Earlier this morning Vodafone and RIM announced the availability of the BlackBerry Storm2. Vodafone UK has updated their site to allow pre-ordering of the Storm2. Those who pre-order the Storm can expect to receive theirs on October 26th.

According to an article by guardian.co.uk, the Storm2 will be exclusively available through Vodafone for only a few weeks.

Vodafone will have the handset as an exclusive in the UK, but only for a few weeks. RIM is understood to have demanded that the device be available to other operators after Vodafone joined Orange in successfully ending O2’s exclusive two-year deal with Apple for the iPhone in the UK.

It is unclear whether any of the other UK operators will be stocking the Storm 2 in time for Christmas, but by the start of next year – when Vodafone will finally be able to start shipping the iPhone – it is expected to be available on at least one other network, most probably Orange, which will also start selling the iPhone within the next few weeks.

The Storm 2 will be launched by Vodafone in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, France, Italy and South Africa, and Canadian handset maker RIM is hoping that it will get a more positive critical reaction than the first version, which went on sale last November.

If you’d like to pre-order the Storm2 you can find it on Vodafone UK’s site, or for more info check out the press release that was posted earlier today. The Storm2 features and specifications can also be found here.

Vodafone and RIM have made the BlackBerry Storm2 official!

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.

The BlackBerry Storm2 with BlackBerry OS 5 evolves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with hundreds of hardware and software enhancements.

Pricing will be announced by the individual in-country operating companies and so far Vodafone UK will be offering the Storm2 free from £35 per month on a 24-month contract. Since Vodafone has officially announced the Storm2, according to earlier rumors, Verizon should be announcing it within the next week or so.

For more info (including hardware and software features) check out the press release after the jump or head to blackberry.com/storm!

CONTINUE READING »

Temas BlackBerry let me know that they are now in the BBRocks! Store and have given me 20 coupon codes for anyone to get one of their Animated Country Series themes for free!

The countries available in the Country Series themes are Great Britain, USA, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain and Japan. These themes are available for the BlackBerry Curve 8300 series, Curve 8900 and Bold 9000.

Ordinarily these themes are $5 each but the first 20 people to use the coupon code COUNTRYBBROCKS will get their country theme for free!

Check out Temas BlackBerry in the store and grab one for yourself. Let me know what you think of these themes in the comments!

RIM has updated the BlackBerry App World to v1.1.0.11 with some nice new features:

• Enhanced Performance
  BlackBerry App World 1.1 features faster image and icon loading, giving you the information you want – faster.
• Sort Your Searches
  Search and find exactly the apps you want. Look for “free” or “paid” apps, or search by category: music, games, weather and other apps. Sort your results by most popular, newest, highest rated and more.
• Archive Your Apps
  Load even more of your favorite apps onto your microSD card – ensuring that no matter where you go, or even if you change BlackBerry smartphones, all your applications come with you.
• Memory Indicator
  Always know exactly how much memory you have with the new memory status bar. When you’ve exceeded your memory, a message will appear guiding you on how to free up more space.
• More Language Support
  Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal and the Channel Islands

Inside BlackBerry has posted a helpful tutorial on how to properly archive applications onto your microSD card,  just in case you have any problems or want to set it up the right way from the get go.

You can find more information and download the new version of the BlackBerry App World at blackberry.com/appworld.

Nobex let me know that their free Nobex Radio Companion BlackBerry application has gone global!

Nobex has  added over 1000 playable stations across the globe making the total amount 2000 radio stations with a playlist of over 2700 radio stations, in addition to adding  17 countries including Italy, France, Spain, Brazil,  Mexico and Argentina. All local content is free depending on where you live, but international content is premium.

You can now also request your favorite stations and see if their streams work at nobexrc.com/StationWiki.aspx.

To download it visit nobexrc.com from your BlackBerry Browser, or visit the same link from your desktop computer for more info. You can find the premium version and information in the store.

Software For BlackBerry® Curve (TM) 8900 smartphone
BlackBerry Handheld Software v4.6.1.378 (Multilanguage)

Package Version: 4.6.1.378
Consisting of:

• Applications: 4.6.1.250
• Software Platform: 4.2.0.113
• File name: 8900M_PBr4.6.1_rel378_PL4.2.0.113_A4.6.1.250_TIM_Italy.exe
• File size: 123.34MB

Note: The Software Platform and Applications version numbers can be found under Options-About screen on the handheld.

• Download: OS 4.6.1.250 for the Curve 8900 from TIM Italy
• How To: Upgrade your BlackBerry Operating System (OS)

REMEMBER: Install at your own risk. Always make backups before making major changes/upgrades/downgrades to your BlackBerry.