This Week's Featured Item: OtterBox Commuter Series Case for the Storm2

Last week we all saw Adam's charging pod he can't live without, and the week before Kevin's extended battery review (big shock he needs one of those huh?) This week's accessory is one that I have grown to love, the Otterbox cases. Otterbox has been around for quite some time now, making cases that date back to the 8800 series devices, if not even longer, but they continue to change and make their product even better. Hit the jump for some more info on OtterBox and this weeks newest accessories. Be sure to leave a comment to win an OtterBox Commuter case for your device.

Ever since I first got my first BlackBerry, a 8700 series device, I have always been a fan of slim cases, or no case at all. With the devices continuing to get slimmer and slimmer, and my hands not shrinking to fit them comfortably, I have recently been seeking alternatives to the standard slim cases I was using. Everyday life has become so busy and honestly at times it can be hard to be as cautious with my BlackBerry as I would like to be, and the Otterbox has put my mind at ease knowing the device is fully protected. What I like the most about the Otterbox Cases were that they fit extremely well, very easy to install, and protect all your ports. The Commuter Series (pictured above) was my personal favorite case because while it added an amazing amount of protection from the rubber case and the plastic over it, the case also added some additional bulk which made the device sit perfectly in my hand. The Impact Series case offers even more protection, at the cost of additional bulk.

As someone who could be considered somewhat indecisive, finding a case that offers style and protection while still keep maximum comfort while the device is in hand is quite a struggle. In the early phases of my case hunt I used to overlook Otterbox, and looking back, I realize how much of a fool I was. Granted, their cases only come in black, but how many of us end up wanting to black their BlackBerry housing's out anyways? The Otterbox has quickly grown on me and become a perfect compliment to my lifestyle. I tend to be on the go often, and can't tell you just how many times I have missed my pocket with my phone, or nearly dropped a phone due to a slick surfaced slim case I put the phone in, but those days are now behind me.

With the Otterbox case protecting my BlackBerry my mind is at ease, knowing my device is fully protected. Personally, I never seem to keep a device for a very long time, and throughout all of my recent device changes, the first accessory that I always end up purchasing is an Otterbox case for the phone. Although they may look extremely bulky, or beyond comfort, I would say that many of you will be shockingly surprised with the added comfort along with the amazing protection that the Otterbox line of cases will deliver. Check out the cases for your device here.

• Check out all of the OtterBox cases in the Shop CrackBerry Store >>

CONTEST: Win a Free OtterBox Comutter Case for your BlackBerry

For your chance to win a free OtterBox, simply leave a comment to this blog post telling us what you do that would make an OtterBox the right case for you. Contest ends this Sunday night at Midnight PST. Please, just one entry per person.

NEW BLACKBERRY ACCESSORIES @ SHOPCRACKBERRY.COM

New BlackBerry Cases

New BlackBerry Batteries

New Bluetooth Accessories

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a Red Case for Your BlackBerry!

We have a full supply of red cases for all devices so you can get in the spirit of Valentine's Day. You can choose from a variety of skin cases, soft cases and hard cases that will suit your needs. Check out the full line at ShopCrackBerry.com.

• See all BlackBerry Skin Cases >>
• See all BlackBerry Hard Cases >>

Until Next Time...

That's it for this week's roundup! We hope you enjoyed it! If you come across accessories you'd like to see featured in an upcoming roundup, please send us an email to blackberryaccessories @ crackberry.com.

It's been a little contest crazy around CrackBerry lately, but that's ok.... we are mixing the giveaways in with a bunch of quality content and I haven't heard anybody complaining about chances to win free stuff yet :) That said, there are a couple deadlines approaching we wanted to make quick note of again here on the blogs:

• The Developer Survey we mentioned last week is still running but will end this weekend. Interpret is putting together an exciting set of data about mobile app development and needs your input. Take the survey here and be entered for your chance to win a BlackBerry Curve 8520/8530. Heck, if those phones aren't your style, you can also opt for up to $550 to purchase the phone of your choice.
• Since not everybody will qualify for the developer survey prize, one more reminder: the Smartphone Round Robin contest is still running, but will end on Thursday. You can enter to win the BlackBerry Smartphone of your choice by posting in this thread (or any of the other SPE editors' Round Robin threads in the forums). Everybody's been asking so here's the news: we are announcing the winners on Friday!

A while back, I posted on an application called BerrySki. This app uses your BlackBerry's GPS to help you view, navigate, track, and record your treks through your favorite ski resorts. In honor of the upcoming Winter Olympics, the folks over at BerrySki are giving away 10 Season Passes for your favorite North American Resort. If you are a skier/snowboarder you should definitely check out this app, its statistical integration alone makes it a great buy. BerrySki is available for all BlackBerrys running OS 4.2 and up, with season passes starting at $7.99.

Contest: We have 10 licenses of BerrySki to give away. Just leave a comment on this post telling us which resort you will use the app for. Contest ends this Sunday at Midnight PST. Please only leave one comment, multiple entries wont count.

• More information and download of BerrySki>>

Here we are again with more spoils for the winners. CellUnlock, BerryWeather, TyperSpeed and more were the hot ones this week, so lets get down to it. We've already started off the fun for this week with some WorldMate Gold subscriptions, a free Animated Space Theme and one of our biggest contests ever. Hit the jump for the full list of winners - congrats!

WorldMate has long been know as the "go-to" app for travelers. With flight alerts, hotel info, itinerary tracking, weather and more, WorldMate stands above the rest. Today they have added another weapon to their arsenal by announcing integration with the popular business network LinkedIn. The new partnership allows WorldMate users to share travel and meeting itineraries, notify contacts when arriving in destination cities, search contacts by city and more.

"This WorldMate integration is a perfect synchronization of our two companies' strengths and goals," said Adam Nash, Vice President of Search & Platform Products at LinkedIn. "LinkedIn's mission is to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. The Worldmate integration extends our mission by allowing members to access their professional networks when they're on-the-go. WorldMate has taken an innovative approach to our APIs, extending and tying together the LinkedIn experience to both web and mobile."

This makes WorldMate one of the first companies to incorporate with LinkedIn and offer enhanced features. The new tools will definitely keep WorldMate at the top of it's game, and give users multiple options for better staying in touch with business contacts when traveling. The LinkedIn app is still said to be on the way, but this will help keep users in touch for the mean time. A WorldMate Gold subscription will run you $99 for the year (a free trial is available) but if you travel often it is well worth it. The new version will be pushed out to current users on February 16th. Check out the full press release after the jump.

Contest: To enter to win 1 of 4 one-year WorldMate Gold subscriptions, leave a comment on this post telling us how WorldMate helps you with your travels and/or travel planning. Please only leave one comment, multiple entries won't count. Contest ends this Sunday at Midnight PST.

• More information and purchase of WorldMate for BlackBerry >>

Contest: 50 Copies of Animated Space Theme to be won. Leave a comment!

Happy Tuesday to our loyal theme junkies. We have spent the last week sorting through the emails we have received, and have a stellar lineup of both free, and paid themes. After last week's overdose of pink, we have banished the girly colors from this weeks selection to balance things out (although we did delve into the giftable theme Valentino for that special someone). Hit the jump for our picks.

February's Prizes include a T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700, Accessory SuperBundle, and BlackBerry VM-605 Bluetooth Speakerphone!

WooHoo! It's contest time and you're going to love this one. It's easy to enter, features great prizes, and best of all, is ONGOING. It'll just take you a few minutes to make sure you're entered and once complete all you need to do is sit back for your chance to win each and every month. Inspired by my CrackBerry Kevin's Ongoing Twitter Contest, we're taking things to the next level with CrackBerry.com's Ongoing Follow CrackBerry and Win Contest!!!

The Premise: Follow CrackBerry on Youtube, Twitter and Facebook and you could win! The last day of each month we'll pick three lucky winners -- one from the CrackBerry subscribers on each of these sites -- to win some awesome BlackBerry prizes - apps, accessories and even devices (minimum prize value $50). We'll announce the winners on the CrackBerry blogs the first day of each month as well as let you know what the prizes for the next month will be. Subscribe to all three for the most chances to win and keep on following! And if you're already following us prior to the launch of this contest, don't worry, you're automatically entered!

February's Prizes: Are awesome. Follow us on Twitter for your chance to win a BlackBerry Accessory SuperBundle for your BlackBerry and become a fan of our Facebook page for a chance to win a BlackBerry Visormount Speakerphone. AND for the sweetest prize of the month, follow us on Youtube for your chance to win an unlocked T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700!!! Click the image links above to login to each respective site and follow us. 

For full contest details and for the specific urls to each site's CrackBerry channel/page, visit the contest page at crackberry.com/followcrackberrycontest

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!

This week, I'm going to introduce a new feature to the App Roundup... The weekly giveaway! That's right, each week I'll have a new app up for grabs... All you have to do is answer a simple question I ask regarding the featured app each week. Leave your answer in the comments (please only 1 answer per person), and we'll randomly select winners from your answers. Winners will be announced in our weekly winners announcement on Tuesday.

This week we've got 'TyperSpeed' from our bud Fabian Heuwieser up for grabs... and we have 50 free copies to give away. Keep reading for all the details.

Giveaway of the Week: TyperSpeed

Freebies of the Week: The Help Haiti App, Imagining Theme, Carbon Fiber Theme

In Case You Missed It: Verizon Launches VZ Navigator 5.0, Storm Unlock, AT&T myWireless App

New This Week: inText, Piczzle, Dog Emergency

Cool at BlackBerry App World: Madden NFL 10

Developers take note: The folks at Interpret are looking to find a bit more about you and they have a brief survey to do just that - finish that, enter your info at the end, and be entered into a drawing for a free BlackBerry Curve 8530 or 8520. Non-developers, feel free to take part to be entered as well. Either way, go on and let 'em know how you're feeling about mobile apps these days.

* Keep in mind this survey is being run by the folks at Interpret - not everybody who clicks to take the survey may be elgible to complete it (based on criteria chosen by Interpret). If you don't qualify for this one, no worries, there's always lots of chances to win stuff at CrackBerry coming your way.... 

• Click Here to Take the App Users and Developers Survey >>

The folks at Bellshare let me know their insanely popular weather application BerryWeather has been updated to version 2.1.40 and is now out of public beta and officially available. A lot of key differences came with the 2.1 version as it's a re-write of the original code which will perform better across all BlackBerry devices, while taking nothing from the BerryWeather that so many have come to love. As a thank yout to everybody at CrackBerry who helped Bellshare with the beta testing of the latest version, they have offered us up 50 free copies to give away to our readers.

Win a Free Copy of BerryWeather: Drop a comment on this post for your chance to win one of 50 full versions of BerryWeather. Let us know what your favorite season is or what you hate about your least favorite season. For me, it's winter. Hockey and curling and snowmobiling aside, Canadian winters are never fun as it often times gets cold enough to freeze your face off. I'd much rather be at the beach :)

• Learn More / Purchase BerryWeather 2.1 for BlackBerry Smarpthones >>

This Week's Featured Item: BlackBerry Charging Pod for Bold 9700

Kevin tackled our inaugural accessory roundup last week so this week the honor is on me... One of the accessories I cannot live without is the BlackBerry Charging Pod. It has just one job, but it does that job amazingly well. It's not new to the accessory scene, but it has to be mentioned in an accessory roundup. Hit the jump for more on the charging pod and check out some of the newest BlackBerry accessories.

Prizes galore this week! Some unlock codes from Global Unlock Code, a very cool theme, some cases from Speck, a Seidio Extended Battery and a few apps to round out the mix. A very well-rounded week with great prizes across the board. More to come this week, so be on the lookout. Thanks again to everyone that entered, and congrats to all the winners! If you're a developer or retailer and want to run a contest of your own, send an email to editorial(at)crackberry.com

Contest: 30 Copies of ValentineBB to be won. Leave a comment!

Its time again to bring you, the valued readers of CrackBerry, more themes for your enjoyment. We have decided to add a little Valentines's Day flavor to this roundup, in honor of the fast approaching occasion (as well as a subtle reminder to all you guys (and girls) out there frantically checking your calendars and wallets, your valentine will love many of the accessories in our store :) ). Hit the jump and we will present our top free and paid picks of the week, and even give you a little something you could win in time to dress up your darling's BlackBerry for Valentine's Day.

It's Monday again, we all love Mondays don't we? Hope you all had a great weekend. We want to get this week started off right for everyone, so what better way to do that then have a contest, right? Cellunlock, has given us 100 BlackBerry unlock codes to give away. Any BlackBerry on any carrier this time around. Just drop a comment on this post, letting us know what day of the week is your favorite and why, and we'll pick out 100 winners to get a free unlock code for your BlackBerry. As always, big shout out to Cellunlock for offering this up for you all out there and good luck! Contest ends this Sunday at Midnight PST - please only leave one comment, multiple entries won't count.