BlackBerry 9000 Reviewed Early (Verdict: Fantastic)

Crackberry, the BlackBerry fan site, bought a BlackBerry 9000 off of eBay for $828 and reviewed it. Why's this notable? Because the phone doesn't go on sale until July or August. This fact doesn't stop them from throwing lots of praise on the phone now, however, saying that the "9000 will leaves [sic] every other BlackBerry made to date in the dust."

The 9000 still takes a long time to start up—Crackberry says the software should be updated before launch and that might speed it up a bit—but the keyboard is nice and OS 4.6 is also "smooth", "fast" and "pretty." The display is "bright and crisp", and 3G is definitely welcome. If you even have the smallest interest in BlackBerry, this is a phone to consider.

• Full review via Crackberry

BlackBerry 9000 to come in cheaper, 3G-less version

by Joshua TopolskyApparently, RIM is a bit worried that the rumored high price-point for the forthcoming BlackBerry 9000 might be a bit too steep for some, and plans to offer a budget version -- sans 3G. According to the Boy Genius, an almost identical model of the next-gen phone will be available without high-speed data, and will have a slightly different bezel and back casing (which he's gotten a picture of, seen up above) -- though we're not sure why they'd go to the trouble of making a different body when only the guts will change. Clearly it's one of life's mysteries we weren't meant to understand.

• read more @ EngadgetMobile

BlackBerry Kickstart flip gets more details, T-Mobile branding included

by Chris Ziegler
If it weren't for RIM's "help, we're stuck in 2006 and can't get out!" approach of topping this thing out with EDGE data, we'd be all over its warm embrace of an all-new form factor -- but yeah, seriously RIM, what's up with that? Boy Genius Report has outed a few more alleged specs of Waterloo's first foray into the clamshell market, the Kickstart -- and it looks like we can expect a 2 megapixel cam, SureType (as though we couldn't have figured that out ourselves), internal QVGA and external 160 x 128 displays, WiFi, and a true 3.5mm headphone jack. We're also seeing some new shots with T-Mobile branding, which makes sense considering the carrier's longstanding efforts to be on RIM's bleeding edge. Oh, and just for the humor factor, RIM appears to be drawing parallels between the Kickstart and a few... uh, "objects," such as the "anodized color" similar to that found on an "urban nomad tool." So this is how product development goes down -- explains a lot!

[Via phoneArena]

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• via Engadget
  

BlackBerry 9000 internal docs show off new UI

Someone, or something, has leaked a BlackBerry’s 9000 internal spec sheet to BGR . (These controlled “leaks” are part of how RIM does business, you know.) It’s more or less a complete overview of the newly designed user interface. Pictured here, a few shots of some of the new themes. Church.

The BlackBerry 9000 is supposed to be RIM’s “answer” to the iPhone, hence the new UI, much improved Web browser (consumers love the Web!), built-in Wi-Fi and camera, improved multimedia capabilities, etc. No touchscreen, but the keyboard is partly what makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry.

via CrunchGear

Unlocked Blackberry 9000 spotted

This unlocked Blackberry 9000 was spotted on eBay just before the auction mysteriously ended. The seller says the phone is unlocked and will "Not be released until August 2007" -- we'll guess he / she is a little unclear as to what year it is. However, said seller promises that this particular unlocked phone is actually in stock now and ready to ship for the lucky winner. Listed features (according to this auction) include: 3G, Edge, WiFi, and Bluetooth, as we've seen elsewhere. There's no telling how legit this is, and the seller clearly pulled the auction for some unknown reason, but there do seem to be at least a few of these floating around. Peep the pictures in the gallery below for some photographic evidence.

via Engadget

BlackBerry Sues Over Fruity Names

Gosh, nobody could have predicted this, given how rare intellectual property disputes have become lately: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has sued LG Electronics, claiming that new phone models named Black Label, Strawberry and Black Cherry infringe on the BlackBerry name.

RIM earlier settled out of court with Samsung over similar charges relating to its BlackJack wireless thingie.

Motorola reportedly is reconsidering its plans for the new Red Currant and Tangelo models.

RIM sues LG over phone names [Globe and Mail]

Source: Wired