BlackBerry Cool writers have the privilege of being in constant contact with a variety of wireless industry players. Naturally, we often get in heated or hilarious discussions over recent news. We’ve decided to start posting some of the more interesting conversations, in the hopes that it will spur greater debate. Our test run is a hearty debate over the value of a CDMA carrier switching to GSM, how long until 4G becomes anything more than a ‘wet dream’ and myths about call quality. Enjoy, and please post a comment with your thoughts.

Note: My interlocutor was uncomfortable with being identified, so let’s just call him Fake Ted Rogers.

Fake Ted Rogers: Isn’t saying Bell/Telus is going to GSM kinda like saying Verizon should?
Douglas Soltys: Well, different countries mean different biz scenarios.
Fake Ted Rogers: I’d like to see what the subs are for Tel/Bel compared to Rogers. As in the states Verizon has more than AT&T.
Douglas Soltys: Some would say that Verizon is run much better than Tel/Bel.

(...)
Read the rest of Compelling Conversations: North American Carrier Competition, 4G and GSM vs. CDMA (170 words)

Filed under Editorials, Top Story | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

We’re wrapping up our Zumobi giveaway tonight, so head on over to our contest, drop your name and e-mail in the form, and you could win one of ten $50 gift certificates to Amazon. Haven’t heard of Zumobi? Well, they’re an up-and-coming free widget platform for your BlackBerry. Already running on Windows Mobile, Zumobi promises to bring content-filled tiles to your handheld which you navigate by zooming in and out on a four-by-four grid. Want to give it a shot? Head on over to http://get.zumobi.com/bbcool on your mobile browser to get going.

Filed under News | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

(via BerryReview)

Filed under Features, News | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

The excessively long Canadian spectrum auction has finally wound up, and the results not only netted the government a healthy $4.2 billion (about three times more than they were expecting), but also brought some newcomers out to play. As expected, incumbents Rogers, Bell and Telus grabbed bits of the wireless spectrum available for sale, but Globalive, owner of the Yak brand, also picked up $442 million-worth of airwaves. Canadian anti-monopoly laws which force existing carriers to rent out their towers to other providers could favour Globalive in their upcoming service, due as early as next Easter. It sounds like they also understand the current situation with Canadian wireless rates: “Canadians are unhappy about the costs, the complexity of the billing. I can speak for myself as a consumer. I’m confused by my bill.” said CEO Anthony Lacavera. Hopefully these guys will be offering some BlackBerrys when they’re ready to go, but if the latest Koodo Mobile, is any indication, it might take them awhile to ramp up.

(CBC via Engadget)

Filed under News, Wireless Industry News | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

Opera’s monthly report for June has taken a look at the popular handsets that folks are using with their mobile browser, and what sites they’re going to. After running down country-by-country top 10 lists, it was pretty interesting to see the stark differences between the Chinese (dominated by Nokia) and the American (which was almost all BlackBerry). The UK also has almost half of their list occupied by BlackBerry, with the 8310 nabbing top spot. Speaking of which, the BlackBerry 8310 holds 5th. place worldwide in the popularity contest among Opera users. This State of the Mobile Web report is a pretty cool idea on Opera’s part, especially if you’ve developed a taste for this kind of thing with Google Trends. If you’re sick of the BlackBerry’s browser, you can get Opera Mini by visiting http://mini.opera.com/ on your mobile.

(Opera via Pinstack)

Filed under News | Permalink | One comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

Love it or hate it, the flip BlackBerry Kickstart is on the way, and there’s lots to say about it. The Wi-Fi model is currently dubbed the BlackBerry 8220, with the BlackBerry 8210 covering the GPS variant. In terms of construction, the Kickstart is showing off the same recessed trackball and large keys that had been eyeballed back in April. Previous worries about bulky size have been promptly thrown out the window - it’s apparently small enough to fit in your pocket like any other flip, despite the slight additional thickness.

One surprise is the replacement of microUSB taking over the old miniUSB current BlackBerrys have. Rumours of the BlackBerry Javelin getting the same treatment would show an ongoing trend for future BlackBerrys, but does make me wonder why the BlackBerry Bold didn’t start all of that off… As for how this new contender will fit into the larger scheme of things, some comparison shots against other flip phones (rather than other BlackBerrys) do a good job of contextualizing the BlackBerry Kickstart’s market position. Can’t wait for it? Rumour still has it that T-Mobile will be packing the Kickstart in September for $49.95. In any case, we’re definitely looking forward to seeing what OS 4.6 has to offer.

(via CB)

(...)
Read the rest of BlackBerry Kickstart hands-on: pics and specs (273 words)

Filed under News, Rumors, Top Story | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

A recent paper from UBS Investment Research is claiming that Canadian carriers Telus and Bell may be switching from CDMA to the popular GSM archietecture. It’s a big move that could cost upwards of $480 million, but when you look at the amount of exclusivity Rogers is enjoying with the iPhone, you can bet the competition won’t want to miss the next boat. This is good news for Canadian BlackBerry users, as it could mean no more waiting months on end for the CDMA versions of devices to come out. Where Bell and Telus sit on 4G remains uncertain - it’s entirely possible that they’ll skip the existing 3G HSDPA and go right to LTE.

(CBC via Engadget)

Filed under News, Wireless Industry News | Permalink | One comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

Supposedly the BlackBerry/iTunes syncing utility that was making the rounds last month is ready for primetime, and could be popping up for public download from www.blackberry.com/mediasync at some point today. iTunes support certainly makes BlackBerrys more viable as your number one media player - combined with increasing size of memory cards and high quality stereo Bluetooth headsets, it’s hard to go wrong. If you didn’t have time to nab MediaSync when it was available briefly, today could be your big chance, so keep your eyes peeled.

UPDATE: BlackBerry Media Sync is live, so go ahead and check it out!

(via BlackBerry News)

Filed under News, Rumors | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

You might have noticed BBCool being a little wonky over the last day or two - it was all a part of a server upgrade that we seem to have settled down from. Sorry for the lapse, but we’re now rocking some new hardware which should let us serve up the latest BlackBerry news lickitty-split from here on in.

Filed under BBCool News, News | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

As we draw nearer to the rumoured release date of the BlackBerry 9000 in Canada, it turns out we might just be seeing an announcement this Friday. The device proper might not be showing up until as early as the following weekend (August 1st.), or as late as September. It’s all pretty much up in the air at this point, but we would expect nothing less from Rogers. AT&T was supposedly getting the Bold a bit later in August, so it would make sense if Rogers followed suit. I guess we’ll just have to wait until Friday to see what’s up.

(via CB)

Filed under News, Rumors | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

(via Devberry)

Filed under News, Software Release | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

CrackBerry’s got a pretty slick contest going on where, just for voting on a poll about instructional videos on your BlackBerry, you get two days free of BlackBerry Made Simple videos. Not only that, you’ve got a shot at some of the big prizes, including a full year of video access, free ebooks, and week-long licenses to the video library. The big question of the poll is about saving the great BlackBerry Made Simple videos to your media card, so you can learn the ropes of the very device you’re watching. While vets might scoff at the notion of needing more training, there are always tricks to learn. As for newer folks, you can get up to snuff in no time with some clean, helpful videos. Just head on over to the forum and drop a ballot for your chance to win!

(via CB)

Filed under News | Permalink | One comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

We’ve got some more shiny pictures of the BlackBerry Thunder in action. Here you can check out how the media player will look while playing music, complete with title, artist and album art. There’s also a better look at the camera functions in both landscape and portrait modes. Flash, zoom, cropping, video and e-mail functions are all built into the main interface and a glimpse at what we can expect from OS 4.7. There are still plenty of pictures of the BlackBerry Thunder’s media player and virtual keypad out there, if you’re looking for more pics to slobber over.

(via BlackBerrySync)

(...)
Read the rest of More BlackBerry Thunder pictures emerge (101 words)

Filed under News, Rumors, Top Story | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

Regions, Wachovia, USAA, America First Credit Union, Regions, SunTrust, Arvest, Bancorp South, South Financial, FirstBank, Synovus and BECU are just some of the banks now signed up for Verizon’s free mobile banking service for BlackBerry. Compatible with the BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Pearl and the BlackBerry World Edition, the app will let you do all the usual banking tasks like checking your balance, pay bills, transfer cash, and look up transaction history. To get going, just hit up the Mobile Banking link from the VZ Start homepage in the Browser.

(via RCRWireless)

Filed under News, Software Release | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

Our few Chilean readers will be happy to hear that Movistar and Claro both have the BlackBerry Bold on the way sometime in August. There’s no word on pricing for the BlackBerry 9000, but right now the best guesses are hovering around the $US 300 mark. We’re still holding out breath for a BlackBerry 9000 release up here in Canada, but only time will tell if Chile and the rest of the world end up getting it before us.

(via Knol.cl, miblackberry)

Filed under News | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

If you ever find that you’re charging your BlackBerry nowhere near a convenient surface, Driin has come up with a pretty cool and simple solution. It’s a simple plastic holder that loops onto your BlackBerry charger on the wall, and provides a spot for your BlackBerry to sit - that means no more leaving your device sprawled on the floor like so much unwashed laundry. €5.00 ($US 8.00) isn’t a crazy pricetag, either.

(via WindowsMobile Cool)

Filed under News | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

BGR has taken a close look at the BlackBerry Bold’s browsing capabilities, which was notably solid in previous reviews. While not quite completely true to a desktop experience, as you can see from this eBay screenshot, the BlackBerry 9000 manages to render most pages without weird formatting issues. It’s hard for BlackBerry to hold a candle to the iPhone’s browsing power, shown in a few comparison shots, but it’s still a much-needed upgrade on the existing BlackBerry browser.

(via BGR)

Filed under News | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

3 Mobile and Vodafone in the UK are getting geared up for the BlackBerry Bold launch in the very near future, starting with Vodafone “in the next two weeks”. 3 Mobile will be preloading their BlackBerry Bolds with a Skype client to make use of the integrated WiFi for cheap VoIP calling. We’re still clinging to the hope that Canada will be the first to get the Blackberry 9000 this Friday, but everyone else will be getting it shortly thereafter. On an international scope, it’s looking like the Bold is going to have a very well-coordinated launch.

(via pocket-lint)

Filed under News, Rumors | Permalink | One comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

(via BerryReview)

(...)
Read the rest of Plazmic 4.5 CDK released (271 words)

Filed under News, Software Release | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg

RIM jobs! Get your RIM jobs! Get ‘em while they’re hot! 7 fresh positions at Research in Motion have been posted on BlackBerryJobs.com, including Mobile Application Architect, Infrastructure Solutions Architect, and Operations Analyst. Exciting titles as they may be, there are no doubt plenty of readers out there who can fill those shoes and wear those hats. If you’re an employer with some holes to fill, go on and post a job! Oh, we’re also selling those shirts for any recruiters in Waterloo…

Filed under BBCool News, News, Spotlight | Permalink | No comment | Add to Del.icio.us or Digg