RSSIs BlackBerry Bold really having iPhone 3G-like issues?
By Tim Conneally | Published August 22, 2008, 2:59 PM
Research In Motion launched its newest BlackBerry, the Bold, in Canada yesterday. Reviewers who have hastily compared it to Apple's iPhone have been asked by RIM to remove a side-by-side review comparing browsing speed between the two devices.
The Bold, or BlackBerry 9000, runs on an Intel XScale 624 MHz processor, has an HVGA 480x320 display and offers UMTS (2100, 900, 850MHz), GSM (1900,1800,900,850MHz), GPRS, EDGE and HDSPA , as well as Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS. There is also 1 GB of on-board memory for storage of files, and 128 MB of flash memory for applications.
In Canada, the device is available through Rogers and costs $399 with a three-year contract.
RIM's launch was delayed for battery life issues, and resulted in a less-than-hyped rollout. However, thanks to a video on Mobile Computer that compared the Bold's full Web browsing speed to the Apple iPhone, discussion about the device has elevated.
In the video, the two browsers loaded identical pages, but the iPhone ran laps around the Bold. Astute readers pointed out that during the test, the iPhone was actually loading the pages from its Wi-Fi connection, while the Bold was relying on its 3G and EDGE connection.
| An independent user's test of his new BlackBerry Bold, showing page loading times -- while nothing particularly speedy -- still faster than in a UK magazine's comparison with the iPhone 3G. Note the Wi-Fi indicator remains active throughout. |
A Bold owner responded with his own video of the Blackberry on Wi-Fi performing much faster than the Mobile Computing video showed. RIM then demanded the site pull the origninal comparison video, on the grounds that it was an unjust portrayal.
Barring some kind of serious limitations, design flaws or performance issues, I'd say there's a good chance this will be my next phone.
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|It can't be 3G because my Tilt is working FINE in the same household I have a iPhone 3g that my sister uses and she has had many dropped calls. The worst part is we have a tower thats only 300 feet away i can see it out of my window and I never had a dropped called from my house ever before except with the iPhone.
I know apple is fixing it so I don't care but its just annoying to see her keep a $300 phone in the charger and use her old phone when she wants to make a call.
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|Impossible.
Problems with 3G performance are solely owned by Apple, and anyone who dares to infringe on such ownership will find themselves in court defending such heinous behavior.
Meanwhile the self-entitled were heard to cry foul outside as they whined that they should be entitled to some of the problems as well simply by virtue that, well, by virtue that they can whine.
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|What I don't understand is why RIM continue to develop their browser. While it's not a -BAD- browser, Opera Mini is a preferred and available option and outperforms RIM's browser on my Pearl and I would assume it would on the Bold also.
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|I COMPLETELY agree with you. I really dont get it either. It would cut costs for RIM and provide the users a better browsing experience.
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|The comparison test is inappropriate in this case. The architecture behind RIM is MUCH different from straightforward iPhone's - download and show. RIM is basically server based "proxy" between your phone and internet/email/whatever. So, this layer creates additional delays obviously.
But all of these does not make RIM less attractive, IMHO
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