Easy way to get POP3 email on a BlackBerry using T-Zones

We have a couple of smartphones here we use when traveling, just so we can stay in touch with our inboxes. We have used T-Mobiles T-Zones service for this which is $5.99 a month as it allows for POP3 mail access.

We recently upgraded to some BlackBerrys and found out that you cannot get email on them with T-Zones, you have to pay for their $20.00 monthly BlackBerry service. We were just going to switch to another model smartphone that allowed POP3 access through T-Zones because the extra expense was not worth it to us, then we figured out how to use POP3 on the BlackBerrys. This is not a hack or anything like that, nor does it allow for push email like the regular BlackBerry service.

Basically all you need to do is (assuming you already have T-Zones) open a browser and click the scroll button and select Go To. Then input this link:

http://logicmail.sourceforge.net/ota/

This will allow you to download the LogicMail POP3 and IMAP client for BlackBerry. Once the install is complete, the LogicMail icon will appear in the Applications folder of your BlackBerry. Again, this does not allow for regular push email (won't notify you of new incoming messages), it is just a mail client where you can view your inbox and send/receive mail. But this is exactly what we want to be able to do- just check our inboxes from the road. Mission accomplished!

***note: this was done on some BlackBerry 7105t phones but should work on other BlackBerry models we assume***

Is Steve Jobs doing a 180 about iTunes subscriptions?

Just under a year ago I wrote this article about Realplayer Rhapsody's subscription model which allows customers to listen to an unlimited number of tracks in the Rhapsody library for a low monthly fee. In the article I discussed how Steve Jobs shrugged off that model, saying it was not something that "consumers wanted", even though a cost-per-track evaluation shows it would be a lot cheaper for consumers who listened to more than just five or ten songs a month.

So it was surprising to read this article from FT.com today which suggests that Apple is attempting to negotiate a subscription model with major music labels. The plan would charge a premium for the music players (much in the same way a Rhapsody-equipped Sansa MP3 player costs quite a bit more than an identical Sansa player that cannot play Rhapsody songs) but allow customers to pay a low monthly fee to listen to unlimited songs, or pay an even heftier charge for the device up front but get unlimited songs for the life of the device (this is a model being used by TiVo for their DVR consoles).

What struck me the most was this statement in the FT.com article:

"Detailed market research has shown strong appetite among consumers for deals bundling music in with the cost of the device, or in exchange for a monthly subscription, executives said."

Maybe this is Jobs' "duh" moment, because it seemed evident even a year ago that there was consumer demand for these things even though Jobs said otherwise. Either that, or Jobs thought the iPod's "hip" factor would fend off less-hip competitors (like RealPlayer) and simply miscalculated.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing is for sure though. I titled last year's article on RealPlayer Rhapsody "The iPod Killer?". If Jobs does take iTunes to a subscription model, that might well make the service the Rhapsody killer, as Realplayer would have a very hard time competing against Apple if both were offering the same service model.

Check out all of our Apple Mac Leopard compatible wireless USB adapters

As you may know, we carry a number of wireless (WiFi) USB adapters for Apple Macintosh computers. These devices have been compatible with Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4, and now we are excited that they are all Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) compatible thanks to new driver releases. We decided to promote this by doing a brief write-up below about each adapter and also linking to the new Leopard-compatible drivers for each one. If you buy one of these after the date of this post, it will ship with Leopard drivers. If you already own one of these devices and you have upgraded your operating system to Leopard, you can download the Leopard drivers for each device right here in this post.

The first adapter we want to mention is our RokAir wireless USB adapter. This is a really cool adapter because it has a built-in heat sink and also 100mw of output power (that's more than 3x the popular Orinoco series of wireless adapters!). This is a great adapter for in-home use and is very portable in case you go on the road a lot. You can download Leopard drivers for it here.

The second adapter we want to mention is our Apple Mac Wardriving kit, now nicknamed the RokOn (as in "rock on", just in case you missed it). The RokOn is the next step up from the RokAir because it features an external SMA antenna connector. This is great for folks with longer range wireless needs. It allows you to upgrade the antenna to whatever strength you require. It also includes two high gain external antennas so you can get a very good range right out of the box. You can download the Leopard drivers for the RokOn here.

The third adapter we want to mention is the RokIt (as in "rock it", or "rocket", take your pick). The RokIt has a slightly lesser range than the RokAir, but weighs in at a slightly lesser price. The RokIt is also ultra-portable and is a nice basic wireless adapter. Leopard drivers for the RokIt can be downloaded here.

Keep in mind that all three of these offerings are also compatible with Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4 (Panther and Tiger), and they also work with Windows operating systems from Windows 98SE all the way up through Windows Vista, as well as Linux (kernel 2.6.6 and later).

10.5 Leopard Drivers for RokAIR Released!

We now have Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) drivers for our RokAir wireless USB adapter. Effective Monday, March 17th, we will ship these drivers with every RokAir sale. If you already have the RokAir, or the item is currently in transit to you, you may download the Leopard drivers by clicking here. (**The manufacturer changed the driver URL recently, this link has been modified with the new location- if you attempt to download and the link does not work, please contact our support department at www.rokland.com).