^^^
If youre just looking for email and sms, I think the tour is the way to go. The apps are bad (small screen, a tad buggy, overall bad) and the internet browsing is pretty awful if you're doing more than a google search. I only really use a few apps (poynt, weather, pandora, etc). However, the keyboard and email makes it worth it for me at work.

I came from a dare and havent missed the touchscreen at all. However, the Bold (new one) is super sexy. Same phone without any of the bezel around the phone. Much slimmer, better feel, and I like the touch roller ball.

4/3/2010 1:35:50 AM

Alright I've been trying so hard to get the new ncsu gmail to work on my BB. I have a VZW pearl. Can't access BIS on a computer to set it up. BB mail's default for my email address will send mail, but the imap in the advanced settings is a something.ncsu.edu server, when everything I'm reading says it needs to be imap.gmail.com. When I try to change this it asks for my password, then thinks a second and reverts back to the .ncsu.edu server.

I waited a few hours since switching from squirrelmail to gmail, could it just be that the imap server defaults haven't switched yet? Is there a way to change the imap server without BIS or the earlier method?

4/3/2010 4:00:25 PM

^

4/3/2010 4:07:17 PM

free PTT for the length of your contract for VZW blackberries if you sign up between now and june 30th:

http://images.blackberryos.com/misc/PTTonBBPromo.pdf

4/4/2010 8:09:08 AM

just in case someone is browsing in here... instructions for setting up ncsu gmail on BBs

official instructions:

Quote :

"BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE (BIS) BY CARRIER ALLTEL Communications, Inc. https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=alltel AT&T https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=mycingular Cellular South, Inc. https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=csouth1 CellularOne https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=cellularone HELIO, Inc. https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=earthlink Nextel Operations, Inc. https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=nextel Skytel https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=skytel Sprint Spectrum L.P. https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=sprint SunCom Wireless Operating Company https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=suncom TMobile https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=tmobile United States Cellular Corporation https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=uscellular Verizon https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw UNITY: 1. Sign into your carrier's BIS (Blackberry Internet Service). 2. Click the "Setup Email" button. 3. Enter your NCSU Email Address ONLY. Example: unityid@ncsu.edu *NOTE: (Leave Password field BLANK) 4. Click the "Next' button. 5. Select "Provide Additional Settings" at error message, "The email address or password is incorrect, or we need more details to set up this email. Retype the information or provide additional settings." or click the "Next" button. 6. Select "POP/IMAP (Most Common)" 7. Enter Email Address. Example: unityID@ncsu.edu 8. Enter Email Password. (Your Unity Password) 9. Enter Email Server, imap.gmail.com 10. Enter User Name, unityID@ncsu.edu 11. Click the "Next" button. 12. You should get a message similar to "Email account, yourunityid@ncsu.edu will be added to your device home screen." 13. On the Blackberry phone, you should see a mailbox icon created for this account. 14. In the BIS, click "Finish" 15. Select "Edit" for the newly created account, verify that the port number is 993 as well as other account settings. 16. Please verify that you are able to send/receive email from this account."

if you can't use your computer browser to set up BB email, then just use the email wizard on your device.

4/5/2010 2:59:07 PM

so is there any way to get my device to work with the BES at my school (so I can have true Exchange sync OTA) without paying $12 more a month for the "corporate email & web" plan from VZW?

4/6/2010 7:43:36 PM

You will want to have some type of unlimited data plan to use a BES

Also a device can only be connected to one BES (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

4/6/2010 7:55:25 PM

i have the personal email&web unlimited data plan for my Tour currently, but my school is saying that for them to authenticate my BB for Exchange, I have to pay for the more expensive "corporate" plan and pay them a one time fee of $75

4/6/2010 7:57:06 PM

I'm pretty sure that you do actually have to have the BES plan in order to use one. I no longer have one but it seems that was a common complaint back when I did and was browsing crackberry some. I don't know what the $75 is for though. Verizon screwed up several times and changed me to the BES plan and there was never a $75 charge. Is that maybe some kind of set up fee from your school?

4/6/2010 9:54:50 PM

Yeah it's looking like the BES plan is necessary. I am assuming the $75 fee is to cover some of the costs of their BES servers, but I have no idea. Sucks I gotta do all this just to get what my iPhone and Droid both did with no additional setup or fees.

4/6/2010 10:12:30 PM

i've been thinking about getting a blackberry with verizon soon. should i just get the tour, or should i wait for the 9650?

4/11/2010 11:07:51 PM

Get a Droid. There's really no point in getting a pretend smartphone anymore.

4/11/2010 11:14:51 PM

^ i'd primarily be needing my phone for email and messaging with the occasional web browsing to check sports scores, fantasy baseball, etc. i've heard good things about the droid, but realistically i won't be doing much web browsing or messing around with apps. from what i've read online a blackberry seems to suit my needs better.

4/11/2010 11:45:59 PM

well, the thing is... you're going to pay the same amount of money for the data plan to support that blackberry. so why would you not get something with a real web browser, and e-mail support that's every bit as good? you may not think you'll do much with apps, but you might be surprised at how good they are on the android, and how many of them can be had freely.

4/11/2010 11:49:25 PM

Quote :

"e-mail support that's every bit as good?"

everything i've read indicates that it's not every bit as good

4/11/2010 11:57:50 PM

Quote :

"everything i've read indicates that it's not every bit as good"

I know they're talking about a Droid but the iPhone has excellent email support and works very well with Exchange. Ironically enough I was the only one at work able to get hooked up to the Exchange server on a mobile device with no issues. Everyone else using an Android or BB device had issues for one reason or another. With 4.0 it will only get better.

But I just read you are on Verizon so nvm.

[Edited on April 12, 2010 at 12:01 AM. Reason : .]

4/12/2010 12:01:07 AM

[shrug] if you say so. i've been using a Droid since the day it was released, and i've been extremely happy with it. prior to that, I had a BlackBerry Tour on Verizon. It was the most painful experience I've ever had with a phone. I paid full price for the Droid just to get rid of the Tour. And I wouldn't have done that if I didn't hate the BB UI and experience.

4/12/2010 12:01:23 AM

Yeah I thought the same thing - that a bb would be the most integrated with all my email accounts. Boy was I wrong. I even got the more expensive BES plan and had my IT dept authorize my device, but it still wouldn't give me full Exchange folder synchronization. They said the only thing you get is the new messages and global address lookup. When I used the droid, I got all of that plus full folder sync with no additional setup.

Blackerry os is clearly a dying platform unless they do somethig major to revamp it.

4/12/2010 10:34:48 AM

Unless you're company has BES or requires a blackberry, there's no real reason to get one. If you use gmail, it's pretty much a no brainer. The default mail app is a little blah and doesn't support exchange with security policies but for $19.99, the Touchdown for Exchange app is well worth it and offers a much better experience.

4/12/2010 10:40:08 AM

well i just found out i can't upgrade until july without getting my number changed, so the whole thing is a non issue for the next 3 months anyway

4/12/2010 6:48:26 PM

um....so I just got the replacement phone. I CAN'T FIND HALF THE ICONS. WHERE THE FUCK

4/14/2010 7:42:09 PM

Did you hit the menu button and make sure they're not hidden?

4/14/2010 8:02:32 PM

^ It's a blackberry, you know the first thing to try is to take the battery out.

4/14/2010 8:05:41 PM

At least Blackberries have the option of removing the battery yourself instead of having to take it to the dedicated Apple store to have them charge you to do it

^^^go to the Main Menu...hold down Alt and click the trackball once...go down to Show All and click the trackball again...after that, you can Alt+click on any of the 'new' icons that you want to hide

4/14/2010 8:17:25 PM

The ability to take the battery out in no way justifies the troubleshooting reason for having to do so in the first place. That's called design flaws in your OS.

4/14/2010 8:23:01 PM

OS's can be updated

Physical designs like the iPhone not even having removable batteries are irreparable

ps: please keep your fucking trolling out of this particular thread

4/14/2010 8:24:16 PM

I'm not trolling. I'm pointing out that if the ONLY way to get your phone to stop fucking up is to remove the battery, then you've done it wrong. The iPhone has a builtin reset that works even if the OS is locked up tight. Is there a reason why RIM won't learn that trick?

4/14/2010 8:27:16 PM

RIM is way behind in the game. Failberry users will eventually wise up to the benefits of the competition.

4/14/2010 8:28:55 PM

The only way to get a BB to stop 'fucking up' isn't to remove the battery. However removing the battery does happen to be the quickest way to reboot the device. Oh I can go to Menu and then to Turn Power Off, but its quicker to just pop the battery out.

And doing that type of reboot will have zero effect on hidden icons; completely separate "issue" which can be solved by what I mentioned a couple posts up

btw, since many of you probably weren't aware of it, BB's can pretty much do anything that iPhones and Droids can, functionally. Sure its not as pretty, nor is it nearly as user friendly for web browsing...But with my Blackberry I can be on a phone call, switch to a browser and look something up, while still on the phone, etc...ie the same things the new smartphones claim to be able to do...you've been able to do with Blackberries for years...but again, its not as pretty and flashy as some of the other smartphones

4/14/2010 8:29:14 PM

Quote :

"Optimum All American 7895 Posts user info edit post ^ Really? Are we going to do this again? 4/14/2010 5:17:08 PM"

4/14/2010 8:29:27 PM

Quote :

"Failberry"

hahah

come on, can't you come up with something better...I mean use some alliteration or something

Brokeberry for example

4/14/2010 8:35:07 PM

well I was nervous to do a battery pull because the last time I did that, they took 5 days sending me a new phone But I called Verizon, they claimed to reboot some shit, then I did a pull and now it's there but what doesn't make sense is that there are apps on there that I downloaded separately with my old phone that were def not standard apps, but a good portion of them are now on this phone.....hmmmm

4/14/2010 9:23:03 PM

Quote :

" Sure its not as pretty, nor is it nearly as user friendly for web browsing...But with my Blackberry I can be on a phone call, switch to a browser and look something up, while still on the phone, etc...ie the same things the new smartphones claim to be able to do...you've been able to do with Blackberries for years...but again, its not as pretty and flashy as some of the other smartphones"

That’s like saying that a golf cart can do the same things a Ferrari can do.

While technically true, it’s grossly misleading.

The BB does some things well, even maybe the best, but the BB’s browser is a complete joke.

4/14/2010 10:08:31 PM

I agree the BB browser is a joke, but when I see Luke Wilson doing a commercial implying that, for example, only Verizon phones can multitask, etc, I'm like "thats just patently false"

And a better analogy would be a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry could do versus what a Ferrari can do...although at least you can change your own battery on a Ferrari lol

And convince me why anyone needs a Ferrari as opposed to say an Accord

4/16/2010 5:09:14 PM

What is the big deal about the battery replacement thing? Honestly? Why do people think this is an issue?

4/16/2010 5:31:18 PM

Some people like to have a spare battery thats fully charged, so they can just swap it out

Why the hell wouldn't all phones have removable batteries??

For example, if I have a laptop for 5 years and the battery won't hold a charge anymore...I should be able to go on eBay or another website and buy a battery, that I can replace. There should never ever be a situation where I have to take my laptop to a Dell store so they can charge me labor to replace a battery.

4/16/2010 5:33:28 PM

I guess my question is more about that need to swap to another battery. Are people really using their phones that much that they need additional batteries? Seems like they're solving the wrong problem.

As far as a laptop battery, you pay Apple the same to replace that battery as if you'd bought and installed it yourself. No price difference.

[Edited on April 16, 2010 at 5:37 PM. Reason : nice ninja edit. ]

4/16/2010 5:36:20 PM

I charge my phone at night and never really have to swap out the battery because it holds a charge long enough to use it throughout the day, then I charge it at night.

But what if you're going camping? What if you're not going to have access to an AC outlet every single day?

I just don't see how even the most rabid Apple fans could find a way to defend having to pay Apple to get them to replace your battery, when literally 99% of all other phones and smartphones allow the user to do this themselves.

I mean, its good for them business-wise...just not the customers

[Edited on April 16, 2010 at 5:39 PM. Reason : .]

4/16/2010 5:38:52 PM

Maybe Apple fans don't go camping.

4/16/2010 5:40:06 PM

Apple fans camp all the time:

4/16/2010 6:28:59 PM

question. I have a bb bold 9000 and I upgraded the os to the 5.0.117 or whatever but it seems like ever since my battery has been draining faster than before. Did anyone do this and have problems?

4/18/2010 6:47:22 PM

Can't really answer the question, but I got a refurbished Bold and the battery is pretty shitty (at least compared to my last Curve...but the battery was AMAZING on tha).

4/18/2010 10:50:07 PM

BB OS 6 at WES 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlO8KMv7Bx4

4/27/2010 5:48:04 PM

Hooray for RIM moving onward to only a couple of miles behind the competition, instead of THOUSANDS of miles.

4/28/2010 9:18:21 AM

haha i like how they used a song that says "im so 2008, you so 2000 late" for that...

but still, when will os6 updates be gettin out?

im sure i will have gotten a new bb by the time verizon releases anyway

4/28/2010 2:44:13 PM

That video didn't show anything involving a new improved browser. That should be paramount.

4/28/2010 7:14:59 PM

My Tour bricked over the weekend. I was checking scores in the ESPN app and 5 minites later I looked at my phone and it said, "Technical issue. Please return to place of purchase for repair."

They were able to restore it in the verizon store, but apparently this has been an issue over the past few weeks since the 5.0 update and may keep re-occurring.

5/3/2010 7:41:08 AM

just tethered my blackberry to my computer.....awesome and very simple

5/16/2010 11:33:32 PM

who is your provider? verizon still blocks tethering as far as i know...

5/17/2010 10:05:30 AM

Not if you use tether, pdanet or vzam.

5/17/2010 10:21:07 AM