Phonedig

Verizon officially released OS 5.0.0.328 for BlackBerry Storm. This is great news for all you Storm owners as this update brings with it many enhancements and bug fixes. Update now through the BlackBerry Desktop Manager app.

Read

RIM announced their latest and greatest, the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Touted as an upgrade to the much revered Bold, the new phone features a sleek new design, optical trackpad, OS 5.0, improved battery life, and a smaller footprint. Check out the specs:

• Quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM connectivity
• 2100/1900/850/800 MHz or 2100/1700/900 UMTS/HSDPA connectivity
• 2.44 inch light-sensing display with 480 x 360 pixels
• Highly tactile QWERTY keyboard
• Wi-Fi with UMA (where available)
• GPS with Telenav maps
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Access to BlackBerry App World
• 3.2 MP autofocus camera with variable zoom, flash and video recording
• 624MHz processor
• 256 MB of Flash memory
• 2GB memory card in the box
• 4.29 x 2.36 x 0.56 inches (109 x 60 x 14.1 mm)
• 4.3 oz (122 grams)
• 1500 mAh battery

The Bold 9700 will be available from AT&T ($199.99 after contract), T-Mobile, and Rogers sometime in November.

Read

It’s now official, Vodafone and RIM announced the BlackBerry Storm 2. The new phone improves upon the first with refinements such as:

• An enhanced SurePress Technology
• Overall device performance
• Javascript on by default
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• 256MB flash memory (vs. 128MB on Storm 1)
• 2GB onboard memory (Storm 1 has 1GB)
• Sleeker design
• Integrated touch navigation keys
• BlackBerry OS 5.0
• Faster web browsing

No specific release date but Vodafone UK customers can get it free from £35 per month on a 24 month contract. Hmm, not sure if I’d want to be tied to a phone for 2 years even if it was free.

Update: You can now pre-order the Storm 2 on Vodafone’s site.

Read

Looks like it’s official with AT&T’s announcement, the up to now black BlackBerry Bold will be making an appearance in a ghostly white skin. At first I thought it a bit strange but it’s definitely growing on me.

Expect an October 18 release for $199 after 2 year contract.

Read

According to some snaps at the CTIA, the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is about to receive a white makeover. That’s right, folks, the long revered, sexy-black Bold is going to be available in albino white on the 18th of October for a cool $199.99 after 2 year AT&T contract.

I can’t place it but there’s just something about the white Bold that’s just…not…right. Think I’ll just stick with my black Bold, tyvm.

Read

The wait is finally over: BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 is now officially available via BlackBerry App World. After numerous beta versions, leaks, what have you, RIM have released the much improved, much sought after BBM 5.0. Check out the features:

• Avatars can be easily set up and then populated from BlackBerry Contacts
• Group Functionality - allows groups of friends, family and personal contacts to stay connected & share experiences instantly on their BlackBerry smartphones:
  • ongoing group chat
  • sharing pictures
  • organizing tasks and events with shared lists and calendars
• Bar-code identity - easily add/invite contacts to BlackBerry Messenger by displaying a 2-dimensional bar code that the invitees can capture with their BlackBerry camera
• Large Media File Transfer - up to 6MB

Download it here.

Read

All you Apple fans will be happy to know that the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac is now officially live. Sync your iTunes music as well as your contacts and appointments; easily backup, restore, and add/remove applications, all on your beloved Mac.

So what’re waiting feo? Grab it here.

Read

RIM and Tivo announced the availability of the Tivo app for BlackBerry devices. Yeah, you probably perked up and exclaimed, “Wow!” but the app only allows you to view the program guide and schedule shows to be recorded. Sorry to be a downer but like most of you I was expecting to watch my shows on the BlackBerry itself. Eh, perhaps in the next version.

You can now download the app through BlackBerry App World.

Read

So what do you do when a major phone carrier (T-Mobile) e-mails you a photo of a highly anticipated, yet unannounced BlackBerry Bold 9700 before any embargo is signed? Why, you immediately post it for everyone to see, of course; and that’s exactly what Al Sacco from CIO did.

Besides the previous unsubstantiated specs that have been going around the net, here are further details straight from the horse’s mouth:

“The BlackBerry ‘Onyx’ sports a premium experience and design with a high-gloss black finish and leather grain detail on the back. Boasting features such as high-speed 3G Web browsing, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail and support for corporate and personal e-mail options, the ‘Onyx’ will satisfy all your on-the-go needs. Also the phone comes preloaded with mobile applications from BlackBerry App World, including Amazon MP3 store for quick and easy music downloads and TeleNav GPS Navigator for turn-by-turn directions.”

Sleek, sexy lines, beveled screen, 3G support, UMA, optical trackpad, and the same original Bold keypad? Well, dangit, T-Mobile just became that much more attractive…

[via BGR]

Read

The Blackberry Storm hasn’t exactly been the smash success that Verizon or RIM had hoped for. As a result, they’ve spent no time denying the existence of the next iteration of the device and even sent an early build to the folks at Crackberry.com for a hands on.

Thanks to a set of leaked documents we now know - that is assuming these are legit and accurate - that the Storm 2 (aka 9550) will arrive in Verizon retail stores on 10/14, while business customers will gain access to the device on 9/29. Pricing is still an unknown, but I’d expect it to be about $200 upon launch.

Read