[Lifestyles]

Has anybody heard if RIM has plans on introducing a Multimedia aspect to the BB? ie: memory cards, mp3 playback, etc?

[kirson]

Well, they are expanding memory in the 7100t and 7290 to 32MB -- THANK GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE!!!

I have heard rumors that some multimedia support is being worked on w/r/t video capabilities.

Sound/MP3 is an open question -- I believe there are enhancements in the 7100t, but I have no idea if it goes as far as real music support.

Other than that, I don't think anything has been made public. First thing I would want to see -- and the one that in my opinion is simply a MUST is an expansion slot for more memory. As we speak, I could easily fill 32MB with applications I want on my handheld.

Heck, I would put another 10MB just of pictures of my wife, son, 2 dogs, cat, and 3 horses. OK, so they're my wife's horses, but I'd keep a picture or two just for kicks.

[Lifestyles]

then again, with all of the incredible streaming audio on line thse days. Wouldn't it be great if one could tune into your fave internet radio station and listen to tunes on the fly! 8)

[bfrye]

I think GPRS has a long way to go before that happens

[jeremy]

That would be cool! Or even an FM radio would help.

Originally Posted by Lifestyles

then again, with all of the incredible streaming audio on line thse days. Wouldn't it be great if one could tune into your fave internet radio station and listen to tunes on the fly! 8)

[Lifestyles]

bt hey! i'm not too fussy... I can deal with the lower bandwidth stations...
everyone needs to have a dream

[Lifestyles]

well, if we cant have streaming audio, then give us an expansion slot and then ability to play our fave mp3's

[jeremy]

Good point! If it had video, camera, mp3 and FM radio I would probably ask for a microwave. Hmm... 1900MHz is a high-frequency.. maybe if I hover over some food with the transmitter and make sure the power is cranked up all the way...

Originally Posted by Lifestyles

bt hey! i'm not too fussy... I can deal with the lower bandwidth stations...
everyone needs to have a dream

[bfrye]

The sound in the blackberry would have to be upgraded as well, I doubt it would support cd-quality music and play it back decently

[Lifestyles]

considering the technology out there already... I doubt if it would be a big deal to put a quality sound chip into one

[Boheme]

Hi guys,

The Blackberry is a ideal business device, because it has NO camera and NO mulitmedia capabilities.

The most companies are not allowing to carry cameras or handhelds with camera while you are visiting their facilities.

Boheme

[kirson]

I think most of us agree that a camera in a Blackberry is not a good idea. That is true whether or not you subscribe to the school of thought that a Blackberry has to be a serious business tool with no jazzed up multimedia features. Personally, I like my business tools to have the additional flexibility of satisfying my non-business uses. I would LOVE my Blackberry to have a great screen, multimedia capabilities, expansion slots, MP3 capabilities, etc. -- as long as it doesn't sacrifice the rock solid email and security issues that come first and foremost. If this approach is offensive, Blackberry has plenty of models available that handle ONLY email.

[bfrye]

I agree... expansion slots would be nice. As well as decent sound.

[Skive]

The issue with adding support for things that will not be of major interest to majority of their customers, is that it will take away development resources from their main products and needlessly delay them.

Things like expansion and greater multimedia capabilities are bound to come in time, but I'd bet against them appearing until they can be implemented without compromising the fundamental mobility of the blackberry in question i.e. size and battery life.

If you want expansion and multimedia now, why not get something like the xdaii, you'll get the bells and whistles you seem to want, you just have to be willing to accept the hit on the battery life.

Incidentally, why are people so eager to have mp3 playing capabilities, you can get tiny little flash players that would do it better or if you wanted more capacity then you can get vastly superior hd players from people like rio, iriver or apple.

[kirson]

skive -- thanks for the input. You make a lot of sense. I agree that some of this will take time, and will only come if it doesn't detract from the key features. But again, many of these items can be added and only have a negative impact of a user ELECTS to use them. In other words, running movies on the screen may KILL the battery, but if you don't want to kill the battery, simply don't watch movies. Or, if you don't trust your employees to make the right decision -- disable it in the BES.

As far as a separate MP3 player -- sure, it would be better, but I am trying to carry around LESS equipment, not more I am the ultimate convergence consummer -- I want one device that can do EVERYTHING...and fit in my pocket

And what is this xdaii of which you speak?

[Skive]

THe thing is that either they use them and they reduce battery life or they don't use them and they will have wasted the money on the presumably more expensive product, while also being potentially bigger and heavier.

I like convergence, but I won't compromise just for the sake of it, usually i only carry my my blackberry and my iriver h340, but if i'm out without a jacket then i have a flash player that is about the size of a lighter.

The xda ii is the o2 version of a pda made by htc, i think t-mobile sell it under the mda name over there and it has blackberry connect support. The third gen of it is due at some point:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09...afone_vpa_iii/

[kirson]

Originally Posted by Skive

The xda ii is the o2 version of a pda made by htc, i think t-mobile sell it under the mda name over there and it has blackberry connect support. The third gen of it is due at some point:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09...afone_vpa_iii/

This looks really nice...sounds like the third generation is due out almost any day now. If this were available in the United States, I would definitely have to compare it to the 7100t before making up my mind. It has the full QWERTY keyboard, Blackberry email, and just about everything else under the sun. Looks like the only downside is battery life, and even that is getting a bit better.

I know it is still not a Blackberry -- rugged, secure, infinite battery life, perfect for IT policy integration, etc. - but if the email is rock solid -- heck, this one could be a real contender. Thanks for the info!

[Mark Rejhon]

XDAII -- http://www.my-xda.com/

[kirson]

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

XDAII -- http://www.my-xda.com/

I guess the XDA III is coming out this month -- the German T-Mobile site has a bunch of info on it in German. The most major enhancement i can see is the slide out full QWERTY keyboard. I haven't seen a flashy demo of the XDA III, only a few photos. It looks REALLY nice...any sense whether it will make it across the Atlantic?

[DJJeffT]

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

XDAII -- http://www.my-xda.com/

Hmm, no size specs. Wonder how big it really is.

Jeff