As if the both sets of pictures weren’t enough to give you a glimpse at the BlackBerry 9630 “Niagara,” now CrackBerry forums member salisa.m has graced us mortals with some honest-to-goodness video of the thing in all its rebooting glory. Of course — in the tradition of all things leaked — the video’s got a good amount of blurriness, but it’s not like we haven’t seen it before. Apparently this ‘Berry’s rocking OS 4.7.1.10 — not 4.6 like its sibling the Bold — but it’s got a “very likable Bold keyboard” albeit with a bit smaller keys. The back battery cover looks to be a piano-like carbon fiber plastic with a new hinge design to prevent dust accumulation, and it’s described as being very light and sleek. Unfortunately, the OS was super buggy, and the videographer couldn’t even get the device fully powered on for a tour of Verizon’s presumably tweaked software — but with this latest torrent of information over the past few days, we’re sure that we’ll be seeing a lot more of this bad boy in the not-so-distant future.

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Video: BlackBerry 9630 Niagara shown off… and on, and off again originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ladies and gentlemen, we now present even more shots of the CDMA-equipped BlackBerry 9630 Niagara that was caught strutting its stuff earlier this month. Not only is the phone turned on this time, but we’ve also caught it lying across some shagadelic leopard print. Additionally, the fine folks over at the Crackberry forums have a couple of less stylish pics, allegedly uploaded by someone trying to hawk the phone on craigslist for a cool $800. Those images show off what appears to be a battery slot on the back that’s slimmer than current models. Until RIM decides to give us some official visuals, we remain ever-hopeful that someone with the leaked phone manages a sexier photo shoot. More spy shots, including that of the mobile’s underside, after the break.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Read - Device-on photo
Read - Pics of underside

Continue reading BlackBerry 9630 Niagara pops up in more glamorous spy shots

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BlackBerry 9630 Niagara pops up in more glamorous spy shots originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s this little gem? According to a confidential / potentially dubious Rogers document landed by CrackBerry, it might be the BlackBerry 9900 — or Pluto for you codename-loving types. Interestingly enough, this devices happens to look just like a Storm / Bold / 8900 Franken-Berry that we first caught wind of in October, packing a full QWERTY and a SurePress touchscreen like the one found in the Storm. We can’t say for sure this is anything more than a clever Photoshop — and that little “see page 99″ bit on the bottom seems a bit too convenient of a number for our tastes. The trackball’s noticeably absent from the four main navigation buttons, so we’re already getting a little afraid of having to retain our BrickBreaker skills, but if any of you RIM insiders want to send over photos, video, or even the device itself before the “Late Q3 2009″ presumed release timeframe, we’d be mighty glad to be proven wrong.

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BlackBerry 9900 “Pluto” spotted in leaked Rogers documents? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rough morning for Nokia. After having its trio of new music-oriented handsets leaked, Gartner goes and releases a set of unflattering sales figures related to Nokia’s beleaguered smartphones. While smartphone sales overall increased 3.7% in Q4, Nokia’s share slid from 50.9% to “just” 40.8% on 15.6 million units. While many, including Samsung and HTC gained, it was RIM and Apple that made the biggest advances. RIM increased its share of the lucrative market to 19.5% (7.4 million units) from 10.9% while Apple more than doubled its share, up from 5.2% to 10.7% (4.1 million units). Keeping things in perspective: smartphones accounted for only 12% of all mobile device sales for the quarter. There’s a method to Nokia’s mid- to low-end handset madness.

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Nokia continues to hemorrhage Smartphone marketshare to RIM and Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rough morning for Nokia. After having its trio of new music-oriented handsets leaked, Gartner goes and releases a set of unflattering sales figures related to Nokia’s beleaguered smartphones. While smartphone sales overall increased 3.7% in Q4, Nokia’s share slid from 50.9% to “just” 40.8% on 15.6 million units. While many, including Samsung and HTC gained, it was RIM and Apple that made the biggest advances. RIM increased its share of the lucrative market to 19.5% (7.4 million units) from 10.9% while Apple more than doubled its share, up from 5.2% to 10.7% (4.1 million units). Keeping things in perspective: smartphones accounted for only 12% of all mobile device sales for the quarter. There’s a method to Nokia’s mid- to low-end handset madness.

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Nokia continues to hemorrhage Smartphone market share to RIM and Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM’s newly-named BlackBerry App World might be all set to compete with the other mobile app stores on the scene, but it’s not going head-to-head on price: according to the developer docs, the first price tier above free is $2.99. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a little puzzling in light of how successful various less-expensive iPhone apps have been. Of course, RIM might just want its apps seem more valuable to customers — and maybe keep fart apps far from its business-oriented platform — but we’ll see how developers react when things go live.

[Via CrackBerry; thanks Kevin]

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BlackBerry App World minimum paid price: $2.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s bigger than a store, a market, or a catalog? A whole frigging world, that’s what. A sign-up page to be notified when the BlackBerry App World is available — which we’ve linked — will go live at 10PM tonight.

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RIM names its app store ‘BlackBerry App World’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell Canada launches first CDMA BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the unlikely event that you needed a few final shreds of evidence to be convinced that the CDMA version of the BlackBerry Pearl flip — the 8230 — is real, feast your eyes on this heavy reading. Just-approved FCC documents show a device outline that can only be described as that of a clamshell, and sure enough, the SAR report indicates CDMA and EV-DO on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, so yeah, if this isn’t the 8230, we can’t imagine what it’d be. The timing on this development really couldn’t be any better since we’re expecting it to hit both Verizon and Telus in the near term, so quick show of hands: who’s buying?

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BlackBerry Pearl 8230 flips its way into the FCC’s heart originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This, shall we say, confrontational BlackBerry Storm ad by NY ad agency Guava has been making the rounds today, depicting a blackberry “bullet” taking a violent path through a familiar-seeming piece of fruit. An anonymous source told us that RIM considered it but eventually got cold feet — and we can understand why. Nonetheless, it’s an awesome bit of smack, so hit up the break and check it out for yourself.

[Thanks, Michael]

Continue reading The BlackBerry Storm ad that might have been

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The BlackBerry Storm ad that might have been originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEC charges, settles with RIM executives over backdating issue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not quite sure if you’re seeing what’s happening here, but Apple and RIM are working themselves right into the time-out corner. We already heard earlier today that Palm would be joining Adobe’s Open Screen Project — which, by the way, guarantees Flash 10 support on the Pre — and now we’re told that Nokia is following suit. What it all boils down to is this: Google, Microsoft, Palm, and Nokia are all expected to release platforms or handsets in the coming year or two which will support Flash 10, all while Apple’s iPhone attempts to limp by with… YouTube support. Granted, we have heard that the suits at Cupertino are in talks to make it happen, but we’ve yet to hear as much at MWC. Also of note, it seems that a similar deal including RIM is also pretty far off, so BlackBerry users should probably order their daily dose of patience as well.

[Via Macworld]

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Nokia also joins Adobe initiative, Flash 10 for (almost) all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After two years in development, Lenovo Constant Connect is finally here. A groundbreaking new tie-up between Lenovo and RIM has led to the creation of a $150 54mm ExpressCard — which slots into any ThinkPad from around Summer ‘08 onward — and automatically pulls down any email sent to your BlackBerry via Bluetooth, even if the laptop is completely powered down. The idea here is to always have your most recent inbox available within eight seconds of opening your machine, and thanks to the card’s dedicated Bluetooth radio and 500MB of inbuilt storage, it can pull down and send out emails so long as the card and your ‘Berry are within 30 feet or so from one another. Aside from needing an ExpressCard slot, you’ll also need a handset with OS 4.2 or higher. It’s designed to work with Exchange, Outlook, POP and Gmail, with Lotus Notes support coming in 2H 2009; as for availability, the card will be available through Lenovo and its partners in early Q2 here in America, while those elsewhere in the world will have to wait until the latter half of the year. Full release and demo video is after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo Constant Connect brings BlackBerry email to ThinkPads automatically

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Lenovo Constant Connect brings BlackBerry email to ThinkPads automatically originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not sure if you noticed, but RIM’s first-ever full touchscreen BlackBerry caused quite the ruckus when it splashed down late last year. While many were thrilled to have the common luxuries found only on a ‘Berry underneath a clickable screen, there were quite a few outcries from folks who thought the whole thing just needed a few more days in the oven. Now that it’s had a chance to make its way around (most) of the world, we’re curious to see how users feel about their purchase. Are you satisfied with the interface? Did RIM deliver as promised? Have the updates quelled any early issues you had? Don’t hold back in comments below — get loud, get proud.

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How would you change RIM’s BlackBerry Storm? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had sightings of BlackBerry’s Curve 8900 running on AT&T before, and now comes word from a Boy Genius Report tipster that the pairing will be made official this month and the handset’s SKU is already popping up in the carrier’s systems. Additionally, the Pearl Flip 8210 is rumored to be making its debut on the network sometime in March. BGR expects the prices to be somewhere around $200 and $100, respectively. We can’t say we’ll be surprised if the Curve finds its way to AT&T, but we’re excited at the thought of finally having a carrier-independent matchup between it and the Bold.

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BlackBerry Curve 8900 coming to AT&T this month, Pearl Flip in March? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, business customers, just wipe that smug grin off your faces, won’t you? The unwashed masses (read: us) have finally been given the green light to rush into T-Mobile stores (and online) to pick up the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for $199.99 on a two-year contract after rebates — not exactly the $149.99 we were hoping for, but we can always hope for Best Buy to get this sucker out the door for a few bucks less than T-Mobile proper.

[Via BlackBerryNews]

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BlackBerry Curve 8900 finally available to one and all on T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, business customers, just wipe that smug grin off your faces, won’t you? The unwashed masses (read: us) have finally been given the green light to rush into T-Mobile stores (and online) to pick up the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for $199.99 on a two-year contract after rebates — not exactly the $149.99 we were hoping for, but we can always hope for Best Buy to get this sucker out the door for a few bucks less than T-Mobile proper.

[Via BlackBerryNews]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Curve 8900 finally available to one and all on T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems Canadian megacarrier Rogers Wireless is sponsoring Ottawa’s Winterlude Festival right now, effectively incorporating the two things that come to mind when we think of Canada — ice and BlackBerrys — into a single exhibit. So much for that warranty, eh?

Chris: “Shortly before being packaged for sale, RIM attempts to remove bugs from the Storm’s firmware using a 20G centrifuge.”
Thomas: “Camerica explorers surprised to discover cryogenically preserved device with OS superior to Windows Mobile 14.”
Nilay: “And you thought the browser was glacial.”
Don: “Miley Cyrus’ request for some ‘iced-out BlackBerrys’ didn’t translate so well north of the border.”
Paul: “The next firmware update is rumored to include a hammer and a chisel.”
Jacob: “Must’ve been one heck of a Storm.”
Darren: “I asked for a chilled blackberry martini, and got this.”
Ross: “Not to be outdone, Telus has encased a Curve 8350i inside Vanilla Ice. Turn off the lights and his stomach might glow.”
Sean: “RIM’s metaphorical take on the ‘new reality’ of modern smartphones”
Joe: “It’s a little too big for curling, but it does do SMS.”
Josh: “David Blaine: BlackBerry user.”

[Thanks, Bryan W. F.]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Caption Contest: If BlackBerrys were wooly mammoths originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are your friends Franklin and Grant burning a Curve-sized hole in your pocket? Here’s an idea: take ‘em on down to your local T-Mobile shop and exchange them for an actual 8900 and the next two years of your life. Deal? Looks like the unwashed masses (read: non-business customers) will be able to pick up the latest and greatest non-3G BlackBerry for a penny shy of $150 on contract, or — if you can stomach it — a whopping $649.99 contract-free. Choose wisely.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Update: It should be noted that this is out of Best Buy’s inventory system, which — as we’ve seen in the past — has a tendency to totally bone the contract-free pricing. Have faith that it’ll actually be a bit less.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 looking good for $149.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM’s BlackBerry Storm shows its cheaper side on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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