Although it’s still a staple of the business world, the BlackBerry has fallen pretty far behind the iPhone and Android devices with most other consumers, prompting the team at RIM to demonstrate that they’re not as far out of touch as it might seem. Enter the Challenge Council Project, a new campaign led by Amir Blumenfeld and Streeter Seidell of College Humor (along with a mix of celebrities, bloggers and BlackBerry lovers across the country) with one mission in mind: to turn misconceptions on their ear and prove that the BlackBerry brand has the goods to make believers out of everyone.
For the next three months, Streeter and Amir will be presenting a series of funny videos designed to highlight a core feature of the latest BlackBerry smartphones. In addition to cameos by special guests like Dax Shepard and LMFAO’s Sky Blue, each webisode will also feature a challenge designed to let the online community experience what the new BlackBerry line-up is capable of. Participants can upload their content entries to the site where the Challenge Council will determine the winners, with prizes ranging from event tickets to cool trips for you and your friends. The first challenge is already underway and will be accepting submissions until April 18th, so be sure to visit the official Challenge Council Project website on the following dates for details on the remaining challenges.
Challenge 2: 04/26/2012
Challenge 3: 05/10/2012
Challenge 4: 05/24/2012
Challenge 5: 06/07/2012
We were sent the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 to check out some of the latest features that RIM has implemented, but despite some noteworthy improvements – including the BBM Music app, a faster processor and one of the better physical keyboards on the smartphone market – unless you were a BlackBerry user before, chances are pretty slim that the Bold 9900 will change your mind. Though I did like how easy it was to navigate through the system menus using the ultra-responsive trackpad, it only made the touchscreen display seem that much more useless. At a size of only 2.8 inches, browsing websites is practically futile, while those with fat fingers are likely to run into some trouble pressing the intended icon.
With that said, however, RIM shouldn’t be too concerned about competing with the likes of Apple and Android, because although the Bold 9900 lacks a large screen, a decent web browser and a comparable app store (among other things), it’s still a great tool for businessmen who just want a reliable email/messaging device without all the fuss. That may not sound like a glowing endorsement, but as a longtime iPhone user, it’s hard to see any advantage to using a BlackBerry when it’s so limited by what it can do.
Nevertheless, we know that there are a lot of BlackBerry fans out there who swear by the device, which is why Bullz-Eye is giving one lucky reader their very own BlackBerry Bold 9900 so that you can experience some of these new features for yourself and partake in the Challenge Community Project. Click here to enter for your chance to win. The contest ends on May 9th and the winner will be notified via email.
NOTE: We received this BlackBerry 9900 from Research In Motion, but the opinion is 100% our own.