What the BlackBerry Update Means for You

BlackBerry owners rejoice! The upcoming BlackBerry 4.5 software will vault your Pearls and Curves into the top ranks of multimedia devices. We got RIM to explain, model by model and server by server, what the new software will give existing BlackBerry owners. (Version 4.5 used to be called 4.3.1, if you're really plumbed into the BlackBerry landscape.)

There's a lot of awesome stuff here, with multimedia streaming support, Microsoft Office document editing and HTML e-mail support at the fore. We're still waiting for RIM to tune up its Web browser, though—it's falling behind the options available on Windows Mobile, Symbian, and the iPhone.

Some of the new features are handheld-only; some require server upgrades. If you're on BlackBerry Enterprise Server, your IT department will need to upgrade; if you're on BlackBerry Internet Service, you'll need to wait a few months for your carrier to upgrade. I've marked server features with an (S), and handheld features with an (H) to show what you'll be able to do immediately.

Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and Alltel all confirmed that you'll be able to upgrade existing BlackBerries to the new software. We're still waiting for word from T-Mobile. The software will arrive within a few months, but the carriers and RIM aren't being any more specific than that.

Here's the scoop by model number.

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8100 or BlackBerry 8800, you'll get:

• Spell check (H)
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest (H)
• Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation (H)
• Voice note recording (H)
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player (H)
• Bluetooth stereo music (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8130, you'll get:

• Automatic playlist generation in the media player (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

If you have any BlackBerry Curve or the BlackBerry 8820 or 8830, you'll get:

• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest (H)
• Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation (H)
• Voice note recording (H)
• Video recording on Curve models (H)
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

If you have a BlackBerry 8700 or 8703e, you'll get:

• Spell check (H)
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest (H)
• New pictures and ringtones applications (H)
• Voice note recording (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

If you have an older BlackBerry, maybe it's time to upgrade!

Mentioned in this roundup:

BlackBerry 8100 – The original BlackBerry Pearl is still on sale from T-Mobile. The Pearl's SureType keypad is easier and more accurate than texting, but takes up less room than a full QWERTY keyboard.

BlackBerry 8130 – The "Pearl 2," for Verizon and Sprint, adds a 2-megapixel camera and music and video players to the slim Pearl form factor.

BlackBerry 8700 – The 8800's predecessor as a business-class BlackBerry isn't quite as sleek, but it has a keyboard with separated keys that many people like more.

BlackBerry 8703e – This high-speed BlackBerry for Sprint and Verizon combines an easy-to-use separated keyboard with a business-friendly lack of camera.

BlackBerry 8310 – AT&T's BlackBerry Curve has lots of multimedia verve, GPS, and a camera, but no Wi-Fi.

BlackBerry 8320 – T-Mobile's Curve, on the other hand, has Wi-Fi and a camera, but no GPS. We like it because you can make unlimited voice calls over Wi-Fi networks with T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home plan.

BlackBerry 8800 – T-Mobile's BlackBerry 8800 is all business, with a bright screen, GPS, and the usual excellent BlackBerry E-mail.

BlackBerry 8820 – AT&T's business-class BlackBerry adds Wi-Fi, which speeds up Internet browsing but doesn't let you make voice calls over home networks.

BlackBerry 8830 – Sprint and Verizon give road warriors this truly global BlackBerry model, one of the few Sprint/Verizon phones to roam to Europe and parts of Asia.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2255033,00.asp

HDTVs For Super Bowl Sunday

Bring out the best in the big game with a high-performing HDTV.

It's almost time for Super Bowl XLII, taking place in Arizona this year, and the big game begs to be watched on an equally enormous screen. These days, no Super Bowl party is complete without an HDTV—no matter how stocked the fridge is with beer and snacks. After all, high-definition and sports go hand-in-hand, and there's nothing like taking in the game from your living room with all your best buddies crowded around. With this in mind, we've handpicked HDTVs that provide you with the best viewing angles, so no one misses a touchdown or a fumble. In addition, these sets handle action-packed scenes with flair and keep artifacts and other distracting screen noise at bay. Here are some of the best sports-friendly plasma, LCD, and rear-projection sets for your budget and space. So throw the best Super Bowl party ever—one that they'll be talking about all year—by checking out our reviews below.

JVC LT-42X898
The JVC LT-42X898 offers a detailed picture with standard- and high-definition video sources, good image clarity for video containing fast motion, and excellent video processing.

Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-150FD
With superior image contrast and color quality, effective HD video processing, superb video noise reduction and very wide viewing angles, the 60-inch Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-150FD is one of the best plasma HDTVs we've ever seen.

LG 47LBX
This 47-inch LCD HDTV delivers impressive viewing angles and effective video processing of standard-definition video. But you may need a pro to adjust the picture to get it up to snuff.

Panasonic TH-42PZ700U
Panasonic's 42-inch plasma uses full 1080p resolution and effective video processing to keep its picture clean and sharp.

Mitsubishi WD-65833
Mitsubishi's huge WD-65833 rear-projection TV draws you in with its 65-inch 1080p screen, and keeps you watching with its excellent HD video processing, detailed imagery—some of the most impressive to be had from digital HD sources.

Westinghouse Digital TX-47F430S
The affordable Westinghouse TX-47F430S offers a generous number of HDMI ports, and its superb HD video processing ensures excellent detail.

Toshiba 37HL67 REGZA
The 37-inch Toshiba 37HL67 LCD set delivers a good-looking picture with HD sources, boasts three HDMI ports, has plenty of ways to tweak its picture, and can eliminate overscan of HD video.

Samsung HP-S4273
Samsung's 42-inch HP-S4273 plasma HDTV offers a good picture, contrast, and useful multimedia functionality. Bargain hunters should put this plasma on their radar screens.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2252485,00.asp

Motorola RAZR2 V8

Tired of mediocre call quality on T-Mobile? You could have had a V8. No, not the tomato juice–based beverage—I'm talking about the Motorola RAZR2 V8, T-Mobile's highest-end feature phone with the carrier's best call quality by far. Sure, the huge gap in price between it and other T-Mobile feature phones is hard to justify. Also, the handset's features, such as support for third-party software and Internet connection, could stand some improvement. But there's no denying that this phone takes voice calls on T-Mobile to a whole new level. That's why I'm awarding it our Editors' Choice.

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		Slideshow | All Shots

The V8 is shaped and styled just like other RAZR2s on other carriers, the V9 and V9m. It's a massive slab of metal and glass. Though thinnish, at 0.5 inches, the device takes up some serious pocket real estate, measuring 4.1 inches long by 2.1 inches wide. It weighs in at 4.2 ounces, average for a feature phone. The front is dominated by the best external screen ever to grace a flip model, a 2-inch display that's 320 by 240 and has 262 thousand colors. A tiny, 2-megapixel camera sits above that screen. Side buttons toggle through the handset's "profiles" rather than directly controlling volume, activating voice dialing, or launching the music player. Also, there's no dedicated camera button, nor is there removable memory —but I'll get to that later. Below the side buttons is a MicroUSB port for charging, PC connectivity, and headsets.

Like the V9, the V8 has CrystalTalk, Motorola's technology designed to dampen ambient din), which produces the best sound quality I've ever heard on a GSM phone. It also sounds just as good as the V9 for AT&T, which operates on UTMS, not GSM. Rather than being loud, the V8 is just clear. The volume and sound characteristics of calls automatically adjust to background noise, so you can hear your calls over, say, a nearby idling truck engine or the buzz of a busy street. CrystalTalk even seems to work some wonders with the speakerphone—which is, once more, far more intelligible than its volume level alone initially might suggest. Alas, the speakerphone doesn't work with the flip closed.

The phone's microphone doesn't entirely block out all environmental noise, but voices come out clearly on top of any background sounds. Voice dialing, which requires no training, worked well in my testing. Battery life was excellent for voice calls, and vibrating alerts felt strong. I found reception to be impeccable. This handset is quad-band, so it will operate on GSM and EDGE networks all over the world. (Frequent travelers should be aware that there's an unlocked version of this phone available as well, direct from Motorola.) Frankly, this is the best T-Mobile voice phone ever.

Powered by Linux…Sort of

There's something unique under the hood of the V8, too: a new, Linux-based operating system. This, combined with the device's 500-MHz processor, could have made the V8 more than just a great voice phone. It could also have been a handheld PC powerhouse. Motorola and T-Mobile completely dropped the ball there.

The V8 scored very well on JBenchmark Java tests, especially in gaming. But when I tried to load Opera Mini or the JBenchmark Net speed tester, I found that third-party Java applications were prevented from accessing the Internet, even with the super-duper-everything service plan my handset came with. This is a pernicious, stupid T-Mobile policy I've seen before, and it lowers the value of a very expensive phone.

Motorola can share the blame, because my V8 suffered also from some Internet access bugs. While the built-in AIM/ICQ/Yahoo!/MSN IM client and Opera full Web browser worked fine, the POP3 e-mail client refused to connect to any services.

The V8's 2MP, flashless camera is not a selling point. Indoor pictures were relatively sharp and well balanced, but outdoor pictures were severely underexposed and a bit blurry. The V8 takes unexceptional 176-by-144 resolution videos as well.

The V8 has a pretty basic but flexible music player that can handle unprotected MP3, AAC, and WMA tracks (including Amazon MP3 and iTunes Plus) without a problem, letting you search and sort by the usual artist and album criteria. You load music using USB or Bluetooth (at a snappy 70 kilobits per second) into the phone's 2GB of "storage" memory, essentially a soldered-in, nonremovable memory card. The phone also plays 3GPP-format videos at 15 frames per second in full-screen mode.

The music player is one of the few features that take advantage of the underused huge external screen. When you play music and close the flip, basic track information pops up on the outside display, and some way-too-easily-pressed music control buttons appear. The external screen can also be used for picture caller ID, as a photo viewfinder, and to see the beginnings of text messages. Still, I had hoped for something moreperhaps the ability to play video that Sprint's model, the V9m, has.

I noticed some annoying compression artifacts when listening to music over a Motorola HT820 Bluetooth headset, but things really improved when I used the cheap wired earbuds that come with the phone. The V8's micro-USB jack seriously limits the available wired headphones you can use. While the phone comes with a mini USB adapter, it doesn't ship with one for 2.5mm or 3.5mm music headphones.

Some minor features round out the V8's offerings. You can print directly to printers using a USB cable, and you can use the phone as a Bluetooth dial-up modem—though since T-Mobile's EDGE network is relatively slow, there's little reason to do so.

At $199 with contract, the V8 costs $129 more than any other non-smartphone device on T-Mobile's network. Since you can't load a full range of apps onto the phone, the real appeal here is the unparalleled voice quality. How much are you willing to pay to have your calls sound beautifully clear? If you're looking for more features and mere decent voice performance at a lower price, turn your eyes to the Blackberry Pearl instead.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2159329,00.asp