Friday, April 27, 2007

Haunted by Blackberry Buzz



The incessant noise follows me everywhere--computer speakers, conference
room phones, even my car radio--like the constant whine of a
mosquito buzzing around my ears, except you can't swat
it. Turning down the speaker volume doesn't help. Moving the damned thing
several feet away is equally ineffective--you've got to actually hurl
it into another room.

RIM's only apparent fix for the problem has been to harden the case so
it doesn't break when I throw it (both a plus and a minus). Perhaps an exorcist would help.

The silver lining: in conference rooms with a speakerphone, the
horrible buzz forces blackberry users to turn off their devices and focus on the meeting.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:43 AM

    This isn't limited to blackberry. Both of my GSM devices (blackberry and treo) do this when they are communicating with the network. Any amplified speakers with the room emit the same sound. It is one way to know that you're getting a message even if the phone is set to quiet mode.

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  2. Notes:
    1- It is 1/2 as loud as my old Treo.
    2 - The noise increases in volume in direct proportion to the number of times you have dropped it on a hard surface.

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  3. Anonymous10:08 AM

    Agree with Sean.

    Leave your GSM phone right underneath the radio in your car, while tuned to a FM or AM station and the BUZZ gets even more louder and annoying.

    I guess it is an undocumented feature and not a bug.

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  4. http://advice.cio.com/al_sacco/why_your_blackberry_causes_speakers_to_buzz

    Hello,
    My name is Al Sacco and I'm a writer with CIO.com. I recently wrote a blog entry on why this dreaded "BlackBerry buzz" occurs. It is not a bug, and it is not limited to only BlackBerrys. Rather, the issue is inherent in the technology, and according to Duncan Bradley, RIM's global intelligence director, it's never going away. So get used to it. Read our post for more.

    http://advice.cio.com/al_sacco/why_your_blackberry_causes_speakers_to_buzz

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been thinking about investing in a company that makes a module for speakers to eliminate interference from mobile devices :)

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  6. Sadly I think my iPhone does the same thing.

    - Your partner in Larchmont....

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  7. Anonymous9:48 PM

    Have you tried the iPhone?

    ReplyDelete