BlackBerry World has been an amazing experience for me. It’s my first time, and what a treat it’s been to be around so many people who favor BlackBerry. The conference is winding down, people are clearing out, and things are much more relaxed, so I’m going to share 2 little things that made it just a little bit more cool.
THING 1:
I was watching the Blues Brothers street review early on in the evening. I tried to upload a pic, and it looked like it was going to time out. I minimized the app and holstered Agent 99. A few minutes later, we joined the line for Revenge of the Mummy. I pulled out my 9900 and discovered that my battery, which had been around 50-60% a few minutes prior, was down to 1%! Average drain rate per hour was listed at –297.5%.
I noticed a pair of RIM staffers in line behind us, and I asked if there were any battery-swap stations at the event. He told me he didn’t think so. I cursed, thanked him, and turned around. A few seconds later he taps on my shoulder. I turned back around, and he said, “Here. Swap with me. I have a spare”, offering up a JM-1.
“Seriously?” I asked. “You sure?”
“Absolutely. Take it.”
So he took my dead battery and gave me one charged up to 75%. Out of his own pocket. I don’t know if my press lanyard had anything to do with his decision or not, but I’d like to think that it didn’t. I’d prefer to take it as a small but meaningful example of how RIM is paying more attention to the little guy, the individual consumer. I like it, and I felt it was worth sharing. Thank you, anonymous RIM employee. You made and my night and saved my ‘berry.
THING 2:
A few minutes later, we got to the front of the line. As we lined up to board the ride, I glanced at a group of people across the tracks in the VIP lane. There was Thorsten, all smiles, with a group of, I assume, appropriately important people. Some cheers went up from those of us who could see him, and he grinned and waved back. Given the pressure and scrutiny he’s under, it was good to see him in good spirits and enjoying himself. I hope that means that things with BB10 are going well. Again, small, but important.
vecharo ( View Profile) - Posts: 61
Posted: May 3, 2012 at 5:32 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9900 | OS 7.1.0.342
I love the RIM staffer swapping batteries! That’s a great story!
Ashley ( View Profile) - Posts: 1007
Posted: May 3, 2012 at 5:33 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9900 | OS 7.1.0.284
:-O RE: ‘Thing 1′ – that brought a tear to my eye… To be so kind as to offer up his battery in a time of crisis… <3 #TeamBlackBerry love and wonderful techn0-karma…
RE: ‘Thing 2′ – Thor has EVERY reason to smile… I mean did u see how sexxxy BB10 is????? It’s like he KNOWS he’s going home to the Prom Queen every night….
Wonderful read, thanks for sharing
and again, I am riveted by the tale of the batttery that went rogue… Hell of a discharge :-O I’m hope that lil situation was assessed and the culprit causing such a drastic spike in drain was apprehended and removed… May your Berry Live Long and Prosper…. V
kiddo2050 ( View Profile) - Posts: 813
Posted: May 3, 2012 at 10:48 PM EST
Says a lot about RIM even if they thought you were press, giving up a battery is super nice.
great stories thanks.
Heavens ( View Profile) - Posts: 267
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 12:06 AM EST
Tim thank you for sharing ….. I can feel your enthusiasm from Sydney!!!
Nice people do exist and I’m glad you met one, eh!
Lucas Tam Not Registered
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 2:38 AM EST
Surely the bigger story is why your BB was suffering from a battery drain? Battery drains are unacceptable for a modern mobile OS… Apple takes major flak for “minor” battery drain, but the BB OS has suffered from battery drain for years.
Tim Newcomb ( View Profile) - Posts: 35
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 6:53 AM EST from my BlackBerry PlayBook | OS 2.0.1
The drain was caused by multiple failed attempts to upload a pic. The true culprit was AT&T’s overloaded network node filled with a few thousand BlackBerry power users. The result was a hung TCP connection, which will bollocks up any device, even a PC. I didn’t want to name the app, because it wasn’t the root cause and doesn’t deserve the blame, and neither does BBOS.
vecharo ( View Profile) - Posts: 61
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 8:22 AM EST from my BlackBerry 9900 | OS 7.1.0.342
Hi Tim, how are you able to ascertain the culprit of the battery drain? The steps taken to troubleshoot this would be great info to know since rapid battery drain is something most, if not all, of us have suffered from at some point
Tim Newcomb ( View Profile) - Posts: 35
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 11:14 AM EST
You can use the BlackBerry Device Analyzer on OS 7+ (or maybe it’s just 7.1?). Run the “Battery draining too quickly” test under Battery Tests. It’s a monitor, so it needs to be running for awhile before you can see results. It will break down battery drain by app/process.
In this particular case, I was not running the battery test. I was, however, familiar with the app and the network issue. I am 99.9% certain I know the true cause.
Suavechef ( View Profile) - Posts: 32
Posted: May 4, 2012 at 9:43 AM EST
I would say that the battery swap was just a RIM employee being how they are normally. In all my years working with them this is the normal behavior. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered the shirt off their back if you needed it.
One of my contacts in fact reaches out every so often just to say hi and see if my group needs anything. For me that is customer loyalty and why I have loved working with them for such a long time.