States without any usage charge. I pay $15/month for unlimited Sprint-vision. Of course, now most hotels have wifi or ethernet in the rooms. However, for many years, my sprint phone was my only connection to internet when I travelled.

The failure of RIM to support the Mac was the main reason why I refused to buy a Blackberry despite its obvious superiority to other PDA's for many years. I used a Palm for a while but eventually broke down and switched to a Blackberry, using T-mobile because they offered unlimited internet access internationally. AT&T now offers a similar package but they did not three years ago when I first switched to Blackberry. I don't like the Brainmurmur solution because it requires the establishment of a proxy server. This means that if your computer crashes or is not connected to internet, you can't connectto internet using your blackberry as a modem. RIM should just support the Mac.

The problem is that the iPhone also does not allow you to use it as an internet modem either. It has to be hacked and AT&T does not support it. The bizarre thing is that Apple did not provide this an internet modem feature for the Mac, even though such a feature would be a very attracitive for many iPhone users. There are still places in the United States (and overseas as well) that do not have wifi or ethernet connections, and it would be useful to a cell modem connection to internet. Of course, the ability of the iphone to connect to wireless is a great boon but, again, it opens up the possibility of people using voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) to call rather than AT&T. In theory, one should be able to use call via Skype or other companys with the iPHone or Blackberry. This would be much cheaper than going through AT&T.

Wise.

[Scott Pruett]

Wise, I'm short on time to reply, but check out http://www.saraiya.com/ & http://www.mobilegcal.com/ for Google Calendar solutions. They're not flawless (pretty sure they don't support multiple calendars unless something changed), but I've read positive reviews on both, especially the first, despite the fact that it costs $20 & the website is lame.

300 was fantastic. :)

[Wise Young]

Wise, I'm short on time to reply, but check out http://www.saraiya.com/ & http://www.mobilegcal.com/ for Google Calendar solutions. They're not flawless (pretty sure they don't support multiple calendars unless something changed), but I've read positive reviews on both, especially the first, despite the fact that it costs $20 & the website is lame.

300 was fantastic. :)

Scott, yes. I really identify with the Spartans for some reason, although I am truly a wimp. Maybe that is why.

Thanks very much for the links. I had not heard of either one. I downloaded them to try. I actually was able to look at the google calendar through the web by adjusting some of the preferences.

Wise.

[GoTWHeeLs]

Im in the process of setting up my new 8830 and im extremely excited! This phone is amazing. Quad friendly, loads of memory, music, photos, videos, GSM.. By far the coolest phone ive ever seen and ive seen and played with most of them(my mom is a corporate rep for AT&T, and she gets a demo for every new phone). Im downloading the media manager now. I need to check out the wifi, ive heard about it before but now ill see what its really about.

[Scott Pruett]

...although I am truly a wimp.
:bs:

:D

Thanks very much for the links. I had not heard of either one. I downloaded them to try. I actually was able to look at the google calendar through the web by adjusting some of the preferences.
Sure thing! I'm going to tinker w/ the Saraiya script this week. It does support multiple calendars now, which deterred me earlier. Only one calendar is two-way (read/write) though, while up to four are one-way (read-only). I can work with that, although multiple read/write calendars would be ideal, as I manage some contractors' schedules at times.

I like that the Saraiya option doesn't rely on external servers for funtionality, unlike MobileGcal. Regardless, ultimately I just want something that works well.