ComScore has published its latest report on the U.S. smartphone market and Apple's iOS and Google's Android continue to gain off of BlackBerry's losses. For the three-month period ending in November, RIM's share of U.S. smartphone subscribers fell to 16.6 percent from 19.7 percent. That's a 3.1 point change from August, and another decline for RIM, which continues to struggle against subscriber losses in the U.S. Let's hope the coming year and the launch of BlackBerry 10 devices will be able to gather the lost sheep of BlackBerry in 2012.

• Discuss this with us in the BBOS forum

Looks like the $2 convenience fee for those who pay online or by telephone has now been scraped. Good to see Verizon listening to customer feedback on this. It really was a bad idea to begin with. Customers were already talking about having a mail-in your bill month to overload Verizon with mail processing. Here is the official statement from Verizon:

• Read Verizon's statement and discuss in the forums

Looks like this New Year's celebration will be sponsored by BlackBerry! I know it's been frustrating to see the lack of advertising this year from RIM, so let's hope they really end this year with a nice lineup of new advertisements. The Dick Clark New Year's celebration has been a staple for many years so it's going to be a good night for BlackBerry for sure. Let us know if you are going to be at the celebration this year!

• Discuss your New Year's celebration plans with us in the forums!

HootSuite for BlackBerry is now available to download for free in BlackBerry App World! This application will manage up to four social apps at once (Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook and LinkedIn). HootSuite is compatible with devices running OS 5.0 and higher. Download it today and let us know what you think of HootSuite in the comments below!

• Download HootSuite in BlackBerry App World
• Let us know what you think about HootSuite in the forums

• Go to the forums and tell us which device you think the Torch 10000 will be

Remember those free apps that RIM posted on App World? Well as a reminder, if you haven’t downloaded and installed these complimentary apps from RIM, do it now as after December 31, 2011, these applications will return to regular price. Most of these apps work for most devices, although some don’t have OS 7 support yet unfortunately. Check the links to App World for all these apps below:

• Bubble Bash 2 - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• Bejeweled - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• Shazam Encore - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• Vlingo - Virtual Assistant - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• The Sims 3 - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• SimCity Deluxe - Compliments of BlackBerry®
  
• Photo Editor Ultimate - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• Nobex Radio Premium - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• Texas Hold'em Poker 2 - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• N.O.V.A. - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• iSpeech Translator Pro - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• DriveSafe.ly Enterprise - Compliments of BlackBerry®
• DriveSafe.ly Pro - Compliments of BlackBerry®

Let us know what application(s) you enjoyed the most, enjoyed the least, and why in the forums

The recent line of BlackBerry 7 devices has made non-touchscreen BlackBerry something of the past. But, with touchscreen devices comes more opportunities to get fingerprints all over your screen.

Recently, our friends over at AutoMobility Distributions provided us with their latest products to review, the SWIPE SideKick Fingerprint Eraser and Cell Klear Lens Cleaner.
Contest: Please leave a comment for your chance to win a SWIPE SideKick Fingerprint Eraser and Cell Klear Lens Cleaner COMBO Pack. Contest ends January 1st, 2012 at 11:59PM EST.

Argentina has recently initiated a ban that prohibited the sale of all BlackBerry smartphones. Apple is also not allowed to sell phones, while Samsung, Nokia, Motorola and LG can all continue distribution. The reasoning behind this is that both RIM and Apple do not have factories or partners in the country. Two ways around this issue would obviously be to build a factory to produce BlackBerrys (or iPhones) or find a partner in the country that is already established to sell the phones for them.

One major factor though that the companies really need to take further into consideration is that both BlackBerrys and iPhones are 60% of the smartphone sales in the country. Currently RIM is in the process of locating a distribution partner to continue the sale of BlackBerrys in Argentina, however Apple is sitting tight and riding out the ban. The reasoning behind the ban is supposedly to stabilize the economy, and once that happens, the ban should be lifted. I reckon the influx of foreign products, such as phones, reduces the amount of money spent on Argentina made goods. For all Argentinians' sake, I hope this ban is lifted as soon as possible.

• Give your opinion on how RIM should handle the ban in the forums

• Discuss this in the forum

A minor update has been issued for BlackBerry App World this afternoon. The Regions tab and other small bugs have been fixed with the new version so stay tuned for the upgrade as it makes its way to everyone's devices.

• Download BlackBerry App World from blackberry.com
• Discuss what's new with this version in the forums

Hello BBOS members and guests, it's time for our Weekly Recap for 12/18 - 12/24, 2011. The links below are the "in a nutshell" of what happened in everything BlackBerry last week. Leave us a comment on what you thought was the most memorable moment of the BlackBerry weekly recap!

• Discuss the Weekly Recap with us in the forums

NOTICE: We are also currently looking for outgoing BB addicts to join the BBOS team - Click here for more information on how to join.


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• BlackBerry Beta Zone Now 7.1 Compatible
  
• Does RIM's Success Mean Abandoning The BlackBerry?
  
• AT&T No Longer Has Plans To Acquire T-Mobile USA
  
• NBA Christmas Special Opening Night Will Be Sponsored By BlackBerry
  
• RIM Slanderers Beware As Judge Rules Against Blogger Source Protection
  
• Research In Motion's Response To BGR: Anonymous Claim Inaccurate And Uninformed
  
• The Day After - #BBMUglySweater Event Recap
  
• BlackBerryOS Is Live From The BBM Ugly Sweater Event In New York City
  
• Microsoft, Nokia, Amazon All Mulled Bids On RIM
  
• Verizon Users Reporting Data Outages Across The US
  
• Happy Hanukkah From BlackBerryOS!
  
• BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 Priced For Sale At Harrods In United Kingdom
  
• RIM Comes Out With Response On BBM Trademark Suit
  
• Video: Christmas Jingle Using BlackBerry Devices
  
• Personalize Your Tablet: BlackBerry PlayBook - How To Video Demo
  
• RIM Faces New Trademark Lawsuit Over BBM Name
  
• Official: OS 7.0.0.590 For BlackBerry Bold 9900 Via Partner Communications
  
• Official: OS 6.0.0.723 For BlackBerry Bold 9780 Via Partner Communications
  
• BlackBerryOS.com Weekly Recap 12/11 - 12/17
  

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• Twitter For BlackBerry v2.1.0.28 - Pearl And Curve Bug Fixes
  
• SocialScope Finally Supports OS 7.1 With Update To v0.9.6.36
  
• BlackBerry Traffic Updated To v3.0.0.389 In Beta Zone
  
• Facebook for PlayBook Updated to v2.1
  
• Foursquare Gets v3.5 Update With Major Bug Fixes
  
• BlackBerry Bridge Updated To v1.0.7.5
  
• Vopium Launches First Real BlackBerry Wi-Fi Calling App
  
• Scrapbook For PlayBook Updated To Version 2.0
  
• BBM Music Updated to v1.1.0.12
  
• Angry Birds Now Available For The BlackBerry PlayBook
  
• Porsche Design Theme Extracted From BlackBerry P'9981
  
• BlackBerry Traffic Updated To v3.0.0.389 - New Features
  

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• Win $50 In Cab Rides With The Pound Taxi App
• Win A BlackBerry Torch 9800 From The S4BB Christmas Sweepstakes!

Seasons greetings, y'all. I hope this holiday season is treating you and your families with all the merriness that comes with this time of year. There hasn't been much news in regards to the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981, but Harrods in the United Kingdom has officially priced this delightful phone at £1,275. While the price is steep, we're hoping that its abilities and awesomeness out-weighs the wallet emptying capabilities. If you're fortunate enough to lay your hands on a P'9981, please share the pros and cons with the other BBOS members. You may be able to persuade a few others to buy one themselves! Or the other option of course, is to send one to yours truly. My birthday is coming up, you know! The rumor was that the device would be released late December, and if my calendar is correct, we've reached the time it should be released. Hopefully news will surface that the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 has hit the shelves in upcoming days!

• Share your favorite part of the P'9981 in the forums

RIM has just released a official statement regarding the trademark lawsuit over the BBM name. It looks like RIM's case is that both BBM acronyms can co-exist without any issue due to the differences in services offered by BBM Canada and the BlackBerry Messenger platform.

• Read RIM's response and discuss in the forums

Found this nice little Christmas jingle video that BlackBerry recently uploaded to their YouTube account. The video description says, "Merry Christmas! Best wishes to our fans from BlackBerry Hong Kong."

• Check out our BlackBerry Devices forum