A BlackBerry, an iPhone and an Android device go for a swim – what to do when your smartphone gets wet

Water and electricity do not mix. All those electrical components and doodads inside your BlackBerry are carefully insulated… with air. Air is a wonderful insulator; it doesn’t conduct electricity. Otherwise, we’d all get horribly shocked every time we went to unplug a lamp. Water conducts electricity; poorly, but it does. When your smartphone gets dunked in water, all those carefully insulated bits and pieces can short out and damage your BlackBerry.

So what is there to do if your BlackBerry (or other smartphone for that matter) gets wet? I’m not talking about a few sprinkles of rain; I’m talking full-on, dropped it in the river wet. Should you turn it on right away? Put it in the oven? Let it dry overnight? The folks over at Yahoo! News were wondering the same thing. Would any smartphone come back to life after going for a swim?

 

Yahoo! News tested an Android device, an iPhone, and our beloved BlackBerry by fully immersing the devices in water for a minute (I had to watch with my hand covering my eyes). The advice they give for what to do next is spot on. DON’T TURN ON YOUR BLACKBERRY. Sorry I had to go all caps lock on you there, but it’s important. Turning on your smartphone after it's been in water could wreck it as all the water inside can create multiple short-circuits.

Allow the phone to air-dry, letting most of the water drain out. Pull your battery. Remember, that water is death to your powered BlackBerry. The potential for damage is greatly reduced if there’s no power in the device. Next comes a tip that has been around for ages: bury your BlackBerry (and battery, SIM card, battery door, etc.) in rice. Plain ol’ rice.

The idea is that the rice will draw out and wick away any moisture inside your device. Whether or not this is effective probably depends on a great number of factors, and may not work for all circumstances. What has never been in doubt is the build quality of your average BlackBerry. Of the three smartphones Yahoo! News tested, only one was able to power on after two nights in rice. Guess which one. (Hint: it was the BlackBerry).

BlackBerry Torch 9850 coming to Sprint in August

The last we saw of the BlackBerry Torch 9850 / monaco was on a Sprint inventory sheet alongside the BlackBerry Bold 9930. While the BlakBerry Bold 9930 had a date at that time, the BlackBerry Torch did not. Now though, that inventory documentation appears to of have been updated and looking at the list now shows the BlackBerry Torch 9850 as arriving in 8/21/11. In some related information, we've also been hearing that the device most likely will turn up without those physical buttons we saw previously but that's not 100%. Alas, dates can and often do change but we've got our fingers crossed.

Keep your BlackBerry dry this summer with waterproof case!

Yesterday Joseph looked at what can be done as a remedy if your BlackBerry gets an accidental dunk in liquid. I know accidents happen, but what if you could take an extra step and to prevent your BlackBerry from taking an unexpected bath? If you're headed to the beach for some sun, or out on the lake for a day of fishing, or taking the kids to the water park, you don't have to leave your phone behind. There are some great options out there for keeping your device safe and secure, and I'm not talking about a ziploc baggie. Keep reading to see what some of those options are!

 

Recently I tested out an OverBoard Waterproof case and an Aquapac Handheld case on my BlackBerry Torch. Both cases performed really well, sealing tight and not allowing any water to enter. I was actually surprised that you really can still use your device while they are in these cases; the Torch's touchscreen and trackpad remained responsive even through the thick plastic. You can even make and receive calls (Obviously, not suggested but you could -- if you used speakerphone and yelled a lot.) and use the camera and video camera, with only minor interference. Both cases are waterproof, dust, salt-water and UV resistant, and both come with a lanyard so you can wear your device or attach it to something else while using the case. 

While both OverBoard and Aquapac claim that most devices will float while in their cases, I did not have this experience with the BlackBerry Torch. With the OverBoard case, the Torch fits inside very snuggly. The Aquapac case is a little larger, so I was able to blow some air inside which allowed it to float, but it would be next to impossible to use the device inside the air filled pouch. Bla1ze stuck his HTC Desire HD in the OverBoard case, and it was also too heavy to float. In any case, I believe that lighter devices would indeed float, just be aware that heavy ones won't. The OverBoard is submersible to 19 feet, and the Aquapac 15 feet. Good thing they have those lanyards, right? ;)

Overall, I think both of these cases are great, and do the job they are supposed to do. Personally, I prefered the Aquapac, simply because it was a little bigger, and easier to get the Torch in and out of. If I was using a thinner device, that wouldn't be an issue with the Overboard case. Just remember, a little preparation can go a long way, especially when it comes to keeping your precious BlackBerry safe. If you're going to be near water, or in stormy weather, or whatever the situation may be, it's worth the money to protect your device, and everything that's inside it.

For more information and to purchase the Aquapac Handheld Case
For more information and to purchase the OverBoard Waterproof Case

Contest: We know you want to win one of these, and keep your BlackBerry safe this summer. We're giving away one of each, so leave a comment below and let us know if you want to try out the Aquapac or the Overboard, and why you need it. We'll choose two winners next Sunday at midnight PST. One entry per person please! Good luck!

BlackBerry PlayBook OS v1.05.2342 update coming soon - addresses Flash fix issued by Adobe

*Update: The OS update appears to be live for most people now, so if you're not one of those that already has it because you've been sitting there pushing "Check for updates" since this post went up, you can check it now and get to downloading!*

RIM dropped word tonight that an OS update for the BlackBerry PlayBook will be available shortly to address a vulnerability identified by Adobe regarding Flash:

Earlier this week, Adobe issued an update for Adobe Flash Player, which addresses an issue that affects all systems running Flash. As such, a new version (version 1.0.5.2342) of the BlackBerry Tablet OS will soon be available to all BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users, which contains an updated version of Adobe Flash Player within it. This free update can be downloaded over-the-air from your BlackBerry PlayBook. While there are no known reports of any BlackBerry PlayBook users being affected by the Adobe Flash issue, we encourage all BlackBerry PlayBook users to update to this newest version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

Those curious about the Adobe vulnerability can look here for more info. Flash 10.3 should be hitting the PlayBook soon, but we likely won't see it in this update (will still be on flash 10.2, though based on Adobe's bulletin I'm guessing we'll see 10.3 sooner rather than later). Keep in mind this isn't just a PlayBook thing... we're talking flash pretty much everywhere. It's great to see RIM be able to push out an update so fast (go #TeamQNX!!).

Discuss this  in the CrackBerry BlackBerry PlayBook forums

BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS Version 1.0.5.2342 Available With A Fix For Adobe Flash Player Vulnerability

Earlier this week RIM released Tablet OS version 1.0.5.2304 for the BlackBerry PlayBook. This version of the Tablet OS included a few new features and enhancements but might have also included an Adobe Flash Player vulnerability. While it hasn’t been confirmed that the PlayBook tablet was affected by this vulnerability, RIM today pushed out version 1.0.5.2342 which contains a fix for the Flash Player issue:

Earlier this week, Adobe® issued an update for Adobe® Flash® Player, which addresses an issue that affects all systems running Flash.

As such, a new version (version 1.0.5.2342) of the BlackBerry Tablet OS will soon be available to all BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet users, which contains an updated version of Adobe Flash Player within it. This free update can be downloaded over-the-air from your BlackBerry PlayBook.

While there are no known reports of any BlackBerry PlayBook users being affected by the Adobe Flash issue, we encourage all BlackBerry PlayBook users to update to this newest version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

Keep in mind this vulnerability affects all platforms running Adobe Flash Player, not just the BlackBerry PlayBook. For more info on this issue you can read more on the Adobe website here. If you’re not sure how to update your PlayBook’s Tablet OS check out our video guide and be sure to let me know how the new version runs for you in the comments!

Updated: BlackBerry PlayBook OS v1.0.5.2342 Released!

UPDATE: RIM has mentioned on their blog that this update addresses a vulnerability in Adobe Flash 10.2 which is on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This vulnerability was just announced by Adobe for all systems earlier this week and its already patched.

Well it looks like the techs at RIM have been working this weekend. Quite a few readers and team members are reporting that  v1.0.5.2342 is now available. You simply have to fire up your PlayBook and hit check for updates.

I am not sure what this update is since RIM just released an update to 1.0.5.2304 back on June 7th. That also breaks their previous statement of OS updates as often as two weeks. Now we have OS updates as often as every 4 days. Could be it is simply an Adobe Flash Player security update like they included in the description.

According to the update this version:

This version offers improvements to the software update process and video chat, adds new languages, provides a security update for Adobe Flash Player, Preloads Facebook and more.

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Slide Show Maker puts your images to music. Warning: tender moments may occur

When looking at images on your BlackBerry, you may have noticed the View Slide Show option. Your images you have stored are panned through with style. That’s…pretty much it. Oh, wait, sorry. From the options menu you can only change the interval from 4 to 8 seconds between images.

What slideshow maker does is give you more options to manage the slideshow experience. First off, you can choose each and every image to be included in the slideshow. Another slide you can manage is the title slide; in which you can customise the text and colours. Once that is done Slide Show Maker takes you to a screen where you can choose 5 sound clips to accompany your slideshow. Unfortunately, you cannot choose any music files of your own. After you select the sound clip the slideshow is then uploaded to the Cloud (yes, I also said “to the Cloud”, as well). It only takes a few seconds for the upload process to complete. At this point, you can then share your slideshows by email or on Facebook. I can’t view any created slideshows on my BlackBerry at all – I can only share. If I could somehow add my own sounds, change the interval between images and view slideshows whenever I wanted, I could be a happy man. Slide Show Maker is available for $2.99 from the CrackBerry AppStore.

More information/download Slide Show Maker