Blackberry OS 6 official release for Bold 9700 - my review

Okay okay okay so I've been really excited this past coupla days as I've just installed the official release of OS 6 for Bold 9700. The release was offered and made available automatically on the Blackberry Desktop Software (the OTA version, not the supplied CD version). And so it was two days ago when I nonchalantly hooked up my Onyx into my laptop when the message popped up along the line of "an update to your device software is available. Would you like to upgrade?" And then I read the version: Blackberry OS 6.0.0.461. HELL YEAH??!! I've been waiting for OS 6 upgrade for the Onyx for ages, since it first came out on the Torch!! Some impatient suckers even went as far as buying OS 6 THEME (theme, not actual software) for $6.99 from the App World. Some downloaded the hacked version of OS 6 from sites like Crackberry and found out that maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, as the hacked version crashed their phones. Duh. Onyx 1 only has 256 MB, while OS 6 is designed for a 512 MB memory.

As for me, a major reason I extremely look forward to getting my paws on OS 6 was for none other than its touted bump in the Blackberry website browser capabilities. I think everyone on the planet agrees that the BB browser is one of the most vile, retarded things anyone has ever invented in modern time. I always felt like an idiot whenever I was trying to open a website or something as simple as google.com and finding myself staring at an improperly rendered website. It's inhumane, and in 2011 no one deserves that.

OS 6 is supposed to fix that, in addition to boasting a couple of other eye candies. And so with glee, I downloaded the software, albeit with a few scares here and there due to the spotty internet connection here in this lovely city.

Now that I've spent a good, intense couple of days playing around with the system, here's my take of this newest Blackberry upgrade for Bold 9700:

1. Home screen "panned view panes" - Similar to "tabbed" browsing in modern web browser, this feature allows you to slide to 5 different panes which are "All", "Favorites", "Media", "Download" and "Frequent" in Home screen. "All" tab is basically the traditional Home screen where everything is grouped together, while "Favorites" is a new feature that allows you to mark any application, contact, website, or anything, as favorites and it will be promptly placed in this "tab", making this basically a shortcut for all your favorite application. "Media" groups all the media application, "Download" groups all the OTA downloads and "Frequent" groups your most frequently used applications.

My take: while the visual is nice and sleek, the very concept of this is cluttered, unnecessary and it is simply trying too hard to become something it's not.
SCORE: C

2. The "Quick Access Area", however, is an entirely different story. This is ingenious and brilliant. There are two "Quick Access Area": one is situated at the very topmost, where if you click it, it'll open several useful frequently-used settings, like connections, alarm and device options; and the second one is situated just below it, where if you click it, it'll open a drop-down menu listing the newest activities: emails, SMS, missed call, calendar or BBM. No longer do I have to open each item separately when I get out from a meeting and seeing multiple notifications.
SCORE: A

3. The best part of OS 6 is its "Universal Search" feature built right into the Home Screen. I can't love it enough. Love it, love it, love it. This feature basically lets you type in anything you want to search in your phone; contact, lost email, a keyword in an email, or even things you want to look up on the internet - right on the home screen as opposed to individually go into each application and conduct your search there. I am telling you - this thing is a dream. Not only will this search feature returns your query, like a contact business card, but it will also include EVERYTHING about the query - even including those on the internet. This is one of the finest examples of seamless device-software integration.
SCORE: A+

4. Visual: AWESOME. Sleek, fluid, elegant and butter-smooth, to me the new OS is a major eye candy upgrade from the previous 5.
SCORE: A

5. Speed: faster, but also noticing several lag that may just be anomalies. Thus far, I have not encountered any major problem like the phone freezing, but I've only been using it for a couple of days. We all know that in the case of a Blackberry, a battery pull a week keeps the doctor away.
SCORE: A (so far)

6. Memory: BOO. All those nice eye candies and universal search and fluid graphics need to come from somewhere, and in this case, it cannibalizes the memory. Consider this: My Bold 9700 has an internal memory of 256MB, of which 188 MB is generally available after subtracting it for the OS. After I installed OS 6, the remaining memory available went down to just 40 MB!!! Holy cow! Say goodbye to downloading more apps.
SCORE: C

7. Browser. Saving the best for last, I can now breathe a sigh of relief with this new, long overdue web browser and webkit engine. OS 6 browser opens pages a little faster, is nice to look at, has tabbed browsing capability, and, most importantly, renders web pages CORRECTLY. No longer do I have to stare at messed-up Google web screen. I now feel that I'm a part of the 2011 netizen community. I hope RIM keeps working to improve this web browsing engine in the coming years.
SCORE: B


8. Overall system. Much has improved to a very heart-warming level, but on the same token, there are definitely rooms for improvement. I like the fluid, tighter system; how it includes some new, surprising features like the ability to monitor your memory and CPU usage real-time, but on the other hand, some basic "illogicals" remain a thorn in the system, like how I can't add an additional phone number into my existing contact. When someone calls me, and I already have him/her in my phonebook, and he/she is calling me from a new number (like office), I can't simply choose "Add to contact". I will have to copy paste his contact and manually edit his business card. Things like these seem simply illogical for a device designed for business users.
SCORE: B

VERDICT: Download it now, especially it's official and FREE! Despite several weaknesses and old-time irritants, OS 6 is major upgrade and will breathe a new life into your aging Bold 9700.

What Thanksgiving really means... A letter from a true American and what it means to be truly grateful for being one

My sis wrote this email this morning....and it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I still have much to learn from my her. I love you sis.

I Valencia
to Trees Theresia ,Greg Vada Haradiran
date Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 6:13 AM
subject Happy Thanksgiving
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com

hide details 6:13 AM (5 hours ago)

Hi Mom & Vada,

This Thanksgiving I'm very thankful for my life. I might not have money as much as I want, or you both here with me with Daddy by my side, enjoying the food and drinks like in the past, but I have many reasons to give thanks to God.

I'm thankful that:

- I have a very loving mother, brother, husband, two sons, father and mother in-laws, and extended families. Family IS my gold and family IS the reason why I can be who I am today.

- I have a healthy body and mind. Sounds cliche, but really it makes a difference that I don't have to go in and out doctors like some people I know.

- My families are healthy - that includes you Mom & Dado

- I have sources of income, not only from Meigi but occasional surveys, sweepstakes, checks for food from WIC, etc. However small, these are gifts from God and I sometimes wonder why I'm very lucky in life.

- Friends who care about me and my family; those who always check in with me and praying for our blessings

- I live where I am and I work where I am. Really I think God has arranged the best for me, Mel and our two kids. I'm always sad to read about those who live in unfortunate countries and/or in disaster areas

- I'm free to do what I want; as a woman I can flourish and get involved in the society and make contribution

- I have Barack Obama as the President of the country :) Not any moron

- I can enjoy the finer things in life, even for free, because of my fortunate luck winning sweepstakes, coupons, or deals no one knows about. At Sunday Bistro for example I can get 10% off every time because the owner likes me. Really, I have no idea how these things happen but they do and I feel God's gifts every time.

- I have a mother who prays for me all the time and always caring and loving

- I have a brother who always ready to lend a hand and very loving

- I have a son who is growing about 4 inches every year and very smart, and making me laugh no matter what he does or say

- I have a cute baby who is also growing and just this week started taking a few steps forward

- I have a husband who is really, really loving and caring, and never seem to get tired of taking care of me and the kids every day. He is the first one to wake up and the last one to go to sleep every day.

Even though you both are not eating turkey and pumpkin pie and be with me this Thanksgiving, but I want you to know that you are part of my prayers every day. Thank you for everything you do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Iliki

Girls are God's Most Complex Creation

As I lay quietly in semi nakedness and drunkenness, I can’t help but ponder the wonder of the Almighty Lord that is a woman.

Why are women so complex? In almost all of my encounters with them, I can’t help but be utterly perplexed by such complexities that they display. They, to me, are almost aliens. A completely different species that looks like human and speaks like human, but when it comes to their cerebral thoughts, I am at a complete loss. I can never comprehend the way they perceive the world or how their brains work.
But one thing remained true, and that is that I cannot live without them. And I adore them. No, maybe I idolize them. Lord Almighty, does your power not know any boundaries? How great is your glory that you can even conceive such a creature?
Forget about creating the women species. I won’t even mess with them when they’re already in their glorious, beautiful reincarnation. I tread them ever so carefully like a young, fragile handblown piece. But no matter how gentle I tread them, they still break.

Girls drive me nuts. They drive me absolutely nuts. They drive me insane. And insane, perhaps, both for their beauties and the way they look and precisely how they differ from me, and for the depth of complexities that they display. I can never, ever, understand them or the way they think.

And, sadly, looks like I am in love with one of them.

The Time That Will Not Turn Back

I hung out with my best buddy Joe yesterday since he was in Jakarta for a day before going back to Thailand on a short business trip. This should have been a simple hang out with a very good friend of mine whom I consider a true blood brother, and I thought I'd be very happy in seeing him after our last encounter back in September 09. Instead, today I feel a crushing sadness after we part ways, him to the airport and I to work. I'm not quite sure why I'm feeling this way. It was perhaps an after effect of joy from seeing him yesterday at Plaza Senayan and hanging out till late morning, and then inadvertently crashing at his hotel at 3AM, both being drunk. Come morning and we ate breakfast together at the hotel, before finally bidding good bye till our next encounter.

But it wasn't hangover that crushed me today. What made me sad is the realization of how much I enjoyed being with him, and I was reminded of the time when our group were still together back in college. We did everything together - we go to work together, we come home together, and we would drink and chat and bullshit all night before finally dozing off for an hour or so before it was time to go to school in the morning. There were me, Joe, Biju and Lee - and it seems like there were only us. Nobody else can understand us the way we understood each other. We were four friends from four different countries who somehow found solace in each other, and stuck with each other through thick and thin till the end. We stayed and comforted each other during times of pain, through chronic

laughed together, cried together, ate together, helped each other, comfort each other and supported each other through years after years of hardship. We were four foreigners who were trying to make it in a foreign country, and nobody else was there for us. We became a family.

Among them, I became especially attached to Joe, who is 5 years my senior. Although sometimes he could be annoying, he is an unwavering friend, intensely faithful and always ready to extend a helping hand to the last drop. Once, I got into trouble with the store we worked at and he got angry with the store, so much so that he even considered quitting the store in retaliation. Being with him is like being with a big brother who is always ready to catch your back. And that's the feeling I felt last night. We hung out and chatted over beers about the past, like we did countless nights when we were still in college. One great thing about Joe is that I can talk to him about almost anything. Countless times I had asked for his advice and he never strayed me wrong. Like I said, he could be annoying, but he always speaks the truth, no matter how ugly or harsh the truth may be. Among all of my friends, he was the only person whom I can relate to the most and confide, and really talk heart to heart and feel better about it.

And so in the morning, as I drove to work, I thought about my brief yet intimate encounter with Joe and how he remained my best friend after all these years - and I suddenly felt empty.

Empty because now I know I'm all alone again - I have many friends and families here now, but I only have one friend - if that makes sense. Maybe I feel sad because I was reminded of how sweet times were when the four of us were still together and how things seem to be so much simpler then. Now Joe and Biju is married and have kids and we can never go back to the way we were. And we all live in four different countries. How I wish we could all be in one city and continue our friendship. Maybe I was sad because deep inside, I have buried a guilt feeling that at one point I tried to get away from it all by running away to Arizona at the peak of our friendship. I was sick and tired of my life then - and thought that I deserve better. I guess I was a classic example of someone who didn't appreciate what I had until it was too late.

And so, it is too late, and times have changed. Things could never return to the way they were, when we were younger, when we were carefree and when things were less complicated, and wishing alone cannot make it so. The only thing I can say right now, good friend, is that I enjoyed your company very much and I can't wait for our next encounter. Have a great flight, buddy.

Cogitation On The Busway 2/17/09

Wed 17. So I'm sitting on a busway heading straight to my house in Lebak Bulus. Today my bike is deposited at the garage (again) due to the setting being completely blown when I ran out of gas in the middle of Sudirman and I tooled around with the carburetor in an effort to restart it.

This is a new route and I'm happy. Previously I have had to get off the Blok M terminal and hop on one of the local buses going south, to the Lebak Bulus terminal. And the local buses are not pleasant. But this is exactly what I wanted to write today. You know, I've only realized that I've been wrong all this time. When I was in the US, perhaps a part of it being influenced by other Indonesians who have fled the country, and perhaps being myself so far and so long away from the country where I grew up in, I couldn't care less about what was happening here. In my mind, it was almost like, oh well. There's always something wrong with that country anyways. There was a big tsunami? Is my family okay? Yes! Ok. Then everything's cool. There was a big quake? My family? Ok? Ok.

After all, one of the biggest tragedies of Indonesia happened without my being there: the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 and subsequently, the May 1998 riot in Indonesia. I was already in the US, and I remember at that time I was running around like a rat drowning on the sea. A part of it is because my dad had cut the supply of money for my study as the Rupiah slid from Rp. 2500 a dollar to close to Rp. 20.000 at the height of the crisis. But another part of it is because I wanted to take part in history. I mean, Suharto was about to step down. His 32-years rule was about to end. There were tanks on the street. Several demonstrating students were shot dead by the nation's special forces. Properties were being burned to the ground. Martial law was implemented throughout the nation. Chinese Indonesians were targeted. Indonesia was at the cusp of revolution. Where others flee the country, I had wanted to return to the hot zone, to be part of it. As a young fool, I felt the intense urge to join the movement. And be amongst the masses and friends. My parents tried desperately to keep me there, although they themselves didn't know how I would survive without money from home.

Fast forward nine years later, when I've graduated from college and was then working in corporate America. I had worked various odd jobs including being a liquor store clerk, gas station attendant, pizza delivery, busboy, waiter, and theater usher to help earn my degree. During those times, I went through a lot; things that were my problems; moments that were my moments; life that was my life. I have had guns pointed on my head, on two different occassions, during different store robberies. I've fallen in love there. I've made blood pledges toward three buddies for life that are from three different countries. I've even contemplated ending my life once. So naturally, after all those years, Indonesia seems so far away, and I stopped caring. I've disconnected myself from it.

Now I realize that I've been wrong all along. I was wrong when other Indonesians there bad-mouthed the country. "That country is going straight to hell." And I laughed. And when Americans asked me what was good about Indonesia, I just shrugged. "That country is going to hell," I imitated my disillusioned Indonesian comrades. I bad-mouthed my own country without knowing or seeing what I was saying. Forgive me. I am guilty for falling in to the trap of countless Indonesians who tend to bad mouth their own country without being really fair or honest to themselves. Even now, I don't have to go out from this city to find hundreds of people who will happily discredit Indonesia.

And that is very wrong, because now that I'm here, I can see that this is a different place than 12 years ago. 12 yrs ago, nothing really works. The government system was a joke, the police were landsharks, the people's assembly was a smoking room, and the law didn't work.

I'm not saying that now everything works or that Indonesia is now up to US caliber, but what I am seeing is that the country is changing, and for the better. As I observed during the xmas holidays, when traffic was less and I had more time to relax, I see that potholes were being fixed, road signs and sign posts are posted numerously in the city and are quite clear and accurate (I bet locals can't really appreciate this since they have the city memorized to a science; but I totally do. Ever try following the direction of the signposts to get to a locale in the city? It works.) and that the rules of roads are starting to change for the better (I said rules of the roads, not the streets themselves. Driving in Jkt remains one of the absolute worst experience.)

Thu 18.

Although the police force have not reinvented themselves to an ideal degree, in yet another degree I see that they've evolved into something better. I see that they help old ladies cross the street. I see that they regulate the traffic in a somewhat more serious tone and although corruption is still rampant, it is less so now compared to 12 yrs ago. I have met several policemen that won't even budge with bribes. They give you the ticket without a word and then left. And let's not forget that their SWAT team did catch Noordin M Top, the bastard terrorist who bombed Ritz Carlton and Marriott last year.

And in general, the city of Jakarta possesses a well developed (to a degree) infrastructures that makes life so much easier to adapt to after I came home. I can see the difference when I visit Bali. The roads are wide and expansive, and although they're still prone to flooding, but at least in the major arteries floods subside rapidly as drainages were built. I personally have not had the experience of going through severe flooding as I stick mostly to the city's major arteries.

Foreign investment and presence is more prevalent here than 12 yrs ago. A lot of people now make a conscious effort to bike to work. The government is actively involved in promoting green living. New improvements are made every day, such as the busway and new roads.

So I guess I should end this by saying that although lots of improvements are still needed in this country, but the most important thing is that it's trying to, and it is heading toward that. I think what we often forget is that it takes effort and courage and, above all, time, to achieve that. Instead of us being cynical and critical to the environment that we live in, we should hold our heads high and believe that we are in for better times. And instead of complaining, we should take a deep breath, hold hands together and work toward a greater goal. Indonesia is not perfect yet, but what is important is that we have hope.

Author's note: turns out that the new busway route still sucks. I spent close to 2.5 hrs on the road on congested roads and they still transfer me twice. Its not a one-time deal where I hopped on the bus and sit until I reach home. Looks like I'll be going on my old, albeit less comfortable, route.

Blackberry Onyx - still a dud

After an extensive experience with the Blackberry Onyx, I regret to report that a Blackberry, despite all of its bells and whistles and no matter how much makeover and "updates" RIM has placed into the device, the Onyx is still a pretty sad little device. And I'm saying this because I've had two particularly annoying problems with the new OS that Onyx comes equipped with. Three, if I count the hardware aspect of it which is the trackball.

I know diehard BB fans will have my head for writing this, and they have their rights, but I don't care. I'm as much a user and I am NOT satisfied with the way things are going with RIM. First principal problem I have with the new Onyx OS 5.0.0.296 is its totally fail threaded SMS system. Threaded SMS system means that it'll treat the SMS as if it were real-time chat, with every SMS you sent and receive from a person showing up as a "threaded," chat-like flow. Supposedly it'll make tracking your conversation with a particular person easier, but ironically, this stupid system sometimes messes up and won't let me scroll up to see the message. Like, it'll cut off some portion of the message and it won't allow me to scroll up to the beginning of the message. That's just one of them. The other is that sometimes (actually plenty times) it won't let me scroll up to see the rest of my conversation I'm having with that person. I mean, jeebus, come on!! What's a blackberry good for??? Its core strength is supposed to lie in its data capability. What the hell is going on here? This is beyond annoying to me as I'll have to request that person to resend his message again. Note that this happens only with the SMS.

The other super annoyance I have is that for some super annoyingly reason, when I accidentally hit the "delete" key whilst the "alt" key is depressed as I'm composing an SMS text, it'll wipe the ENTIRE text I have been laboriously typing. You can't possibly imagine how aggravating this crap really is. Get this: it will wipe clean your ENTIRE message when you so much as forgot to inactivate the alt key after you hit it to bring up the special symbol, changed your mind and decide to delete that symbol. BAM. Your entire message is gone and you have to start all the way from the beginning. Is this even real? How did RIM manage to mess up so badly?

Maybe you don't have that problem, but I do. I type messily and I type faster than my brain thinks. The blame is not on me, because this never happens with the old OS system, and this doesn't happen at other programs such as email or notepad. It only happens with SMS. RIM, if you're reading this, screw the hell out of you.

I miss the old system where the SMS shows up as individual window, and I can at least still search for it and find it. I miss the old OS where I can type as messily as I want to without the risk of losing everything that I've just typed for the past 3 mins. And most of all, I miss a newcomer to the industry which can combine both the superior webkit based capability of the iPhone with Blackberry's data strengths.

Oh yeah that hardware problem I mentioned earlier? How about the trackball? Besides being hard to operate when my finger's sweaty, I found that its also largely harder to control than the ball. But that's not as big of a deal compared to the flawed SMS problems RIM has dropped the ball on. Also, I hate the fact that the speaker is situated flat on the back, on the same flat line as the battery cover, so that when I place it on a table or flat surface, it'll get covered. Affects the sound quality? You bet. How hard would it to design the speaker on the raised side of the bezel? The Onyx ain't the perfect Blackberry - yet. And until then, I'll keep searching for the perfect system. My loyalty is not with you, RIM. I'm disappointed. It seems like there's always something wrong with every edition of so-called "new" blackberry. The Curve 8320 for a totally retarded sytem. The Bold with the battery and generally flawed system. The Gemini for its weird web viewing. And now with the Onyx, touted as the "perfect" Blackberry. Sorry, but it's not.

Personal Comparison Between Blackberry Bold and Bold 2 (Onyx) - Bold 1 is better?

Having had the opportunity to use both the Blackberry Bold and now Onyx, and of course that accursed Curve 8320 (sorry, but it lost all of my contacts. Three times. It's not even worth mentioning here), I'd like to share my personal comparison between the Bold and the brand spankin' new Onyx.

Screen resolution:

Everyone's been saying just how great Onyx screen is, and that it's the best screen to date, but to me, somehow the Bold seems better. Maybe due to the larger size? It is true that the Onyx has some amazingly crisp and laser-sharp display, but somehow... it doesn't wow me quite as much as when I turned on my Bold for the first time. And then of course I browsed through the pre-loaded pictures and out popped the BMW's Series 1 white Coupe and I remember I was like...whoa.... it literally looked like an actual miniature BMW is sitting inside the phone. The rest of the pictures on the Bold look great too. Just incredibly sharp and detailed and crystal clear. Whilst on the Onyx I had the impression that the pre-loaded pics are mediocre when displayed full screen. There aren't too many great pictures pre-loaded on the Onyx too, but maybe that's because there's an AT&T version and T-Mobile version. I haven't seen the TMob one, so I don't know what pictures are preloaded there. The Onyx's screen is great for reading texts as they really pop out to your eyes, but in the overall picture impressiveness department I still like the Bold better both in magnitude and clarity.

Keyboard:

I know a lot of people will disagree strongly with me on this one, but I found the Bold (and subsequently the Onyx) keyboard to be too soft for my taste. I guess I'm used to mashing on the keys on my Curve and I'm not a gentle type of guy - I type messily, and I like that emo typing where I forcefully jam on each button with all its click-clackity glory. With the Onyx, it's so soft that I almost feel bad jamming my fat thumbs on the keys. I just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to end up chipping one of the keys, although obviously that's not going to happen. While my old Curve is retarded, I have to praise its endurance for withstanding my daily abuse. The keys on the Onyx is also bunched up together, unlike the individual keys on the Curve or Javelin or Gemini so it's hard for me to accurately tell which keys is which, something that I've memorized to an exact science on my old Curve. I need grace to type smoothly on the Onyx, and grace is not something that I possess in abundance. One more thing: I discovered that if my nails are a bit long, my typing accuracy suffers further because my nails would slip on the fretted keys. Not that big of a deal, I think, after I get used to this about a week or so.

Trackpad vs. trackball:

Love it or hate it? Like I said, the Onyx is just so smooth overall that I almost feel bad swiping my greasy fingers across its high-gloss trackpad. The trackpad is super slick, super accurate and super sensitive. It's so sensitive in fact that I notice that depending on the light condition (dim vs. strong light), I can actually move the cursor just a tad bit simply by hovering my finger a couple of millimeters above the trackpad - without touching the pad. The only thing I miss from the trackpad is the actual tactile feel as I scroll around and feel it zip, zip, zip. And since it's integrated flat right into the surface panel, sometimes I touch the wrong panel and the cursor wouldn't move at all. That's opposed to the trackball where I always know exactly where it was since it juts out from the rest of the panel. But the trackpad IS a lot quicker and more responsive than the ball, and I think this is an awesome shift of gear from RIM. One drawback from this pad is that when my fingers are sweaty, movements can get a little draggish.

Size / Form:

For me, the choice is clear. Onyx ALL the way. Besides being totally hot in polished shiny black/chrome sexiness (you can't have too much black/chrome), what really wins my heart is its small footprint. I'm a guy, so I really appreciates a thin, sleek device that doesn't bulge up in or eat up one of my four pockets. The Bold is just way too big for me, especially once it's fitted with a condom silicone case. Bigger size means easier typing? Not for me. I did away typing absolutely just fine with the Onyx or Curve size keys. The Onyx could be a little lighter so it doesn't drag my pants down, but whatever....it just feels very sturdy overall.

OS:

The Onyx comes pre-loaded with OS 5.0.296 (there's a newer .371 version just leaked! try it if you dare then let me know what happens) which is just blazing fast - scary fast, in fact. That's augmented with Onyx's hyper CPU that's considerably faster than the Bold, so I'm truly satisfied. But there's something I totally hate about this OS version, and that is I have to be careful when when composing SMS text because if I make so much a mistake in pressing "alt" and then the "delete" key, it will delete my entire SMS text - right up to the beginning of the message. This is, to date, my biggest pet peeves with the Onyx (or the OS). Like I said, I'm a messy typer, but I type fast, and I make some mistakes. So I chaotically mash on the alt key and delete key, and if I so much as slip past the "L" key and hit delete while the alt is activated, my entire SMS text is gone. That makes me feel like chucking the shiny Onyx onto the wall, and that's not a good thing. I truly hope those morons at RIM amend this huge mistake on their next OS update.

But I can definitely say that the web browser is much improved although it remains, unequivocally, a BLACKBERRY BROWSER. It's not an iPhone. It still can't display some pages. It still won't play Flash. It's nowhere near as robust as I'd like it to be. It's still a Blackberry browser.

Camera:

3.2 MP and so far so good. Auto focus works great. Flash is....flash.

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