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Like the rest of you, I love my BlackBerry. It does the one thing I bought for, which is to deliver my email in an intuitive manner. All the other features are nice, and I use them, but they’re not central to my device usage. I do wonder, however, whether my opinion on that would change if some of these additional features worked better — more intuitively, with a better interface. Would I use my BlackBerry more fully? If a recent rumor pans out, I might find out in the near future.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 2/1/2009…

When we changed formats over a year ago and stopped doing daily news in favor of this weekly feature, I fancied it like a network news program. We’d run down all the things relevant to our local niche. One of my favorite parts about network news — well, my only favorite part, since I don’t watch the actual programs — is the teaser they play in the hours before. “Is your breakfast cereal making your children dumber? Story at 11.” This week we can see such a teaser: “Will the BlackBerry be banned in America? Story after the jump.”

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 1/25/2009…

In last week’s edition of News From The Wire we saw the first photos of the BlackBerry Curve 8910. After many of us wondered what place it had among the current BlackBerry lineup, a few commentators noted that the device resembles the BlackBerry Atlas, a device discovered around September and reportedly headed for Asian markets. That made sense, and I thought that would be the end of it. But early this week the device passed through the FCC. Since the US government likely isn’t in the business of approving devices set for release in Asian markets, it appears that the 8910 will, indeed, hit North America.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 1/18/2009…

In last week’s News From The Wire we focused on the BlackBerry Pearl 9100. That’s one of two BlackBerry models slated for an early 2010 release, and since we haven’t seen a Pearl release since 2007 it’s probably the more exciting of the two. The other device, the Tour 2, a/k/a the Essex, will also hit shelves soon. I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with a release so soon after the original Tour, but that doesn’t make it any less noteworthy. So what did we learn about the Tour 2 this week?

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 1/11/10…

Happy New Year, everyone. Because of extenuating circumstances — i.e., the holidays — we’ve missed News From The Wire for the past few weeks. Instead, we ran with the news on the BBGeekcast. Now that we’re back to normal, full weeks, we’re also back with the news in text form. It’s CES week, so you know there are a few tidbits worth noting in the BlackBerry world. And, as is our bread and butter, we’ve heard a new device’s release is imminent.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 1/4/2009…

The Internet is always good for a hoax now and then. We see them all the time, and have seen quite a few BlackBerry related ones. Someone gets their hands on an image and Photoshop and just can’t help themselves. They mock up a phone to make it look all neat and pretty, but in the end it’s just a normal device. We got something of that this week. A Sprint-branded BlackBerry Essex showed up in image form, but something about it didn’t seem right.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 12/14/2009…

News From The Wire usually hits your Web browser every Thursday, but with Thanksgiving tomorrow we’re bumping it up a day. It’s all good, though. I doubt anything groundbreaking will happen between now and this evening, when it seems the news shuts off for a day while we carve turkeys and stuff our faces with pie. So let’s take this time to look at what’s happened during this week in BlackBerry.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From the Wire for the Week of 11/23/2009…

Purchasing a BlackBerry is a serious decision. Not only does the device cost up to $200, but you’re then committing to two years of service. We discussed the total BlackBerry cost a while ago. Voice plan, messaging plan, data plan — it all adds up over two years. Earlier this year we saw a prepaid carrier, MetroPCS, launch the BlackBerry Curve 8330. The service cost $50 per month for unlimited voice and messaging, plus BIS ($60 for BES), making it cheaper than most other BlackBerry service plans. It’s attractive because there is no commitment — not in the contractual sense, at least. The device cost over $400, and that kind of investment can keep you tied to the service. It appears T-Mobile is trying a similar gambit.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 11/16/2009…

RIM held the second annual BlackBerry Developer Conference this week, and where there is a conference there is news. Considering the BlackBerry’s inferiority in the software department, the conference had the potential to be big. And, unsurprisingly, we got a few announcements that could eventually change the BlackBerry software for the better. Which is nothing but good news.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From the Wire for the Week of 11/9/2009…

I’ll admit, I was a bit distracted from the BlackBerry world this week by this. Still, there’s plenty of BlackBerry stuff to discuss. For instance, Verizon announced the Curve 8530, to be known as the Curve2. It’ll hit shelves and the Web on November 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. I’ve been telling people that if you’re not a big video user, this is a great deal. It features a 528 MHz processor, Wi-Fi, and really most features of new BlackBerry models except the screen. It’s better than its cousin, the 8520, because its on Verizon’s 3G EVDO network, rather than on T-Mobile’s slower EDGE.

Read the rest of BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 11/2/2009…