So if you have been a fan of BerryReporter.com as long as I have been apart of the site you might know that I live in Pennsylvania.  You might not know, however that I live very close to the 2nd largest shopping malls in America, the King of Prussia Mall. The King  of Prussia mall has 2,500,000 square feet of retail space, 410 retail stores and sees over a million guests each month.

Today I was taking a little trip to the King of Prussia mall for a nice afternoon out. Some of you might not know, but I am a very big people watcher and being the BlackBerry addict that I am the first thing that always catches my attention is what phone people are using.  Now these days considering that a lot of people see BlackBerry lacking what other Smartphones like Android and Apple devices have to offer, I was thinking that I wouldn’t see as many BlackBerry devices as I am use to seeing. However I was very surprised!

I saw a lot of people carrying BlackBerry devices. There seemed to be a lot of younger people carrying BlackBerry devices. This is a pretty good sign for RIM. It means that the consumer market that RIM has been trying to advertise to are getting the message.  I also saw a lot of the middle age crowd rocking BlackBerry devices.  I noticed a lot of BlackBerry Curve 8530′s,Bold 9000′s Bold 9700′s, Curve 8330′s, some Storm 1′s and some Storm2′s.  I even notice a couple people rocking the BlackBerry Torch 9800.   I have recently been thinking that Android is making a very big push in the SmartPhone game, but the more times I am out in public, I see more and more people using BlackBerry devices instead of Android or iPhones.

We all know that BlackBerry’s are great email devices and help keep you connected to the office at all times. However for those who think that is all BlackBerry has to offer, I think you need to watch the people around you when you are out in public.  I don’t think every person i saw today was rocking a BlackBerry just so they don’t miss any emails.  Us BlackBerry addicts know that BlackBerry has tons of things to offer to anyone, such as BlackBerry Messenger, a great media player, tons of apps,  great web browser, and you can make a phone call with it .

So what do you guys think? Are you seeing more people using BlackBerry’s, Android devices, or iPhones when you are out and about? Leave us a comment and let us know!

So today Apple held a Press Conference to talk about the Antenna problem that the iPhone4 is having. I will actually put the live blog write up down below thanks to GDGT.com but one of the things that surprised me was when Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that all other Smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold 9700 have the same Antenna problem if you hold them all the same way.  Well as I was reading the live blogs I was hold my Bold 9700 all different ways and didn’t notice a difference.

Now this post is not going to be me bashing Apple the whole time. I had a couple questions in my head while this was all going down. The first question was if RIM had a similar problem would you still be faithful to BlackBerry Products or would you adventure elsewhere? Also how does Apples current problem make you feel as a BlackBerry owner? I mean with Apple receiving all the hype for this device RIM has been kind of over looked. However now with this problem and Apple just putting a rubber band over it. How does it make you feel to be a BlackBerry owner? Leave a comment down below and let us know!

Well its been a few hours after the Apple iPhone4 Press Conference and after Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that all Smartphones, including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, have the same antenna issue when you hold the phones with the same death grip. If you were like me then you were probably trying to hold you BlackBerry in every way possible to see if that statement was true. I tried to do it on every device I own and found out that statement was pretty false. As a BlackBerry owner I was offended, and seems like I’m not the only one who was offened. Check out this official statement from RIM Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”

- Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie

I couldn’t have agreed more with Lazaridis and Balsillie! I know that I can be an Apple hater sometimes but lately I have learned to be a little more opened with what they do and their products. However I just have to laugh and get pretty annoyed by this whole iPhone4 product. I think Steve Jobs was just looking to throw the blame onto other smartphone makes and say ” hey they do it too, don’t just look at use!”

Wonder what will be next in this saga? Stay tuned!

Recently if you have been watching and listening to what people have been saying about Research in Motion you know that people haven’t had too many kind words for the BlackBerry maker.  A lot of people are saying that RIM is falling behind the game of other Smartphone makers.  RIM, in many people’s eyes needs to do something fast about this public perception. Well the Founder of WorldMate Nadav Gur posted the following article on his blog Titled How BlackBerry Can Get Fresh Again. Check it out for yourself and tell use what you think.

How BlackBerry Can Get Fresh Again

by Nadav Gur, Founder of WorldMate

This past week has seen RIM posting mixed quarterly results - 41% increase in earnings, the 100 Millionth BlackBerry sold, still the #1 Smartphone player in North America and now the #4 handset vendor worldwide (in terms of volume), but still at the low range of analyst forecasts. Shares took a 4% hit, completing a 27% nose-dive in the last 6 months, on concerns that the iPhone and Android have stolen BlackBerry’s thunder. Posting the results on the day the iPhone 4 hit the market didn’t help much, but the question in investors and industry players’ minds is fundamental – will RIM come back, or are Apple and Google on their ways to ruling the sector in the next few years? Clearly the people in Waterloo have their collective hands full.

Every now and then, it’s time for some unabashed advice-giving , even if it is out of your league. When every soccer enthusiast out there can critique national soccer coaches or international referees, I think it might not be too outrageous for me to comment on the dilemmas faced by RIM’s management. Apologies in advance for the long treatise – about something I care about.

1. Focus On Key Experiences – And Excel At Them

I was having lunch last week with a friend, a pretty well-known VC with very significant smartphone-sector involvement, who’s recently switched his iPhone and Palm Pre for a BlackBerry Tour. It’s simple, he said. In spite of all the advances these guys have made on user experience, neither of these devices gave him the level of e-mail efficiency that the BlackBerry does. “And when you have 5 free minutes to answer some e-mails, being able to squeeze in three instead of one makes the difference” he stated.

This great e-mail user experience got RIM to where it is today. It’s not just about server connectivity, it’s not just push, it’s not just the keyboard – it’s the totally integrated e-mail experience that often makes users email on their BlackBerry – even when their desktop is right there. But email alone is clearly not enough anymore – both because other vendors have generally caught up (well – almost), and because there are new domains for Smartphone utility out there which must be exploited to attract new legions to BlackBerry. What it does serve is to demonstrate is that if you can make the BlackBerry indispensable for a key horizontal application, you create real value and a long-term hold on users who care about it. RIM must build and perfect other experiences – not just enable them, but integrate them so seamlessly with the device, network capabilities and the existing tools and processes in use, that the added convenience and saved time generate unique value.

And guess what – there are so many experiences still out there for mobile devices on which to improve. Location-based services for instance are still in their infancy. Add context – e.g. where I intend to be, where other people are, where I was, how fast I’m moving – and you can create so much more value around basic human behaviors like commuting, parking, navigating crowded places and more. BlackBerry Drive sounds like a move in the right direction, by the way.

Another such experience that I won’t go into much detail about (I’m biased) is Travel. A user activity that drives the biggest segment in world GDP, the #2 variable cost for corporations – and an activity that is by nature tied so strongly with mobility. There are other opportunities around personal and corporate finances (from balancing the budget to keeping track of expenses), tying these into retail and connecting all of these to payment services, identity and much more. As merchants, retailers and financial institutions use email to deliver key information, RIM can use an existing strength of its platform in clever ways to build brand new experiences for these applications that aggregate information from several sources and use those, alongside context, to deliver new convenience and efficiencies. The opportunities abound – if you execute on the utility and experience, and if you lead rather than follow. Which brings me to #2.

Note: RIM seems to get this to a degree with the “Super Apps” concept – but that’s too conceptual – it is simply too abstract to be effectively marketed.

2. You Can’t out-iPhone the iPhone – It’s Time For Market Segmentation

Yes, sure. BlackBerry needs an equally good browser and similarly cool touch-UI. But in the eyes of the consumer, the battle for these is over, or at least it’s become an iPhone vs. Droid saga. The greatest review on WSJ or BusinessWeek (or Oprah for that matter) would only get you to “well now BlackBerry is as-good-as”, which is just not enough to sway the die-hard iPhone fans perception and make BlackBerry the Cooler device.

So don’t expect that. You need to be decidedly better at some things the iPhone and Android camp have not moved on yet.. And these things must matter to an audience that matters. Some of the examples above are highly suitable for RIM. Killer execution on those experiences requires market segmentation and intense focus (don’t repeat Palm’s mistake to try to target Soccer Moms just because “they too multi-task…”). With RIM’s historic stronghold in white-collar business professionals there is no need to move away drastically. Just think about what else these people need (beyond email and PIM) that could be done better. Find four or five of these “horizontals” to invest in, and innovate. If one or two sticks, you have a market advantage, in a segment that counts.

With smartphones going to be 50% or more of the market in a couple of years, there’s room enough for everyone to grow – but not if they all target the same mindset / customer profile. Let Android and iPhone battle over “who’s coolest” and try to be something else – to some other people.

3. Protect Your Enterprise Base By Innovating There Too – With Innovation that Appeals to The End User

Corporate customers built the house of RIM. The combination of making employees more effective (through email), always available (through push and the “CrackBerry Syndrome”) and a secure environment, created the initial market adoption – but also some key brand values, including its association with financiers, lawyers and other white-collar workers. However we are seeing more and more that iPhone is infiltrating the corporate market , driven mostly by employee preferences (the cooler device…) and improved infrastructures from Microsoft, Apple and Google.

RIM cannot afford to lose its hold on the enterprise. Not only are these highly lucrative customers in themselves, but with RIM’s distribution strategy tied tightly to wireless operator, this is a key reason operators are still very engaged with RIM, even though they see iPhone (and possibly Droid) as a more strategic brand for their consumer customers. As long as these highest-ARPU customers are tied to BlackBerry, the loyalty of operators is still there, at least to a degree.

Now how do you keep enterprises loyal, when it seems like they can get the security and control they need for “free” with Microsoft Exchange and iPhone OS 4.0 and “don’t need BES”? Especially when it is the employees (or the executives really) who are demanding the other brand? The key is to innovate again. Go deeper into horizontal enterprise processes – and make sure what you create matters to the end-user, not just the IT guy or the CFO. Cause it’s the grassroots who are now facilitating the advance of competitors into your turf.

Instant messaging through BlackBerry Messenger is a good first step, but it’s easily replaceable unless it ties deeply into some other enterprises systems. Examples which are possibly more resilient are expense reporting, corporate travel management, and document / process management. Each of these is an ongoing headache for most corporations and a thorn-in-the-side for most employees. If you can provide a solution that creates a great experience for end-users and a cost-saving / efficiency enhancement for enterprises – you have an edge.

4. Don’t Repeat Nokia’s Mistake – It’s About Margin, Not Just Revenue

Who is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer? Clearly it’s still Nokia. After all – they sell the most “open operation system” phones. Don’t they? Well if you look at the profit figures or company valuation – not really.

A few years ago, the top players in mobile decided the game is about volume. The challenge was building the $40 phone to sell billions of into the emerging economies. The winner will sell hundreds of millions of units a year. Well, guess what – Nokia emerged the pyrrhic winner with staggering market shares in emerging markets – e.g. 59% in India – only to see its shareholder value plummet. Last year, I conversed with a Nokia executive who claimed that “50% of the margin in the handset business is generated through the top 10% of phones sold”. So – you can sell 9 times as much as everyone else – and still trail them in profits generated.

With Sprint becoming RIM’s strongest partner – and appealing to blue-collars instead of white-collars, and with the buy-one-get-one-free deals with people like Verizon (who prefers Android – as it feels it needs to directly counter the iPhone), the risk of repeating that same mistake is real. NOK is down 71% in 3 years. RIM is on the precipice of a similar slide but it isn’t too late to reverse course. Which ties back to point #2 above – RIM must remain the choice for top-end customers, and not get enamored with mid-market customers unless as followers of that former group.

Observation: RIM and Nokia are actually pretty similar and have some common issues, which brings me to my next point.

5. Innovation At This Scale Is a Silicon Valley Phenomenon

Both RIM and Nokia are great companies coming out of relatively small nations. Both are tightly managed from a Northern city pretty far removed from global technology centers, and over time both attracted much of the available talent of their nations. And when the local talent pool is depleted and new talent is hard-to-draw to your region – you start settling for less. A few weeks ago I met with an old friend, an extremely talented entrepreneur, who was wooed by both companies last year and ended up preferring a Boston office with Nokia to a Waterloo location with RIM. Location was 90% of that decision for him.

With the need to differentiate and innovate a key to the ability to get back the positive momentum – the old fortress is becoming a liability.

I am actually a fairly recent newcomer to Silicon Valley. Having resisted the move for years and having made crucial business mistakes because of it, I have to say this: you cannot be serious about technology innovation leadership without having Silicon Valley as a part of your DNA. The technology innovation world is not flat. It’s a sink, and the sinkhole is somewhere between SFO and SJC. Many of the most talented people all over America and the world are sucked there eventually. It’s the land where every man has a plan, a back-up plan, and a few ideas he’s playing around with. I’ve written about it before, and six months later it is just clearer to me. If you’re not in the Valley, or if your Valley presence does not have enough influence in the company, sooner or later you’ll miss out on something big that’s happening. And you’re bound to miss out on some great talent – and that isn’t a good competitive move. RIM has to find a way to make its Silicon Valley presence a bigger, stronger influence on what it does, and become a bigger, stronger influence (and attraction) to the rest of Silicon Valley. Winning the hearts and minds of the influencers there is crucial. It’s a key factor in Apple’s appeal and a great helper for Google and Android.

The inertia is currently in one direction – fighting to reverse it from Ontario is playing with one arm tied behind your back.

6. Re-think The Carrier Angle

RIM’s credo is “we will live and die with the operators”. Perhaps it’s time for a change in the balance of power – that will ultimately help both RIM and the operators? Were AT&T so poorly served by giving Apple tight control over the iPhone? Isn’t Verizon giving Google similar breadth?

In an innovation-driven space, where the relevant innovation is not anymore in infrastructure assets but in services, applications and integration – carriers are handicapped. They do not excel at innovation at the best of times. Having them regulate yours is ensuring there will be as little of it as they think they can get away with. The problem is – they often underestimate how much of it is needed, and when they make that mistake, they will take you down with them. RIM must be able to determine its rate of innovation on its own.

So there. I hope It wasn’t that long. I’d like to thank my great editor, Ian Berman @ianberman. It’s time for your comments.

Source: WorldMate

Source: CrackBerry

According to research firm IDC Research In Motion makes its first appearance among the top five vendors worldwide, with total shipments surpassing those of Motorola by nearly 2 million units. Research In Motion is the only vendor in the top 5 with a singular focus on smartphones, and as a result, the company enjoys the highest average selling prices within that group. Key to its success in the first quarter was the popularity of its BlackBerry Curve 8520 and BlackBerry Bold 9700 across multiple markets as well as its global prepaid offerings. Strong consumer adoption, particularly among text-crazy teens, has also fuelled demand for BlackBerry devices.

Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q1 2010 (Units in Millions)

Techdigest.tv tell as that Vodafone will start sell the BlackBerry Pearl 3G in the UK.

Officially announced just last week, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G features an optical trackpad and SureType keyboard, as well as a 3.2 MP camera, 3G, HSDPA, Bluetooth, GPS capabilities and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.

With the promising BlackBerry 6 OS set for launch in Q3 of this year, now is as good a time as ever to jump onto the BlackBerry smartphone bandwagon.

No word yet on pricing plans or release dates, but you can register your interest with Vodafone by clicking here.

The full spec sheet is as follows:

-Elegant candybar design measuring 4.25″ x 1.96″ x 0.52″ (108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm) and weighing only 3.3 oz (93 grams)
-624 Mhz processor with 256 MB Flash memory
-360×400 sharp-resolution display (238 ppi)
-Optical trackpad that makes navigation fast and smooth, plus a comfortable keyboard that enables quick and accurate typing
-Media player for videos, pictures and music (music plays up to 30 hours), plus dedicated media keys integrated along top of the handset
-3.2 MP camera with zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording*
-Built-in GPS for location-based applications such as BlackBerry® Maps, as well as photo geotagging
-Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) – first BlackBerry smartphone to support ‘n’
microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards
-Premium phone features, including voice activated dialing, speakerphone and -Bluetooth® (2.1) with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including systems that support the emerging Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard) and other Bluetooth accessories
-Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
-Support for BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone**
-BlackBerry® OS 5
-Support for tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks
-Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks

With yesterday’s big announcement of the BlackBerry Bold 9650, the only other thing that we need was to hear the release date for the carriers. Well right on the heals of it being made official, Sprint announces that it will be releasing this device on May 23rd. Check out the press release for more details. Verizon is still keeping quiet but I’m sure that will change

Press Release

Advanced Features and Refined Style of BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone Coming to Sprint

Available in all Sprint sale channels May 23, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers international roaming for a global smartphone experience

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Apr 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) –With an extensive array of high-end communications and multimedia features, compact and highly refined design and international roaming capabilities, the new BlackBerry(R) Bold(TM) 9650 smartphone will be available from Sprint (NYSE: S). It will operate on Sprint’s nationwide 3G Network domestically, and roams on other high-speed wireless networks around the world for reliable voice and email communication.

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone will be available for $199.99 with a new two-year service agreement, after a $100 mail-in rebate (taxes & surcharges excluded). It can be purchased in all other Sprint sales channels, including Web sales (www.sprint.com), Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1), Sprint Business Sales, Sprint stores, national retailers and third-party dealers, Sunday, May 23.

BlackBerry Bold 9650 provides instant access to email, calendar, contacts, robust business and entertainment applications and location-based services, leveraging the best performing wireless networks in the United States and abroad. It is also ideally suited for those who want to stay socially connected and share moments through pictures and videos over MMS and popular IM services like BlackBerry(R) Messenger. It also offers easy access to social networking sites like Flickr(R), MySpace(TM) and Facebook(R), with smooth integration, providing a great view of what’s happening both personally and professionally.

“BlackBerry Bold 9650 extends Sprint’s position of offering the best portfolio of BlackBerry smartphones in the industry with a powerful mobility tool for those who want to stay connected, both domestically and abroad,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “Our customers will appreciate its fast Web browsing, downloads and streaming as well as social media and productivity enhancing applications. This is an ideal smartphone for juggling busy personal and professional lives.”

“The BlackBerry Bold 9650 is a sophisticated and feature-rich smartphone with uncompromising performance that lets you stay connected to the people and content that matter most, whether at home or travelling the world,” said David Smith, vice president of Handheld Product Management, RIM.

In addition to top-of-the-line performance, functionality and features, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone comes with BlackBerry(R) OS 5. It is also designed with a smoothly integrated optical trackpad and a distinctive, highly tactile, fretted keyboard and features a large, high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi).

Additional features include:

* Access to up to 10 supported email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!(R), Windows Live(TM) Hotmail(R), AOL(R) and Gmail(TM)), plus BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support offering advanced security and IT administration capabilities for corporate deployments
* Built-in GPS and Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g)
* 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
* Advanced media player for enjoying pictures, video and music
* 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB microSDHC cards, with a 2 GB microSD card included
* 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
* Support for the Bluetooth(R) stereo headsets (A2DP/AVCRP)
* Sprint Music Store, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV(R), Sprint Football Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile
* BlackBerry(R) App World(TM) for access to thousands of applications

The 3G Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 269 million people, 18,652 cities and 1,838 airports. The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) have twice the coverage of AT&T’s current 3G network and 14 times the coverage of T-Mobile’s current 3G network, both based on square miles1.

According to Sprint performance data, Sprint Mobile Broadband connections are successfully connected and maintained better than 99 out of 100 times. According to a recent independent network test conducted by PC World, no one has a more reliable network than Sprint based on a recent 13 city 3G performance test 2.

BlackBerry Bold 9650 for most customers requires activation on an Everything Data plan or a Business Advantage Messaging and Data plan. Additional plan options are available for business customers. For just $69.99 per month, Sprint’s affordable Everything Data 450 plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM gives customers unlimited calling with any U.S. wireless user, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited Web, email and social networking, and unlimited GPS navigation for the same price AT&T and Verizon charge for unlimited talk only. Sprint Everything Data plans also automatically enroll customers in the Sprint Premier loyalty program, which provides annual device upgrades, discounted accessories and other benefits.

Sprint’s Simply EverythingSM plan offers nationwide unlimited calling, unlimited text and unlimited data, including email, social networking, Web browsing, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, streaming music, Sprint Football Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, for only $99.99 per month (plus taxes and surcharges). That is a $480 savings over two years vs. a comparable AT&T iPhone(R) plan3. (Prices exclude taxes and surcharges. Both Everything Data and Simply Everything plans are available to existing customers without extending their service agreement. New lines of service require a two-year service agreement.)

International Travel

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone operates domestically on the Sprint 3G network, and globally on 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GSM/GPRS networks where Sprint has international roaming agreements. With this smartphone, Sprint customers have the power to make or receive phone calls in more than 185 countries and access BlackBerry(R) data services including email, apps and Web browsing in nearly 150 countries.

Sprint offers clear value and simplicity with its Worldwide BlackBerry(R) service plan. The Worldwide BlackBerry plan gives customers unlimited BlackBerry email and Web access in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other locations using CDMA technology, and with UMTS and EDGE/GSM/GPRS carriers abroad where Sprint has applicable roaming agreements. The plan is available to corporate customers for $69.99 per month, or an additional $40 per month (excluding taxes and surcharges) as an attachable to Simply EverythingSM, Everything Data, Everything Data Family or Business Advantage with Messaging and Data plans.

Sprint international voice roaming rates range from $0.59 to $5.99 per minute, depending on where customers are calling. Customers making frequent calls while in Canada can take advantage of a specific service plan for $2.99 per month which allows calls to be made and received at $0.20 per minute. Additional pricing plans are available exclusively to enterprise customers.

Customers also have the option of using a third-party SIM for international voice and data services.

For all of you twitter users that is waiting to get your hands on the BlackBerry twitter client, well tonight is going to be a good night for you. I just recieved an email stating that the Twitter for BlackBerry client will be available in Public Beta for users around the world to check out.

Here is the email message:

The Twitter® for BlackBerry® smartphone application is about to go into public beta. As of 9 p.m. EST tonight, BlackBerry users around the globe will be able to download the app and give it a try.

Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones has been available in a limited preview since February 11, 2010. The public beta version that will launch later today incorporates the following new features based on preview user feedback:

Notifications of New Tweets and @Replies/Mentions

–         When an @reply/mention is received, the user will be notified with a splat on the BlackBerry home screen ribbon as well as the application icon

–         Users will also be notified of new tweets in the BlackBerry Messages list

Twitter Lists Functionality

–         Comprehensive option to build a list of Twitter users on any subject

• Ability to add members to the list and view subscribers of the lists

–         Users can also view other users’ lists

Profile Editing

–         Users can edit their own Twitter profile from the application

–         Users can also change their profile image from the application

Personalization Settings

–         Users can customize the look of the application with the ability to:

• Show/hide the navigation bar and tweetbox
• Change the font/style to their own preferred choice

Enlarged Avatar (Profile Picture) Viewing

–         Users can click on a Twitter profile image and it will be enlarged for better viewing abilities

Improved in-Application Caching/Polling

–         Increased on-device caching for Timeline; Mentions to improve application performance

These new features build on Twitter for BlackBerry’s strengths at its original preview launch:

• Push Notifications for Direct Messages
• Timeline Support
• Following & Followers
• Posting, Sending, Deleting, Replying and Re-Tweeting Tweets
• User/Saved/Keyword/Proximity Search
• Tweet Photos/Links
• Trending Topics
• Seamless integration into core BlackBerry Applications
• URL Shortening
• Auto Update

Twitter for BlackBerry Fun Fact

Did You Know that Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones allows users to follow someone on Twitter with just a click? Simply send your Twitter handle (@xxx) over BBM or email and have a contact click on it. Twitter for BlackBerry will open up and they can start following you right away!

Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones will be available for download from BlackBerry App World™ (in the Test Center) (www.blackberry.com/appworld) or on BlackBerry Beta Zone (www.blackberry.com/betazone – for North American and UK users).

Make sure you check it out and be apart of the public beta.

Note this is a beta version so it is not going to be perfect. If you find something wrong leave feedback in the Blackberry App world or on this post.

A few weeks ago Verizon Wireless announced that Skype Mobile would be coming soon for their customers. Well we don’t have to wait to much longer.  BlackBerry users with the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Curve 8330, Curve 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour 9630 smartphones will be able to get in on this download. This is pretty big since you will be able to make Skype calls to other skype users without affecting there minutes.

The key features are:

• make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to anyone else on Skype around the globe
• send and receive unlimited instant messages with other people on Skype
• call international phone numbers at low rates

DriveCarefully and Listen to your email, SMS and PIN messages on your BlackBerry® smartphone with your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

Don t read your texts or email while driving, its dangerous!

DriveCarefully is a FREE app that automatically reads aloud your email, SMS and PIN messages to you while you re driving.

DriveCarefully is the only  Safe Driving  app available in three languages, English, French and Spanish.
- Messages will be read in the default language on your BlackBerry®.

It is easy to use and can be activated quickly. Simply download and install DriveCarefully and new messages will be automatically read aloud.
- To turn DriveCarefully off, click  Turn Me Off  and the car will change to blue.
- To turn DriveCarefully back on, click  Turn Me On  and the car will change to green.
- To stop the read back of any message simply press the red  end/power  button.
- DriveCarefully will automatically determine if there is a Bluetooth headset or in-car kit to play the messages through, otherwise it will use the speaker in your BlackBerry®.
- Adjust the application settings by selecting  Settings  on the main screen.

DriveCarefully works with all BlackBerry® smartphones that run BlackBerry® OS v4.5 or higher.