Ooopsie! Blackberry Bold suffers from iPhoneitis?
Apparently the iPhone 3G isn’t the only hot new data device that is suffering some 3G issues. The Blackberry Bold, which has not yet been released in the United States, is reportedly losing its 3G signal and falling back to technology from the days of yore EDGE in lots of places. That’s a little better than the iPhone is faring, which according to the report stays in 3G with very low signal strength. Can you hear us now? Well, so much for everyone thinking it was an AT&T network problem.
Note from BG: I’ve been saying this forever! Anyone out there getting the “Searching for Network…” issues?
Cacao: Wired did an iPhone reception survey. It’s not just an AT&T issue, as other countries are having some problems. However, it may be the way 3G is set-up in the problem countries.
None of the countries with a very mature 3G network had widespread issue. Most of the issues were in the US and Australia.
“Canadian carriers Rogers and Fido tied for second fastest with an average download speed of about 1,330 Kbps on average.”
Rogers seems to be doing something right.
Also, a Swedish company did a test on the iPhone 3G’s antenna and found that it was operating within acceptable limits.
Depending on your carrier, its probably your carrier. I have a feeling it could be a signal to noise issue coupled with the hand-over to Edge. Or, AT&T’s network could just suck.
Right now, there is not a person out there willing to accept responsibility and they are keeping very hush about what they are planning to do to fix the issue.
I do NOT think there will be a recall for the iPhone.
for the record. ive done many many mobile speed tests on both the iphone and the bold.
my results. in over 100 tests in all types of areas
iphone 3g- average 287kbps-1.86 max mpbs transfer rate.
unlocked rogers bold on att network goes between 786kbps-2.85mbps with a one time 3.15mbps transfer rate.
this was done in many different testing areas in nyc and the surrounding areas. on the bold was done from opera mini as it seems to give more accurate of a transfer rate then the bb browser.
iphone was done from mobile speed test and i network test. in poor and full reception areas
all logged and recorded.
i make my living on this. i can sit here all day and tell you about 100 phones and there transfer rates. but it means nothing without quality of an os, chipset and the interaction through the cell towers. on each individual network.
the bold is one of the fastest smart phones on the market on paper. but everyone and there location is really where it comes into play.
what i frown upon is how apple advertises a 20 second download of a web page im yet to download in less then almost double that time. in any reception area.
apple has a product. a great one at that for its customer base, they set a date they matched the date and shot this product out the door and it was not and still is not ready for prime time. and now there consumers pay the price.. i myself got the phone for free. but i know people out there who spent 2-3 grand or 12-15 hours on a line. and now there sitting there with a phone they hate and wont admit it.
apple pushed everything out the door in one shot. mobile me???? yeah good one…. iphone was still on a beta testing when it was officially released…
blackberry is trying not to make the mistake. as i and 100 plus testers are still reporting bugs here and there and i promise the os as any os wont be 100% bullet proof. you wont see the problems whenever they decide to release.
also the bold delay…. look at it from a company playing chess not checkers. there going to have a mediocre quarter that ends on the 25th of sept.. then they will be flooooding the whole market with the “javelin” the “kickstart” the “thunder” and the bold. all within 3 months. all after this mediocre quarter… there stocks are going to sky rocket. the market will be allll blackberry the iphone hype will be down and they will shine like the sun in the muave….. remember rim is a BUISNESS. they know what there doing
with what rogers charges they better be working like swiss watches. every time i see a rogers iphone i can point to a sucker.
@BB9000: How’s the build quality on the Bold? I currently have a Blackberry 8310 from AT&T, but I have had an 8800, 8820, 8700, 8100, 7290 etc… So I know blackberry very well. Where on the Blackberry build meter would you say the Bold fares? 1st gen Pearl being the worst, 8310 being very darn good.
HONESTLY if you look at BG’S look at when he dropped it that answers the question. the bold is built like a tank. but ive been through a few of them. honestly id give it a 10. being as i feel the thing is built like a tank. but i honestly feel a curve would take a better hit to concrete then the bold would. but other then dropping it on concrete or a hard surface like that. its built very very well. a notch above the curve. im inlove with the keyboard
@BB9000
You’re using Opera Mini to do speed tests? I would think that would just test the speed between the Opera Mini servers and the spped test servers and not to the device itself.
I get similar results to your Bold test on my T-Mobile (EDGE) 8800 with Opera Mini…
I like how bb9000 is now the BB fanboy of the site.
He goes on and on about all the good things but says nothing about the issues that have come up for many sine its launch.
If you want people to think that you know that “blackberry is trying not to make the mistake.” then you need to answer why the people are having all the troubles.
dtest. the final production model isnt out for the u.s. were 70% of bb market in the world. right here in the usa. i dont have an at&t blackberry bold final release model. nore does anyone else. when they have the final release model. i can give you and tell you the problems the bold does and does not have.
and this thread is about reception issues no?? im speaking imo… my 0.02 in my experiance with MY bold. on att network… i dont speak for all bold users. i dont speak for att.. i dont speak for iphone. apple etc…. i speak from my own personal opinion on what i see in having both phones with me 24 hours a day 7 days a week. as ive stated where you are the conditions and everything else people will give 1000 DIFFERENT OPINIONS… 1000 DIFFERENT RESPONSES.. some iphone 3g customers are reporting no problems… people blind to sites like this or mac sites etc which there are many have no clue and wouldnt even know the diff.. honestly the average joe iphone user and bb user that isnt “into” phones doesnt even know what an os is. doesnt know what to look for with issues… i know some people who have bb and dont even know what blackberry messanger is nore how to use it…. they baught it for the texting.. or iphone users who just want to be able to have an ipod in a cellphone. i dont speak for a crowd i speak for myself. thats that.
you see all these releases before the usa. and why? the phones are out on the other networks… its in germany.. its in chile.. its in canada.. no usa.. doesnt even feel like its comming soon. its a marketing strategy. if you know anything about investing. if you know anything about buisness. you cant see what rim is doing? you think they cant push this out the door right now and worry about issues with os and reception or whatever else later through an update? like the iphone?
there sitting back in waterloo watching waiting. after the 25th they are going to flood there biggest market with 4 new devices. that appeals to all different consumers, prosumers, buisness, tweens, teens, and everyone in between. a mass market deployment in there biggest market in the world.
except the bold has better multimedia support then the iphone.
it’s an easy answer….. AT&T’s 3g coverage is a joke! Why would you even bother getting a phone and expecting 3g coverage to be great?
So let me get this straight…two major manufacturers have issues with AT&T’s 3G network and coverage, but according to BGR, it’s not the network?
Sure, Apple has issues with their phone, but AT&T has bigger issues with their network. They just don’t advertise it.
@bluehorseshoe
People all over the world are having radio stack issues with the Bold…AT&T might not be helping (making it better), but it is not the cause of the issue.
Well I am in Australia and my Bold is going strong. No network problems not one stakc issue.
And I agree BB900 the keyboard is amazing. I can;t seem to put the thing down for 5 mins!
Hey johdaxx, HSDPA is UMTS as EDGE is GSM. Hello.
Anyways, AT&T sucks even now where I can barely even get GSM while AT&T lets their towers rot since July 11th. 2-3 bars 3G a few months ago now down to 1-bar GSM permanently. Way to go AT&T.
Btw, This is on a Kaiser where I had unbelievable solid 3G signal in Japan from Tokyo to the BFE areas of the northern island.
Maybe it’s AT&T AND the iPhone. Immature network with immature hardware.
bb9000. dude.. . you are so right..
Bold, KickStart/SeaWolf, Javelin/Niagara, Thunder/Storm, and more devices.. RIM is going to flood the market with devices for a lot of the demographic spectrum.
Its funny how much stuff the iphone is actually missing from being a great phone. First no mms, and then no video camera. Then it doesn’t make phone calls and its all over the news how bad the phone is. However, the stocks for Apple are not significantly hurting and we are still looking to buy the BRICK. I tip my hat to Apple for making people want to buy a phone that has no specail features that my 1999 year old phone doesn’t have.Good job!
I heard there are “pre-release” Bolds that are on sale. For the person that was beta testing the device above, do you think there will be a big difference between these devices and the ones that will be offered by AT&T sometime in October? I’ve been awaiting the Bold for at least 5 months and think paying the premium at the Blackberry Center in NYC will be worth it if the performance is the same.
Any opinions?
The problem is NOT AT&T. RIM and Apple are to blame. I bought am iPhone 3G last year when they came out. Before using the iPhone, I used a Samsung Blackjack 2 on the AT&T 3G network. I had no connection issues at all with the Samsung and got 5 bars from everywhere in my apartment. Now on the iPhone I get 4 bars if I’m lucky and near a window. I can’t comment on the Blackberry, but I can say that the AT&T networkbis gone in my aprrment and the iPhone is crappy at being a phone.