How to Examine BlackBerry Limitations, Known Issues, and Possible Future Resolutions

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By cdclocks
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Examine BlackBerry Limitations, Known Issues, and Possible Future Resolutions

BlackBerry is still the dominant manufacturer of business smart phones, but the iPhone and Palm Pre are quickly gaining ground in the mass consumer market and are making "head way" into business enterprises. With emphasis on web integration and a multitude of available apps (applications), the iPhone and Palm Pre are certainly attractive options for the general consumer.

With BlackBerry's massive head start in the business demographic, integration with Microsoft OS and Office Applications and wide spread use of BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Servers) already in use by mega large corporations, it will be an interesting competition to follow in the near future.

In the meantime, it behooves BlackBerry users (consumer or corporate) to be aware of BlackBerry limitations and known issues. Awareness of these issues may also be of interest as new BlackBerry models and competitive smart phones continue to develop.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Issues viewing or accessing specific web sites

Accessing eHow on a BlackBerry, for example, is rather limited at this time (July 2009). EHow's information about eHow Mobile or eHow On the Go is a fabulous tool for smart phone users, but for the BlackBerry, it's currently more of a tool for Readers rather than Writers. There's no way to login, so many of the tools available to writers on eHow.com are not yet available on the mobile version of the site.

As with many other sites traditionally accessed from a PC, a mobile version, if one exists, may or may not provide the mobile user with the expected or needed experience. BlackBerry and web developers are working on these issues, but advances in technology and newer model smart phones may resolve the issues faster than development teams.

At this time, it is up to the site administrators to make sites compatible with the BlackBerry browser. Most of the big sites are providing mobile versions or special application downloads to accommodate BlackBerry, but they're not all onboard, yet. Some of the delay may actually be in development on the site's side or on BlackBerry's side. New applications and new models with new features are always in development. Many of the site issues may disappear with future models.

UPDATE: eHow mobile does now have log in capabilities and many writer features available.
Step 2

Flash, Java and Other Plug-ins

Much like the core issues of accessing web sites via smart phones, ease and even feasibility of smart phones correctly using Flash and other plug-in components are difficult.

BlackBerry and other smart phones each have their own OS (Operating System), just like a computer. Most applications and web components are designed to work on Microsoft OS computers with Microsoft browsers. Many are also designed to work on other OSs such as Mac or Linux and other browsers such as Firefox.

Java components are generally well accepted on a BlackBerry, but other web components aren't designed to function on the many smart phone platforms. Downloads and Apps help, but not every issue has a "fix" yet.

Some web components just aren't currently accessible on a BlackBerry or other smart phones.
Step 3

Rebooting and Power

This issue is a bit more concrete. Questions such as "How often should I reboot my BlackBerry?" "What's the difference between a soft boot and a hard boot?" and "What about pulling the battery?" are all very common because we are familiar with Windows PCs and traditional cell phones. Now that the BlackBerry and other smart phones are starting to behave like a combination of both, we need to know how to properly reboot, when and why.

The safest answer is to consult your specific model's manual. Each BlackBerry and smart phone will be a little different, including recommendations on how long and how often to charge the phone.

The common answers, from a long time BlackBerry user (who wishes to remain nameless) are:

"I never turn mine off unless I'm on an airplane. You have to reboot once in a while, but I usually only reboot when I start experiencing "oddness." It doesn't happen very often...maybe once a month? ...and yeah, a true reboot takes a while. It's better to do a true power down/reboot rather than pulling the battery, but sometimes there's no option if something's hung. So far, I've not experienced any real problems after pulling a battery, but I know it can't be the best option. As for charging, I charge it through the night and when necessary, do a quick charge in the car or in the office."

That user's sentiments parallel remarks I've gotten from multiple other users as well.
Step 4

Running multiple apps at once

This has not, as yet, been a big issue for BlackBerry. The few that do run simultaneously typically share resources well. Very few users seem to have any issues of multiple apps bogging down a BlackBerry, like we often see on traditional computers. This may, however, become an issue with the newer models that allow greater switching capability between apps. As more apps become available for installation, the problem may yet grow.

Running multiple apps at once on a BlackBerry isn't currently a major issue, but it is a future possibility of which we should remain aware and continue to examine.

Comments

omghow said

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on 8/5/2009 Thank for sharing.

barbiecrafts said

on 8/3/2009 Thanks CD for more Blackberry wisdom....I do get myself into a Blackberry Jam every once in awhile!5 rr...how about an article on the best apps?