Times zones, sort of a counter-rant, and a funny story
 

OK. This is long. But it's part rant -- that is a counter-rant -- so bear with me.

Longtime forum members know the heated threads we've had about the fact that -- at one time -- blackberrys did not automatically change the device time when arriving in a new zone. Well to be accurate, some models in use today still don't and never will; devices running the newer OS can be set to operate as the original blackberrys operate, automatically change, or prompt. I have mine set to prompt.

There when the 8100 came out and blackberrys became very popular for a while, there would be several new time zone threads posted almost every day. I never saw this whole time zone thing as that big a deal, and I had my worries about automatic time zone changing. My argument has been that a user needs to know if the time has changed, or know at a glance what time zone the device is set to. My example was living and working around and about a time zone boundary, and the possibility of the device switching between towers on either side of the boundary, and I think the prompt option addresses that concern.

Now here's the funny story: Traveling partner's iphone automatically switched time zones, switching to an hour ahead, with the result his alarm activated an hour early. Thank goodness for him it didn't switch to an hour behind, or he would have missed the flight.

He blames it on a tower near his house, and says it has happened once before, but during the day and he before it messed him up. (And this is the newest iphone, by the way.) I asked, "Doesn't the device ask you to confirm the change? Or can't you set it to prompt?" He says no. It's automatic . . . JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PHONE HE'S OWNED.

So, for those who've complained, yes, it is true, the blackberry did not, and still does not, do like EVERY OTHER PHONE YOU'VE USED. In fact, blackberry users have always had control over the time zone setting on their device, and there never has been any risk of missing an appointment or a flight or whatever because the device didn't (or did) change the time zone automatically.

Hah!

There are also still some networks in the world that don't broadcast the time, including networks in first-world European countries. :)

I wonder if a flakey tower was this guy's -- or rather his wife's -- problem in http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...ml#post1622855. At least the blackberry was set to prompt. The odd thing was it was only the wife's; his blackberry did not do it.