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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.
The definitive BlackBerry Storm compendium
We are just one day away from the official release of the BlackBerry Storm. If you want to get pumped up for it, go check out the unboxings. You can see one at CrackBerry and another at Boy Genius Report. All the news isn’t good, though. It appears there could be a shortages of Storms. BGR says this might be RIM’s fault, and after the Bold debacle I’m inclined to believe it. BlackBerry Cool talked about some Southern California stores getting just one functioning Storm, though it appears they’ve since received a few more. This is rightly being compared to the LG Voyager debacle.
Anita Hamilton of Time says the novelty of the Storm wears off quickly. She cites the click screen as the main turn-off. There are plenty of positive reviews to counterbalance her, including Kevin’s series of posts at CrackBerry (follow the above link), and a neat look at DVICE. If you’re in Canada, you can get the Storm on Bell and Telus on the same day, which is estimated at December 10. Best Buy should have the device on Sunday. According to BerryReporter, you can get the Storm for $499 without a contract. Finally, when you get the Storm, you can upgrade the OS immediately. This, according to BlackBerry News, could solve a number of issues that have been causing the problems with the release.
RIM co-CEOs to enter Canadian Business Hall of Fame
No one covers RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis quite like the guys at BlackBerry Cool. We get word now that the duo will be inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Great job, guys. Now, use those HOF skills to avoid any further delays/complications with future devices.
Gizmodo gives Bold browser a B-
Ouch. Tech site Gizmodo ranked a number of mobile browsers, and gave the BlackBerry Bold a B-. Personally, I dig the new browser, but obviously these guys are making a much wider comparison. They liked, surprise surprise, the iPhone the most, giving it an A-. The B- grade was actually third best, behind the iPhone and the Android browser. Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile got a big fat F. That makes me happy.
Curve 8900 in time for the holidays?
Last week we learned that the Curve 8900 should be hitting the States in early 2009. But could that be earlier? If you’re in the UK, it’s a possibility. BGR picked up a report from Carphone Warehouse which suggests that the 8900 could be available in December. Sounds like a good deal. People might be getting amped over the Storm this week, but I’m really looking forward to the 8900.
Good deals on the 8220 and 8130
Via Berry Reporter we get a few good deals for the Christmas season. First, Telus is offering the Pearl 8130 for free through Christmas. That’s uber-sweet. If you can somehow finagle it, that’s a great present right there. Also, Future Shop is offering the 8220 for just $25, with a $25 gift card. Sale ends today, though, so you might want to jump on that.
Review of Unify4Life BlackBerry remote
Back at WES, we found out about the Unify4Life BlackBerry remote. It supposedly links into all of your audio-visual hardware and acts as a universal remote. They were — let’s leave it at “not nice” — about giving out demo models, which is a crying shame. There’s a review up at CrackBerry if you’re interested.
Looking for BlackBerry technical training?
If you’re interested in becoming a better technical BlackBerry user, you can check out a free BlackBerry technical seminar. It will be held on December 3, from 9 to 5 Eastern time. You can check out further details at the link.
RIM working on LTE BlackBerry
Long Term Evolution is the next generation of mobile technology. Verizon and AT&T both say that they’ll use their 700 MHz auction winnings to transition to this platform. So it makes sense that RIM is working on an LTE device. Will it be touchscreen? Will it have a slide-out keyboard? Those are all questions we’ll be asking over the next year or so.
Storm vs. the iPhone. Plenty of people are making the comparison. We round up the best from early in the week
BlackBerry Enterprise Server beginner’s guide. Cooper brings the education about BES and what it means for you.
Card Pack Gold. I was stuck on the subway last weekend without a book. I suer could have used a game pack like this to keep me occupied.
Free BlackBerry screenshot software. This doesn’t appear to be quite as good as SnapScreen, but CaptureIt is a free alternative. Worth a look.
What would make you give up your BlackBerry? It would take a whole lot, including becoming President of the United States.
How to set up Yahoo! Mail on your BlackBerry. It’s exceedingly simple.
Picture Dial. You can call, text, or email your contacts by selecting their picture. We also took a look at adding picture caller ID this week.
Sync your Google contacts. Finally! There are certainly a few hacks to go along with this release.
This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry!
Normally, this won’t be a problem. Any time you’re moving up the corporate ladder, chances are you’ll have access to BlackBerry service, specifically on the company’s BES. However, what if the company doesn’t allow BlackBerry on their corporate network? What if, gasp, you’re stuck with a Palm or a Moto Q or a Samsung Blackjack? It might not be likely, but what if?
I know a few people who got so fed up with their BlackBerry that they ditched RIM altogether, opting for an inferior mobile device. I usually deliver a plea, letting them know that their situation is the exception, not the rule. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but in any case I certainly stand by that statement. 
Many of us compulsively check our BlackBerrys every three, four, five minutes. Hell, some probably check every one or two minutes. When exchanging emails with someone, this might be justified. When out in a social setting, though, and checking generally for new messages, it can be obnoxious. You’re supposed to be interacting with people, not looking at your backlit screen.
A new cell phone contact means a subsidy towards a new phone. This is a boon for consumers, as they can nab expensive devices for a fairly reasonable price. So say your contract with T-Mobile, on which you used the 8320, was up. Would you use the opportunity to switch to AT&T to get the iPhone?
We often talk about 
Inmates, as you know, cannot have cell phones. So why are we even bringing up this scenario? Because 
So this one is a bit extreme, though it’s not without precedent. The Dutch village of 
D’oh! The economic crisis has hit you hard, and you can no longer afford your monthly data plan. In order to make ends meet, you’ve got to cut it, though you can keep your voice plan. Does this mean you’ll ditch your trusty BlackBerry in favor of one of those commonplace regular phones? Well, if you’re on Verizon you have little choice in the matter. Since you can’t have a Berry without a data plan on their network, you’re back to the ol’ trusty RAZR. On other carriers, though, the situation is different.
It works in almost the same way as SnapScreen. You can add an option to the menu, which will allow you to take a shot of whatever is on the screen — minus the menu of course. I ran into this problem the 
Storm, Storm, Storm. Today’s BBGeekcast marks the last of a couple of things, including speculation about the release date and price. In the middle of recording it, I had an epiphany: Things are always better on the podcast when we have unknowns. Speculation is fun; announcements are not. 
For a while, the stock answer has been “you can’t do that.” Once you delete something, it’s gone, and too bad for you. Thankfully, with a number of people having this question and asking it on forums, we’re able to figure out ways around the problem and recover our lost messages.
I tried this on my Curve with both an SMS and an email. Both times, the search function did not find the deleted message. It appears this does not work. Perhaps it does with an earlier OS (I’m on 4.5)? If anyone wants to test this, let me know the results. For now, we’ll call it debunked. This was, by the way, timrcanada’s only post on BB Forums. 
If your browser says UMA in capital letters, you’re set. This means you can use basically all functions over the UMA connection. This includes making calls, if you have T-Mobile’s 
Talking on your phone while driving is dangerous. Using a hands-free device makes the activity a bit safer. Many states have passed laws requiring a hands-free device while driving, so you might be in need of one. The most common type, as mentioned above, is the Bluetooth headset. This gives you a wireless connection, which many people prefer. However, there are downsides to Bluetooth.
We’ve all had this problem at some point or another. We charge the BlackBerry overnight, use it the next day, and get home to find just a sliver of life left. What gives? Hey, sometimes you just use your BlackBerry heavily, which drains it. Other times, you want to use it for its other functions, such as an MP3 player. Problem is, the stock battery only has so much juice. So what can you do?
One of the great aspects of the newer BlackBerry lines has been the portable memory, or microSD, slot. It allows us to store more information on our Berrys, including multimedia files. SD cards come in all sizes, all the way up to 16 GB, which is now supported in OS 4.5.0.81. Unfortunately, they’re not easy to come by these days.
You might remember a while back when Cooper talked about the virtues of 
People lose their BlackBerry devices. It’s just a fact of life. According to Stuffbak, these devices are only recovered five percent of the time. That might be an underestimate, considering they sell a loss prevention service for your BlackBerry. The 
This one is solved with the good old service books method. I read some more intricate processes on the Internets, but none of those steps were really necessary. Immediately after receiving the error, I logged into my BIS, clicked on Service Books, and had them sent. And, uh, that’s it.
This is the one BlackBerry application I simply cannot live without. 
Yes, we at BBGeeks love us some 
I try to 
I’ve made no secret of my love for 
If you’re so inclined you could check out