Blackberry Bold 9700 Review

I've had my Rogers Blackberry Bold 9700 for a little under a month and it being my first Blackberry, I'm very impressed with it. My Blackberry Bold 9700 came with 5.0.0.321 but Rogers recently released 5.0.0.351 and even though I didn't experience any issues with 5.0.0.321, I updated to the newer version and still didn't experience any issues. If it makes any difference in terms of my review, my Blackberry Bold 9700 was manufactured in Mexico. There have been some negative comments about the build construction from the earlier Bold 9700s but I haven't had any issues with the construction and build quality of my 9700.

I've only been using it for under a month but what I like about it is the almost instantaneous e-mail reception as well as the chatting capabilities of the Blackberry service.

Since the 9700 has Wi-Fi, when it is configured to connect to an access point (or router), the 9700 will automatically connect to this network whenever it is within range. This saves you from using a lot of data from the carrier. The Blackberry also compresses data from e-mail, chatting, and browsing so data usage is already efficient on Blackberries when compared with other phones. With this automatic connection of previously configured wireless networks, it makes data usage even more efficient. There is one thing to note about the connection to wireless networks over the carrier's data network and that is that I've encountered 1 program that regardless of whether you're connected to a wireless network will always access data via the carrier's data network. Yes, I did check through the options of this program and there is nothing to indicate a preference for Wi-Fi or to manually select Wi-Fi in this program. I've also encountered another program where you are required to specify the data connection to use and there is no option to automatically toggle/use the carrier's data network when you aren't connected to a wireless network. This means that if you specify that the Blackberry should use the wireless network, the moment you aren't close enough to a previously configured wireless network, the program will not update. Also, if you specify that it should use BIS (Blackberry Internet Service), regardless of whether you are within proximity of a previously configured wireless network and your Blackberry connects to the wireless network, the program will continue to use the carrier's (BIS) data.

Since I haven't received my first bill/statement yet for this account (at the time of this blog entry), I'm not sure how much data I've used. Even though I do a lot of audio/video streaming, most of the time when I'm doing this, I'm connected to a wireless access point or router. I would be very surprised if I even used more than half of the 500MB that I have with Rogers Wireless (my Blackberry carrier).

I've played YouTube videos on my Bold 9700 and the videos are quite good in terms of video quality and sound quality over the carrier's data network (Rogers) as well as over a wireless network. I've also tried a few other video/audio programs like SlingPlayer Mobile for the Blackberry and I experienced similar results. The only thing with SlingPlayer Mobile for the Blackberry is that as of today, when attempting to download the SlingPlayer Mobile software from Sling Media's website using your Blackberry, their website indicates that the device is not supported. I found a link on Sling Media's website to download the software directly to my 9700 without the "phone compatibility check" and I couldn't get it to download when I manually entered the URL into my Blackberry browser. I had to click on the link from a website.

When using SlingPlayer Mobile for Blackberry 1.0.0.11, I find that the program reacts very slowly to remote control commands regardless of whether you're using a wireless network or the carrier's data network. However, the audio/video quality is excellent on the device.

What I don't like about the Blackberry Bold 9700 is that I find the keys to be a bit cramped when I compare it with the keys on the Palm Treos that I've used (600, 650, and 680). This makes it a bit difficult more difficult to type a text with the Blackberry Bold 9700 than with the old Treo line of phones from Palm.

Another thing about the Blackberry Bold 9700 is that I like the fact that it uses a standard USB cable (unlike Apple's proprietary USB cable) to not only synchronize the device but it also charges the phone as well. However, I don't like that it is a microUSB cable instead of a miniUSB cable (because I have a lot of miniUSB cables).

I do like the trackpad on the Blackberry Bold 9700. You can control the sensitivity of the trackpad via the options so if you find it too sensitive or not sensitive enough, you can adjust the horizontal sensitivity and/or the vertical sensitivity.

On the Rogers Blackberry Bold 9700, a 2GB microSD memory card is included. I found the memory card actually inserted into my phone when I purchased it. Since it was a new activation, the store had opened up my box and inserted the SIM card into the phone in order to make sure that everything worked. The instructions for removing the memory card from the 9700 is not very detailed but in order to remove it, you must push the microSD memory card into the unit (similar to removing SD cards from some laptops/netbooks) and it will eject enough for you to be able to remove it.

I find the Wi-Fi reception strength of the Blackberry Bold 9700 to be good (better than on my iPhone 3GS). For example, while in my bedroom, my iPhone 3GS struggles to access my router's wireless signal while my 9700 accesses my router's wireless signal without any issues. The Bold 9700 handles hidden SSIDs  as well as various encryption schemes. I haven't experienced any issues configuring my 9700 to connect to any wireless network where I had the necessary security credentials.

One of the first things I did after verifying for a few days that my Blackberry 9700 worked without any issues is that I unlocked it via the subsidy unlock code. After purchasing the code, it was quite easy to unlock the Rogers Blackberry Bold 9700.

In terms of the voice quality of the phone, I tested it out briefly with my Rogers prepaid SIM (since the SIM that is in my Bold 9700 is only a BIS data only account). I find the sound quality to be comparable to other cellphones that I've used. However, I would say that people have commented that the sound quality when they are speaking to me is better than when I am using my Treo 680.

I find Facebook for Blackberry (which Rogers includes as part of their default configuration) to be somewhat sluggish when I compare it to Facebook for the iPhone. This isn't really a big deal but I thought that I would mention it. The browsing experience is also better on the iPhone than it is on the Blackberry but this is not to say that the Blackberry browsing experience is bad (which I don't think it is), I just find the iPhone browsing experience to be better.

Something else that I found unusual regarding the Rogers branded Blackberry Bold 9700 is that regular MP3 files (and full length MP3 files) can be used as ringtones. With most of the other Rogers branded phones that I've used (various Nokia phones and various Sony-Ericsson phones), Rogers restricted the phone's ability to use MP3 files as ringtones.

I'm not sure what else I can write after only having used a Blackberry for slightly under 1 month (with the Blackberry Bold 9700 being my first Blackberry device) so I will end this blog entry at this point.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.

Review on Slingbox Classic and Slingbox Solo

I've been using my Slingbox Classic for a few years (even before it was widely available in Canada). I purchased mine on Ebay from a Canadian living near one of the US/Canada border cities. Similar to my experience with purchasing my Tivo on Ebay before the Canadian Tivo launch, a few months after purchasing my used Slingbox Classic on Ebay, Sling Media (the makers of Slingbox) released the Slingbox in a few Canadian stores including Future Shop and Best Buy so I purchased another Slingbox Classic for a different satellite receiver. Approximately 1 year after I purchased my second Slingbox Classic, SlingMedia released the updated Slingbox Solo along with a few other Slingbox models and Dell Canada placed the Slingbox Solo on one of their Deals of the Day promotion. This was roughly the time that I was thinking about getting a similar product from Sony (called LocationFree) or getting a similar product from Hava. Based on the price and the support for faster speeds as well as the price, I purchased a Slingbox Solo.

The Slingbox Solo is similar in design to the Slingbox Classic except that the Slingbox Solo has HD component input which the Slingbox Classic doesn't have. The Slingbox Solo is also black whereas the Slingbox Classic is silver in colour. One other difference between the Slingbox Solo is that it is capable of faster speeds and higher video quality than the Slingbox Classic when viewing over an internal network. The Slingbox Solo also is supported on the newer phones/devices whereas the Slingbox Classic is not officially supported on certain of the newer phones/devices..

For those of you who don't know what a Slingbox is, it is a device that allows you to "place-shift" your television or audio/video source in much the same way as a Tivo can "time-shift" your television viewing. With a Slingbox, let's say that you travel a lot or you aren't at home a lot, you could watch your television from anywhere around the world where you have access to the internet and a PC. For example, if I go to another country where they don't have a program that I want to watch (or all the programs are in the local language which I don't understand), I could simply access my home's Slingbox and view the program that I want. When paired up with a Tivo, it gives me the flexibility to not only watch the program when I want to but also I'm able to watch the program where I want to.

What is included in the Slingbox is the Slingbox itself, and depending on the model of Slingbox, the audio/video cables, a remote control blaster, and a short network cable. You connect the Slingbox to your router as well as your cable/satellite box or your PVR (like your Tivo). You place the remote control blaster in front of your cable/satellite box or PVR. After some configuration (giving your Slingbox an internal IP address and opening up the appropriate port on your router), you will be able to access and control your TV box or PVR. The Slingbox takes in the video/audio from your TV box or PVR and when the Slingbox is accessed, it sends the video/audio over the internet or over the internal network using TCP (and not UDP) which opens the possibility to do port forwarding.

Using the included SlingPlayer software (for Windows), you will be able to view whatever your box is being fed via the audio/video cables. Using the SlingPlayer software, you will also be able to issue remote control commands to your box. The software's remote control looks very similar to the actual remote control for various devices (including the Tivo and the Dish/Bell remote).

While you are accessing the Slingbox, if someone at the actual physical location decides to access the TV box, they will affect what you are viewing. If you change the channels remotely, they will see the television "magically" change channels by itself. Depending on the device (PVR, TV box, etc.), almost anything that you can do while sitting in front of the device with the device's actual remote control, you can do using the SlingPlayer software.

Right now, I'm actually connecting to my home Slingbox and I'm watching CTV (CFCF12 - Montreal) local news which I recorded on my Tivo while I'm physically in New Jersey. I'm using the hotel's free internet to connect and watch the programs recorded on my Tivo. This gives me the ability to watch what I want, when I want, and where I want.

The video and audio quality will depend on your internet speed both at home as well as at the location from where you are trying to access your Slingbox. With a download speed of over 500 kbits/s, I find the quality to be quite good and I would say that it is comparable to the HQ quality videos found on YouTube (not the HD quality videos). Depending on how much bandwidth I want to use, I will sometimes go through the SlingPlayer for Windows settings and will manually reduce the quality of the audio/video. For example, when I'm watching the news, I don't really care if the video quality and all I'm interested in is the audio as well as being able to determine exactly what it is that I'm looking at. Manually, reducing the speed down to 100kbits/s accomplishes this for me. Another thing that you can do with the SlingPlayer software is to turn off the video and keep the audio. The only use that I find for this is for the radio stations broadcasted on cable/satellite.

SlingMedia includes the Windows and Mac SlingPlayer software for free. They also created SlingPlayer software for various phones running the S60 operating system, the PalmOS operating system, the Blackberry operating system, Windows Mobile, the iPhone/iTouch OS, etc.. SlingPlayer for these mobile devices require purchasing the appropriate software for the specific mobile. There is a 30 day trial for the software that I've tried (PalmOS & S60).

SlingMedia has recently come out with a browser plug-in which allows users to view their Slingbox remotely using a browser (after the plug-in is installed). The only negative aspect with this is that in order to install the plug-in under Windows, the user must have administrative rights to the PC which is a big limiting factor. If the user did have administrative rights to the PC, he/she could easily install the actual SlingPlayer software which has more functions and is more responsive.

There are 2 noticeable limitations of the SlingPlayer software and Slingbox. The first limitation is that the Slingbox will only accept 1 connection. Once that connection is established whether via internal network or internet, no one else can access the Slingbox. The second limitation is that there is no recording feature within the SlingPlayer software. There is a third party that has created a recording program specifically for Slingboxes. This program is called At-Large Recorder and the company is called Applian Technologies. Applian Technologies offers a reduced functionality demo of almost all their software (including the At-Large Recorder) so that users can see if the program works for their situation. When I demoed the At-Large Recorder, I found it to be very good.

SlingMedia has improved their SlingPlayer Windows software since version 1. They are currently at version 2. Version 2.0 offers PVR like functions, an integrated television program schedule, and closed captioning.

In case you haven't guessed (based on my description), the picture on the top is the Slingbox Classic and the picture on the bottom is the Slingbox Solo.

If you have any questions/comments regarding anything that I've written here, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.