With the number of fake mock ups we spot on an almost daily basis it can be hard to tell if an image is the real deal or a knock off, however the recent picture of a Blackberry touchscreen slider looks legit and has us excited.

The image, taken from BB Leaks shows a Palm Pre type slider device with a touchscreen surface that nearly matches the Blackberry Storm 2. Hmmm…perhaps someone just glued the two together, but I digress. The unit also shows an optical trackpad situated between four buttons below the touchscreen which would nicely add a bit of one handed navigation to the device.

If the slider device actually is the real thing rumors are also pointing to Blackberry OS 6.0, WiFi 802.11N and a 480 x 360 display.

Come on RIM, make this thing official so we can start hunting for more specs, or you can play nice and just hand us the official press release for the device.

With AT&T just announcing SlingPlayer 3G capabilities Verizon apparently didn’t want to be out done and they have announced that Skype calling over their 3G EVDO network will be allowed on Smartphone devices starting in March.

The 3G calling ability will require a data plan to be activated on the customers account and will allow Skype-to-Skype voice calls from around the world.

The move is a big step forward for the company, while the service has been available to AT&T customers for around 6 months.

The new Skype Mobile 3G application will also support Skype Out calling, provide instant messaging and allow Verizon customers to always stay connected, allowing them to check on friends “online presences” at all times.

During launch nine Smartphones will be able to take advantage of the program with more to follow.

Here’s the list of immediately compatible devices:

BlackBerry Storm 9530

BlackBerry Storm2


BlackBerry Curve 8330


BlackBerry Curve 8530


BlackBerry Curve 8830 World Edition


BlackBerry Tour 9630


Motorola Droid


HTC Droid Eris


Motorola Devour

[Engadget]

2009 was a great year to be a cell phone user. From the iPhone 3GS to WebOS and Google Android devices, there were literally hundreds of phones to choose from. Here’s our list of the top 20 cell phones for 2009.

1. iPhone 3GS – Not that this device should surprise anyone, the 3GS took high speed data to a whole new level, while proving 16GB or 32GB flash drive models, better email support, increased speeds and a 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display that is still unrivaled throughout the mobile phone industry.

2. Motorola Droid – The Droid helped introduce Google Android 2.0 to the world, while also featuring some excellent hardware that includes a 3.7 inch touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 5MP camera, WiFi, 3G and an Arm Cortex A8 CPU (a 600MHz, OMAP3430 chip downclocked to 550MHz). If you want power, easy access to apps and text messaging and other great features on a Verizon Wireless phone, this is a must have phone from 2009.

3. HTC HD2 – This is one of the few Windows Mobile 6.5 devices to make the cut in 2009. Featuring a massive 4.3 inch capacitive WVGA touchscreen with a 5MP camera, built-in GPS and a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, the HD2 is one of the most powerful smartphones to debut in ‘09.

4. Toshiba TG01 – As the first device to feature the Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor the TG01 impressed us, even if it didn’t make a huge splash on the market. The devices 4.1 touchscreen display was unfortunatley resistive, however the unit made up for that fact with HSDPA (3G) data, WiFi and a built-in GPS receiver. Toshiba also added their own UI to mask the Windows 6.1 interface and while not perfect, at least it wasn’t WinMo 6.1

5. Palm Pre – WebOS made a huge splash thanks to the ability to simultaneously run dozens of apps at one time, while also staying connected with 3G, WiFi and a built-in GPS receiver.  The Palm Pre also offers over the air automatic backups and its own app store that continues to grow at a steady pace.

6. Blackberry Tour 9630 – With 3G connectivity, a 3.2MP camera and a full RIM designed QWERTY keyboard business users had reason to celebrate in 2009.  This unit also offered Assisted-GPS and Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP for “over bluetooth” music playback.

7. Nokia N900 – The first Nokia device to feature their new Maemo 5 operating system, the N900 is also fast with its included ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz  processor. The unit also features a 3.5 inch touchscreen display and runs the internet with ease thanks to the inclusion of Mozilla powered technology with full flash 9.4 and AJAX support. The N900 also features a 5MP camera with dual LED, WiFi and 3G.

8. HTC Droid Eris – I couldn’t complete a list of top 20 phones without including some amazing bargain offered. The Droid Eris, offered by Verizon Wireless only costs $79.99 and includes a virtual qwerty keyboard, WiFi, a 3.2 inch touchscreen display and bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. The phones speeds are also fairly impressive thanks to the included 528MHz Qualcomm® MSM7600™ Processor.

9. LG GD910 3G Touch Watch Phone – Take a designer looking watch, throw in a capacitive touchscreen, a VGA camera and 2GB internal memory and you have the LG Watch Phone. Sure it’s price at over $1000 unlocked, but it has also helped user in new lines of watch phones that will debut in 2010. Heck you can even SMS and MMS with the watch. Plus the displayed time doesn’t look so bad either.

10. Acer Liquid A1 – This quad-band GSM based Smartphone features a Qualcomm 8250 1GHz processor, offers WiFi, 3G and a 3.5 inch touchscreen with WVGA output. Plus users will love Android 1.6 (Donut). The Liquid A1 also featured a built-in GPS receiver and a 5MP camera with auto focus. While not the newest version of Google Android, it’s still a powerful option.

11. HTC Snap – The Snap is another Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone that offers many of the typical features found on this list, including WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP, a 2.4 inch QVGA display and built-in GPS. It also introduced the HTC ”Inner Circle” button which allows users to pull up their most popular, requested emails with the single click of a button. If you’re a business user who sends a lot of emails and who would rather have a non-touchscreen based device, this is the best option of 2009.

12. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – One of only three Symbian based devices to make our list, the 5800 XpressMusic brought touchscreen capabilities to Nokia with a 3.2 inch resistive display. The unit also features a MicroSDHC card slot with an included 8GB memory card in the box, WiFi and even a TV out port with a Nokia Video Connectivity Cable. I personally love the widget enabled setup on the device and despite less than stellar reviews it’s still a great option for Nokia/Symbian lovers.

13. Blackberry Bold 2 (9700) – I loved the Bold and the next iteration of the device was even more impressive. Featuring 3G data connectivity, WiFi 802.11b/g and 3.5mm headphone jack the Bold 2 felt like a business phone, while bringing in a more consumer friendly vibe with extended multimedia and app use. Again the device featured the same 3.2 mega-pixels (auto-focus) camera as found on the Blackberry Tour 9630, which isn’t stellar, but makes the cut for a business based phone.

14. Nokia N97 Mini – I liked the N97, but I also prefer smaller, more portable devices and that’s what the N97 Mini offers. This unit comes equipped with a 5MP camera with dual LED flash an autofocus, WiFi and A-GPS maps with Nokia Maps (which are now free to download and use worldwide).  This device also uses a MicroSDHC card slot expandable up to 16GB. The screen is still resistive but offers 3.2 inches for nice finger friendly access to apps.

15. LG KP500 Cookie – This is the only phone on my list to feature it’s own custom mobile operating system. I like the Cookie because it’s cheap, even unlocked it’s only around $199.99. The Cookie features a 3MP camera, bluetooth 2.1, MicroSDHC card support and offers a TFT 3″ touchscreen. If you want a cheap “entry level” touchscreen phone and you don’t need all the bells and whistles of a standard Android, Blackberry, WinMo or iPhone device this is a nice option to check out. Plus it comes with worldwide friendly quad-band GSM abilities.

16. HTC TouchPro 2 – With a sleek design the TouchPro 2 is worth a closer look. The unit features a 2.6 inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, a microSD expansion slot, and a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus. Sure it’s still a WinMo device, but with the HTC Sense UI it’s definitely a powerhouse of a business device. 3G, WiFi and the ability to flip the phone over and use it as a full-duplex speakerphone also makes it a device worth checking out.

17. Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber Shot – If you want a phone that’s built for picture taking and music playing, but you don’t need the 100,000 apps offered by Apple, this is a good choice. The C510 is a sturdy built phone that offers a 2.2 inch display, geo-tagging capabilities and 3.2MP cyber-shot camera.  It also offers something called “smile technology” which auto takes pictures when smiles are detected, kinda cool, but not always useful. I like this phone because it’s a phone and very little more, which is a nice change of pace. If you want a secondary phone as a non-business device and you don’t tend to use your phone for much more than making calls and taking the occasional pictures, I would give the C510 a closer look.

18. Blackberry Storm 2 – Another Blackberry device with a 3.2MP camera, however it also offers a 3.25″ display with improved SureType technology (compared to the original Blackberry Storm). The Storm 2 also offers Integrated GPS and WiFi b/g plus 3G data connectivity. It’s still not a perfect touchscreen option, but it offers a good deal of business and personal use options so you can take it to work with you and then play with it at home.

19. Samsung i8910 Omnia HD – With a 3.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen display the Omnia HD offers one of the best outputs you’ll find on a cell phone. The phone also features an 8 MP camera with 3264×2448 pixels resolution, autofocus and LED flash. It also offers the Symbian OS v9.4 Series 60 rel. 5 mobile OS and WiFi plus 3G capabilities. The HD also offers HD 720p recording at 24fps and D1 720×480 pixels at 30fps, with QVGA time-lapse and slow-motion video recording capabilities.

20. HTC Hero – This smartphone features a Qualcomm 528MHz processor with 288MB RAM and 512MB ROM. It also offers a nice amount of connectivity including WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP and quad-band HSPA (3G).  With Google Android users will love this phones apps and games and with a 5MP camera it serves as more than just a nice touchscreen friend phone.

Those are my top 20 phones of 2009. With Google Android gaining an ever increasing market share, Windows Mobile 7 ready to pop up hopefully sometime in 2010 and Apple promising new advances with the iPhone series, it should be an interesting 2010.

Research in Motion (RIMM) beat market expectations for its third quarter earnings today off the back of strong international Blackberry sales.

RIMM reported revenue of $3.92 billion, up 11% from on the previous quarter and up 41% from $2.78 billion in the same quarter of last year. Net income for the quarter was up 59% versus over the same quarter in 2008 to $628.4 million ($1.10 per share.) Analysts were predicting $1.04 on revenue of $3.8 billion.

RIMM said that it expected sales for the fourth quarter of $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion, and net earnings per share of at least $1.23.

The company said that it had shipped 10.1 million devices, including its 75 millionth Blackberry in the quarter, and that 37% of revenue and 35% of its subscriber base was now coming from outside of the United States.

RIMM shares were up 12.05% to $71.11 in after hours trading.

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the discerning mobile lover in your life who has everything, you might want to check in with Monocle. The company is offering a modified Blackberry 9700 that gives a bit more business flair to the Blackberry Smartphone.

The upgraded devices aren’t cheap at £950 (approximately $1,500) and the upgraded options won’t be for everyone. Basically you’ll get a premium leather strap added to the unit, Monocle 25/25 travel guides loaded on the device, several “business friendly” custom wallpapers and a 16GB microSDHC card.

To show off your mod (only 100 are available) Monocle has engraved what number your device is out of 100. Such as 1/100 or 99/100.

It may not be for everyone,  but if you must have it for a loved one or for yourself, they’ll start shipping on December 10th so get your order in today. [Engadget]

AT&T is a little behind the curve when it comes to selling the Blackberry Bold 9700, but with great pricing and availability it’s still better late than never.

New and Existing customers due for an upgrade can pick up the Bold 9700 for a very nice $200, of course they’ll have to sign on the 2-year contract dotted line and agree to a data plan of at least $30 in order to qualify. They’ll also be required to fill out and wait for a $100 mail-in-rebate, so be prepared to throw down $299 + taxes at the time of purchase.

With included 3G data speeds, built-in WiFi and GPS tied together by a 3.15MP camera, Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP and a MicroSDHC card, plus of course Research In Motions famous email servers, it’s really not a bad price to pay for such a powerhouse business/personal use device.

The Blackberry Pearl 9100 has been spotted in the wild and adds some nice new design features to the Blackberry Pearl line of Smartphones. code-named Striker, the phone has been redesigned with a new SureType keyboard and an optical joystick for a whole new look and feel.

There’s still no word on the devices main features and although we can see that it has a camera, we don’t know what it offers, although an LED flash does appear to be included. We’d expect at least a 3.2mp camera, fairly standard fare on Research In Motion devices at this time, but we’d gladly take a 5.0 option with obstacle zoom if RIM could be so kind.

There’s still no word on pricing or availability, heck at this point I’d be willing to settle for some specs. [CrackBerry]

The Blackberry Bold 9700 is now available to new and existing T-Mobile customers throughout  U.S retail locations and through their online portal.

The Bold 9700 can be grabbed for $199.99 with the companies “Even More” plan and your signature on a 2-year contract. Users who are willing to forgo the contract for a higher priced device can also pick up the 9700 at a higher price of $449.99 with the “Even More Plus” plan.

The price isn’t too shabby for a device that features 3G, WiFi, a 3.2MP camera, MicroSDHC card support and a High resolution 480×360 pixel color display with 6 hours of talk time.

We mentioned last week that the Blackberry Storm 2 was about to drop at Verizon Wireless and now that release is official, you can pick up the Smartphone in Verizon Wireless stores throughout the U.S. and through their online portal.

The Storm 2 as we reported is going for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and your signature on a 2-year agreement.

Here’s some of the specs found on the Blackberry Storm 2:

• 3.25 inch display with 480 x 360 pixels of resolution
• 3G Data Support via EVDO Rev A
• Blackberry OS 5.0 with improved SureType technology
• 3.2 megapixel camera with Autofocus and image stabilization
• 1400mAh battery with 5.5 hours talk time

Not a bad option for $179.99 but we could really do without the mail-in-rebate part of the deal.

The Blackberry Curve 8530 is set to be released by Verizon Wireless on November 20th, adding to the slew of new devices the company plans to release before the end of 2009.

The Curve 8530 features EVDO Rev. A data access, alongside WiFi, GPS (VZ Navigator comes standard) and a full Qwerty Keyboard for quick email and text messaging.  Research In Motion has also thrown in a 3.5mm headphone port and dedicated media keys, unfortunately the camera still comes in at a paltry 2MP.

The device will also feature a MicroSDHC card slot for memory capabilities up to 16GB which users will want to take advantage of considering the low amount of available onboard storage (256MB).

Users will also notice the lack of a trackball which has been replaced by a trackpad, while the device should speed along at decent speeds with its included 528MHz processor

The Blackberry Curve 8530 will come in black and smoky violet colors and will cost $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, but only if you sign a 2 year contract and pick a data plan to complement your voice use, of course 99.9% of Blackberry users have a data plan so that shouldn’t concern most users.

A while back we announced that the Blackberry Storm 2 was just around the corner for Verizon Blackberry users. Now we’ve received official word that the device will launch on October 28th for $180. That price comes at a price of $179.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate and the signing of a two year contract.

So what will you get for $179.99? How about a 3.25 inch display that offers 480 x 360 pixels resolution with capacitive touchscreen capabilities and a much improved SurePress setup.  The device also features EVDO Rev.A with UMTS/HSPA 2100 and WiFi b/g data connections.

The Storm 2 also comes equipped with Blackberry’s newest 5.0 OS, while also featuring 2GB internal memory and a micrSDHC card slot that can support up to 16GB of additional memory. Next, throw in a 3.2MP autofocus camera that also offers image stabilization and a flash alongside a 1400mAh battery with 5.5 hours talk time and you’re left with a very nice device that should do wonders for replacing your Blackberry Storm.

Other Features Include:

You can pre-order your device or pick it up at time of release, either way it may be worth getting rid of that old Storm and it’s awful 1st Gen. SurePress technology. [SlashGear]

The team at Crackberry just posted a youtube video showing off the Blackberry Storm 2 (Blackberry Storm 9550). This newest offering from Research In Motion appears to feature the same clunky Blackberry 5.1 OS found on the original device of the same name, while offering some much needed improvement in other areas.

What has appeared to change is the SurePress touchscreen which seems on video to offer better give when pressing virtually anywhere on the screen. The improved touch technology is a welcomed addition given the horrible design of the first gen screen originally implemented on the Storm.

We also noticed that the main keys on the device (call, end, back and menu) are now part of the touchscreen rather than separate buttons, a design change that gives the devices frontside realty a flushed look (can anyone say iPhone?).

Unfortunately the unit still appears to be clunky on the processing speed front, especially when the accelerometer is being used or when apps are being loaded, however as mentioned above the OS may improve before final release.

We’re also optimistic that WiFi will be added before the final release since Blackberry has promised that feature on all future devices, yet it’s sorely missing in this first look.

Here’s the vid:

It doesn’t matter where you turn the past couple of days since Michael Jackson’s death without finding something relating to him showing up.

For those of you who happen to have a Blackberry 9000 you can now download a free Jackson theme created by a fan. The theme shows off Jackson in some of his classic dance poses. You can grab it via this over the air download link. In the meantime here’s some shots of the theme for those of you not so lucky to own a Blackberry.

hat tip to IntoMobile

Research in Motion (RIM) shares jumped nearly 3% this morning on news of the Blackberry Tour 9630 launch.

With hopes of luring customers away from competitors such as the iPhone and the Nokia N97, the Blackberry Tour is feature heavy and sports a sleek, light design. Blackberry also has “BlackBerry App World™,” but compared to the iPhone apps, they just seem… embarrassing. Sorry, Blackberry.

Features don’t seem too different from previous offerings on the Curve and Bold series. The Tour boasts a 3.2 megapixel camera and 256MB flash memory (expandable to 16MB.) Video recording is also supported with the purchase of a MicroSD card. Talk time clocks in at about 5 hours, with up to two weeks of standby time. The Tour supports 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America and 3G UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks outside the states. The Tour has no support for Wi-Fi.

RIM is expecting to move 400-600,000 units through the end of August- but the iPhone 3G sold over a million units in three days last summer. The Tour (also known as Blackberry Niagara) is expected to launch through Verizon and Sprint, priced at $199 with a two-year contract.

The iPhone has lost its spot as the most popular phone in the United States, being beaten by a surprising contender: the BlackBerry Curve.

According to figures from NPD, BlackBerry phones took three of the top five spots, with the BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Pearl sitting in third and fourth respectively. In good news for Google, the T-Mobile G1 came in at fifth.

The New York Times notes though that a sales promotion may be the key reason behind the BlackBerry Curve taking top spot.

The Curve was the big winner for two main reasons, said Mr. Rubin. One was Verizon’s “Buy one, get one free” deal for the BlackBerry. “That promotion pushed it over the top,” he said. Another reason is that the Curve was available through four major carriers, while the iPhone remains exclusive to AT&T.

The same report also noted that the stats were good for the forthcoming Palm Pre, proving that with support the iPhone can be challenged.

Much has been made about President Obama not wanting to give up his Blackberry – or what he calls his lifeline to the real people of the the the country he is now in charge of. Every effort it seems has been taken to find the most secure version of his favourite communication tools but what about the rest of the first family – especially the children.

After all these two girls have grown up in a world where texting and cell phones are almost surgically attached to kids at birth. It doesn’t matter where kids go these days they are very rarely less than a back pocket away from their cell phones.They have become the very lifeline by which children keep in touch with each other and find out what is happening in their world – often before even their parents do.

But here we have two young girls who even more so that maybe their mother and father will be in the public eye for some time. In the matter of months their lives have totally changed. So one has to wonder how the technology that they have grown up with even more so than maybe their parents is going to change.

While immense precautions have been taken in order for President Obama to keep that Blackberry he swore they would have to tear from his hands what is being done with the technology that both Mrs. Obama, Malia and Sasha consider equally important to them. Even though the President by the looks of things will be able to break – even ever so slightly – out of the communication bubble with the real world how will this; or will this freedom also be extended to his children?

Previously catered to BlackBerry, Vlingo lets you speak out everything from text messages to e-mails and Web navigation commands — then it translates that into typed out action on your phone. Its latest version added support for spoken Twitter and Facebook updates and even the ability to have a message you speak read back to you aloud.

Now, Vlingo is up for grabs at the Apple App Store. It boasts all the same functions as the BlackBerry version as well as a specialized map lookup tool: You say, for example, “Find a dry cleaners in Seattle” — and you get a Google Map with all the local spots in place.

A demo video of the Vlingo iPhone app follows.

Vlingo’s first version — debuted in June — let you speak out text messages, e-mails, and even Web navigation commands. It also allowed voice commands for common phone features such as number dialing or looking up contacts.

In addition to providing the option of spoken updates to your Facebook and Twitter status, Vlingo 2.0 also boasts full spoken keyboard support, the option to have a message you spoke read back to you aloud, and the ability to launch a host of previously unsupported programs:

• Address Book
• Alarm
• BrickBreaker
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Camera
• Google Maps
• Maps
• Media
• MemoPad
• Messages
• Opera
• Options
• Tasks
• Web browser
• Viigo

Vlingo 2.0 is available free here for BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, and 8800 series phone users in the U.S. and Canada. U.K.-based users can get a beta version here. (How about a non-BlackBerry version now, Vlingo? I want to play!)

Vlingo, based in Cambridge, Mass., has been around for just over two years. The company secured $20 million from Yahoo earlier this year.

Qik lets you stream video from your phone to the Internet with a couple of clicks. Online viewers can then chat and interact with you as you transmit your live feed. It’s been used for reporting live coverage of events such as hurricanes and earthquakes, or even presidential debates.

Qik just recently signed a deal with Nokia to have its utility preloaded on its 5800 model. It’s also already available on Symbian, Windows Mobile, and other Java-based phones. As for an iPhone app, Qik has yet to announce any official release date — but there are signs of progress. The company is actively working on an iPhone application and has an early version under development, as Robert Scoble learned while touring Qik’s headquarters last week. (See his Qik-created video here.)

The BlackBerry version is expected to enter beta mode within the “coming weeks,” company reps say. Additional BlackBerry devices will receive support once the program reaches that point.

It’s not the prettiest interface we’ve ever seen, but unlike the T-Mobile G1 Android phone, the Blackberry Storm challenges the iPhone directly complete with on screen keyboard. Boy Genius Report says that it’s too Blackberry like, but that’s half the point: this is a phone targeted at Blackberry users tempted by the iPhone, but have held back from switching. Shots as follows.