BlackBerry PlayBook OS 3.0 being tested?

While most BlackBerry PlayBook owners are eagerly awaiting the arrival of PlayBook OS 2.0, it looks like RIM has already started working on the next version - if rumors are to be believed. The folks over at n4bb.com have reported that, according to a source, the PlayBook OS 3.0 is being tested right now. RIM has failed to make any mention of a PlayBook OS 3.0 in the past so this comes as a surprise, but if it turns out to be true that means we should be seeing OS 2.0 being released pretty soon. No details about OS 3.0 were released, so we can't say what it's going to feature. Perhaps it'll be closing the gap between QNX and BlackBerry 10? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. What features would you like to see available in PlayBook OS?

Three UK Releases BlackBerry Bold 9790

Three UK has finally announced the availability of the new BlackBerry Bold 9790 on their network. The handset retails for 319.99 GBP (about $509) on Pay As You Go or for free on monthly plans starting at 28 GBP (about $44). To refresh your memory, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 offers a 2.4-inch 480 x 360 touchscreen display, a 1GHz single-core processor, a 768MB RAM, an 8GB of storage, a 5MP camera, a full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA, NFC, GPS, WiFi and runs on BlackBerry OS 7. [Product Page]

RIM: BlackBerry apps are more profitable than Android apps

Research In Motion executivess took the stage during BlackBerry DevCon Europe on Tuesday to clear up a few facts about the company's success with its BlackBerry App World marketplace. RIM's new CEO Thorsten Heins said BlackBerry App World is now home to more than 60,000 applications, which is a fraction of what's available in the Android Market or iTunes App Store, and that BlackBerry devices are among the most popular smartphones purchased in the United Kingdom. RIM's vice president of developer relations Alec Saunders also said that there are 174 million app downloads per month, or about 6 million applications downloaded per day, The Verge reported. Saunders argued that RIM's BlackBerry App World has 43% more daily downloads per app than Apple's own iTunes App Store and he said App World can be more profitable as well - BlackBerry apps supposedly earn about 40% more than their Android counterparts, and 13% of BlackBerry developers have made more than $100,000 from their apps. In addition to the app figures, Saunders and Nokia's head of Qt announced that RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook OS now supports the Qt developer framework, originally intended for Nokia devices.

BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 Update Coming Next Month – Runtime For Android Lets Users Run Android Apps and Games

The BlackBerry Playbook is said to be receiving its OS 2.0 update come next month and along with some much needed new improvements (like a native email app), the update will finally give the device the long promised ability to to play Android apps and games via the BlackBerry Runtime for Android app player. Developers have until February 6th to submit their Android apps into the BlackBerry App World store if they want their apps approved in time for the new Playbook OS 2.0′s launch. So what exactly does it take for an Android app to win approval by RIM? Well, for one — a developer must remove any and all words containing “Android” in them, as well as our beloved green mascot (I call him Andy). Makes sense. Also mandatory, a developer must remove anything that would otherwise take a user to the Android Market be it links or otherwise. RIM says porting Android apps should be a relatively painless process and we'll have to wait and see how many developers jump on this opportunity. As a fan of technology in general, I've always had a soft spot for the Playbook and it will be interesting to see if this will help garner new sales of the almost failed tablet.

Upcoming BlackBerry London image leaks again

BlackBerry London is a name we have heard several times before. We have even come across a purported image of the device before. Now we have yet another image of the upcoming smartphone based on RIM's new BlackBerry 10 platform. The image, courtesy Crackberry.com, shows the device in black, and looks like a slide from a presentation. The front of the device looks similar to the last picture we saw of the phone but has some differences. For starters, it is completely black, but that could just be an alternate shade. What more important is that the beveled edges are missing, replaced by rounded corners and the large BlackBerry logo on the bottom is now a bit smaller and directly below the display. We also get a glimpse of the back side of the phone, that shows the camera lens along with an LED flash in the top left corner of the phone. The new design doesn't look anything like any current BlackBerry phone out there. However, it does look a lot like existing Android phones, with the HTC HD2 and Motorola DROID X2 springing to mind first. The phone does look quite good though and also very slim. You can see by the large amount of space above the display that suggest that RIM has really stretched the phone to get as much battery in as possible while keeping the phone thin. The software also looks good, even though all we can see of it is the music player interface. We hope this one makes out of the gate before the end of this year, along with that new BlackBerry 10 platform that RIM has promised us. Source

Bold or old? Who is the real Team BlackBerry? [HUMOR]

RIM recently took to Twitter to conduct an informal poll of BlackBerry users. On New Year’s Eve the smartphone maker asked #TeamBlackBerry how they planned to #BeBold in the new year. The result not only made for a rather useless infographic but also resulted in the creation of a team of masked avengers. GoGo Girl, Max Stone, Justin Steele, and Trudy Foreal were created to characterize certain BlackBerry users, but our friends over at WinSource had a different view. I know, I know. It’s especially cruel to kick RIM while they are down, but we can’t help but get a laugh out of it all. When Windows Phone users can make a justifiable jab at the expense of a once-dominant smartphone maker, you know the tides are turning. Don’t even be fooled for a second that the rise of Android didn’t contribute largely to RIM’s demise, and with Google and crew looking into more and more ways to make the OS enterprise-friendly it’s more than safe to say that the BlackBerry is a dying breed. It would actually make for a really great comic book storyline in the vein of Frank Miller’s darkly toned Batman books of the late 80s. The once triumphant hero is forced out of retirement in an attempt to thwart their greatest foe yet only to die, of all things, from a heart attack. Sad, yes. But let’s not weep too much for the BlackBerry name.

BlackBerry London shows up again with fresher design

We first saw the BlackBerry London make it way onto the internet a few months back, though I reported that the version that would come to market would look a bit different, and not so Porsche Design look and feel. CrackBerry got a hold of an internal slide with, surprise, a refreshed BlackBerry London that will be RIM's first BlackBerry 10 smartphone due to launch this fall.

BlackBerry 7 devices gain government approval in U.S. and Canada

Research In Motion's latest BlackBerry 7 devices has=ve been granted Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC). FIPS certification is required before a device can be used by a government agency in either the U.S. or Canada. ”The FIPS 140-2 certification for BlackBerry 7.0 and 7.1 illustrates RIM's continuing commitment to providing industry-leading, secure, mobile computing platforms for our customers,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “With all of the latest BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet certified under the FIPS program, government and security-conscious customers can deploy our entire range of products with confidence.” Devices that received FIPS 140-2 certification include the BlackBerry PlayBook, the BlackBerry Bold 9900, 9790, BlackBerry Torch 9850, 9860 and 910, and the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360, 9370 and 9380. RIM's full press release follows after the break. BlackBerry 7 and 7.1 OS Achieve FIPS 140-2 Certification Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that BlackBerry® smartphones running on the powerful new BlackBerry® 7 and BlackBerry® 7.1 Operating Systems (OS) have been awarded FIPS 140-2 certification by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC). FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 is recognized by the U.S. and Canadian governments and is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). All BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry 7 and BlackBerry 7.1 benefit from this certification, including the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900, 9930 and 9790, BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850, 9860 and 9810, and BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360, 9370 and 9380. “The FIPS 140-2 certification for BlackBerry 7.0 and 7.1 illustrates RIM's continuing commitment to providing industry-leading, secure, mobile computing platforms for our customers,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “With all of the latest BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet certified under the FIPS program, government and security-conscious customers can deploy our entire range of products with confidence.” In addition to FIPS 140-2 certification, the BlackBerry 7 OS has received Common Criteria EAL4+ certification (see announcement – November 14, 2011). The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet has also received FIPS 140-2 validation (see announcement – July 21, 2011).

BlackBerry London shows up again with fresher design

We first saw the BlackBerry London make it way onto the internet a few months back, though I reported that the version that would come to market would look a bit different, and not so Porsche Design look and feel. CrackBerry got a hold of an internal slide with, surprise, a refreshed BlackBerry London that will be RIM's first BlackBerry 10 smartphone due to launch this fall.

BlackBerry 10 open to licensing says RIM's new CEO

Earlier today we reported about RIM's reshuffling in upper management, with Thorsten Heins taking charge as the new CEO of the company. Well it looks like there could possibly be some major changes in the way RIM works in the future. At RIM's first official conference call with the new CEO took place earlier today, and some interesting topics were discussed. One of the most interesting points that came up was the possibility of licensing BlackBerry 10 OS. Heins confirmed that RIM will be open to letting other manufacturers creating devices running on BlackBerry “if it makes sense to follow the path.” Sounds like a possibility that should be explored when BlackBerry 10 is released in the future. Would you like to see HTC/Samsung BlackBerry phones?

LG Spectrum and BlackBerry Curve 9370 now available from Verizon Wireless

The BlackBerry Curve 9370 and the LG Spectrum are now available from Verizon Wireless. The LG Spectrum was unveiled during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. It runs Android Gingerbread, has a sharp 4.5-inch True HD IPS display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p video and support for Verizon's 4G LTE network. The Spectrum is priced at $199.99 with a new two-year Verizon contract. Also joining Verizon's smartphone lineup on Thursday is RIM's BlackBerry Curve 9370. The Curve 9370 is the slimmest Curve ever and offers GPS and Wi-Fi support, a 5-megapixel cameras and runs RIM's BlackBerry 7 operating system. The new Curve is priced at $99.99 with a new two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Pink BlackBerry Curve 9360 coming to the UK in March

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 has so far been available in the UK in both black and white, but what to do if you love pink? Well, it turns out that you just have to wait a little more. That's because a pink version of the smartphone will become available at Carphone Warehouse in March. Yes, that's a lot of waiting to do if you're impatient, but it's just the way things are. No other details have been made available, but we naturally expect this to come with specs identical to the other Curve 9360s out there. Price-wise, again there's no official word but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to find the pink handset on the same monthly contracts as the others.

Verizon Wireless Releases BlackBerry Curve 9370

Verizon Wireless has just announced the availability of the new BlackBerry Curve 9370 on their network. The handset can be yours for $99.99 with a new 2-year contract agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate. In case you didn't know, the BlackBerry Curve 9370 packs a 2.44-inch 480 x 360 touchscreen display, an 800MHz processor, a VGA front-facing camera, a 5MP rear-facing camera, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, a 3.5mm headset jack and runs on BlackBerry OS 7. [Press Release]

Verizon BlackBerry Curve 9370 available now, $99.99 on contract

The LG Spectrum is not the only new smartpohne released today by Verizon Wireless. The largest US mobile carrier has also launched the BlackBerry Curve 9370. Unlike the Android-based LG Spectrum, the Curve 9370 isn't a high-end device, and doesn't have support for Verizon's 4G LTE network. The new Curve runs BlackBerry OS 7, and features global connectivity (quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE), a 2.44 inch touchscreen display with 480 x 360 pixels, NFC, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 800MHz processor, 5MP rear camera, and a VGA front-facing camera. You can buy Verizon's BlackBerry Curve 9370 online (here), or in VWZ stores. The smartphone costs $99.99 with a new 2-yr contract agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate.

RIM's rumored 2012 roadmap includes two new PlayBook tablets, one BlackBerry 10 smartphone

If you've been wondering what RIM has in store for us this year (after a rather bad 2011 for the company, especially in the newly-entered tablet space), well, wonder no more. We now have some rumored details concerning the Canadian company's roadmap for this year. Perhaps surprisingly after the while PlayBook debacle, RIM seems intent on launching not one, but two new tablets throughout this year. One will have a 7-inch screen like the currently selling PlayBook, and the other will be bigger, sporting a 10-inch display. The former should arrive around April, with HSPA+ support, and the latter will only be out in December (yet it will get LTE connectivity). PlayBook OS 2.0 will be released by the end of February. Originally, the 10-inch project was scrapped, but apparently it got revived at some point for whatever reason. The first smartphone to run BlackBerry 10, the new OS version from RIM, will be available in September. And it may be the only BB10 phone of the year. It may get unveiled in May during BlackBerry World. But as that will happen so far from its launch date, it will probably just be shown, and won't be ready to play with. We'll also see two new BlackBerry Curve handsets in 2012, both aimed at emerging markets (East Asia and Africa). One of them will be 2G-only, a rare occurrence these days, and they'll both obviously run BlackBerry OS 7.x. Don't forget that this is just a rumor for now, so treat it as such. Even if everything in here turns out to be true, it remains to be seen whether these steps will be enough for RIM to regain its ‘cool factor' in the developed world.