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.
The latest on the Storm 2 — including pics
It’s been the same deal all summer: picture or video of Storm 2 gets posted, RIM has it taken down. On and on and on. Over the last week, we saw some multimedia go up and stay, a good sign that the device is nearing a release. First up, we got some pictures of the Storm 2 9520 from Boy Genius Report. This is the GSM version of the Storm 2, headed for Vodafone and other GSM carriers, probably including AT&T. It’s the heaviest BlackBerry to date, even heavier than those bulky older models. Unfortunately, with that weight comes a bit more girth, meaning the Storm 2 won’t fit in the original Storm charging pod. That’s a shame, but the hype for the Storm 2 far outweighs small inconveniences like this.
Will RIM make good on its OS 5 promise?
Back at WES 2009, RIM said that OS 5.0 “will follow before the end of the year.” We’re not quite there yet — three and a half months to go — but there hasn’t been much rumbling about the OS upgrade. BlackBerry Cool reminds us of RIM’s statement/promise, and wonders if they’re going to stand by it. Or, will they cop out to a technicality? The Bold 9700 (Onyx) and Storm 2 figure to launch with it, there’s a chance we don’t see it for other devices before January 1, 2010. OS 5.0 would have hit the public, so RIM would be in the clear, but Tour users, among others, would be left out. We’ll be sure to keep track of this one as we close out 2009.
Tour has serious trackball issues
We recently learned about the BlackBerry Essex, an updated version of the recently released Tour, which features WiFi and a trackpad. The latter is a good thing, because apparently people are having all kinds of trouble with their Tour trackball.
Justin from BerryReporter says that changing his trackball sensitivity to 80 helped a lot. But for those who need a break from the trackball frustrations, he’s put together a list of Tour keyboard shortcuts, so you can navigate your device with minimal trackball use.
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac on September 25?
BGR has it on good account that Desktop Manager for Mac will be released September 25. That’s next week. In the meantime, you can play with the leaked version. I’ve been enjoying it for the past week or so. It even upgraded my OS!
U2 mobile album available in App World
I’ll make this quick because, to the astonishment of those about five years older than me, I do not care for U2. I won’t go into my myriad reasons, but I will say that The Edge is such an incredibly overrated guitarist that I wonder how he got a reputation in the first place. Anyway, they released a mobile album, No Line On The Horizon, and you can get it for free at App World. It features not only the music, but images and lyrics, just like old time albums. There’s also other multimedia, like images of the band, videos, interviews, and more. There’s also some social networking aspects to it, so if that’s all your bag check it out.
Get an extra $50 off the Curve at T-Mobile
Here’s an intersting promotion from T-Mobile: buy a BlackBerry Curve, and then send in your old, working cell phone for an additional $50 rebate. It runs now through November 18, so if you’re looking for the 8520 or the 8900, now would seem the time.
BlackBerry Bold 9700, Curve 8520 Rogers-bound
It looks like the Bold 9700 and Curve 8520 are headed for Rogers, according to screen shots from their system. If they end up getting the Storm 9520, this could be quite the influx of devices for Rogers over the next month and a half. Not long after we learned that, we saw some pics of the 8520 with a Rogers boot screen. We’re probably three weeks from this release, though as always, that could change.
How long can a BlackBerry last under water?
Two minutes seems to be the answer, at least according to one BerryReview reader.
For further info, check out what to do and what not to do if your BlackBerry gets wet.
AT&T licensing technology from Vlingo
When I checked out speech-recognition software Vlingo last year, I thought it was pretty cool. It was far from perfect, but still some quality voice recognition software. It appears AT&T thinks very highly of it, as it has licensed the software for integration into its own Watson speech technology. AT&T gets a stake in Vlingo as part of the deal. Devices with the Watson engine should be available before year’s end.
Opera Mini 5 beta now available
We’d been hearing about Opera Mini 5 coming out sometime soon, and this week it finally came true. It’s only a beta version, but that’s still better than nothing. Those who prefer Opera to the BlackBerry browser (which is just about anyone who has tried Opera) can download the beta here.
Take better pictures on your BlackBerry. Your BlackBerry camera might not be the highest resolution, but you can take small steps to clearer pictures.
Twitter Help monthly roundup. Cooper answers questions that pop up on the BBGeeks Twitter feed.
Ranking the BlackBerry Twitter apps. Then, appropriately, I rank the BlackBerry Twitter apps we’ve reviewed. Sorry about no SocialScope; we can’t write about that one yet. Look for that one, Yatca, TwitterBerry, and TweetGenius in the future.
UberTwitter upgrades to Beta-5. There are even more features in the new UberTwitter, including the integration of TweetPhoto.
Keep a secret address book on your BlackBerry. Just in case someone might see your address book and find something they don’t like.
Using Password Keeper to store important information. You can do a lot with Password Keeper, a protected text file.
Set up email groups on your BlackBerry. If you frequently send emails to multiple recipients, you can take advantage of groups to make the process easier.
