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Feeling overloaded with BlackBerry news and rumors? We know the feeling. We hear new things almost every day, and it can be tough to keep up with it all. that’s why we’re bringing you BlackBerry News from the Wire every Thursday.

We’ll catch you up on everything ‘Berry that happened over the course of the week. Not only that, but we’ll rank ‘em by importance, so you can more easily skim the items and read the ones of most significance. If you only have time to read one article, for instance, you might want to head down to our 5-star section. It’s All the BlackBerry News Fit to Geek.

The definitive BlackBerry Storm compendium
We are just one day away from the official release of the BlackBerry Storm. If you want to get pumped up for it, go check out the unboxings. You can see one at CrackBerry and another at Boy Genius Report. All the news isn’t good, though. It appears there could be a shortages of Storms. BGR says this might be RIM’s fault, and after the Bold debacle I’m inclined to believe it. BlackBerry Cool talked about some Southern California stores getting just one functioning Storm, though it appears they’ve since received a few more. This is rightly being compared to the LG Voyager debacle.

Anita Hamilton of Time says the novelty of the Storm wears off quickly. She cites the click screen as the main turn-off. There are plenty of positive reviews to counterbalance her, including Kevin’s series of posts at CrackBerry (follow the above link), and a neat look at DVICE. If you’re in Canada, you can get the Storm on Bell and Telus on the same day, which is estimated at December 10. Best Buy should have the device on Sunday. According to BerryReporter, you can get the Storm for $499 without a contract. Finally, when you get the Storm, you can upgrade the OS immediately. This, according to BlackBerry News, could solve a number of issues that have been causing the problems with the release.

RIM co-CEOs to enter Canadian Business Hall of Fame
No one covers RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis quite like the guys at BlackBerry Cool. We get word now that the duo will be inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Great job, guys. Now, use those HOF skills to avoid any further delays/complications with future devices.

Gizmodo gives Bold browser a B-
Ouch. Tech site Gizmodo ranked a number of mobile browsers, and gave the BlackBerry Bold a B-. Personally, I dig the new browser, but obviously these guys are making a much wider comparison. They liked, surprise surprise, the iPhone the most, giving it an A-. The B- grade was actually third best, behind the iPhone and the Android browser. Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile got a big fat F. That makes me happy.

Curve 8900 in time for the holidays?
Last week we learned that the Curve 8900 should be hitting the States in early 2009. But could that be earlier? If you’re in the UK, it’s a possibility. BGR picked up a report from Carphone Warehouse which suggests that the 8900 could be available in December. Sounds like a good deal. People might be getting amped over the Storm this week, but I’m really looking forward to the 8900.

Good deals on the 8220 and 8130
Via Berry Reporter we get a few good deals for the Christmas season. First, Telus is offering the Pearl 8130 for free through Christmas. That’s uber-sweet. If you can somehow finagle it, that’s a great present right there. Also, Future Shop is offering the 8220 for just $25, with a $25 gift card. Sale ends today, though, so you might want to jump on that.

Review of Unify4Life BlackBerry remote
Back at WES, we found out about the Unify4Life BlackBerry remote. It supposedly links into all of your audio-visual hardware and acts as a universal remote. They were — let’s leave it at “not nice” — about giving out demo models, which is a crying shame. There’s a review up at CrackBerry if you’re interested.

Looking for BlackBerry technical training?
If you’re interested in becoming a better technical BlackBerry user, you can check out a free BlackBerry technical seminar. It will be held on December 3, from 9 to 5 Eastern time. You can check out further details at the link.

RIM working on LTE BlackBerry
Long Term Evolution is the next generation of mobile technology. Verizon and AT&T both say that they’ll use their 700 MHz auction winnings to transition to this platform. So it makes sense that RIM is working on an LTE device. Will it be touchscreen? Will it have a slide-out keyboard? Those are all questions we’ll be asking over the next year or so.

Storm vs. the iPhone. Plenty of people are making the comparison. We round up the best from early in the week

BlackBerry Enterprise Server beginner’s guide. Cooper brings the education about BES and what it means for you.

Card Pack Gold. I was stuck on the subway last weekend without a book. I suer could have used a game pack like this to keep me occupied.

Free BlackBerry screenshot software. This doesn’t appear to be quite as good as SnapScreen, but CaptureIt is a free alternative. Worth a look.

What would make you give up your BlackBerry? It would take a whole lot, including becoming President of the United States.

How to set up Yahoo! Mail on your BlackBerry. It’s exceedingly simple.

Picture Dial. You can call, text, or email your contacts by selecting their picture. We also took a look at adding picture caller ID this week.

Sync your Google contacts. Finally! There are certainly a few hacks to go along with this release.

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