Latest OS: 8703 4.2.1.184/4.2.1.110 (CDMA)
 

The 4.2 device update is out for Telus Mobility (4.2.1.110). This will work on any carrier's CDMA 8703 Handheld device.

Pkg Ver: 4.2.1.184
App Ver: 4.2.1.110
Plt Ver: 2.3.0.22

Download here.

Instructions for installing on any 8703 from any carrier:


1. Make sure you have the latest version of Desktop Manager installed. It's 4.2 SP2 and can be downloaded from the link above or Click Here. or from the Verizon site linked above.
2. Download the above file to the PC then install it to the PC by running the file you downloaded.
3. Locate the vendor.xml file and delete it. It's located in c:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader
4. Plug in BB and Open Desktop Manager. You should be prompted to upgrade.
The process takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how much data you have to backup and restore during the process. Once it's done loading the new OS it will reboot (it may do this twice during the entire process.) You will see a white screen with an hourglass for up to 20 minutes at a time while the DM says "waiting for initialization."
If you end up with a white screen with small icons and the number 507, simply connect to DM again and run application loader again and it should load the OS to the device.



Craig

Good find. Downloading now.

Let us know how it goes. I just got rid of my 8703 for a 8830. Just my luck.

Craig

sweet glad to see this come out will test also and let this thread know

I just finished loading it...a whole ton of Media stuff is now available -- probably brings it up to date with the rest of the 4.2 world! Pictures for contacts, a whole media file system for pictures and sounds, and more. I'm still investigating, but so far it looks really nice.

just finished the dl going for install now

questions about getting version 4.2 for 8703e
 

im not the most savvy blackberry guy around, but i do want to get the 4.2 version so i can load some other apps, primarily the new facebook. i have verizon 8703e, BIS. how do i go about doing this? can you do it OTA? and where would i link to get this? please advise - thanks!

do you think because verizon and sprint are both cdma this 4.2 would work or do they have to release a completely different one?

should I have had sprints software on mine for a while now

whoa whoa how did you get 4.2 for your 8700e on sprint? That's what I have and I have been waiting to get a 4.2 OS for a while now, but haven't heard anything.

looks pretty good to me, picture caller id and other media is present. some of my old themes no longer work but that's no surprise,

Anyone have a number to download with?

I had sprints 4.1 is what i was talking about. But this 4.2 should work on sprint just delete the vender file

Nevermind:
old number (978505000) didn't work, so I tried 9785050012 and she's good

glad you got it to work

what do you mean delete the vendor file. I am a new to blackberrys and I don't really know what that means sorry. I just really want 4.2 OS can always confirm this would work on sprint?

OK, so whoopee. I've installed 4.2 on my VZW 8703e, and it hasn't changed my life yet. Did I do something wrong?



Oh, yeah . . . there it is. Ringtones and Wallpaper without a browser or email kludge. Now my life is complete. :-(

Nice find! Stuck thread and added instructions and download links, etc.

Installed 4.2 into my VZW 8703e this afternoon.

1. Device seems more sluggish when doing things like selecting applications, etc.

2. New Applications icon, which takes you to another Applications screen. This contains things like Gmail and other Google Services items, Blackberry Maps, Calculator, Beyond411, Quicknote, BBLight, Brickerbreaker (some of these are aftermarket items I already had, obviously). I don't like this setup - it now takes one more step to get to these applications.

3. New Media icon, which takes you to the Media screen (Ringtones and Pictures). You can now receive these things via Bluetooth. You can now go into media options and see what the file size is for each tone, picture, etc.
I see that my device has a 12MB memory limit.

4. New Tools icon, which takes you to the Tools screen, which contains Taks, MemoPad, Password Keeper, and Help.

5. New Settings icon, which takes you to the Settings screen, which contains E-mail Settings, Alarm, Screen/Keyboard, Mobile Network, Options, Set-up Bluetooth, and Turn Wireless Off.

6. Profiles menu looks different, and includes an Advanced menu choice, which takes you into the standard profile editor. Again, another step to impede you.

7. On the Verizon theme's red banner bar at the top (home screen), where the signal strength, battery level, Bluetooth, EVDO, and other indicators are, it sure looks like they've bumped up the font size of the day/date/time. Not alot, mind you, but at least it's a noticeable increase (unless I'm seeing things). If this is the case, I like it. I wish I could make it even bigger. (Maybe there's a way; I'm not done exploring.)

8. When the device locks, the Owner Info is now displayed in much smaller font. I don't know why they'd do this. I can't figure out if it's adjustable or not. Whatever...

9. In the Status screen (via options, or by simply pushing ALT, CAP, H in succession), the battery strength indicates 100%, but the battery level icon on the home screen shows 3/4 full. What's with this? I'll charge fully again and see what happens.

10. Some of the Blackberry ringtones, notifiers, alarms, etc. have changed. Some tones are gone, replaced by some new ones.

That's all I've noticed so far. I'm sure I'll discover other things, too. All in all, I don't see anything truly amazing. Perhaps I'm missing something. Others will certainly discover other items.