RIM -- Engadget Mobile

BlackBerry Bold comes to South Korea at long last

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 11:57PM

It's taken a little longer than they'd hoped, but RIM and SK Telecom will finally begin offering a localized version of the venerable BlackBerry Bold to South Korean customers this week. The move follows last year's scrapping of policies that all but banned foreign handsets from being offered by local carriers, which could theoretically be a boon to manufacturers in one of the world's most advanced mobile markets -- assuming anyone's able to crash through the stranglehold that local favorites Samsung, LG, and Pantech have. It's unclear how big of a deal a device with an English QWERTY keyboard could really be in Seoul, but hey, options are always a good thing, right?

BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a go for US, says FCC

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 9:17PM

Whether or not it's coming to T-Mobile (spoiler: all signs point to yes), BlackBerry's Curve 8520 has now been ordained with FCC approval, clearing the hurdle for its sale stateside. Optical trackpad and EDGE connection your cup of tea? You know where to look, and for everyone else, there's always the Tour.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

BlackBerry Tour emerges in Alltel livery for those non-Sprint, non-Verizon types

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 5:28PM

We've got to give the divested markets representing the hollow husk of what was once Alltel a lot of credit -- they seem to be doing everything in their power to continue rocking. For proof of that, look no further than this -- pretty solid evidence that there's an Alltel-branded Tour coming down the pike. Assuming they can keep the price within reason, it'd make for a truly epic purchase on these fancy new one-year contracts they've moved to, would it not?

BlackBerry credited with saving skier's life, serendipity left hanging

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 8:43AM

Not that we haven't heard a few miraculous gadgets-saving-lives stories before, but this one is in a league of its own. According to the always-embellishing Sun, one David Fitzherbert is thanking his smartphone after coming entirely too close to falling 700 feet to his death. As the story goes, he got wedged between a pair of rocks after losing control of his skis in the Matterhorn, and while we aren't quite sure why he chose RIM's BlackBerry over -- say, chap-stick, car keys, his wallet or a fattening breakfast -- he credited it with adding just enough width to his person to keep him wedged. Two hours after finding himself between a rock and a hard place, rescue crews arrived and flew him to a hospital where he used the "0.5-inch wide" phone to tell his wife that he had survived a nasty spill. We still say David owes a round of thanks to genetics, luck and Zeus, but hey, what do we know?

Nokia, Apple, RIM and others agree on micro-USB phone charger standard for Europe

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 29th 2009 @ 8:15AM

While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone... where's the catch?

Sprint launching BlackBerry Tour on July 20th?

by Jacob Schulman, posted Jun 27th 2009 @ 2:40PM

When the teaser went up, we knew the hotly anticipated BlackBerry Tour for Sprint was right around the corner, but the only hint of a release date was "later this summer." Lucky for us, the, um, insiders at Inside Sprint Now have clarified the vague window for all of us mere mortals. They confidently state that the Tour will be available on July 20th, just over a week after the purported release date on Big Red. This hasn't yet been confirmed by Sprint, but we're sure they want this baby out sooner rather than later, so quasi-mark your calendars, quasi-set your alarms, and get your $199.99 ready.

China Telecom mulling BlackBerry offering

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 26th 2009 @ 3:57PM

We've got to assume that it's a momentous occasion for a manufacturer any time they have an opportunity to break into the world's single largest phone market, so if they're prepping the bubbly out in Waterloo, we can't say we'd blame them. China Telecom -- one of China's three nationals -- reported this week that it has engaged RIM about the possibility of bringing BlackBerrys to its lineup No deal has been made just yet, but considering that China Unicom doesn't offer any of the devices and China Mobile's been soft on marketing it, Telecom could have an ace up its sleeve if it brings hot models to retail and pushes 'em hard. RIM's not talking so far, so there's no telling where the talks are -- or when the deal might be finalized.

BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 25th 2009 @ 2:32PM

While some interesting things may or may not be happening under the hood, the freshly announced BlackBerry Tour for Verizon and Sprint (pictured in Verizon garb on the left) is hardly a departure on the surface. It mostly appears to be a minor modification to the Curve (right), though it does seem inexplicably thicker. The Bold seems positively overwrought in comparison. We didn't get much time to play with the OS, but the screen and the keyboard are pure new-generation BlackBerry charm.

RIM's BlackBerry Visor Mount Speakerphone now available, don't expect SurePress

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 22nd 2009 @ 12:44PM

RIM's been excitedly talking up the virtues of its car visor-mounted speakerphone at every trade show we've attended in recent months -- and considering how basic of an accessory it is, we can only assume they've put together a winner here. The aptly-named Visor Mount Speakerphone connects with to your phone via Bluetooth and offers up to 13 hours of talk time in an ultra-slim package that won't detract from the interior styling of that soberingly expensive S-Class that you've rightfully earned by staying productive on the road -- using your BlackBerry phone, of course. See how it all comes full circle? Get it now for $99.99.

BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 now available through Verizon

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 19th 2009 @ 1:18PM

Seemingly as though it wasn't just totally pulling the claim of June 19 availability out of thin air back at the announcement, Verizon has gone ahead and started offering the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 online today. It's no Tour by any stretch, but the consumer-friendly phone comes in at a palatable $79.99 after discounts on contract and offers a 2 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, EV-DO Rev. 0, and the 20-key layout made famous by the original Pearl -- if you're into that sort of thing. And hey, it looks pretty good in silver, doesn't it?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

SureType coming to BlackBerry OS 5.0

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 18th 2009 @ 9:19PM

As far as we can tell, BlackBerry OS 5.0 is shaping up to be extraordinarily incremental -- some users will barely notice the difference -- but one welcome change is the addition of SureType support on full QWERTY devices. Dropdown boxes spotted in build 5.0.0.110 for the Bold seem to make typing even easier than it already is, which is actually a pretty scary reality considering how quick some folks on the 9000's keyboard. Of course, this means you'll have to spend more time wheeling the trackball than you might like, but it's a tradeoff we'll take.

BlackBerry Tour announced by Sprint, too: $199.99 later this summer

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 16th 2009 @ 12:37AM

New BlackBerry models are few and far between -- particularly of the CDMA variety -- so when one is announced, the usual carrier suspects typically fall in line within a few weeks of each other and announce their branded versions in rapid succession. This one was particularly tight, though: Sprint has announced its plans for carrying the Tour 9630 just minutes after Verizon. It'll launch "later this summer" for $199.99 after $150 worth of rebates and a two-year contract, which makes the Pre comparison virtually inevitable. Keep the comments civil, though, alright?

[Thanks, Martin]

Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 15th 2009 @ 11:26PM

It's hard to believe this is really the first official confirmation that BlackBerry Tour is bound for Verizon's network, given what we've seen and heard so far, but that's exactly what we've got. The self-proclaimed "America's Best 3G Network" company has unveiled a teaser page for the smartphone. Not much else here other than a fancy product shot and a newsletter sign up, but more importantly, it looks like an official launch can't be too far off now.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

BlackBerry Curve 8520 with T-Mobile branding walks in front of a camera

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 15th 2009 @ 4:14PM

A BlackBerry 8520 bound for T-Mobile? Really, we're not surprised, having heard whispers not too long ago, and while not yet official, some gung ho Crackberry forum members have posted some shots of the branded phone in the wild, with just a dash of Mr. Blurrycam stylings for good effect. No indication of a release date here, but if you're really jonesing for a new 2.5G BlackBerry, last we heard it was coming fourth quarter of this year.

Update: That white trackpad isn't quite what it seems. According to the original poster, it's just a plastic covering. We hate to disappoint anyone who actually dug the new shade.

News flash: Verizon redirect calls out the BlackBerry Tour

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 11th 2009 @ 11:49PM

We're not sure whether this has any bearing on a release date, but we can say with some certainty (as if we didn't have enough proof already) that a seemingly innocent redirect set up on Verizon's site confirms the name "Tour" for the BlackBerry 9630. Browsing over to vzw.com/tour moves you over to another site, estore.vzwshop.com/bbtour, which is where you'd presumably go to buy a Tour of your own were they available. Sadly, the link's dead -- but we're still happy to know that the carrier's hard at work setting up the internal plumbing for this thing to be sold.

[Thanks, karandeep, image via CrackBerry]