News and Rumors

Earlier this month RIM officially launched a new program called BlackBerry Balance that is designed to help business users separate their work from play eliminating the need have multiple BlackBerry devices. Alec Taylor, VP of Platform Product Marketing at RIM, explains the basics in understanding the recently announced BlackBerry Balance solution for smartphone users in the enterprise. If you aren't sure what BlackBerry Balance is, or if the program relates to you, then you'll want to see the video interview (see above).

• Discuss BlackBerry Balance with us in the BBOS Forums

BlackBerry just released a new commercial showing off the PlayBook's ability to use Adobe Flash for a awesome browser experience. If you haven't had a hands on with the PlayBook's browser, I suggest you head to your nearest PlayBook retailer and get a demo of Adobe Flash in action. The PlayBook currently runs Adobe Flash v10.2. Can the iPad do that? Not a chance!

• Discuss the BlackBerry PlayBook in the BBOS Forums

Lady Gaga takes a self shot with her BlackBerry in the dressing room before opening on the Graham Norton Show a couple nights ago.

Any guesses on what BlackBerry she is using? Let us know in the Forums!

Considering how solid the hardware is on the PlayBook, it seems there was a problem batch of about 1,000 PlayBook tablets that were shipped to Staples stores. I imagine that Staples will be fairly quick to set things straight for those who have the infected tablets. Below is the spreadsheet of all 935 alleged serial numbers for you to check against your own. It looks like they all start with 13430xxxxxxx.

• See the full list of serial numbers to check your PlayBook

Registration for BlackBerry DEVCON Americas is now open! BlackBerry DEVCON Americas – taking place October 18-20, 2011 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, California – reflects our commitment to make this an incredible event for developers from across North America and Latin America.

Early Bird registration for BlackBerry DEVCON Americas is only $699 USD, or $599 USD for our qualifying 2010 event alumni. Also, this deal can be combined this with a special early-bird 4th-night-free offer for even more savings. Hurry, as these early bird offers end June 24th – register now! There are also have special registration pricing for students ($199 USD) and faculty ($399 USD). All prices are subject to applicable taxes; please see the applicable terms and conditions.

Learn more about the all the upcoming DEVCON events at the official BlackBerry DEVCON website.

• Discuss your previous DEVCON experiences with us in the Forum

With the BBM social platform development tools now in open beta, we are starting to see more and more developers utilizing BBM integration into their apps. Now there is a upcoming app for all you sports fans out there called ScoreMobile for BlackBerry that has integrated the BBM feature. The app was showcased by Five Mobile last week at BlackBerry World 2011. In the video above, Jeff from Five Mobile shows us how they’re leveraging the BBM social platform to make sports fandom a more social experience via status updates and BBM chat.

Now you can message your BBM friends to make sure they don't forget that your team is kicking their team's butt. Go ahead, rub it in with this new feature, but don't be surprised if you see your BBM contacts list start to diminish. You can download ScoreMobile for free in BlackBerry App World.

• Download ScoreMobile for BlackBerry in BB App World
• Discuss BBM app integration with us in the Forums