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BlackBerry Curve 8980 shows up in FCC

admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:11:26 +0000

Despite the more recent releases of the Curve 8500 series and the Curve 3G, RIM has never really offered up a true successor to the venerable Curve 8900 — a device some would argue remains the prettiest that Waterloo has ever manufactured. Indeed, with the QVGA display and meager cam on the 3G, there’s a pretty magnificent gap between it and the business-class Bold 9700 / 9780… so we’re pretty excited to see a new model called the Curve 8980 get FCC approval. Oh, and what’s more, the filing’s now got access to a user’s manual and external shots where you can definitely picture this as being a proper optical pad-equipped follow-on to the 8900 of old, complete with a 3.2 megapixel cam with flash and — if we had to guess — a high-res display adopted either from the 9780 or the 8900. No word on a release, but here’s the kicker: as far as we can tell from the filing, it’s EDGE-only just like the device it replaces, which is pretty inexcusable for a device that’d presumably be released in 2011. Add 3G, though, and they’ve got a desperately-needed new model to slot in underneath the Bold.

Amazon bringing Kindle app to BlackBerry PlayBook

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:16:41 +0000

One of the great original fears when Amazon built the Kindle was that they were after some iTunes / iPod-style walled garden ecosystem. And while, sure, Kindle is a walled garden ecosystem, those walls sure are extensive! Amazon just announced that it will be supporting the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, in addition to the BlackBerry mobile app they’ve already got. There aren’t any specific details about this app, but Amazon is all about the consistent user experience, with features like WhisperSync keeping your copy of Neal Stephenson perfectly synced across a myriad of devices, so there’s nothing much to say we suppose. We are sure, however, that page turns will be blazing with that dual core processor.

RIM announces WebWorks

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:14:11 +0000

RIM’s BlackBerry Developer Conference is going down this week in San Francisco, and as you might expect from a developer-focused event, there are a handful of newsy items that’ll affect the development community first and consumers down the road. Here’s a roundup of what’s what:

* WebWorks development platform. From what we’ve heard of this so far, it’s basically a quick way for web devs to get into the BlackBerry app game by offering a tightly-integrated platform for HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript code with hooks to native BlackBerry OS functions and a packager for turning them into “real” BlackBerry apps.
* BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform. RIM’s historically held BBM very, very close to the chest, but it’s starting to open up a tad with this particular announce. Don’t look for BBM on other platforms (yes, we know that’s what some of you were hoping to hear), but third-party app developers will now be able to tap into the system for sending and receiving messages, files, user profiles, and invitations. Interestingly, the company is pitching it as a platform for multiplayer gaming, using BBM as a conduit to move information between devices in real time.
* BlackBerry Advertising Service. Google bought AdMob and Apple bought Quattro, but RIM’s taking a more democratic approach to its advertising platform, allowing both “simple” and “rich media” ads to be served from a handful of providers “with only three lines of code.” It’ll be a 60 / 40 revenue split between devs and RIM.
* BlackBerry Payment Service SDK. This one’s launching in beta this week, bringing third-party in-app payments over credit card, PayPal, and carrier billing (available on AT&T right now, more carriers by the end of the year). It’ll be out of beta before 2010′s out.

Nothing on the so-called BlackPad so far, but at any rate, seems like this roundup is great news for anyone looking to slide some content into App World over the next few months.

RIM launches BlackBerry 6 platform

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:38:50 +0000

It’s been teased since WES back in April — but with the launch of the Torch today, RIM had to come clean with all the details on its thoroughly refreshed BlackBerry 6 operating system, too. Besides the obvious name change from “BlackBerry OS” to simply “BlackBerry,” the software features countless updates, most notably new universal search functionality, social network aggregation, WiFi-powered media sync with your desktop music collection, and an all-new (and desperately needed) WebKit-based browser with support for HTML5. Thankfully, RIM has also committed to bringing BlackBerry 6 as an upgrade to at least a few recent models — the Bold 9700, Bold 9650, and Pearl 3G, to be specific — “subject to carrier certifications in the months ahead.” Follow the break for the full press release and video teaser.

RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 9300 spotted in T-Mobile

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:12:14 +0000

It’s certainly not the first time we’ve seen this here BlackBerry (with “this here” meaning “Curve 9300″), but it’s the first time we’ve seen it outfitted in carrier clothing. Notice that T-Mobile logo at the bottom? That’s the clearest indication yet that this particular ‘Berry will soon be headed to T-Mob, but given that it’s unlikely to support an upgrade to BlackBerry OS 6, your off-the-chart excitement level may indeed be unwarranted. At any rate, we’re also hearing that Rogers in Canada will be snagging this at launch, but we’ll be passing along official details just as soon as we get them.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 leaks out with OS 6

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:09:48 +0000

Take this one with a grain of salt, but it’s looking like our old friend the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is getting a wee bit of an update. Yesterday evening, CrackBerry discovered a RIM document that describes a QWERTY-packing, OS 6-rocking “BlackBerry 9780″ destined for a GSM carrier near you… and less than 24 hours later, handset sleuth Salomondrin claims to have the first picture of the device. While we quite honestly can’t tell the difference, the man who outed the Curve 2 says this device’s chrome bezel is a tad darker than the original, and that it’ll have 512MB of flash memory when it hits the scene. Of course, this could just be an Bold 9700 with a hacked ROM or a theme of some sort, but we certainly hope not; pepper it up with CDMA, and you’ve got a shoe-in for the Curve 3.

AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice to bring extra security to Obama’s BlackBerry calls

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:06:19 +0000

Yeah, we know that the Prez was once seen rocking a Verizon-branded BlackBerry 8830, but just bend your mind a bit and bear with us. Shortly after lighting up Wall Street with an exceedingly excellent quarterly earnings report, AT&T has announced an Encrypted Mobile Voice service that’ll hit later in the year. Assuming Obama actually does own an AT&T-branded ‘Berry, he’ll soon be able to enjoy what AT&T calls “the first mobile-to-mobile voice encryption solution using two-factor authentication offered by a US operator.” Said service is expected to provide a higher level of security for calls across the AT&T wireless network, and naturally, it’ll be shopped to government agencies, law enforcement organizations, financial services institutions and international businesses, all of which will pay far too much for what’s likely a false sense of security. We mean, haven’t these guys ever seen 24?

BlackBerry 9800 for AT&T fully exposed!

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:39:17 +0000

We’ve just been sent a mother lode of shots of RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 9800 — a phone whose market name is still unknown — but whether it’s called the Bold, the Torch, or something else altogether, we think we’re looking at near-final hardware here. The software is identified as version 0.9, but you can clearly tell from the UI that it’s running BlackBerry 6 with an ever-so-slightly refined look and subtle 3D elements missing from prior releases. This particular phone is AT&T-branded, and it starts up with a carrier logo screen that proudly proclaims the 9800 a world phone — sure enough, the About screen shows support for WCDMA bands I, II, V, and VI, which means you’ll be able to use the phone for 3G service in Japan and most of Europe. Generally speaking, BlackBerrys haven’t been known to be the prettiest things around (with the possible exception of the Curve 8900), but we’ll admit — we’re digging this. Check out the full gallery below!

[Thanks, Om]

BlackBerry Curve 9300 prototype gets handled on video

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:33:48 +0000

BlackBerry lovers, are you sitting at home on a Friday night itching for the latest device scoop? Or out but glued to your screen checking news sites in between BBM relays? Looks like TechnoBuffalo (with a little help from Negri Electronics) has you covered: hands-on time with the Curve 9300. This prototype 8500 replacement has T-Mobile UK bands and is actually working (although with OS 5 at the moment). Compared with its predecessor, the keyboard is apparently improved, the side buttons more flush with the device, and there are a few cosmetic differences as you can notice in the picture above. Video after the break… now get on with your evening, k?

British garbage collectors to get 1,500 BlackBerrys

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:16:00 +0000

First it was the rozzers, now British bin men are getting BlackBerrys as part of their job equipment pack. Biffa, a private garbage collection firm responsible for cleaning up 25 local authorities around the UK, has agreed a £1.7 million ($2.44 million) deal with Vodafone for the provision of some 1,500 BlackBerry handsets along with dongles and 3G data cards. This somewhat curious capital investment has been made in order to allow drivers to download maps, collect data from customers, liaise with head office, and even take photos where necessary. The RIM phones will also allow Biffa to track its trucks’ locations — an option that’s sure to get plenty of use, considering how much Brits love to keep an eye on things.