BlackBerry Forums Support Community

FTwrath · 05-29-2008, 01:40 PM

If you run across this Beta do not download it. Yes the features are tempting, but it's best to wait. There are a lot of bugs still and it's not worth voiding your warranty

Beta Version 4.5.0.37
Phone: 8310 Curve

I wrote this a few weeks ago, however, I just joined on here so I though I'd post it.

A few key features I noticed right away (which I knew existed in the update) are the Video Camera feature and Voice Note feature.
Voice Note can be found in your Media Folder and the Video Camera is found on the main display.

Video Camera
Grades (Based on a 1-10 scale)
Ease of Use - 10 (Simply scroll to Video Camera and click on it the next option is to click once more and begin recording)
Options - 8 Hit the options key and you are given the ability to turn the Video Light On/Off/Automatic while recording. Also change color effects (Normal/Black & White/Sepia). And videos can be recorded in 240 x 180 and 176 x 144 (recommended if sending through MMS) sizes.
Thew videos can also be accessed by hitting Options > View Videos
Quality - 9 (One of the most powerful Cameras I have seen on a phone).

The videos record in 3GP format.
Here are three sample videos I have just recorded.
The first two were recorded with house lights on and no light enabled on the phone. The third with lights off and a light enabled on the phone. I hosted them as .3gp so you can view the direct quality of the video rather than a converted version.

[View Quality Of Video]
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/5/...ID%2000003.3GP

[View Sound Of Video]
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/5/...ID%2000004.3GP

[View The Flash Light Power In Dark]
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/5/...ID%2000005.3GP

Internet
My favorite new feature is the Video Camera. A close second, however, is the ability to stream you tube videos.
My favorite site (besides this one :P) is now compatible with my favorite gadget. It's fairly easy to stream. Search A Video > Click To Select The Video > Click "Watch This Video" link and the video will stream to your phone's (not in browser) video player.
Downside: Only in the BB Browser not capable in Opera (So Far)
The scrolling is also a lot easier. Your "mouse arrow" moved with ease. There is no lag to it either. Another downside is the poor streaming quality, videos don't show in full screen either when streaming from Youtube.
To date I have had my internet Browser freeze twice while viewing CB.com. Maybe it's a slight bug that will be fixed in the official release.
The Browser works a lot faster. It is a noticeable difference.

Messaging
The messaging system has also received a few new additions (which I have yet to see the point off).
Some messages are received with a ! next to the message folder by the recipients name. This was back on 4.5.0.18 and it has now been removed in the 4.5.0.37 Beta.
The layout of the conversations is also different and has been tweaked some.

Camera
The Camera has received an added feature "Geotagging."
Geographical tag. When you turn the feature on it tells u that it adds GPS coordinates to the picture u just took.

Other Added Features
This is copied and pasted from another website.
"Some of the new features are handheld-only; some require server upgrades. If you're on BlackBerry Enterprise Server, your IT department will need to upgrade; if you're on BlackBerry Internet Service, you'll need to wait a few months for your carrier to upgrade. I've marked server features with an (S), and handheld features with an (H) to show what you'll be able to do immediately."
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest (H)
• Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation (H)
• Voice note recording (H)
• Video recording on Curve models (H)
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

I personally love the new features. I was a Black Berry addict before and I am now a Black Berry fanatic. Thank you RIM for listening to your consumers. The new features are amazing!

penguin3107 · 05-29-2008, 01:43 PM

Quite the detailed review... however there's more than a dozen or so versions of the leaked beta OS.
Perhaps it might make a little sense to mention exactly which version of the OS you're reviewing, and what device you're reviewing it on.

ricpac · 05-29-2008, 01:48 PM

It's this

Quote:

Beta Version 4.5.0.37
Phone: 8310 Curve

EDIT: @Penguin3107, I think the OP included it in his edit 3 minutes after you posted. Oops

FTwrath · 05-29-2008, 01:52 PM

Yep yep I edited my post. Thanks man.

rquinn19 · 05-29-2008, 03:42 PM

It'd be nice to hear as to why you wouldn't recommend the beta. From your review it sounds as if there's no reason not to.

FTwrath · 05-29-2008, 04:54 PM

If you would have read past the first sentence you'd see why. There's still many bugs and it voids your warranty.

Sparkomatic · 05-29-2008, 05:45 PM

I ran .18 awhile ago and couldn't stand it. Ended up wiping my device and reloading 4.3. However, .37 has been great for me. I love it! Still a few quirks but nothing compared to .18. I've also enabled HTML email on the server side and it's great. Can't wait to see the final release or the Bold...whichever comes first...lol

If you've never messed with beta software, I'd hold off. But, if your familiar with BB's, I say go for it! :D

rquinn19 · 05-29-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FTwrath

If you would have read past the first sentence you'd see why. There's still many bugs and it voids your warranty.

Lots of bugs is not an explanation. After how detailed he was about the good things I'd like to know what's that bad...meaning what are the bugs? How does it affect daily operation? I went and found and installed 37 the day this site said it was sent to the manufacturers or whoever. I've been back and forth between 18 and 37 several times and either way I'm gonna run 4.5 because I haven't experienced any bugs. Maybe I'm overlooking them. And he said not worth voiding your warranty, again very vague. Why is not worth voiding your warranty? I did indeed read the whole post.

rick chi-town · 05-29-2008, 07:18 PM

Great review, agreed on all counts with the exception of why not to download? In my very humble opinion, the rewards of most of the new features, far, far outweigh the few bugs I've noticed.
Been running .37 at this end for about a week now. Prior to that, I had .10 with seeimingly more bugs and issues, so went back to 4.2 for a bit, but decided to try it again.
Here's another observation... has anyone noticed the bugs in the media section? switching between pics on my phone using the N and P buttons, the phone tries to go back to the pic menu for a split second, then goes to next or previous pic. Just kinda weird.
RL

FTwrath · 05-29-2008, 08:14 PM

Not worth voiding your warranty because if something happens to your phone and it has to get sent back to RIM they wont do anything because it has ILLEGAL software on it.
These Beta's are illegal for anyone outside of the people they give them to to use.
I haven't had any bugs but on another forum I'm on I see posts about messages no longer showing up (failure to receive), new message icons no longer showing up, videos not playing, bb maps doesn't work, must reinstall all previously installed 3rd party applications, massive memory leaks.

I haven't had problems but others have

rick chi-town · 05-29-2008, 08:30 PM

Again, agreed... I think most (if not all) of us on these type boards are probably more tech saavy than 99% of the general public when it comes to devices like these. Add to that the fact that we obviously have to go out into the scary world wide web to actively search out and find these programs hosted by some website probably not based in the United States. I would think most (if not all) of us who ARE getting these pirate copies of OS's are aware of the legalities...
As such... if you can't afford to pay... you probably shouldn't play. In other words, if I brick this beautiful Blackberry of mine, I'll suck it up and buy a new one. Lesson learned. Until that time, I enjoy experimenting with the latest and greatest toys... even if it may be illegal, beta-this, beta-that, not meant for me, blah, blah, blah... To each his own.

FTwrath · 05-29-2008, 08:33 PM

I hear what you're saying. For us experienced BB users Dl the new Beta and if the phone crashes then delete the OS and reinstall a different one. But for a new user or an inexperienced user I don't suggest it.

patberry · 06-02-2008, 01:49 AM

I really like the way the email is laid out now...

avelasqu · 06-03-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkomatic

I ran .18 awhile ago and couldn't stand it. Ended up wiping my device and reloading 4.3. However, .37 has been great for me. I love it! Still a few quirks but nothing compared to .18. I've also enabled HTML email on the server side and it's great. Can't wait to see the final release or the Bold...whichever comes first...lol

If you've never messed with beta software, I'd hold off. But, if your familiar with BB's, I say go for it! :D

How do you enable HTML email?