Frequently Asked Questions

• I get the following an error message when starting up Piconews for the first time.

Configuration - 10003 - 'Could not open tunnel': The cause of this issue is that your device is not configured to access the Internet. Refer to our webpage to get more information about that: APN settings.

Configuration - 10003 - 'Bad DNS Address': This is usually an issue with the BlackBerry OS. Try to turn off and on your radio, or to fuly reboot your BlackBerry.

Configuration - 10003 - 'Permission denied': This error message usually means that you did not allow Piconews to connect to the Internet, probably by mistake. You can reset your choice in the Options / Firewall screen of your BlackBerry, by clicking 'Reset settings' in the menu.

Configuration - 10003 - 'Protocol not found: null': This error usually means that you're using a BlackBerry 8707 device, but unfortunately, this device is not yet compatible with Piconews, due to restriction on how third-party applications can access the Internet. Some network carriers now provide BlackBerry OS upgrades to fix this issue.

Categories - 10003: This error means that the connection to our push services failed. It seems your connection settings are correct as the first step of the initialization was successful, you could fallback to 'Poll' mode to use Piconews, by unchecking the 'Use Push by default' check box.

• Which mobile devices are compatible with Piconews service?

Currently, Piconews is only available on BlackBerry devices, series 7xxx and 8xxx. Your BlackBerry OS version has to be at least 4.0 (But 3.8 version may work without any guarantee). You can find this OS version in Options/Applications on your Blackberry.

• How much does it cost?

Nothing. Downloading and using Piconews is free.

• How do I create an account on this website?

Only Piconews users can have an account on this website. Just follow this link and the explanation given on this page. You have to give the same address mail you used when downloading the software. If you have not given any address mail (for example, you have downloaded the software on one of our partner website), you can also give your BlackBerry PIN and a valid address mail to activate your Piconews web account.

• I lost my password / I changed my email address.

Your password or email address can be reset on the activation page.

• What is the right update method for me, depending on my network carrier fees ?

In Piconews, you can choose between 3 update methods : 'Manual', 'Poll' and 'Push'. Network carrier have different billing models, and sometimes, one method will be much cheaper than the others. Obviously, 'Manual' mode is the cheapest if you do not feel the need to update your news feeds very often, but it is also the least convenient as you may not have your news available when you want to read them, as you may be out of coverage at that time.

The 'Push' mode keeps you connected so you can receive news in real-time. If your network carrier charges you based on the time you spend connected, this method might be expensive for you. On the contrary, network carriers can charge based on the amount of data transfered, sometimes with a minimal charge per connection. In that case, the 'Poll' method which connects regularly to update your news feeds might be more expensive because of the minimum fee per connection.

In all cases, it is your responsibility to check with your network carrier the data conection fees which apply to you.

• What is the typical data consumption per month using Piconews ?

It mainly depends on the number of feeds you subscribed to, and whether they are high volumes feeds (more than 20 news per day) or not. Generally, if you subscribe to less than 10 feeds, with only 3 or 4 high volumes feeds, Piconews could require around 1.5 Mbytes per month of data transfer. If you use the catalog a lot on your handheld, subscribe then unsubscribe to test feeds, it may be higher.

• I have BBNews on my Blackberry and I want to upgrade to Piconews.

Please uninstall BBNews from the Options/Applications menu entry before installing Piconews. Having both applications should work, but we do not support that.

• My issue is not answered here.

Feel free to contact us on support@piconews.com. We'll try to address your problem as soon as possible.