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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.

BlackBerry 2009 roadmap leaked
I never know what to make of these roadmaps, since they could always be fakes. But, it’s still cool for speculation. The RIM 2009 roadmap has surfaced, indicating seven new BlackBerry models for 2009, eight if you count the Curve “Javelin” which is set to hit T-Mobile in early ‘09. Other planned models include the EVDO versions of the Bold, the Javelin, and the Pearl flip, the Curve 9220, which is a 3G version of the 8900, a Storm slider, a new line of Pearls with 3G, and a touchscreen Bold. Sounds like RIM won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Curve 8900 gets rumored U.S. release date
It begins. Prior to the launch of a new BlackBerry model, we hideously insane passionate BlackBerry fans like to speculate as to the release date. We saw this with the CDMA Curve, the Bold, and the Storm most notably. Now, via TmoNews, we learn that the first rumored U.S. release for the Curve 8900 is February 18. Chances of it actually dropping on that day? It’s like one of those math sequences where the limit approaches but never reaches zero. That us, until February 18. The Curve recently made its way onto T-Mobile.

BlackBerry OS 5.0 details leaked
BlackBerry OS 4.5 was just released this year, yet we’re already hearing about version 5.0. Simon, who you might know from BlackBerry Cool, has the scoop over at IntoMobile. Check out his post to get some of the details. Most of the items he lists deal with management of personal, contacts, and email folders. They’re also trying to make BlackBerry email mimic the Outlook format.

RIM patents winged keyboard
It’s always fun to check out new patent designs, especially when they relate to new BlackBerry models. The latest: a keyboard with wings. It looks kind of ugly, in my opinion, It’s just an idea, though, and it definitely has some potential.

RIM makes record money in third quarter
It wasn’t long ago, just a few weeks, since RIM downgraded their forecast for the third quarter 2008. It appears, however, that it wasn’t that necessary. They made more money than ever before, reporting $2.78 million in revenues, up 7.9 percent from the second quarter 2008 and 66.3 percent from the third quarter 2007. RIM shipped 6.7 million devices in the quarter.

Top 5 handsets of 2008
Gary Krakow of TheSteet.com has his list of the top 5 cell phones of 2008. Like most lists of this ilk, he has the iPhone 3G as the No. 1 offering. After that comes the LG Incite, the Nokia e71, and then finally the BlackBerry Storm at No. 4. The Pearl 8220 checks in at No. 5. I haven’t played with the Incite or the e71, but was a big fan of the G1. Good to see two BlackBerrys on the list.

Are consumers returning the Storm?
Late last week Boy Genius Report dumped some bad news on us: The Storm is being returned at high rates, 30 to 50 percent in some markets. Verizon officials, however, say that it has the lowest return rate of any Verizon PDA “at this point in its life cycle.” BlackBerry Cool lets us know that only 33 percent of owners are “very satisfied” with the device and that 46 percent are somewhat satisfied. Finally, Will Park notes that new BlackBerry users are more likely to return the device, while loyal BlackBerry users are sticking with it.

RIM sues Motorola over employment blocking
Motorola has laid off a number of workers this year. Problem is, they’ve all signed non-disclosure and noncompete agreements. This means it’s tough for a competing company like RIM to give them a job. RIM has responded by suing Motorola over the issue. Hey, if there are good workers to be had out there, they should have the ability to find employment.

Hands on with BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac
Earlier this week we learned about an early release of BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac. BlackBerry Cool has a video demonstration of the application. Might as well give it a look if you want to install the software.

T-Mobile gets rid of handset upgrade fees
In days past, you had to pay $18 if you wanted to upgrade your handset with T-Mobile when you renewed your contract. It seemed totally unfair, but they got away with it. As of December 17, though, they’ve axed the fee. This is good news for those looking to get the Curve 8900 this Feburary.

Norbex Radio Companion for BlackBerry. So I kind of flubbed this post. I thought it was a radio song identified. Instead, it just tells you what song is playing on what radio station. Still a cool application.

5 applications we wish had BlackBerry connectivity. There are tons of cool applications out there. Here are some on other platforms we wish they would develop for the Berry.

BlackBerry theme reviews. Check out the latest three themes we’ve reviewed.

Review of Mr. Handsfree Genius Bluetooth Car kit. Find out what Cooper thinks of this hands-free driving device.

Get the BBGeekcast on your BlackBerry. WIth PodTrapper it is now possible.

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