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It might not be big right now, but we’re definitely going to see an upward trend in online shopping habits. This is no idle speculation on my part; it’s a natural evolution in the way we use our mobile devices. To facilitate this increasing demand RIM has announced an application that will make the shopping experience much easier: BlackBerry Wallet. It allows you to securely store your credit card information, including rewards programs, plus your shipping information right on your BlackBerry device.

Read the rest of RIM introduces BlackBerry Wallet for online shopping…

I’ve been kickin’ it with the BlackBerry Bold for most of the morning, which has been quite the experience. It’s great because the device is a true upgrade from the 88xx series. Even if they updated nothing but the browser, OS 4.6 would still be worth it. The downside is that it’s a GSM device, meaning us poor saps on Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, or U.S. Cellular are stuck waiting. Turns out, though, that it might not be for long. BGR is reporting on the BlackBerry Thunder, a full touchscreen device that looks to mimic the iPhone. And yes, it will be a CDMA exclusive, heading first to Verizon and Vodafone. I’ll post the mock up after the jump.

Read the rest of Finally, a CDMA-exclusive BlackBerry…

As any BlackBerry geek knows, this week is the Wireless Enterprise Symposium down in Orlando. I’ll be headed down there to provide you guys coverage. The biggest story, of course, will be the BlackBerry 9000, which supposedly will be announced via press release at midnight tonight. If that is in fact the case, I’ll throw up something about it prior to departure tomorrow morning.

You might have heard already that the “name” of the device will be the BlackBerry Bold. I guess we’ll find out with the announcement. If true, I gotta say, I’m disappointed. Not the best name they’ve come up with. But, word is that you can transfer music from your desktop iTunes to the 9000. I’ll do some digging to see how DRM files are handled.

Anything else you guys wanna see covered at WES?

Just a couple of small items before we get to the podcast today.

Read the rest of BlackBerry Notes: BB Unite!, 9000 announcement, Sprint Curve…

Seriously, one day Sprint is just going to release the Curve, and we won’t hear a thousand different things about when it will debut. After Tuesday’s debacle, I’m kind of hesitant to post any new rumored release information. However, this comes from Boy Genius Report, and they deliver for the most part. They have an image of a flyer, which I’ll post after the jump, which advertises a release date of May 9 through Direct Ship. The price starts up at $599.99. It’s not quite the $750 price from Best Buy, but it’s still hefty. Sprint will offer you a $420 bribe to sign a two year contract, bringing the price down to $179.99.

Read the rest of Flyer claims May 9 for Sprint Curve…

Talk about a runaround. After seeing earlier today that we might have to wait until mid-month for the Curve on Sprint and Verizon, we find out once again that we were the victims of misinformation. Of course, Phone Arena pulled a cut and run with their piece (you’ll notice the broken link in the last one), and yeah, I’m just a little pissed off. Why? Because Verizon’s Curve appears to be available (with a tip o’ the hat to Engadget Mobile.

I apologize for the misinformation earlier. Last time I trust that site for any information.

What’s that you say? Sprint won’t be releasing the Curve tomorrow? What a shock. And Verizon won’t be dropping theirs on Friday? I can’t say I wasn’t prepared for such an announcement. But according to Phone Arena, both companies are eying May 15 for the release. The delay is supposedly due to buggy firmware. If May 15 passes without a release from either company, I won’t be surprised in the least.

Update: Yeah, this is total bunk. VZW’s Curve is available online right now. Sprint’s? Not so much.

First, they were supposed to release the Curve in April. Then it was delayed from the original date, but Sprint said no, it would still be here in April. But the calendar has flipped, and there is still no Curve 8330 for Sprint. That could change on Wednesday the 7th. That’s the newest rumor. If true, it would cut in two days ahead of Verizon’s rumored release.

What would we do without Boy Genius Report leaking all this new BlackBerry info? Last week, we got the spec sheet for the 9000 series, plus the Kickstart leak. This morning, they’re talking about another model, this one dubbed Niagra. It’s just a sketch at this point, as far as we know. It looks eerily similar to the 9000 prototype photos we’ve seen floating around the Internets. BGR speculates that it’s a non-3G version of the 9000. But with most, if not all major GSM carriers having 3G capabilities, what’s the point? I suppose we’ll find out over the course of the week.

If you’re Research In Motion, and you’re trying to compete with what some people deem the coolest phone ever, what do you do? You can try as you might to outdo that device, but you’ll need some firepower. It seems RIM is aiming to do just that, as they’re looking for someone fluent in iPhone application development. According to the job listing, the ideal candidate would be “part of a newly-created team.”

Read the rest of If you can’t beat ‘em, hire their people…

Next to the CDMA Curve party is Canadian provider Bell Mobility. They’ve added the much-anticipated device to their roster, and it’s available now. It’s got Windows Live Messenger, a Bell exclusive feature, as well as GPS. It’s got the same entry point as the Telus version: $249.95 with a three-year contract. For two years it’s $399.95, one year is $499.95, and no contract is $549.95.

Last year at Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES), we got the first word of BES 5.0 — otherwise known as ARGON. The plan was to begin a beta program in August 2007, presumably so that it would be ready for full availability by WES 2008, which is quickly coming up on us. But other than a list of features published back in November, details have been few, if any. The folks at Boy Genius Report are on top of this one. They’re thinking that it will be announced with a preview during WES, with a beta program beginning shortly thereafter.
Read the rest of BES 5.0 readying for a WES appearance?…

We’re getting ready to head down to the Convention Center at CTIA 2008. But before we headed out, I was going to share something with you. Yesterday, I got my eyes on the Verizon Wireless rebate form for the second quarter. And guess what those pretty little eyes saw? Yep — that the Curve 8330 was on the list. Great! I thought. Something to share with the readers. Of course, as I went to bed last night, I saw the red light on my BlackBerry flashing. What it is? A press release saying that Verizon is releasing the Curve. So now you don’t have to take my word for it.

Podcasts to come. You can bet on that.

So this doesn’t look to be the hoax that was the rumor that Telus was launching the CDMA Curve. Via Boy Genius Report, which I trust in these matters, Sprint is eyeing an April 16th release for the Curve 8330. This is the release through Brightpoint, and will be available through “all other channels” (by that, I guess they mean distributors) on April 20th, which is strange, since it’s a Sunday (don’t ask how I know that off the top of my head).
Read the rest of Sprint ready to launch the Curve 8330…

There are a couple of things BlackBerry users have been looking forward to. First is HTML and Rich Text email, which we know we’re not getting for a while. The other, though is Java-enabled browsing. Thankfully, Research In Motion has announced a Java Development Environment (JDE) plugin for Eclipse, which is the development platform for the BlackBerry. This plugin will allow Eclipse developers to add Java-based applications to their repertoire. I’m not too familiar with application development, so I’ll let the press release do a lot of the talking.
Read the rest of RIM announces Java development for BlackBerry…

Well, imagine that. It’s been a little under a month since we showed you pictures of the CDMA Curve. And, of course, we’ve gotten plenty of questions about which providers will be carrying it, and more frequently, when. Well, I don’t have an answer as to “when” yet. The carriers are playing their cards very close to their chests, and it appears that they’re strongly protecting against a leak. Ah, but someone must have slipped up, because hints of the 8330 appeared yesterday on Telus’s website. It’s down now, but it was there. Screenshot after the jump.
Read the rest of Telus gets BlackBerry Curve 8330…

I guess Russell Shaw just knows where to look for his BlackBerry patent applications. He’s always finding new ones. The best part about them is that they really get the geeks excited. We all like to see innovation, and seeing a patent application means that Research In Motion has at least through about implementing this kind of design. Today, we see that they’re eyeing a slider patent. It kinda looks like the HTC Touch, really, which would be more than welcome by me. Picture and commentary after the jump.
Read the rest of BlackBerry slider patent application…

This is a U.K.-only development for the time being, but if it ends up working there, we could see it in the U.S. Well, we already have seen it in the U.S., but it’s just a wee more expensive…and primitive. The service in the U.K., Spinvox, is offering a plugin for BlackBerrys that will convert voice mails into text. They’ve been honing D2, the conversion program, for years now, feeding it both natural language and slang. They’re even asking users to submit words and phrases that might not show up with D2 yet. Given the ultra-convenient nature of this service, it’s easy to see it catching on very soon.
Read the rest of Speech-to-text comes to BlackBerry…

The talk around BlackBerry and smartphone circles lately has been the shift from a business-centric device to a consumer device. While BlackBerry’s success was once on the business side, they’re seeing more and more consumers adopt their phones, and other smartphones. Why? Because they’re all-in-one devices that provide superior entertainment capabilities. In fact, 90 percent of the over 3,000 respondents to this survey said that they wouldn’t switch back to a traditional handset after using a smartphone for a period of time.
Read the rest of Survey says: BlackBerry users crave entertainment…

We’re bookending the week with some new innovations by Research In Motion. On Monday, I spoke of the impending CDMA Curve. Oh, and don’t think that one is going away. You’ll see more on that one soon. Now we’re ending the week with some BlackBerry patent news. According to a patent application recently published, RIM is working on a mechanism that will integrate touchscreen with LCD.
Read the rest of Evidence of a touchscreen BlackBerry…

I honestly can’t get enough of all these new features for your BlackBerry. Whether it acts as a coupon or your boarding pass, life is becoming far easier for us BB Geeks. Today we’re seeing the launch of a remote car rental reservation service. This is available through Qdrivium — no, that won’t hold up in Scrabble. I found the perfect line in the press release, so rather than butchering it by paraphrasing: “…business users can now make a car reservation while on the road or out of the office — while still allowing travel managers control over corporate wide transportation budgets and uphold contract terms with transportation service providers.”
Read the rest of Reserve a rental car with your BlackBerry…

Down in Orlando at Lotusphere 2008, Research In Motion has announced a number of upgrades for the BlackBerry “that include enhanced messaging and collaboration, simpler management, enhanced security and expanded application development support.” Excuse me if I quote liberally, as this is a press release coming right from RIM.
Read the rest of Some platform enhancements for BlackBerry…

There was some talk over this past sumer about the ineffectiveness of cell phone recycling programs. There is a great hazard in throwing your cell phone in the trash. Not only are you wasting parts that can be used in other devices, but the environmental effects are akin to throwing away batteries. There are a few companies that encourage recycling, such as Virgin Mobile, and AT&T, who promote Cell Phones for Soldiers. Now we have third parties getting into the mix, like Recycling for Charities.
Read the rest of Recycling your old phones and PDAs…

And BlackBerry’s ubiquity expands. Partnering with Grameenphone Ltd., Research In Motion has announced that their BlackBerry smartphone will be available in Bangladesh through Grameephone’s Business Solutions. This is a major step forward for Bangladeshans (is that even right?), who will now have mobile access to email, web browsing, messaging, phones, and the other gamut of features provided by the BlackBerry.
Read the rest of RIM introduces BlackBerry to Bangladesh…

You know those ergonomic keyboards that are split down the middle? According to a patent filed this month by Research In Motion, the company is seemingly planning to take this technology to their BlackBerry line. This would be an effort to reduce what is termed as Blackberry Thumb (or Gamer’s Thumb, for you video game addicts). The thumbs are not meant for such rigorous movements as tapping out 30 emails in a sitting.
Read the rest of RIM to create angular keyboard?…

There was a time, not so long ago, that the usage of Hosted BlackBerry Exchanges was pretty predictable. Small and even medium-sized businesses, not wanting to allocate a significant portion of their budget to IT, outsourced their hosting. Large businesses, on the other hand, tended to run their Exchange and BES operations in-house, paying for both equipment and staff, and why not? They would incur significant cost for outsourcing such a large operation, so they might as well have hosted operations in-house, allowing them more precise control.

You might have noticed that much of the preceding paragraph was in the past tense. That’s because the game is changing. An emerging trend is for large businesses to outsource their BlackBerry hosting services, rather than run the operation in-house. This is going hand-in-hand with businesses turning to hosting services for their Exchange servers.
Read the rest of Are big businesses turning to outsourced Hosted BlackBerry Exchanges?…

We knew that RIM was going to start selling BlackBerrys in China. Now we know when: By the end of this month. China Mobile is set to make the offering, having ordered 10,000 of the devices. They already have plans ready to go: the equivalent of $53.80 per month and $80.80 per month. These plans were meant for overseas travelers, which makes us ask if there is a business in configuring the newer BlackBerrys to work with the Chinese system.
Read the rest of BlackBerry 8700 to land in China this month…

First to China, now to Russia. Russian mobile carriers MTS and Vimplecom have confirmed that they’re set to start selling BlackBerrys in the first quarter of 2008. They recently received permission from state security services, the final hurdle to implementation.
Read the rest of BlackBerry goes to Russia…

Interesting pickup from the Sunday Mirror, a paper in the UK. They’re saying, albeit very briefly, that “a police force” (ambiguity theirs) plans to distribute BlackBerrys to their officers. The idea is to slash office time, which we think is wonderful. The devices will be linked to the Police National Computer and other important databases. This is said to cut office time from 50 percent to 20 percent, something we’d welcome in the U.S. After all, we’ve seen trends, especially in New York City, where more police officers patrolling an area led to a lesser rate of crime. If giving them BlackBerrys is part of that kind of solution, we’re all for it.

[Sunday Mirror]

With BB OS v4.3, there were bound to be some minor upgrades to your BlackBerry’s functionality. Well, we found one. Okay, so Crackberry found it, and we’re just latching on. Anyway, OS 4.3.1 will allow you to record video as well as still images if you’re lucky enough to have a BlackBerry with a camera. So this means you, Curve users.
Read the rest of Record video on your BlackBerry…

We figured this was going to happen at some point. Microsoft realizes that business are going mobile. It makes sense, right? They stand to gain more productivity if their employees can work from anywhere. Microsoft’s first foray into the mobile world was its Windows Mobile platform, which has seen decent success. They’ve been overshadowed, though, by the BlackBerry, which is still the business standard. Now, however, Microsoft has released software that makes management of business smart phones much like that of the BlackBerry. Competitive times, these are.
Read the rest of Microsoft following BlackBerry into workforce…

Looks like we missed this one a while ago. No matter, though. It’s still something to be aware of. AppRiver, a secure hosted exchange service, has announced a partnership with Akamai Technologies to use their Application Performance Solutions program. This will increase AppRiver’s “performance, availability and scale of its secure hosted exchange service.” So it’s a better service at no extra cost.
Read the rest of AppRiver, Akamai team up for better hosted exchange…

We’ve already talked about the launch of the BlackBerry 8310 — the Curve. Today it drops in at the AT&T online store. So you can grab your BlackBerry — complete with 2 megapixel camera among other neat features — for $450 if you’re already an AT&T subscriber. Knock $150 off that price if you’re willing to sign your life away for two years. On top of that your data plan will start at $30 more than your voice plan. That’s just for BlackBerry Messaging, though. Expect to drop a bit more on full web access.

We’ve really seen mobile services take off in countries of lesser economies lately. The likes of Bulgaria, Hungary, and India are adapting well to the integration of mobile phones, and we expect that trend will continue throughout the rest of the decade. When talking about lesser economies, it’s easy to forget China. After all, their economy just started booming, so that’s all people talk about nowadays. But they’ve made significant leaps in technology over the past few years, and now they’re making strides in the mobile world. Their newest development: A deal with RIM to provide mobile e-mail access.
Read the rest of BlackBerry goes to China…

We don’t know about you, but we hate the morning commute. There’s a certain pressure to be at work on time, and sometimes delays are out of your control. It really bothers us, though, when at 8:30 they’re cleaning up an accident that happened an hour ago. Had we heard news of it at that point, we could have taken the train instead of the bus for the day. Alas, in our world of nearly instantaneous communication, we have no such service. Clever Commute is looking to change that, though.
Read the rest of Clever Commute makes the morning drag a bit brighter…

Flyers of Air Canada will find the ticketing process far easier now. Instead of having to remember a boarding pass for a flight from the airline, all a flyer will have to do is display his or her BlackBerry in order to board the flight. Pretty novel, eh? Air Canada is introducing the service for all of its domestic flights, plus a number of its international destinations, many of which are in the US.
Read the rest of Use your BlackBerry as a boarding pass…

As we headed into Labor Day weekend, rumors started to heat up regarding a Microsoft takeover of Research In Motion. Apparently, Microsoft is feeling the pressure of Google’s entry into the mobile phone world, and as a competitor, Microsoft feels the necessity to keep pace. So as we were slogging through the afternoon grind with thoughts of beaches running through our minds, we were greeted with a bit of speculation. This kept the news flowing, holiday or not.
Read the rest of Weekend fodder: Microsoft/RIM merger…

We read this somewhere, but can’t exactly remember the source, so excuse our paraphrasing. Some of the best companies were founded because someone had a problem, and the company’s goal was to solve it. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, had trouble finding things on the Internet, so they started to figure out a better way to implement search. Steve Jobs and Paul Allen, founders of Apple, were looking for a relatively cheap and easy to use personal computer, so they developed one. Jing Liu, founder of MINO, was having difficulties communicating with business colleagues while he was overseas because international roaming is so expensive. So he developed a mobile VoIP service provider.
Read the rest of Mobile VoIP can save you valuable minutes…

Yes, we all love our BlackBerry. And most of us have admitted addiction to the device. Is that really a bad thing, though? Unless it’s taking away from our personal relationships, spending tons of time on your BlackBerry is hardly bad thing. It’s created productive environments and has allowed people to stay instantaneously connected. However, there is a line when it come to this kind of addiction. So you decide: do the current numbers mean we’re approaching that line?
Read the rest of New BlackBerry survey reveals heightening addiction…

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve wished — and heard other people wish aloud — that the BlackBerry would support WiFi connections. It makes total sense. There are so many WiFi hotspots around, which would certainly speed up the BlackBerrian process. It appears now that our wishes will come true, as Research In Motion has been green lighted by the FCC for the creation of a BlackBerry with WiFi functionality. This is just another in a series of victories for RIM, and although the increase in earnings is wonderful news, this may be the best of the bunch.
Read the rest of You wanted WiFi, you got WiFi…