BlackBerry Storm 2 Out on Verizon Next Month?

A forum guy with an apparently decent track record says Verizon's been cracking hard on Storm 2 tech support being ready by the end of the month, suggesting a soonish launch. [BlackBerryOS via BGR]

BlackBerry Storm 2 Screen Won't Be Clicky, Verizon to Un-Ban Wi-Fi on Smartphones

Boy Genius rolls up Verizon's entire lineup of new BlackBerrys, but the most interesting point confirms what I suspected when I saw the Storm 2 shots yesterday: The Storm's clicky screen is gone. Update: More »

More Shots of BlackBerry Storm 2 Leak

They appear to be taken by the same person, at the same time, as the last shots we found, though now we've got a little peek under the battery lid and a few more angles. More »

The BlackBerry Storm 2

CrackBerry's got the first photos of the BlackBerry Storm 2, the phone that hopes to set right what once went wrong. More »

RIM CEO Confirms Storm 2 In the Vaguest Way He Can

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie confirmed to Reuters that the company is planning a "next-generation" touch device, and that the original Storm was a "huge success." Well, at least "in terms of sales and adoption." More »

RIM CEO Hints At More Touch Devices, Acknowledges Growing Pains With the Storm

The guys at Laptop Mag sat down with RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis and uncovered some interesting bits of information—including the possibility of more touchscreen devices and an acknowledgment of problems with the Storm. More »

RIM Employee Lends Credence To Storm 2 Rumors, Cryptically Claims 'New Manner To Input Text'

Speaking to Dutch website Tweakers, a RIM sales manager said that, as rumored, a followup to the underwhelming BlackBerry Storm will be arriving at the end of this year, or the beginning of next. More »

BlackBerry Bold, Storm No Longer Lack A Gratuitous Zoom Lens Attachment

Brando, never one to miss an opportunity to attach a thing to another unlikely thing, has expanded its mobile phone zoom lens line to include models for the BlackBerry Bold and Storm. More »

Slacker Internet Radio Now Available On BlackBerry Storm

The BlackBerry Storm is no longer left out of the free streaming web radio crowd—a Storm-tuned Slacker app can now be yours. More »

BlackBerry Storm 4.7.0.90 Update Leaked

Another week brings yet another BlackBerry Storm OS leak. This time the version is 4.7.0.90 for the 9530 and 9500—a version CrackBerry claims is "a step in the right direction." More »

OK People, It Might Be Time to Lay Off the BlackBerry Storm Hate

Sure, lots of important people weren't too impressed with the Storm. But this slippy, Freudian Google News headline sums up the unbridled hate towards the handset much better than it does the article. Much. More »

Purported Rogers Phone Roadmap Makes Me Want To Move To Canada (Not Really)

Who says Canada sucks for gadget lovers? This leaked Rogers/Fido roadmap says they'll get just about everything next year, including a 3G Blackberry Pearl Flip and a Storm with (ohgod) Wi-Fi.

Leaked 2009 Blackberry Roadmap Hints at Touchscreen Bold, Storm Slider

A supposed 2009 Blackberry Roadmap posted on TmoNews Forums suggests that we'll not only be seeing the Curve 8900 next year, but also a touchscreen Bold and a Storm with a slide-out keyboard. More »

RIM Says Blackberry Storm is Verizon's Top Seller

In today's Q3 Conference Call, Verizon stated that the Blackberry Storm has been their top seller over the last month, attracting new BB converts in droves. More »

First BlackBerry Storm Firmware Update: Out Now and Later

To those of you in the audience with BlackBerry Storms, the first update is available online at Verizon Wireless. Otherwise, just wait until tonight at 9:30 p.m Pacific when the update will hit OTA. [Verizon via Crave]

BlackBerry Storm Update 4.7.0.76 Makes (Almost) Everything Better

Good news, boys and girls, that update RIM promised to have out in a few weeks really does make almost everything better on the BlackBerry Storm says Boy Genius, who has already snagged OS 4.7.0.76. (The current, crashy version is 4.7.0.65.) The accelerometer is quicker, battery life is improved, touchscreen is more responsive, music player is snappier, and overall, it just crashes less. There are two tradeoffs, however: Data connectivity seems to be slower, and the camera app is pretty much FUBAR. Which means we're one more update away from happiness (unless you're David Pogue or Stephen Fry). [BGR]

Stephen Fry Slams the BlackBerry Storm

We have a soft spot for genius comedian-actor-writer-gadget-juggler Stephen Fry here at the Giz. He speaks things as he sees them, as an end user, with his usual wit. Lately he has been playing with a BlackBerry Storm and, like our review, he thinks that it's no you-know-who killer. In fact, he completely smashes it in his condensed Twitter review: More »

BlackBerry Storm Torn Down To Reveal Secrets Of Its Click Screen: A Big Button

The guys over at PhoneWreck couldn't contain themselves: they've already taken the BlackBerry Storm apart into a pile of little tiny pieces. And they discovered the secret behind it's "click" touchscreen—the whole screen's backplate presses on a single microswitch, so it's one big button. They also found the Qualcomm MSM7600 processor in there somewhere, and laid blame for sluggish phone performance on that multi-tasking chip's plate, since it runs just about everything on the phone. [Phonewreck via Crunchgear]

BlackBerry Storm's Shipping Delay: Blame the Firmware

Orders of the BlackBerry Storm online have been delayed, and according to some detective work from the Boy Genius Report, it's not due to intense demand. The Storm that BGR got to toy around with was loaded with the OS firmware 4.7.0.82, yet all the Storms being sold now are branded .65. What gives? More »

BlackBerry Storm Lines Not iPhone Lines, But Still Feisty

In spite of its mixed reviews concerning software bugs and the controversial click-screen, the BlackBerry Storm drew a heckuva lot of Crack(Berry)heads to Verizon Wireless stores today demanding to get a piece of that action, including some who got uppity when things didn't work out like Christmas morning. More »

RIM Already Says BlackBerry Storm Bug Fixes Are Coming Soon

Why do companies ship products they know are mad buggy? Apple did it with the iPhone, RIM did it with the BlackBerry Storm, which locked up and crashed on me plenty during the review period, even after it was delayed precisely to make it less buggy. RIM, however, is at least admitting they screwed up off the bat (before it lands in most consumers' hands, even), promising a software update "within weeks." I hope that besides plugging holes and squashing bugs, they also shake off the lag and sluggishness I experienced to make the Storm feel a bit springier. (Kill the fade transitions!) Guess we'll see. [Gearlog]

Verizon's BlackBerry Storm Private Pre-Sale Has No Storms

Oops. You know that pre-sale flyer that was doing the rounds to Verizon "VIPs", the one with the BlackBerry Storm on the left hand side? Turns out that if you, a VIP, turn up at a store with that very flyer you'll not be able to buy a Storm ahead of its launch. You won't, in fact, be able to touch one to see what it's like. You won't be able to see one. There are none, apparently. All you're able to do is get yourself put on a list for a call from Verizon on Friday so you can pre-order the phone. Okay, the flyer didn't make definite promises...but it's pretty much 100% misleading for Storm fans. Guess everyone has to wait for the real date. [BGR]

Verizon BlackBerry Storm Comparison Page Creates Smart Phone Civil War

Verizon, understandably, is going all out to promote the upcoming BlackBerry Storm. Comparisons to the iPhone are rampant, especially from we tech journalists, but the biggest salvo yet in this arena could have been fired yesterday. In this latest comparison, Verizon said to hell with the iPhone, and went straight to the Blackberry on BlackBerry comparisons. In the world of smart phones, it's officially brother against brother, father against son. Touchscreen versus trackball. Thanksgiving at BlackBerry manor is going to be awkward. More »

BlackBerry Curve 8900 Pallin' Around With the FCC, Coming to US Early Next Year

Almost immediately after news of a release date and lovely little price on T-Mobile in Germany, RIM has let on a little info as to the new Curve's US release: it's imminent, and should come within Q1 of next year. RIM is just going through the motions with the FCC for now, but T-Mobile and AT&T are likely carriers for the neat little handset. Neither has formally staked their claim. [Gearlog via Engadget]

Verizon Private Pre-Sale To Include BlackBerry Storm Next Week

At least that's what a big picture of said Storm seems to indicate here on an invitation sent in by Verizon VIP Kevin. How you become a Verizon VIP remains somewhat unclear, but the invitation includes info on purchasing a number of VZW pieces at discounted prices at local stores, privately and with discretion. It all goes down November 17-21, which pretty much confirms the end-of-November Storm release date most recently rumored. [BlackBerry Storm - Thanks, Kevin!]

Blackberry Storm May Finally Make an Appearance on November 20th and 24th

After a set of delays, rumors have surfaced that the Blackberry Storm may finally see the light of day on November 20 despite being planned originally for November 14. The pre-launch will be on the 20th, meaning the Blackberry Storm will be available for demo in corporate Verizon stores. They will also be available for pre-order at the pre-launch, but they will be limited to high-end Verizon customers and those customers who received mailing information. November 24th and 25th will be the general availability date for corporate customers and third-party retailers. The $199 price with a two-year contract is not expected to change. [Boy Genius Report]

BlackBerry Storm Tattoo Wins Guy a Storm For Real

Hands up who thought Zune guy was crazy, even after his recent tattoo makeover? Right...brace yourselves: The guys at Crackberry were running a "What would you do for a BlackBerry Storm?" contest, and they've got themselves a winner. A genuine new BlackBerry Storm-tattoo-toting winner. Ohgoodgodno. Check out the video of the nutter winner actually getting his tattoo, complete with "iPhone sucks" motto. And relish the delicious sight of the Apple-fan tattoo artist wearing an iPhone T-shirt, plus the final tat in closeup in the photos below. More »

Ruh-Roh: BlackBerry Storm Hit by Delays

Man, this is scarily familiar territory for RIM. Multiple reports say that BlackBerry Storm release date is slipping. Sources tell RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky that the Storm is still undergoing certification at Verizon, pushing its launch back to late this month—or even later. Notably, Verizon hasn't announced a date yet, even though we're already a week into November. More »

BlackBerry Storm to Appear On November 14

According to a tipster working at Verizon, the BlackBerry Storm—Research In Motion clickity-touchscreen rival against AT&T's iPhone and T-Mobile's G1— will appear on Friday next week, November 14. This is the reason for the new Verizon's $30 data plans, which will be obligatory starting on that date: More »

Read the BlackBerry Leaked Storm User Manual Now, Because You Won't Later

Go and download Crackberry's leaked BlackBerry Storm user manual now, because we can guarantee that when you actually get your hands on the phone, you won't slow down to flip through all 249 pages to figure out how to add photos to your contacts. It's just a little over a meg, so if you're at all interested in the touchscreen-enabled BlackBerry, there you are. Oh and don't forget to check out our hands on with it as well. [CrackBerry]

CNN Fortune: Blackberry Storm as Low as $99 on Verizon?

Fortune's Techland blog is reporting that with Vodafone's recent announcement that they would fully subsidize the Blackberry Storm, Verizon might be considering similar low cost options to compete against the iPhone. While some inside sources claimed Verizon may go as far as to make the phone free with a two-year contract, other anonymous blabbermouths from the Verizon camp shot that notion down. More »

Blackberry Storm Pricing Leaks On Vodafone UK

Earlier we learned that it was Verizon's requests that've partly crippled the Blackberry Storm, but we at least hope Verizon follows the lead of Vodafone UK and prices the thing reasonably. The Vodafone pricing scheme's just out, and it's seemingly good news: under a 12-month contract the phone costs the equivalent of $485 at its cheapest, but if you go for an 18-month contract it's free. Does that bode well for the un-contracted handset pricing over here? We'll have to wait and see. [PocketLint]

BlackBerry Storm Doesn't Need Wi-Fi or Tri-Band HSDPA Because Verizon Says So, Ok?

Though the omission of two all-but-standard smartphone features from BlackBerry's Storm is disappointing, it isn't totally inexplicable. BGR has confirmed through a "really top-level" Verizon source that the crippling was — surprise! — carried out at the behest of the wireless company. Few wireless providers are innocent of phone neutering, but this blatant promotion of their data service and the added network anchor that the lack of tri-band HSDPA adds protect interests that, well, don't really need much protecting. Even with Wi-Fi, who the hell is going to buy a Storm without a data plan? Stop baiting us, Verizon. We like you. [BGR]