AT&T announced today it will introduce the best value in its BlackBerry smartphone portfolio with the addition of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 from Research In Motion.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a stylish, easy-to-use, compact smartphone offering the best value for consumer and business customers looking for BlackBerry service. The smartphone features a full QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for easy typing and navigation, built-in Wi-Fi and an advanced media player, plus dedicated media keys, smoothly integrated along the top of the handset, for a convenient way to control music and videos. The handset also provides global connectivity via phone, email, text, IM, picture messaging and social networking, with Facebook and My Space applications preloaded.
The sleek, new device houses a high-resolution 320x240 display a 512 MHz processor, 256 MB of Flash memory, and a 2 megapixel camera equipped with video recording.
AT&T users of the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 can enjoy access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi network with more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots -- including approximately 7,000 Starbucks locations.
Walmart announced today a one-week offer starting Saturday Nov. 14 on its full assortment of BlackBerry devices from all four major carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
With the purchase of any BlackBerry at Walmart Wireless and two-year contract from these major carriers, shoppers will receive a $100 Walmart Gift Card at purchase to use on a later transaction on anything in the store, adding more spending “money” to consumer wallets on anything Walmart carries.
This smart phone savings event is nationwide at all Walmart stores at Walmart Wireless departments. Walmart Wireless associates can help customers select from products and services available in their area and activate their new phone within minutes of selection. Customers can use their $100 Gift Card on the same day or save it for other purchases needed through the holiday season.
Research In Motion today unveiled a new services platform for developers that will enable them to streamline business processes and build highly responsive, location-aware, revenue-generating applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The new services platform will offer advertising, payment, content push and new location services.
The new and innovative BlackBerry Advertising Service will enable developers to integrate advertising into their BlackBerry applications, helping them generate revenue and simplifying the business of mobile advertising. With the BlackBerry Advertising Service, RIM plans to provide developers with access to a large pool of quality and innovative ad units from trusted top tier and specialty advertising networks such as Jumptap, Lat49, Millennial Media, Navteq, 1020 Placecast, Quattro Wireless and Sympatico.ca.
At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference, Research In Motion and Adobe Systems Incorporated today expanded their collaboration and announced that creative professionals and application developers will be able to use the Adobe Flash Platform technology and Adobe Creative Suite content development and authoring tools to easily create rich content and application experiences for BlackBerry smartphones.
Future versions of Adobe Creative Suite starting with Adobe Creative Suite 5 will provide the ability for designers to create optimized graphic assets, such as image and video content, from tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe After Effects, for the BlackBerry platform.
Research In Motion today announced the BlackBerry Academic Program to provide colleges and universities around the world with a curriculum and course content to offer courses in administering and supporting the BlackBerry solution and developing for the BlackBerry platform.
Course content is currently available for mobile application development for BlackBerry smartphones, administration of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and support for BlackBerry smartphones. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with academic professionals and has been in pilot for over a year.
Mobile Application Development Courses – Students can learn about the tools and techniques for developing applications for BlackBerry smartphones. Courses cover topics such as BlackBerry smartphone features and functionality, user interface design, multimedia application development, mobile web application development and Java application development.
Celio Corp recently announced that its REDFLY Mobile Companion is now compatible with select BlackBerry smartphones. The REDFLY for BlackBerry software driver is available to download today.
The REDFLY Mobile Companion is not a computer; it's simply a large screen and full keyboard for a smartphone. With the REDFLY, BlackBerry smartphone customers now have the ability to increase their productivity typing long emails, editing documents, browsing web content and more using their existing smartphone applications and data plan.
Productivity is top of mind these days for mobile professionals, and according to the latest research by the technology economists at OMNI Consulting Group, this poses a key inflection point in the evolution of smartphone technology.
Sprint announced it will add the new BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone to it’s lineup of devices (as well as Verizon Wireless). Customers can visit http://www.sprint.com/blackberrycurve8530 to pre-register for this next generation of the popular BlackBerry wireless device on America’s most dependable 3G network1 with the affordability of Sprint’s Everything Data plans featuring Any Mobile, AnytimeSM. Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.
BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone makes it even easier to enjoy music on-the-go with dedicated keys to skip to the next song on a playlist, pause or play. It comes preloaded with several multimedia applications including BlackBerry Media Sync, Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV and Pandora. It also boasts dedicated applications for a smoothly integrated social networking experience with Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be available in three color options – Black, Royal Purple and Red.
Sprint’s BlackBerry Curve 8530 will offer BlackBerry App World for instant access to thousands of applications. Sprint has employed an open Internet approach, and the Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers, since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.
Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone, an exciting new addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones.
The slim BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone gives customers access to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, as well as easy access to music, games and other mobile apps for entertainment on the go.
The BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone is expected to be available from Verizon Wireless beginning Nov. 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data plans for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan. The BlackBerry Curve 8530 comes in Black and Smoky Violet.
Verizon Wireless today announced that the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications stores, online at and through business sales channels beginning Oct. 28. The BlackBerry Storm2 with BlackBerry OS 5.0 evolves the BlackBerry touchscreen platform with hundreds of hardware and software enhancements – including new SurePress “clickable” display technology and built-in Wi-Fi – delivering the exceptional multimedia experience and communications capabilities customers have come to expect from their BlackBerry smartphones.
Key Features:
Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate
Large (3.25”), dazzling high-resolution 480 x 360 display at 184 ppi
Capacitive touchscreen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless
3G and global connectivity support for making phone calls in more than 220 countries and accessing data in more than 185 countries (with more than 80 destinations in 3G)
Network Connectivity: EV-DO Revision A; UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz); and quad-band
Google today announced that version 3.2 of Google Maps for mobile is now available for BlackBerry. This release contains many of the same features Google recently launched on Windows Mobile and S60, including Layers.
Layers allow users to easily view various types of information on their map and are especially helpful in situations when they are traveling somewhere new. For example, users can turn on the Wikipedia layer to read entries about nearby places, then use the transit lines layer to help map out a route. Or user can use the My Maps feature of Google Maps to create a collection of places they are planning to visit on your trip and then use Google Maps for mobile to access it from the road. Users can also turn on the Google Latitude layer to see your friends' locations.
The Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) today announces that leading handset manufacturers LG Electronics (LG), Research In Motion (RIM), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung) and Sharp Corporation (Sharp) will support the JIL widget specification in future mobile handsets from Q1 2010.
JIL is a joint venture involving China Mobile, SOFTBANK, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone established in 2008 to promote the development of new mobile technologies, applications and services. Its focus has been to create a single global platform for developers to encourage the creation of a wide range of innovative and useful mobile widgets. These mobile widgets will be capable of enhancing the mobile internet experience for customers on a variety of smartphones as well as mid- and low-cost handsets across several operating systems and distributed through JIL operators’ applications stores.
T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming availability of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 with Wi-Fi Calling from T-Mobile. It will be the first 3G-powered BlackBerry smartphone available through T-Mobile USA, and also the first smartphone from Research In Motion that includes built-in support for both 3G connectivity and voice calls over Wi-Fi.
Powerful and refined, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone offers top-of-the-line performance, functionality and features with a sophisticated, high-gloss black finish, chrome highlights and leatherette back. It includes support for 3G HSDPA networks around the world, a next-generation (624 MHz) processor, 256MB Flash memory, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g).
For people who need to be connected, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone provides the industry’s leading mobile e-mail and messaging solution, and access to popular social networking applications, such as Facebook. It features RIM’s distinctive, fretted highly tactile full-QWERTY keyboard for fast and accurate typing, and an innovative touch-sensitive optical trackpad, which makes for a great navigation experience.
Vodafone and Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone for customers in seven European countries as well as South Africa.
The second generation of RIM's innovative and award-winning touch-screen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm2 significantly improves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with new technology and new features to let customers stay easily connected to the people, places and things that matter most.
In the busy holiday gift buying period, customers in the UK and Ireland will be able to get the new smartphone first through Vodafone, and it will be offered exclusively by Vodafone in Germany, Netherlands and Spain. It will also be made available in France, Italy and South Africa in time for Christmas.
Today Vonage launched Vonage Mobile, its first mobile calling application for smartphones. Vonage Mobile is a free downloadable application (app) that provides seamless, low-cost international calling while on Wi-Fi or cellular networks*. Once downloaded, the service saves customers more than 50% on calls to dozens of countries versus the rates charged by wireless carriers while providing far more convenience than calling cards. Vonage Mobile will be available for download on the iPhone, BlackBerry and iPod touch at www.vonagemobile.com and the iTunes App Store later today.
With Vonage Mobile you can call around the world from home, a Wi-Fi hotspot, or while traveling around the country. Vonage Mobile is easy to use. There are no access numbers or new phone numbers to give to friends and family. Simply enter an international number or select a contact from the existing contacts on your iPhone or Blackberry and hit send. Vonage does the rest.
This app will give customers exceptional per-minute rates to any country they want to dial. In the fourth quarter 2009, we will enhance the app to include the popular Vonage World plan that was introduced for home service in August.
At Adobe MAX, the company's worldwide developer conference, Adobe MAX Adobe Systems Incorporated and Research In Motion today announced they are working together to bring Adobe Flash Player support to the BlackBerry platform. RIM is joining the Open Screen Project, a broad initiative dedicated to enabling standalone applications and richer Web browsing across mobile phones, televisions, desktops and other consumer electronic devices through the Adobe Flash Platform. The collaboration is expected to bring the full Flash Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones.
Led by Adobe, the Open Screen Project includes close to 50 industry leaders working together to provide a consistent runtime environment and user experience across mobile phones, desktops, and other consumer electronics devices. The initiative addresses the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of devices, and removes the barriers to publishing content and applications seamlessly across screens. For more information, visit www.openscreenproject.org.
BlackBerry today launched TiVo for BlackBerry smartphones app allowing users to browse, search and schedule recordings of their favorite TV programs to their TiVo DVR directly from their BlackBerry smartphone.
The free app can be downloaded from the BlackBerry App World storefront or from blackberry.com/tivo via your desktop browser. Users will then have to create an account on the TiVo.com website and registered their DVR. This is used to login to the application.
The TiVo app has a similar look and feel to the TiVo DVR interface on TVs, so there is little to learn to use another interface. This makes finding and scheduling recordings easy, and the search feature is useful when searching for programs by title, keyword or actor.
Research In Motion announced that a new version of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software has been developed specifically for Mac users. The new desktop software is scheduled to be available for free download from www.blackberry.com/mac on Friday, October 2 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
The new BlackBerry Desktop Manager software allows Mac users to smoothly and seamlessly sync data from Mac applications like iCal, Address Book, Microsoft Entourage and others, as well as add and remove applications, schedule automatic backups, encrypt backup files and install software updates for their BlackBerry smartphone.
BlackBerry Desktop Manager Software also integrates BlackBerry Media Sync, enabling Mac users to sync their iTunes music collections with their BlackBerry smartphone.
Homes.com announced today the launch of its new mobile Web site and a real estate application for the BlackBerry Storm, making it even easier for home buyers and sellers to search over 3 million homes for sale and rent from the convenience of their mobile phones. Homes.com is the first real estate portal to publish real estate applications for BlackBerry as well as the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, and to launch a mobile Web site.
The Homes.com BlackBerry application is free and specific to the BlackBerry Storm. Users can search for homes near their current location, by zip code or city, or by MLS number; they can navigate nearby neighborhoods with Google maps; get fast and accurate driving directions; bookmark their favorite Homes.com properties; or share properties for sale or for rent with friends and family. The application is available for download from the BlackBerry App World.
The new Homes.com mobile site makes searching for a new home easy from any cell phone. When mobile users log on to Homes.com, the Web site detects the mobile device and redirects them to mobile.Homes.com.
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