Crackberry users that claim residence in London will soon be the envy of many European friends as RIM is looking to open their first European store right in London.  The new store will be located in Selfridges flagship department store and operated by Carphone Warehouse.  Some loose lipped Slefridges employees have let it slip that we can look forward to this new found Berry goodness opening within the next couple of months, providing European Crackberry users a place to go and get all touchy feely with the latest that RIM has to offer.  RIM is of course denying the rumors and refusing to speak on the matter, however the Selfridge location on Oxford street is what many believe to be a good start for RIM overseas.  Anyone care to pipe in and toss some added info into the mix?

Source: Pocket-Lint

That shiny and swanky new Berry or HTC device while the top of your digital world now (or then), will at some point become old and busted.  Or, you simply may just grow tired of it or be completely wowed by the next latest and greatest mobile device.  Whatever the case, T-Mobile, RIM, and HTC want to let you know that they are in fact thinking of you and have teamed up with a pretty trade-in deal.  The gist of the operation includes you sending back your old phone, (must be in working condition), in which your handset device manufacturer will send you a coupon good for up to $75 off of a new device.  Sweet!  Below is how the switch will go (per Cellphone Signal):

1. Print, bookmark, or email yourself this e-coupon so you have it handy
2. Buy and activate a BlackBerry device with T-Mobile - either online or at any retail location
3. Go online to www.recyclerebates.com/tm-rim and use the password flipyourcurve for access.
4. Fill in some info about your old phone and print out a free shipping label
5. Send in all of the below items before April 30th, 2009 (letter must be post-marked prior to April 30th, 2009)
   1. The old phone
   2. A copy of the UPC code from the box of your new BlackBerry smartphone
   3. A copy of the invoice/receipt from the purchase of your new BlackBerry smartphone

   Tip: ask the sales rep to make copies of these before you leave the store!

6. Once the old phone is received, we will mail you a check for a minimum of $75*

Note: please pack up your old phone carefully with lots of padding - when we receive it, it must be in the condition you specified on the website or you will not get the $75*. Additional terms and conditions on request.

If you need more information, you can find RIM’s requirements here, or HTC’s here.  Any money towards a new mobile device is always welcome, especially in this economy.  Way to go T-Mo, RIM, and HTC!

Source: Cellphone Signal, *Image Source: CDN Layer*

While I am not too particular on the Blackberry Storm myself (I don’t really like the touchscreen on it), it is no doubt a monumental step for RIM. With the Storm, RIM entered a new market that was devoid of their signature feature, the keyboard. While the whole click screen wasn’t my favorite, their are many people who have fallen in love with the combination of the whole touch and “clicking” idea. Because of the Storm’s obvious focus on the touchscreen, it has time and time again been compared to the iPhone, often coming in behind Apple’s jesus phone. Because of that, you won’t see many reviews or articles about the many benefits of the Storm and all that it has to offer. For those of you who are looking at purchasing a Storm but need a small push over the mental edge, check out this article on Vodafone’s blog that gives some honestly good insight on the Blackberry Storm. While some will argue it is biased because it is an article on a product straight from a carrier that is selling the same product, each of the 49 reasons are valid reasons that any Storm user can appreciate.

Count this as a win for Crackberry followers everywhere.  It seems as the President’s long standing declaration on his personal Blackberry usage, as well as his refusal to give it completely up has paid off.  Instead of having to carry around that god awful Spectera Edge which is a monstrosity of epic proportions, word is that Obama will be getting a high security version of the Blackberry 8830 World Edition.  You may ask, “Aren’t Blackberries already high security?”.  Well technically yes, but not “Government secure apparently”.  The revelation in this digital addiction story came thanks to Gensis Key’s security and encryption software, “SecureVoice”.  It is also being reported that Obama’s closest top aides as well as his special First Lady will also be getting a copy of the super high tech and secure Blackberry.  Couldn’t they have at least given him something a little better looking such as a Curve?  Ok…camera = bad.  What about the 8820?  Give the man some WiFi love for crying out loud.  The security agency must be Verizon fans….   At least it’s better than that Spectera Edge/Blackberry horse and pony show combo that he was carrying around.

Source: Phone Arena, Blackberry Cool, Washington Times, *Image Source: Harvey Nash*

Hardcore Blackberry users who thrive on the search for the next way to cusomize their beloved Berry now have a new means of venting said enthusiasm.  BerryWalls makes the search for wallpapers an extremely quick one.  Granted, that task isn’t as easy as it sounds.  With mobile devices not always have the best browsers nor download speeds, graphic rich websites full of wallpapers don’t exactly take to well to them meaning changing up the look of your Berry on the go means lots of waiting and lots of frustration.  Not so with BerryWalls, it is as simple as searching for a particular wallpaper catergory, and then selecting in a handy little drop down the appropriate resolution for you Blackberry.  It is worth noting that even though the site is fast, it isn’t actually a mobile site.  The mobile version of the site is in development though according to Matt, from BerryWalls.  Also, because it is a new service, the catalog of wallpapers isn’t very large yet.  That’s why you Blackberry users have to head on over and start adding to the catalog!  BerryWalls.  Fast.  Simple.  Effective.

Source: Into Mobile

Yes I know, at first you may be saying to yourself “another Vista/Windows theme?!”  Don’t fret. I know I have shown off quite a few Vista style Blackberry themes, however, this particular theme, VistaBB, created by Brian from PimpMyBerry, single handedly raises the bar for all future Windows style themes.  Not only does this theme look amazingly polished, it is also highly functional, (something that often doesn’t occur on highly creative themes).  For the full list of the themes features and functions as well as another screenshot, take a second and come inside.  

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Besides having one of the less then super Customer Service ratings as well as a beyond crappy tiered broadband planned roll out, add spammer to AT&T’s list of not so great business tactics.  Spamming you say?  Would you prefer “bloatware”, a term typically used to describe the extreme excess amount of useless trial apps that litter many new PC’s?  Either way it isn’t good.  Generally to make a few extra dollars, wireless carriers will sign deals with certain developers or mobile software companies by featuring their apps on devices such as Blackberries.  The only problem with this is that the added “service” comes as a distraction and annoyance to many customers.

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Crackberry users are one of the few groups who count OS revision numbers as closely or more more closely than they do their own wedding anniversaries or even birthdays.  Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with that at all, per say.  It seems that every few tens of a number in change in a Blackberry OS, those loyal number counters twitch with anticipation for the latest release of said OS.  But when something as big as an entirely new number comes along, say OS 5.0, those users may find themselves in the emergancy room.  Twitchers, RIM is getting ready to reveal just that, an OS that breaks in to an entirely new set of numbers, the 5.0 range!  Take a seat and sit back.  We don’t want your blood pressure to rise too quickly.  How much are your eye balls really going to take in if you black out?!  For the full scoop of the newness that is Blackberry OS 5.0 and the updated feature set presented in a nice, easy to read bulleted list, step right on in.

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Often times when we mention a Crackberry users or nerd, our minds instantly think of some middle aged, slightly to grossly over weight man with graying hair and a receding hairline.  *Not to offend - nothing wrong with the aforementioned traits*.  What you don’t think of is some cutsie young girl proudly carrying around her gadgets with a big smile on her face.  One particular gadget that has had a large increase in subscriber base in the last one to two years is RIM with their ever popular Blackberry.  It seems more and more casual users are jumping into the world of smartphones and making a good first jump at that.  Finally, the Blackberry theming community is picking up on this growing trend of increased female users and is starting to pump out more and more complex themes geared towards that area of the market.  iBerry Pink Zen is personally one of the coolest looking girly themes I have seen yet.  Even the pink and bluish tinted iPhone-esque icons were designed very well.

If you are one of the growing female users to Crackberry nation or you just like flowers, * it’s ok, I won’t judge you*, head on over to BPlay today and get your Pink Zen on for the now standard premium theme price of $6.99.  By the way, iBerry Pink Zen can be downloaded for ALL Blackberry devices from as far back as the 81xx series up to the 95xx series.  I can tell you this, just by pictures alone, if I were a chick, I would definitely pick this theme up!

Source: Blackberry Cool

If the wave of “iPhonish” themes is getting old and wearing thin leaving you looking for something new, the Chiron Blackberry theme has just what you need.  Featuring 8 customizable scrolling icons and 3 today icons plus a brushed metal/chrome look to it, it takes on a more machined/industrial look that says “Hey, I’m a serious here”.  So the theme won’t talk to you or help your masculinity, but it will look pretty darn good on your Blackberry 8900 Curve, Bold, or Storm.  Head on over to Elecite and prepare $6.99 to pick up your copy now and show those cutesie iPhone theme users what a real Blackberry theme looks like.

Into Mobile, BB Sync

*Image property of Berry Review Store and Motek Mobile*

If you are the type that lives a life so fast paced that you don’t even have to time to look at the preview to see who the email is from or just want to take your Crackberry addiction to another completely different level, Pimp My Mail by Motek Mobile might be for you.  What PMM does is allow you to set custom LED colors for individual users.  For example, have one color for the wife, and one for the boss (at work).  But PMM can go even further.  Toss in a second color to truly get the geek factor across.  Now for your wife have the LED go from Red to Blue, for the boss Blue to Red etc.  You can even preview the color combinations to make sure they are at least partially managable before actually deploying them for use.

If this app sounds like something you have been waiting for or you need visual decleration of who is emailing you, stop by the Berry Review Store and pick up your copy of Pimp My Mail today for the low price of $6.99.

Berry Review

As anyone who uses the mobile internet heavily on a Blackberry knows, even the browser in the latest 4.6 and 4.7 OS’s are less than perfect…by far.  They’re slow, render like crap, and don’t support many things such as flash and silverlight just to name a couple.  That is now old news as various Blackberry users have begun receiving emails asking if they would like to be in the Skyfire alpha team.  I wish I still had a functioning Blackberry as I would definitely been into this.  However I will have to make do with pictures from other oh so lucky individuals as I drool on my keyboard.  At first, the alpha is only for Blackberry Bold users however will soon after open up to Curve, 8800, and Pearl users.  Sorry guys, it looks as if the Storm isn’t going to be supported for the alpha at this time.  I’m sure it will open up to the Storm at some point though.  A copy of the email from Skyfire is inside.

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There is nothing more exciting to a true Crackberry user than a new OS leak with designated numbers that are bigger than yours. Such differences often make said user jealous and left feeling inferior. Today’s leaked OS of choice is something of a big deal as it marks RIM’s venture into the 5.0 sphere with an entirely new number - 5.0.0.90. Now I won’t go deep into how I question OS 5.0 really being significant at all as that is already covered here. But for those of you who just don’t care and want your numbers…you can get OS 5.0 for the Bold right over here.

Source: Blackberry News, BlackberryOS

Blogging is a rapidly expanding and potentially lucrative service that has really become much more mainstream in the last several years.  Similarly, mobile internet usage and the whole “world at your fingertips” ideology that is constantly being marketed is making the desktop PC seem as a dying breed, an aging dinosaur that some day will be entirely replaced by laptops/netbooks/MID’s/smartphone’s etc.  As we move towards a mobile world connected by radio waves instead of copper twisted cords, the media (bloggers), need a way to get their content to the masses.  Soon, firing up the ‘ol PC or Mac will be replaced with everyone whipping out their cellphone or MID device while walking down the street.  That is where CellSpin 2.0 for Blackberry comes in.

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When the original Blackberry Storm was leaked, the Crackberry nation was in a flurry. The consumer minded Berry users were praising RIM for finally bringing them something to shut up those darn iPhone users. Almost immediately, the Storm began being criticized for its lack of WiFi. However, being a Verizon exclusive, the lack of WiFi was hardly a new occurance. Though many argued that a such a device being designed and soon afterward marketed so strongly towards the consumer market was being gimped by its lack of WiFi. Time has passed and that complaint is still a very valid and often voiced complaint that many people just can’t get over. But, what if you could have a second chance at life? What if you could have your Verizon branded Blackberry Storm and WiFi?

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