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.

This is the first official OS for the BlackBerry Storm2 9520!

• Download: OS 5.0.0.306 for the Storm2 9520 from Vodafone D2 (Translated)
• How To:
  • Backup And Restore Your BlackBerry
  • Upgrade your BlackBerry Operating System (OS)

Please report any feedback/findings in the comments.

REMEMBER: It is recommended that you make a backup before attempting to upgrade your BlackBerry just in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process. *

Daniel Garcia is a web developer/software architect by day, rebellious tech-punk twenty-something by night. He is a contributing writer to BlackBerry Rocks! who reviews applications for BlackBerry devices, as well as shares the occasional tip for fellow Rockers. He has a BlackBerry Storm 9530, soon to be 9550. If you would like to know more about him, you can follow his Twitter account: @buzzedword.

Earlier this month, Verizon pushed out Bing for Mobile to all Storm handsets, as well as preloaded the software onto all new Storm 2 units. If you haven’t already heard, Bing is the new kid on the block to the search market, going toe to toe with the big dog: Google. Why should you be using Bing, instead of Google? Can’t say. I’m here to rock the BlackBerry, not worry about petty search wars.

Read the full review after the break.

CONTINUE READING »

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.

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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.

CONTINUE READING »

Originally only available for the Storm, @FabianMH has made his Whippoh BlackBerry app compatible with the new Storm2.

As seen in the video above, Whippoh is a free app that allows you to simulate a whip by performing a whipping movement with your Storm. The sound will only simulate if you make a correct whipping motion with your Storm…practice makes perfect!

Download Whippoh for free in the store and be sure to check out the rest of Fabian Heuwieser’s apps.

Sergey Demyanov has released a new application for the BlackBerry Storm called Fancy Shake. This app takes advantage of the Storm’s accelerometer so that you can interact with incoming phone calls by simply shaking or flipping it.

Features:

• Answer incoming call by shaking your BlackBerry
• Reject incoming call by flipping your BlackBerry
• Reject all incoming calls while flipped
• Adjust shake sensivity
• 6 days trial!
• Free upgrades

Fancy Shake will work on the Storm and Storm2 and is available in the store for $1.99 until November 8th, after that it goes up to $2.99.

CONTEST: For a chance to win 1 of 100 free copies of Fancy Shake for your BlackBerry Storm or Storm2, leave a comment on this post using a valid email address before 11:59PM EST on Wednesday, November 11th. Only leave one comment, duplicates will be ignored and will not increase your chances of winning. *

The guys over at BBOS found out that Pandora for BlackBerry has been updated with support for the recently released OS 5.0.

“Good news – we just put up the new Pandora 1.1.2 update for 5.0 operating systems including Storm 9530 on 5.0 and the new Storm 9550. Other non-5.0 devices will have to wait a few days before it will be available while we finish testing, however most of the changes in 1.1.2 are to support the 5.0 OS.”

As a reminder, Pandora Radio is a free personalized radio app that allows you to stream music right to your BlackBerry. For more info or to download Pandora visit pandora.com from your BlackBerry Browser.

Let me know how the updated version works for you in the comments!

Note: You can still access the download even if you don’t have a Verizon number by entering a random number and then clicking on the “Download Now” button.

• Download: OS 5.0.0.320 for the Storm2 9550 from Verizon
• How To:
  • Backup And Restore Your BlackBerry
  • Upgrade your BlackBerry Operating System (OS)

Please report any feedback/findings in the comments.

REMEMBER: It is recommended that you make a backup before attempting to upgrade your BlackBerry just in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process. *

Verizon didn’t promote the BlackBerry Storm2 like they did the Storm, but considering the various issues the Storm had this is understandable. The VerizonWireless YouTube account posted this rocking Storm2 commercial , very brief but straight to the point and it includes a video clip of the rock band Switchfoot. Good band .

In case you missed it, earlier this week Verizon and RIM announced the Storm2 9550 and it went live on the Verizon website this morning.

Don’t forget to play with the interactive user guide or check out the features and specifications if you want to learn more about the Storm2 before buying it.

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!

Thanks @themes4bb!