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.
Hands-on look at the BlackBerry Niagra
For the past few weeks, even months, we’ve been talking about the rumored BlackBerry Niagra, which should hit Verizon as the 9630. As they’ve been doing for the past few releases, CrackBerry got their hands on a pre-release model and have reviewed it for the masses. It’s way, way too much to summarize in just one paragraph, so head on over there to read the whole thing. It’s awesomely worth it. One thing I will say is that the Niagra’s form is vastly superior to the 8830, in that it appears more Curve-like. Kevin says it feels “just right,” which immediately makes me think: “The 8830 was too big, the Pearl was too small, but the 9630 was just right…” I’ll quit the Goldilocks bit if you head over and read the review.
Rogers hikes prices on BlackBerry devices
Aren’t prices supposed to drop as technology ages? That’s usually the way, but Rogers just doesn’t view things in that manner. We found out this week that they raised the prices of many BlackBerry models by $25 to $50. Why? Because the company was $30 million over budget for cost of acquisitions. Now they’re passing that cost onto the consumer. Here’s to hoping sales plummet, forcing them to quickly realize the error of their ways. This goes especially for their $50 price hike on the Curve 83xx. Seriously? Even with the Curve 8900 in stock? Who the hell’s going to pony up the $150 for an outdated device? Final thought: Could high acquisition costs have anything to do with ridiculous three-year contracts?
BlackBerry 99xx promos look awfully fake
Some excitement broke out last weekend when CrackBerry saw a promo bit on the BlackBerry 99xx, a/k/a the Pluto, which supposedly features a mechanical keyboard and a touchscreen. This has been a rumored device, so seeing it for the first time was probably a rush for many long-time geeks. Ah, but then BGR stepped in an made the case that it’s a Photoshopped pic. That would make sense. Not letting the saga die, CB posted another blurry image of the 9900, which led to the discovery that the form factor presented in these pictures has been replaced by a new one. Neat. It also brought to light the possibility of a “new optical trackball,” which just sounds neat. So there’s nothing definitive on the table right now, but this is yet another device to look forward to in 2009.
Sprint 2009 roadmap reveals BlackBerry Niagra plans
A long-ago rumor pegged the BlackBerry Niagra for a Q1 release from Sprint. Well, we’re less than a half month from the end of the quarter and there’s no word yet on any kind of release, so we’ll file that one under the growing “premature” file. However, after seeing Phone News reveal the 2009 Sprint roadmap we have a new rumored target. Shortly after posting this, Phone News took it down at the request of Sprint, but BGR still has the images up. It looks like a Q3 release for the Niagra. The graphic is in the right-hand side of the box, so perhaps that means second half of the quarter. That should line up with Verizon’s release.
Uninspiring Gemini gets pictured
BGR swears this isn’t a Photoshop, but can we really be sure these days? It’s a picture of the up-coming BlackBerry Gemini. This is the 8325, meaning it’s just another variation of the first generation Curve. Why is this coming out again? It does feature OS 5.0, supposedly, but other than that it doesn’t look like an improvement over the other Curve models at all. Even the resolution, 320×240, is the same. BGR puts it perfectly: “not too much here.”
Pandora released for BlackBerry!
Yesterday marked an awesome moment in BlackBerry history. After pining for it for what seemed like forever, Pandora finally released a BlackBerry client. Of course, we’ve had Slacker Radio for a while, but it’s just not Pandora. Why? Because I’ve been using this thing for a year and it knows my music preference already (that’s what happens when you rate almost every song that comes up).Head to Pandora.com from your BlackBerry browser and you can get it quick and easy. Then you’ll be streaming music like it’s no one’s business. It appears T-Mo users are out in the cold, though a few have had some success. Storm won’t work, either. For the rest of us, it’s like a dream come true. I’m going to have to start toting along an extra battery for long trips.
T-Mobile finally upgrades Pearls to OS 4.5
Geeze, and I thought that 8830 users had it rough with a late OS 4.5 release. Pearl users on T-Mobile, though, had it much worse. They just got their official upgrade this week. Of course, plenty of them have used other carriers’ OS upgrades to upgrade their own, but now it’s available to those unwilling to take the risk. It has all the normal 4.5 upgrades, including music and video streaming. So head on over to T-Mobile’s website to give it a whirl.
Sign up for RIM Ticketmaster application
If you’re a frequent concert- or event-goer, you might want to check out RIM’s Ticketmaster application. It’s not available yet, but you can get on a list to get email updates. Once released it will allow you to browse and buy tickets, using your Blackberry Wallet or credit card. I’m sure it will send out notifications of new listings, too, so you can easily find out when events are on sale. This should come in handy for the upcoming baseball season.
I want an MLB-branded BlackBerry. Bell in Canada is doing something neat by offering NHL team-branded Storms. So what about baseball? Some of us here are unhealthily obsessed. In addition to my suggestions (free streaming broadcasts), commenter DavidB suggests custom battery covers. Hey, it would work for plenty of consumers.
PC World rates Pearl top smartphone. BlackBerry dominated PC World’s top 10 smartphone list. It took Four of the spots, including the top spot with the Pearl. The Curve, Bold, and Storm also made the list, the Curve finishing above the iPhone. Can’t say I disapprove.
Enter the BBGeeks/Themes4BB March Madness contest. Dude, games start in two hours! Make sure you sign up soon! For those of you stuck at work, you can follow the action on your BBGeeks-branded Viigo reader.
March Madness theme for your BlackBerry. If you’re as amped as I am, you might want to check out this theme from the Themes4BB forum. It’s free, which is all sorts of awesome.
Toggle mass storage mode. Want to turn mass storage mode off while your BlackBerry is connected to your computer so you can access the memory card from the device? Check out this tip for an easy solution.
