Using a Blackberry 8700g without BES or BIS

Whoops, I just deleted my comprehensive review of the Blackberry 8700g in which I forgot to add that some key presses take a little getting used to, notably the “back” button which I just pressed.

In a nut shell my review said:
You can pick up a Blackberry 8700g for £1.50 + £4.50 postage and even though it comes without software, charger, instructions or cables you can download the manuals and all software from the Blackberry web site and charge the device using a standard USB cable (eg. the ones used to connect PS3 controllers to the PS3)

Similarly whilst the Blackberry e-mail software and browser will only work when you have a BIS or BES (Blackberry Internet Service or Blackberry Enterprise Server) you can get around this restriction using third part applications. Google’s gmail appears to offer very similar email functionality, running in the background and connecting by GPRS. A mini-version of Opera provides excellent web browsing.

Other points:
The Blackberry’s neat QWERTY keyboard enables fairly rapid two thumb typing.
The well proportioned colour screen is sharp and easy to read (and ideal for Pacman)
Password protection is very annoying and can’t be switched off
GPRS (2G) is quicker than I expected
The 8700g does not have a camera or memory expansion slot
Lack of a joy pad or directional device to simulate a mouse means some non Blackberry specific applications can’t be used
T-mobile’s pay-as-you-go SIM is free providing you top up £10 and in addition to call / text credit gives 10 days unlimited internet access.

I’ll add more later. First I need to see if I can save this entry instead of deleting it!

All the best

Windows Live

I’m currently experimenting with Windows Live.  I was drawn in because the latest versions of Windows (Vista, 7 and even XP with the latest service packs) don’t come with Outlook Express.  Windows Live Mail is the tool they offer.  I must admit I’m finding it all a tad confusing!  The initial installation was easy and at a glance Live Mail is no different from most email programs I’ve encountered.  The interface is attractive and simple – with a preview feature which makes it look like simplified version of Outlook.  It appears to offer all the features I’m looking for, so what is causing me all this confusion?  The part I’m struggling with is the “Live” element and the more I play with it the more confused I’m becoming.  I assumed (this may be the route of the problem) that “Live” would mean my emails, contacts, appointments etc. are being stored somewhere on the internet either in addition to or as well as on my hard drive.  However, if they are, I can’t find them!  Each attempt I make the online section of Windows Live encourages me to sign up for additional email addresses or Hotmail accounts and at one point resulted in a message going to every single person in my contacts folder – inviting them to “accept me?” – which sounds a bit needy!

The reason I’m persevering is that the whole Windows Live package comes with all manner of free software and, if I can get my head around it, a method of sharing files and being able to access them from any pc.  In fact, I’m writing this blog entry using Windows Live Writer, which seems to be working pretty well.  What I particularly like is that it will work with WordPress and isn’t limited to whatever Microsoft decide is their preferred blog provider.  I need to check out the Live Photo Gallery; hopefully it will interface with my Flickr account.

One disappointment for me was that Moviemaker or Moviemaker Live as it is now called won’t work with XP.  I was a big fan of the old version of Moviemaker – I’ll test the Live version on my Windows 7 pc and provide an update.

I’ll keep you posted.

All the best

John

Sony Ericsson C905 – Camera Phone

I’ve had this phone for just over 4 months and am already counting the days until I’m due an upgrade! I must admit when I chose it I was dazzled by the 8.1 mega-pixel camera, which does produce some very pleasing shots, but otherwise the phone is disappointing. I may have been spoilt by moving over from a Nokia N95.

At a glance they have similar specifications and dimensions; slider type phone, reasonable size & 240×320 resolution screens, GPS, wi-fi, bluetooth, good cameras with flash, video recording, built in accelerometer etc. However, with the exception of the camera, the C905 falls behind the Nokia in every respect! This in spite of the fact the N95 was launched nearly two years earlier (Sept 2006). The C905′s bespoke operating system (as opposed to S60 used in the Nokia) seems to be its main limiting factor; although it may look like one and be priced like one the C905 isn’t a “Smartphone”. It will run some additional software but so far I’ve only managed to find a rather motley selection of Java applications. Luckily one of these is Opera mini browser – which although being the most cut down of Opera’s offerings is still vastly superior to the built in browser (this may not be entirely Sony’s failing but to some degree be down to 3 hijacking it). My old Nokia was crammed with applications including some relatively practical ones such as an Office Suite. The C905 seems incapable of running anything similar.

Another annoyance is a fault my C905 has developed – it can take a couple of minutes to come out of sleep mode. This might make me sound impatient but as well as the frustration of waiting for it to wake up, when someone calls I can’t see their name or number – the only way to find out is to pick up – in the same fashion as a 1970′s Bakelite landline! I’ve called my service provider (3) and been through the palaver of a full reset. This didn’t fix the problem but its a great way to lose all your personal settings. When I’ve got half a day free I might give them another try! If I remember I’ll let you know how I get on!

Okay the C905 isn’t awful but in my opinion the camera isn’t quite good enough to make up for its other deficiencies. I’m now kicking myself for not waiting a couple of weeks for the launch of Nokia’s N97.

Cheers

Nokia N95 software update

I’ve been using a Nokia N95 for nearly year now and there’s no doubt it’s a pretty cool phone. One of the things I’ve been impressed with is the number of excellent free applications there are out on the web to download. Many of these come from Nokia themselves. The phone I use is on contract from one of the main UK providers, who’ve somewhat customised the phone’s software to suit themselves. Initially this wasn’t a problem for me, in fact I think they’d added some useful touches that the standard N95 lacked.

Within a couple of weeks of signing up for the phone, Nokia announced an update to the firmware. I dutifully downloaded the Nokia Updater software and ran it. The software detected that I was using an old version of the firmware and the update worked perfectly. As it happened there was little noticeable difference from the original, but I was happy. As time passed Nokia released more updates, sometimes adding features and others small bug fixes. However, each time I ran the software updater it said I was running the latest version of the firmware, which was frustrating as often the prompt for me to run it was an email from Nokia announcing the launch of the latest version! This annoyed me so I rang my network provider who informed me they hadn’t approved the latest version so it wouldn’t install on my phone! In September 2008, Nokia released version 30.0.015 with some significant improvements including their own screen rotation feature that makes use of the built in accelerometer. I wanted this update!

Luckily, as with most things nowadays there are answers to this on the internet, the first being to debrand your phone. Now this is not for the faint of heart! There are a number of people out there who have only succeeded in converting their wonderful N95 “it’s what computers have become” smartphone into N95 shaped paper weights! So be warned! The process I followed was here:

http://www.expansys.com/ft.aspx?k=90092

Have a read through the comments that follow the main text – I thought I’d knacked my phone a couple of times, especially when it came up with the message “Phone Start-Up Failed. Contact your Retailer.”  Aaargh!

Luckily a hard reset saved the day.  To do this:

Turn your phone off.

Hold in the green call button, the * button and the 3 button.

Still holding in these buttons, turn the phone on,

(Did I mention you need to grow a couple of extra fingers first?)

It worked for me and sure enough the next time I ran the Nokia software updater it worked beautifully.  The only problem I had was that my backup didn’t restore completely and I had to reinstall quite a few of my applications.

battle of the bands

chaz and co have just held their first gig.

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