10/13, 3:25pm
First white BlackBerry Bold due from AT&T
AT&T announced on Tuesday it will begin shipping the first ever BlackBerry Bold in white since the smartphones's launch in 2008. The handset will be available online starting on October 18th, and while pricing hasn't been announced, it is likely to mirror the black version's $200 contrat price. Specs are also unlikely to change, with the same HSPA-based 3G network support, integrated GPS and Wi-Fi.
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10/07, 6:15pm
T-Mobile may have game changer news
US carrier T-Mobile is preparing its staff for a major, mysterious update that could have an impact on other carriers, a rumor implies tonight. A development known as "Project Black" has received few details, as those attached to it have signed non-disclosure agreements, but it will supposedly be significant enough to move T-Mobile up in US market share from its usual fourth place. T-Mobile staff would be trained on it starting Thursday.
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11/26, 9:15am
Rogers Fido BBerry Leaks
Rogers' plans for its BlackBerry lineup will include both an aggressive launch of the Curve 8900 and an expansion of the smartphones to its budget brand Fido, tips from BGR suggest. The Canadian provider should get the 2G-only but GPS and Wi-Fi equipped device in January and will reportedly price it substantially under the Bold, offering it at $150 on a three-year plan with both voice and data.
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11/24, 12:40pm
RIM Falling Short in Q3 08
Research in Motion's heavily promoted BlackBerry Storm launch this Friday may not have been enough to save the company from a poor financial quarter, according to a new research note by Citi analyst Jim Suva. Although the Storm sold out at many Verizon stores since launch, Suva supports claims of a software-based delay and notes that many stores actually received significantly less units than expected, forcing many customers to wait as late as December 15th to get devices they would otherwise have had on launch.
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11/19, 12:10pm
BBerry Curve 8900 UK Decem
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 was given its second major launch today with news that UK retailer Carphone Warehouse will be the next to pick up the RIM smartphone on December 20th. The choice of carrier and pricing haven't been named but will see Carphone as the exclusive third-party to carry the device, which resembles a smaller, 2G-only version of the BlackBerry Bold. The 480x320 display, GPS and Wi-Fi of the more expensive phone carry over with EDGE handling cellular Internet access.
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10/31, 11:00am
BBerry Bold Price Drop
Rogers or Research in Motion could be allowing major price cuts to the BlackBerry Bold in a bid to improve the smartphone's competitiveness against the iPhone, if a new update is an indicator. Best Buy Mobile Canada's listing for the 3G BlackBerry now shows the device dropping from its official $300 Canadian ($248 US) contract price to about $200 ($165), or a full third discount. The deal lasts until November 27th and also bundles in a $50 Best Buy gift card.
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10/31, 9:15am
Verizon Axed Storm Wi-Fi
Verizon's edition of the BlackBerry Storm was intentionally stripped of 3G and Wi-Fi features, according to a claim by "top-level" sources for BGR. Although it would have technically been possible to include tri-band HSPA 3G to allow true world roaming, the American carrier has reportedly had all HSPA frequency support pulled save for its partner Vodafone's 2,100MHz band to discourage buyers from unlocking the phone and using it with AT&T or other carriers.
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10/24, 3:10pm
BBerry Subs Drop Fast
BlackBerry subscription rates have dropped significantly and now leave Research in Motion dependent on its new devices to avoid a potentially damaging level of fall sales, a research note from AmTech Research analyst Rob Sanderson says today. He notes that weekly subscription rates have fallen by 20 percent from September to October and that forecasts of 2.9 million new BlackBerry users by the end of its current quarter, which ends in November, are currently "at risk."
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10/22, 10:55am
BBerry Bold ATT on Nov 4th
AT&T today finally announced a release date for the BlackBerry Bold on its network, giving the much-delayed phone to customers. Company wireless chief Ralph de la Vega in the company's financial quartely call revealed that the first production 3G BlackBerry for HSPA networks will be available on November 4th, or roughly six months after the provider first announced it as an exclusive for its network in the US. Pricing is set at $300 with a two-year contract.
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10/17, 11:55pm
BBerry Bold ATT 27th Rumor
AT&T's long-delayed version of the BlackBerry Bold could finally be available before the end of the month, a leaked e-mail obtained by BGR indicates. The internal message points to the first HSDPA BlackBerry for the US having a "latest ETA" of October 27th and thus sets a relatively firm date for its launch. However, the note leaves room for a potential last-minute delay or other factors that could push a release into November or later. Pricing still isn't set in the document but is commonly thought to hover at $300 with a two-year contract.
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10/17, 8:50am
RIM ATT Storm Rumor
Research in Motion is set to significantly expand its touchscreen lineup beyond just the core BlackBerry Storm, early rumors floated by BGR suggest. The Canadian company is reportedly readying a device like the Storm for its Wireless Enterprise Symposium in May and may involve a version of the Storm with HSDPA-based 3G for North American frequencies. Which carriers would receive the example are unknown, though AT&T's exclusivity deal for the 3G-capable Bold and the need to support Rogers in Canada would suggest a model with 850MHz 3G rather than the 1,700MHz used for T-Mobile.
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10/09, 4:25pm
Orange Drops BBerry Bold
Cell carrier Orange is dropping the BlackBerry Bold due to quality issues, according to a leaked internal memo at the company's UK division. The provider says that reports of chronic software flaws from a "variety of mobile operators" have prompted it to remove the phone from the market entirely until it can be promised a definitive fix from Research in Motion. The latter is said to be fixing the glitch and promises extra testing to prevent such a problem from reoccurring.
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09/25, 4:55pm
RIM Summer 08 Results
Research in Motion today reported one of its better quarters in memory with earnings of $495.5 million over its summer quarter, which ended in August. The figure is a significant 72 percent spike versus the same three-month timeframe a year earlier and is credited primarily to the momentum from the company's expansion into mainstream-oriented phones, which included early sales of the BlackBerry Bold.
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09/11, 3:00pm
BBerry Javelin Photos
Updated photos have been posted today of RIM's upcoming BlackBerry Javelin that confirm both some of its hardware features as well as carrier details. The device is considered a replacement for the Curve and will be limited to EDGE data versus the Bold's 3G, but is now known to have a once-rumored 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The design also supports claims that it should keep the 480x320 display of the Bold.
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09/09, 3:10pm
BBerry Bold Leaked PR
AT&T has largely committed to its rumored October launch for the BlackBerry Bold, according to a leaked press release obtained at BGR. Although dated for release today, the template announcement specifically indicates plans by the carrier to launch the 3G BlackBerry sometime next month for $300 on contract but leaves the exact day blank, leaving open the possibility of a last-minute change.
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09/04, 4:20pm
BBerry Storm Delayed
Technical problems could keep the BlackBerry Storm from a crucial ship date with Verizon, a tip delivered to BGR says. Although multiple past leaks had penned RIM's first touchscreen BlackBerry for an October launch, software problems have meant the device is only now entering the technical acceptance stage that approves phones for use on Verizon's network and should spend between three to four weeks in testing before it can be sold, pushing it into mid-November.
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09/04, 2:15pm
US Overtakes Europe in 3G
US cellular subscribers are finally catching up and even outpacing Europeans in their use of 3G devices, according to a new ComScore study. The research group explains the number of American cellphone owners with a 3G-capable device surged from just 16.7 percent in June 2007 to 28.4 percent a year later; the shift is both a 70 percent increase and enough to edge out Europe's average adoption, which also grew substantially but fell just short of the US at 28.3 percent. The US now has approximately 64.2 million customers with the faster service.
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08/29, 8:55am
BBerry Bold ATT in October
AT&T's long-delayed BlackBerry Bold launch may not take place until October, according to a tip allegedly given to BGR by higher-placed sources at AT&T. RIM's first GSM-based smartphone with 3G is now said not to be due for the carrier's retail locations until October 2nd, or almost five months after the device was first promised as the American carrier's exclusive in May.
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08/20, 1:50pm
Analyst on Bold vs iPhone
The BlackBerry Bold and iPhone 3G share similar traits but ultimately apply to entirely different markets, Citigroup investment analyst Jim Suva says in a research note issued today. In a hands-on test of the Bold shortly before its launch, Suva notes that the Bold touts both 3G and a significantly improved web browser versus earlier BlackBerries but that its design is still ultimately suited to work versus Apple's offering. This is particularly acute with the Bold potentially costing as much as $399 on contract.
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08/15, 10:55am
PocketMac iTunes support
Owners of BlackBerry cellphones should now have more robust support on the Mac, according to an announcement. PocketMac, an app free from Research in Motion thanks to a licensing agreement, has been updated to v4.1.25 with a number of important features for Mac users, most notably the ability to sync iTunes and iPhoto libraries. iTunes playlists exclude any protected tracks, but iPhoto collections retain their album organizations, and can have images scaled down if necessary. Photos stored on a BlackBerry can imported directly to iPhoto.
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08/07, 3:15pm
BBerry Kickstart now Pearl
RIM has given the Kickstart a more definitive name and could launch it well ahead of its Javelin, a pair of leaks suggest today. A Rogers product sheet obtained by BlackBerry Cool now appears to confirm the use of Kickstart as only a codename and that the final phone will ship as the Pearl 8220, positioning it as a replacement for the Pearl 8100 series. The tip also confirms support for Rogers' Talkspot Wi-Fi calling and also hints at a lower price of $50 with a three-year plan when the device ships in September for the Canadian carrier.
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08/06, 3:15pm
BBerry Bold in Germany
Research in Motion today officially began shipping the BlackBerry Bold to Austria and Germany, putting the device in competition with the iPhone 3G and other devices for the first time. The devices are available through T-Mobile in each country and are the first true 3G Blackberries to be available in Europe; both follow the reference design closely with GPS, Wi-Fi, and a two-megapixel camera but support T-Mobile's NaviGate mapping service in addition to BlackBerry Maps
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08/05, 2:20pm
iPhone Closing in on Palm
Apple's iPhone user base is likely to have surpassed Palm in earnest with the iPhone 3G launch but will face a serious threat by BlackBerry creator Research in Motion shortly afterwards, says a new ChangeWave study. A poll of over 3,500 home users in June showed Apple climbing to 11 percent of active users, up significantly from nine percent in March. The statistic is just three percent below Palm's 14 percent share of current users and on its current trend would have Apple edge out Palm by the researchers' next report.
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08/01, 2:35pm
BBerry Squeezed Out at ATT
Research in Motion and its BlackBerry smartphones on the verge of falling out of favor at AT&T in exchange for the iPhone, says an investment note from Credit Suisse's Kulbinder Garcha. The analyst notes that RIM's share of smartphone sales at AT&T, which have crested at 70 percent in June, are unlikely to remain at such high levels and instead are more likely to drop as AT&T shifts the brunt of its promotion to the iPhone 3G. The touchscreen phone remains a strong seller three weeks after launch and has already seen AT&T agree to heavy subsidies to help push its sales where BlackBerry devices are strictly in line prices at other competitors.
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07/28, 1:20pm
New BlackBerry Bold dates?
Release dates for RIM's BlackBerry Bold cellphone have been leaked, a report claims. Though having missed its July 25th release date, Rogers' Canadian version of the phone is still expected to ship first, on July 29th. Next is believed to be the Vodafone UK edition, shipping August 1st, followed by the T-Mobile Germany model, coming August 4th. An O2 variant is expected sometime in September.
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07/24, 3:00pm
BlackBerry Media Sync
Research in Motion hoped to gain ground among media smartphones today with the official launch of BlackBerry Media Sync. Announced alongside the Bold, the software gives owners of current-generation BlackBerries the option to sync some or all of their iTunes libraries for playback on the phone, including playlists. Phone owners can also block out part of the phone's storage space to set it aside for work, photos, and other content.
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07/18, 12:05pm
Sony Ericsson Q2 2008
Sony Ericsson on Friday reported spring quarterly results that confirm a continued drop in the company's influence. The cellphone designer today said it has largely met its lowered predictions and shipped 24.4 million phones between April and June, or a two percent drop from the same season a year earlier. Net income for the company was also near-flat at the equivalent of $9.5 million, while the firm also warned that the average selling price for one of its phones dropped from approximately $198 to $184.
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07/17, 11:45am
Canaccord on BlackBerry
The launch of the iPhone 3G have had no tangible impact on BlackBerry sales, according to a new research note by Canaccord Adams. Group analyst Peter Misek notes that the announcement of Apple's device on June 9th still led to BlackBerry maker Research in Motion enjoying a breakthrough the same month, with both sales and real activations of BlackBerries understood to have climbed between 20 to 30 percent.
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07/16, 8:45am
BBerry Thunder for October
The BlackBerry Thunder is now considered Research in Motion's top priority, if a claim sent to BGR proves true. The Canadian company is said to be putting even the imminent BlackBerry Bold lower on its priority list to ensure that the touchscreen Thunder is ready for a "huge" US marketing effort starting in September, with a release for the exclusive carrier Verizon in mid-October.
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07/09, 8:00am
BBerry Thunder May Be Late
Claims of a summer launch for the BlackBerry Thunder may be thwarted by a still very rough design, says an alleged Research in Motion insider speaking to BGR. Initially pitched as a near-term competitor for the iPhone 3G, the first touchscreen BlackBerry is described as "in no way shape or form" ready for a near-term launch and has glaring bugs that include a flawed on-screen keyboard and overall interface, a touchscreen that ripples on touch, and an overly sensitive tilt sensor.
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07/07, 9:20am
Rogers BlackBerry Roadmap
Rogers will quickly follow up its iPhone 3G launch with multiple BlackBerry models, according to a leaked roadmap. The outline reconfirms reports that the BlackBerry Bold launches July 25th as the Canadian carrier's first 3G BlackBerry but also adds that the BlackBerry Kickstart flip phone will be ready by the second half of September as a lower-cost alternative that some have reported may cost as little as $50 on contract.
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06/25, 5:00pm
RIM Spring 2008 Sales Soar
Research in Motion on Wednesday afternoon reported what it says are record results for its spring quarter. The company's revenue spiked 107 percent year-over-year to just over $2.2 billion based largely on shipments of BlackBerry devices themselves, which made up 82 percent of the revenue between March and May. The company delivered about 5.4 million BlackBerry smartphones and notes that almost 43 percent of these were new customers. About 2.3 million new BlackBerry push e-mail accounts went live in the same period, RIM says.
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06/20, 2:55pm
Rogers BBerry Plan Update
Rogers Wireless today instituted new BlackBerry service plans that customers are concerned may reflect the price plans for the iPhone 3G when it arrives in Canada next month. While offering more bandwidth than previous plans, the pricing again includes metered bandwidth with different tiers: a new $30 monthly plan offers 300MB of data with 50 cents per megabyte and overage protection to prevent excessive fees; new extra tiers increase the bandwidth allotment to 1GB ($60), 3GB ($80), and 6GB ($100) with the same protection rates.
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06/19, 4:10pm
Nokia E71 No iPhone Threat
The improvements made to Nokia's smartphone lineup through the E66 and E71 show no signs of avoiding a slide in the smartphone market, says a new investment note from American Technology Research. While Nokia has been facing increasing pressure at the low end of the phone market, which is often considered the most vulnerable, the new devices may suffer in light of upcoming launches of the BlackBerry Bold and iPhone 3G are now fostering "concerns of competition" among European stockbrokers, who now see Nokia's control of world smartphone marketshare at risk.
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06/16, 2:45pm
BBerry Javelin Spotted
The rumored BlackBerry Javelin is real and has been in developent, based on a snapshot given to Engadget. An engineering sample confirms a look seen in concept drawings and suggests the phone will be slightly more conventional-looking than the Bold, with a non-chrome trim and a keyboard like that of the 8800 series. The Javelin will allegedly drop costs by shedding the Bold's 3G in favor of EDGE-only access but should keep the 480x320 display as well as GPS and Wi-Fi.
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06/12, 12:45pm
BBerry Bold ATT Teaser
AT&T today quietly posted a teaser site for its version of the BlackBerry Bold. In addition to sporting the carrier's official logos, the site primarily promotes the smartphone as a world-roaming phone thanks to its tri-band 3G data, which also gives it the ability to use cellular Internet access without interrupting calls. The phone also includes a 2-megapixel camera, real GPS navigation, built-in Wi-Fi, and one of the first small 480x320 non-touch displays on a phone.
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06/10, 10:05am
Nokia Down After iPhone 3G
Nokia shares are no longer recommended after the launch of the iPhone 3G, analysts at American Technology Research said late yesterday. Experts at the financial group dropped their valuation for Nokia from Buy to Neutral in the belief that a raft of "third-generation smart-phone introductions" due for the second half of 2008 and early 2009 are liable to hurt Nokia without clear signs that it can match the same pace. The smartphone industry is increasingly competitive and puts added pressure on the Finnish company, which leads the world smartphone market.
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06/08, 6:05pm
BlackBerry Thunder Shot
Research in Motion's BlackBerry Thunder has been spotted in an official product shot obtained Sunday by BGR. The image confirms reports of the device being the first touchscreen smartphone from RIM but suggests the device will keep the distinctive BlackBerry keys: aside from the calling and menu buttons, it will also have left- and right-side shortcuts. RIM has dropped the trackball and expects users to scroll with their fingers, but includes a new lock button and a completely new play/pause button, suggesting the phone will have a full-sized headphone jack for playing music and videos.
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06/04, 4:00pm
Biz Phone Study May 2008
Regardless of Apple's plans to add business features to the iPhone, Research in Motion is and will continue to extend its lead in business phones, according to a new ChangeWave study. An examination of more than 2,000 corporate IT spenders has about 76 percent of all businesses opting for BlackBerries in May, up three percent from the last time the study took place in February; Palm was second place at 17 percent with other competitors filing in the remaining seven percent.
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05/19, 12:10pm
T-Mo Shadows BBerries Soon
T-Mobile has an aggressive launch schedule that will see it launch multiple high-profile phones by mid-summer, according to a leaked roadmap. Although few details are known about the release, the US carrier reportedly plans to launch both the unannounced BlackBerry Kickstart flip smartphone and the more official Bold by August, significantly upgrading T-Mobile's smartphone lineup within two months. A previous leak has suggested the Bold would appear only by September.
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05/15, 9:30am
BBerry Bold for Rogers
Rogers today confirmed that it would carry the BlackBerry Bold for Research in Motion's home country. The smartphone will make use of Rogers' 3G network and isn't expected to lose any features in the transition, including its GPS and Wi-Fi. By using the newer cellular data standard, the Bold is the first BlackBerry on Rogers' network to allow Internet access without interrupting phone calls.
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