Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s been a while since Salomondrin leaked some unreleased device information but they’re back with some pictures and a video of the unreleased 3G BlackBerry Pearl 9100, aka the Stratus/Striker!

If you recall back in September I posted a photo of what appeared to be the Pearl 9100. Taking a look at Sal’s photos and video you can see that the photo was the real deal. I’ve included some of the photos after the jump.

Any Pearl fans out there planning on getting the 9100 when it comes out?

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• Leaked Rogers & Fido lineup presentation shows 3G Pearl Flip 8210, Curve 8900, 3G Storm 9520, Pearl 8110 in 2009
• More Pictures Of The BlackBerry Onyx 9700!

Thanks to an anonymous tipster we now have a possible launch date for the U.S. Cellular BlackBerry Curve 8530.

According to the tip sent to our tips email (which included the image above), U.S. Cellular customers will be able to purchase the Curve 8530 on December 10th if everything “goes well” internally.

Verizon has already announced their Curve 8530 as launching on November 20th and Sprint has a pre-registration page for theirs so we might be looking at a general availability on various carriers in the U.S. within a month.

Thanks Anonymous!

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• Verizon BlackBerry Storm 9550 Dummy Units On Display At Best Buy – October 28th Launch “Confirmed”
• Verizon BlackBerry Storm 9530 launching Nov 24?
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Coming To AT&T On November 22nd?!

Telus recently announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and today have added the Storm2 9550 to their inventory as well. Pricing info for the Telus Storm2 9550:

• $599.99 – No contract
• $549.99 – 1 year contract
• $499.99 – 2 year contract
• $199.99 – 3 year contract

That’s quite a jump in price between getting the Storm2 with a 3 year contract or a 2 year contract. They obviously want you to commit 3 years of your cellular life to them .

Learn more about the Storm2:

• BlackBerry 101 Interactive User Guide
• Features & Specifications (PDF Included)

For more info and to order the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 from Telus click here.

Related Posts:

• Unofficial Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 9550 Pricing Info
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• Telus BlackBerry Tour 9630 Launch Date And Pricing Info
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Now Available From Bell

UPDATE It looks like this outage is occurring in many more areas than previously reported. Please refer to the comments of this post. *

I’ve received numerous reports from @DavePeckens, @BRSDiddy and a few others, letting me know that BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) seems to be down for them. So far it looks like the areas being affected are California, Texas, Arkansas, Michigan and I can confirm that BIS is having trouble in New Jersey.

At first it seemed like only the BlackBerry Browser wasn’t working but it looks like third-party applications are also being affected, although some are having more luck connecting to the internet.

If you’re being affected by this data outage let me know what’s not working and where you are in the comments.

Related Posts:

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• BIS 2.8 Rolled Out For All North American Carriers!

AT&T has announced the BlackBerry Curve 8520 as being “available in the coming weeks.” Earlier today I let you know that AT&T would be launching the BlackBerry Bold 9700 on November 22nd but CrackBerry Bla1ze found out that customers with a business account can buy it as of today in addition to it being available through the AT&T Premier site.

Since the Bold 9700 is (generally) launching before the Curve 8520, I’m wondering if it will affect the Curve 8520’s sales especially with all the 9700 hype. Of course, the two devices are different in various ways so personal preference (or even the price tag) will be some deciding factors, even though the Bold 9700 is supposed to be the best BlackBerry yet. Decisions, decisions…

Curve 8520 pricing info:

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available in the coming weeks for $99.99 after mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. 2-year agreement on a min. $69.99 plan required.) AT&T smartphones require the purchase of a monthly data plan. Other monthly charges apply.

For more info about the Curve 8520 check out the AT&T press release after the jump.

Press Release

New BlackBerry Curve 8520 Joins AT&T Smartphone Lineup

AT&T’s Great-Value Smartphone Features Global Access, Slick Design, Robust Capability, Trackpad, Media Keys for Easy Access to Music and Entertainment, Preloaded Facebook and Myspace

AT&T*, the choice for twice as many smartphone customers than any other carrier and the first U.S. carrier to offer BlackBerry^® service, 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 (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX:RIM).

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 320×240 display a 512 MHz processor, 256 MB of Flash memory, and a 2 megapixel camera equipped with video recording.

“AT&T was the first choice for BlackBerry in the U.S. and we continue to expand our offering of BlackBerry products to suit the different needs of business and personal users,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “The BlackBerry Curve 8520 offers the best value by combining the essential features of a BlackBerry smartphone with access to AT&T’s network, which includes best coverage worldwide, as well as the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network.”

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. As with all other Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry smartphones from AT&T, BlackBerry Curve 8520 users with a qualifying data plan, which includes all consumer BlackBerry unlimited data plans, get seamless and unlimited access to these domestic hotspots at no additional cost. When traveling outside the U.S., BlackBerry Curve 8520 users can enjoy the best coverage worldwide with wireless voice coverage in more than 215 countries and wireless data coverage in more than 185 countries.

Mobile users will enjoy great battery life, simultaneous voice and data capabilities when using Wi-Fi, and the ability to access up to 10 corporate and personal email accounts whether they are corporate or personal accounts. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 also affords users the ability to edit Microsoft^® Word, Excel^® and PowerPoint^® files with DataViz^®Documents to Go^®suite.

“The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a great choice for first-time smartphone users and offers easy-to-use messaging, social networking and multimedia features with a full-QWERTY keyboard that makes typing fast and comfortable,” said Carlo Chiarello, vice president, product management, Research In Motion.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available in the coming weeks for $99.99 after mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. 2-year agreement on a min. $69.99 plan required.) AT&T smartphones require the purchase of a monthly data plan. Other monthly charges apply. See below.^†

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.

† AT&T Wireless imposes: a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge of up to $1.25 to help defray costs incurred in complying with obligations and charges imposed by State and Federal telecom regulations; State and Federal Universal Service charges; and surcharges for government assessments on AT&T. These fees are not taxes or government-required charges.

¹ Smartphone customer satisfaction claim based on independent survey data from Nielsen² Coverage not available in all areas. Other terms and conditions apply.³ Video recording requires microSD memory card, sold separately.⁴ International roaming: Special credit & tenure restrictions & add’l charges may apply. Calling to & from certain countries may be blocked & change without notice. See wireless.att.com/learn/international/ for updated countries, rates, charges & full terms & conditions. International Dialing: Airtime or roaming charges are in addition to long distance charges. International Roaming: Requires compatible device. Avail, quality of coverage & svcs while roaming are not guaranteed.⁵ Nation’s largest Wi-fi network based on non-municipal company and owned and operated hotspots and an 802.11 b/g enabled device.⁶ AT&T Promotion Card: Price before AT&T Promotion Card & with 2 year contract is $199.99. Allow 60 days for fulfillment. Card valid for 120 days wherever major credit cards accepted. May be used to pay wireless bill. Not redeemable for cash and cannot be used at ATMs or gas pumps. Some restrictions and other charges apply. See terms at store or at att.com/wirelessrebate. You must be customer for 30 consecutive days to receive Promotion Card. Offer expires Dec. 25, 2009. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment.Limited-time offer. Other conditions and restrictions apply. See contract and rate plan brochure for details. Subscriber must live and have a mailing address within AT&T’s owned wireless network coverage area. Up to $36 activation fee applies. Equipment price and availability may vary by market and may not be available from independent retailers. Early Termination Fee: None if cancelled in the first 30 days but up to $35 restocking fee may apply to equipment returns; thereafter up to $175. Some agents impose additional fees. Unlimited voice services: Unlimited voice services are provided primarily for live dialog between two individuals. No additional discounts are available with unlimited plan. Offnet Usage: If customer’s minutes of use (including unlimited services) on other carrier’s networks (“offnet usage”) during any two consecutive months, or customer’s data use during any month, exceeds customer’s offnet usage allowance, AT&T may at its option terminate customer’s service, deny customer’s continued use of other carriers’ coverage, or change customer’s plan to one imposing usage charges for offnet usage. Customer’s offnet usage allowance is equal to the lesser of 750 minutes or 40% of the Anytime minutes included with the plan (data offnet usage allowance is the lesser of 24 MB or 20% of the KB included with customer’s plan).

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

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I’ve received a tip from a person who wishes to remain anonymous, letting me know that AT&T will be getting the BlackBerry Bold 9700 on November 22nd. As per AT&T’s press release about the Bold 9700, here is the pricing info:

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone will be available in the coming weeks for $199.99 (pay $299.99 and receive $100 mail-in-rebate.) AT&T smartphones require the purchase of a monthly data plan. Other monthly charges apply.

The 22nd is less than a week away so we don’t have long to wait to see if this launch date holds up. I’m sure AT&T is eager to launch this device since T-Mobile just made theirs available for purchase.

Has anyone else heard about AT&T’s launch of the Bold 9700?

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• AT&T Announces The BlackBerry Curve 8520 – Bold 9700 Now Available For Business Customers
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Press Release Roundup For AT&T, Bell, Rogers, Telus And T-Mobile (Some Pricing Info)

I’ve been waiting for this day since the rumors of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 first started leaking and it’s finally here, but it looks like T-Mobile screwed up the website launch. The T-Mobile website has been updated to allow purchasing of the Bold 9700 but  they accidentally included a sample photo of the Curve 8900.

It doesn’t really matter since we already know what it looks like, but I just thought it was odd that they would screw up the launch of their first Bold and first 3G BlackBerry device. But hey…no one’s perfect.  At least it’s out!

The Bold 9700 will be available from T-Mobile for $199.99 ($250 instant discount) with a  new 2-year agreement on the Even More plan, or $449.99 (retail) without a contract on the Even More Plus plan.

More details for the Even More plan:

As a qualified Even More^SM customer, you have the option to pay for your phone in four interest-free installments. You make the first payment when you purchase your phone, then we charge the remaining payments to your monthly bill. It’s that easy.

More details for the Even More Plus plan:

As a qualified Even More Plus^SM customer, you have the option to pay for your phone in 20 interest-free installments. You make the first payment when you purchase your phone, then we charge the remaining payments to your monthly bill. It’s that easy.

The Bold 9700 should be available for purchase in T-Mobile retail stores tomorrow, November 16th. For more info visit the T-Mobile Bold 9700 page.

Who’s planning on picking one of these up? Let me know in the comments!

Related Posts:

• Rumored Pricing Info For The T-Mobile USA BlackBerry Bold 9700!
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• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Coming To AT&T On November 22nd?!
• I JUST ORDERED MY NEW BLACKBERRY CURVE 8900 FROM T-MOBILE!!!

Earlier this morning I posted about T-Mobile Germany updating their site to include contract and pricing info for the BlackBerry Bold 9700. T-Mobile USA has yet to announce official pricing but here is the rumored pricing according to a PhoneArena tipster:

• $199.99 with a new 2 year agreement
• $449.99 with no contract, or an installment plan of 20 $22.50 monthly payments on the “Even More Plus Plan”

Still no official launch date but since T-Mobile stores already have dummy units and they just had a launch party last week, we should be seeing an official announcement or site update to include the Bold 9700 real soon. For now you can check out T-Mobile’s promo page at t-mobile9700.com.

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• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Listed And Priced On T-Mobile Germany Site
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Dummy Units Arriving At T-Mobile USA Stores!
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• Verizon And Best Buy Getting The BlackBerry Storm 2 Around October 25th?
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Live On The T-Mobile Website, In Stores Tomorrow – Wrong Sample Photo (Oops!)

Oh happy day! As if the announcement of Flash development for the BlackBerry platform wasn’t enough, RIM has gone and announced upcoming support for OpenGL ES for the development of 3D games and graphics, Java GUI builder to help with development of user interfaces for apps and the BlackBerry Theme Studio for creating themes!

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK).

…

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

…

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio – a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry® Storm2™ and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphones.

Great way to start the BlackBerry news week! For more info and links check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

OpenGL ES Support, Java GUI Builder and Theme Studio to Help Developers Generate Dynamic User Experiences

San Francisco – 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced enhancements to the BlackBerry® Application Platform that will further enable developers to rapidly develop rich content and applications. The enhancements include support for OpenGL® ES for the development of 3D games and graphics; an upcoming Java® GUI builder for the rapid development of user interfaces for BlackBerry applications; and BlackBerry® Theme Studio for the creation of themes for BlackBerry® smartphones.

“We are making it easier than ever for developers, hobbyists and content providers to build graphic-rich experiences for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform at Research In Motion. “These new features will help drive a multitude of engaging themes, games and applications for BlackBerry smartphone users.”

OpenGL ES Support Enables 3D Games and Graphics for BlackBerry Smartphones

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK). A beta version of the BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0 including OpenGL ES support is available at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp

GUI Builder for BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse to Simplify User Interface Design

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

The GUI builder for the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will be previewed this week at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference (www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com). It is expected to be available in mid 2010.

New BlackBerry Theme Studio Enables Easy Theme Design, Illustration and Animation

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio – a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry® Storm2™ and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio includes:

• BlackBerry Theme Builder – a design tool for customizing a smartphone’s user interface, including the home screen layout, fonts, icons, message list colors, cursors, dialog boxes and home screen application icons.
• BlackBerry Composer – an illustration and animation tool for creating animated SVG graphics that can be used to add animation to theme buttons and backgrounds as well as animate web sites and applications for BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio 5.0, which replaces the previously available Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit™, features the ability to import Adobe Photoshop files to BlackBerry Theme Builder, add ringtones and build screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading within themes. Ringtones and screen transitions are supported for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher.

RIM also announced today that themes for BlackBerry smartphones can now be submitted to BlackBerry App World™.

BlackBerry Theme Studio is available for free and can be downloaded at www.blackberry.com/themestudio.

For more information about the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developer.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

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Back in early October I told you about RIM joining the Open Screen Project to enhance the BlackBerry platform with rumored Adobe Flash support by next summer. Today RIM and Adobe announced that they have expanded their collaboration and that developers will soon be able to easily create rich content and apps using Adobe’s authoring tools to include Flash and more.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the mobile application and content development workflow between BlackBerry application and web content developers and creative professionals that use Adobe tools. It will also reduce the re-creation of graphic assets and iterations that designers and developers have to go through to generate rich application user interfaces, animations, images and video content when supporting multiple platforms.

Today’s news builds upon the recent announcement that the two companies are working together as part of the Open Screen Project to bring the Adobe Flash® Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones. The two companies will also be collaborating to adapt other key components of the Flash Platform including Adobe AIR®.

Very exciting news but that’s not all RIM is working on! Continue reading for more info in the press release and stay tuned for some more news from the BlackBerry Developer Conference.

Press Release

Adobe to Deliver Support for BlackBerry Smartphones within Adobe Creative Suite; RIM to Incorporate Flash Platform into BlackBerry Platform

San Francisco, CA – At the 2009 BlackBerry® Developer Conference, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) 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.

“There is tremendous opportunity for RIM and Adobe to align our platforms to help developers create BlackBerry applications that are highly engaging and deeply integrated in order to deliver the best user experience in the market,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “We are working closely with Adobe to enable our developer communities to build rich content services and BlackBerry Widgets that leverage the latest runtime environments, APIs and network services through Adobe’s industry leading design and development tools.”

“RIM is at the forefront of driving smartphone innovation, and it’s only natural that further integrating our respective platforms will set new standards for engaging content and applications,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe. “The expanded partnership between both companies will open up great new opportunities by making it even easier for content designers and mobile application developers to create rich and compelling content for the BlackBerry platform.”

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. These graphics assets can then be easily imported into BlackBerry application development tools, including the BlackBerry® Java® Plug-in for Eclipse™ (www.blackberry.com/developers/java) and the BlackBerry® Web Plug-in for Eclipse™ (www.blackberry.com/developers/web), for use in applications and user interfaces.  Backgrounds, icons and images created with Adobe tools such as Adobe Photoshop will also be able to be used in the new BlackBerry® Theme Studio (www.blackberry.com/developers/themes) to create compelling BlackBerry themes.

Adobe Dreamweaver®, Adobe Fireworks® and Adobe Device Central software will also be enabled to support the creation and testing of BlackBerryWidgets and web content optimized for the BlackBerry® Browser. Additionally, users will be able to directly import photos and video captured on their BlackBerry smartphones and edit them using Adobe’s consumer offerings including Photoshop Elements and Photoshop.com.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the mobile application and content development workflow between BlackBerry application and web content developers and creative professionals that use Adobe tools. It will also reduce the re-creation of graphic assets and iterations that designers and developers have to go through to generate rich application user interfaces, animations, images and video content when supporting multiple platforms.

Today’s news builds upon the recent announcement that the two companies are working together as part of the Open Screen Project to bring the Adobe Flash® Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones. The two companies will also be collaborating to adapt other key components of the Flash Platform including Adobe AIR®.

RIM and Adobe are demonstrating a sneak peek of the enhanced mobile authoring workflow during the keynote address today at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference. To learn more about this collaboration, developers can visit the BlackBerry® Developer Zone (www.blackberry.com/developers/adobe) and Adobe Developer Site (www.adobe.com/devnet).

About Adobe Flash Platform
The Adobe Flash Platform is the leading web design and development platform for creating expressive applications, content, and video that run consistently across operating systems and devices and reach over 98% of Internet‐enabled desktops. According to comScore Media Metrix, approximately 75 percent of online videos viewed worldwide are delivered using Adobe Flash technology, making it the number one format for video on the web. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium.  For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

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• RIM Announces BlackBerry Academic Program
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Lots of news coming out of the BlackBerry Developer Conference today!

RIM has announced the BlackBerry Academic Program which provides colleges and universities content to help learn about developing for the BlackBerry platform. Course content is currently available for mobile application development, administration of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry support.

• 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.
• Administration Courses – Mobile communication and collaboration tools continue to play a large role in boosting the productivity of enterprise workforces, and the need for trained professionals to administer and support mobile solutions has grown with it. There are over 200,000 BlackBerry® Enterprise Server installations globally and trained professionals are needed to maintain and support these deployments.
• Support Courses – Students are trained to work in technical call centers or IT support environments in support of the BlackBerry solution. The Support courses also include information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam.

Over 500 students have already taken courses in the program and universities in Canada and the US are beginning to offer courses and course content from the program in their curriculum. For more info visit blackberry.com/academic or check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

Program Provides Colleges and Universities with Curriculum and Course Content

San Francisco – 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM, TSX: RIM) 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.

“Career opportunities in information technology are abundant, and there is increasing demand for people with expertise in managing BlackBerry products and services and developing BlackBerry applications,” said Robert Crow, Vice President, Industry, Government and University Relations at Research In Motion. “Millions of people are using BlackBerry smartphones in more than 170 countries today and the BlackBerry Academic Program will help colleges and universities prepare students for careers in technology and help to meet the growing demand for BlackBerry developers, administrators and technical support professionals in the global marketplace.”

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.

Administration Courses – Mobile communication and collaboration tools continue to play a large role in boosting the productivity of enterprise workforces, and the need for trained professionals to administer and support mobile solutions has grown with it. There are over 200,000 BlackBerry® Enterprise Server installations globally and trained professionals are needed to maintain and support these deployments.

Administration courses offered through the BlackBerry Academic Program can help prepare students to administer, configure, troubleshoot, and perform essential tasks for managing a BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment.

For example, the “Maintaining a BlackBerry Enterprise Server in a Microsoft Exchange Environment” (BCP-410) course includes information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam as well as additional information that can help students find opportunities in IT departments of large organizations.

Support Courses – Students are trained to work in technical call centers or IT support environments in support of the BlackBerry solution. The Support courses also include information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam.

The BlackBerry Academic Program provides an outline of the content for each course, as well as learning materials including student textbooks (with instructor copy), student lab manuals, instructor guides and an academic product suite that covers hardware and software. Course content can be offered over the full length of a semester, or as individual modules that can be integrated into an existing information technology curriculum.

Academic Program Rolls Out

Over 500 students have already taken courses based on the BlackBerry Academic Program as part of a pilot project and several universities in Canada and the US are now in the process of incorporating courses and course content from the program into their course offerings.

For more information:

BlackBerry Academic Program – www.blackberry.com/academic

BlackBerry application development – www.blackberry.com/developer

BlackBerry Certification Program – www.blackberry.com/certification

A special track supporting the BlackBerry Academic Program has also been added to the BlackBerry Developer Conference this year in San Francisco (November 9 – 12, 2009). More information is available at www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com.

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• RIM To Host Second Annual BlackBerry Developer Conference From November 9-12, Mobile Guide, Last Day To Register Online!
• College Begins Certified Training for BlackBerry Specialists

Thanks to @themes4bb I’ve got some great news for developers working with the BlackBerry platform!

At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Converence in San Francisco (currently in session), RIM has announced a new services platform for developers that will enable them to streamline business processes and build highly responsive, location-away, revenue-generating apps. Among the new services will be a BlackBerry Advertising Service, Payment Service and new Location Services.

BlackBerry Payment Service to Enable In-Application Transactions and Streamlined Payment Processes

A new BlackBerry® Payment Service from RIM will present BlackBerry developers with new opportunities to monetize applications by selling digital content such as premium content, monthly or annual subscriptions, and additional levels or upgrades for games and other entertainment applications from within their applications. The BlackBerry Payment Service will also incorporate merchant services, including customer billing.

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BlackBerry Push Service for Delivering Content and Alerts to Applications to Become Generally Available

BlackBerry® Push Service, which was first made exclusively available to BlackBerry® Alliance Program members earlier this year, will be made generally available to registered developers in the first half of 2010. BlackBerry Push Service allows developers and content providers to deliver time-sensitive alerts and up to 8 KB of data to applications.

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New Location Services to Advance Location-Aware BlackBerry Applications

Adding to the GPS capabilities already supported on the BlackBerry Application Platform today, RIM will introduce three new location-based services for developers to build highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The three new location-based services include cell site geolocation, reverse geocoding and travel time.

I’m glad RIM is opening up more opportunities for better integration and development of the BlackBerry platform. This is only one of the announcements made at the Developer Conference so far, I’m sure we’ll be hearing some more great news soon!

For more info visit blackberry.com/developers or check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

Advertising, Payment, Content Push and New Location Services Will Present New Opportunities for Monetization and Innovation on the BlackBerry Application Platform

2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – San Francisco – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) 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 BlackBerry ecosystem is thriving and with the new services platform announced today we will help developers further monetize their applications and build breakthrough, highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “RIM is continuing to provide the tools, technologies and business services that developers need to create and market even more powerful and successful applications on the BlackBerry Application Platform.”

BlackBerry Advertising Service to Create New Revenue Opportunities for Developers

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. The service will feature ads compliant with the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) guidelines as well as rich media ads that will be able to deeply integrate with BlackBerry applications. Examples of this deep integration between ads and applications will include the ability to easily initiate a call from an ad, add a calendar entry or contact entry from an ad, and directly link to an application in BlackBerry App World™ from an ad. The service will also include real-time, detailed, consolidated reporting of advertising across ad networks, including ad impressions, clicks, conversions and earnings, as well as integration into the Omniture Online Marketing Suite™ for more advanced analytics.

BlackBerry Advertising Service and a software development kit (SDK) are planned to be available in the first half of 2010.

BlackBerry Payment Service to Enable In-Application Transactions and Streamlined Payment Processes

A new BlackBerry® Payment Service from RIM will present BlackBerry developers with new opportunities to monetize applications by selling digital content such as premium content, monthly or annual subscriptions, and additional levels or upgrades for games and other entertainment applications from within their applications. The BlackBerry Payment Service will also incorporate merchant services, including customer billing.

BlackBerry Payment Service and an SDK are expected to be available in mid 2010.

BlackBerry Push Service for Delivering Content and Alerts to Applications to Become Generally Available

BlackBerry® Push Service, which was first made exclusively available to BlackBerry® Alliance Program members earlier this year, will be made generally available to registered developers in the first half of 2010. BlackBerry Push Service allows developers and content providers to deliver time-sensitive alerts and up to 8 KB of data to applications.

More information about BlackBerry Push Service is available at www.blackberry.com/developers/pushservice.

New Location Services to Advance Location-Aware BlackBerry Applications

Adding to the GPS capabilities already supported on the BlackBerry Application Platform today, RIM will introduce three new location-based services for developers to build highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The three new location-based services include cell site geolocation, reverse geocoding and travel time.

Cell Site Geolocation – Cell site geolocation is a new service that will provide developers with an alternative to GPS, providing an estimate of a smartphone’s location based on cell tower triangulation. Cell site geolocation is generally faster than GPS, uses less battery power (which makes it ideal for applications that run in the background while multi-tasking), and is ideal for indoor use where the line-of-sight to satellites required by GPS receivers is not always available.

The cell site geolocation service is planned to be available in the first half of 2010. It will be supported on BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 or higher.

Reverse Geocoding – RIM is introducing a new reverse geocoding service that converts geolocation coordinates to a specific address for use in BlackBerry applications. Reverse geocoding is available today with BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 or higher. A reverse geocoding API is available with the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit 5.0 (BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0) which is available in beta at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp.

Travel Time – RIM will also launch a new travel time service. Using a simple API call, developers will be able to incorporate estimated travel time within their applications for almost any destination in the US and Canada. The travel time calculations will be based on distance, speed limits and aggregated traffic conditions. The service returns values for an estimated arrival time, total travel time and total distance that can be used in an application.

The travel time service is expected to be available in the first half of 2010.

For more information and updates about the new services available to developers on the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developers.

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Back in mid-October T-Mobile Germany listed the BlackBerry Bold 9700 as being available in November but no pricing info was available at the time. T-Mobile Germany has updated their site (translated) with pricing and contract info for the Bold 9700.

Pricing for the Bold 9700 with T-Mobile Germany starts at 159,95€ ($240.18) on a new “Relax 120″ plan, up to 499,95€ ($750.23) with no contract. Since T-Mobile USA already has dummy units in stores hopefully they will follow with a site update of their own.

For more info visit the T-Mobile Germany Bold 9700 page.

Related Posts:

• Rumored Pricing Info For The T-Mobile USA BlackBerry Bold 9700!
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Coming To T-Mobile Germany In November
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Dummy Units Arriving At T-Mobile USA Stores!
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Live On The T-Mobile Website, In Stores Tomorrow – Wrong Sample Photo (Oops!)
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Now Available From Bell