January 27 - 11:35pm EST   Following up with its quarterly financial disclosure, Verizon representatives have finally confirmed that the company has sold more than 1 million BlackBerry Storm handsets, according to Computerworld. Unofficial estimates last month suggested the company had sold 500,000 of the devices in the first month since its release. If the number was accurate, the achievement of 1 million units points to a sustained distribution through the second month of availability. [full story]

December 26 - 8:10am EST   An initial 2009 roadmap for phones at Canadian provider Rogers and its sub-label Fido has leaked and provided clues not only to devices coming to the West for the first time but a new BlackBerry device. A new Pearl Flip will represent a quick turnaround for RIM and will add HSPA-based 3G for faster Internet access; it will also be the first non-QWERTY phone from the company to have both GPS and Wi-Fi at the same time. The new Flip is due sometime in the first half of 2009 and will be available only through Rogers. [full story]

December 5 - 4:00pm EST   Verizon has officially released the 4.7.0.75 firmware update today for the BlackBerry Storm handset made by Research In Motion (RIM). The update addresses the newly released handset's numerous issues, including a large amount of lag, voice-dialing problems and need to perform reboots. While the update was leaked to a select few Storm users last week, this release will cover all Storm owners. [full story]

December 3 - 1:10pm EST   The UK division of T-Mobile has slashed prices on the Android-based G1 smartphone, an announcement reveals. People should now be able to get the phone for free when signing up for a £30-per-month contract; previously, the G1 could only be had for free with a £40 tariff plan. Though the company is not providing an automatic discount to earlier customers, it is offering to switch people over to the cheaper plan. [full story]

December 2 - 11:25am EST   The iPhone is now not only the second most popular smartphone in the world but has saved the smartphone industry from a decline this past summer, according to a research note by Needham analyst Charlie Wolf. Apple's handset has represented about 16.6 percent of the entire smartphone market worldwide for the quarter ended in September and is now second only to Nokia. The latter has already acknowledged struggling smartphone share but is now known to have plummeted from 63.3 percent of the market a year ago to 43.6 percent owing largely to the spike in iPhone sales triggered by its 3G version. [full story]

December 2 - 8:45am EST   Telus today priced out its version of the BlackBerry Storm. Contradicting some early rumors, the Canadian carrier says it will offer the Storm at promo pricing for $250 CAD ($200 US) on a three-year plan, or closer to (but still above) the cost of the iPhone 3G on Rogers. The phone will also be available on shorter terms and should sell for $600 when contract-free. More details should be available shortly, the company says. [full story]

December 1 - 3:50pm EST   A leak from BGR on Monday reveals that Research in Motion is already close to releasing a firmware patch for the BlackBerry Storm that will address the numerous software flaws affecting the launch edition phone. The 4.7.0.76 update dramatically improves the response time for tasks such as rotating to landscape mode, browsing photos or playing music, all of which have suffered from delays as long as several seconds for certain tasks. [full story]

November 26 - 3:00pm EST   Telus may charge a high enough premium for its version of the BlackBerry Storm that it no longer directly competes with its intended rival from Apple, a controversial leak from BGR claims. The touchscreen phone is now said by an alleged source to be priced at $300 CAD ($243 US) on a three-year plan -- as much as Rogers' high-end iPhone 3G with 15GB more storage and $43 US more than Verizon's pricing in the US for a shorter two-year term. [full story]

November 25 - 11:10am EST   Verizon appears to be quickly recuperating from the initial shortage of BlackBerry Storm phones from its high-profile launch, according to early prospective buyers. While the company had initially said that follow-up online orders might not ship until December 15th, or about three weeks after the phone's initial ship date, the company has bumped the ship date on its order page a week earlier to December 8th, suggesting an improved supply situation. [full story]

November 25 - 9:40am EST   Verizon on Tuesday became the first American carrier to offer the Samsung Omnia. The company's second full touchscreen smartphone in as many weeks, the Americanized edition of the Omnia adds a new, customized version of Samsung's TouchWiz interface to Windows Mobile 6.1 that lets users quickly check informational widgets and change core settings without leaving the home screen. It also brings VZ Navigator as an option for the phone's native GPS and the VZAppZone as a portal for downloading third-party native apps. [full story]

November 24 - 12:40pm EST   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. [full story]

November 21 - 1:55pm EST   Lineups for this morning's launch of the BlackBerry Storm have cracked the triple-digit mark and prompted sellouts, early reports note. One of the company's flagship stores in midtown Manhattan noted over 200 people in line for the touchscreen phone's morning debut and is said to have prompted a minor police response after a phone sellout angered those at the back of the queue. Sellouts have also been reported at other locations but haven't been given more definite numbers. [full story]

November 21 - 8:15am EST   Verizon today marked the official launch of the BlackBerry Storm on its network. The device matches the $199 contract price of the rivalling iPhone 3G at AT&T and is widely regarded as Verizon's best alternative to the Apple handset in features and focus. The Storm has a similarly-sized 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen meant for finger input but relies on a unique click action that requires a physical push downwards for some actions, simulating a physical button press. [full story]

November 20 - 2:20pm EST   Bell today heated up competition among cell carriers with a trio of Smartphone Combo plans aimed conspicuously at outpacing Rogers. The Smartphone Combo 45 plan gives users 250 minutes of calling, unlimited evenings and weekends, and 500MB of data for its namesake $45. It also provides choices of extras such as unlimited calling between five phone numbers, unlimited incoming calls, or an earlier 5PM start time for evenings. [full story]

November 20 - 8:25am EST   The launch of Verizon's BlackBerry Storm on Friday may fall short of expectations due to a last-minute flaw, according to tips given to BGR. A security issue discovered at the last moment by RIM has reportedly forced both it and Verizon to update the firmware at the last minute and cut back on the supplies of phones for launch day. One Verizon store slated to receive 100 units will now get just 40, an individual example notes. [full story]