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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.

T-Mobile launches Blackberry Curve 8900
We’ve known for a while this was coming, but this week it became official: the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is now available from T-Mobile. We know all the features, including the 3.2 megapixel camera, the Wi-Fi, the hi-res display, and everything else. The price, as T-Mo advertises it, is $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and the signing of a two-year contract. Engadget Mobile found a Best Buy deal for $149.99, but that pricing list looks a bit screwy. For instance, it says that an upgrade with a two-year agreement is $299.99, but an upgrade with a one-year commitment is free. So that’s probably not too accurate. The non-contract price through T-Mobile is $499.99.

First take on the BlackBerry 9300
When you see a 9 as the first digit in a BlackBerry model, you know what that means: 3G. Friggin’ awesome. This week, Boy Genius Report reported some specs for the BlackBerry 9300, which is said to be the Curve 3G. (And no, it’s not the codename Gemini as originally reported.) With this model, we’re getting a bigger display with a higher res screen, a faster CPU, quad-band GSM/GRPS/EDGE and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, and the certainty of a camera (duh). The cam should be better than 3.2 megapixels — can we dream about 5? BGR also says that while Wi-Fi and GPS were not confirmed, there’s about a 99.99 percent chance of them, though they could probably just say it now, because there’s just no way RIM would leave this off a GSM device. They’re figuring for a late 2009/early 2010 release, which means we have another year to get hyped about this one.

RIM ups subscriber forecast this quarter
If RIM’s goal is to gain as many subscribers as possible, no matter the short-term ramifications, it appears they’re on track for achievement. They’ve increased their subscriber forecast by 20 percent, from 2.9 million to 3.48 million. That’s good for business, right? Not necessarily. It appears that they’ve also warning that profits will be “at the low end of its forecast.” Hey, short term losses for long term gains, right? RIM’s focus on subscribers rather than profits could certainly work out well for them down the road, especially when the economy recovers.

Verizon done with the Curve 8330
Apparently, Verizon is having a buy one get one free sale. If you buy one BlackBerry, you can get another one of equal or lesser value for free. Of course, you have to sign two-year agreements for both and hook both up to a qualifying data plan. Anyway, it appears they’ve run out of Curves on their website. BGR claims that this could be Verizon clearing out their inventory of 8330s in anticipation of a newer, better device. Niagra, anyone? We know Sprint is getting it, and if Verizon is clearing out the Curve, it would seem like they’re getting it, too. And while we’re on the topic of Verizon, because it’s not worth its own item, it appears the BlackBerry Pearl flip 8230 will have Wi-Fi, a rarity among Verizon devices.

(Of course, after I write this up, there are more 8330s up on Verizon’s site. Sounds like a false alarm. Sorry.)

The difference between the Application Center and Application Storefront
Over the past few weeks and months we’ve heard plenty about BlackBerry’s forthcoming Application Center. During that time, you might have also heard something about the Application Storefront. Are they they the same thing? No, they are not. Ronen from BerryReview notes the differences between the two. The Application Storefront will be RIM-run and accept only PayPal payments initially. It will include a Web presence in addition to an on-device interface. The Application Center will be carrier run, meaning carriers will choose which applications are available on each device. The downloads will go to the device only, and the carrier will deal with the billing. If that doesn’t seem restrictive enough, the App Center might only be available on the Storm and Bold. Boo.

Get the Storm for $99 through Amazon
Yep, you read the headline right. The BlackBerry Storm is now available on Amazon.com for $99.99. Even better, it doesn’t require any type of rebate. Yes, you’ll have to sign your life away to Verizon for two years, but isn’t that always the case when you buy a new BlackBerry? With this and Verizon’s buy one get one sale, there doesn’t appear to be a better time to get a Storm.

Customize your BlackBerry OS
I didn’t find a ton of use for it, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway. Over at BGR they have the steps to creating a custom BlackBerry OS. It essentially allows you to take bits and pieces you like from each OS build. I’m just fine with 4.5.0.77 on my 8330, but if you’d like to mix it up a bit check out their post.

Finally, an official 4.5 for the 8830
Poor 8830 World Edition users. You’ve had to deal with unofficial OS 4.5 builds for quite a while now. Bell Mobility has officially released OS 4.5 for the 8830, so you can head over there and download it for your device, even if you’re on another carrier. I’m sure the more savvy 8830 users already have 4.5 (DavidB, does that mean you?), but if you’ve been left behind, it’s time to go catch up to the rest of the BlackBerry world. In other 4.5 news, AT&T has completed the 4.5 rollout for all compatible devices. These include the Pearls 8100, 8110, and 8120, the Curves 8300, 8310, and 8320, the 8820, the 8800, and even the 8700.

Curve 8330 now $39.99 from Virgin Mobile Canada
Despite its rates being up across the board, Virgin Mobile Canada has dropped the price of the Curve 8300 to $39.99. This is, of course, contingent upon you signing a three-year contract. It skyrockets $290 to $329.99 on a two-year deal. I don’t even want to get into the cost for a one-year deal or a 30-day deal.

Don’t mess with the BlackBerry
We close out this week’s links with a video from College Humor which is making its way around the ‘net:

Thunderbird and BlackBerry. We’ve been trying to figure his out for a while. Thankfully, BlackBerry Cool helped us figure it out.

Turning off data services on your BlackBerry. Apparently a lot of people use this to save their battery life. There are a number of other reasons to check out this option, including saving yourself while roaming.

5 reasons you’re still a man even if you have a BlackBerry Pearl. It’s in jest, so don’t sweat. Surprisingly, there’s only one wise-ass comment so far.

VyMail client for YouMail. If you use YouMail but, like everyone else, were turned off by the YouMail BlackBerry client, you can check out this awesome alternative, VyMail. It’s been recently updated, too.

OSXLike, Cipher Bounce, and Shamrock themes. Yes, our semi-monthly feature is back, with three more themes for your BlackBerry device.

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