When it rains, it pours. As part of the slides that were leaked this morning, we have learned more about two upcoming devices for 2012: The BlackBerry Curves 9220 and 9320. Both are in some ways downgrades of the current BlackBerry Curve 9350/60/70 lineup but this is done on purpose in order to meet the needs of emerging markets instead. The Curve 9220 will be an EDGE only phone (I always think great battery life) while the 9320 will have 3G connectivity. Areas in Latin America and Asia that do not have abundant 3G connectivity are RIM's primary targets with these new devices.


Specs for the Curve 9320:

• 2.44″ display
  
• 3.2MP camera
  
• 512MB RAM
  
• magnetometer
  
• accelerometer
  
• proximity sensors

Specs for Curve 9220:

What's new

Raised menu buttons. While both of these new Curves are certainly downgrades in terms of camera and radio bands, they do have a couple of things I like. They implement the raised menu keys that we were first introduced to us on the Storm.. err excuse me, Torch 9850/60. These buttons were later applied to the new Bold 9790 which drove many users (myself included) to nominate it as the ugliest Bold to date. I will say these buttons tend to fit the Curve series a lot better than the Bold due to the raised keyboard buttons so in my opinion, they look good.

Dedicated BBM convenience key. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this one quite yet. These new Curves are apparently equipped with a left convenience key, which many have sorely missed (I still don't understand why they got rid of it in the first place, but that's irrelevant). So everyone think "great idea!" right? Well here's the catch, it's labeled "BBM" and apparently it's intended for us to have quicker access to our beloved messaging app. For some this is all fine and dandy but I like to be able to customize my convenience keys. The question then becomes, will this key be customizable via the Options menu like the right key is, or since it's labeled, does RIM intend for us to use it only for BBM and not allow users to change it? We shall see.

With the new year comes expectations for every company on what they will be delivering to their customers in the near future. RIM is no exception to this unwritten rule. We know, for instance, that the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS 2.0 will be releasing in a couple of weeks, that the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone will be dropping in late summer/early fall, and that we'd be seeing a new PlayBook and two new Curves as well.

Today, BGR has released actual evidence, in the form of official RIM slides, to support their BlackBerry road map article in which we learn a little bit more about what's new and reaffirm what we've already learned is in store for us this year:

It looks as though RIM may add a little splash of color to its Torch line of smart phones this year. Although RIM has not yet confirmed any white 9850/9860 devices, this nice little gem may speak for itself. White BlackBerry devices have always been a desirable touch for BlackBerry users so it will be nice to see how this one play's out. As of now RIM has failed to verify the picture, so let's not get out hopes up just yet. Big thanks to our tipster. What do you think about having a white BlackBerry?

Hello BBOS members and guests, it's time for our Recap for the week of 1/15 - 1/21, 2012. 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!

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It seems as though this year will be packed full of interesting news. Rumors about RIM's acquisition have been circulating for quite some time. We learned late last year that Microsoft, Amazon, and Nokia all mulled over bids on RIM. It is no secret to anyone that RIM had a difficult time last year meeting its financial goals, as well as missed market opportunities.

New information has surfaced that suggests that mobile giant Samsung is also interested in RIM. This new report states that a full sale price of RIM would be somewhere within the $12 to $15 Billion dollar range. These prices would actually be selling RIM's shares at a higher price than they are currently worth.

Does any of this even make any sense? It just might. We have heard from every expert analyst about what RIM should do with its future and have even heard that RIM should abandon the BlackBerry all together and focus entirely on enterprise software solutions. The fact is, RIM will make its own decision based on whats best for the company, but pressure from investors and unhappy consumers definitively have an effect on the decision making.

The problem is that if this does happen, BlackBerry as we know it will change in some way whether its good or bad. In addition to this we also heard that RIM would be releasing devices at a slow pace and even later than expected. This certainly does help. What do you think RIM should do? How do you think a sale would affect BlackBerry users?

Hello BBOS members and guests, it's time for our Weekly Recap for 1/8 - 1/14, 2012. 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 enthusiast to join the BBOS team - Click here for more information on how to join.


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• BlackBerryOS.com Weekly Recap 1/1 - 1/7
• O2 Announces BlackBerry Curve 9380 Availability In Ireland
• Verizon Confirms Global Ready Curve 9370 Launching In-Store On Jan 19th
• BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 At CES Preview
• RIM Announces BlackBerry 7.1 OS And Features
• Bold 9930 & Torch 9850 OS 7.1 Updates Coming To Verizon On Jan 10th
• RIM Smartphones Certified By Visa For Use As Mobile Payment
• Video: BBM Hero Band - Sunday At Twelve
• Verizon Now Pushing Official OS 7.1.0.163 Update To Bold 9930 & Torch 9850 Users
• CES 2012: Take Control With BlackBerry Bridge On PlayBook OS 2.0
• Video: Insider Perspective On OS 7.1 For BlackBerry Smartphones
• CES 2012: BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS 2.0 Video Walkthrough
• CES 2012: Eric Wood From Electronic Arts Talks Gaming On The BlackBerry PlayBook
• CES 2012: A Look At The Porsche 911 Convertible Loaded With BlackBerry & QNX Technology
• What Happened In Vegas: BlackBerry At CES 2012
• RIM Looking To Regain Momentum At CES 2012
• BlackBerry 10 Device Types Revealed
• Video: BlackBerry Tag Unleashes NFC Technology In Your Smartphone
• Rumor: T-Mobile Blackberry 9810 Reached End Of Life?
• Beats By Dre Headphones Dumps Monster Inc Over Spat
• New Vulnerability Found On PlayBook OS 1.0 Bridge
• Official: OS 7.1.0.163 For BlackBerry Bold 9930 Via Verizon
• Official: OS 7.1.0.163 For BlackBerry Torch 9850 Via Verizon
• Official: OS 7.0.0.594 For BlackBerry Curve 9360 Via KPN
• Official: OS 7.0.0.557 For BlackBerry Curve 9380 Via Indosat
• Official: OS 7.0.0.592 For BlackBerry Bold 9790 Via StarHub LTD
• Official: OS 7.0.0.585 For BlackBerry Bold 9900 Via Telus Mobility
• Leaked: OS 7.1.0190 For BlackBerry Torch 9860
• Leaked: OS 7.1.0.190 For BlackBerry Torch 9810
• Leaked: OS 7.1.0.190 For BlackBerry Curve 9360

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• P'9981 Theme Now Available For Most BlackBerry Devices
  
• BlackBerry Travel v2.0.16.99 Available In App World
  
• BBM 6.1.0.49 Now Available In App World
  
• Cut The Rope Now Available For PlayBook
  
• Fun With FCEUXpb, Play NES Games On Your PlayBook
  
• Foursquare For BlackBerry Updated To v3.5.1
  
• Waze v2.0.2.3 For BlackBerry Smartphones
  
• UberSocial Updated To v1.304
  
• Poynt Updated To v1.8.5 - BlackBerry 7 Device Support & More
  
• BeBuzz Updated To Version 5.0.24
  
• YouVersion Bible App Updated To Version 3.7, Adds New Bookmark Features

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• Win $50 In Cab Rides With The Pound Taxi App
  
• Win A Case-Mate Voucher Of $60 For FREE Via S4BB New Year's Sweepstakes!
  
• Giveaway: 5 Copies Of Email++ Winners Announced!

• Discuss Your Thoughts On T-Mobile BlackBerry Torch 9810 EOL in our Forums

CES 2012 is in full effect in Las Vegas and BlackBerry is making their presence felt. With the big announcements yesterday of BlackBerry 7.1, and BBM 6.1; the preview of the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS 2.0 was the next thing on the agenda for BlackBerry. Today Inside BlackBerry has posted a new video highlighting these great features.

The messages app has a great look and seems pretty easy to use. It brings something new and fresh while at the same time having the BlackBerry email reliability that we're all use to. The fact that it's integrated with social media just makes it that much cooler. Same can be said for the calendar and contacts apps as well. The tight integration between apps is something we've seen more and more in our BlackBerry smartphones but that has been missing from our PlayBooks. This is apparently being addressed in 2.0.

I've been called a BlackBerry fanboy because I get excited about the smallest little new features that others may not think are so great, but honestly this is pretty awesome. Yes, these are features that should've been implemented on the PlayBook since the beginning but can we please let that go and focus on what is here now?

Now it's RIM's time to make sure this OS gets polished and shipped out in time to inject a little credibility in the time frame they've put out for their future devices and products. Keep the momentum going RIM.

• Discuss the Weekly Recap with us in the forums

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


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Could this picture end up being a reality sometime in 2012 or 2013? Could we end up seeing BlackBerry 10 on HTC, Samsung and other hardware manufacturers' devices? According to Jefferies' Peter Misek this is definitely not only a possibility but talks have already started to make it happen.

Why would RIM even think about doing this? Well if you think about it, the costs of manufacturing hardware would be cut down as less phones would need to made and they would instead take a more Google-like approach and rent out their OS per say.

Both HTC and Samsung run Android and WP7 OSes and have been successful doing so. The chance of them taking on another OS with such an uncertain future as the BlackBerry 10 OS could be unlikely. Also the hardware compatibility issue is big one as well as BlackBerry 10 sounds like it'll be a gesture-dependent OS for which who knows if HTC or Samsung could develop hardware.

That being said, the perspective of having BlackBerry email and BBM as anchors to this new OS could make it very enticing for some of these companies to adopt BlackBerry 10.

I love rumors, especially during such a slow time of the year with BlackBerry news. We'll see if anything comes out of this one in the near future.

Research In Motion has been under extreme pressure from its shareholders to shake things up from top of the latter on down. While we've seen a couple of different Senior VPs step down in the last few months, the two headed co-CEO tandem of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsielle has up until this point been left untouched.

Back in July, 2011, RIM said in a statement it would form a committee to investigate how the structure of the company could possibly be changed in order to improve it. Today, the Financial Post is reporting that this shake up will indeed happen and that Barbara Stymiest (pictured above) is the leading candidate to be appointed lead chairman of RIM's board. According to their sources, the investigation is still under review and the company could opt to go a number of different ways but Stymiest is being considered the top choice due to her background work as COO of Royal Bank of Canada and later head of the TSX Group Inc.

The decision and outcome of the evaluation process will be announced by the company's independent directors recommendation report on January 31st of this year. With news of this possible structural change for RIM, their stocks have risen 8% this morning to $15.67.

On the cellphone insurer Asurion's very own help website, a curious thing was discovered. They have added the BlackBerry Torch 10000 to the products available for help to their customers. While this is exciting news, there could be a new BlackBerry that will be released on the horizon, we're uncertain about which BlackBerry this will be. Maybe the BlackBerry London? Maybe some other smartphone that has been tightly under wraps? We'll just have to wait and see. For anyone could know, it's a sick joke on us BlackBerry-obsessed device junkies. What I do know, is that if RIM is finally breaking into the five digit models, we can be confident that it'll have be spectacular.

One piece of information that was found was that the Torch 10000 was set to be sold by AT&T. Also, the iPhone 5 was listed, and as far as I'm aware, that's still quite far away from its release.