News and Rumors

Sorry folks, I just got a chuckle out of this snapshot and had to share it.

Seeing the new specs that were just revealed for the upcoming Curve "Apollo", Torch 2, and BlackBerry Dakota, I don't think we will need to worry if Angry Birds will be ported over to our BlackBerry devices anymore. Rovio, the makers of the Angry Birds game, will soon be at the knees of BB App World.

• Tell us what games you would like to see come to the new OS 6.1?

Research In Motion has finally settled its long-running dispute with the Indian government over its BlackBerry Messenger Service–part of it, anyway. Now giving wireless carriers in the country the ability to intercept messages sent over its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service and BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) if requested by the government.

This statement isn't entirely true. The Indian government also wants access to communications sent over RIM’s corporate service. RIM hasn’t yet provided that and continues to argue that it’s impossible to do so.

So, basically RIM has provided a partial solution to the government of India.

• What's your take? Is RIM capable of fulfilling the demands of India?

Looks like RIM... you guessed it, is refreshing another device - the next generation BlackBerry Curve. Codenamed “Apollo,” the new BlackBerry Curve finally brings up the lower-mid end of the BlackBerry lineup with very reasonable (and decent) specs for what will be an aggressively priced handset line. A 480 x 360 screen joins a 5-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and a tri-band HSPA 7.2Mbps radio, and even NFC capability. The full specs are...

• See the full specs on the upcoming BlackBerry Curve "Apollo"

• Download the updated Adobe AIR SDK v0.9.2

Already on opening day of BlackBerry DevCon Asia, RIM announced the coming of the new BlackBerry 6.1 Application Platform for BlackBerry Smartphones. OS 6.1 will build upon BlackBerry OS 6, and for developers will introduce some new features to utilize in their app making. New goodies include...

• Magnetometer / Digital compass APIs
• Open GL-ES 2.0
• Window API (overlay native app surfaces)
• Event-based geo-fencing location APIs
• Enhancement to barcode API's for additional formats and custom decoding
• and MUCH MORE

With today’s release of the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK for Tablet OS, RIM has announced that they will extend the deadline for the free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet offer. Applications submitted by March 15th, 2011 will be eligible to qualify for the offer, providing an opportunity for both BlackBerry WebWorks and Adobe® developers to bring their applications to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Here is RIM's statement...

Go get your app entered and receive a FREE PlayBook from RIM

It's Football fever in January, and that means NFL Playoffs time! What better way to show your team spirit, and prepare yourself for the big games, than to sport a NFL BlackBerry theme of your favorite team. NFL themes are made by Airborne Studios and officially licensed by the National Football League.

Each day you will be able purchase a different "team's theme" (say that 5 times fast) at 50% off the list price of $5.99, that’s a $3 savings. That’s 32 days of Football Themes!!

• Go get your NFL team's theme in the BlackBerryOS App Store
• Any bets on who is going to take the Superbowl trophy this year?

Looks like around the board Smartphone users spent less on paid apps in 2010. Prices for paid applications on app stores fell by about 16 percent in 2010, and free applications that make money off in-app purchases grew increasingly popular when compared to 2009, according to a new report by Distimo.

The prices for BlackBerry applications fell 24 percent. Android applications were actually 1 percent more expensive in 2010 across the entire marketplace. The prices of the top 100 applications across all marketplaces fell by around 28 percent.

Entertainment-focused applications were the most popular on the BlackBerry app marketplace. Paid BlackBerry applications grew by 268 percent, while free applications just etched that at 274 percent. While not as much as percentage growth as the Android Marketplace, they are still good numbers for BlackBerry App World. Let's hope that QNX can bring us those media rich apps to beef up the BB App World.

• Tell us your thoughts on what apps you would like to see in BlackBerry App World