Official OS5.0.0.411 BOLD from Bell Mobility!

So as you know like everyone else in Canada I am officially a CrackBerry user, although I miss my windows device soooo much. Anyway I use Rims flagship device, the Bold, despite its short comings I like it, it’s a great business tool and does what its intended for very well. I purchased and started using the Bold because my iPaq windows mobile phone was buggy and with the start of my company I needed to be connected without any glitches, I could have gotten a better windows mobile device because I believe the issues I was experiencing with my phone were based on the limitations of the hardware and not the OS. Anyway here I am several months into my relationship with the Bold and I can say I love it; its sleek and stylish design fits me perfectly. I’ve had other Blackberrys on and off in the past but Rim has really out done themselves with this unit although I would have preferred the side scrolling wheel but I understand why it could not work with the bold, I cannot imagine what the 9700 is like, maybe just awesome with a Rim logo.

I’m a geek to the core as you all know so I’ve been watching the forums and upgrading my bold with pre-release beta software…official and unofficial. I don’t use the Blackberry messenger as much as some people apparently do but when I upgraded to the latest version of the BBM I loved it, I mean I can still see areas they could improve but it was alright. One night began to peruse the forums after I came across some chatter online about the release of a newer version of the OS. I’m a bit skeptical of playing with some of these unofficial OS releases because unlike a computer if something goes wrong I can’t just format the drive and start again, nope if something goes wrong on installation of a new OS you essential brick it and it becomes useless or a ad on craigslist for parts.

The Forum I found was titleed ‘Official OS5.0.0.411 BOLD from Bell Mobility!!’, first thing I thought was frick(or something like that)…Bell, I’m on Rogers so no go, of course I launched myself into a torrent of curses to Rogers, but I decided to read through the threads to see if there maybe something for Rogers users. On the 3rd thread someone asked “can you use it on a Rogers bold?”, alright here we go I need an answer, will someone answer with the answer I want/need to hear. As I read on I found that some people had installed it on their Rogers Bold and it worked fine…I cannot type the excitement I felt when I found that tid bit of info. Anyway I decided to seek out and download the new 5.0 OS and try to install it myself. I downloaded it from RIM and had it sitting on my desktop for sometime waiting for the best time to do it. I couldn’t install it during business hours in case it took too long and I received a call or if I bricked the phone and need to switch over to my old phone. The install went smoothly and took a total of about 30mins. Although I was very very nervous especially at some very slow and paused loading sections of the install. If you plan on trying this check out the forum below and follow the instructions VERY carefully

I’ve played with it a little and the only issues I’ve found was that I lost my BBM contacts, groups and messages, no big deal. Aside from some very nice aesthetic changes, it feels hella faster and the speed a lone was worth the upgrade.

I found the details here:
http://forums.crackberry.com/f151/official-os5-0-0-411-bold-bell-mobility-399035/

Downloading BlackBerry Handheld Software v5.0.0.661

Download Details
Software Name: BlackBerry Handheld Software v5.0.0.661
File Name: 9000j_PBr5.0.0_rel661_PL5.2.0.33_A5.0.0.411_Bell_Mobility_Inc.exe
Download Size: 118.427 MB
Language: English
Published Date: 01/04/2010

vendor.xml is located in “c:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader” (Yours may differ slightly)

Just go to start, run and paste the above directory, it should take u there right away to the folder containing the file.

You should disconnect your computer from the internet before the update process has started. The reason behind is because blackberry desktop will check your blackberry PIN to its database to determine which carrier you are using. By disconnecting yourself, the software will skip the above process and simply verify the blackberry model and software available.

Step 1: Download desired OS to your PC.
Step 2: Install and complete the setup process to have the OS installed.
Step 3: Remember to delete vendor.xml file if your carrier the OS is not from your carrier.
Step 4: Do a comprehensive backup in case anything goes wrong.
Step 5: Connect Bold to PC and click on the Loader and let the process initiate. Loader can be found in the same folder as the vendor.xml file.
Step 6: Do not unplug the Bold during the process. Process may take around 30-60 minutes to complete.

****UPDATE:
So far I’ve been using the new OS with only a few annoying glitches…
1 – has given me a message that it has run out of memory and request that I delete something apps. the first time that happened I deleted some apps but the second time I realized I could just bypass that screen and everything was fine.

2- after installing the new OS it dropped my BBM contacts. That really sucked because I have to contact everyone to get there PINs

3 – keeps dropping my background until I sync with my computer (maybe the theme though) I’m not sure exactly when it happens but I will try to be vigilant in case I do another update.

Aside from the items listed about I love the new OS, the new features and tweaks far out weigh the three things listed about

Should I ditch my land-based home phone?

Go with the cheapest one without a contract. But before that ask yourself do you really need a home phone? Today most people have a mobile phone that caters to all there communication needs. Having different points of contact can lead to missed calls and is it practical to have more than one personal voice mailbox, plus there is the case of two bills. Most people today work a full 8hr day five days per week. They typically never really use the phone before work and when they get home from work they may have a small window for talking on the phone while they prepare dinner and prep for the following day before going to bed. On the weekends when free time comes, are you really in the home and on the phone that much? When you look at the advantages of your mobile it may be the best solution because you have access to a phone at all times, with the right plan you can talk free on weekends and evenings. Sure there is the argument that long distance is insane on mobiles but really the difference in price is only about 10% more than your current landline phone, when using the phone on your free time. I would recommend you do your research and weigh the pros and cons of having a home phone, but in today’s’ economy where we’re all looking for ways to cut cost and be the most efficient possible having two phones may be a move away from that mentality.

If you’re still considering a home phone, you must think of what type of home phone, VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) or the traditional dial tone phone system. Aside from thinking about the entrenched big companies that we all have come to love and hate, you’ll want to consider such companies that offer the same VOIP services, companies like Skype, Primus, VBuzzer, Vonage, VoIPGo or Brama Telecom, with a little research you can find a lot more of these types of services in your area.

I would say if you have shoddy internet service in your area VOIP may not be for you, because unlike traditional landlines VOIP calls are routed through broadband, so if your internet is down, so is your phone. The traditional landline is a dying work horse, as more and more people subscribe to VOIP much like the disappearance of dial up modems on the introduction of highspeed internet service, so too will the traditional landlines disappear. The reason is simple, with VOIP you can offer rich features such as video calling and more, traditional landline architecture just cannot handle the bandwidth and switching required for services and features that VOP can.

Really what it comes down to is your personal use and need. VOIP has been around since the 90s, but is still pretty sketchy when it comes to consistent reliability and quality, sure the rates are great and offers some really cool Jetson-esk features over traditional phone systems but sometimes service and quality just suck. This will get better, as the market cozies up to this new service vendors like Bell with seek to improve services like reliability and quality. I would recommend that if you decided to go with one of these VOIP companies see if you can get a no obligation trial period that will allow you to use the service and opt out in case you don’t like it.

Some things you should look for when choosing a VOIP company:
* Free Trial Period!
* Free Setup!
* No Activation Fees!
* No Cancellation Fees!
* No Cost or Low month fees for hardware
* No Contract to Sign
* Money Back Guarantee
Below I listed some pros and cons of having a Moble(Cell) over a LandLine(VOIP or Traditional)

Mobile
Pros
- mobility
- array of features
- free evenings and weekends
- status (cool factor)
- GPS locator service (for 911 situations)
- video calling

Cons
- Does not work on power failure
- cost of hardware (phone)
- misplacement of phone
- battery failure
- GPS locator service (for 911 situations) not reliable

LandLine
Pros
- works during power failure
- typical good long distance rates
- video calling (VOIP)
- cheaper monthly rates
- no per minute rates
- 911 calls locate exact address

Cons
- immobile
- poor features (traditional landline)
- subject to internet service (VOIP)

Something Big coming in August 2009

****JULY 22-2009 UPDATE****This is a follow up on this article I posted  last month. I guess the old saying “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is” still holds true. PLEASE READ THIS LINK BEFORE ENTERING INTO ANY THING WITH THIS COMPANY, I WILL KEEP MY EAR TO THE GROUND AND REPORT AS NEWS COMES IN. Article here (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/072009-zer01s-mobile-offer-may-be.html) is well worth the read.

Well as many of you may know I am no fan of Robbers aka Rogers or the any of the Canadian telecommunications offerings from any of the wireless carries here in the great white north. Since www.ithelpcrew.com is heavily dependent on email I’ve decided I should switch my device to a Blackberry, yes Greg is going to get a blackberry, and I’m not kicking and screaming. The problem is if I get it from Roger they will charge me $299 if I lock in on a 3 year plan, the contract is not very appealing especially when I hear rumors of the coming revolution to the North American telecommunication juggernaut. The rumor comes from www.howardforums.com:

>>Extreme22 (47 post) wrote

k i just got off the phone with fido rep she said that something big is coming in August that would change the face of telecommunication

something very big has anyone heard of this

The thread goes on for 6 pages with everyone chiming in with their own idea of what they think the big change is going to be, from the intro of the iphone on the Fido network to new affordable Rogers price plans that include nationwide unlimited but for me the most intriguing was the intro of the new carriers especially since several months prior I had personally received some news from a industry insider about a big change coming to North America market this fall.

I personally think the ensuing revolution is going to be the intro of a new competitor that will change the game in Canada and that competitor I believe is Globallive. If you visit their site you can read up on there acquisitions of space on the Canadian spectrum and their concern about the high cost we are forced to pay and the lack of service and network features available to us at these cost.

You can read more here:

http://www.globalive.com/?page_id=212

Watch Ben Piilani interview at CTIA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4OrqV1gPM

Globallive apparently is not the only company that has aspiration on stirring up the telco game in North America, on their website Buzzirk is promising UNLIMITED calling anywhere in the Mexico, Australia, US and Canada for $79.95/month, their site makes me a bit skeptical as it looks amateurish and kinda cheap. Then there is ZER01 they seem competent and I have actually heard of their technology before and from what I’ve heard they seem like they are able to deliver on their promises. Buzzirk will be using ZER01s technology but we’ll have to wait and see how and if they can deliver on July 1st. I’m still stuck in a 3 year plan with Rogers but my plan is if buzzirk delivers then I’ll lower my Rogers plan and get a Buzzirk plan and just wait for my Rogers plan to DIE!