HOT! Google Sync Now Syncs Your Gmail Contacts FREE Along With Your Calendar!!!

Enrico let me know that Google has updated their free Sync application that used to only sync your calendar with your BlackBerry. Now it also syncs your Gmail contacts with your BlackBerry!!! This latest version is 0.5.9.

Very Cool Google! They are getting closer and closer to a free BES-like service every day. Now if only they could consolidate some of these apps

You can pick up the new app at: m.google.com/sync

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/458721468/

U.S. Government can track cellphones without carrier co-operation

Some chilling revelations have come out recently, indicating that the U.S. government has far more power to track its citizens than previously thought. Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation under a Freedom of Information Act request suggest that "triggerfish" technology can be used to pinpoint the location of cell phones without involving cell phone providers at all. By posing as a cell tower, triggerfish, also known as cell-site simulators or digital analyzers, trick nearby cell phones into transmitting their serial numbers, phone numbers, and other data to law enforcement.

As one of the documents intended to provide guidance for DOJ employees explains, triggerfish can be deployed "without the user knowing about it, and without involving the cell phone provider." That may be significant because the legal rulings requiring law enforcement to meet a high "probable cause" standard before acquiring cell location records have, thus far, pertained to requests for information from providers, pursuant to statutes such as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and the Stored Communications Act.

This is certainly news that will make you look at your BlackBerry a little differently. Ars Technica has an excellent article on the news; to learn more click the link below.

|via Ars Technica| (c) BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/457331320/

Instango 2.0 Now Available For BlackBerry!

One of the best things about our beloved BlackBerry devices is the multitude of options available for communications while using them. Everything from MSN, Google Talk, right down to ICQ (does anyone even use that any more?!). The only problem with all of these options, especially if you are a user of several messaging platforms, is that it means having to open numerous applications all at once on your device, which becomes a pain in the butt. Instango looks to be able to solve this problem for us BlackBerry users and gives us a convergance of those applications and much more.

Their newly updated version of Instango is vastly improved upon the previous versions and brings a ton of new features to the table as well. They have listened to the community and brought us the following with their latest update:
Complete rewrite of the user interface
Multiple Account support (ie: 2 AIM, 1 MSN Accnt.)
WiFi Support
Improved battery cosumption when running the app
Better usage of data compression,saving on data usage
Message list integration on OS 4.6
Many, Many Bugfixes

Having used this application at its first launch, I can say this version is a great improvement over what it was and well worth a look.

For a further peek into the application, head on over to the features page and have a look. The services expand well beyond just IM integration all the way to now using Instango as an RSS reader and sending voice messages, files and pictures.
More Information and Download Instango 2.0 >>

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Instango 2.0 Now Available For BlackBerry!

http://crackberry.com/instango-2-0-now-available-blackberry

Vodafone Storm 101: Set Up Your Email on BIS

Heres a Vodafone Help Center video thatll bring you up to speed on setting up email on your Vodafone BlackBerry Storm.

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Vodafone Storm 101: Set Up Your Email on BIS

http://crackberry.com/vodafone-storm-101-set-your-email-bis

BlackBerry Curve 8900 pops up on BlackBerry Germany site

Well lookie here. We gave you a little hands-on love last month and as our Curve 8900 gets ready to do battle in an upcoming comparison post or two, German BlackBerry fans just got a hell of a shock. The 8900 is now live on the BlackBerry Germany site and apparently almost ready to rock. Looking sexy as ever, the Curve 8900 on the site comes along with a bunch of marketing speak and complete specs. In terms of pricing or timing, it looks like T-Mobile will begin shipping this puppy within a week or two and and it will set you back a paltry €5 with a 2-year contract and a pretty reasonable €360, contract-free. Hit the read link if you read German or jump directly to the translated version.

[Thanks, Hugh!]

Read

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/450851848/

BlackBerry Curve 8900 emulator now available

RIM is just on fire lately. After a quick 8900 sneak attack from Germany and this morning's little Storm announcement, what more could you want? Well, more info on the Curve 8900's US release most likely, but you know what they say about patience being a virtue. In the meantime if you really can't wait to get your hands on a Curve 8900 to play with, this might tide you over - for about 10 minutes at least. RIM has made the 4.6.1 emulator software available for download from the BlackBerry site for all you developers and serious addicts out there. It's just like the real thing, right? Yeah, not so much. At least you can get a feel for the 4.6 OS as you anxiously await the real thing

Read

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/451849600/

PeeKaWho v.1.160 Reviewed!

We've talked quite a bit about PeeKaWho here at BlackBerry Cool, but no one's actually reviewed the product. BlackBerry Cool 15 nominee Robert Kao of SmrtGuard - the developer of Followup and SmrtGuard - brings Blackberry users this great piece of software.

If you've been looking for a reliable caller ID function for your incoming email and SMS text messages, look no further. PeeKaWho is great if you want to view your email or text messages at a glance while performing other functions on your Blackberry, like composing an email or surfing in the browser. You can also disallow PeeKaWho pop-ups when using certain applications, great for when you don't want to be interrupted while you're writing an email, viewing a video or dialing a call

PeeKaWho v.1.160 Review Quick Links

KEY DETAILS
INSTALLATION AND SETUP
KEY FEATURES
PROs/CONs
FINAL CONCLUSION
IMAGE GALLERY
KEY DETAILS

OS Support: Blackberry OS 4.1 and above
Price: $6.95
Company: SmrtGuard
Where to buy: The BlackBerry Cool store!
Official user guide: Here
INSTALLATION AND SETUP

Installing and setting up PeeKaWho is simple. First, purchase the software from our online store. Then, click the link provided in the confirmation email to download.

It will then ask you to select the OS you are running on your device. Select the correct link to download the right software version for your device (be prepared for errors if you mess this up!)

Download and install.

Finally, reboot. You can then navigate to your applications menu and click the little envelope icon (the one with the "@" on it).

(c) Jonathan Brandon for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/448862906/

India adds 7.7 million GSM customers in October (BlackBerry Bytes)

Anyone who wonders why RIM's recent troubles bringing BlackBerrys to India were such a big deal need only look at these numbers to understand. According to the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), India's GSM networks added a record breaking 7.7 million net customers in October, bringing India's total GSM base to 241.4 million. These figures, however, do not include the GSM subscriber base from Reliance Communications - which although a predominantly CDMA operator has a growing GSM base as well. Adding Reliance Communications' estimated 9.2 million GSM subscribers would bring India's total base to over 250 million GSM customers.

250 million GSM subscribers - just think about that number for a second. That's almost the population of the United States. How much would it improve RIM's bottom line to grab even a small percentage of that number?

|via CN|

(c) BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/451507751/

Poll: New Comment System On BerryReview - Reply By Email!

Here at BerryReview we are always trying to encourage conversations between and with our readers. In that vein we are testing out a new comment system on BerryReview and would love to hear what you think about it. The new comment system is powered by IntenseDebate and offers quite a few more features that we did not have in our old comments. My favorite is the ability to easily reply to comments by email. Talk about a BlackBerry friendly feature!

The new comment features include:
Comment threading
Reply to comments by email - Just reply to the comment notification email to respond
Comment voting & reputation points
More streamlined look
& More!

I am really digging the reply by email feature since it lets me easily respond to questions from my BlackBerry. I highly recommend checking it out! During this test period you may run into a couple of bugs. Please point them out to us if you run into them.

Let us know what you think of the new comments in the poll below: Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/451938864/

RIM Launches The Curve 8900 (AKA Javelin) On T-Mobile Germany

So I guess we are ending up with a 8900 Curve instead of a Javelin. I am really starting to hate how RIM recycles the names for newer devices. Just leads to confusion.

RIM announced the 8900 out in Germany on T-Mobile. Don't get excited about these coming unlocked to the US since Germany uses a QWERTZ keyboard instead of a our usual QWERTY keyboard. (Really screws with your head)

Just to remind you the Curve 8900 specs:
480360 pixel display
3.2 MP camera/video with autofocus and flash
Thinnest fully keyboard BlackBerry
EDGE & WiFi
GPS
512Mhz processor

T-Mobile Germany has gotten creative offering 6 months of free email on the device which is a nice perk.

Check out the details in the press release

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/451501090/

PeeKaWho 1.165 Pre-Release - Ads Popup Customization

James & Tashanna let me know that PeeKaWho has yet again updated their application with a pre-release trial of some cool features. They now give you more control over what information shows up in a popup and what colors you wish to show. Another interesting feature they added that I did not consider before is the ability to stop the popups when you are using Garmin or TeleNav for GPS.

Here are the new changes:
Preference for Blinking LED
Preference to change text size
Preference to have more "concise" popup. When this is enabled, no title, no company of the person is displayed. In short, this allows more of the email body to be shown.
Added GPS to the list of Application filter (works with Garmin and TeleNav)
More LED colors added
PeeKaLight (flashlight feature) takes the LED color of email setting.
NOTE: This pre-release is only for OS 4.3.x, OS 4.5.x, OS 4.6.x

You can pick up the pre-release at this link OTA:
www.smrtguard.com/download/1165/421/peek.jad

AutoStandby 2.2.0 Released - Adds Quick Toggle Function & API

I am a fan of the AutoStandby application. It simply puts your phone into standby during certain conditions helping you to save battery life and stop hitting keys on accident. Tom let me know about their latest version 2.2.0 which brings quite a few features to the table that I thought were worth mentioning but one in particular really interested me. You can now toggle the AutoStandby application on and off by hitting the mute button 3 times in a row. Not sure how they did that but kudos to them.

What's new in 2.2.0:
Fixed Homescreen switch bug
Added ability to allow an application to disable AutoStanby only if it's the active window
Added option to minimize an application on standby
Added "Quick Toggle" feature. Press mute key three times quickly to toggle AutoStandby on/off
Added ability to have the Browser and BBM disable AutoStandby if they are the active window
Added third-party API for future integration with apps such as Aerize Alerts

You can pick up the latest version at the store at this link. It worked for me by going to the store link from my BlackBerry and clicking the try button.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/451637013/

Upvise Out Of Beta - Personal Version Still Free

We have mentioned Upvise a few times on BerryReview and we just got word that with version 2.0 they are finally out of beta. They have broken up their accounts into a free personal account and a subscription business account option. The new 2.0 version of the application adds mobile security settings, export contacts to the phone address book, and send an SMS text message to a contact.

The free personal version has: Wikipedia, Contacts, Notebooks, Shopping Lists, RSS News, and Quote of the Day as the available services. These services sync free with their BlackBerry application.

Their new Upvise Business account is a multi-user account which enables you to share company information and collaborate with your co-workers anywhere, on your mobile and through your web account. Upvise apps include the Business Contact Manager, Projects, Workspaces, Ideas, with Calendar and Tasks coming soon. This information is encrypted and includes HTTPS service. You can even encrypt information on your Berry and password protect it. You can also backup your information with automatic backups with a restore feature. The business service also allows you to import and export your information in CSV format.

Check out the details at www.upvise.com

Thanks Tashanna, YR, and Nikolaus for sending this one in!

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/448942695/

TeleNav launches standalone GPS device, shoots you with a Shotgun

Thanks to the eagerness of TeleNav's web designers, they've let slip one of their most-closely guarded secrets a stand-alone internet connected GPS device. We've got a TeleNav Shotgun in hand, but we weren't prepared to fire that bad boy off until Monday. Since there's this little slip-up though, we'll give you some first impressions.

Marketing and timing aspects aside, the TeleNav Shotgun is actually a pretty sexy unit in terms of appearance. The UI is pretty clean and you could sort of think of it as a big brother to the TeleNav Navigator GPS software you have on your cell phone. The Shotgun uses a built-in SIM card (they won't let us say which carrier, but it is GSM, obviously) to let you get real-time traffic, locations, restaurant ratings, look-ups, and whatever else your heart desires. The unit does work as advertised and we didn't have any real hiccups. All in all it's not bad, it's just not great and we really don't see a place in the market for this thing. We'll let you ponder if you think you're going to get one or not while we put the finishing touches on our review. We're riding Shotgun, bitchez.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/446726003/

Introducing Datepedia for BlackBerry Smartphones

Launched today by Mobatech, creators of the Mobile Bartender for BlackBerry (one of my favorite apps!), comes Datepedia, a simple and useful application that ensures youll never ever miss out on an important date again. From Mobatech:

Datepedia for BlackBerry Smartphones

National holidays, religious holidays, sporting events and more! With Datepedia, users have instant access to the most comprehensive package of dates for BlackBerry devices. Simply select dates and export them to your BlackBerry calendar at the click of a button. Need to remember a birthday or anniversary? Now you can add your own dates at any time so youll never forget that important event! Not sure if Valentines Day is Saturday or Sunday this year? With Datepedia in your phone youll never have to wonder again!

Features:
View dates for national holidays from multiple countries including US, UK, India, Germany, France and more
View Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious holidays including descriptions of each holiday
View dates for major sporting events including BCS Bowl Games, Golf Major Events, Tennis Grand Slam, Auto Racing and more
Keep track of personal events such as birthdays and anniveraries while on the go
Choose from multipe export options to save Datepedia events to your BlackBerry calendar
View event dates in List View or Calendar View
Quickly search for any dates by category or name, and filter search by year for faster look-up
Option for viewing all events or upcoming events only

For more information, be sure to check out this handy Datepedia Overview Slide. Datepedia sells for $9.95 and due to the nature of the app, no free-trial is available. For more screecaps, info and to purchase, follow the links below...

Get Datepedia for BlackBerry:
BlackBerry Curve / 8300 /8800 Series >>
BlackBerry Pearl / 8100 Series >>
BlackBerry Pearl / 8220 Series >>
BlackBerry Bold / 9000 Series >>

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Introducing Datepedia for BlackBerry Smartphones

http://crackberry.com/introducing-datepedia-blackberry-smartphones

Wirenode - Easily Create Your Own Mobile Site Free

Nick let me know about this very easy to use free service that lets you create your own mobile website free. You can even take your RSS feed from your blog or twitter and make it automatically publish it into a mobile page. They also offer you some free analytics to see how many people are visiting your site.

Essentially it lets you create multiple mobile pages on your site with images and a table of contents. Nothing crazy but a great way to store all of your favorite bookmarks and other useful links.

Check it out at www.wirenode.com

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/445579840/

Premium iBerry Neo Theme from BPlay

Peter just let us in on a new theme design from BPlay.Com called iBerry Neo'. Available for 81xx, 82xx, 83xx, 88xx & 9xxx devices, iBerry Neo theme comes in both Zen and Icon versions. I was able to play around with the Zen version of iBerry Neo and I can really appreciate the overall design of this theme. Firstly, I am always amazed at the gorgeous images of the universe that the Hubble Telescope takes and this theme utilizes similar type images. Secondly, I adore the color purple, so the purplish' color scheme is a big hit with me. I also like the main screen which features a cool, illuminated abstract background gently overlapped by a translucent top bar with clearly visible date, time and battery/signal meters. Bottom dock also has a translucent effect with colorful, iPhone type icons that are easy to read. This is a nice theme overall and prices are just right. Zen version costs $4.99, Icon version costs $5.99. Available at BPlay.Com

*Correction: Please note above that iBerry Neo is also available for Blackberry Devices 82xx & 9xxx

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/444303108/

Verizon Announces Unlimited Global Roaming Plans For Storm

Harrison just let me know that Verizon has announced some upcoming global data roaming plans for the BlackBerry Storm. The plans will be $69.99/month for a standalone plan and $64.99/month when added to a voice plan. I guess they really are planning on capitalizing on the international 3G standard and quad band EDGE that they have in the Storm.

They also announced a discounted international roaming voice plan for $4.99/month which gives you cheaper calls in 130 countries.

Check out the details on the Verizon site

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/444483553/

Special November Sale on all Bold Themes at Themes4BB.Com

Do you currently own a Blackberry Bold or are you soon to be getting one?! If you answered yes to either, then this might be the time to give yours a pimping. Chad from Themes4BB let us know that for the month of November, they're holding a special sale for Blackberry Bold themes where any BOLD theme costs only $4.99! (That's two dollars off the original price.) I stopped by their site to check it out and they've got some cool themes. Two that caught my eye were; XBOLD ELITE and FERRARI (see screenshots below) but there were several more nice styles available. Hurry on down to Themes4BB.Com!

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/444239118/

T-Mobile Makes Free Companion Flight Promotion Official

T-Mobile just sent me an email confirming the details we told you about before regarding their holidays promotion this year. They have confirmed that starting Nov 19th until Dec 24th T-Mobile is offering a free companion flight to new and existing customers who sign up for a two year contract. If you are already on a family plan you will receive a companion ticket for each line up to five tickets

Companion flights have no blackout dates and allow you to travel between over 100 origin and destination cities. Including New York, Colorado, Miami, and Vegas according to the promotion email. The catches are that travel must be done before Feb 15th 2010 and must be booked at www.flywitht-mobile.com.

You can see more information at the now live www.flywitht-mobile.com site.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/444619616/

FCC Gives Thumbs Up To GSM Storm 9500 - What Gives?

This one really has me shaking my head. Donald over at Engadget spotted a GSM only Storm 9500 in a FCC filing. From what I have heard Verizon has at least a 6 month exclusive on the Storm so I am not sure who would be getting the Storm afterwards. This looks to be the same as the GSM Vodafone Storm which does not support any of the 3G frequencies in the USA. It only supports 3G on the 2100 band which does not exist in the US.

Maybe T-Mobile is planning on getting the device as an EDGE only device? Who knows

Check out the FCC filing at this link

Thanks Tashanna, David, John, & Rob for sending this one in!

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/442894897/

BlackBerry Bold FREE After Rebate via LetsTalk.com

WTF?! It has officially been available for less than 24 hours and you can already get yourself a BlackBerry Bold for FREE. Click on over to Walmarts website or LetsTalk.com, sign yourself up for a 2 year AT&T contract, and the $199.99 priced BlackBerry Bold will be yours for FREE after you send in the $199.99 mail-in rebate.

Like seriously. This is sort of insane. Weve been squalking at the fact the T-Mobile Pearl flip didnt hit the market at $50, and here is a deal to get RIMs flagship smartphone for nothing. I hope RIM left the BlackBerry Bold making factory turned on overnight... theyre gonna need em! Seems almost to good to be true, so if theres something I missed in the fine print post it in the comments.

[ via Engadget ]

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry Bold FREE After Rebate via LetsTalk.com

http://crackberry.com/blackberry-bold-free-after-rebate-letstalk-com

Pre-Paid BlackBerry Coming Your Way?!!

Pre-paid BlackBerry? I know many of you have been asking for this for a long time and its no surprise that RIM has been working on it... you can click here to read some of Jim Balsillies words on the subject from the Q2 Earnings Call held back in September.

What is surprising are the RIM internal docs posted online at BGR today that outline RIMs plans for growing in the pre-paid market:

Theres two concepts RIM is fooling with in regards to how this works. One is purchasing the device with no subsidy (full price) and buying pre-paid cards to fill up their account with. The second is slightly more intriguing, and thats a BlackBerry in a Box. The user purchases the device and one year of BIS service all in one package at the retailer. After a year is up, they can purchase whatever theyd like. Another year, time-based access, monthly, all that.

Youll want to click on over for more info and a ton of slides that outline what prepaid BlackBerry is all about. I have a feeling we better buy some for servers for CrackBerry.com... the Nation is going to get a whole lot bigger when this rolls out around the world!

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Pre-Paid BlackBerry Coming Your Way?!!

http://crackberry.com/pre-paid-blackberry-coming-your-way

RIM’s internal plans for pre-paid BlackBerry service, BlackBerry in a Box

RIM's already gone and launched its pre-paid BlackBerry server in Indonesia, but there's a whole lot of countries that are probably foaming at the mouth. We've been saying this all along pre-paid will take RIM to the next level. Why do you think Sidekicks got so popular? Because every single person in the hood could get one, every one who didn't have perfect credit could get one, and even people that just wanted that flexibility could get one. We have a feeling this is going to be RIM's power play for 2009. There are two different ways of doing BlackBerry pre-paid, one is daily, and one is monthly. We got a hold of pretty detailed document outlined all of RIM's internal strategies for this. Stuff like their pitch to carriers, the target market, how RIM gets paid, when they get paid all of that good stuff. Here's a little synopsis of the key points:
Targeting people that are on a limited budget
People who can not get post-paid carrier credit
Those that do not want to be tied to a long-term contract
People that don't "want to share personal information because of security and tax purposes." DRUG DEALERS!

Here's some of the selling points to carriers:
It takes the risk off of the carrier. Meaning, instead of the carrier shelling out for hundreds of thousands of devices and them sitting in their stock rooms, it would be up to the retailer to sell the devices. By retailer, we're talking about Best Buy, RadioShack, Fye, etc. Please note by the way those retailers are just for an example, there's nothing in here that says anything about them specifically
It increases how much pre-paid users spend
The pre-paid BlackBerry service engages users and reduces the churn rate. Stats show that after 25 days of inactivity, 70% of pre-paid users go bye-bye. With BIS however, the carrier has a direct channel to market to the subscriber and send them offers, campaigns, and other things to try and get them to stick around.

There's two concepts RIM is fooling with in regards to how this works. One is purchasing the device with no subsidy (full price) and buying pre-paid cards to fill up their account with. The second is slightly more intriguing, and that's a BlackBerry in a Box. The user purchases the device and one year of BIS service all in one package at the retailer. After a year is up, they can purchase whatever they'd like. Another year, time-based access, monthly, all that.

Finally, here's some last "marketing practices" RIM is touting:
Don't call it pre-pay. It has a connotation of being cheap and poor.
Upsell the IM services like Google Talk, MSN, etc.
Encourage carriers to put the devices at the front of the store since it's pretty much a no-headache sale.

So what do you think? If RIM can actually start to get carriers to jump on-board with this, we have a feeling this is going to make them absolutely explode with growth at a time where most other manufacturers are looking at cutting jobs and scaling back production. Who's buying a "BlackBerry in a Box"?

Click on over to our BlackBerry pre-paid gallery!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/442232468/

Premium Cynosure Theme from Elecite For 8100 8300 & 8800

I can't help it but I get all tingly inside when I hear about a new theme that's come out by Elecite/Eveek. That's because I know whatever it is, it's gonna be good! Their newest creation, Cynosure, is a combination of rich colors (Dark Grey/Black and Luminous Blue) and futuristic design. On the main page, the name of the highlighted application icon appears in the center circle and all icons (which are customizable) are a bright white that turn blue as you scroll over them. I like the slanted font they used which fits the overall theme perfectly yet is very easy to read. Cynosure costs $6.99 and is available for 81xx, 83xx & 88xx Blackberry devices running 4.5 at Elecite.Com

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/442345418/

OS 4.5.0.102 for 8300 & 8320 found online

Secret Agent 004 is back with links to OS 4.5.0.102, now for 8300 and 8320 devices specifically. If you didn't catch the tip in the comment section yesterday, don't miss it now:

8300 - http://www.mediafire.com/?iywrmzgm2wm

8320 - http://www.mediafire.com/?ryme1gmlmzz

Let us know how it goes for you people.

NOTE: Do not install this software if you do not know what you are doing. It may make your BlackBerry FUBAR or just plain angry.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/441901183/

Free ‘BMW’ Theme for 8300 & 8800

JCalandra continues to add themes to her already extensive collection available on CoolBlackberryThemes.Com. One of her latest, based on the Bold' design, is BMWa customizable bottom dock available for 83xx & 88xx devices running OS 4.2 & 4.5. I'll admit that I am not much of a car enthusiast but this theme will certainly have every BMW fan's engine running with it's vivid images and sharp looking icons.  Best of all, it's a freebie - so better hurry on down to her site and get it for yourself!

8300 can be found here.

8800 can be found here.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/441094910/

PeekaWho gets an update! Download the beta now!

My boy Robert Kao of BlackBerry Cool 15 fame (and current guest on the BlackBerry Cool Podcast) just tipped me off that he has released an update to the insanely popular PeekaWho. You can check out the whole change log below:

Change Log - Confirm deletes
- LED Alerts (LED will be on until popup disappear - you can turn off auto fade so the LED is be on until you manually dismiss it)
- Mark as Read (new icon on the popup)
- Added Bedside into the list of application filter
- popup show even when locked
- Title and Corp Name in the popup
- Color on Subj and Body for easy read
- Key Shortcuts while popup is showing
(d for dismiss, i for inbox, del key for delete, f for follow, r for mark as read)
- language support framework (working on the translation)

Known Issue: - International Language problem with RIM's API. When in a language other than English, PeeKaPic will not lookup properly. Also, Email Address Chooser in the email filter will not be able to add emails. We are working with RIM on this.

The best thing about the PeekaWho update? You can get it right now, for FREE, by participating in the PeekaWho beta. Click the link below to download the new version of PeekaWho:

PeekaWho Beta Download

(c) BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/440652297/

FCC approves GSM-only Blackberry Storm

All ye' faithful Blackberry fans hear this: the GSM-only Blackberry Storm has passed through the FCC! That's right, Bold folks are just hours away from officially snagging their devices (if they didn't already get it on Nov 2) and Verizon Storm people are still anxiously waiting, but the GSM Storm news has already hit the masses before the latest and greatest hits the streets. This version is apparently only going to sport GSM and WCDMA 2100, not CDMA like the World Phone that is going to be out soon. Here are some specs for the device, practically the same as the Storm 9500, which is what Vodafone is currently offering:
1GB of memory, 192MB RAM
1400 mAhr battery. Standby time: 528 hours
MicroUSB port
MicroSD and MicroSDHC expandable up to 8GB
3.2 megapixel camera, flash, 2.5x digital zoom, auto focus, and image stabilization
Video capture. Normal mode (480×320) and MMS mode (176×144)
Assisted GPS - Enhanced version of GPS that performs at a faster speed
Quad-band

It doesn't look like it will be supporting tri-band HSDPA, however, so it's highly doubtful at this point, if it is just like the Vodafone 9500, that it will be able to get 3G on AT&T's network because it's only a quad-band GSM phone with WCDMA 2100. So, what do you guys think? Is all this Blackberry news just making you go crazy with anticipation and anxiety?

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/441464158/

VZW Storm Site Updated: NYC Storm Hunt Begins on the 6th!

I just received five emails in the last five minutes from CrackBerry readers saying the Verizon Storm site has been updated! As I type this Im still getting served up the old site, but the screencap sent in above (thanks Nathan!) shows whats in store. * update - new site now loading fine for me! *

In addition to the standard device features and specs stuff on the new and improved teaser site, a BlackBerry STORM Hunt (screw Easter Eggs!) has been planned for Manhattan from November 6th to 15th, so those who would kill for a chance to get their hands-on a Storm early might be lucky enough to do just that. To enter you need to locate the BlackBerry Storms that have been hidden around the city to find the keyword to enter the contest. Five grand prize winners will win a BlackBerry Storm and a $50 Verizon Wireless gift card. For full contest details and for more information on the Verizon Storm, check out the site at www.verizonwireless.com/storm

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. VZW Storm Site Updated: NYC Storm Hunt Begins on the 6th!

http://crackberry.com/verizon-updates-storm-website

Gmail Labs Adds Text Messaging Feature. KTHXBAI. (Update)

We don't see it in our Gmail settings (yet), but Webmonkey reports that Gmail Labs has added a very useful opt-in feature for sending text / SMS messages to mobile phones using the built-in Chat functionality.

Update: the Labs team found a glitch and is pushing the release back a bit ('probably within two weeks').

Turning the option on in your Gmail account settings apparently enables you to send an SMS as soon as you start typing a phone number into Chat's search box. When you enter new phone numbers, it will save the digits in your contact entries as well. This means that when contacts go offline, the chat window will give you the option to switch to SMS.

Our invitation for a live demo was lost in the mail, but Webmonkey has been given a demonstration of the experimental feature by Gmail product manager Keith Coleman and adds:

The first time you send a text message, it will appear on the person's phone as coming from a number in the 406 area code. Google has made several thousands of these numbers available for Gmail users, and once a number is associated with your account, all of the text messages you send through Gmail will come from that number.

The 406 number works both ways, so your friend can reply to you via text message. Also, your friend can save that number in their phone as belonging to you, and they can even use it to initiate new chats with you.

We haven't been able to try this out ourselves yet, but Google does list the text messaging feature on its What's new in Gmail Labs page (only for US phones, for now).

This is probably one of the first results we're seeing from Google's acquisition of GrandCentral (dating back to June 2007 already).

No official word yet on the Gmail blog (the GrandCentral blog has been silent since last April), but we suspect an announcement and general roll-out to follow soon.

(Image credit: monkey_bites)

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/EoPi7vHKaAw/

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AT&T BlackBerry Bold Unboxed!!

The wait is almost over folks. November 4th is just a few sleeps away and youll be able to unbox an AT&T BlackBerry Bold of your very own. But if you cant wait to see whats inside, why not click over to Engadget Mobiles AT&T BlackBerry Bold unboxing. They snapped a TON of pictures.

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. AT&T BlackBerry Bold Unboxed!!

http://crackberry.com/t-blackberry-bold-unboxed

BlackBerry Curve 8900 hands on

What's that? Thought we were holding out on you? Never! The BlackBerry Curve 8900, also known to the BlackBerry faithful as the BlackBerry Javelin, is the much-awaited BlackBerry Curve replacement. It's definitely been covered in depth so we won't bore you and nitpick the handset. Instead, we'll give you some of our very first impressions and let you decide the next steps.
The size is awesome totally small enough to be pocketable, but not too small where sacrifices on the keyboard had to be made.
Unlike the Bold where some people had trouble hitting the right convenience key since it was too low, on the Curve 8900, it's located perfectly.
The screen, as we're getting accustomed to now with RIM, is flawless! It's smaller than the Bold as you know, and that's an even denser, crisper, and sharper display in our books. Really a job well done.
What about the keyboard? Even better than the first Curve. The keys feel more "fuller" and not hollow like the original 8300 did. They're also decently spaced, and even after using a Bold for 5 months, the second we picked this up, we were off to the races. Another great execution by RIM.
It might just be us, but the fake chrome bezel around the 8900 actually seems like it's more equipped to handle rough usage than the Bold is. We could be wrong, but at first glance it looks like a tougher material or finish. You know how our original Bold fared

So, do you guys want a full on review of the BlackBerry Curve 8900, or do you want one of our oh-so-popular battles? Maybe a Curve 8900 vs. G1? Hit us up in the comments and let your voice be heard. Word. Don't forget to get jiggy with the BGR gallery and check out the pictures!

Click on over to our BlackBerry Curve 8900 hands on gallery!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/438109439/

Multiple BlackBerry Curve 8900 reviews released

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 seems to be making a few appearances in the New York region, lately, as both BGR and Gizmodo have posted hands-on impressions of what was formerly known as the BlackBerry Javelin.

Nothing is revealed in the two impressions posts that we haven't heard before, but it's exciting that both sites were so positive on the device. It seems as though the Curve 8900 is a worthy successor to its forefather. We've posted the most interesting bits from both impressions after the jump for your perusal. Enjoy.

Gizmodo Impressions

What's interesting is that even though the Curve 8900 borrows heavily from the Bold in terms of design and in no way feels cheap (well the plastic-y chrome is a little cheap), it's more clearly differentiated from it than the old Curve was from the 8800. It's very much a Curve still, and clearly the consumer model to the Bold's pro position. So what looked to be a hard choice from leaked shots, isn't quite as difficult as it appeared.

The Bold is more substantial, exuding "executive" to the Curve 8900's "middle manager" or "normal person." It's clearly more powerful, and has a bigger screen. The keyboards are way different, too—personally, I prefer the Bold's larger, squishier keys to the Curve's smaller, stiffer ones. But obviously, the biggest thing is 3G. The Bold has it, the Curve 8900 doesn't, and we missed it sorely.

All that said, this thing will sell like a mother, and justifiably so. It pushes the BlackBerry you see in most people's hands (if they're carrying a BlackBerry) into 2008, exceeding the original Curve in every way.

BGR Impressions

* The size is awesome — totally small enough to be pocketable, but not too small where sacrifices on the keyboard had to be made.
* Unlike the Bold where some people had trouble hitting the right convience key since it was too low, on the Curve 8900, it's located perfectly.
* The screen, as we're getting accustomed to now with RIM, is flawless! It's smaller than the Bold as you know, and that's an even denser, crisper, and sharper display in our books. Really a job well done.
* What about the keyboard? Even better than the first Curve. The keys feel more "fuller" and not hollow like the original 8300 did. They're also decently spaced, and even after using a Bold for 5 months, the second we picked this up, we were off to the races. Another great execution by RIM.
* It might just be us, but the fake chrome bezel around the 8900 actually seems like it's more equipped to handle rough usage than the Bold is. We could be wrong, but at first glance it looks like a tougher material or finish. You know how our original Bold fared…

(c) BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/438141935/

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Introducing myBoxTone Expert!

Tomorrow BoxTone will announce a new product called myBoxTone Expert. The product addresses a problem that has not been thought about for any smartphone, let alone a BlackBerry. That is the problem of helping a BlackBerry user with issues that may arise on their device. After seeing our pal Al Sacco make mention of the app this morning, I just had to get myBoxTone Expert up and running on my BlackBerry Bold. Continue reading after the jump for a whole lot more on this excellent enterprise application.

read more

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Introducing myBoxTone Expert!

http://crackberry.com/introducing-myboxtone-expert

Google Calendar Sync Updated To 0.4.7 - No Change Log

Just got a bunch of tips that the Google Calendar Sync tool has been updated from version 0.4.6 to 0.4.7. Sadly it does not look like they added contact sync which I was hoping for. Actually I can't really find anything new in this version and Google did not provide a change log

You can pick up the latest version at: m.google.com/sync

Thanks Enrico, Chris, & Datel

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/436403352

Vlingo 2.0 Officially Launched - Cool Stuff

Eric sent over this press release from Vlingo announcing the launch of version 2.0 of their product. I have not had a chance to try it myself but this newer version look extremely promising! The new 2.0 version adds the ability to speak Facebook and Twitter status updates, support for 10 new applications, full-text message read-back, "tell-a-friend" and SureType support.

The new version of vlingo includes the following additions:
Voice updates to Facebook & Twitter status updates
Full keyboard support including SureType
Read-back of the full text or email message that was spoken
Tell A Friend about Vlingo
The ability to launch built-in programs:
Address Book, Alarm, BrickBreaker, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Maps, Media, MemoPad, Messages, Options, Tasks, & Web browser
The ability to launch third party programs:
Facebook, Google Maps, & Opera

Vlingo is available for the 8100, 8300, & 8800 series at this link for OTA install www.vlingo.com/v2 or you can head to www.vlingo.com from your desktop.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/436564231/

OS 4.5.0.93 For 8130 8330 & 8820 Found Online!

Our secret agents came through for us again today with OS 4.5.0.93 links for the 8130, 8330, and 8820. These seem to be the latest OS versions to the best of my knowledge.

Check them out at:

8130 - http://www.mediafire.com/?4jwwlymnge4
8330 - http://www.mediafire.com/?woyi02inim
8820 - http://www.mediafire.com/?dimkwnzyouz

Let us know in the comments what you find different in this version!

NOTE: Do not install this software if you do not know what you are doing. It may make your BlackBerry FUBAR or just plain angry.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/436527624/

And We Thought Touchscreens Were Cool... Try Touchless!

CRAZY. Just saw the video above and had to post. For all of you who love having a big display on your smartphone but hate the thought of fingerprint-smudged glass, youll be glad to hear there is a company working on the solution to your problem... enter eyeSight.

The video above features Itay Katz, CEO of eyeSight, as he explains and demonstrates eyeSights touch-free smartphone technology. Now all we need is a BlackBerry with a forward facing camera and to get these guys developing for the BB platform. RIM? BlackBerry Partners Fund? We reading this??! Lets get it done! :-)

[ Source ]

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. And We Thought Touchscreens Were Cool... Try Touchless!

http://crackberry.com/and-you-thought-touchscreens-were-cool-enter-touchless

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Free ‘Winter Scene’ Custom Zen Theme for the Curve

Kristy recently filled us in on a new theme she designed called Winter Scene' Custom Zen. Main page icons are customized in a downhill fashion and images have that cool winterish look and feel. The icons are unique and go nicely with the backgrounds. I think this is an all around nice looking theme especially if your favorite season is winter. Now you can carry your own winter wonderland' with you everywhere you go :0)

OTA links are accessible via here.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/435651862/

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RIM Recommends Opensource Tools For Transcoding Video

I came across this interesting knowledge base article RIM posted a bit back. In it somebody at RIM describes how to transcode video from an unsupported format to a format that will play on your BlackBerry. It is actually a pretty decent guide but one part of it really stuck out. Guess what software RIM recommends for transcoding video?

They recommend the very powerful opensource MediaCoder application. They also recommend that you use the free GSpot or Sherlock codec information applications to see what kind of file you are dealing with. They even recommend the free command line MEncoder application.

Kudos to RIM for being so open minded!

At the end of the knowledge base RIM's lawyers have fun with some classic CYA:

Your use of third party software, hardware, products, and/or services (collectively, the "Third Party Information") shall be governed by and subject to your agreement with the third party, including without limitation, your agreement to the terms of separate Third Party Information licenses, if any. Any Third Party Information that is provided with or without RIM's products and/or services is provided "as is". RIM makes no representation, warranty or guarantee whatsoever in relation to the Third Party Information and RIM assumes no liability whatsoever in relation to the Third Party Information even if RIM has been advised of the possibility of such damages or can anticipate such damages. The inclusion of Third-Party Information herein does not imply endorsement by RIM of the Third Party Information or the third party in any way. RIM does not control and is not responsible for any Third Party Information or the use of such Third Party Information, including without limitation, the content, accuracy, intellectual property issues, compatibility, performance, trustworthiness, legality, decency, links, or any other aspect of the Third Party Information.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/435714227/

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Advanced Users! CrackMem - The Ultimate OS Install Customizer

We have been mentioning a few tools for advanced users over the last few days. I think it is important to shine a light on these great applications that simplify tasks that used to be time consuming. We mentioned CrackMem before but never in its own post. It lets you choose what OS to install to your device while letting you completely customize the BlackBerry ALX file that you used to have to edit by hand.

CrackMem lets you easily:
Remove the vendor.xml
Remove the sample video and/or preloaded wallpapers
Remove Voice Activated dialing
Remove carrier themes
Remove TTY
Remove Yahoo, MSN, or AIM
Remove MyFaves
Remove Push To Talk

I wanted to thank Pete and his hard working team for all their hard work while creating and improving this app!

The best part is that it is completely free. Just check out its thread on CrackBerry or BBForums for more info.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/435806072/

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Viigo unleashes NBA service

Here's something you may not know about me: I am a HUGE NBA fan. I cheer CB4, Jose Ole and the Hump through the best of times and the worst. I will never forgive He Who Shall Not Be Named. I bleed Raptors red.

So it was a great thing to learn today that Viigo has launched a new NBA service just in time for the start of the 08-09 season (the Raptors start their season off against the 76ers tomorrow night, in case you were wondering). Typical of Viigo, the NBA service is tricked out way beyond simple NBA news feeds, offering a variety of features perfect for ballheads like myself. For example, while viewing the upcoming NBA schedule, you can add specific games of interest (Raps vs. Lakers on Nov. 30th, for example) to your Calendar to make sure you don't miss them. Another great one is the Scores feature, which allows you to view the latest scores from around the Association while they're being played.

You can see a bunch of screen captures of the new NBA service for Viigo. To add them, follow this path in your Viigo client: Sports -> Add Sports -> Basketball.

(c) Douglas Soltys for BlackBerry Cool, 2008

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackberrycool/mYUU/~3/435084669/

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CompUSA sells Blackberry Bold, and you thought Best Buy was expensive

Just when you thought only a crazy person would pay $679.99 for a Blackberry Bold from Best Buy, CompUSA goes and ups the ante. Now, for the bargain price of $799.99, you can have your very own Unlocked BlackBerry Bold! Guess what? For just another $149.98 you can "protect your investment" (at $800, you might as well consider it a poor investment) by adding an extended service plan. Is this the sign of a weak economy and a weak dollar? How does CompUSA go about pricing a device like this when just a few months ago they were closing up shop and selling all their furniture? Whatever the case may be, according to the site they have units in stock and available to be shipped out today. If there's anyone who can't wait the extra few days to score one from Best Buy or AT&T, time to break out that plastic. Anyone else notice that they're also using a Rogers branded Bold in the image by the way?

[Thanks, David!]

Read

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/434954673/

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Security flaw found in T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone

A group of security researchers uncovered a security flaw in the web browser portion of Android that runs on the G1. According to researcher, Charles A. Miller the flaw could be exploited when a G1 user is tricked into visiting a malicious Web site. Malicious code on the website could then use this exploit to install software on the G1 that may, among other things, log keystrokes. Google has acknowledged the security flaw and points out that the sandbox-nature of Android limits the damage to a single application. Unlike other smartphones (read: iPhone) and PCs, this security flaw only affects the web browser and will not compromise any other portions of the phone. Google has already patched the open-source version of Android and is currently working with T-Mobile and HTC to get the security patch out to current T-Mobile customers. Hooray for OTA software upgrades as G1 owners now just need to wait for T-Mobile to push the patch out to their phone! Happy and soon-to-be-safe Android browsing!

Read

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/431946681/

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Zhiing - Mobile Social Networking With Location

Zhiing just let me know about their new application. Essentially Zhiing helps you locate people while on the go. It also is a great way to send addresses to each other. The nice part is that it has a BlackBerry, iPhone, Dash Express GPS, & Browser client so you can send zhiings between them. A zhiing is essentially a note with a location (I know I am not doing a good job of explaining this but I am a bit confused myself and their site is really slow)

Check out Zhiing for yourself at www.zhiing.com or follow the download directions at this link. The site is a bit slow to load on my end so you may have to wait a bit. As with most other social tools this is only really useful if you have friends also using it

Some idea of what you would do with Zhiing:
Your friend just zhiinged your phone with her location so you can meet up for a drink.
You found a great restaurant online on your computer. Send a zhiing to yourself and a friend with info on what time to meet up via the browser add-on for Firefox, Flock, Explorer, Safari or Chrome.
Don't want to forget where you parked your car? zhiing yourself!
Stranded on a dark corner in the middle of nowhere? zhiing for a ride.
Your business lunch plans have changed and nobody knows where to go — zhiing everyone from your final destination.
On the beta release, only iPhone, BlackBerry and Dash Express users will see the zhiinged location on the map along with turn-by-turn directions. Other users will simply receive text directions to the zhiinged address, but they'll still be able to meet you once you've zhiinged! More mobile platforms with the same great features will be supported on subsequent releases.

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/430472707/

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Pageonce Personal Productivity Assistant - Login To Your Accounts

Pageonce sent me a press release about a cool new application they just released for BlackBerry. They dub Pageonce a personal productivity assistant but I see it as more of a collector of information or a portal that mobilizes information.

Pageonce essentially gives you access to accounts and information that you could not easily get on your Berry. This includes accounts from: Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, United, Delta, Southwest, Comcast, AT&T, Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble, Blockbuster, and thousands more.

I don't know how comfortable you feel about giving your login information to Pageonce but the application has potential.

I would recommend checking it out at:
Website/description: www.pageonce.com/learnmore_bb.html
OTA Download: m.pageonce.com

Thanks Tashanna for also sending this one in!

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/430551878/

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Google Maps Now Finds "My Location" With WiFi

Just to let all of you know Google pointed out that they have update their My Location to take advantage of WiFi. It will now use their beta technology of WiFi access point locations to assist in finding your location. According to Google this will work hand in hand with devices that are already using GPS or cell tower triangulation to narrow down your location.

I am not sure how much of a difference this will make on a device with strong cell signal and GPS but you never know. I don't think you need to upgrade to take advantage of this but I could not confirm that. Hell this upgrade may not even be relevant to BlackBerrys but they do use a Berry in their funny demonstration video

If you don't already have Google Maps I highly recommend picking it up at www.google.com/gmm

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/430472706/

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HOT! First Web Signals Push Services Released - NYTimes, Accuweather, Reuters, Fox News, CBC, & Thumbplay

While browsing the mobile.blackberry.com website I came across the first released Web Signals we told you about before. These Web Signals are essentially push alerts pushed by certain websites to your BlackBerry when you subscribe.

So far we have:
NYTimes.com Bits Blog Notifier - Learn about news & analysis as it happens with NYTimes.com Bits Blog Notifier. With news & analysis on the tech industry through the day from NY Times writers & freelancers.
Accuweather.com - Get free constantly updated forecasts pushed to your BlackBerry smartphone. View radar, 10-day & hourly forecasts & severe weather alerts.
Reuters News Web Signals - Get breaking news with Reuters Web Signals on your BlackBerry smartphone. As news breaks, the Reuters icon changes & sends you to the story.
FOX News Alert - Be the first to know when news breaks. Download FOX News Alert & get instant alerts to breaking news directly on your BlackBerry Smartphone®.
CBC - Receive the day's top headlines and breaking news with the innovative CBC web signal for BlackBerry smartphones
Thumbplay Web Signal - Get content releases from Thumbplay. The Thumbplay icon sends you to BlackBerry compatible content like music, ringtones, games, videos & more.

You can check them out from your PC or BlackBerry at:
http://mobile.blackberry.com/homepage?book=web_signals_catalog&catalog=web_signals_catalog&accept=yes&lang=en&lang=en

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/430754476/

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SameCell Location Based Search Without GPS

SameCell let me know about a new free application that they just released. It essentially lets you do location based search based on the location of your cell tower ID. That way you can search near your location without GPS. It lets you search for places, services, weather and events near you.

Pretty interesting if you want to check it out but nothing groundbreaking. They essentially offer a bit more than Google Maps and Poynt in terms of specifying what you are searching for.

Check it out from your desktop at www.samecell.com/search-userguide.htm or pick up the application OTA at www.samecell.com/search. Let us know what you think!

http://rss.berryreview.com/~r/Berryreview/~3/430706755/

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RIM Talks BlackBerry Storm Development

One of the true pleasures of being at the BlackBerry Developer Conference was the opportunity to finally meet RIM's Developer Support Guru, Mike Kirkup. Mike is a great guy and one of the heroes that helped to make the BlackBerry Cool 15 possible. He's also the man behind the Open Mike section of the BlackBerry Developer Newsletter, which has a special focus this month on BlackBerry Storm development. In addition to the BlackBerry Storm simulator video, the BlackBerry Developer Newsletter has Mike talking about Compatibility Mode' and Storm events at the BBDC, and links to a number of useful support documents about Storm development. Check them out below:

Open Mike with Mike Kirkup
BlackBerry Java Development Environment (BlackBerry JDE) v4.7 including BlackBerry Storm Simulator
BlackBerry Storm Simulator
BlackBerry Storm Gestures Document
BlackBerry Storm Shortcut Bar Document
BlackBerry Storm Development Guide

Don't forget to SIGN UP FOR THE BLACKBERRY DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER, so you're not the last to know about the latest in BlackBerry Development!
---------------

© Douglas Soltys for BlackBerry Cool, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BlackBerry Developer Conference, blackberry storm, developers, mike kirkup, product development

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/10/rim-talks-blackberry-storm-development/

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AT&T BlackBerry Bold receives Technical Acceptance; Nov 4 launch, $300

We'll get right to the point on this one. One of our sources notified us last night that as of 6:00 PM EST yesterday, the BlackBerry Bold has officially received Technical Acceptance from Big Blue, meaning the handset has been approved for sale by the phone gods of AT&T. Typically, TA means the handset is about two weeks from launching but we had our fingers crossed that AT&T would somehow be fast-tracking the release since the Bold has already been delayed so many times. Unfortunately it doesn't look that that will be the case. Word is coming in now that AT&T has officially stated on this morning's earnings call, that the Bold will be released on November 4th. We still have it on pretty good authority that October 27th was intended to be the date - looks like AT&T and RIM just had to keep the tradition of delays alive one last time before launch.

UPDATE: This just in - $300 price point yall! (Thanks Carlos)

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/428610113/

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Google Fixes Gmail For The BlackBerry And Java Phones

Google finally got around to fixing Gmail on the Blackberry and J2ME phones like the Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson W910i. Now you can compose emails while offline. When you hit "send, they sit in the outbox until your handset finds a network again.

The offline capability will come in really handy on the subway. Now, my BlackBerry can do what Gmail on my iPhone and Android handsets can do. Just in time for the Blackberry Storm, too.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TDSgKUGusow/

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FlyCast comes to BlackBerry November 1st

FlyCast today announced at the BlackBerry Developer Conference, where the company is a finalist in the BlackBerry Developer Challenge, that on November 1st, its mobile broadcast network will be ready for the BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm. FlyCast's mobile broadcast network is one of the first of its kind to be available for BlackBerry. It will be available as a free download from the FlyCast mobile website (mobile.flycast.fm) beginning November 1st.

The FlyCast network is the first specifically designed application to deliver radio, video and podcasts over mobile broadband and Wi-Fi networks to mobile devices. As a compelling free alternative to satellite radio, the FlyCast network has experienced explosive growth in users and content since its launch in January 2008.

Sam Abadir, FlyCast's CEO, said "With the success of the recent consumer-oriented BlackBerry smartphones, it was an easy decision for us to add FlyCast support for the BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm. Our focus is on giving users the best possible mobile entertainment experience and these three smartphones are excellent examples of how to effectively combine consumer and business mobile functionality. Since our network delivers a broad spectrum of content, including news, talk, sports, traffic, weather and every genre of music, we're sure that BlackBerry users will quickly embrace FlyCast."

The FlyCast Mobile Broadcast Network includes over 1000 stations from top terrestrial and web broadcasters, including Entercom, Cox Radio, AccuRadio, 977 Music, 1.FM, 1Club and radioIO. The network provides unsurpassed quality of service and paradigm-shifting features, like StreamSlip, which allows users to continue to listen to a station even during extended periods without a connection; Top of the Hour, which allows latecomers to listen from the beginning of news, talk and sports radio shows; SongSkip, which allows listeners to skip to the next song on certain webcast stations and pause on all stations. The BlackBerry smartphone version of FlyCast supports background play, allowing users to listen while they use their handset for other functions, and also supports playback through Bluetooth® stereo headsets.
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RIM updates BlackBerry developer tools

Press Release!

RIM Updates BlackBerry Developer Tools
Latest Versions Further Support Innovative, Streamlined Mobile Application Development for BlackBerry Smartphones

Santa Clara, CA - BlackBerry Developer Conference - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced new versions of various BlackBerry developer tools that further support innovative, streamlined mobile application development for BlackBerry® smartphones. The developer tool updates include a new public beta of the BlackBerry® JDE® Plug-in for Eclipse, as well as new releases of the BlackBerry® Plug-in for Microsoft® Visual Studio®, BlackBerry® MDS Studio, and Plazmic Content Developer's Kit™ for the BlackBerry platform.

RIM continues to support innovation on the BlackBerry platform by providing developers with robust tool sets that include new capabilities and the latest advances in mobile application development," said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platforms at Research In Motion. "Corporate, commercial and entrepreneurial developers have the flexibility to choose the right tool to support their skill set and feature requirements, whether they are mobilizing their organization's business systems or creating new and innovative mobile applications for consumers.

The developer tool updates, available today, include the following:

* BlackBerry JDE Plug-in for Eclipse is designed for developers who want to create and test robust wireless applications for the BlackBerry platform from within the familiar Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

New features with this latest public beta include deeper integration with Eclipse and standard Java projects, pre-processing capabilities supporting a multi-build environment, support for the BlackBerry JDE component pack version 4.3.0 to version 4.7.0, and the ability to install updates of the BlackBerry JDE Plug-in for Eclipse through the standard Eclipse software update mechanism. The plug-in is available for download at www.blackberry.com/developers.

* BlackBerry Plug-in 1.1 for Microsoft Visual Studio, enables enterprise developers to mobilize back-end enterprise systems by creating mobile applications from within the familiar Microsoft Visual Studio environment that take advantage of the features of BlackBerry® Mobile Data System (BlackBerry MDS). The BlackBerry Plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio features a visual user interface designer that enables developers to quickly create and customize user interfaces for their mobile applications using a visual drag-and-drop approach.

New features with version 1.1 include the ability to integrate customized mobile applications with core BlackBerry smartphone applications, as well as compatibility with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and Windows® Vista®. The plug-in is available for download at www.blackberry.com/developers.

* BlackBerry MDS Studio 2.0, which is available as a standalone application and as a standard plug-in for Eclipse, enables rapid application development for enterprise developers to mobilize back-end enterprise systems and takes advantage of the robust feature set of BlackBerry MDS. It features a visual user interface designer that enables developers to quickly create and customize user interfaces for their mobile applications using a visual drag-and-drop approach.

New features with BlackBerry MDS Studio 2.0 include support for collaborative development, fully integrated JavaScript debugging, hotkeys support, mobile application access controls and GPS location notifications. The new application and plug-in for Eclipse are available for download at www.blackberry.com/developers.

* Plazmic Content Developer's Kit 4.6 (Plazmic CDK) for the BlackBerry platform is a suite of tools for graphical content designers that simplifies the creation of rich, interactive and colorful media for BlackBerry smartphones. This tool enables the creation of custom themes, including unique user interfaces, home screen icons, wallpaper graphics and fonts. It also optimizes rich media content for efficient delivery and use on BlackBerry smartphones.

New features with Plazmic CDK 4.6 include support for the BlackBerry® Bold™ and BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip smartphones, and the ability to create animated content using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for use in themes, games, applications and web portals. The new version is available for download at www.plazmic.com.

As announced earlier this month, BlackBerry JDE v4.7 (which enables mobile application development for the BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone) is available in public beta and BlackBerry JDE v4.6 (which enables mobile application development for the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphones) is generally available.

Mobile applications built for BlackBerry smartphones can leverage the market-leading features of the BlackBerry® platform, including efficient wireless connectivity, push technology, and best-in-class security.

Developers can visit www.blackberry.com/developers for the latest developer tools, as well as news, community forums, instructional videos, support, downloads, sample code, and other resources for mobile application development on the BlackBerry platform.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM's products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM's periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.
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Buy your AT&T BlackBerry Bold on eBay now

There's only 5 hours left of the ATT BlackBerry Bold. The current price is at $860, so you'll have to be a complete die-hard BlackBerry/ATT fan to want to pay. On the other hand, this is a super sweet device and I'm sure the price will jump considerably in the last couple of hours. If anything, we should follow this item just to see how crazy people will get. Oh yeah, and the seller has a feedback rating of 2 so you'll probably get scammed. Good luck!

(via bbforums)
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Free BlackBerry Memory Size with OS 4.5 and above..easy as a click!

Hi Folks - Many would be wondering how to solve space issue in Blackberry. I am sure there are tons of ways which have already been discussed. But I am not sure if anyone notice this small improvement on OS 4.5 version (mine is 8320 curve).

Remeber "Memory Cleaning?" That could be activated by going to Options>>Security Options>>General Settings and enabling Content Protection, to get the Memory Cleaning options, but now I noticed with 4.5 OS that you don't need to do all that and "Memory Cleaning" option is available by default on the new OS. Its under Options>>Security Options and scroll down to Memory Cleaning.

After doing that, change the status to "Enabled" and make sure Clean when Holstered and Clean when Idle is marked "Yes" save and you are golden! Anytime your blackberry goes into standby mode when not using or when you key-lock it, behind the scene the Memory Cleaning will do its magic and you should never cry for space (or memory leak? eh!)

P.S: My test has gained me more than 1.5MB to 2MB many times..

Enjoy!