Alright folks, this is getting kind of out of hand. Normally before a device is released we see a few hands-on photos and videos of them but with this particular device, the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 has surely seen more then a "few" hands on. The newest one comes to us courtesy of FeedBerry which is an Indonesian site and will be doing a follow up post after some more hardware testing. So, not only is it making its rounds in the US and Canada, it has gone international now.

The BlackBerry Pearl 9100 has so far, been rumored to be arriving in April during WES 2010 according to some analysts out there. But really the device looks complete, the OS with each hands on keeps showing a higher revision then the previous and people are waiting for it. Research In Motion might as well just get it out to whatever carriers are picking it up and revise their WES launch plans to different device if they truly do plan on hanging onto the 9100 until then.

Folks have been enjoying their BlackBerry Storm2's for a while now in the UK but due to an exclusive deal with Vodafone, carrier selection has been slim. With T-Mobile UK's recent announcement that will change and consumers will have another choice when picking up the BlackBerry Storm 2. Sometime this month, the device will be released on the T-Mobile UK network.

In addition to the announcement of the Storm 2 launch, Phil Lander, T-Mobile’s account director at RIM,  also confirmed that they’ll have an official Twitter application shortly. We already knew that but to hear it come way of a Research In Motion employee gives us hope we'll see it sooner then later.

[ IntoMobile via Mobile News ]

Its been a few days now since we noticed T-Mobile pulling "older" BlackBerry Curve series devices. First to be noticed was the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and then eventually the BlackBerry Curve 8320 went AWOL as well. While we were waiting to see if it was just an inventory issue, it sure didn't seem that way considering T-Mobile typically just outright says it's out of stock on their site if it truly is. News from engadget today, seems to be a bit more clear as the comments they have gotten from T-Mobile are that the BlackBerry Curve 8900 has "reached the end of its life-cycle".

With the BlackBerry Curve 8910 having been spotted rolling through the FCC with a smile on its face it could quite possibly end up at T-Mobile. It's logical for them to get the device with it's trackpad, larger display and like it or not many customers out there still have needs and wants for a EDGE only device and maybe the BlackBerry Curve 8520 won't fit that bill where as the 8910 could. All about choice. If given the choice between an 8910 or an 8520, I'd take the 8910.

The BlackBerry Pearl 9100 is the furthest thing from a secret on the interwebs. The latest news is that it'll be rocking T-Mobile and WIND 3G bands. Up until now it's only ever been spotted touting the typical AT&T and Rogers 3G so if the above pic is to be believed some 1700mHz love is headed your way. Not that it wasn't expected but if you have been bummed about the possibility of not getting an AWS 3G version, chin up. If the pics are correct you should be able to grab one as soon as RIM acknowledges what the world already knows. The BlackBerry Pearl 9100 exists and is coming soon to multiple carriers.

[ @alphatectz / @CellGuru ]

A quick note for all of the good folks in India today (errr... well, yesterday technically). Looks like RIM has officially launched the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in India. Woohoo! The 9700 is now available nationwide in retail stores serviced by Redington India... Plus, it is now on hand at Airtel, Aircel, BSNL, Idea Cellular, Loop Mobile, MTNL, Reliance, Tata and Vodafone locations.

For users of the ever popular Bold 9000 in the region, the 9700 may draw more than a few looks. The design has been updated, and packs the touch-sensitive trackpad, a high-performance 624MHZ processor, 256MB of on-board flash memory, a 3.2MP camera (with video), OS 5.0, and a heck of a lot more.

For more details hit up http://in.blackberry.com or check out the full press release after the jump.

We've previously seen the pics of the BlackBerry "Magnum" prototype. But, just in case anyone out there needed more proof the device was at one point or another, on the BlackBerry roadmap Cellguru has done up a quick walkthrough video for everyone. Since there is no OS or anything loaded it's more of a hands on look at what could have been for the "Magnum" but RIM has since moved on. Rather interesting to see the SurePress implementation here. Sound off in the comments.

The new Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8530, or Curve2 as it has been referred to, launched on the Sprint Network last month. A solid month after the Verizon Curve 8530 launch. There was not much hype with the launch, and numerous people I have talked to weren't too excited about it either. They have the Tour, and don't see why they should be excited about this device.

Well, let me tell you, although the Curve 8530 doesn't have all the luxury of the Tour, it does have quite a few bells and whistles that the Tour doesn't have. In my opinion, those few things, make this the device of choice for me. We'll cover all these changes as you continue reading.

I don't think we have seen a device have this many colors since the days of RIM releasing the BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry Curve 83xx series in a whole rainbow of colors. Rogers stores are getting geared up for the release of the white BlackBerry Curve 8520 as noted by Kyle over at BlackBerryCool.

All together that means Rogers will have the 8520 in three colors. White, Black and Lavender. Pick your color, all three are available for $49.99 each with a 3/yr contract. The white BlackBerry Curve 8520 is not currently available on the website as of yet so if you want one, give your local Rogers location a call and see if they have gotten their stock in. If not, you could always grab a white BlackBerry Bold for $99.99 on a 3/yr.

It looks like two more carriers have jumped in on the trackpad fun. Cincinnati Bell has released the Bold 9700, and Alltel Wireless has launched the Curve 8530. The 9700 will set you back $299.99 even after instant savings and a $100 rebate. A bit pricey with a 2-year contract, but some Cincinnati Bell users may have no other carrier options. Alltel users will have better luck since they can pickup a Curve 8530 for just $49.99 after $100 mail-in rebate. Some good options on both ends, but it looks like Alltel users get the win this time around.

• Check out the Bold 9700 at Cincinnati Bell >>
• Check out the Curve 8530 at Alltel >>

* Update from Kevin: This is DEFINITELY one of the older pre-dakota prototypes (ie. magnum). Don't expect to be buying this exact device anytime soon (errr.. never). But something nicer and updated is in the works! *

We've been hearing the codename "Dakota" for a while now. The Bold 9000 sized, 3G, Touchscreen device with a full QWERTY keyboard that is also rumored to be using a "Liquid Lens" designed for high quality images. And now the above pic appears on Twitter followed by a second, clearer shot. showing off it's trackball / trackpad-less form factor.

Is it a Dakota? Or is it more likely that this is a Magnum prototype? Or some other prototype that got left in the trash can? Magnum was the predecessor to the Dakota, whose design was scrapped and then transitioned into Dakota. No OS details were mentioned from @cellguru, so it remains unknown if there is even an OS loaded onto it, which makes it a little difficult to say with 100% certainty what device it actually is. We were under the impression that Magnum didn't have a trackpad while Dakota did, plus the actual look and styling of this device seems a tad bit older than that of the latest generation of BlackBerry Smartphones. If it is Magnum, then hopefully we'll see some Dakota soon and that'll clarify the situation. That's all we have for now. Feel free to speculate in the comments. Hopefully some more details will turn up soon. In the meantime, what do you all think of the concept? Liking the notion of a BlackBerry that's half touchscreen, half physical keyboard?

We here at CrackBerry love Virgin mobile. Ok, ok - maybe that's a slight bit over exaggerated - we actually love the ad's they have put out in the past. But here is some BlackBerry news to get excited over - if you are a Virgin mobile Canada user. As reported by MobileSyrup, they will be launching the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and BlackBerry Curve 8530 sometime in the near future.

Given that they are set to launch HSDPA in February, it's safe to assume that is when the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will show up, but since the BlackBerry Cuirve 8530 is CDMA that could drop at any moment. In all fairness, coming with that HSDPA launch will be the iPhone as well so add Virgin mobile to the list of carriers in Canada for that. All this information was posted on the Virgin website, but appears to have since been removed.

We missed this one a few days back now but in any event this should cheer some Fido users up if you are not already using an unlocked BlackBerry on the Rogers owned carrier. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is set to arrive sometime in this quarter as mentioned over at Howard Forums.

"Fido will be launching the 8520 in Black. It will be part of the Q1 launch. No word on what date exactly, however the SKU has been loaded into the system."

That about says it all right there really but just to follow it up a little more we've now heard this information from numerous sources, so the chances of this one happening are pretty good. And it's about time really, Fido has been pushing BlackBerry Pearl 8100s ever since they re-launched their BlackBerry offerings back in Feburary of 2009. Shout out to all the people who sent this in.

The idea for this CrackBerry Poll came about when michaelwpg and me were drinking one night last week in Vegas. I honestly can't remember how the topic came up (I think maybe we were just trying to change the subject after those three err.. ladies of the night jumped all over us at the bar - nothing happened, I swear!), but we were contemplating which device we would buy if we were to live in the US and be Verizon customers. Keeping the thought of the Tour2 out of our heads, and just looking right now at what's available, both of us actually agreed we'd go for the Curve 8530 over the Tour 9630. In our case, the optical trackpad alone is reason enough to go for the Curve 8530. What we weren't sure of though is whether our Curve 8530 over Tour decision would be what the majority of people would go for, or the minority, or if this would come down to a split decision as each device is compelling in its own way. Everything else remaining equal:

• BlackBerry Tour: 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, high res 480x360 display, world phone capabilities, trackball, no WiFi, no OpenGL support
• BlackBerry Curve 8530: 2.0 megapixel camera with no flash, lower res 320x240 display, CDMA-only, optical trackpad, has WiFi, has OpenGL support for 3D graphics/games, dedicated media player controls

Pretty much everything else on these devices -- memory, speed, operating system -- are on par. The form factors are different but that is a matter of preference - I personally really like the look and feel of the Curve 8530 a lot. Screen pixels make a big difference for web browsing, but otherwise are not too big of a deal. The camera difference will be critical for some, not for others. Pricewise, the Curve 8530 is selling on Verizon right now for $79.99 on a 2yr contract vs. the Tour at $99.99. A $20 differential really isn't that big - so I'd argue money is not a factor in deciding which to purchase at this moment in time.

So... BlackBerry Tour 9630 or BlackBerry Curve 8530.... That IS the Question! Cast your vote above and let us know in the comments what it was about either device that would make you choose it over the other. 

As we mentioned, over at BerryReview Ronen got his hands on the above pic of the BlackBerry Curve 8910. After our intiial posting of the device being registered with the Bluetooth SIG we speculated that it was most likely the unreleased BlackBerry "Atlas" that has shown it's face before but was never released.

With the new pic showing up seems that speculation was pretty much on target as it looks identical to all the pictures we have seen of the so called "Atlas". No 3G, 8900 keypad, 256mb, 624mHz processor along with a 3.2mp camera and finally, a trackpad and  just like a 9700 without the Bold keyboard as was all outlined in the spec sheet we have also seen previously. Putting all the latest news together, the specs, the pictures  all seem to lead to an official number branding of what was formerly known as "Atlas" which once again, we do not feel is intended for the North American market.

*Update: Looks like Ronen was able to snag a photo of the actual 8910 unit. All of this kind of came out of nowhere today, but hopefully we'll get even more details very soon. Head over to BerryReview to check it out.*

Over at Unwiredview today it was revealed that the BlackBerry Curve 8910 had been registered with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and the application was available for all to view. This information while interesting, leaves a few things unanswered. What we can tell from the above information is currently it's running OS 5.0.0.360 with a platform version of 5.2.0.25 and it is indeed branded as the BlackBerry Curve 8910 no doubt there as that report clearly out lines that. But what exactly is it? New device or possibly one we have already seen in the past?

Now while the thought of a new device is always great to have, we do have to take a step back and remember that the BlackBerry Atlas does exist and has yet to see an actual release. That device, was to arrive with a 480x360 screen, no 3G and was not intended for the North American market so we'll just have to and wait and see what the rest of 2010 brings us. 3G has become a big factor for users here in North America and Europe but many providers in other countries are not concerned about 3G and with RIM expanding even further globally a EDGE or Enhanced EDGE device could fair quite well. Food for thought regarding the BlackBerry Curve 8910 if nothing else.