Tag Archives: Blackberry

My Blackberry is (still) not working

Posted on October 13, 2011 at 6:58 am UK

I first posted this video satire about the Blackberry (and Apple) smartphone by comedians Harry Enfield and Ronnie Corbett last December. In light of the continuing serious downtime issues with RIM’s Blackberry network, affecting users worldwide, it seems exceptionally apt to take another look.

(If you don’t see the video embedded above, watch it at YouTube.)

On a serious note, though, this ongoing outage presents Blackberry maker RIM with an alarming loss of reputation, never mind considering its position in a hugely competitive market where major competitor Apple announced a new iPhone last week and new Android devices are coming from competitors everywhere. Is RIM headed for disaster? Plenty of opinion suggesting they’re in serious trouble now. (And prize for best new word of 2011: ‘woefuk,’ tweeted by Alastair Campbell.)

Still, as we like to say in England, always look on the bright side…

[Later] While RIM’s Blackberry woes still attract humorous commentary and opinion, let’s add a perfect cartoon from Matt in today’s Telegraph.

matt-13oct11-blackberrybreakdown

It’s all about the apps, Part 3

Posted on May 12, 2009 at 12:46 pm UK

reutersiphoneapp I wrote last month that iPhone is all about the apps. It’s not really about the device itself, cool though it is – it’s much more about what you can do with it.

I discovered a new one yesterday – Thomson Reuters News Pro, a free app that gives you access to a wealth of real-time news, information and other content including pictures, video, global financial data, corporate information, and interactive financial charting.

I’ve used it a handful of times since installing it yesterday, and I’m hooked.

This will give you an idea of what to expect: screenshots, clockwise from top left, of news, pictures, market data and video.

trnp1 trnp2

trnp3 trnp4

Thomson Reuters haven’t only released their app for the iPhone, though. They have also released a version for the BlackBerry with a different user focus, as PaidContent writes:

[…] The Blackberry app is more geared to Thomson Reuters’ traditional financial professional customer. [ Alisa] Bowen [Thomson Reuters’ SVP, head of consumer publishing]: “One of the differences is the volume of content being pumped into the two devices. The BlackBerry product is designed as a reading product for the beginning of the day and the end of the day, or between business appointments. And so, the BlackBerry is more focused on organizing a huge range of content.” Therefore for now, the BlackBerry app will feature commentary and analysis, which [Chris] Ahearn [Thomson Reuters’ president of media] and Bowen described as a major new push for the company as it seeks to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Looks like Blackberry is all about the apps, too.


The new pecking order in Washington

Posted on February 2, 2009 at 12:20 pm UK

obamablackberry In the days following his inauguration as US President, much has been talked about concerning Barack Obama and his Blackberry.

If, as US President, he were to continue using a mobile device to connect with people, as he did during his election campaign, much discussion focused on things like worries about security issues and the Presidential Records Act if the Commander in Chief were to be openly accessible without control or restriction on voice and email.

All that seems to have largely gone away as President Obama now has a Blackberry-like device – a Sectera Edge, pictured below, according to a ZDNet report.

secteraedge460

It’s made by General Dynamics, a major US defence contractor, and is no ordinary Blackberry, that’s for sure. Indeed, it’s not actually a Blackberry.

So President Obama is the first US president to use a mobile device while in office. Who would he talk to, I wonder? Send and receive emails to and from? No doubt his contact list would be pored over by everyone from his closest advisers to the US Secret Service, CIA, FBI and other US government agencies.

Some insight, if not actual answers, to such musing comes in “Symbol of Elite Access: E-Mail to the Chief”, a fascinating article in the New York Times over the weekend, that examines what Obama’s Blackberry (that’s how it’s known, whether it’s a Blackberry or not) means to the political structure in Washington and who has access to the most powerful man in the world.

[…] It is now the ultimate status symbol in a town obsessed by status. Mr. Obama was spotted last week trying out his new BlackBerry — or actually a more sophisticated, encrypted variation — and aides say that he uses a computer in the study next to the Oval Office but that he has agreed to limit the number of people he would exchange e-mail with. In the process, he created a new measure for Washington to judge who really has the ear, or the thumb, of the president.

So who knows President Obama’s email address and is able to connect with him? It’s a pretty short list at the moment, according to the NYT.

[…] Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has it, along with his own new super-secret BlackBerry and e-mail address. So do Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, his top advisers and some of his oldest friends from Chicago.

The challenge for those privileged few with the address will be when to use it, says the New York Times.

[…] What is the etiquette on sending e-mail to the president? Several friends and aides said they would hit the “reply” button but not the “new message” button — in other words, send messages only when messaged first.

The best quote comes from Alexi Giannoulias, the state treasurer of Illinois and a friend of Mr Obama:

“I figure if he needs me or wants to talk to me on any social level, he can get me very, very quickly. His friends need to have a shift in mentality. He’s no longer Barack. He’s an institution.”