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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Many people have sent me messages and tweets about not being able to see their contacts’ avatar in the new BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. I would usually recommend the standard battery pull, having that contact re-load their photo, re-download BBM 5.0 or re-add the contact. In some cases these methods would work but in others they would not, and at the time I would usually recommend re-adding via PIN.

RIM has published a knowledge base article with a workaround to this issue since there is no resolution (right now).

This is a previously reported issue that has been escalated internally to our development team. No resolution time frame is currently available.

Here’s the workaround provided by RIM:

1. On the Home screen or in the Instant Messaging folder, click the BlackBerry Messenger icon.
2. Highlight the affected user.
3. On the contact list screen, press the Menu key.
4. Select Delete Contact.
5. To add the contact again, invite them by using scan a barcode or by email.

Once you re-invite the contact they will need to re-accept. Once the contact accepts you should both be able to see each others’ avatars. Keep in mind that both parties must be running BBM 5.0. You can download it OTA from blackberry.com/messenger.

If you’ve had issues where you can’t see your contacts’ avatars be sure to try this workaround and let me know how it works for you in the comments!

Just got some fresh photos of a Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 dummy unit thanks to @Ackee_!

A few days ago I posted some promo flyers showing the Storm2 as being part of a buy-one-get-one free deal. At that time I said “I wouldn’t be surprised if it launched within a few days,” and it looks like I may have been onto something because, according to an article by the New York Times, Verizon and RIM might be launching the Storm2 this week!

This week, Verizon and R.I.M. are trying again with a Storm do-over, the Storm 2. Among its many improvements, the new phone gives the user the sensation of pushing a physical button when pressing a number on the glass touch screen.

Lowell C. McAdam, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, has been carrying the revamped device for a few weeks, looking for any evidence that this time it will catch on. Mr. McAdam said that while he was recently visiting the Verizon store in New York’s SoHo district, he started talking to a couple of students from New York University who were shopping for cellphones.

“I let them play with the second-generation Storm device,” he said. “They came back and said ‘Oh, my gosh.’ They were very excited. This is what they hoped the original Storm should be.”

Vodafone Germany has the Storm 9520 listed as coming soon and Vodafone UK might also be launching the Storm2 this week, and since  Best Buy is already getting accessories for it, a launch some time this week is definitely a possibility! Let’s not hold our breath though…

I’ve included a shot of the Storm2 dummy unit from behind after the jump. Let me know what you think in the comments!

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We’ve seen videos and some pictures of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (Onyx) but I don’t think any of them have shown the device in as good a quality as the pictures over at DailyMobile (besides for BGR’s anyway). The one in the pictures seems to be newer than the ones we’ve seen so far if you consider the OS it’s running (v5.0.0.261) but other than that it doesn’t look any different physically.

The Bold 9700 has already appeared in AT&T’s systems and some release dates were leaked (so far pointing to a November launch), so right now all we have to do is wait less than two months to get our hands on this awesome BlackBerry.

ÜberTwitter seems to be  making all the right moves, it’s no surprise they’re still the most popular BlackBerry Twitter app!

When it was first released, ÜberTwitter was pretty basic although already better than TwitterBerry. Being an open beta BlackBerry app, ÜberTwitter was able to benefit from worldwide feedback and quickly became the app it is today. A few of the major updates to ÜberTwitter include multiple accounts, save Twitter searches, auto-complete usernames (very useful), TwitVid integration, free/paid options, and now TweetPhoto integration!

“We chose TweetPhoto as our default photo service because we wanted to give our users the fastest, easiest and most reliable photo service available,” said Paul McDonald, founder of ÜberTwitter. “From a user-experience standpoint, TweetPhoto offers the richest experience to our users.   And from a developer’s perspective, TweetPhoto’s API is extensive, reliable, and extremely easy to integrate.”

According to Sean Callahan, “In supporting the development process of integrating TweetPhoto into ÜberTwitter we made available several new additions to our photo sharing platform specifically for BlackBerry and other mobile developers. Most notably chunked uploads which allows users to upload larger photos from their handsets.”

ÜberTwitter Beta 5 integrates TweetPhoto’s uploading, voting, favoriting, commenting and geo-tagging features, in addition to allowing users to view all photos they uploaded, comments posted on photos and more. TweetPhoto is an awesome Twitter photo sharing service, the only one I use.

The free version is ad-supported, the premium version (available for a yearly $4.99 fee) has no ads. For more info go to ubertwitter.com or for a direct OTA download visit ubertwitter.com/bb/download.php from your BlackBerry Browser.

Full press release after the jump.

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Just got an email tip about some new photos over at FeedBerry (translated via Google) of the BlackBerry Storm 2 (aka Odin) showing off OS 5.0.0.183!

According to FeedBerry this is the first sighting of the Storm 2 in Indonesia, and so far it looks like this one is running the latest known OS 5.0 version.

Head on over to FeedBerry for the rest of the photos or check out the Storm 2 Archives for some of the other photos and videos I’ve posted about.

The moment many of you have been waiting for is here…ÜberTwitter has been updated to v0.909 (Beta 4)!

This release deepens support for Twitter features and takes further advantage of the capablities available in your BlackBerry device and includes two important integrations with third party services; TwitVid for sending your Über videos embedded in tweets, and Bit.ly for shortening the links you might include in your tweets.

Here are some features planned for the next version:

• Notification icons on the homescreen! We have heard you loud and clear, we will be adding this.
• Integration of a high functionality third-party photo service – We are VERY excited about this as we believe that it will bring an extremely rich photo sharing experience to our users.
• Integration into the BlackBerry browser such that URLs can be included directly in a tweet from the browser menu.
• Saved searches – integrate the new Twitter saved search API. Searches saved via the Twitter web site will be useable on ÜberTwitter and vice versa
• Twitter name menu – Type ‘@’ and a list of your friends automatically pops up allowing selection

ÜberTwitter supports BlackBerry devices running OS 4.2.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7. You can download the new version OTA here or visit ÜberTwitter.com for more info.

Continue reading for the full changelog of this release.

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Photos removed at RIM’s request.

More photos of a pre-release BlackBerry Onyx 9700 were just posted over in the CB Forums!

So far we’ve heard rumors that the BlackBerry Onyx is coming to T-Mobile sometime in September and earlier today it was confirmed as going to AT&T sometime within the next few weeks or months. Very exciting!

Check out the Bold branding and “leather” backing. Awesome.

@theabyzz was able to get his hands on the new BlackBerry Odin 9520, aka the Storm 2, and took some great photos for all to see.

See everything posted about the Odin at BBRocks! in the Odin Archives, or head on over to the Benezblog post for the rest of the photos.

FeedBerry (translated via Google) was able to get their hands on a BlackBerry Onyx 9020 and took some preview photos for all to see!

Up till now pretty much everything was known about the Onyx, but this is definitely a nice surprise. Since the Onyx 9020 is part of the 9000 series it’s appropriate that it would have a leather backing just like the Bold.

The Onyx shown in the photos does not have the updated Trackpad navigation that we’ve seen before, but once all the features come together this will definitely be one awesome BlackBerry! If you missed it, a few weeks ago I posted a few videos of the Onyx 9020 in action that you should definitely watch.

Check out the Onyx Archives for everything posted about this BlackBerry. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some more leaks (launch date?) soon.