Unify4Life: Remote assistance from BlackBerry

Think of a situation where you forgot your garage keys and the porter fails to respond to your honking and open the garage door. So what do you do? Bang your head on the steering? Well, no more! Thanks to Unify4Life for thinking up the Garage/Shadow application in collaboration with BlackBerry. BlackBerry users can now open their garage doors with their phones. Isn’t it so cool? And the best part? It’s all set to make its appearance on April 6, hopefully at CES ‘09.

[via: Uberphones]

Free Musical theme for the Blackberry Bold, Flip

If you have BlackBerry Bold or Pearl Flip with you, you might be interesting in trying this theme. Akakios from BlackLightThemes offers his newest theme designs for the Blackberry Bold and Pearl Flip called ‘Musical’.

Since I just have a Curve, so I can’t test this theme, but I think this theme is awesome. You can download thw Musical theme for free here: Bold and Pearl Flip.

BlackBerry Bold From Sprint Coming in First Quarter of 2009

All of you fans of the yellow and black (or is it gold and black?) will be pleased to know some new BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold info on Sprint (NYSE: S). One of Engadget Mobile’s trusted sources has let them now that Sprint will be replacing the BlackBerry 8830 with a CDMA version of the BlackBerry Bold. All of the 8800-lovers out there grasp on to your device tight… Or maybe go pick a new one up at Sprint while you can, because you might not be able to in the near future.

The new Sprint BlackBerry Bold will apparently feature EV-DO Rev. A, lots of memory, and of course a camera (which will be a feature many 8800 users might not want?).

It’s still early days with this one, but look for more news to drop on it soon. All reports seem to lead to the Sprint BlackBerry Bold dropping in the first quarter of 2009.

[Via: EngadgetMobile]

Review: BlackBerry Storm

Verizon Wireless, Vodafone Group and Research In Motion announced that the BlackBerry Storm mobile phone will be available later this fall, exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the United States and Vodafone customers in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand. Designed to satisfy the needs of both consumers and business customers, the BlackBerry Storm smartphone combines the powerful communications features, global connectivity and personal productivity advantages of the BlackBerry platform with a revolutionary touch-screen technology that dramatically enhances the touch interface and enables easy and precise typing.

BlackBerry Storm smartphone
The world's first ‘clickable' touch-screen responds much like a physical keyboard and also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures for intuitive and efficient application navigation. In the U.S., Verizon Wireless customers will benefit from the nation's most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon Wireless' reliable high-speed 3G Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network for rich Internet browsing and multimedia applications. In Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, Vodafone will support customers with its high speed 3G mobile broadband networks and the power and reach of the world's leading international mobile communications group.

Revolutionary touchscreen smartphone
"We are proud to introduce the first touch-screen based BlackBerry smartphone together with Verizon Wireless and Vodafone," said Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer at RIM. "The BlackBerry Storm is a revolutionary touch-screen smartphone that meets both the communications and multimedia needs of customers and solves the longstanding problem associated with typing on traditional touch-screens. Consumers and business customers alike will appreciate this unique combination of a large and vibrant screen with a truly tactile touch interface."

3G BlackBerry Smartphone
"The BlackBerry Storm mobile phone offers our customers more ways to stay connected to both their personal and professional lives - whether in their community or around the globe," said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. "The BlackBerry Storm combines the reliability of our 3G network with the dependability and network efficiency of the BlackBerry platform to deliver our customers the ultimate wireless experience - all in one of the coolest smartphones available on the market today."

BlackBerry handsets
"We are delighted to bring the power of the purpose built BlackBerry Storm, directly into the hands of consumer and business customers," says Frank H Rovekamp, global chief marketing officer, Vodafone Group. "With its unique clickable touch-screen, giving access to all the desirable multi-media features and services such as browsing, music and video, turn by turn satellite navigation, messaging and social networking, and BlackBerry's mobile heritage and strong business reputation, the BlackBerry Storm is being brought by Vodafone into the consumer world. With Vodafone's ultra high speed, reliable mobile network and this exclusive and exciting new smartphone, there has never been a better time to be with Vodafone."

Innovative touchscreen phone
The BlackBerry Storm smartphone comes with an innovative touch-screen that actually depresses ever so slightly when the screen is pressed. The user distinctly feels the screen being pressed and released with a gentle 'click', similar to the feeling of a key on a physical keyboard or a button on a mouse. The ‘clickable' touch-screen gives the user positive confirmation that they have made a selection and the result is a dramatically enhanced touch interface and a highly intuitive typing experience.

BlackBerry navigation keys
In addition to the familiar navigation keys (‘phone', ‘menu' and ‘escape') that are common to other BlackBerry smartphones, the new BlackBerry Storm adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides, and other touch-screen gestures, so customers can easily highlight, scroll, pan, and zoom for smooth navigation. The BlackBerry Storm smartphone also features a built-in accelerometer, allowing its touch-screen to automatically switch between landscape mode and portrait mode as the user rotates the handset - RIM's SureType keyboard layout is available in portrait and a full QWERTY keyboard layout is available in landscape mode. Other relevant features, such as cut and paste, are only a touch away for the ultimate smartphone experience.

World Class BlackBerry Smartphone
The BlackBerry Storm handset is a top of the line 3G mobile phone with premium features and global connectivity. In the U.S., the BlackBerry Storm 9530 gives Verizon Wireless customers 3G EV-DO Rev. A/CDMA - technology - and (2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE / GPRS / GSM for global use. The BlackBerry Storm 9500 from Vodafone supports (2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE / GPRS / GSM networks.

Black Berry Storm internet features
Customers will enjoy a full HTML high performance browser that works in either portrait or landscape orientation. Navigating Web sites is fast and easy with the touch-screen interface that lets users double tap to zoom in and slide their finger to scroll and pan. Icons along the bottom of the display allow for quickly accessing web sites, switching between "Page View" and "Column View" as well as the ability to toggle between "Pan" mode and "Cursor" mode. The enhanced browser supports file downloading, streaming audio and video (RTSP), and with its built-in RSS support, new content from supported Web sites can be automatically pushed to the user.

BlackBerry Storm price & availability
The BlackBerry Storm smartphone brings the full power of the industry's leading mobile e-mail and messaging solution without compromise. It supports personal and corporate e-mail, text (SMS) and picture messaging (MMS), instant messaging on the most prevalent consumer and enterprise platforms, as well as easy access to popular social networking sites.

[Source]

BlackBerry flip revealed, say hello to the Kickstart

Looks like the folks up in Waterloo have been busy finding new designs lately. This is what they have come up with. It is a BlackBerry flip. I never thought I would see the day. This new device, called the Kickstart, is the first BlackBerry flip phone, ever. For a first attempt, this is not looking to shabby either. The device could be released as early as the end of the year.

Well, lets see what we can learn from this image. First, it is very clearly a BlackBerry, as in not too much departure from BlackBerry designs we know today. We see the familiar and distinct RIM SureType keyboard. A good choice for a flip, where space is limited. Also, we see a trackball. A trackball makes even more sense on a flip, as it will be protected from pockets and such. From the screen, we can tell it is not running any special user interface. Definitely not the one we saw on the BlackBerry 9000 at least.

Interestingly, no model number was outed with it. It is not clear what series this BlackBerry belongs to. While the interface clues that it could be part of the 8000 series, there is no reason to believe that just because the interface is familiar it is not part of the 9000 series. While there is no evidence this is the BlackBerry 9100, there a few reasons it could be. The BlackBerry 7100 and 8100 series, were compact, SureType sporting BlackBerries. Clearly, this is a compact, SureType sporting BlackBerry. There have been no SureType BlackBerries that were not part of a *100 series. While RIM could introduce it as a new member to the 8100 series, it seems unlikely they would put this device in a candy bar family of phones.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Telus goes live with Motorola Q9c and BlackBerry Curve 8330

Our friends to the North will be happy to hear that Telus has followed through on rumors that they'll be launching a Canadian-flavored BlackBerry Curve 8330. The sleek, yet full-featured BlackBerry Curve 8330 offers BlackBerry fans a good dose of EVDO data, GPS, Bluetooth, and 2 megapixel camera. That is, when it finally launches on Telus's network - no word on exactly when that will be.

And, in a more solid launch, Telus has announced that the Motorola Q9c is ready to pull duty as the CDMA carrier's slim Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard handset.

Moto Q9c fans in Canada can expect a 1.3 megapixel camera, EVDO data, and Bluetooth - all powered by Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard. The Motorola Q9c is available on Telus for about $150 CDN after 3-year contract(!).

Head on over to Telus for more details.
Telus

Video: How to install and use six free BlackBerry apps

CIO.com prepared an excellent how-to video for first-time or let's say not-that-tech-savvy BlackBerry owners. In a roughly 10-minute long video, you'll learn how to install and use 6 free apps, including:

• Viigo mobile RSS reader
• Beyond411 local search
• WorldMate Live travel companion
• Google Maps
• Facebook for BlackBerry, and
• TwitterBerry

It's a must watch. Enjoy!

RIM testing new 3.5G BlackBerry device - BlackBerry 9000 on the way?

What, you're using 3G? That was, like, soo last year (at least for Americans). The truly hip folks at RIM have decided to get with the times and have announced that they are testing a new BlackBerry with 3.5G data capabilities. The Financial Times is reporting that Research In Motion President Mike Lazaridis has confirmed the near-term release of a 3.5G-enabled BlackBerry smartphone.

Apparently, it pays to be the President of RIM. Lazaridis said that he is toting around a prototype of the new BlackBerry that can hop along the internet superhighway at HSDPA speeds (where available, of course). The new BlackBerry could very well be the BlackBerry 9000 that we've been talking about for some time now. If so, we can expect a large 480×320 screen, GPS, and Wi-Fi - all features that have been confirmed for the new BlackBerry device.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for an announcement at CTIA in a little over a week from now. With AT&T's announcement of HSDPA network upgrades nationwide, the BlackBerry 9000's timing could indicate a release later this year, following a May European launch - 3Q in the US, perhaps?

[Via: Electronista]

BlackBerry 8820 with GPS and Wi-Fi Confirmed by T-Mobile

Here's some good news for all the T-Mobile subscribers in the audience, because the pink-themed mobile operator has confirmed that it will indeed be getting the BlackBerry 8820. As you recall, this is the lovely QWERTY-packing device that comes equipped with both Wi-Fi and GPS.

The good thing about having Wi-Fi built into this latest version of the BlackBerry Curve is the fact that it can then take advantage of T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home service, helping you reduce the minutes racked up on the cellular network. The GPS side of things is taken care of with the preloaded TeleNav navigation software. The major feature missing from this handset is a camera, no doubt because of demands from enterprise users.

The BlackBerry 8820 will sell through T-Mobile for a price of $350, assuming you're willing to lock 'er down for a two-year contract.

[via MobileMag]

BlackBerry Curve 8330 CDMA has GPS

Verizon Wireless customer who’ve been waiting anxiously for the CDMA version of the BlackBerry Curve can breathe a sigh of relief: BBGeeks have photos of the 8330 that show it is physically almost identical to the 8310 GSM version currently on sale, keeping the same lauded QWERTY keyboard.

The photo below also confirms that the CDMA Curve will have GPS functionality, although it is unclear as to what use different carriers might make of that. Speculation is that an announcement regarding the handset may come next month.

[via PhoneMag]

Alltel Wireless BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for $149.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate

Alltel Wireless today announced that the new BlackBerry Pearl 8130 is now available on www.shopalltel.com and in Alltel retail stores. This smartphone makes the perfect holiday gift and includes email, Web browser, text messaging, instant messaging and organizer applications.

The phone also features GPS capabilities and mapping applications such as TeleNav and BlackBerry Maps; a 2 MP camera with flash, zoom and video capture; an advanced media player with 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth® stereo support and dedicated volume controls; 64 MB of built-in memory with an expandable microSD/SDHC memory card slot; and much more.

Alltel Wireless is offering the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for $149.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate.

[via MobileWhack]

RIM to bring the BlackBerry to Russia in 2008

Welcome to the age of the CrackBerry, Russia. We’re glad to hear that you’re finally getting with the times and letting RIM bring their heralded BlackBerry lineup within your borders, starting in 2008. Hey, you’ve caught up to Communist China!

With the Russian security agency’s (FSB) approval to let Russian wireless operators MTS and Vimpelcom carry the BlackBerry phones from RIM, carrier-branded BlackBerry handsets should be making their way into email-addicted Russian hands in Q1 2008.
BlackBerries have been in use on MTS’s Ukraine network since October, but those handsets used foreign SIM cards as roaming handsets. This announcement marks the first legitimate entry of the BlackBerry into Russian wireless networks. Vimpelcom has been greenlighted to sell 1,050 BlackBerry 8700 smartphones as soon as the handsets pass certification tests.

MTS and Vimpelcom have a one-year sales window, so Russian could go back to the pre-BlackBerry dark ages in 2009 - although, we’re going to put our money on a long-lived Russian BlackBerry market.

[Via: Reuters]

BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.3

We will start this article off by stating this is subject to change prior to public release, however, here’s your first look at BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.3! We’ve not yet fully uncovered what it’s capable of, although we from first impressions, it doesn’t look like much more than a visual upgrade of the initial application view, as well as an updated version of Intellisync. Also bundled with this version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager is an update to Roxio Media Manager, now sporting some advanced encoding options and enhanced support for other video formats.

No word on a release date, but with the BlackBerry 8120 being recently launched with OS 4.3.0, we’d have to think that BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.3 will follow at some point soon thereafter. Then again, we have yet to hear about the BlackBerry 8120 actually being available from any of the pre-launch and launch carriers in Europe (Telefonica/Spain, TIM/Italy and O2/UK), so who knows.

Rest of the shots, after the break

Source: BGR

RIM prepping 3G, iPhone-fighting BlackBerry 9000/9xxx?

RIM is really on a roll recently. They’ve been pumping out handsets faster than ever, and it looks like RIM’s next big handset will aim at Apple’s iPhone. It makes sense, since every phone manufacturer out there is gunning to, well, out-gun the iPhone with touchscreen offerings of their own. Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the unfortunately touchscreen-less lineup of BlackBerry smartphones, is reportedly working on a new BlackBerry 9xxx/9000 that takes aim squarely at the iPhone.


We’re hearing through the grapevine that RIM’s BlackBerry 9xxx/9000 will be sporting a full-fledged 3G radio with HSDPA (on US-friendly frequencies), 600Mhz processor, and an undeniably iPhone-esque design. As you can see from Boy Genius’s questionable mockup/blurry spy pic, the BlackBerry 9000 is looking pretty damn slick. We can only guess that the full-body screen will be a touchscreen (if not as the sole means of input, then perhaps with a slide-out keyboard). Oh, and we’re also hearing that the BlackBerry 9xxx will have a backup feature that will move all data on the phone to a removable memory card.

With a release date slated for early 2008, we’re sure recent BlackBerry 8800 buyers aren’t none too pleased. But, being firmly planted in speculative soil, BlackBerry 8800 owners can hope that this rumor turns out to be nothing more than that - a rumor. We’re thinking that this BlackBerry 9xxx could indeed be in the works - it makes sense for RIM to go after Apple’s iPhone. Stay tuned!

[Via: Boy Genius Report]

Blue, Sunset (red) and Pale Gold BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Smartphone from T-Mobile USA

Research In Motion has the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 smartphone in spiffy new colors for T-Mobile USA. The colors include blue, sunset red and pale gold. Added to the existing white and black, customers now have a choice of five colors when it comes to their Pearl.

What's more, with the introduction of these new colors, T-Mobile is slated to introduce an affordable BlackBerry email-only service for US $9.99/month which includes access to email accounts like Yahoo!, AOL or Gmail.

Priced at US $149.99 (after a $100.00 instant discount and $50.00 mail-in rebate) for a 2 year service agreement, the quad-band BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is available from T-Mobile.

Sprint to launch BlackBerry Pearl 2 on Thanksgiving Day weekend?

The story of the BlackBerry Pearl 2 release slowly starts reminding me on the iPhone launch, except that RIM can’t generate as much as buzz as Apple can.

First, we thought the next Pearl — also known as BlackBerry 8130 — is coming to AT&T and Vodafone this September. Later, Sprint’s 2007 and 2008 product roadmap revealed we could expect the RIM’s stylish baby to hit the streets on November 4. Now, we have a new piece of information, suggesting Pearl fans will have to wait for the end of November (Thanksgiving Day weekend) to get their hands on the next iteration of Pearl.

Apparently, the Pearl 2 will add GPS and a new media player on top of the existing BlackBerry functionalities. And while this is kinda cool, we still want the built-in WiFi as well!

[Via: BoyGeniusReport]

BlackBerry Curve 8320 with WiFi set to hit T-Mobile on September 24th

You gotta love the Boy Genius. He’s always good for the inside line on leaked information. The latest BGR nugget is the BlackBerry Curve 8320, with the built-in WiFi radio - trick.

Apparently, there’s this leaked T-Mo document that indicates a September 24 launch date for the WiFi-enabled Curve - perhaps alongside that new T-Mobile HotSpot @Home router that we spied a little while ago.

The BlackBerry Curve 8320 will be rocking the same 2 megapixel camera, quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM radio with EDGE, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, QWERTY-keyboard, and myFaves support of it’s younger sibling, the BlackBerry Curve 8300 - but now it’ll be sporting that snazzy WiFi connectivity.

With a WiFi BlackBerry Curve and the new T-Mobile @Home wireless package, you may never need to deal with a telco ever again. Of course, that’s all assuming the T-Mo @Home service actually gets picked up by enough people to stick around.

We’ll keep an ear to the ground for all you CrackBerry addicts out there.

[Via: Boy Genius]

BlackBerry 8310 and Perl 2 coming to AT&T in September

The 8310 (code name Papa Bear) is a Curve with WiFi. The Pearl 2 (code name Comet) … we have no clue what is so special about it except the fact that it will come in 8 colors. Makes sense since I saw a lot of non executives toting the pearl, those mainstream users want variety.

When the fonts stop sucking, I might consider picking one of these babies up. How good is the Java support on BlackBerry’s?

[Via: Boy Genius Report]

Virtual BlackBerry coming to T-Mobile Dash?

Earlier in April, we’ve talked about RIM’s plans to additionally support its Windows Mobile smartphone users with the release of BlackBerry application suite for the devices running Microsoft’s mobile OS. The idea is not to disrupt the way Windows Mobile devices are functioning, but to add the new BlackBerry icon from where users can access RIM’s popular services.

Now, it’s happening — or at least it’s about to happen. According to always highly informed Boy Genius, T-Mobile will be the first carrier that will roll-out its Dash (HTC S620) smartphone with preinstalled Virtual BlackBerry software. Current Dash users will almost certainly be able to add some RIM-based apps to their devices as well. And that’s basically it — we don’t have any more information. But, as far as I can tell - this isn’t far from happening. Stay tuned…

Airtel introduces GPS Navigation on BlackBerry 8800 Smartphones in India

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s leading providers of telecommunications services has just announced the launch of GPS-based Navigation Application on Mobile handsets.

The company has collaborated with Swedish-based Wayfinder Systems AB for application of this navigation system.

Using this navigation system, users will be continuously updated with real-time content and geographical data via the wireless network using EDGE/GPRS.

This GPS-based Navigation Application turns compatible mobile phones into a GPS-based navigation system complete with detailed maps and Points-of-Interest of a number of Indian cities such as Delhi and NCR ( Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad), Bangalore, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh.

Besides, Airtel users will also have the option to purchase map information as well as area coverage details in other countries such as Europe and North America.

According to Sanjay Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, “We are now introducing in India, a state of the art GPS based navigation system that will largely benefit all frequent travelers using compatible mobile handsets like BlackBerry 8800.”

For starters, this GPS Navigation application will be available on the BlackBerry 8800 smartphone.

In fact, Airtel is offering a six month free trial for all its Airtel BlackBerry 8800 users. As per this offer, the customer will not be required to pay any subscription charges on the GPS application during this period.

However, data download charges will apply as per the subscriber’s BlackBerry plan.

If you wish to download this GPS Navigation application on to your BlackBerry 8800 smartphone, you will need to send ‘NAV’ as an SMS to ‘3636’.