BlackBerry Bold 9900 review

Research In Motion (RIM) officially announced its latest smartphone, the BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, at its annual BlackBerry World Conference in Orlando.


BlackBerry Bold 9900 First Impressions

Bold 9900

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is a successor to RIM's original Bold handheld, the BlackBerry 9000. And it looks the part; on first glance, the Bold 9900 looks very much like the Bold 9000. And in many ways the exterior of the device is similar: the keyboard design, shape and size are practically identical to the 9000, and the shiny silver bezel that surrounds the handheld also looks just like the old Bold's bezel.


But the similarities end there.


The Bold 9900 is significantly slimmer and a bit lighter than the 9000. In fact, the Bold 9900 is RIM's thinnest BlackBerry ever. And it feels great in the hand. The Bold 9900 form factor is probably my favorite of any BlackBerry smartphone to date.


And the 9900 keyboard is to die for; RIM even called it the best keyboard on any BlackBerry smartphone. And I tend to agree. Though the keyboard looks almost identical to the original Bold 9000 keypad, it's actually slightly larger, because it stretches almost all the way to the sides of the device, while the Bold 9000's bezel is thicker and takes up keyboard space.


blackBerry Bold 9930I spent a few minutes typing on the Bold 9900, and it was truly a pleasure, especially since I used to employ a Bold 9000, and I really miss that keyboard.


On the inside, the Bold is packing an impressive 1.2GHz processor, which helps the software experience feel fast and smooth, with very little lag--at least in the 20 minutes or so I spent with the device. It also has 768MB of RAM, with 8GB of internal storage for media and other data, the most RAM and built-in storage of any current BlackBerry. And the Bold 9900 also supports microSD memory cards up to 32GB. All of these things make the Bold 9900 feel much more "modern" than RIM's past few handhelds.


It's also great looking. Though the silver bezels on both the Bold 9900 and Bold 9000 look similar, they're actually quite different. The new Bold's bezel is made of brushed stainless steel, compared to the silver plastic bezel on the 9000. And that change in bezel material makes a noticeable difference in the appearance of the device; the stainless steel just looks nicer and less flimsy or "cheap."


The rear battery cover is also notable, since it's coated in some sort of glassy-looking epoxy, which adds another touch of luxury to the Bold 9900. RIM definitely seems to have put more focus on looks with the BlackBerry 9900 than any other RIM device. And it shows.


While the original Bold used a trackball for navigation that was sunk into three separate panels that served as the device's call, menu, escape and end call buttons, the new Bold employs a more efficient trackpad that sits in a single piece of smooth material that forms its call and navigation buttons. (The call and end-call buttons are no longer green and red on the Bold 9900. Instead, they're both translucent white.) The new Bold's trackpad also has a glowing ring around it that makes it easy to use in dark environments, another first for a BlackBerry, and a nice addition overall.


The Bold 9900 also has a new mute button on its side, between the volume up and volume down keys, both of which also serve as media controls when music or video is playing. And it has two very small charging panels on its base for use with a BlackBerry Charge Pod--the Bold 9000 had similar, larger panels on its lower sides.


The Bold 9900's 2.8-inch, 640x480 (287 PPI) display is impressive as well, and colors look both vivid and bright. The Bold 9900 is the first "candy bar" style BlackBerry with both a touch screen and "physical" QWERTY keyboard. And though it's going to take me a while to get used to using both the screen and trackpad for Bold navigation, I was impressed with how responsive the display was to my touches, taps and pinches. And I look forward to seeing what sorts of new touch-gestures RIM adds in the future.


On the software side, RIM's Bold 9900 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to run the upcoming BlackBerry 7 mobile OS, which packs a variety of cool new features and enhancements, as well as a slightly different look and feel due to some modified icon sets. Most notably, BlackBerry 7 packs a new voice-activated universal search feature and a speedier Webkit browser.


Honestly, BlackBerry 7 doesn't really feel too different than BlackBerry 6, and that's somewhat unfortunately, since RIM is marketing it as a major OS update. But as mentioned, I was only able to spend 20 minutes with the device, so there could be more to the software than I saw in my brief time with it.


BlackBerry 7 supports Near Field Communications (NFC) technology for mobile payments and other short-range wireless data transactions. (Check out this video from BlackBerry World for a look at how NFC works on the Bold 9900.) And the OS also adds support for new hardware features such as a digital compass, accelerometer and proximity sensor, all of which are found within the Bold 9900.


One feature I would really like to see in the 9900 is mobile hotspot support, which was rumored to be coming along with the 9900. But RIM didn't mention it at all while detailing the device. The RIM representative I asked for more details wouldn't comment on unannounced features, though, so there's still a chance the 9900 will have mobile hotspot functionality.


Finally, the device should become available on all or most major U.S. carriers in "late summer" in two flavors: the 9900, for GSM/UMTS networks like AT&T and T-Mobile; and the 9930 "World Phone," with support for both CDMA networks, such as Verizon's, and GSM/UMTS. So the device should become widely available.


Unfortunately, the Bold 9900 is not a 4G device, which is a slight turnoff, since the device could feel outdated shortly after its release. It does, however, support HSPA+ downloads up to 14.4 Mbps and uploads up to 5.76 Mbps.


So, to sum that all up: I'm already a big fan of the Bold 9900. And it will probably be my next BlackBerry smartphone. Now, I anxiously await the BlackBerry Bold 9900 release. You can expect a full review on CIO.com just as soon as possible, so stayed tuned.
Source - PcWorld.com
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South Africa interest rates unchanged

Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus says the repo rate will remain unchanged in spite of a breach in the South African Reserve Bank’s forecast inflation rate. The repo rate remains at 5,5%, said Marcus today.


Addressing the media after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Pretoria, Marcus said the rate of inflation is slightly higher than forecast and is now expected to peak at 6,3% by the beginning of next year.

Interest rates

"Price shocks could feed through to generalised inflation. The MPC will monitor closely for any secondary effects and will respond timeously should these effects change inflation rapidly," she said. "The Main driver is food price inflation which rose 5,1% year on year in March."


"The MPC continues to be of the view that the underlying inflation pressures are mainly of a cost push nature. These developments are expected to result in a temporary breach of the upper limit of the target band during the first quarter of 2012," said Marcus.


"It is recognised that these pressures have the real potential to generate second round effects which can result in more generalised inflation. In light of the above, the MPC has decided to keep the repurchase rate unchanged at 5,5 per cent per annum, for the time being."


"The MPC will remain vigilant with respect to any inflation risks that could emanate from domestic demand developments."


Source - BusinessDay.co.za
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South Africa Economy taking a toll

Insurance brokers are losing confidence in the South African economy, according to a survey released on Tuesday.


"... the results for the first quarter of 2011 shows that brokers' confidence in the outlook for the economy has dropped to 61 percent, down from 66 percent recorded during the last quarter of 2010," CIB Insurance said in a statement on its Broker Confidence Index Survey.


The survey found brokers were continuing to lose confidence in business conditions for the local insurance industry over the next 12 months.

Confidence levels dropped to 62 percent during the first quarter in 2011, from 67 percent in the previous quarter.


Jonjon Smit, sales director of CIB Insurance Solutions, said this might indicate the South African economy was not recovering as well as people thought.


Brokers' confidence in attracting new business over the next 12 months dropped significantly to 71 percent, from 76 percent in the previous quarter.


"Insurance brokers tend to obtain new customers at the same time as consumers are purchasing items and are therefore looking to insure them.


"The drop in confidence levels in prospects for the industry and new business suggests that brokers are not expecting a significant pickup in consumer spending," said Smit.


Brokers were more confident about maintaining their current customer book in 2011, with 79 percent expressing confidence in their ability to retain existing clients, an increase of one percent since the last quarter.


Brokers said their biggest problem in the next 12 months would be complying with new legislation and regulations. Their main concern was probably the Financial Services Board regulatory exams, Smit said.


"All key individuals and representatives need to complete the first level of the exam, which will cover general compliance, by December 2011. This looming deadline is causing some uncertainty amongst brokers."
Source -http://iAfrica.com
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Insurance Fraud costing SA R3bn

Fraudulent insurance claims were costing South African consumers a staggering R3bn a year, Jonathan Holden, executive at Lion of Africa Insurance, said late last week. Widespread fraud means a continued steep increase in monthly premiums in the insurance industry, which has been under pressure in the past three years as consumers surrendered and cancelled their policies due to tough economic conditions.


According to Standard Bank, short term insurance fraud accounts for almost 15% of South Africa''s premium cost. Holden said three cases of fraudulent activity were recently recovered amounting to about R580000. There are also a further 16 cases, totalling about R36m, that are currently under investigation.

Long-term insurance fraud is also alive and well. Last year, fraudulent claims shot up to more than R100m and those were only the claims that were discovered.


South Africa''s high profile insurance fraud case is the one that was allegedly committed by Radovan Krejcir, who is wanted by the Czech authorities on charges of tax fraud and conspiracy to commit murder.


Krejcir has been charged with fraud following a R4.5m insurance claim he made last year. Earlier last month, a Johannesburg-based urologist admitted falsely diagnosing cancer in Krejcir so the insurance claim could be paid. It is understood that Liberty, South Africa''s third biggest insurance company, has already paid out the claim.


Holden said local insurance industry bodies needed to work with authorities to identify and prosecute the perpetrators of the fraudulent claims. "With potential insurance premium increases on the horizon, the industry at large needs to come together, share information and act fast in order to safeguard and protect consumers financially," Holden said.


He also said new organisations such as the Crime Bureau of South Africa were going a long way to identifying and eliminating illegal activities. The bureau makes use of highly sophisticated technology to track fraudulent activities in the industry. Holden urged insurance companies to join initiatives such as the bureau in order to see a potential reduction in insurance premium increases.


Established in 2008, the bureau currently consists of 10 member companies. These include Lion of Africa Insurance, Santam, Mutual & Federal, Hollard, Outsurance, Momentum, Absa, Regent and Miway. The bureau collects claims from all member insurance companies and works very closely with the South African Police Service, the Hawks, the South African Revenue Service and the justice system to identify areas of fraudulent claims.


Holden said affiliation with the bureau had enabled Lion of Africa Insurance to cross-check claims with recent police reports from road blocks and spot checks in order to assess the credibility of certain vehicle claims.


"For example, we can track whether or not a driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of an accident by cross-referencing the claim with data captured by the police from road blocks in the area," Holden said. "Based on this, the insurance company can take the decision to restrict the policy or raise the premiums."


Another proactive initiative by the Crime Bureau led to the recovery of about 350 vehicles from two separate police pounds in KwaZulu-Natal.

Source -http://thenewage.co.za

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