Sprint Seasonal Standby Plan Changes

For those of you in the know about the Seasonal Standby Plan, some changes are now in place

BlackBerry Tour 9630 - July 20

Been trying this devie out for a little while now on the side.. gotta say - I REALLY like it. Looks like everyone will be able to snag one (assuming you haven't already snagged a Pre instead) on 07/20 **updated to 07/12**

Telesales now offering the Palm Pre

In case you haven't been able to get your hand on one yet - as of today, Telesales is now processing orders for them, in addition to local retailers. Of course you can always visit a Sprint Store to get the full ReadyNow experience, and I'd recommend that option if this is your first PDA - but for seasoned pro's, the gates are now open!.

BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) v2.7 Release

Update due to be released this Saturday (06/27/09), BlackBerry will update their BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) from version 2.6 to version 2.7. Customers do not have to request or initiate this upgrade. After 6/27/09, customers who log into their BIS account, will automatically be on this new version.

BIS 2.7 improves the look and feel of the BIS interface. While the changes are not big, they are an improvement for BIS users.

The improved Help Screen now lets subscribers:

• Send Service Books


• Access the online user guide, BlackBerry Answers (similar to BlackBerry HELP, but in a Q&A format)


• Access contact information for wireless service providers


• Open the BlackBerry HELP Web site on the BlackBerry Smartphone

• The ‘Close‘ option lets subscribers close the ‘E-mail Settings‘ application at any time.


• The BIS User Interface is now available in both Indonesian and Thai language.

Palm Pre Software Update for WebOS

Good Morning! Although your new Palm Pre has known about it for a few hours now (smart lil things, aren't they!), you may not have noticed it yet - but as of this morning the first software update for the Palm Pre is available.

[NOTE: While some Pre's have received the notifications and/or update over the past few days, today is the *official* release date of the upgrade, which is why it's only now being posted here.]

So... what's updated?

Current Palm Pre's are running Palm webOS v1.0.2 on the Sprint 1.4 configuration... this update will bring the webOS up to v1.0.3 and the Sprint Configuration to v1.5, Build number is now 124

You can verify your software version, build, and configuration by opening Device Info, scrolling down to Version and Configuration (for webOS version), and then tap on the Version section (for Configuration & Build)

How do I get it?

Your Pre will automatically recognize that it is not up to date with the latest release and alert you to download and install it at some point today. You can also use the Updates application to initiate the download and update.

What's Included?

Enabled non-SSL Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email server setup

• Customers not using SSL with Exchange (EAS) were not able to set up email and were receiving an error.

Now can sync EAS version 12.0 of Exchange Server 2007 without Service Pack 1 with Palm Pre.

• Customers using EAS version 12.0 of Exchange Server 2007 were able to set up email, but were unable to sync it, and were not receiving an error.

Corrected pop-up window errors when installing applications.

• Customers installing a downloaded application were receiving ‘Install Failed‘ error message if there was no more allowable memory space.

Addressed handling of 911 calls from the device in airplane mode.

• CDMA radio on device is turned off (airplane mode) and PIN is locked. Customer dials 911 and the device should turn on radio and place a call once system acquisition is complete. Prior to the fix, the device didn‘t turn on automatically CDMA radio. Customers had to disable airplane mode when prompted.

Also addressed were various EAS email optimizations for battery life and attachment processing...

Email transports now ignore CDMA connection on 1x if WiFi is connected.

• Email transports did not ignore a CDMA connection on 1x when WiFi was connected.

Maximum time allotted for re-sending an attachment changed to a variable based on attachment size.

• Maximum time allotted for re-sending an attachment was 20 minutes.

In the WAN connection scenario, the e-mail transport should now avoid connecting immediately.

• In the scenario where the WAN connection is going up and down, the e-mail transport used to connect immediately, and that was draining the battery.

Device doesn‘t sync corrupt data. Software now handles this internally with an exception.

• Device was syncing continuously if user data on server was corrupt.

And finally…

Decreased the sync interval for Google Calendar and Contacts to 15 minutes

• Device waited 2 hours to sync the Contacts and Calendar changes made on device to Google account. Calendar events that contained certain symbols were preventing Google Calendar sync.

The Dormant Battery icon has been replaced with the start up screen after connecting device to the USB charging cable.

• When device was connected to a USB charging cable, Dormant Battery icon was displayed.

Scheduled weekday alarm events no longer sound on the weekends.

• Scheduled weekday alarm events used to sound on the weekends.

Are you liking the update? Any issues or cheers/complains? Sound off in the comments, or take it to the forums over at SprintGurus and their posse of top-notch Sprint users, which is one of my favorite Sprint User Communities to date!

Quick Maintenance Window Update: Online Store

[caption id="attachment_266" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Sprint.com Store will return shortly!"][/caption]

The website updates are *soo* close to being doing for the current phase, and to be able to complete some needed maintenance, the online store, housed on nextel.com will be down from 2AM-6AM this morning!

So hang tight and don't get too antsy - the Pre is only going to be available in retail channels initially anyways, so it's not like you've got anything to order, right ? Well, if you do it'll be up in just over 4 hours.

Sprint Palm Pre Activation

Since there are quite a few in the wild already, and we're just over a week away from launch, I figured it'd be as good a time as any to give a preview of what activation/first use will look like on the Pre, and field any questions that may come up in the process.

There’s been a new way of activating phones here at Sprint for a month or so now, and while you may occasionally run into a few agents who manually program phones out of habit, there’s simply no need for it anymore. Almost all the phones can now be programmed via Hands-Free or One Touch Activation, and the Palm Pre is no exception. The one exception to the Palm Pre is that it can’t be programmed manually, so Hands-Free activation is required.

Update: Coal has acquired & posted a full Palm Pre User Guide at SprintGurus here

To get started you need the ESN/MEID.

On the Palm Pre, this is found in 3 places:

1. Underneath the battery in the phone on the right side of the barcode sticker. Turn off the phone and remove the battery to view. (not recommended)


2. The Barcode sticker on the end of the original box, labeled MEID.


3. The Activation Error Prompt:

All the steps and screenshots included, after the jump…

Palm Pre Goodness

Whoops - I was off by one on the launch date, sorry folks - sometimes even I get the slip, ya know :) It was never my intention for my blog to be all about the Palm Pre, just my sometimes mundane life at sprint. But, hey - what can I do lol. We've been working in our own departments and in others the past few weeks, gearing up on all fronts - hence my lack of posts. Like I said though - ISN isn't about the Pre, it's about Sprint - and though I have blogged mostly about the Pre lately, well... quite frankly that's been the biggest thing going on, so it's only appropriate, right?

Ok.. ok... so I did mention goodness, right? If the blog stats are any indication then you've ALL been craving some new info... yea, i see ya hitting refresh every hour or two to see if I've posted. Get a feed reader, already - lol :) So who am I to disappoint.. here's some goodness I doubt you've been exposed to. Enjoy.

Oh.. and while you're here, in case you're new, check out some of my non-pre posts too, like: Overage Relief Minutes, where you can get 100 minutes for $5 (sure beats .40 cents a minute for overage, right?) oh yea..back to the palm pre, boys.... and you may already know this - quite frankly I've been so caught up in it all at work, I forget what's been figured out, and what hasn't.

How about some official accessories, price plans, and device info (including battery life)? Full size images after the jump!


After the jump: Palm Pre Service Plans, Featured Accessories, & More...

 

Sprint.com Self Care Upgrades Underway

Just a quick note for all of you wondering what's going on with Sprint.com and why you may not be able to login... this will hopefully be completed by Friday evening, but could roll over into Saturday. Here's the note we've posted to care...

Customers are unable to access their My Sprint account or the Digital Lounge thru sprint.com due to the site being splashed.  Customers will not be able to log into thier MySprint account to manage their account including checking usage, paying or viewing bills or swapping phones.  The Digital Lounge is also splashed and customers will not be able to make a purchase thru sprint.com.  Customers ARE able to access Sprint and Digital Lounge thru thier handsets.

Just remember you can always dial *2 or sprint.com/chat for any issue you have for a quick resolution, or manage your account via your handset. Sorry for the downtime, but it's necessary to keep great things coming down the pipeline!

Palm Pre Contacts Video Short