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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

The BlackBerry Pearl 8220 runs neck-and-neck with the Storm for the title of “most leaked RIM device of 2008,” but for what it’s worth, T-Mobile is just now getting around to announcing a date and price for the most fliptastic phone in Waterloo’s ever-expanding lineup. That’s good news — but perhaps the best news is that the launch date just happens to be today (for one of the two available colors, anyhow). The black version of the 8220 will be appearing online and in T-Mobile stores today, while the dark red will be following on a week later on Monday, October 20. Both will run $149.99 on a two-year contract.

Be sure to check out our hands-on impressions — and a dazzling gallery of visuals to go along with them — over on Engadget Mobile!

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Let the holiday season smart phone wars begin!!!

Research In Motion (RIM) has introduced its BlackBerry Storm – with its new tactile touch-screen — that will be exclusively available on Verizon Wireless in a couple of weeks.

Both RIM and Verizon Wireless are expecting the Storm to seriously challenge Apple’s 3G iPhone as the hottest gadget under this year’s Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush.

With a look similar to Apple’s iPhone, the Storm comes with a 3.2-inch screen, preloaded with Facebook, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The gadget features built-in GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, video recording capability, a media player and a removable battery.

Additional applications will be available through a BlackBerry app store. (No surprise there! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 

The device is expected to sell for approximately the same price as an iPhone. 

The Storm was introduced in London, where Vodafone, a joint venture partner in Verizon Wireless, said it will exclusively offer the Storm in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand later this fall.

See more images of the Storm from eWeek here.

Tags: apple, blackberry storm, iphone 3g, microsoft, research in motion, rim, verizon wireless, vodafone

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

So the BlackBerry Storm hasn’t even made it onto Verizon yet, and in flies word that RIM is actually doing something other than resting on its laurels (and contemplating buyout offers from Microsoft). The Boy Genius has it from two independent sources that RIM is currently hard at work on a “super-phone” of sorts, complete with a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera, 1GB of memory and a “near-HD quality screen.” In all seriousness, it’s not too shocking to hear that the outfit is working up a formidable opponent to go against HTC’s Touch HD / T8290, but it’s not stopping there. We’re also told that a second and third-generation Storm are already being whipped up in the design room, but it’s pretty safe to say you won’t be seeing those in the flesh for a good while. Regrettably, that’s it for the details, but you can rest assured that we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Funny story — we pretty much heard this exact same rumor floating around last August, but given the current economic situation, we’re inclined to believe this one a good bit more. A recent Reuters report is pointing out that RIM (like practically every other company right about now) is ripe for the picking, and any outfit with a serious load of cash reserves could get themselves quite a bargain. Given that the Redmond mega-corp has shown interest before (and clearly has plenty of Greenbacks), we were particularly interested in Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek’s quote: “I’m fairly certain [Microsoft] has a standing offer to buy [RIM] at $50 a share.” If you’ll recall, RIM’s stock sat at $148 per share just four months ago, and now, it’s hovering around $60. As expected, Microsoft had no comment on the report, but don’t be surprised to see something go down if Wall Street keeps hemorrhaging.

[Via Electronista]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

If you’re wondering why you don’t have an AT&T-branded BlackBerry Bold in your hand at this very second, the answer might lie a couple thousand miles away where Orange has allegedly pulled all units off the shelves to hammer out some “software issues” that have plagued early devices in subscribers’ hands. The whole situation leaves us to wonder whether carriers jumped the gun on validating early builds of the Bold’s firmware in an effort to get it out into the market in a non-ridiculous amount of time, while AT&T may have chosen to play it safe with a longer, more excrutiating battery of tests — leading to RIM’s swipe that the October 2 miss was all AT&T’s fault. It’s just a theory, and probably a pretty meaningless one since this Orange fiasco should apparently take a couple weeks to clear up at most, and we’re still hearing occasional whispers out of the AT&T camp that they’re still pushing for an October release over there. Chop chop, guys.

[Via Mobile Tech Addicts]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Just when we’re all geared up to get crazy corporate with a bunch of Bold purchases, RIM has to go and make our lives difficult by reminding us that the Javelin / Curve 8900 is out there — lurking — just waiting to make a grand entrance sometime in the next few months. A new video posted to CrackBerry goes through the 8900’s finer points, noting that the handset clocks in just a bit more compact than its big brother, features a slightly smaller, higher dot pitch display, and carries over an original Curve-style keyboard with spaced keys rather than the flowing design employed on the Bold (for what it’s worth, the narrator seems to like both styles equally). Interestingly, it’s noted that this prototype employs an older trackball design that’ll allegedly be replaced with a more bulletproof design by the time it launches. The lack of 3G is going to be a dream killer for many, but we could see this one getting some retail legs underneath it if the price is right — it’s got WiFi, after all.

In fact, T-Mobile Germany is saying that it’ll have the 8900 next month — a claim we actually believe, since Germany is from the future. The trackball shown on its version of the handset is distinctly different than CrackBerry’s, so it’s looking like the claim of a redesign might hold water.

[Thanks, Alex]

Read - CrackBerry’s Curve 8900 hands-on video
Read - T-Mobile Germany’s Curve 8900 product page

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

There are, shall we say, certain “advantages” to driving a race car sponsored by global wireless behemoth Vodafone. Fame, fortune, and a free account (seriously, all the minutes and kilobytes you can eat!) definitely rank high on that list, but it all pales in comparison to this. It seems that Formula 1 wizard Lewis Hamilton has been gifted with a Voda-branded Storm, a great publicity play for the carrier — particularly as he’s sitting in front of a camera describing how “wicked” it is. Clearly, the video is little more than a PR stunt, but the phone genuinely seems to be his, and at least we can get a clear look at how fast, fluid, and pretty the interface appears to be. So, anyone know where he leaves that thing when he’s out racing? Check the full action after the break.

Continue reading Formula 1 superstar finishes first in race to nab BlackBerry Storm

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It’s just in beta at this point, but devs and techies far and wide are now invited to take a stab at coding up some magic for RIM’s new touch-based user interface elements, orientation control, accelerometers, and virtual keyboards that are getting proudly shown off for the first time in the Storm. There’s stuff in here for regular folk without a single programming bone in their bodies, too — namely, a full-fledged emulator that appears to have all the features and functionality you’d expect the real thing to have. It’s a gas to play with — even more fun than that semi-functional G1 demo T-Mobile has up and running — and it’s a good way to test-drive the goods without laying out the cash first. Not to say you could even if you wanted to, since the phone’s not dropping for another month at a yet-to-be-determined sticker price.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Seems that the bickering over which Canadian carrier would land the Storm has drawn to an end — either that, or Telus is gearing up to jump the gun and just declare itself the preemptive winner in the hopes of elbowing Bell right out of the picture. Whatever the case, the CDMA giant now has a page up on its site encouraging folks to sign up to find out when the 9530 is available — which according to Boy Genius Report’s leaked press release, should be “just in time for the holiday shopping season.” If that unnecessarily nebulous statement means November, that puts ‘em right in line with Verizon to the south and Vodafone to the east; so much for preferential treatment on the home turf, eh?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Blackberry_Storm_Runs_iPhone_OS’; We can’t put our finger on it, but there’s something vaguely familiar about this new Storm 9500.

In case you’re reading this after these images get taken down — which they inevitably will be — this was the official marketing material posted tonight by RIM’s Storm launch partner, Vodafone.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Vodafone’s BlackBerry Storm art department all soon to be fired

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/First_hands_on_with_RIM_s_iPhone_killing_BlackBerry_Storm’; RIM’s a little late to the touchscreen party, but comes bearing goodies. The BlackBerry Storm is a beast of a phone in more ways than one. Fronted by a meaty, high-resolution touchscreen with an innovative clicking mechanism, the phone is easily the prettiest by RIM to date. There’s a brushed metal back, a beautiful new OS interface, and enough radios to give your grandkids cancer (EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band GSM, Europe-friendly HSPA, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, though sadly no WiFi). But the real test of a phone is usability, not flash. Check out our impressions after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry Storm 9500 hands-on

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

A storm’s arrival typically isn’t something to celebrate, but we’re going to make a notable exception here seeing how the BlackBerry Storm is less of a destructive weather pattern and more of an incredibly hot smartphone — arguably RIM’s hottest to date. Fit to its business-savvy roots, the long-rumored handset comes equipped with the most comprehensive global roaming capabilities of virtually any wireless device you’ll find anywhere, featuring EV-DO Rev. A, quadband EDGE, and 2100MHz HSPA for Europe. Beyond that, the Storm becomes RIM’s very first touchscreen phone, mounting a 3.26-inch 480 x 360 glass display on a unique clickable surface so that the entire thing can be pressed downwards — just like a real button — for tactile feedback when making selections. It includes a full HTML finger-navigable browser, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint editing capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB of on-board storage with an 8GB microSD card bundled in the box, 3.5mm headphone jack, automatic orientation and ambient lighting sensors, and a 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam with dedicated flash, making it a legitimate jack-of-all-trades that seems likely to be able to handle even the most chaotic personal and professional lives users can throw its way. It’ll allegedly do 15 days of standby or 5.5 hours of talk time on either GSM or CDMA networks. No word on pricing yet — we’re told all will be revealed “in the coming weeks” — but it’ll launch on both Verizon and Vodafone in November.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

We’re still waiting on Verizon to stop teasing us about this thing, but Vodafone (who’s been hinting at the phone since last month) just announced the BlackBerry Storm, RIM’s touchscreen flagship. As if you didn’t know already, Vodafone is confirming a 3.25-inch 460 x 360 touchscreen, 3.2 megapixle camera, automatic orientation flipping, 1GB of built-in storage and a host of multimedia capabilities, including iTunes sync.

[Thanks, Bob]

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Original post by Paul Miller

Bringing another piece of the mobile future to today, Social Line Connect is a simple iPhone game with a cross-platform backbone.

The free app, which looks similar to Connect Four, was added to the App Store over the weekend.

The real point of the no-frills game is playing it with friends — even if they don’t own an iPhone. To that end, it’s a also proof-of-concept title for SocialDeck, a new middleware startup that’s created a server architecture for people to play games across several platforms.

Based on the premise that “social interaction is much more important than the actual game play,” SocialDeck’s games can be played between people using an iPhone and on the web via Facebook, with a Blackberry version said to be on the way as well.

More at GigaOM.

Tags: app store, blackberry, connect four, facebook, gigaom, iphone, social line connect, socialdeck

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Original post by nafiz

Am sure you know the feeling …

Feelin’ left in the dust while all your Outlook-loving PC friends get all the cool BlackBerry stuff?

Well, RIM has been hard at work on the Mac side of things, and here’s a chance to see what’s on the way — the first look at BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac.

This isn’t a final version so don’t get too depressed that the options are pretty limited at this time, but it least gives you an idea of what’s happening.

Great screen shots and more at Boy Genius Report.

Tags: blackberry, boy genius report, media sync for mac

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Original post by nafiz