Disqus
BlackBerry Internet Service 2.6 will be bringing some worthwhile updates mid-March, according to the latest rumours, including:
- Better Gmail Integration
- Accessing Gmail through IMAP instead of current POP interface
- Provides one-way (BB Gmail) sync of read / unread status, delete, & sent items
- Eliminates duplicate message issue on sent items
- This new integration works with Gmail, Googlemail domain, and any other Google Apps domains
- Support for new email economical service tier: “@ BlackBerry”
- Access to @carrier.blackberry.net hosted email address only
- Email is limited to 32kb
- No attachments or HTML formatting in emails
- Ability to show and hide password on WAP site (Not sure why they care)
- Ability to change and edit your signature from the WAP site (limited to 200 characters)
- Better POP3 Mail notification
- You will now be sent a message telling you to set your desktop email client to leave messages on the server or else BIS will not get them
- Better error messages (but not much better)
The new @ BlackBerry tier will be extremely pared down, but cost only around $5/month. You’ll be missing out on attachment viewing, downloading and sending, additional e-mail addresses (like GMail, or Microsoft Live), HTML rich text viewing and e-mail sizes are limited to 32 KB. All the other usual e-mail functions remain, in addition to BlackBerry Messenger and meeting requests. This could potentially be a great way to rope in cautious users and get them hooked on the BlackBerry experience without having to go with a full-blown plan right off the bat. Folks are keeping a closer eye on their wallets these days, and offering something in that price range could mean great things for carriers who are likely losing a lot of data-intensive customers.
[via BerryReview]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
