Industry coverage, news, original feature articles, how to guides, videos, podcasts and reviews of BlackBerry service providers, software, accessories, hosted exchange providers and more

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.

Curve 8900 nearly ready for Rogers
Late last week, we heard about a soft launch of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on Rogers. It was a big topic of discussion on the BBGeekcast. Turns out, it wasn’t exactly true. Kevin at CrackBerry clears up the rumors. Turns out the device passed certification on Friday, and should be available soon. As far as pricing, it’s $179.99 on a three-year contract. All told, not bad. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this available tomorrow or early next week.

RIM relaunches BlackBerry mobile site
If you haven’t been on mobile.blackberry.com for a while, you might want to go check it out. RIM has relaunched the site to make it a bit more user-friendly. BlackBerry Cool has all the screenshots you need to see. They also have the definitive one-liner about the site, saying that it “[requires] fewer clicks to get where you want to go, as well as faster load times.” Looks like it’s very Storm-friendly, too.

Updates on the Storm in Canada
We heard a few rumors this week about the BlackBerry Storm in Canada. First comes from BerryReporter, which says that both Bell and Telus should be launching the device soon, with Telus rumored at December 8. Then Kevin let us know about Telus’s pricing: $249.99 with a three-year deal from launch through December 25. That all seems to be in tact for now, but BGR got some inside info saying that Bell’s Storm could be delayed significantly. We’re talking early January. That can’t be good news for them.

RIM lowers performance expectations
We know the American economy is in the toilet. Since RIM bases much of its business in the U.S., you might imagine that they’re not doing as well as expected. They’ve recently lowered expectations for the third quarter. If you’re interested in the exact numbers, they’re now forecasting earnings of between 81 and 83 cents per share. The original forecast was 89 to 97 cents. Of course, their stock plummeted upon the announcement, hitting $35 per share. What I wonder is how this will affect RIM’s planned device releases for 2009.

Critical security flaw in BlackBerry Desktop Software
Hopefully most of you have seen this before it appears here, but it’s important enough to warrant a four-star rating. Apparently there is a security flaw in Desktop Manager. If you haven’t heard of this yet, head to BBNews; they give instructions on how to find out what version number you have. If it’s 6.0.100.65100 or earlier, it’s time to upgrade to 4.5, 4.6, or 4.7. They also link to a patch, if you’re comfortable with your current version of the software. RIM also plans to bolster its device security by acquiring Certicom.

Have a Storm? Learn some tips n’ tricks
Can we call Al Sacco a BlackBerry guru? The dude is always writing about it on the Web, and his articles always leave me a bit smarter about the devices. His latest is tips and tricks with the Storm. We’ve seen a few of these articles over the past month or so, but Al’s is probably tops. If you’ve got one, you might as well give it a look.

MySpace for BlackBerry upgraded
If you’re one of the many now using the MySpace for BlackBerry app, you might be interested in an upgrade to the software. It fixes a few bugs, which is always good for the nerves. It doesn’t have many, if any, feature upgrades. Still, smooth running software is always appreciated.

Fido addresses, shoots down BlackBerry rumors
Remember when BGR said that Fido would be getting BlackBerry devices? Turns out that might not be the case. Or maybe it is. Who knows. Late last week they issued a memo saying that BlackBerry is not part of their lineup. Well, duh. A quick visit to their website can tell you that. It could still be in the offing, though, as they merely say that they don’t speculate on future products or services. Perhaps this is just to quell expectations, since a deal is not official. I’d put my money on them eventually getting the devices, though.

Tip: Mark Prior Opened. This little trick will let you mark all of your unread emails as read. Very nifty if you have BIS and only need your email when you’re away from your computer.

Verizon BlackBerry / AT&T BlackBerry. We know the Storm and the Bold are the two biggest BlackBerry releases of the year. They’re also on two different providers. We take a look at the true cost of both devices.

Phil Hellmuth Texas Hold’em. I think I read somewhere today that the gambling industry is recession proof. So hone your skills with some Hold ‘Em. (Note: BBGeeks is not responsible for your gambling losses and/or addiction.)

Top handset in the U.S.: BlackBerry Curve. If the iPhone is so great, why do Americans prefer the Curve? Sorry. Just felt like being a snob like Apple fanboys.

Using Google Sync with Thunderbird. With the introduction of Google’s contact sync, there are even more ways you can sync contacts from other programs to your Berry.

AutoStandby. Berry eating your battery? Try AutoStandby to save some juice. You can also check out our tips for saving your battery.

Seeing a globe icon on your BlackBerry?. Here’s how to get rid of it.

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