Definitely a nice shopping alternative to having to browse on your Berry, but I kinda wish you could purchase through the site and then sideload. [BlackBerry via CrackBerry]

"Offshoot products trying to fill gaps that maybe don't need to be filled. Yes, a tablet is a cool concept, but can you put it in your pocket? And would you carry one around if you couldn't?" [All Things D]

Like most rumors, details beyond that remain vague and not much is else is known. Hopefully, if a BlackBerry Storm 2 does surface, it will be an improvement over the last one (and you know the last one didn't go over too well if those Washington pundits say so). [SlashGear]

The Scope
In a single metaphor, if the iPhone App Store is Whole Foods, RIM's App World is more like the food section of a Target—it does some of the things the App Store does decently enough, but it doesn't match the breadth and depth or the polish that makes you feel good about having spent $8 on a bag of local handmade sustainably farmed artisan organic granola.

The grocery metaphor actually extends a bit further: While Whole Foods can be your exclusive grocery store, Target's food section isn't likely to be the only place you shop—similarly, the App Store is the exclusive (legal) place to get iPhone apps, while you've always been able to grab your BlackBerry apps from anywhere you want. So App World is more about creating a convenient centralized point to funnel the BlackBerry platform's already vast developer community and software through—not to create a brand new ecosystem, like the App Store did. Still, increased interest and development will probably happen as a result. They've got a few hundred applications in the store to start, which isn't too shabby.

The Shopping Experience
It takes the iPhone App Store and turns it into a very BlackBerry experience—lots of scrolling text lists, tapping the BlackBerry menu button to access shortcuts and secondary functions (like reviews), or to go to the top level App World menu. It works well with the trackball, even if it isn't as fun to browse as the iPhone's App Store. (I haven't tested App World on a Storm, but if it's exactly the same, the UI would suck on a touch phone.) Even though you'll run into tons of progress bars as you move around the store, it does load fairly quickly, even over EDGE.

I wanted to avoid comparisons to the iPhone's App Store, but RIM so clearly modeled theirs on it, it hurts. You even have basically the same set of icons on the botton as the App Store: Search, Top Downloads, Categories and My World (which lists your own apps). Instead of a "featured" button, featured apps take up most of the screen, with one app displayed at a time, dominated by an Apple-style app icon (Bloomberg's especially). It's nice, but not especially intuitive if you want to quickly glance at the list of featured apps.

Payment for paid apps is clumsier, as Walt Mossberg notes—you have to link it up to a PayPal account. Granted, BlackBerry doesn't exactly have iTunes already sitting there for a simplified system, like Apple does. It would be very cool if it could be linked up to, say, an Amazon account, where I could seamlessly pay for apps along with music, movies, books and whatever else they'll sell digitally.

Downloading and installing free apps is hitch-free, just click and boom, you're downloading. Then you get the usual OK/Run confirmation when it finishes. Downloading and installing the Ticketmaster app over Wi-Fi with an average 5Mbps downstream according to Speedtest—a mere 171KB app—took about 45 seconds. The 1.2MB Google Talk took about a minute to download, and another 20 seconds to install. Over EDGE, I had more than timeout downloading a larger app like Facebook.

The app manager screen feels a lot like Firefox's download manager, actually. Some apps tie up your phone while they're installing (at least on our test Curve 8900), but usually, not for very long. Uninstalling apps—or installing a new version to replace an old version—however, is a pain. When I uninstalled the Facebook app, I had to restart the phone! And when I installed a new version of Google Talk, I had to restart again. What bizarro world is this, Windows 98?

Other Gripes
Some of the more prominent BlackBerry apps also appear to be missing from store—notably, TwitterBerry. Presumably, this will change over time as more apps pop up and App World becomes the definitive clearinghouse for BlackBerry apps.

The UI could use some fireworks stuffed in its stuffy pants—for the most part, I like the BlackBerry UI, but I feel like it needs a more dynamic style to make app shopping fun. You guys want me to spend money, right? (Making it literally easier to spend money would help with that as well.) Oh yes, a desktop version would be nice too—a gripe we had with Android as well.

Overall, it works well enough—it's definitely easier than scouring far-flung corners of the internet to find the apps you're looking for, provided they're available in App World. But there's definitely room for it become a more unique, smoother and sexier experience. [BlackBerry]

Some of the improvements will include:

• Retrieve corporate documents behind firewalls
• Add, read, rename and delete folders on the handset and have those changes be applied to the desktop email client
• Create rules within the inbox to filter email and have those changes be applied to the desktop
• View attachments in calendar entries and meeting requests
• Download and store emails and email attachments onto microSD cards

Over-the-air updates will also be easier for administrators and users in this new version of BES.

[Boy Genius Report and Computerworld]

The logical conclusion is that there was a problem with the .82 firmware, and it was so severe that every Storm had to be downgraded before release, hence the delays. It sounds a little far-fetched, but after peeling off the sticker reading .65, BGR found another sticker underneath reading .82. In other words, these phones were originally loaded with the newer firmware, but something went wrong.

As far as shipment goes, here's the rule:

- Bought before noon on Nov. 21: will ship Nov. 25.
- Bought after noon on Nov. 21: will ship Dec. 5.
- Bought on Nov. 22 (today) or later: will not ship until after Dec. 15.

If you haven't bought your Storm yet, you better cross your fingers extra hard because it's not looking likely that it'll make it to you before a certain major religious holiday. [BGR]

The iPhone 3G's launch throughout the rest of the world has had a huge effect on sales, and the phone has sold nearly 7 million since its July 11 debut. Apple's share of the entire cell phone market is now 2.3%, a pretty respectable number, and has pushed Microsoft's ailing Windows Mobile platform off the medal platform into 4th place.

Even Nokia has seen its share drop more than 12% from last year's 51.4%, though the Symbian maker is still holding strong with more than double Apple's share. What's great about Apple's new importance in the smartphone world is how it pushes the other manufacturers to bigger and better things. BlackBerry's new lineup looks great, and Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic is so hot all the pop stars want a piece of the action. [Ars Technica]

RIM's take on an app store is much less ambitious than Apple's for one fatal reason: the store will be run on the carrier's side, which will give your mobile provider the chance to veto an app even after it's been approved by RIM. The apps — and this is pretty weird — are actually downloaded through the device's browser, as the App Center is only able to search, monitor and delete programs from the device. Yeah, that's right: the App Center program can't directly install apps.
The interface looks clean and simple, and its different behaviors remind me more of Linux's many package managers than of Apple's App Store. That similarity extends even further with the odd choice of using the green install/update/delete radio buttons from popular open source Debian/Gnome package manager Synaptic. CrackBerry expects to hear more about this at BlackBerry's October 20th Developer Conference, and they're probably right. [CrackBerry]

Also confirming what we already know, the interface elements look somewhat uneven—albeit functional—through the wide variety of programs on display here. That said, if the touch screen is responsive (and, counter to some reports, the keyboard is usable) then my stance is simple: "WANT." [CrackBerry -Thanks, Zach]

Here's the rundown:
• Has 802.11a/b/g plus good GPS, typically a tradeoff with BBs
• GPS is enhanced and assisted, and the handset has better map rendering, says Laptop
• 480 x 320 resolution screen with 65,000 colors—Crave says "never seen a better-looking display"
• 624MHz Intel PXA270/Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor (reports differ), up from 312MHz
• Runs BlackBerry OS 4.6
• Keyboard has 8800-style "sculpted keys," says PC Mag, "but the rows are separated by curved barriers"
• 4.5" tall x 2.6" wide x 0.5" deep, weighing 4.7oz
• Side-loading MicroSD/SDHC slot for up to 16GB additional
• 2MP camera with flash
• Talk time of 5 hours, with standby of 13 days
• MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4 and WMV3 codec support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• "Pretty powerful speakers—none of that weak, tinny junk," says Crave
• 128MB of flash plus 1GB of onboard memory (with encryption)
• Black leather back panel that can be swapped for other color leather plates
• Pricing will be $300 to $500 says BGR, a pretty wide (and obvious) range; Crave narrows it to "$300 to $400"

Why the name? Well, since Mike Lazaridis stopped taking our phone calls (blog allergy, some say), my guess is that those dudes are either fans of Goethe or fans of Cameron Crowe. You know... "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." Keep it up, RIM. I think it's working. [Product Page and Press Release PLUS Boy Genius; Laptop; Crave; PC Magazine]

Official Press Release:

RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

Top of the line BlackBerry smartphone features premium design and unprecedented performance; perfect for business professionals and power users.

Waterloo, ON- For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the admirable BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry® smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY* keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.

"The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot** that is conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this powerful new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.

STUNNING DISPLAY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with the most vivid and bold display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone. Its half-VGA (480x320 resolution) color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity. Pictures are vibrant and razor sharp, while videos play smoothly and web pages, documents, presentations and messages snap with exceptional quality and contrast.

DESKTOP-STYLE WEB PAGES
With its newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone gives users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP - real-time streaming protocol).

RICH MULTIMEDIA
While it is designed to meet the extensive requirements of the business professional during the day, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone also caters to the business person's consumer side during evenings and weekends. It features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom. The enhanced media player can display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset's dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters - like "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" - that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambiance.

For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone***. Support for High Speed USB 2.0 allows all files to be transferred quickly from a desktop computer to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

POWERFUL WI-FI & GPS
For even broader high-speed network coverage, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards, ideal for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new "Push Button Setup" is included, making it faster for users to connect to protected wireless networks that require a sign on process.

Through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry® Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.

FIRST CLASS PHONE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone's audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA handset that supports global roaming**** and features dedicated 'send', 'end', and 'mute' keys, smart dialing, speed dialing, conference calling and call forwarding. It also features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.

ROBUST EMAIL & MESSAGING
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry's leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments, as well as BlackBerry® Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry® Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users.

CONVENIENT ACCESSORIES
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a variety of convenient accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. Users will also be able to personalize their BlackBerry Bold smartphone by purchasing replaceable leather-like backplates that come in a range of colors. The removable / rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery provides multi-hour usage with a target talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days standby time.

Accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including leather holsters and totes, charging pods, premium earphones, the BlackBerry® Remote Stereo Gateway and Bluetooth headsets, are available through retail outlets or online at: www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled to be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this summer.

For more information please visit: www.BlackBerryBold.com.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

* Keyboard also available in AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups.

** MicroSD/SDHC memory cards are available today in configurations of up to 8GB and the BlackBerry Bold is expected to support upcoming 16GB microSD/SDHC cards.

*** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

**** Check with service provider for roaming services.

Altec Lansing earphones shown in the photo will ship with it. The charging dock, as well as the rubber and leather cases, will sell separately.

In addition to the tech specs we shared Monday, here are a few additional carrier-side confirmations:
• Price is unannounced, but will be "competitive" with other Pearls—$150 to $250 with contract.
• BlackBerry data plans are $45 on top of voice plans; an extra $15 will let you turn it into a 3G modem for your laptop.
• The 3.5mm headphone jack may actually be compatible with many of the iPhone-targeted headphones hitting the market, such as V-Moda's Vibe Duo.

From the fact sheet:

The BlackBerry® Pearl™ from Verizon Wireless
Available to Verizon Wireless in an exclusive silver-grey and backed by the power of the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, the BlackBerry Pearl is perfect for customers who want a slim form factor and easy access to the office, family and friends in a single device. With a HTML browser, e-mail, messaging, calendaring functionality and a 2.0 megapixel camera, the BlackBerry Pearl easily transitions from business to personal use and helps customers remain productive and in-touch when they are on-the-go.

The BlackBerry Pearl from Verizon Wireless also features GPS technology and can access VZ Navigator, allowing customers to get mapping, audible turn-by-turn navigation and access to information on more than 14 million points of interest.