Posted by Mauricio on Oct 28, 2009 at 6:26 PM | Comments
RIM’s BlackBerry Developer Conference is just around the corner and according to @BlackBerryForum, today is the last day to register online!
The 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference features more than 110 sessions that will appeal to commercial developers for both enterprise and consumer markets, corporate developers, business decision makers and application architects and designers. There are a range of sessions designed to accommodate both beginner and advanced application developers, including web developers, .NET developers and Java® developers. In addition to General Sessions and Breakout Sessions, the conference features Hands-on Labs, onsite BlackBerry Developer Certification testing, a Mobility Pavilion and Talk With The Experts areas.
The BlackBerry Developer Conference is being held in San Francisco, CA from November 9-12th. If you’ve already registered you can check out the BlackBerry Developer Conference Mobile Guide available in the BlackBerry App World. The mobile guide allows attendees to schedule sessions, look up speaker and sponsor information, get the latest news from the show, access conference maps and offer feedback. App screenshot below…
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 28, 2009 at 12:37 AM | Comments
A few days ago Verizon and RIM announced the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 will be launching today, October 28th. Verizon was right on time with this launch and now has the Storm2 on their website!
To the right of the Storm2 Details box is the Buy One Get One (BOGO) free deal and as you can see in the screenshot below, the Storm2 is part of it like I showed you it would be .
Recap on the pricing and availability from their press release:
The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone is available beginning Oct. 28 for $179.99 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 Storm2 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.
For more info and to order your Storm2 9550 from Verizon head over to the Storm2 9550 page or check out the official press release and related links here. My buddy @Ackee_ also let me know that Verizon stores got their Storm2 shipments yesterday and should be ready to go when the stores open later today if you’d like to pick one up in person.
If you pick one up let me know how you like it in the comments, especially if you’re a previous Storm 1 owner!
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 26, 2009 at 6:29 PM | Comments
Yesterday I mentioned talking to a Verizon Assistant Manager who told me that the BlackBerry Storm2 would be launching on October 28th. Today Verizon and RIM have confirmed that launch date with an official announcement!
The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone is available beginning Oct. 28 for $179.99 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 Storm2 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.
Also mentioned in this press release is the release of OS 5.0 for the Storm 9530, which was released late last night. For more info check out the full press release after the jump.
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 25, 2009 at 5:39 PM | Comments
UPDATE 10:30PM EST Verizon has finally released this OS. Click here for more info. *
UPDATE 6:47PM EST Just called Verizon and they said the update is “available as of today”. It’s probably a slow rollout. If you get it let me know when and where you are. *
UPDATE 6:30PM EST Anyone having any luck? Don’t forget to try through Desktop Manager or through Options > Advanced > Wireless Update. *
A few days ago I let you know that the Storm 9530 will be getting OS 5.0 from Verizon today. The same Verizon Assistant Manager I spoke to about the Storm 9550 launch also told me that OS 5.0 for the Storm 9530 will be made available at 6PM EST, less than an thirty minutes away!
The Assitant Manager told me that the update will be available through vzw.com/storm, which basically ends up taking you to the BlackBerry update page for the Storm at worldwide.blackberry.com/update/blackberrystorm.jsp. If you have a Storm 9530 and are able to get this update today at 6PM EST (or whenever it becomes available today if not at that time) let me know in the comments!
I was also able to get the changelog for this release which I’ve included after the jump. The list is long and full of lots of fixes and improvements.
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 25, 2009 at 5:09 PM | Comments
I drove over to my local Best Buy and Verizon stores today to see if I can get any updates about the BlackBerry Storm 9550. Upon arriving at Best Buy the first thing I saw was a Storm 9550 dummy unit on display. I decided to ask the Best Buy reps if they knew when it would launch in their stores and they were clueless, telling me maybe November.
After Best Buy I drove over to the Verizon store to see if they knew anything more about the Storm 9550. I was able to talk to an Assistant Manager who instantly responded with “it should be launching October 28th”.
The October 28th launch date has been spotted a fewtimes so this isn’t new information, but since this Verizon location is just a retail store, I would say that the October 28th launch date is solid. We’ll find out soon enough since the 28th is only three days away…
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 24, 2009 at 3:57 PM | Comments
Yesterday I mentioned that the Verizon BlackBerry Storm 9530 might be getting OS 5.0.0.328 tomorrow. Since that post I’ve received a bunch of emails asking whether a certain BlackBerry model will get OS 5.0.
Up till now I could only base my answers on leaked information, but thanks to a new knowledge base article posted by RIM we now know exactly which BlackBerry devices will get it!
List of the supported devices:
BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8200 series smartphones
BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphones
BlackBerry® Curve™ 8350i smartphones
BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphones
BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 smartphones
BlackBerry® Storm™ 9500 series smartphones
BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 smartphones
Your BlackBerry must have at least 64MB of available memory in order to upgrade to OS 5.0 once it’s available.
According to the knowledge base article not all wireless service providers will support BlackBerry OS 5.0 for the devices listed above, meaning you might have to get it from another service provider. This isn’t a problem for those that don’t mind using an OS not issued by their carrier.
Here’s to hoping an OS 5.0 launch for all devices is just around the corner!
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 23, 2009 at 7:04 PM | Comments
@Ackee_ is on fire with his tips! He just sent me an image showing that BlackBerry Storm 9530 owners on the Verizon network will officially be getting OS 5.0.0.328 this Sunday, October 25th.
The latest leaked OS for the Storm 9530 is 5.0.0.323, and since this upcoming official release is only a few builds higher I hope this means a release for other devices isn’t far off. Keep in mind that while this is official internally, the actual release date could change before it is released publicly.
Any Storm 9530 owners excited about possibly getting some official OS 5.0 action this weekend?
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 23, 2009 at 5:01 PM | Comments
When it rains, it Storms . The guys over at Engadget were sent the image above showing the Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 9550 with some pricing info and further confirmation for the October 28th launch date.
2 Year $279.99 (Price before $100 Mail-in Rebate)
1 Year $349.99 (Price before $100 Mail-in Rebate)
Full Retail $539.99
So how does a brand new Storm2 for $179.99 (after the rebate) on a 2 year contract sound? Any current Storm1 owners planning on getting it?
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 23, 2009 at 1:21 PM | Comments
Thanks to @Ackee_, yesterday I first told you that the Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 9550 might be launching on October 28th. @Ackee_ sent me another picture of an internal Verizon document showing the “All Channel” launch of the Storm2 is indeed scheduled for October 28th!
If the picture isn’t enough for you, check out the internal PDF document for yourself :
The 29-page PDF comes complete with everything you’d want to know about the Verizon Storm2 like the announcement seen above, product codes, features, specifications, what comes in the box, various accessories, overview, helpful hints and more. If everything works out internally we should be seeing an official public announcement from Verizon within a week!
Posted by Mauricio on Oct 22, 2009 at 4:57 PM | Comments
My buddy @Ackee_, the same tipper who sent me pics of the Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 dummy unit and promo flyers, sent over another picture that he was able to get of a Verizon “merchandising call agenda”.
The picture of the merchandising call agenda shows the Tour 9630 and the Storm2 with a 10/28 date at the top. Although a rumor until Verizon announces it themselves, @Ackee_ has informed me that October 28th is so far the scheduled launch date for the Verizon BlackBerry Storm2!
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