There's now the original BlackBerry Curve 83xx series, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and the more newly-released BlackBerry Curve 8520/30 on the market... that's a lot of Curves available for purchase on a lot of carriers in the USA. And according to the IDC Mobile Devices and Technology Trends division that tracks these things the BlackBerry Curve was yet again the best-selling smartphone in the USA for the calendar Q4 part of 2009. The top 10 smartphones sold in America were as follows:

1. RIM - BlackBerry Curve
2. Apple - iPhone 3G S
3. Motorola - DROID
4. Apple - iPhone 3G
5. RIM - BlackBerry Pearl
6. RIM - BlackBerry Bold
7. RIM - BlackBerry Storm
8. Palm - Pre
9. RIM - BlackBerry Tour
10. T-Mobile - myTouch 3G 

Pretty solid results for RIM considering they cover 50% of the top ten. They had this to say on it:

Still no Google Reader app for our beloved BlackBerry devices, but one solution has popped up that appears to be a good hold-over until an official Google Reader app shows up (or if it shows up). Unread was previously only available for the Storm, but has just been released for all devices running OS 5.0. The app is plain and simple, allowing you to view all of your Google Reader feeds, and it even updates read/unread status in real-time. There are a few options for tweaking Unread to your liking, allowing you to get it working to fit your needs. It automatically refreshes feeds in the background, supports full HTML and fully integrates with your Google Reader account. If you're looking for an app to get your Google Reader subscriptions on the go, Unread may be the one for you. Check it out for $4.99 in the CrackBerry App Store.

• More information and download of Unread >>

It's been a while since we first saw the initial release of HulloMail. In that time the HulloMail has made some advancements in their application with the latest version, v1.1.1 now available for USA and UK BlackBerry users to download. The video demo above shows how the application works overall. For some you may already be using HulloMail but a quick description for those who might not: 

'Hullos' are short, audio messages that enable users to send and receive voice messages without ever having to make a phone call.  They are free* to send, both domestically and overseas. Hullo technology is compatible across different mobile platforms allowing subscribers to easily talk back and forth for hours, never incurring a single voice call charge, even when exchanging Hullos between continents. HulloMail subscribers are also able to quickly play a received Hullo as soon as it appears within their mobile app and will only need to know an intended recipient's email address to send a Hullo. In addition to the Hullo feature, push notifications and automatic message downloads the enhanced application offers support for headsets and Bluetooth®. The service continues to provide subscribers with unique message syncing capabilities with email compliant accounts such as Gmail, MobileMe and Microsoft® Exchange.

The latest version of HulloMail is now available in BlackBerry App World or via the HulloMail website. My only wish is that with the new updates they had included Canada in the list of available countries that can make use of HulloMail. Seems like a great product that I could surely make use of. Supported device include 89xx, 90xx, 96xx and 97xx, No Storm support folks.

• Click Here For More Information And Videos On HulloMail Via Their Website >>

Zach dropped me a line the other day to let me know about his newest theme Berry, My Hero. Designed for the 95xx series of devices, it ports the Sense UI look and feel to your BlackBerry. To those who know me, it's no surprise that I loved this theme right from the start - the homescreen clock gets me every time. The homescreen is clean and well laid out, as we have come to expect from ZMan, and the more I use this theme the more I love it. I purposely didn't do any research on the theme before loading it, and the amount of function packed into the homescreen has not ceased to impress me over the last two days as I've been using this theme.

Initially I found the usual hotspots very quickly, with the handy bottom dock allowing shortcuts to Manage Connections and Profiles, and the clock launching (as expected) the clock. I was extremely impressed with the quick menu incorporated into the bottom dock, which allows me fast access to common applications including my Options, Browser, and Music among others. However, what I didn't realize was that I hadn't yet found the coolest features of this theme, which are two hidden hotspots in the top corners of the screen. Clicking the top left corner transfers over to a lock screen, and clicking the top right launches a Today area with three panels. This would have to be my favorite component of the theme, incorporating a feature that I have found immensely useful, yet haven't seen before. The middle panel of the Today area allows you to compose a message directly from your home screen, perfect for firing off that quick message without having to open the Messages folder. If you are looking for the look and function of the Sense UI on your 95xx series device, you have to try this theme, which you can find in the CrackBerry App Store for $5.

• More information and download of Berry, My Hero >> 

The team over at Gym Technik, makers of the NextGen fitness app for the BlackBerry and winners of the CB Awards '09 for best Health/Fitness App, have just informed me about an upgrade they performed over the weekend. The NextGen app for the BlackBerry is now compatible with OS 5! I can't wait to load this bad boy on my Storm 2, and I've been hearing it runs quite smooth on the 9700.

For those of you who haven't tried out Gym Technik yet, you can download the app by pointing your BlackBerry browser to http://get.gymtechnik.com

Standard features of the NextGen Fitness app for the BlackBerry include:

• Visual and descriptive workout guidance
• Workout and body stats tracking
• Routine scheduling
• Before/After photo uploads
• Sync capabilities to safely back up your data online
• Offline access with or without cell coverage for those basement gym rats

Contest and Giveaway: And they've also informed me that they are giving away 100 premium subscription discounts this week. The first 100 sign ups using offercode feb10upgrade at the Store will get 10% off their premium subscription.

And second - They've asked the CB community to dream up the most wildest craziest feature that you would like to see on the Gym Technik app. The craziest idea will be selected for a free year of premium! So come on... Rise to this... Drop your idea in the comments. First to say it and have it be the one that gets picked by Gym Technik as best wins (contest ends this Sunday at Midnight PST). Let's see what the CB community has got!

OpenBeak (formerly TwitterBerry) is probably one of the best known Twitter clients for BlackBerry. When Twitter first started its monumental rise, TwitterBerry was one of the few clients available for BlackBerry, and everyone who was jumping on the Twitter wagon got in on the action. New clients began to show up, and TwitterBerry quickly fell to the back of the pack. It didn't totally go away, and now rebranded OpenBeak, it still hopes to capture users with its simple features and ease of use. Take a look at the video above for a quick overview of OpenBeak's features (or lack of) and see how it compares to the other clients in our Ultimate Twitter Client Roundup.

• More information and download of OpenBeak >>

I recently came across a very interesting application called Genius Medical Diary by Gurparit Chand. It stood out to me, seeing as I have not really seen an app quite like this before. The app acts as a database for all of your pertinent medical information. It stores such data as name, social security number, blood type, medications, diseases/conditions, immunizations, contact numbers, emergency contacts, and insurance information. With this app, you can store as many medical profiles as you wish, making it great for qucik access to your entire family's medical info. The application also features backup/restore to device, which is nice with any app. Genius Medical Diary is on sale for $1.99 until March 1st for all Blackberrys running OS 4.5+. You can also try their free version BerryMed, however it does lack in features when comparing to Genius Medical Diary, which is to be expected.

• More information and download of Genius Medical Diary>>

We're proud to say that The iPhone Blog is now TiPb: your #1 iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad blog!

A little SPE network news before we get to our weekly list o'links. We've been calling TiPb 'TiPb' instead of 'The iPhone Blog' for so long now, we figured we may as well make it official. Add in that the iPhone platform now encompasses the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the newly announced iPad and renaming the site pretty much became a foregone conclusion. Same great content, new shorter URL to type in!

If you're a hardcore Craiglist user and a BlackBerry fan you'll be happy to know that the craiglist mobile app for BlackBerry was finally approved into App World today (we first caught a glimpse of it back in November - check out that post for video). This full-featured app is the "official craigslist app" and was built for craigslist by Movela/Pyxis Mobile. That being the case, the bad news here is that the app carries a price tag of $4.99. It definitely provides a smoother and faster experience than running the mobile website, that's for sure, but may not be worth the $ for those who just check out craiglist from time to time. You can debate that one in the comments or discuss it in the forums!

• Learn more / Download craigslist mobile app for BlackBerry Smartphones >>

So far 2010 is moving along well. We are already in to February and have started out the year with a bang. Loads of great content, regular podcasts (on schedule!) and rumors galore. Some more great stuff this past week, so hit up the links below to check out all the happenings. Don't forget to get in on the contests as well since you still have some time left!

What You May Have Missed

• Introducing SmrtGuard-Free: Provides Remote Tracking and Wiping of Device (and More) for Free! >>
• Sirius XM Radio For BlackBerry Launched >> 
• Ultimate Twitter Client Roundup Part 3: TweetGenius >>
• WTF?! Even Jeopardy Doesn't Know That Research in Motion is the Company That Makes BlackBerry Smartphones... >> 
• Blubber Blasting BlackBerry Apps >> 

Contest Reminders

• BlackBerry App Roundup for February 5th, 2010; Contest: 50 Copies of TyperSpeed to be Won! >>
• BerryWeather 2.1 Gets Official; Thank You to Beta Tester Contest: 50 Free Copies of BerryWeather to be Won! >> 
• BlackBerry Accessory Roundup: Win a Free Blackerry Charging Pod! >> 
• BlackBerry Theme Roundup for February 1st 2010 >> 
• Contest: Win 1 Of 100 Free Unlock Codes For Your BlackBerry >> 

We've seen RIM's little mistake with the Facebook posting. Kevin went hands on with it way back in October of 2009 and finally, just like the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 it's been spotted more times then a leopard. Now, here are rolling into February full on and no release of the BlackBerry Tour 2 / 9650 is to be had as of yet. But, thats not to say there isn't still news and rumors to be posted about it.

The keen eyes of the Twitter world provide us with the latest tidbit. Mike Lawson has spotted, which was reported by Berryscoop the installation files for visual voicemail for the BlackBerry Tour 9650 directly on the Verizon servers. No telling exactly how long it's been there or what might one do with it since you can't exactly go out an pick up a 9650. But lets all just hope it's a new edition to the VZW website and it means the BlackBerry 9650 is closer to getting all official like on us. 

Alright, this is kinda getting out of hand now. Alltel has finally released OS 5.0.0.419 for the BlackBerry Tour and while people are grabbing that up, Verizon users are still waiting to get their official release. I suppose we could all take it as a good sign that the Verizon-acquired company has got the release but really? Why not just roll it out across both carriers?

• Download The Official OS 5.0.0.419 From The Alltel BlackBerry Downloads Page >>

Seems there is no shortage of BlackBerry Internet Service information these days. The BIS 3.0/3.1 documents contain a few long awaited changes. The folks over at BBLeaks were once again tipped off to more BIS 3.0 information. After having looked at the files, some of what we had learned from the last leak was once again confirmed. Check out the run down.

• GMail - The enhanced plugin will get an update which allows for read/unread status of email.
• Open Office- Open Office documents will gain support for presentations, text, speadsheets.
• WMA Support - Long awaited handling of WM Audio will be supported now in attachments.
• Email Setup /Validation - An enhanced email set up application will be added. Increasing security for end user and methods of email validation/revalidation uponPIN changes.
• Carrier Enhancements - Error messages will now be more indicative of who they should be related to. ie: "If you are having a problem please contact <insert carrier>.
• Other -Carrier based tools such as BIS Admin which help with troubleshooting customers.

Nice updates most importantly out of all of it would be the GMail, Open Office and WMA support as I see it. The email validation and settings is something that some users will appreciate especially first time users, those familiar won't even likely notice until it comes time to change a device. Can't say I like having to wait for all these changes to happen but it's good to know they are coming. Now how about a new browser since I didn't really have an issue with the email before?

• Grab The Documents From This Link And Have A Look At The Full Details>>

OK CrackBerry Nation, listen up. This is one I'm pretty dang excited about. If you're a reader of CrackBerry.com you're likely familiar with SmrtGuard by now as we've talked about it a bunch of times since it was still in beta. SmrtGuard, a BES for BIS application so to speak, is known for its "Find my BlackBerry" functionality along with Remote Data Wipe and OTA Data Backup / Restore features. It's definitely one of those must-have apps for BlackBerry BIS customers, but it has always been a must-have app with a price. But there's good news... the folks at SmrtGuard have now rolled out the SmrtGuard-Free version so it's an app we all can now afford.

For the whopping price of $0.00, you get all of these features FREE for LIFE:

• Find my BlackBerry
• Remote Data Wipe
• Remote Listen (Remote Call Fwd) - Yes, you can remote call fwd your BlackBerry to another number in case you left it at home!
• Add a Loved-one as a tracker (have your loved one get SmrtGuard, and add yourself so you can track each other) -> aka the Valentine's Day gift of trust :)
• Personal Guardian and SIMCard Guardian

Did I mention you get all of that FOR FREE?! Oh yeah, you also get their secure data back-up and migration (in case you are switching from Android to BlackBerry or vice versa) features for 30 Days, which comes standard in their premium version of SmrtGuard Pro. To get SmrtGuard-Free, just follow the link below and enter your email address to be sent the link. This is one of those apps I really think every BlackBerry user should have installed and running, so be sure to spread the word.

• Learn More / Download SmrtGuard-Free for BlackBerry Smartphones for FREE >>