Mobilink BlackBerry and SSH

About a year back, I gave up the never-ending game of upgrading to the latest and greatest mobile and besides being a waste of money, one of the reasons was that all mobile phones suck. You may get used to one and might even start to make use of all its functions, but there will always be something missing. This is how I have gotten used to my clumsy P990i. I’ve come to live with it, but it hasn’t helped my productivity much.

After just a few hours of playing with it, I think I’ve found one that BlackBerry Curve sucks a lot less than others. There were some minor bugs with our web application that only seemed to affect BlackBerry users, so we just had to get our hands on one for “testing purposes”.

Currently, Mobilink is the only carrier in Pakistan that has an established BlackBerry service using Edge (I know Ufone was testing one, but I couldn’t find any details for it) and it really is pretty expensive. Then again, something that can help to fix a bug and also increase your output is worth the money.

We decided to go for the BlackBerry Curve (8310 with built-in GPS) and proceeded to hand it over to one geek after another to have them test it. Yesterday, it was my turn to play with it and I have yet to find anything wrong about it. I think it may finally be time to ditch the P990i and go get me one of these. The only doubt I have is with the Mobilink service and their requirement that you get it all from them (the service, the set etc.) and at inflated prices.

The lack of a touch display, side scroll wheel or arrow keys may take a little getting used to if you’ve been a Sony Ericsson user for a while. But the interface seems much easier and simpler after about an hour’s worth of use. The pearly scroll ball feels like it’s about to fall off, but works pretty well. The overall design is very slim, sleek and simply beautiful.

Some time ago, I installed Midpssh on my P990i to be able to login to my servers. However, it was quite unusable due to the unreadable display, slow connection and constant hangups and reboots of the buggy phone. This time, I’ve found a build of Midpssh specifically for BlackBerries and with some minor tweaking (the APN has to be set to connect.mobilinkworld.com under “Options –> Advanced Options –< TCP”), it is working very well. I tried to take a picture of the clear crisp interface I got after logging in, but my camera isn’t good enough to capture the beauty of it.

And off course, the Google Maps application is amazing. Combined with the built-in GPS, it can pin point your location to within a couple of meters and even point in the direction that you are heading. Viigo is also one of the better syndication clients I have come across.

The camera is quite underpowered for something as nice as this, but the ability to directly post your photos to Facebook is pretty cool. It may be an outdated technology when compared to other smart-phones and services. However, I like it. Now you know what to get me for my next (…um..er… current?) birthday.

22 thoughts on “Mobilink BlackBerry and SSH

  1. From a Blackberry user who has been living on this for the past many months – Take my word BB beats any cell phone hands down if you are a geek.

    The Adrenaline rush one gets the moment he/she receives that push email beats everything hands down 😉 heck even the Gmail client come far second as compared to the instant push email – thats a recommendation from one geek to another — normal people don’t understand that LOL

    Peace out

  2. dear all-
    I wz wondering if some one could help & guide me on BBerry 8700? Its unlocked fone. if local networks like mobilink pakistan does not agree to support because it was not bought from their racket-deals?
    can I do manual settings for net & email use?
    thanks

  3. I’ve been looking for a blackberry ssh client too; if you could put up a link to that build it’ be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

  4. Dear All!

    i am sharing a pakistani mobile phones website with you, this site offers almost all the latest mobile phones available in Pakistan along with mobiles updated prices and reviews..

    this site link is:
    http://www.mobile-phones-pakistan.com

    check it out and do tell how do u find it..

    Thanks!

  5. New Prices for BlackBerry Unlocked phones at homeshopping.pk . Now you can just buy your BlackBerry mobile phones online with the largest online store of pakistan and just get them delivered to your office or home all over Pakistan . All phones would come with warrenty !!

    BlackBerry Pearl 8110 with GPS — Rs 15999/-
    BlackBerry Pearl 8120 with GPS and Wifi– Rs 16,999/-
    BlackBerry Curve 8300 (Silver) Rs 20,500/-
    BlackBerry Curve 8310 with GPS Rs 20,999/-
    BlackBerry Curve 8320 with GPS WIFI Rs 24,999/-
    BlackBerry Bold 9000 Rs 57,999/-
    BlackBerry 9100 KickStart Flip Phone Rs 45,000/-

    All phones are 100% unlocked and can work with service providers in Pakistan . These phones are at a much better price then the over all market and comes with accessories like original Blackberry Leather pouches.
    for more info call us at 0323-2030440 or visit www homeshopping.pk

  6. Shayaan (or anyone else!),
    Are you sure the Curve 8320 comes with both Wi-fi and GPS? becuase I was checking the specs on gsmarena.com .. and they dont have the GPS listed

    regards,

  7. Yes I am very sure that the 8320 has both the GPS and WIFI and can be bought exclusivly only on Home Shopping . You do not have to pay cash online from your credit , just place an order and we will send the phone over to you and then you can pay. !! So you donot pay until you see the phone

  8. dear all-
    I wz wondering if some one could help & guide me on BBerry 8700? Its unlocked fone. if local networks like mobilink pakistan does not agree to support because it was not bought from their racket-deals?
    can I do manual settings for net & email use?
    thanks

  9. AssalamoalaikomI am new to this BB 8320 curve, i bought this from mobilink. Recently I was traveling to Europe and tried using Wifi on the airport, but it just didnt work. Everytime I would turn on my mobile connection (Which means roaming), the wifi thing would start working. Otherwise it didnt worked. Doesnt wifi work without the mobile connection? or if I turn on the mobile connection, it will use wifi and I wont be charged any roaming charges?Does any one know about this?Thanks,Wassalam

  10. @adorable : Go here & click on Mobilinkhttp://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/downloads/download_sites.jsp@Daaniyaal: Open up to your Applications menu and scroll to Manage Connections. Underneath the check boxes you’ll see a selection which reads Mobile Network Options. Scroll down and click the trackball on it.There you’ll be able to see available mobile networks along with a few options, including Data Services. You can turn it off, or turn it off only when roaming. That’s quite a useful feature, as it can save you when you don’t know you’re roaming.

  11. One Year Warranty, Box PackBlackberry 8310 Silver Rs. 21750/-Blackberry 8320 Gold Wifi Rs. 21750/-

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