Alright, BlackBerry owners, don’t rush all at once. I know you probably wanna get in on the Redfly mobile companion game but we need to remember to act civilized. It’s understandable that you’re excited that Redfly can now kick it with BlackBerrys along with Winmo phones, but don’t flood the servers all at one time.
Real, and available to pre-order. I refer to that BlackBerry wristwatch that was rumored for so, so long till it was “made official” several days ago. Created by Allerta (and not RIM), the watch, officially named the inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry, will set you back $150 when it’s released in February, 2010.
Thank the cell phone gods. Verizon finally announced that the heavily leaked and previewed BlackBerry Storm2 will be available on October 28th for $179 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Let’s move on.
Retail stores are finally getting in their Storm 2 dummy phones but those won’t do you any good if you actually wanna use the phone’s software. VZW has you covered though with a just-posted BlackBerry Storm 2 emulator that lets you click your way through the OS.
Google Maps is the best BlackBerry mapping solution I’ve found and it just got a whole lot cooler. The Layers function will overlay different information sets on the the current map few. For instance, you can overlay a location-aware Wikipedia screen. Or Latitude. Or even make your own favorite locations and travel itinerary in a function called My Maps. You really should watch the demo video to see it in action. It’s killer. Update your BlackBerry at m.google.com/maps.
We just got word that Verizon Stores are now receiving their BlackBerry Storm 2 dummy units and training is finally available for retail associates. All that should mean that the Storm 2’s launch date is quickly approaching. November has been the target date for a while now, but with stores already prepping for the launch, availability will probably be early in the month.
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has finally been announced. Details have been leaking in about the “Onyx” for months and most of the seem to be true in hindsight. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 successor rocks a Tour-like keyboard but ditches the trackball in favor of a little trackpad like in the Curve 8520. The camera has been upped to 3.2MP and the screen is now a 480 x 320 display. Just like the Storm 2, the 9700 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0 and all the goodies are included like threaded messaging, updated BB Messenger, and BlackBerry Maps.
Best of all RIM is launching the phone to nearly every GSM carrier in North America and Europe in November although International carrier-specific pricing is hard to come by right now. That will probably change in a day or two though.
Besides the CEO touting the BlackBerry Storm 2 around for some impromptu demos, Verizon hasn’t exactly acknowledged the phone’s existence. There have been rumors that it’s because the Storm 2 still doesn’t live up to Verizon’s standards or it could simply be that Verizon doesn’t want to take the attention off of the Motorola Droid. Whatever the case maybe, the BlackBerry Storm 2 will probably be made official sometime real soon.
The BlackBerry 9520 Storm 2 has probably the best pre-release coverage of any cell phone in history. We’ve seen previews and videos and pictures and more videos of the upcoming cell phone for months. RIM and Verizon haven’t released a thing about the phone yet though so some key details hadn’t been revealed. That is, of course, until Walt Mossberg posted his Storm 2 review last night alongside the Motorola CLIQ review and Vodafone went live with its Storm 2 launch details this morning that happened to include all the phone’s specs for good measure. God bless the Internet.
The BlackBerry Storm 2 is no secret. We’ve known that a second generation touchscreen BlackBerry has been in the works for months. Actually it was probably RIM that “leaked” all the info in an effort to save face from the flop that is the original Storm. A NYT article quotes Verizon’s CEO saying that he’s been carrying the phone for weeks and been giving impromptu demos at Verizon Wireless retail outlets. Spoiler: employees like it.
TiVo finally got with the program and released its first BlackBerry app this morning. The good news is that it seems to work as advertised, but let’s just say that it’s a pretty basic app and is just made for scheduling recordings. You can’t remotely control your TiVo or stream any content from it, but this app is a good start. It’s easy to use and gets the job done
Poor RIM. One or two analysts lower your stock rating from “buy” to “neutral” (or the equivalent), and then your stock drops some 16 percent. You know who to blame, too: it’s those busybodies at Apple and Palm, what with their iPhones and Palm Pres eating into your bottom line. (Never mind that your own “iPhone killer” was sorta meh.) What is RIM to do?
Almost 40% of the BlackBerry Tour users who participated in our quick poll voted that they have returned a BlackBerry Tour because of trackball problems. That’s a clear indication of a problem. The dude in this video is on his sixth BlackBerry Tour and shows the difference between the two.
The BlackBerry Tour is apparently being returned in droves. It seems that the trackball is easily mucked up, which requires constant cleaning and sometimes just outright fails. RIM’s recommendation is to clean the trackball with compressed air. Serious. Barron’s quotes a TownHall Investment Research director as saying that Sprint’s return rate on the Tour has “been climbing toward 50%.” Yeah, Waterloo, that’s a problem. Personally I used the Tour for several weeks and didn’t see any trackball issues. Although, my usage consisted of it sitting on my desk and occasionally on the center console of my car as I don’t get out much.
Slowly but surely, Redfly is carving out a niche market for itself. Previously only Windows Mobile phones worked with the smartphone companion, but soon Blackberry users can join in on the fun. A free update is coming sometime in the next few months that will allow Blackberry Bold 9000, Curve 8900, and Tour 9630 to sync with the Redfly C8N and C7.
File this one under: What took so long? Sprint is finally offereing the Blackberry Tour without a camera. Why you ask? Well, some jobs do not allow cameras in the workplaces and so employees need such a phone. The cameraless option carries the same price of $199 with a 2-year agreement. It’s just strange that it took Sprint so long to offer this model as Verizon’s had both options available since launch.
While I sincerely doubt that anyone is “furious” over this latest kerfuffle, it’s certainly worth a mention. A picture (that one) has been ricocheting around the Internet this week showing a bunch of Connecticut politicians playing solitaire and reading ESPN.com instead of, you know, legislating. (Come on, guys, you’re elected officials, not college freshman combing Ustream for Champions League streams!) So, after a few days of “outrage,” a politician has called for an outright ban on the use of laptops and BlackBerries during legislative meetings.
It’s finally happened. After months, nay years of waiting, the Blackberry desktop manager is finally coming out for OS X. It’s currently in beta, but it says version 1.0.0, so it is coming — although the current version appears to have leaked.
Consider this a friendly reminder that if you have a BlackBerry Curve, Bold, or Storm, you have a good chance to win an iSkin case for your beloved phone. Just head over to the contest post, and drop us a comment with what BlackBerry you have. That’s it. Nice and easy. The contest ends on Monday, the 24th.
It seems that the fine women of Hollywood love themselves BlackBerrys. Ziggytek has compiled a list to prove it too. Did you know everyone from J.Lo to Halle Berry to Scarlett Johansson to Adrianna Lima sport BlackBerrys? It’s true. Click through for the proof.