Research In Motion

BlackBerry users can now join in on the social networking fun via MySpace mobile starting today.  With the MySpace mobile experience BlackBerry users will be able to send and recieve MySpace mail, Update their Status and Mood, View and send Bulletins, Add comments, post photos and much more.  The application is available free of charge, but you will need a data plan and network connection to use the software.  BlackBerry requirements include 64MB of onboard memory with 100KB available memory

To download MySpace for your BlackBerry Smartphone direct your web browser to www.blackberry.com/myspace or you can download to your computer and install using your USB cable by clicking here.

Attention all BlackBerry users looking to pick up the Pearl 8220, Bold or Storm, your time is coming. The end of October and throughout November we will be seeing BlackBerry launches sweeping North America and Europe as RIM expands its offerings across At&t, Rogers, Verizon, Vodafone and Bell networks. To kick things off, as early as yesterday (October 29th) Rogers began shipping the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 so that devices would be in stock for Halloween.  We all know that At&t will be quickly following Roger’s Pearl 8220 launch with their BlackBerry Bold for $299 on November 4th.  

Next we head to Europe where Vodafone will be launching the BlackBerry Storm around November 11th (not confirmed) in full touchscreen glory.  Back in the states the Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm assault will begin picking up steam with Corporate stores selling units by November 15th, followed by Best Buy on November 16th and then all retail channels November 17th.  To help ease the launch Verizon Wireless stores will be opening 1 hour earlier to ease the launch.  Rounding out the release dates this November will be Bell’s BlackBerry Storm scheduled to launch November 21st.

BlackBerry Storm (9500 Series) Specifications:

Starting today, Google Maps for BlackBerry and some Java-enabled phones is now updated to include the Street View feature.  The addition of street level imagery made popular by the desktop version of Google Maps is a big step is separating Google Maps from rival Live Search.  Unfortunately Windows Mobile and Symbian devices have not been updated to include the feature, but while we wait we have put together some screen shots of Street View in action on the BlackBerry.

Download the new Google Maps for your Java-enabled phone or BlackBerry by visiting m.google.com/maps from your phone.

There’s nothing more we love than a carrier releasing a phone ahead of schedule. Verizon Wireless has done the impossible and released both the Motorola Q9c and BlackBerry Curve 8330 this week which beats our earlier reports. There is not much to tell when it comes to the specs on both devices since Sprint has been enjoying the Q9c for months now and the CDMA BlackBerry Curve has been leaked non-stop on the Internet. The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 is available for $269.99 on a 2 year contract after a MIR.

Verizon BlackBerry Curve 8330 Specs:

• 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and video capture (must use microSD card to capture video)
• EV-DO Rev 0 support for 3G connectivity
• VCAST TV support
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP stereo
• built-in MP3 Player
• 3.5mm audio port for headphones
• color: liquid silver

The second device, the Motorola Q9c is very similar to the existing Verizon Motorola Q9h, but this time it has a business focus instead of multimedia.  While we are not entirely convinced it was worth launching a second Q9 into the carrier’s line up, we still appreciate the effort.  The only real improvement the Motorola Q9c offers over the Q9h is the all black color which looks more professional than red accents. The Motorola MOTO Q9c can be picked up today for $199.99 on a 2 year contract without any rebates either online or in retail stores (additional $50 MIR also offered bringing the price down to $149.99)

Verizon Motorola MOTO Q9c Specs:

• Windows Mobile 6 Standard 
• 1.3 megapixel camera with flash and video recording
• MiniSD card slot up to 8GB
• EV-DO Rev 0 Support (same as Sprint, neither devices support EV-DO Rev A)
• Full QWERTY keyboard, rubberized grip
• All Black color design offers a more professional look
• 1170 mAH Li-Ion battery: 273 minutes talk time and 212 Hours Standby
• TTY compatible, OTA compatible, aGPS capable for E911 emergency location/sGPS
• Verizon VZ Navigator with Turn-by-Turn directions
• MMS Multimedia Messaging support
• Documents to Go for Windows Mobile 6 Standard (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Adobe PDF)

“It looks like my first RAZR”, would be the first thing that comes to our minds after getting a glimpse of the upcoming BlackBerry Kickstart. Unfortunately, the Kickstart is RIM’s idea of next generation for the SureType addicts looking for a clamshell form factor on T-mobile’s network. The details are very limited on the Kickstart at this point, but early indications lead us to believe there is a 2 mega-pixel camera on the back, a QVGA 320×240 internal display and a 160 x 128 external display. Since T-mobile is launching all new handsets with Wi-Fi for their HotSpot@Home service, you can expect Wi-Fi on the BlackBerry Kickstart as well and of course the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The big downer here is that once again you are looking at a RIM device packing only EDGE data support and will have to continue waiting for the BlackBerry 9000 series to hit At&t if you have a need for speed.

[Photos Courtesy of BGR]

If you are like the rest of us and suffering from Crackberry thumbs, Jott’s voice-recognition and transcription beta for Blackberry smartphone might do the trick.  Jott Beta allows users to dictate replies to emails rather than using their thumbs by speaking directly into the phone or via a bluetooth headset.  The Jott beta is compatible with Blackberry 8800, 8300 and 8100 series handsets and once installed a new option “reply with Jott” will be available to all new emails making the reply via voice as simple as pie.

Still not convinced? Jott claims that it makes replying to emails 3-5 times faster than typing by hand and makes it possible to manage your inbox while driving.  The beta is currently free, but there will be a service fee once the service officially releases so hop on over to jott.com.

[credit: gadgetell.com]

Research in Motion (RIM) introduced the Blackberry to the world years ago, but unfortunately Russians have not been able to enjoy crackberry fingers.  Today the Blackberry officially enters the Russian market after the Russian security agency’s approval (FSB).  The first order for the much coveted Blackberry goes to British American Tabacco, but we are not looking at the Blackberry Curve, instead they will be receiving Blackberry 8700g handsets.  The Blackberry 8700g will work on Russia’s Vimpelcom network and apparently there are talks with 40 other potential corporate customers right now.  The rival carrier to Vimpelcom, Mobile TeleSystems is also preparing to offer the Blackberry to even more business clients which should only add the the success RIM is experiencing.  With solid Q4 numbers and now Blackberry service available in Russia, the Blackberry should see a solid 2008 despite a slowing US economy.

[credit: Reuters]

Sure the Blackberry is a rock solid email machine, but we love data speeds. The time for a GSM 3G Blackberry to hit the market is quickly approaching with the upcoming release of the Blackberry 9000 series. Engadget was lucky enough to get a test unit to test out and from the pictures I am a big fan of the UI (User Interface). The rounded edges with the chrome accents found on the 8800 series and redesigned interface are all part of the next generation Blackberry style. While it does not look revolutionary, the style is elegant and the keyboard looks solid as usual. We were hoping that the keyboard would share the likes of the Blackberry Curve, but the Blackberry 9000 series shares the 8800 series keyboard. We are still hoping that the texture will end up being rubberized, similar to the Motorola Q9.

The Blackberry 9000 series will be the first Blackberry devices to bring HSDPA and Wifi to the GSM arena, but based upon the recent RIM releases this usually means that GPS will be missing. Hopefully we see the all in one convergence of HSDPA, GPS and Wifi in at least one iteration of the Blackberry 9000 series, but until we get some official announcement news via a RIM press release we will continue to wait. In the meantime, check out the video walk-through and interface menu compliments of our friends at Engadget.

 

Research in Motion reminds us of Apple these days with the lack of 3G HSDPA devices for the high speed mobile data market.  AT&T has been left to release follow up models to the 8800 and 8100 series packing Wi-Fi just to compensate for the lack of 3G capabilities and much like the iPhone, users want their 3G.  Today you can rest well Blackberry lovers, RIM’s CEO Mike Lazaridis has confirmed the company is developing a HSDPA enabled Blackberry. 

The news came from a FT interview (FT.com) when the CEO was asked what his latest device was and he replied, “One of our prototypes - a 3.5G Blackberry. It’s very fast over third-generation networks that ave HSDPA.”  There have been talks of a 9000 series Blackberry which would pack the HSDPA that we want so badly and based upon Lazaridis’ response, we can assume that was the device in his pocket.

[Credit: FT.com]