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BlackBerry Messenger Stress Test 2 - Add Me as a Contact!!

By Kevin Michaluk on 26 May 2010 01:44 pm
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Add me to your BlackBerry Messenger contacts! Scan my barcode below or add me via pin: 32181312

Invite me as a Contact to your BlackBerry Messenger!

* Be sure to read the updates below!! *

It was back in October of 2009, upon the release of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0, that we had the whacky idea to put the new BBM 5.0 to a test to see just how many contacts and active conversations it could handle (see the original BBM Stress Test). For the test, I used my personal BlackBerry Bold 9000 which proved to be a bit of a disaster - with the Bold 9000 only shipping with 128MB of internal memory leaving around 30MB free for running apps, the device became completely unusable as we got slammed with over 10,000 BBM requests. With patience, I did manage to approve just over 2,000 contacts before the Max # of Contacts Reached message popped up but actually trying to use the device at that point resulted in the continuous appearance of the hourglass of death and/or javascript exception messages. In the end we proved BBM 5.0 could handle more than previous versions, but that the Bold 9000 crumbled under the demand of a hugggge list of contacts and pending requests. It was really the device we stress tested rather than BBM itself.

Enter the BlackBerry Messenger Stress Test part 2... This time around we're using the just-released BlackBerry Bold 9650 for the experiment. The newest Bold boasts 512MB of internal memory, leaving ~330MB of free application space. That's over 10x the free memory that the Bold 9000 had when we conducted our first BBM stress test. My hope with this test is that when we reach the max capacity of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0, that we're still able to fully use the device and carry on lots of conversations with our thousands of contacts. I'll be video taping the fun as it unfolds and update my twitter account (@crackberrykevin) on how things are going (recap video to come later). If you add me, I'll do my best to approve the contact request. 

Any bets on how this one will go?? That's it. Let's get it on. ADD ME. You can scan my barcode above or add me via my pin at 32181312. And spread the word. Let's see what this new BlackBerry Bold 9650 can really do!!

* Update - 2 hours later: OK...So the BBM requests have been flowing in. We're at over 4,000 BBM requests in two hours. I had to jump on a conference call so just kept approving requests aimlessly while talking (it takes a while to do). As I type this update I'm doing a battery pull. The device started to freeze up a bit and stuff went missing from BBM (couldn't see contacts or requests anymore - it was like BBM was just missing "parts" of it). I'm going to keep working on approving contacts. I think the real test here is going to be once we max out contacts, then we'll see how the device still functions. Don't get mad if you don't get added. I'll try and approve everyone but pretty sure BBM will cap out at some point. It's all in the name of BB science! *

* Update - 8 hours later: So I can definitely say the BlackBerry Bold 9650 is owning BBM in this stress test as compared to the Bold 9000. It's not all easy going - the constant flow of BBM requests (data) killed a fully charged battery in three hours, and at one point I had to do a battery pull. With BBM requests still coming in, I approved 2009 contacts (with over 300 chats open) and at that point I received the alert that I have reached the max number of contacts. I was expecting that to happen this time around - I didn't expect to see BBM take on more max capacity - but the big news to me here is that the device is still running smooth. There's more testing to be done in the still (broadcasting messages, seeing how many chats I can get going, backup the contact list, etc.) but it seems pretty clear that even with BBM maxed out the Bold 9650 can deliver performance. The bad news is that if you added me and I haven't approved you yet, it looks like it's not likely that you will get approved now - I'm out of space. Maybe for BBM Stress test 3 RIM can up the limit for me.*

* Update - 8.5 hours later: Well this sucks. Just a few minutes after my last update, where I'm glowing with how well the 9650 is handling the stress test, the device spontaneously rebooted and is stuck in an endless restart cycle. At about 10% on the load status bar, an error flashes for a second stating "Arm11: BlockReadEx: flash read failed." Battery pulls aren't helping and trying to boot in safe mode is a no go either. Looks like I'm going to have to re-load the OS and see where we stand after that. Bullox*


this sucks. after 2009 approved contacts on BlackBerry Messenger,  the device
is now rebooting constantly. the screen above flashes for a second before it restarts. :( 

Topics: Kevin's So Insane He Just Might Be Right Ideas BBM BlackBerry Bold 9650 News & Rumors Editorial

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142 comments

MobiJew

FIRST! woohooooo lets do it again!

berryfreak310

Start accepting the requests!! LOL

jcarty

Here we go. I hope their network is ready and has no downtime as a result of this lol.

Good luck!

fastcivic416

i would add u but my storm 9530 is on strike now. it'll be back at work come monday or tuesday of next week. if u send me ur black 9700, i can definitely add u with that one instead. lol!

have fun!

MTH3333

Hope you have more than just 1 Fat Tire this time because you are going to need it with all the requests you will be getting.

blakeberry

always good to hear about a Fat Tire. They make that beer a few miles from my office.

Kiddo_24

So, will Sprint pop out with a commercial for this too like AT&T ripped from CB?

Valace2

An at least say hi this time geez! :)

el_ote

whoo hoo...
im guessing same number for the max contacts...2k

mpaulson

512mb memory? Damn. I haven't kept up with the 9650 specs because I'll never get sprint, but that's awesome. I have the 9700 so only 256mb.

deloreancowboy

request sent... let's see how it works out this time. Also, you should see how long it takes to backup thousands of contacts. ;-)

mshah06

i missed out the first time but defo sent a request :P

gp48

My first barcode scan!

blueyestm

could be interesting, i scanned it lol

LostPuma

sent. pending approval.

miloszz

Haha, nice :)

I'd like to see video of all those request coming one by one!

codemaker

They made a video of the requests coming in from the last one. It should be in the archives. They will probably do a video of this one too.

Gawain

...maybe I'll be added this time. Kevin, show us video of your 9650 digesting the onslaught of activity!!! lol

elvin1983

He said in the post it's the 9650 pal...

berri716

"Waiting for authorization"

abelmb

Something for this lol!

gnuhouse

Now we play the waiting game

I don't like this game...let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

sourkevin

I smell another At&t commercial after this....

(still pending)

jamesshami

Awaiting approval as well :)

djjohnson

Unfortunately I wasn't able to play last time.
This time I'm aiming to get into the coveted buddy list of CBK!
Wooop!

iLuLu

I get to play this time....I'm probably #999999999999999 on the pending list!

skynny70

Kevin, it doesn't look very good when @crackberrykevin is tweeting via Twitter for iPhone!

How could you?!

havanahjoe

LOL. His follow up tweet came from a Blackberry

skynny70

Yes, I did notice that. I can't throw too many stones as I use Twitter on my iPod Touch too. Though I don't work for a company related to BlackBerrys!

I just found it humorous to see the tweet from an iPhone.

Kevin Michaluk

tweetie is on my imac. it's in the video. lol

shrek325

in a fun and clever way!

Flawson

I'm really curious b/c I'm on the fence about throwing down the $500 right now or waiting a year for my upgrade (and possibly seeing what else comes out in the meantime)

mzceetee

"Waiting for authorization"

kevinrh32

Sent the request..have to do the pin cuz the barcode scanner never works for me! idk what i'm doing wrong!

cookney

delete all option!

rather than having to delete them all my hand or do a device wipe!

:D

my 9000 was crushed after about 1200 contacts when ran a giveaway!

nfldberryuser

Somehow I think you're going to fry a brand new 9650. Did your old 9000 ever recover?

rmcmann

Added and I sent out a broadcast message to tell everyone else to add.

The Consigliere

My first barcode scan, worked like a charm, wasn't sure how it would work off a computer screen, glad to see it worked though.

dkear

This should be fun!

Beezzy

Hell yeah I made it on the contacts list!

thechin

Invite sent.... GOod luck with the test!

cbresciani

Hopefully this one will be as fun as the last!!

yayarea

...a bar code. I wasn't sure what to do so I just held it there and then I heard a 'beep'. Now it's pending approval.

kcurve

Thought it might be fun to try, didn't realize it was that easy. Now...the waiting game for approval

DougFNJ

I loooooooove experiments

wojtas25

Im still waiting for authorization. C'mon Kevin :D

pmich

Not bad Kev, not bad at all

pmich

Not bad Kev, not bad at all

hlesser

It worked -- I'm in. :)

VeniceBB

Done. First time I tried the barcode thing. Pending now :)

blakeberry

My Storm 1 and my Bold 9000 are both in.

malkalv88

scaned barcode..waiting approval :)

VeniceBB

Accepted already! Man, Kevin is FAST.

chevrolet.racing252

I have requested and am currently pending. Can't wait to get my own 9650.

the brother

he accepted!!!! i'm IN!!!!!!!!!!!!! am i allowed to start a conversation with him?

richard1864#cb

Waiting for authorization here! Let's rock and roll!

icee_man

Well just sent it from mine. Let's hope it works!

SJRod55

Just scanned you from Macedonia. Hope to be lucky this time. :-)

ranbal

... I only wish Verizon would get off it's ass and sell me one!

justinplett

Maybe this time i will get added.

lindad8284

This is the first time I've used the scan option to add a contact and it worked!

JaeKar99#CB

Sure - Remote torture someone else's equipment for a change... Fire it up!

Lord_Tubington

then GIDDER IN DA YA! just added ya Kevin, good luck!

JRF_1986

first time I add someone and I didn't try the scanner thing! dammit! oh well. added you Kev!
Hope the 9650 has what it in it to withstand all that data!

ronmcse

Still Pending... I must be number 2001

MTH3333

I've been pending since 1:47 pm EST. He must be approving the most recent and not the first ones in.

Devilstar

just sent request, this is gonna be fun i think :)

gp48

Pending since 12:54! ???????????

bsimcox

Invite Sent.. good luck with test

STR8WESTCOAST

You low life fan boys have nothing better do with your time than to be drama queens. We don't see corny shit like this on apple web site. Give me a damn break with the kiddie gimmicks.

Denise in Los Angeles

If you get your CrackBerry on from work, you get paid to be here, so its all good!!

whiteknight2010

Your right, we have nothing better to do. If I wanted to do less I would troll on over to the apple sites and flame their fanboys.

eaesq

I was one of the first 10 people to request earlier today and I've been approved. Keep it coming! Have fun man :)

blazed12

I would love to participate in your BBM Stress Test but my Curve 8320 is starting to go crazy now :(

Denise in Los Angeles

Kevin, Fearless Leader!! What else may I do for you? **WINK**

LOL

cyberstorm

Waiting...

The scan worked right away on my LCD screen, pretty impressive.

pvtolson

i got Added last time i wasnt but this time i was yay

bigmo164

HEY KEV, CAN YOU TELL US IF YOUR ABLE TO UPDATE YOUR STATUS IF YOU HAVE OVER 100 CONTACTS WITH THE BOLD. AS IT SITS RIGHT NOW, ONCE YOU GO OVER 100 CONTACTS, YOUR BBM CONTACTS ARE UNABLE TO SEE YOUR STATUS UPDATES...

droidnewbie2011

And waiting for an approval. ;)

Denise in Los Angeles

How many contacts do you have now, and how long ago was your 2 hour update?

whiteknight2010

Wonder if he would be terribly upset if we started PIN messaging him while he is still in pending status.

jussimple

Lets see if i make this time...

RRF785

I didn't make it last time but hopefully this time I will have better luck.

Snypa

Get ready to accept!!

sj-performance

I'm in...my invite got accepted 1 hour ago..I officially have kevin from CB on my bbm LoL...fyi..I'm using a bold 9650

Lovesherbb1915

haha, YES. :D Already added, now just waiting for you to accept.

2_BCs

Waiting for authorization...let's see if I get in...

7horn

Should ping Kevin tomorrow at Noon GMT!

lewisc1979

I just sent the request.

brucegolfnut

Just hit you with TWO!! one ATT-8900 and one VZ-9630

soxfan04

I am in. Kevin added me an hour ago.

GeekInTraining

Just sent the request! Add me! Made it in on the first one! Let's see about this go round!

shacknews

Awaiting for you to add me back! PENDING

Were gonna break your blackberry huuurrrr duuurrrrr

gm85

I think this should be taken to the next level and see how many people can be crammed into a BBM conference.

We've tried this before with 20 people conference, but EVERYONE's phone was going nonstop....... Plus everyone can add people, even if they're not authorized on other people's phones.

Devil boy

i get bored alot too. add me 3101058B

BBStylo33

Just wondering if any of you BB Guru's offer your PIN for tech questions... Also, what's the highest amount of BBM contacts you guys have had?

bellxx

I'm pending. Waiting for authorization.

strods

after almost 3 and a half hours waiting I finally got accepted!!!

rockroadie

woo hoo, i just checked my BBM, and sure enough Crackberry Kevin is on my contact list.

Wite96gs

I had that same error message the other day on my BB. I pulled my battery figuring my phone spontaneously bricked itself. put the battery back in a few hours later to reload my OS and it's been working fine ever since. weird. hope you backed up your contacts in case it doesn't come back, lol!

Denise in Los Angeles

Delete all those other contacts and leave me!! ;)

Irving94

DAM! My Storm2 got that. It's basically bricked. I had to get a new phone. It's a freak accident, the stress test still has potential.

jevalladares

So I read this post, 10 hours after it was made, bummer because I didn't get accepted.

If my interpretation is correct 10K is the limit for Blackberry messenger

17.michal

Now that it appears to be dead...Hopefully you had the wireless backup enabled for the contact list...I would love to know how it would handle the restore of the contact list..

hoang.tnguyen

That's fricking insane... Glad to see the 9650 is performing so well!

Blade_27

Been waiting +13hrs :(

NOKJAA

I'm now awaiting your acceptance Obi-Wan Kevoni....:-)

AgentScribe

I wonder if RIM will send you a new one, you know, for all the publicity you give em with these kinds of wacky stress tests.

jay_man33

Do I sense another giveaway? It's fried...you should totally offer it up like the black 9700! :-)

phone-a-holic

still waiting to be accepted

Fredstar

Wow... Well it was a good run while it lasted lol..

studiorat

LOL this is the greatest site on the planet!!

bilalnazir

So did this thing just die off? What happened with your phone?

aris20

Lol i never got accepted, i was 1 of the 1st to add Kevin, i sent my invitation in like the very 1st hour, dont know why i didnt got accepted, and the limist is 10K or 2K cuz he only got 2k accepted, but with pending i think he has 10k

MrTruckincowboy

sounds like you freaked it out man that sucks

Plazmic Flame

The endless reboot happened most likely because your Blackberry was out of app memory. Your device would have probably gotten hot too Kevin.

will7201

Wow, it's taken days but I just got Kevin as a contact. Didn't expect that at 9:45pm here in the UK. Wonder what's going on with his BB, thought it would melt by now!

iLuLu

I have Kevin as a contact! I feel so special :-P