Telstra release BlackBerry Bold update

David M Williams
Monday, 26 January 2009 05:10

Your IT - Mobility

The first 3G BlackBerry, the BlackBerry Bold, has not been free from trouble. Telstra have released updated handheld software which they hope will fix things, on their network, at least.

The BlackBerry Bold has not yet been out for six months but is already up to its second software update from launch.

Users of the popular, even addictive, device have reported the BlackBerry Bold suffers regular flaws.

The original software supplied with the handheld (4.6.0.199) would stop receiving new e-mail without warning; the only real solution was to remove the battery and reinsert it again forcing a complete reboot.

A subsequent update – 4.6.0.263 – rectified this. The major enhancement, according to telcos, was that media playback had been optimised to remove jerkiness of streaming video, but for most business users that was immaterial. It was the reliability of e-mail – which is where the BlackBerry outperforms all other competing smartphones hands down – which was the crucial fix.

Despite this, the Bold still wasn't freed from all its pains. Regular users still reported intermittent lockups and slowdowns, and again periodic loss of e-mail reception.

A new update has just been released (4.6.0.365) with more bug fixes.

Additionally, the handset signal coverage has been enhanced which improves its regional score rating from a class A device to class B. It's unlikely to go higher than this; Telstra's “blue tick” (or class C) rating requires a device be capable of using an external antenna before it can be wholeheartedly advocated for use in the most rural locations.

You can download this latest software , as well as updates for other BlackBerry models, online. Note the handheld software is carrier specific; non-Telstra customers will need to check with their carrier.

Select BlackBerry Bold 9000 from the drop-down list, and then choose package 4.6.0.365, consisting of applications 4.6.0.216 and software platform 4.0.0.183. The download is around 94Mb.

To install the software onto your BlackBerry you need the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software to already be loaded onto your computer; this is available from the same link.

The process is trouble-free, automatically backing up and restoring your data. Note that the download includes East Asian language support as well as English so you ought to deselect languages you do not plan to use.