His Steveness has been served, courtesy of RIM CEO Jim Balsille. The BlackBerry chief has stated that Apple's apparent stinginess in taking every bit of credit for everything iPhone is horning in on AT&T's part in the whole affair. For some reason, Mr. Balsillie seems a bit miffed that the iPhone is free of AT&T's logo and that it has to be activated using Apple's iTunes software. Balsillie added that Apple's "tremendous amount of control" gives him pause as he thinks about how the shifting of control outside the carrier somehow commoditizes the iPhone. We're still waiting on an unsubsidized 8300, okay Jim?

[Image via hamiltonspectator.com]

If you're a T-Mobile BlackBerry customer but aren't into push email (yeah, they exist), but you are into sending MMS messages from that Pearl's camera, you're in luck. There are reports that T-Mobile can turn the switch on a "BlackBerry Feature Enabler" which allows its BlackBerry customers to send and receive MMS messages for free if an SMS plan is subscribed to. We'd hate to think that those MMS users on T-Mobile's network would have to shell out $20 a month just to send pictures, and T-Mobile must have heard your pain. The solution -- if you're not using that BlackBerry's email functions or other data features -- is to call T-Mobile and have that $20 BlackBerry data plan taken off while adding the "BlackBerry Feature Enabler" (which is free) to your account.

[Thanks, Ben]

With stock option grants by many public companies sitting under the microscope of authorities these days, count RIM inside that select group. The company who made thumb-able email popular and en vogue has another fan looking into the culpability of stock-based accounting practices: the U.S. Attorney's office. RIM has "had contact with the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York upon learning that the U.S. Attorney's office is reviewing the company's stock option grants," based on company statements. Add this to the SEC's official investigation revealed just recently and RIM's more under the microscope than a high-school biology experiment. So far, company co-founder Jim Balsillie has stepped down from the company's board of directors but is retaining his co-CEO title at this time.

As RIM moves ever more into the consumer spectrum of wireless handsets, it's gotta have media software for the desktop to help manage all that content. BlackBerry Desktop Media Manager (BBDMM) is supposed to solve that problem, seeing as songs, videos and pictures can be managed in a single place. So, if you're not happy with all the other media management software packages out there, RIM may have your ticket. Well, at least the ticket that allows content drag-and-drop to your BlackBerry, that is. The newest version of BlackBerry Desktop Media Manager requires BlackBerry Desktop software v4.2, Service Pack 2. In short, better get that desktop in order (version-wise) before you start managing all that content destined to make its way to your BlackBerry soon. Since the new BBDMM is based on Roxio Easy Media Creator, it should feel like home to prior or existing Roxio customers.

[Thanks, Eddie]

We've been salivating a bit since hearing the BlackBerry 8830 would be released sometime in May on Verizon Wireless, and our dreams appear to be coming to fruition. Hey, a BlackBerry with 2GB microSD support and possible built-in iTunes got our heads rockin' -- what can we say? With word on the street that Telus (in Canada) and Verizon (U.S.) would be the first carriers to get the new 8830, this morning's news confirmed it. Both Verizon and RIM announced today that the CDMA / GSM worldphone is coming to Verizon Wireless on May 14. If you're into a full QWERTY BlackBerry with CDMA EV-DO support in addition to GSM / GPRS (900 and 1,800 MHz only), you're about to be rewarded for your patience. Sprint customers will have to wait until July -- but starting tomorrow, interested customers can pre-register at the carrier's site.

Read - Verizon press release
Read - Sprint pre-registration (starting April 26)

When RIM settled out of court with NTP over wireless email patent infringements, we wondered if more than a handful of others had thought of the idea as well. One such individual, Nicholas Fodor, really doesn't want $612 million like NTP was granted, but instead wants his products to do the talking. Fodor's self-proclaimed expertise in his years of working with email systems is enough to "make it possible to view and respond to messages sent to almost any e-mail account on a cellphone or other mobile device." While that's not exactly a revolutionary concept these days, Fodor's "Freedom Mail" will be platform and device-agnostic (no BES here) and will be supported by small advertisements appended to messages. The service will be supported on any cellphone that has Internet access. With RIM's recent outage causing quite a stink, maybe Fodor will get a fan base going here.

[Via techdirt]

We're game for salacious BlackBerry insider info just as much as anyone, so it was with great delight that a "high-level exec at RIM" leaked some info about an upcoming BlackBerry OS 4.2 upgrade (not pictured right) for that older 8700 or 7310. Here's a quick breakdown: BlackBerry Enterprise Server SP4 should be released in June, while BlackBerry OS 4.2 is apparently ready to roll from RIM's end for the 8700 and 7310 handsets -- it's just a question of when carriers will release it. And, oh yeah, BlackBerry OS version 5 is being touted for public release in 2007 or in early 2008 (we hope we can all wait that long) in harmony with its next-gen devices.

If you're ready to tax your poor, swollen thumbs a little more than they already are, well, good news: official instant messaging clients that support AIM, ICQ and Windows Live Messenger are seemingly ready to snatch from RIM's website right onto your beloved BlackBerry -- with some catches. It seems the necessary service books to get the clients working are missing from most carriers' BlackBerrys at the moment, and there's no word on exactly when they'll be appearing across the Berrysphere (we just made that term up, for the record). But hey, sounds promising, right? It seems there are some hacky hacks lying around (bless the RIM community!) to get these working on the 'Berry of your choice, but as always, proceed with extreme caution.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

BlackBerry fans on T-Mobile, raise your hands: the BlackBerry 8300 is reportedly headed to the fourth-largest US wireless carrier next month. Not to be left out, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel customers can also raise their collective BlackBerry hands since you all may be getting a CDMA rendition of the BlackBerry Pearl, also in May. RIM's been on a tear lately getting its hottest handsets out to both the GSM and CDMA camps, and this is yet another example. Apparently, there's plenty of RIM love to go around this lil' industry of ours.

[Via Boy Genius Report, thanks Tarik]

If you're a mobile gamer, odds are you're probably not using a BlackBerry -- but if a major publisher has any say in the matter, that may not be true for long. Gameloft, Europe's biggest mobile phone games provider, announced this week that it will soon be making and selling games for the BlackBerry platform. This is quite a boost for BlackBerry owners who have probably wanted official support for cutting-edge mobile games for some time. Right off the bat, Gameloft titles such as "Asphalt Urban GT 2," "LOST" and "Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones" will be the first titles for the BlackBerry platform released by Gameloft, and will cost from $5.99 to $7.99 each depending on where the carriers price each title. With the U.S. mobile gaming market seeing 2006 revenues of $722 million, it's no wonder Gameloft saw such a nice opportunity here. BlackBerry owners aren't all business, right?

It looks like RIM co-founder Jim Balsille is out as the company's chairman of the board, although he will remain on with RIM as co-CEO. The crackberry BlackBerry maker has had a little of a black eye recently (like many tech companies) with its handling of stock option accounting, which dates all the way back to 2004. As a result, RIM will have to lower its earnings by what seems like a nice chunk of change -- $250 million. Although we don't think RIM is going anywhere fast, its recent public missteps like this one have added to a long list of woes in recent years. Just promise us, RIM, that this isn't going to affect the release schedule for the 8820, mkay?

With the RIM 8800 having been through the review cycle recently, it seems fitting for Canada's Rogers Wireless to officially announce the newer Blackberry for sale from official channels -- not quite so fast though. The press release from Rogers states that the 8800 -- which will be exclusive to Rogers in Canada -- "is expected to be available in retail and business channels in March." Yawn, wake up when March comes, please. All in all, the Blackberry 8800 has now been "introduced" by Rogers as of, well, today -- but no availability for at least a few weeks. When it comes out, finally, customers on Rogers Wireless' service will have the newest Blackberry in their hands with all that EDGE goodness and thin-phone likeness -- as the 8800 is reportedly the thinnest Blackberry ever.

[Thanks, Chris]

Telecom Italia -- aka TIM -- is going to have TeleNav's mobile GPS navigation solution inside some of its handsets soon, according to an announcement that TeleNav, Softec and Telecom Italia at 3GSM today. First off will be TeleNav's solution on RIM Blackberry handsets, which will receive TeleNav's GPS Navigator software. It's all nice to have, say, turn-by-turn voice and on-screen driving directions and addresses -- because the roads and streets of Italy are beautiful but scary to the uninitiated. Canada's Rogers Wireless gets the TeleNav love also, which is good for those up North from where we are at the moment. As soon as it is humanly possible, dealers of TIM (no, that's not an indie movie) and will begin the all-out effort to promote TeleNav GPS Navigator. Softec will provide in-the-field sales support and will ensure anyone who have those pesky in-depth navigation questions sits down to get load of answers from TeleNav's solution. TIM customers using the Blackberry 8707, 8700, 7130 and the Pearl can download the TeleNav software as of now according to TIM, and Rogers customers can get the app directly from Rogers starting March 6th. One caveat -- a Bluetooth GPS receiver will be a requirement for non-GPS enabled RIM handsets, though.


Read - Telecom Italia
Read - Rogers

RIM's recent past has been littered with lawsuits from here to, well, there -- all of which have threatened to shut off RIM's proprietary wireless email system for all those crackberry addicts who can't live without it now. It seems that a London Court of Appeals has ruled that RIM has not -- repeat, not -- infringed on an InPro based on how portable computers surf the Internet. That rather vague piece of information on the lawsuit sounds a bit odd to us, but we'll move on. What did the court actually say, you may ask? Well, it concluded that those cherished Blackberry devices were, well, more than just "portable computers that surf the Internet." Duh. Next, please.