BlackBerry to run Android apps on future QNX devices?

By Lydia Leavitt posted Aug 25th 2011 8:08AM One of the biggest gripes from BlackBerry users is the lack of apps, which is why RIM hopes to boost sales by adding Android compatibility in future devices -- DroidBerry, anyone? According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter say RIM may add support for Android apps on future QNX-based devices, enabling access beyond RIM's relatively limited App World. The feature is said to go live in the QNX-powered PlayBook tablet by the end of the year, but there's no word yet whether the 2012 line-up of QNX phones will get a Google-friendly makeover. Rumor has it that anyone who bought the most recent batch of BlackBerrys won't get to have a taste of Gingerbread, Honeycomb or any other mouth-watering Android flavor for that matter. Guess they'll have to settle for plain old vanilla.

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BlackBerry Bold 9930, Torch 9850 go on sale at Sprint for $200, $150

By Lydia Leavitt posted Aug 22nd 2011 2:02PM
As expected, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and BlackBerry Bold 9930 went on sale at Sprint yesterday as part of its BlackBerry 7 lineup. Both phones feature 1.2GHz Snapdragon processors and five-megapixel cameras, but the 9850 has a 3.7-inch touch-only display compared to the Bold's 2.8-inch screen and keyboard combination. Purchased online with contracts and after rebates, the 9850 is selling for $150 while the 9930 is going for a cool $200 -- a departure from the originally announced Bold price tag of $249, with no mention of cash back. For Sprint users, a rebate is clearly better than no rebate -- even if it does require a stamp.

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RIM launches new BlackBerry Curve (video)

BlackBerry Curve 9350 Debuts Sept. 9 for Just $79.99 from Sprint

Stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The next generation of Research In Motion's (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) popular BlackBerry? Curve? series of smartphones, the stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350, comes to Sprint (NYSE: S) on Friday, Sept. 9, offering the latest BlackBerry operating system – BlackBerry? 7. The new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is a fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected smartphone that is as beautiful as it is functional.

The slim and stylish smartphone will cost just $79.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1 and be available in all Sprint sales channels, including Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and web sales (www.sprint.com). Sprint Business customers may qualify to get BlackBerry Curve 9350 for $49.99 (excluding taxes) on a business account with a new line or eligible upgrade and new one- or two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1.

"It is exciting to see the BlackBerry Curve line continue to evolve, building upon past success," said David Owens, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. "This latest iteration offers the recognizable form factor our customers have come to enjoy, while adding powerful new features and innovative apps of BlackBerry 7 to deliver the smoothest and fastest BlackBerry Curve experience to date."

The BlackBerry Curve 9350 smartphone offers a full QWERTY keyboard and trackpad for easy one-handed navigation and keeps users connected by allowing them to easily share moments through pictures and videos via MMS, as well as by instant message with world-class IM services like BBM? (BlackBerry? Messenger). With easy access to social networking sites like Flickr?, MySpace and Facebook?, this smartphone provides smooth integration to keep users up to speed on what's happening in their personal and professional lives.

Key features include:

BlackBerry App World?, the official app store front for BlackBerry smartphones offering customization, fun and productivity
Near Field Communications (NFC) support for a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance
5MP camera with HD video capture, flash and zoom
512MB RAM
2GB microSD card included, with support for up to 32GB microSD card
BlackBerry PlayBook support with BlackBerry Bridge? (BlackBerry Bridge is available as a free download on BlackBerry App World)
DataViz Docs To Go? Premium suite preloaded, for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from anywhere
Wi-Fi? (802.11 b/g/n)
Bluetooth? 2.1+EDR support

Smoother and Faster with BlackBerry 7

With BlackBerry 7, the BlackBerry Browser is significantly enhanced to provide a faster and more fluid user experience and includes optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

Building upon the Universal Search feature introduced in BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry 7 expands the capability to include voice-activated search. This new capability makes it easier and more convenient to search for content on the smartphone or web.

BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry? Balance?, which separates personal content from corporate content, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the smartphone for personal email, Facebook?, Twitter?, multimedia, games and other apps, while satisfying the very real need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry? Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls, such as wiping only corporate data or blocking work-related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.

BlackBerry Curve 9350 requires activation on one of Sprint's Everything Data plans plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint's Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge – a savings of $40 per month versus Verizon's comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web or $10 per month versus Verizon's 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)

Sprint was unbeaten among major wireless carriers for customer satisfaction according to results from the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. In addition to tying for first place among wireless carriers, Sprint was also the number one most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, during the last three years, according to the survey.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 52 million customers at the end of 2Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

1The American Express Prepaid Reward Card ("Card") provided in connection with this Rebate offer is a prepaid Card that is usable only at U.S. merchants that accept American Express Cards. Some limitations apply. Offer valid only in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Card is not redeemable for cash (except where required by law) and does not provide ATM access. Use of Card constitutes acknowledgement that it is given as a reward and no consideration, value, or money has been paid by the holder to American Express in exchange for this Card. USE OF CARD IS SUBJECT TO THE CARDHOLDER AGREEMENT. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, A $3.00 MONTHLY FEE WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST CARD BALANCE, STARTING SIX MONTHS AFTER CARD ISSUANCE. Card expires six years after the date of issuance if not depleted before. For BALANCE, customer service and Cardholder Agreement, visit americanexpress.com/sprint or call 1-866-608-3756. Card issued by AEPCMC under license from American Express Prepaid Card Management Corporation, Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

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Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-on

Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-onBy Sharif Sakr posted Aug 23rd 2011 7:41AM So, the trickle of BlackBerry juice is now a flood. Just weeks after RIM launched its high-end Torch 9810, 9850 and Bold 9900 handsets, it's revealed the refreshed mid-range Curve 9360 (aka the 9350 or 9370, depending on the carrier and region). When compared to the Bold 9900, which can be seen as a richer cousin with a similar form factor, the new Curve clearly comes with key hardware sacrifices in order to meet a lower (but still to-be-confirmed) price point, including an 800MHz processor (instead of 1.2GHz), no touchscreen and a 480 x 360 HVGA+ display rather than the Bold's full VGA panel. Compared to previous Curves, however, the 9360 is a significant upgrade. It sports the new BB 7, a 5MP camera and a physical design that RIM hopes will entice the "youth demographic" as well as the millions of international users who have helped to turn the Curve into RIM's globally bestselling range. The question is, is this device enough of an upgrade, considering it's been a year since the last refresh in the Curve series? Read on for our initial hands-on impressions...



You discover one of the Curve 9360's major selling points as soon as you pick it up: its thin, shapely dimensions coupled with a smooth, 'layered" design. The device weighs a mere 99g (3.49 ounces) due to the plastic build, but it doesn't feel flimsy. Neither are any of its three dimensions at all off-putting: it's 109mm long, by 60mm wide and 11mm thick, and its general sturdiness means you won't feel the urge to add to that size with a protective case.
The bottom layer of the device consists of a black, glossy battery cover, which peels off easily to reveal the usual innards. This cover fits into a matte-finished, charcoal-colored middle layer that houses various fixtures and fittings, including a very discreet volume rocker on the top right corner, an equally invisible (yet tactile) dedicated camera button on the bottom right, a micro-USB on the top left, plus the speaker, 5MP camera lens and flash on the back side. Finally, the uppermost layer is glossy black again and encompasses the entire front face of the handset, while also curving round the top and bottom edges in keeping with the whole 'curve' theme. Notably, the top edge has become the new home of the 3.5mm headphone output, which will come as a welcome change from the pocket-warping side-mounted port on previous Curves.

One downside of the over-arching top layer is the fact that the flush hardware buttons above the keypad are quite stiff -- because they're part of a relatively large chunk of plastic. The buttons on the Bold 9900 were much easier to press, but we reckon this is something we'd get used to over time. In contrast, the optical trackpad was a joy to use.

The keypad itself is very familiar -- you can either adapt to it or you can't. The individual keys don't have the steep angles of the higher-end models, but they do have a subtle ridge to aid typing. Also they're single-cell keys, with each one separated from its neighbor by a thin strip of plastic. RIM admits this design saves on cost and is aimed at people who bash out shorter strings of text. But it's a shame that the chunkier, more thumb-friendly keys of the Bold 9900 haven't trickled down to this mid-tier phone.

We didn't have a great deal of time with the camera, but it felt underwhelming and outdated due largely to a significant lag between button-press and shutter-release, even with the flash deactivated. In addition, the small screen contributed little to this device's utility as a camera phone.

The Curve 9360 runs the new BlackBerry 7, which we've come to regard as prematurely aged. It just feels a bit dusty and not a sufficient upgrade compared to its predecessor -- but you should check out our review of the Bold 9900 for the full low-down on this OS.

The UI was generally fluid despite the 800MHz processor, presumably because the low-res screen prevents the chip from being taxed too hard. However, the browser seemed tardy when surfing Engadget in desktop mode. Pages took too long to render as we scrolled down, suggesting that this phone will really be limited to the mobile versions of web pages.

Blackberry's new OS doesn't support Flash, but YouTube worked a treat thanks to HTML5. Over all, we think the target audience for this phone will be using it primarily for communicative tasks that aren't graphically intensive, such as Facebook and BBM, coupled with listening to music, snapping occasional pics and watching a few videos -- all of which are handled easily by the OS and the processor. It's even possible that BB OS 7 will feel more at home in this device than it does in the higher-end models.

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Comcast's Xfinity app debuts on Blackberry, updated on iOS

By Richard Lawler posted Aug 22nd 2011 6:30AM It may not have live TV streaming yet, but Comcast has been at the forefront of expanding the cable TV experience to phones and tablets with its Xfinity app and pushed further recently, updating the iOS version and releasing an edition for Blackberry phones. On Blackberry it brings the usual set of features, including Comcast.net email access, remote DVR scheduling and trailers for VOD selections. On iOS, v1.60 adds a "previously played" button that can return the TV to previously watched channels, or start playing VOD content on the mobile devices right where you last left off. Check the official blog for more details or just download from iTunes or Blackberry App World.

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BlackBerry Torch 9810 available on AT&T today for $50

By Brad Molen posted Aug 21st 2011 9:32PM The wait is over for BlackBerry fans from coast to coast who happen to use Ma Bell, as the BlackBerry Torch 9810 -- the first of three devices in RIM's fall lineup -- is now available at AT&T stores. All it'll set you back is a respectable $50 (with a two-year commitment, of course), and you'll then be ready to get your OS 7 on along with Liquid Graphics, a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.2GHz CPU, and more than plenty of the usual RIM features you've come to love or hate. If this phone's flame burns within you, it may be time to head to the source link below.

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RIM to unleash redesigned BlackBerry App World 3.0 on August 22nd

By Billy Steele posted Aug 21st 2011 2:54AM Hot on the heels of releasing its new device arsenal, RIM is prepping to roll out a brand spanking new BlackBerry App World. Scheduled to launch Monday, version 3.0 features a retooled interface for quick perusal of apps, games and themes -- if the beta release is any indication. Another added feature is the My World storage folder that keeps all of your downloads on the home screen and lets you wirelessly reinstall them should you accidentally delete one or upgrade devices. Sure, there are rumblings that the BB music service will be a part of this release, but as Reuters reported, that announcement isn't expected until early September. Although, this update would complete the new smartphone trifecta rather nicely: new device, new OS and new app store. Well done, RIM, now if you could just get your advertising in order, you'll be all set.

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Canada Post issues BlackBerry stamp, for your less urgent BBMs

By Donald Melanson posted Aug 19th 2011 9:02AM The US Postal Service just honored the IBM Selectric typewriter and some other icons of American design with their own postage stamps last month, and now Canada Post has gotten in on the act to recognize four key Canadian inventions. That includes the pacemaker, the electric oven, the electric wheelchair and one that's considerably more recent: the BlackBerry. A bit of an ironic choice, perhaps, considering that it could also be seen as contributing to the decline of the postage stamp itself, but Canada Post acknowledges that the "invention freed information workers from their desks and changed the way the world communicates." The company may be facing some tough times these days, but it's hard to argue with that.

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BlackBerry Music to serve up 50 songs for $5 a month?

By Christopher Trout posted Aug 20th 2011 5:33PM Well, it looks like BlackBerry's banking on another BBM to pull it out of the enterprise-only lurch, and this one should be like music to your ears. Earlier this week, we reported that RIM was readying a new music service, and now All Things D is giving us some juicy (unofficial) details on the tentatively titled BlackBerry Music. The publication says $5 a month will give users access to 50 songs that they can share with their BlackBerry-toting friends (also signed up for the service). What's more, it could be officially pumping the jams to the UK, US, and Canada as soon this fall, with other territories to follow in 2012. Rumor also has it that users won't be able to port the music to other devices, unless they happen to have a PlayBook handy. Somehow we suspect that last bit won't be what draws the youngster in.

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