Really Blackboard?

Blackboard Mobile is the greatest thing to hit college education in a while.  Having the ability to access online class info, assignments, and discussion boards on the go is outstanding.  Unfortunately,  for those of us who are using a carrier other than Sprint or the select few who own iPads, forget about it.  I had been waiting on Blackboard’s waiting list for a few months for my school to license Blackboard Mobile when I received an email stating that it had.  I was very excited and immediately re-downloaded the app, only to find that it told me my school was still not licensed.  WTF?  I sent an email to their customer support explaining my situation and this is the response I received:

Hi Neil, Thanks for the email and for being an early adopter of Mobile Learn! We appreciate your interest in our application. I’m sorry to hear that you can’t usethe Mobile Learn application. Unfortunately, T-Mobile is not a supported carrier at this point for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College. Sprint is investing a lot in its offering to Higher Education where their key strengths (3G network reliability, new 4G network, Android device offerings) match up really well with how Higher Education mobility needs are evolving, particularly in the area of mobile learning. In addition to a strong 3G network, they’re the leader in the deployment of 4G (including 4G enabled devices like the recently launched, Android-powered HTC EVO 4G phone) which has exciting possibilities for education, like vastly improved user experiences with increasingly common learning content types like video and other rich media. They have a proven history of enhancing on campus Mobile Broadband coverage for education institutions. And starting more than a decade ago with java based mobile applications for Nextel handsets, Sprint has a heritage in open development. That heritage has translated to a large and active developer’s network that promises to keep growing with Sprint’s leading role in Android and BlackBerry development. We’re excited to partner with them on a key part of our no cost offering for Mobile Learn and look forward to working with them on the advance of mobile learning going forward, including the deployment of campus rollout tools clients can use to spread the word about mobile teaching and learning. Please use this site for more reference: http://www.blackboard.com/Mobile/ Resources/FAQ.aspx If you have any further questions, comments or suggestions please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Have a great day!

Omar González

Thanks for the shaft.  I feel like I’m always being shat on as a t-mobile customer.

3G network reliability? Really? As far as I knew my 3G network works just fine.  Go fuck yourselves Blackboard.

**Update** BTW the link referenced in the above email is broken too. And just to point out,  T-Mobile’s 3G network is faster than Sprint’s.

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