BlackBerrys are generally durable devices. I had a BlackBerry 7130e for almost three years until my son gave it a bath in a cup of ginger ale. This dad’s BlackBerry somehow survived a trip into a hot oven. It needed a new case afterwards, but it still works alright.

Couple of weeks ago, like a good dad, I was baking with my 10 year old daughter. I couldn’t find my Blackberry afterwards and was looking everywhere. Tried calling my number etc. When the cookies were done, I opened the oven and found my BlackBerry on the cookie tray: well cooked!!!

It’s not available yet, but BGR got his hands on the latest build of RIM’s upcoming update to BlackBerry Messenger. The following are new features to the PIN-based messeging system: Avatar support, GPS location integration, Proximity sensor, Set conversation subjects, and Homescreen support.

It hasn’t been a secret for months, but Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam has confirmed that a multitude of devices from RIM, Palm and Android-based devices are coming to the nation’s largest network in the next six months.

Huh, this could work out. Remember Dash? It was that the little GPS start-up company that made the innovative PND that had a monthly subscription, but also routed you around traffic issues through the magic of the cloud. You probably never saw one in person because, well, no one wants a GPS with a monthly fee. Anyway, RIM, the makers of BlackBerrys of course, just purchased the company.

We’re not the biggest fans of the BlackBerry Storm. Apparently that’s ’cause it was RIM’s first touchscreen device and we, as early adopters, should have expected this type of buggy device per the CEO. Sure, it’s a first-gen phone, but we expected more from Research in Motion. Didn’t you? Laptop Mag sat down with the CEO of RIM who spoke frankly about the craptastic Storm.

Don Lindsey has been a busy man the last decade and a half. Going from Apple where he might have had a major role in early iPhone developments, to Microsft where he worked in Live Labs, he’s been around the block a time or two. Now it’s RIMs turn who made the man VP of User Experience, which confirms that the companies commitment to developing stellar OSs. Research in Motion needs to keep up its game now that everyone, including Microsoft, is charging forward with new mobile platforms and Don might be able to help.

So now some Dutch guy who seems to represent RIM in some vague sense now says that the Storm 2 will have an improved text input system, which seems to suggest a slide-out keyboard.

Well, well. What do we have here? It seems that we might have specs of some upcoming RIM BlackBerrys: Onyx, Driftwood, and Magnum. Don’t get too excited as release info and pricing haven’t been released, but these specs are enough to drool over for a bit anyway.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis is slated to take the stage later today in Las Vegas at the CTIA show and all eyes will be focused on RIM’s answer to Apple’s App Store. While we wished that RIM had held off on the launch of BlackBerry App World until Lazaridis’ little talk, there’s nothing that could have prevented this announcement from hitting at midnight. So, ladies and germs, I present to you BlackBerry App World. Please ensure that you have a PayPal account, OS 4.2 or higher and a trackball or SurePress touch screen (aka Storm) BlackBerry before proceeding.

Here’s a spicy rumor for you all to enjoy. Apparently RIM is planning some sort of BlackBerry TV store/service/thing, and may launch it as early as CTIA next week. (CTIA is like CES, but just for cellphone stuff; actually, a more accurate comparison would have been with Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress; thank you.) It’d be a subscription service, and the TV shows download over a Wi-Fi connection; it won’t use your data (3G if you’re lucky) connection at all

The BGR is probably one of the biggest BlackBerry fanboys of all time, so when he says the 9630 aka Niagara is the best. Ever. Then I believe him. Well, he doesn’t say it’s the best BlackBerry of all time, but he might as well have after you read his short but concise first impressions of the latest BlackBerry from RIM.

RIM has plans to update the Curve and it seem that this might be the replacement. Unspectacular specs for 8325 dropped a few days ago but we finally are interested after seeing what is suppose to be the hardware. Like it? We don’t know yet. It might be a a nice departure from the plastic buttons, but it could be too radical. Definitely need a better pic.

I have been using a BlackBerry Storm for about a month now and have came to like the phone. While I don’t have an iPhone love affair going on, it’s a solid phone I wouldn’t not recommended. (understand?) It has its quarks like any phone, but the single most annoying feature could - and should - be resolved by Research in Motion.

You see the Storm auto rotates everything unlike the iPhone where only certain apps switch to landscape view. That’s fine with me for apps and such. Auto rotating the main menu/app menu doesn’t add any usability and in fact, is frustratingly annoying. Half the time the phone takes a few seconds to change orientation causing random bad thoughts to race through my head while the phone decides what to do. But mainly, there is no reason to have the home screen rotate and RIM needs to address this aggravating trademark of the Storm.

Oh. Your. God. If you’re standing, sit down. If you’re sitting down, stand up, then sit down again. Huge, huge news: U2, once Apple’s favorite band, has now signed a deal with Research in Motion, which will sponsor the band’s upcoming tour. It’s called the 360º Tour, and it starts its North American swing in September in Chicago.

RIM took the wraps off of App World yesterday and now we are getting the first taste of what’s to come. It seems that the minimum paid tier (apps can be free, btw) for an app is $2.99, which is catching some of us off guard as Apple’s App Store has been widely successfully with $.99 and $1.99 apps. That extra dollar might make people stop and think about purchasing the app rather than buying on impulse alone.

Workaholics rejoice. Lenovo notebooks will soon be able to sync with BlackBerry handhelds thanks to the power of Bluetooth for automatic and instant access to enterprise email. The sync is designed to work without any user intervention too and according to the press release, even works when the notebook is powered off. The software is set to roll-out in the second quarter of this year but it still isn’t clear if it will work with existing ThinkPad’s right from Lenovo without the help of an enterprising hacker or two.

Kevin over at CrackBerry spotted this white Pearl Flip during RIM’s BES presentation today and posits that RIM could be releasing it sometime in the near future. Makes sense considering the bazillion colors they have for the candybar Pearl.

The day has finally arrived, folks. RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 is officially available for the masses from T-Mobile here in the States. You’ll have to shell out $300 but there is a $100 MIR bringing the grand total to $200 with a 2-year contract. Well, what are you waiting for?

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No matter who you are, which carrier you’re on, or which hardware you carry: network outages can find you. More at 11.

RIM really dropped the ball after launching the Bold with the shouldhaveneverbeenlaunched Storm. But I’m happy to say that they’ve come back into our good graces with the launch of the T-Mobile Curve II otherwise known as the 8900.

For all intents and purposes the 8900 is a baby Bold. It lacks 3G but makes up for it with UMA support which means you can take it overseas and not incur horrendous roaming fees. Sure, it costs an extra $10/month (unlimited UMA calls that aren’t taken out of your regular minutes) but maybe you live in a dead zone. Simply having the ability to use Wi-Fi for data and voice is a huge plus for T-Mobile. This was one of the major reasons why I chose to stay with T-Mobile instead of jumping ship to AT&T for the Bold.

The following are my first impressions compared to the 8320 and Bold.