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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.

HSPA Storm, 3G Pearl flip headed to Rogers
This is quite the holiday treat, even if we’re bringing it to you a bit late (such is the nature of these weekly updates). We learned last week that Rogers is ready to introduce two new BlackBerry models in early 2009. First is the Storm 9520, which is just like the original Storm except solely for GSM. Yes, this version will have Wi-Fi, which will go great with Rogers’ home calling service. Also on tap is the Pearl 8200, which is the same as the 8220 except it has 3G capabilities and GPS. That’s a significant upgrade. Plus, it is said to feature a secondary camera for video conferencing. That was a rumored feature for the Bold, and it elicited an eager response. Perhaps it will work well with the Pearl crowd.

10 thinks you should know about using a BlackBerry
The holiday season always brings us a slew of new BlackBerry users. Over at CrackBerry, Craig Johnston talks about 10 things you should know about your BlackBerry. He goes over things like knowing your PIN (or at least where to find it), buying a media card, and more. This goes right along with our own BlackBerry primer.

Getting organized with your BlackBerry
Everyone familiar with Mashable? It’s a site about everything social networking. They cover a number of tangential issues, though, including productivity and organization. This week they brought us 20 productivity and organization apps for BlackBerry. Check it out for yourself. I have a few minor issues with some omissions, but i suppose everyone has their own favorites.

Get the Pearl 8130 from Verizon for $20
It was just over a year ago that Verizon released the BlackBerry Pearl 8130, the first, and so far only, Pearl made for CDMA networks. In a demonstration of how much things can change in 12 months, Verizon is offering the Pearl for just $20. That’s $120 minus a $100 mail-in rebate. And, of course, the signing of a two-year contract. Still, if you’re in the market for a new device you could do a lot worse than $20 for a Pearl.

SlingPlayer beta available for BlackBerry
We mentioned this a couple of weeks ago: Sling Media is ready to start beta testing their BlackBerry application. BGR reminds us that the service is now available. So head on over to Sling Media’s website to sign up and give it a whirl.

Certicom saga extended by RIM
In case you haven’t been following this episode, and I don’t blame you if you haven’t, RIM has been working on a hostile bid for security software firm Certicom. Since Certicom is a public company, all RIM has to do is convince shareholders that they are providing fair value. Certicom, whose board doesn’t like the deal, went so far as to publish a newspaper ad asking shareholders to reject the bid. I don’t know what Certicom was thinking, but there has to be a better way to reach shareholders than the newspaper. Anyway, RIM has extended the deadline for the expiry date on the bid. It’s now January 27. So we’ll have to wait another month probably before getting a resolution.

Yahoo! Go now on the Bold
We get word from PDA Blast! that Yahoo! Go is now available for the BlackBerry Bold. I talked about the application in a rundown of Yahoo Go, while Cooper wrote a more technical review.

Setting your BlackBerry emails to high importance. No, it’s not just for spam mails. Some emails are more important than others. Here’s how to let the recipient know.

BIS login sites. Just a quick reference of where to log into your BIS account, no matter which carrier you have.

What to do with your first BlackBerry. Here’s a rundown of what to do in setting up your BlackBerry for the first time.

Using your BlackBerry to track your New Year’s resolution. Many of us make fitness goals for the new year and then let them slide. Here’s how to use your BlackBerry as a motivational workout partner.

Walking through Google Sync for BlackBerry. Some options you might not know about which can affect how your BlackBerry syncs with your Google Calendar.

BlackBerry barcode reader. I had wished for one of these, and thanks to a commenter have found one. However, it’s not what I had expected.

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