blackberry

A new and rather clever BlackBerry rip-off comes from China. It's called BlueBerry, and by the looks of it closely resembles the popular Bold model. The fake device comes with dual SIM slots, QVGA display, and a microSD slot. And the cost is just $164.99. Nice, but we prefer the real thing.

According to different sources, Fido will soon start offering Blackberry handsets to choose for its customers in Canada, starting with 8100 Pearl model. While this is not official yet, such a move would be a large step in the right direction for Fido.

For those of you who own a Blackberry Storm 9530 and like it up-to-date, there's a new leaked firmware 4.7.0.86 available for it. We don't know what changes over the previous version it includes, but it's just a few days newer than the recent .85 version for the 9500 model.

Try it at your own risk.

Vodafone subscribers owning a BlackBerry Storm 9500 should visit CrackBerry and download the latest 4.7.0.85 firmware update for the handset. According to users' feedback, the updated device performs slightly better than its Verizon counterpart with the same firmware version. For me knowing just that is a good enough reason do get my handset updated.

So, head over to CrackBerry.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile, which is scheduled to be released on Feb 11th has appeared in a number of retail stores. However, don't rush to buy it, as they won't sell it to you. Why? Ask them, I'm also curious...

T-Mobile will be releasing the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for its customers on February 11th. If you were waiting to get this phone on your carrier, mark this date. Hopefully they'll include support for T-Mobile’s HotSpot@Home service, as it wasn't listed on the site.

The following information wasn't officially confirmed, but as the word goes Sprint is preparing to launch a smartphone called the BlackBerry Niagara, which is basically a CDMA version of the BlackBerry Bold 9000.

The phone will replace the BlackBerry 8830, and will also have a UI matching Sprint’s latest branding campaign.

Following AT&T with its "iPhone 3G for $49" deal, Verizon is now offering the good ol' BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for a no less insane price of $19.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract. If you didn't get a new phone over the holidays, this one will make a good choice.

Google has announced the availability of the new YouTube Client for the BlackBerry Storm. That's nice, though the Storm's touchscreen could handle the site's web interface just fine.

Anyway, YouTube client’s features include:

• Browse millions of videos, including most viewed, top rated, and the day’s featured videos;
• Access your YouTube account on your phone and access your Favorites, Playlists, and your own uploaded videos;
• Upload videos directly from your phone and see them appear within moments on both the mobile site and YouTube.

The new Yahoo! Go version 3.0.47 includes support for the BlackBerry Bold. The said application is free, provides quick access to email, and allows users to upload photos, download maps, get stock quotes, and get breaking news without using the browser.

You can download it at http://mobile.yahoo.com/go .