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The leaked BlackBerry Bold 9900 OS from a few weeks ago that enabled mobile hotspot had another subtle addition. This is a new BlackBerry Device Analyzer, which can diagnose the status of wireless signal, e-mail connectivity, battery life, processing speed, and miscellaneous hardware components. Although it looks fairly user-friendly, it wouldn’t be surprising if carriers had access to the data generated by this app in some way in order to improve customer service much like Carrier IQ tries to (minus the privacy concerns).
In fact, given RIM’s history of working very closely with carriers (sometimes too closely), I would be surprised if they didn’t offer a way to export the diagnostic data to carrier service reps that are troubleshooting with a customer. Even if there wasn’t, it would probably be the first place BlackBerry owners go before they even call up their service provider.
The BlackBerry Device Analyzer is an interesting addition given all of the Carrier IQ stuff floating around, but honestly, it’s definitely the kind of thing RIM would naturally include in their devices; if nothing else, BlackBerry devices are easy to manage, and a tool like this could make support a lot easier.
[via N4BB]
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.
