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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.

Half of all US smartphones are BlackBerrys
Would you believe that BlackBerry devices encompass more than half the smartphones in America? You’d better, because according to recent research, it’s true. Specifically, the RIM-manufactured devices comprise 52 percent of the US market. That trumps every other carrier by more than double — Apple has just 23.3 percent of the market. W. David Gardner of InformationWeek notes that iPhones sales jumped a whopping 365 percent from the second quarter of last year, though he curiously omits that the iPhone 3G was released in the third quarter of last year while the 3GS was released in the second quarter this year. That has quite a bit to do with the massive jump. Still, it appears RIM’s strategy is working.

RIM named fastest growing company in America
Further proof that RIM’s strategy is working: Fortune Magazine just named them the fastest-growing company in America. That’s quite an award for the company, especially since they’re headquartered in Canada. The award is for US-listed companies, though, so it’s all kosher. The linked article goes into some specific numbers which drew Fortune to RIM, including their current 28.5 million subscribers. It also takes a look at co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, who couldn’t be more unalike. The combination works, though, as evidenced by RIM’s sales, market share, and future prospects.

BlackBerry Storm 2 caught on video
Videos and images of the BlackBerry Storm 2 have been leaking onto the Internet for weeks now, but every time one goes up RIM requests it be taken down. So when there’s a video available, you’d better watch it before it goes poof. Here’s a blurry YouTube video of the Storm 2 showing off Wi-Fi (thanks to CrackBerry for the vid). The music is kind of annoying, but you can just mute your speakers. For a better-res video, you can check out one hosted at The BlackBerry Zone. That one’s pretty big — 80-something megs — but it’s a clearer shot of the new device. We’re just a few months from release, and things are starting to heat up. Hopefully we get some more video demos in the coming weeks.

Flash and Silverlight coming to the BlackBerry browser
No, the BlackBerry browser isn’t very good. Yes, there are alternatives, like BOLT browser and, soon enough, Skyfire. While I’ve opined that RIM should stick to other matters and let others handle their browser, it appears they really want to upgrade it themselves. Boy Genius Report pretty much confirms that Flash and Microsoft Silverlight will make an appearance in the future. While we heard Flash was coming months ago (and from the horse’s mouth), Silverlight is a new development. Kyle at BBCool gets a little snarky about the “confirmation,” noting that a lot of things can be pretty much confirmed if they’re as far as a year off.

RIM announces next generation smart card reader
Smart cards seem to be the next big thing in technological security, and RIM looks to be on top of the game. This week they announced a next generation smart card reader, which will allow for a greater level of access and security to computers and BlackBerry smartphones. It will use Bluetooth 2.0 to make a connection between card and device. I’m not going to do any good explaining this, so you can read the press release, and then Google “what is a smart card” to get some more answers. One thing I do wonder, after reading a bit, is whether this will also act as a data storage and transfer device. There was no indication on the press release, but it seems to be a smart card feature.

BlackBerry Bold soon to get a whiteout?
Not huge news, but it’s something. According to some pictures sent to Boy Genius Report, the BlackBerry Bold could soon be released in white. That’s nice and all, but with the Onyx on the way, it would seem that the Bold is moving to second tier. Anyone interested in a white Bold?

Verizon adds netbook, mobile broadband to BOGO offer
Verizon ended its last buy one, get one offer a few months ago, but now it’s back and better than ever. It still entails buying a BlackBerry device, but the free one doesn’t have to be a Berry. Instead it can be a netbook, mobile broadband access card, or even a MiFi device. There’s a mail-in rebate involved, so you’ll have to lay out some cash up front. And, of course, the free device has to be of equal or lesser value to the paid one (that some people don’t understand this boggles my mind). It runs through October 10, so you have some time. Unfortunately, it looks like the offer won’t be around for the Storm 2 launch.

Verizon BlackBerry Curve 8530 to come in two colors
And finally, we know the BlackBerry Curve 8530, the CDMA equivalent of the 8520, complete with optical trackpad, is coming to Verizon. Via BerryScoop.com we learn that it will come in two colors: lavendar and black. Hey, as long as it’s not the silver from the 8830 (and apologies to reader DavidB, who I know loves his 8830, color and all), I’m fine with it.

Would you wear a BlackBerry watch? I don’t see why not. This rumored device connects to your device via Bluetooth, so you can glance at your wrist to get email and other message alerts.

OS 5.0 preview. A version of BlackBerry OS 5.0 leaked on the Web, and we found some screenshots and a list of new features.

Top BlackBerry Storm cases. Cooper runs the gamut of BlackBerry Storm cases.

BlackBerry App World now available via desktop. Now you can access App World on both your BlackBerry device and your computer.

Using the Auto On/Off setting. It’s great for setting your device to turn off at night.

Upload videos to Twitter with TwitVid. This is also available through UberTwitter.

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