RIM enables BIS 2.5: Hotmail/Live push, HTML email on OS 4.5
If you’re lucky enough to have a BlackBerry device running OS 4.5, BlackBerry Internet Service is now enabled for Rogers and should also be ready for most - if not all other North American carriers.
4.5 OSes are officially available for most recent GSM/EDGE devices. I’d recommend staying away from beta releases, as they contain debugging utilities and aren’t as stable as carrier-certified versions.
To find out if your device has an official upgrade available, look at the stickied threads for your device at BlackBerry Forums. These forums include the 81xx, the 83xx and the 88xx.
If you don’t have OS 4.5, you can still add Hotmail, Windows Live and AOL accounts for push email through your carrier’s BIS site.
Here’s how to activate HTML email for devices running OS 4.5:
1. Sign into your carrier’s BIS site:
2. From the site, click Service Books / Send Service Books.
3. When your device receives the service books, go into Messages / BlackBerry menu / Options and choose Email Settings. For each account, change “Enable HTML Email” to Yes.
Lewis:
Will this also finally permit Windows Live Messenger (MSN) from http://www.blackberry.com/instantmessaging ??
Yeah yeah yeah, I know about all the third party apps, but I don’t like them. I prefer the tight integration of Google Talk or Yahoo Messenger for BlackBerry.
June 30, 2008, 2:15 pmJake Billo:
It’s coming, RIM just has to assign the instant messaging service class out to all the carriers other than Bell or T-Mobile USA. Hasn’t been done yet but with upgrades pretty much every weekend, I’d expect it sooner rather than later.
June 30, 2008, 5:26 pmLewis:
I wonder if it’s even worth going to 4.5 for my 8100? I have no interest in either hotmail or aol mail, but I would like to have MSN and AIM.
And doesn’t the html email only support fonts? Still won’t download images? (I really don’t care for that either. If it’s not text, I don’t read it, and I usually delete it.)
June 30, 2008, 6:22 pmJake Billo:
HTML email does images for sure, you can set automatic download settings in your account preferences.
For the 8100, not sure if the OS is out of beta yet. I’m trying to load the newest WLM on my device - apparently some people have been able to get it to work through:
http://www.blackberry.com/devicesoftware/entry.do?code=wlm20
June 30, 2008, 6:27 pmJake Billo:
Holy crap - using that link with the BlackBerry USB drivers installed actually worked! I have the service books now as well and am signed on to my account using jake@jakebillo.com.
You may want to check your device on it without installing OS 4.5; as far as I understood the 4.2 devices should be able to take the MSN application.
June 30, 2008, 6:36 pmLewis:
I was able to install WLM with XP and IE 7 and the activeX site. However, I would then get a “device not setup for this service” message. Sending service books and doing an HRT registration didn’t get me what I needed.
I then tried AIM, and it wouldn’t install at all, because my device didn’t meet the requirements.
There is a Vodafone 4.5 OS available, which I have downloaded and am currently installing.
I found a thread on Pinstack which points to the mandate of 4.5 for this to work.
So I’m updating the OS as I type. And if I lose it all? Oh well, I’ve got BES.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
June 30, 2008, 6:58 pmJake Billo:
Awesome, best of luck. The client is up and running nicely and it’s even better than the one I did the beta for internally. It’s a little bit slow when user icons are enabled in the contact list but it’s still miles ahead of any of the third party solutions.
June 30, 2008, 6:59 pmLewis:
I’m drooling in anticipation.
June 30, 2008, 7:21 pmLewis:
Successfully updated to 4.5 and got WLM installed and working.
My 8100 is very sluggish, most likely due to the OTA BES activation which is taking forever. I need a bit more patience.
The 4.5 OS has numerous changes to the GUI. Most of which I enjoy so far…
June 30, 2008, 10:54 pm