"That's right folks an anonymous tipster has sent us shots of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Thunder. The Thunder also known as BlackBerry 9500 will feature a huge 360x480 touch display and will apparently run on OS 4.7. This device will be a great multimedia player and could bring CDMA carriers true iPhone competition. The Thunder will run a carrier music store which similar to the iPhone's iTunes store and will allow users to purchase songs from their device. The display on the Thunder most likely will be a glass surface similar to the iPhone. The BlackBerry Thunder will also feature a portrait media player for watching movies and videos taken with the handset. Well that's it for now..." via blackberrysync.com
"You may want to take this news with a grain of salt. I know the first time I heard this information I was skeptical. Then I heard it again, and again and again. And now that I've heard the same bit of news from multiple sources / informants / ninjas / tipsters / little birdies I can't help but believe it to be true. So to the best of my knowledge...the BlackBerry KickStart will sell on T-Mobile for $49.99! 50 bucks on a standard 2-yr contract and T-Mobile is apparently aiming for an early-September launch. We've known for a while now that the KickStart will be a low-cost entry into the smartphone market with a real consumer focus (lots of accessories and doodads to dress it up), but I for one wasn't expecting the low-cost to be quite that low. At $50 the KickStart becomes a Palm Centro killer and a viable option to all of those current feature phone users out there looking to upgrade but are not quite ready to endure the $100 - $200+ sticker that is typically attached to a full-blown smartphone. $50 is CHEAP. Let's hope this info holds true as it will mean GREAT things for RIM. As more photos of the KickStart have surfaced in recent weeks, it seems to me that people have become a little less excited about it. This pricing makes it a whole new ball game, so allow me repose the question... At $49.99, is the BlackBerry KickStart a Yay or Nay? Beauty or Beast? "via crackberry.com
"Zeus Quest is a funny adventure game. Your character is Zeus, the boss of Olympus that returned to earth to save the planet. FEATURES: * Play over 50 different places on the Greek islands. * Interact with many funny characters from the Greek Mythology. * Play many mini games. * Day - night conditions and hidden extras. * Translated into 6 languages. * Brilliant high resolution cartoon graphics. * Compatible with most of the platforms and phones. " More photos of this GREAT game here:
"A great proportion of current smartphone shoppers have already set their minds on the iPhone 3G, says RBC Capital Markets. The investment bank says it ran a survey of some 3,600 members of its Technology Adoption Panel in the aftermath of June 9th's 3G announcement, and found that of those planning to get a smartphone in the next 90 says, 56 percent wanted the new iPhone. RBC notes that this contrasts with a study conducted in March, in which only 35 percent were expecting to buy a new iPhone. In the June results, another 25 percent said they expected to buy a 3G "sometime in the future," more than twice the amount of a similar figure from March. Interest in Apple smartphones is also said to be at least twice that for any other company, including rival Research in Motion, whose BlackBerries attracted only 23 percent of the TAP group. The lower shop price of the iPhone was cited as the main reason for interest, favored by 67 percent of the potential buyers. 3G broadband came in second at 63 percent, while 47 percent chose GPS, 35 percent picked enterprise e-mail, and 20 percent wanted third-party software.More broadly significant may be that the number of people wanting to buy any smartphone has jumped by 10.5 percent, a figure which may reflect a larger potential market. The iPhone's TAM (Total Addressable Market) share is expected to shoot from its 2007 amount of 0.3 percent to 1.7 percent in 2009." via electronista.com
" Facing some tough criticism that RIM’s outlook on revenues and profits seem a bit soft, and with the 3G iPhone coming out soon, the BlackBerry-maker made some pretty bold statements today during its earnings conference call, claiming that its strongest time period is still to come. Some details from the call: On the Outlook: In Q2, revenues are expected to fall between $2.55 and $2.65 billion, and net subscriber additions are expected to hit about 2.6 million. Earnings per share for the second quarter are expected to be in the range of $0.84-$0.89 per share diluted. “This will be our strongest second-half ever,” said Jim Balsillie, RIM’s Co-CEO. “It’s a busy time.” On the BlackBerry Bold: There have been some rumors that there may be delays for the high-end device, which has such features as tri-band HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, one gigabyte of memory, a microSD card slot, a topnotch display and faster processor. The rumors weren’t addressed, but the company said: “As we disclosed in May, it will be available this summer with specific launch dates depending on the various carriers. It’s performing well and meeting all the requirements we have with carriers.” Investments: The company said they are investing in a lot of areas. It’s launched a TV campaign to increase brand-name recognition, and they have built two new R&D centers, one in Germany and another in Florida. Together, the two have almost 500 employees, but they have the ability to ramp up to 1,000. On where the market is going: Balsillie: “The market is hollowing out. There’s cheap, cheap, cheap phones and then there’s smartphones connected to a platform.” He said that the game is changing so fast that it’s to time for hyper growth, even if it means sacrificing the company’s margins a bit. “I’m pretty sure we are doing the right thing. Sometimes there’s trade-offs, and sometimes we can’t have our cake and eat it too.” On the iPhone: An analyst asked, is there much overlap between RIM and Apple’s customer base? Balsillie: “Nah, nah, nah...” via moconews.net
"Research in Motion has the new BlackBerry OS 4.5 ready for launch. All BlackBerries coming out this summer will have this system already installed while the rest of us, stuck with an older Berry will have to wait until September to go upgrading. In the mean time the BIS 2.5 upgrade is on. Today, June 29th, the BlackBerry Internet Services 2.5 should have gone live and by this time you might already have downloaded it. Some of the cool stuff this upgrade brings is the ability to add and save attachments while working from your BlackBerry smartphone. As long as they are under 3MB you will be able to attach all sorts of Microsoft Office files and more. You will be able to attach video and audio too. Wait there’s more! Push email is available. All you need is the BIS 2.5 and an AOL or Hotmail/MSN mail account and you can go pushing mail in no time. Wait there’s more… bad news! Not all of these upgrades will work. You will need the OS 4.5 to have the BIS 2.5 working properly. Better wait to September or get a brand new RIM smartphone this summer." via mobilewhack.com
"The Final Battle is one of the best games we ever made. It is a new, huge and funny adventure game which reminds us the old classic ones. The plot is happening at the age of the knights. Your character is a guy which wakes up in a prison cell with amnesia. He doesn’t even know who he is! Your task is to escape from the prison and find out the entire story behind your capture. And of course try to stay alive... FEATURES: • Huge game (over 50 places!) • Crystal clear cartoon graphics. • Deep story with many turnovers. • Amazing music and sounds. • Funny dialogs that will make you laugh. • Fully translated into several languages. • Pure adventure riddles and puzzles. • Launching new easy point and click game play with subtitles. • Two resolutions supported (240x260, 320x240) • Funny cinematic scenes • Automatic save and continue system which saves up to the last click. • And as always, export your Hi-Score online and compare it with everybody. • Roller navigator support • Rich Sound effects (Only if device support it)' Check it here:
" Well what do we have here? New images of the BlackBerry KickStart?! w00t! Take a look after the jump for tons images (you can see it from every angle) of the not-yet-announced by RIM BlackBerry flip phone currently codenamed the KickStart!!" More photos here:
"Latest version of the official blackberry OS "version 4.6" for most newer Blackberry models like the Bold 9000 Meteor and the 9500 Thunder New features in 4.6 include Richer BlackBerry Browser Rendering
"Gartner have released figures for worldwide smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2008 - about as up to date as you and I get to see. There are no real surprises - Nokia top the table with 25% year-on-year growth of its S60 smartphones, with Q1 market share of 45%, healthy by any standards, but the biggest surprise is RIM's Blackberry range posting 107% growth, up to 13.4%. Apple's iPhone is already up to 5.3% of the smartphone market, somewhat ominously given their next-gen launch tomorrow (Monday) evening, UK time. The full stats/table is shown below the break." via allaboutsymbian.com
"You all know the Thunder right? Well, looky looky who got a cookie. Yeah peoples, live shot of the BlackBerry Thunder right here. By just looking at the photo, we can see that almost every button on a traditional BlackBerry like the convenience keys are still there. Like we reported, there are only four physical buttons on the front and a large touch-screen. It is also coming to Verizon. Take a look at a larger shot after the jump and stay tuned for more information on it soon." Read more here:
"About this time last year RIM introduced the Curve 8300. The consumer-friendly feature set paired with RIM’s legendary QWERTY made it an instant hit, and CDMA users have lusted after it since day one. Now they finally have a Curve to call their own, and with a few enhancements to boot! The CDMA Curve 8330 brings some notable upgrades to the original GSM 8300 including a bump in memory, integrated GPS and most importantly high-speed EVDO data. Other specifications remain the same, such as the 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, 3.5 mm headphone jack and of course trackball navigation and that famous QWERTY keyboard. The Curve serves as a compliment to the Pearl in RIM’s lineup; both devices have all the power a business user needs but with the multimedia features they are both aimed at breaking into the consumer market. We’ll be taking a look at the Curves offered by both Verizon and Sprint." Read more here:
"Apple carries just 19.2% of first-quarter U.S. smartphone sales, as BlackBerry and Palm Centro encroach on the 'prosumer' market.Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a new model of which is widely expected this summer, took 19.2% of the U.S. market for smartphones in the first quarter of 2008, according to research firm IDC's vendor survey.That was down from 26.7% of smartphones sold in the fourth quarter of 2007, which included the holiday shopping season, IDC reported.Much of the slack was picked up by Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry, which took 35.1% of the market in the fourth quarter and 44.5% in the first.IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said the BlackBerry is now strong in the "prosumer" segment, as Research in Motion (RIM) has successfully widened the appeal of the device beyond the professionals who have been its core customer group.Smartphones are designed to be used for Web surfing and e-mail, in addition to voice calls, and usually have alphabetic keyboards or touch screens. They account for a growing share of cell phones sold, as prices descend and carriers complete their fast data networks.IDC did not reveal the total number of smartphones sold in the quarter. Apple said it sold 1.7 million iPhones in the first quarter, including overseas sales.Palm Inc., a pioneer in the category along with RIM, also picked up market share in the first quarter, when it grabbed 13.4% of smartphone sales, up from 7.9% in the fourth quarter, IDC said."Palm also did really well. It posted a sequential gain mainly on the strength of the Centro phone," Llamas said. The Centro, a smaller phone than Palm's Treo models, came out last fall for the Sprint Nextel Corp. network and was launched by AT&T Inc. in February.But Palm's market share is down from 23% in the first quarter a year ago, apparently falling victim to the iPhone, which went on sale late last June. RIM's market share is also down from last year, when it sold 48.7% of U.S. smartphones in the first quarter.No. 4 in market share in the most recent quarter was Samsung Electronics, with 8.6%, up from 5.1% in the fourth quarter, a rise Llamas credited to the availability of the BlackJack on Verizon Wireless.Motorola Corp, which is struggling in the overall cell phone market, performed poorly in smartphones as well, dropping from a 7.5% share in the fourth quarter to 2.6% in the first" via money.cnn.com
"Opera is whispering about a "silent" upgrade to their popular Opera Mini browser that's specific to Palm and BlackBerry devices only. Version 4.1.11355 is available at http://www.operamini.com and addresses these issues:
BlackBerry devices can use WiFi only. [I'm assuming Opera Mini was using cellular data services and folks didn't want that? ]
BIS might be working on BlackBerry's. The folks at Opera say it works on one of the two service providers they tested with.
Memory is handled better on Palm devices, which should boost image performance.
'Dieter Bohn from their sister site, The iPhone Blog, got a chance to play with the Bold as well, and he used the opportunity to compare it with his phone of choice — you guessed correctly, it's the iPhone. The end result is reflected in tons of images, comparing size, UI, web browser, and of course media capabilities. I'm sure you can tell in which areas iPhone excelled and where BlackBerry won the title." Read more here:
"Earlier this week we brought details from the BG on the rumored BlackBerry Thunder touchscreen smartphone. After reading those rumors, it seems the Wall Street Journal has gone on to do some investigatory journalism and has confirmed some of the details earlier reported. WSJ has confirmed the BlackBerry Thunder will launch as a Verizon and Vodafone exclusive, but unlike BG did not confirm that this would be a life-time exclusive. And while the WSJ confirms the Thunder will have a touchscreen, they did not confirm that the Thunder would be completely without a physical keyboard. If you missed the first story on the BlackBerry Thunder, check it out here for more details. You just gotta love (or maybe its hate?!) the blogosphere. After months of reporting on BlackBerry Bold 9000 rumors, literally minutes after its official announcement the focus turns to the next device in the pipeline. Maybe I'm growing more patient in my older age, but somedays I just wish things could sit still so we could simply ENJOY our current devices (they do ROCK ya know!) without worrying about what's coming next. " via crackberry.com
"Microsoft Corp. and Research In Motion (RIM) today announced an agreement to provide Microsoft Windows Live services on BlackBerry smartphones. As a result of this collaboration, BlackBerry smartphone customers will enjoy easy mobile access to Windows Live Messenger and an enhanced level of integration between Windows Live Hotmail and the BlackBerry platform. The integration of Windows Live services into the BlackBerry platform will allow customers who use Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on their BlackBerry smartphone to benefit from the BlackBerry platform architecture.Customers will also be able to seamlessly access their Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger account from their BlackBerry smartphone by simply entering their Windows Live E-Mail address and password once. "The BlackBerry platform is respected around the world for providing optimized messaging capabilities and RIM continues to look for ways to provide customers with a wide range of communications options and the best possible mobile experience," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. "Our relationship with Microsoft and the addition of Windows Live services to BlackBerry smartphones helps us build on that strategy for our customers." Windows Live Hotmail for BlackBerry will allow customers to:
Use BlackBerry 'push' technology for automatic message delivery and message synchronization so customers' online account is up-to-date with actions taken on their BlackBerry smartphone
Use a dedicated inbox for Windows Live Hotmail messages, which are automatically delivered to the smartphone. Customers can also choose to receive their Windows Live Hotmail messages, along with messages from other E-Mail accounts, within a single inbox on their BlackBerry smartphone
Display HTML E-Mail with the ability to view graphics, Web links, and contact photos in E-Mails" Read more inside..
For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) today introduced the admirable BlackBerry Bold smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration. "The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that is conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this powerful new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz Documents to Go suite." Read more inside..
"The week is barely 8 hours old, and the BG is already continuing from last week on his BlackBerry news-breaking streak - if loose lips sink ships then you gotta think somebody at RIM must be starting to get worried. Is a BlackBerry 9000 on its way that doesn't have 3G?! Apparently that could be the case! In CrackBerry.com Podcast Episode 008, Craig and I spend a few minutes talking about the potential coming of a 3G-less 9000, though from the info we had to work with we were thinking it was maybe codenamed "Javelin" (which now that it seems were wrong I can't help but wonder what the heck Javelin may be?!). Why release a 3G-less 9000? Most likely to bring down the cost of the device (cheaper chipset) with this model squarely aimed at being the direct replacement for the current 8800 series. I'm sure more details will emerge through the week. This lead up to WES sure is fun!" via crackberry.com
"Are you ready, people? We’ve been holding this info for a while now trying to confirm it, but no more! We have here pictures of a new BlackBerry device. It is a BlackBerry clamshell — a flip phone and codenamed the Kickstart! Let me repeat this. This isn’t fake, this isn’t a hoax. We’ve known RIM is planning to launch a flip phone within the year, and we now have the pictures to prove it! As you can see, it uses a SureType keyboard, has an external LCD, and a pretty decent looking internal LCD. It also uses the TrackBall for navigation and does have a camera. We’re hearing a release date before the end of the year. What do y’all think of it? Hit the gallery for all the pictures of the brand new BlackBerry flip phone!" More photos here:
printer version
" Facing some tough criticism that RIM’s outlook on revenues and profits seem a bit soft, and with the 3G iPhone coming out soon, the BlackBerry-maker made some pretty bold statements today during its earnings conference call, claiming that its strongest time period is still to come. 
"Research in Motion has the new BlackBerry OS 4.5 ready for launch. All BlackBerries coming out this summer will have this system already installed while the rest of us, stuck with an older Berry will have to wait until September to go upgrading. In the mean time the BIS 2.5 upgrade is on. Today, June 29th, the BlackBerry Internet Services 2.5 should have gone live and by this time you might already have downloaded it. Some of the cool stuff this upgrade brings is the ability to add and save attachments while working from your BlackBerry smartphone. As long as they are under 3MB you will be able to attach all sorts of Microsoft Office files and more. You will be able to attach video and audio too. Wait there’s more! Push email is available. All you need is the BIS 2.5 and an AOL or Hotmail/MSN mail account and you can go pushing mail in no time. Wait there’s more… bad news! Not all of these upgrades will work. You will need the OS 4.5 to have the BIS 2.5 working properly. Better wait to September or get a brand new RIM smartphone this summer." via mobilewhack.com
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