BlackBerry Storm bridges business and lifestyle

by Tom Yager
The new BlackBerry 9530, sold in the United States as the Verizon Storm, has the familiar fingertip navigation and flick-to-scroll gesture common to most widescreen phones. Apart from that, the Verizon Storm is very much its own device, unmistakably a BlackBerry in its strong messaging, connectivity, and extensibility, but carried to a new level of usability by a touchscreen display and a redesigned GUI.
The iPhone, T-Mobile G1, and Touch Diamond have Wi-Fi; Verizon Storm does not. For some readers, the absence of Wi-Fi and the inferior Web browser (RIM's is barely serviceable) will add up to a showstopper. I can't keep you from blowing off the Storm for the lack of WLAN, but I'd advise that you'd be making a mistake to do it without at least looking at the smartphone yourself.
[ Competition among business smartphones is heating up. See InfoWorld's guide to next-gen mobile and Test Center reviews of iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1, Palm Treo Pro, and HP iPaq 910c. ]
RIM had to make some sacrifices to bring the 9530 to Verizon for less than US$200. This isn't a device that RIM could stamp out from its standard QWERTY template. Everything is new, and until the R&D is paid down by volume, something had to give. In the Verizon Storm, Wi-Fi got the chop. If this inclines you to blow off this handset, I suggest you take a beat. Omitting Wi-Fi made room for an enormous combination of features you don't find in sub-$200 devices. It's a matter of balance, and I consider the scales tipped decisively in the buyer's favor.
Getting past Wi-Fi
For file transfers, Verizon Storm works as a mountable USB Storage Class device; no drivers or proprietary client software is required. Storm operates on CDMA/EvDO and GSM/UMTS 3G networks, so it's global without caveats; plus, once you've paid your debt to Verizon, it will jump with you to any carrier you choose. Verizon bundles a removable 8GB SD (Secure Digital) card, and its data plan supports tethering, so you can use the phone to connect your notebook to Verizon's network with functionality identical to Verizon's very popular cell data access dongles/cards. Verizon client software for Macs and PCs configures the Storm as a modem automatically, but even that utility is optional.
Verizon Storm's tower-triangulation-assisted GPS powers Google Maps, E-911, location-aware Java and JavaScript applications, and VZ Nav, a very cool voice-enabled turn-by-turn navigator. VZ Nav gets a fast fix on your location down to the street address, and if someone wonders where you are, you can e-mail or text them your whereabouts from within the navigator. I have yet to determine whether VZ Nav is trialware, as Sprint Navigator is on Touch Diamond, but with Verizon Storm's loudspeaker and big display, I'd pay for it or my prevailing BlackBerry turn-by-turn favorite, TeleNav.

iPhone 2.2 update gets jailbroken

by Daniel Ionescu

If you're into iPhone gimmicks and unsupported Apple applications, DevTeam released PwnageTool 2.2 to help you jailbreak the latest 2.2 iPhone software update available from Apple since Friday.
Two free software tools are available from the DevTeam to help you jailbreak your iPhone, namely QuickPwn and PwnageTool. However, only the latter preserves the iPhone's baseband firmware, giving you the maximum chance for any upcoming software unlock. As usual, using just the iTunes update method will lock back any previously jailbroken iPhone.
iPhone 2.2 Jailbreaking 101
Jailbreaking your iPhone means that you can install third-party applications unsupported by Apple a new functionalities. Jailbreaking your iPhone does not mean that you will be able to use your Apple device on other wireless networks other than the one you bought it from (unlocking).
The DevTeam warns that using QuickPwn, available for both PCs and Macs, will modify your iPhone's baseband firmware (internal components software that handles the phone calls and Internet access) meaning that you will not be able to use any future release of a software tool that could unlock (soft unlock) your Apple phone from your current wireless carrier.
In order to jailbreak your iPhone and be able to soft unlock the device in the future, DevTeam recommends the use of their PwnageTool, but this app is only available for Mac OSX users at the moment.
Not for the faint-hearted
Most iPhone jailbreaks are designed for power-users and developers, so I recommend that you should carefully consider whether you want to take the plunge into the grey world of iPhone jailbreaking or not.
Moreover, if something goes wrong with your jailbreak process (and there's plenty or horror stories on the DevTeam's comments page), Apple will not repair your iPhone, even if it is still under warranty.