Since the BlackBerry Storm2 made is grand debut early Thursday morning via a handful of embargoed reviews, its appearance on BlackBerry.com and a joint RIM/Vodafone Press Release, I can't click into the forums, read a blog post comment or check my inbox or twitter without seeing the question Where's Verizon's BlackBerry Storm2 Announcement? I don't have an 'official answer' to this nagging question, but between logical reasoning, a bit of tipped info and putting the pieces together I do think we have a pretty clear picture of what's going on here...

As some of you may have read, RIM recently released a brand new SDK for BlackBerry Developers. This SDK consisted of the tools needed in order to make "BlackBerry Widgets". Widget is a term we have heard used many times before in regards to the BlackBerry Smartphone platform, but this is the first time will we get to see the fulll implementation of what exactly it means to BlackBerry.

With the release of the SDK came a lot of questions - specifically revolving around the fact that users wanted to be sure these widgets were not just simply web launchers or browser homescreen links. After having spoken with Mike Kirkup, Director Of Developer Relations at RIM, I can gladly say this is not the case.

It really wasn't that long ago that RIM was hiding the BlackBerry App Center under a shroud of secrecy. Details were slim, facts were not clear and everyone was left wondering what exactly was going on. Well, the shroud of secrecy didn't last that long and RIM began explaining exactly what the application center was to be. We all know carriers love to push certain items to our devices, some are useful some are better off having never been pushed considering it's nothing more than carrier advertising. We all see it, until we hide the icons and forget about them till a later time.

BlackBerry application center was created to clean this up and give users the option of which "carrier related" items they wished to install on their devices as well serve as a repository for carrier approved applications. So..where is it? We have seen it on the Storm and more recently we know for a fact it is still being built into OS' considering all 5.0 leaks have it held in the install files.

It leaves the question will application center be used at some point in time further down the road more widely? A lot of developers ask questions about BlackBerry app world and why not all carriers are having it proloaded and RIM's response to that is that they are indeed working alongside carriers to make that happen, but all are not on board with the idea yet. But if application center was designed for this why does it remain unused? Do you want it or feel it's even needed? Sound off your thoughts in the comments.

 

There is nothing like summer in New England, if you live up here, you know what I mean. If you are a baseball fan - there is just no place like Fenway Park - the place to be - in the summer here in Boston.

Recently, I was able to score two tickets to Fenway (no easy feat in this town) and I took my BlackBerry toting 17 year old with me. Two red sox fans, two BlackBerry 8900s and two tickets to Fenway Park - what could be better.

Since my son Dan is just about as much of a techie as his old man, he affectionately has earned the title "Maximus Junior" around here. We decided to use both Berrys to the max that day.

Everytime I mention owning a BlackBery Curve 8520 to another smartphone user, be it in person or on Twitter or in the CrackBerry forums, I often get a similar grilling across the board. These response is usually in the form of a question along the lines of Why would you use an 8520 over your Bold? or You actually use that thing? These questions really make me wonder if people are aware of how great the little device actually is.

Let's start with some basics that some may not be aware of or have forgotten. The processor in the Curve 8520 is the very same one that is in it's big brother the Curve 8900 so you know already that the device is snappy. Also like the Curve 8900, the 8520 comes with 256MB of RAM on board which is actually double the Bold's 128MB of RAM. This jump in RAM makes a big difference in everyday use, especially if you have a lot of apps installed and tend to keep many open. No camera flash a concern for you? I can understand that, however, even without the flash I find the Curve 8520's 2 megapixel camera takes better pictures than the Bold's 2 megapixel camera in most lighting conditions (no, it doesn't touch the 3.2 megapixel camera w/flash found on the Tour/8900/Storm).

Barcodes were all the rage when BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 popped up. The ability to scan an image and add a contact is definitely one of the best features. Tons of What's your bardcode threads popped up in the forums, and images spread on Twitter asking people to "Scan Me". Did you know that the ability to scan barcodes and receive content is nothing new? For quite a while, many companies have been offering barcodes on their products, advertisements or printed media that links directly to mobile content. Laptop Magazine has barcodes throughout its pages that allow you to link to exclusive mobile content. Some newer movie posters and even some electronic products have barcodes on them that link to mobile sites with additonal information. The codes make it easier for companies to deliver what they want, without the need for the end-user to have to type in a long web address. They are multiple free apps that work on various devices. ScanLife, Kaywa reader, I-nigma reader, NeoReader and more. All of these apps can be installed on your device and allow you to scan barcodes using your camera. The scans are typically saved and processed, and then you are taken to the mobile content on your device. They also give you the option to type in barcode numbers, save them and more. You can even create your own barcodes and link to your website.  So what do you think - are barcodes making things easier or more overwhelming? Will more companies/industries be using them in the future? 

The iPhone gets a lot of love by both tech writers and owners of the device for a number reasons, most notably for its easy-to-learn/pretty user interface, the iPhone App Store (and the fact it runs apps/games well) and with its iPod heritage and iTunes integration is a solid media device. In the consumer space especially, these factors go a long way.

We like to take our shots at the iPhone from time to time here at CrackBerry.com (we're a BlackBerry enthusiast site, that's part of our gig, but we always strive to give it the respect it deserves too), but today it was actually Anton Walman over at SeekingAlpha.com who posted a story on BlackBerry's 26 Advantages over the iPhone. Anton makes the case that while the iPhone's advantages are compelling that they are "immediately visible," especially to the casual observer, and that the BlackBerry has a number of "behind the scenes" benefits that are equally compelling and should not be overlooked. Here's a quick sample from the top 26 list:

1. Blackberry can be used on almost every carrier in the world (over 475 of them). In the US, the iPhone is available on AT&T (T) only.
2. Blackberry is available in five form factors - small keyboard, large keyboard, no keyboard, flip phone, and candy-bar.
8. Blackberry has removable and expandable battery. iPhone is fixed.
9. Blackberry allows programs to multitask. iPhone has limited multitasking.
15. Blackberry can be synchronized to multiple computers simultaneously, if you have multiple computers. 

You can click the image above to jump over to SeekingAlpha for the full article and 26 BlackBerry advantages. Be sure to report back with your thoughts. If you think any were missed, leave them in the comments!

The reports have been flowing in since the release of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 and finally yesterday an "official" announcement that yes, indeed their was an issue with BlackBerry Messenger in general. Many users from the forums feel as though the issue may have been caused by too many users loading Messenger 5.0 and thus causing the BBM servers to be backlogged with the end result being slow, latent message delivery (that was if the messages arrived at all). I myself witnessed BBM's coming in a simply mind blowing six hours later.

I personally cannot say with any certainty that the usage of BBM 5 is what caused the services to essentially be taken off line. But the question itself does raise some finer points about what exactly went on. Bad timing? Possibly -- RIM did have a maintenance window open on the evening of the 18/19th where downtime was expected to be approximately 15 mins. So was the influx of BBM 5 users and this maintenance window the result of the severe latency we all witnessed? Or was there more at hand here?

So, a "Bold," an "iPhone 3GS" and a "Pre" all walked into a bar......

OK, so let's try to envision this. It is a Friday night after a long week. Three "Amigos" decide to get together for an after work evening of drinks and catching up. Now, these three friends have a long history with one another - a history of trying to one-up each other about pretty much everything. Our night begins with the arrival of the first "friend."

A car pulls up to the bar - not just any car, but a beautiful, slick Porsche 911 Turbo. Out steps the iPhone 3GS. He looks quite dapper in his new non-smudge coating. He is wearing a beautiful Argentinean Vaja iVolution suit - must have set him back close to $150 for that - but he is wearing the colors of Italy and he looks smashing.

Next to arrive is the Palm Pre. He steps out of his Hybrid "Pre-us" and walks towards the bar. He isn't wearing any suit at all - I guess it was hard to find one that could cover him up and still allow him to slide out that tiny little keyboard of his. He waddles inside - his stout, rounded shape making it a bit difficult for him to walk upright.

The last to arrive is the BlackBerry Bold. He shows up on his Harley. When the rumble of the engine stops, he hops off the bike - still wearing his Otterbox suit after a hard day at work. He realized (because of the multiple alarms going off) that he is late to meet his friends, so he runs inside.

The applications pictured above all have one thing in common except one. They all have desktop applications available for install. So, I have to ask, how many of you all out there would like to see an application developed for your desktop that would allow you to use your BlackBerry Messenger on your desktop? Think about it. There have been a lot of times while sitting at my PC where I have spent more time talking on my BlackBerry Messenger then actually utilizing my PC, which is right there in front of me.

Now I know I am not the only one out there that would like to see this, I actually asked the question on Twitter and many responded that yes, they indeed would also love to see this happen. Implementation issues aside, I'm positive that it can be done. In fact I'm 100% percent certain it can be as there have been many rumblings in the past that the application already exists and is currently available to RIM insiders and has been for over a year now.

So I guess the real question is when will RIM release it -- or will they? So as users would you like to see this application released? What if it came at an additional cost? Would you pay a monthly fee to RIM for it or a one time fee to be abale to have that functionality? Let us know if the comments how you would feel about it, maybe we can let RIM know that this application is indeed wanted.

Twitter fever has taken over, and it seems to get bigger everyday. As many of you know, there are a bunch of celebrities that use Twitter, but what you may not know is that a bunch of them use BlackBerry Twitter clients as well. We thought it would be fun to track them all down and see what their app of choice is. It looks like TwitterBerry is the clear winner with UberTwitter a close second. A few have chose the premium TweetGenius client, and a huge shoutout to Joy Behar who is the only celeb that uses Tiny Twitter. If you're curious to know which of your fav celebs are Crack'n on Twitter, hit the jump to see the list. If we missed any celebrity BlackBerry / Twitter users that you're following, you can add them to the comments. And if you're looking to get a twitter client on your BlackBerry, be sure to check our our Twitter App Roundup and Twitter App Round Up Part Deux.

"To Pre or not to Pre" - that seems to be the big question in the Smartphone world this week. Here, I will give you a diehard "CrackBerry" user perspective of this new device - does it live up to the hype? Can it every replace your "beloved Berry?" Let's take a look.

The Pre is here; Palm recently released the much-anticipated Pre smartphone to the world-and the fate of the company very much depends on whether or not the device is a hit. Palm, former king of the PDA market, is attempting to pull itself back to the forefront of the smartphone game with the likes of RIM and Apple, and the Pre will no doubt be instrumental to its success...or lack thereof.

A while back, I penned a piece for CrackBerry called "Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone Is NO BlackBerry," in which I pointed out why Apple's iPhone might be fine for your kid brother or all the Mac-heads at school or work, even your mom, but it doesn't hold a candle to BlackBerry when the two are stacked up next to each other (I'll be weighing in on the state of this ongoing debate soon now that the iPhone 3G S has been announced).

While the Pre is certainly exciting and I look forward to some quality thumbs-on time with it, I didn't rush out to pick one up this week, nor will I be trading in my beloved ‘Berry for a Palm device anytime soon; the Palm Pre's simply no BlackBerry.

How can I be so sure? Well, I've spent some time with the Pre, read all the reviews and studiously studied that spec sheet. While it would've been ideal to spend a couple of weeks with the Pre before deeming it a second-class option when compared to BlackBerry, I honestly didn't need to.

Pop on that there jump for my reasons why.

Yesterday's blog post on the official release of SmrtGuard jogged my memory on something I've been wanting to make mention of here on the blogs for a while... the explosive growth we're beginning to see of BlackBerry in Indonesia. If you listened to our WES 2009 Wrap Up Podcast, you'll remember one of the coolest things Bla1ze and I had a chance to attend at this year's WES was the signing ceremony between Indosat and SmrtGuard. After the business dealings were done, we had a great chat with the Indosat team members present and learned A LOT about the uptake of BlackBerry in the Indonesian market.

RIM has done quite well with some of its internal applications as of late. Sure they kind of screwed delayed the launch of Facebook 1.5 but now that is here and all the bugs have for the most part been worked out, most users seem overall happy with the application. They have also done a great job with the IM clients. Albeit not perfect solutions all around, lets be honest, some of the RIM in-house bulit applications are among the best ones out there, as until just recently they had an unfair advantage with keeping their API's internal.

With a lot of the RIM-built applications, social networking seems to be the draw for most BlackBerry users and I myself use them on a daily basis. So I'm really left to wonder at this point with the expansion of Twitter growing rapidly on a daily basis and the flood of Twitter applications being developed and seemingly updated on a daily basis, will RIM themselves ever dive into the Twitter world and give their attempt at a great application or will they leave it up to the third party developers who have been doing a solid job so far?

So what do you all out there think? Will RIM decide to create their own Twitter application? Or at this point, with their huge push for developers and the opening of a lot of their once-internal API's will they leave this one fully up to the developers to take on. Let us know what you want to see in the comments. In the meantime, you can follow the links below to learn more about current Twitter clients available for your BlackBerry. We'd better get to work on an updated Twitter Roundup!

• Twitter App Roundup Part I (Jan. 27th/2009) >>
• New Clients Since Roundup: Yatca | Ubertwitter | TweetGenius