Oh boy! Seems the floodgates have opened on all things Tour. This pic was posted in the CrackBerry forums by Touchpro247 courtesy of Mangold55 who was able to get their hands on a Verizon branded device fresh in the box. And to answer the question some have been asking regarding the OS loaded, Mangold55 reports 4.7.1.26 is currently running on the device. Any questions?

• Check Out The Thread In The CrackBerry Forums For Some Q&A >>

We all know that the BlackBerry App World is coming at some point in time, be it April 1st or shortly there after. There has also been some talk of application developers holding off their applications from release just so that they may be loaded into the App World to debut upon launch.

While I was looking at the forums last night I came across a thread where CrackBerry forums member brucem76 posted a question asking which software was most needed, but still absent from the BlackBerry platform. Personally for me, it's a native blogging application for Wordpress such as the one that is available on the iPhone. Sure there are work arounds for it but none really offer what a native application could.

So I ask you CrackBerry Nation, what BlackBerry applications are missing? What applications would you all like to see developed for BlackBerry that just doesn't exist yet? Be sure to drop your app desires in the comments... maybe you can attract the attention of some developers out there who can make it happen.

 

Our BlackBerry Curve 8900 forums have been a buzz this week as some crafty CrackBerry Addicts and easily influencable T-Mobile reps have allowed for a few of our members to be among the first to take delivery of this next generation Curve. More pics of digital75's two 8900s after the jump. Could be we'll see this launch on all channels from T-Mobile sooner than previously rumored. What a refreshing change that would be for a BlackBerry roll out!

You'll want to start at the beginning and read through the whole thread. Congrats go to member clintonroche for winning the race! :-)

• Check out the Curve 8900 Corporate Ordering is Legit thread >>
  

With 2009 here, it's time to take some time to reflect on the year that was 2008. For BlackBerry, it was a good one! Despite some delays, RIM has seen record growth and sales and a ton of promising new BlackBerry devices hit the market. 2008 will also go down in the RIM history books as the year that they held their first ever BlackBerry Developer Conference!

To have some fun and reflect on the past year, in the CrackBerry forums we set up a little Best of 2008 section where members can vote on a variety of categories to determine the Cracky Award recipient. There are several software categories, member categories (most helpful member of the year, etc.) and of course one for BlackBerry Smartphone of the Year. The race is tight between the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm, so if you have an opinion on that be sure to login and make your vote count!

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday, January 11th, and I'll blog up the results from there. As if you didn't hear this enough in 2008..... but here it is one more time.... GO VOTE!!!!

** Update: Looks like there's hope - see this thread.

Hot in the CrackBerry forums right now is a thread posted and frequented by subscribers of Orange UK. It seems Orange UK originally advertised the Bold as coming with BlackBerry Maps, but when the device was released the FREE BlackBerry Maps was gone in favor of Orange's £5/month maps service.

Orange UK subscribers are fighting back... you can check out the Forum Thread here and Sign the Online Petition here. Good luck guys! Orange UK... if you're listening ... just give in to the addicts!

An interesting and somewhat heated debate popped up in the CrackBerry Forums over the weekend when member Stop-N-Go posted the following:

This device obviously hasn't EVER been mentioned on any forums ANYWHERE!!! Do you like the Bold??? Do you like the Javelin??? Wish you could have a Bold that looked as good as the Javelin??? Wish the Javelin you're going to get had HSDPA??? Well, all I am going to say is... RIM device: 9220 

As can be expected when a post like this is made without an accompanying photo or spec sheet, it can and will be met with a lot of questioning on its validity and source. Sometimes the info is wrong, sometimes it's really wrong, but sometimes it's Right! I'm throwing this blog post up because... well.. I think the info in this case is RIGHT (have now spoken to a trusty source who has confirmed laying eyes on official info surrounding it - working on getting more specs...but we're hearing it may have a touchscreen too!).

So don't be surprised if when you see pics and more info on the BlackBerry 9220 (current device model) surface in the weeks and months ahead. No word on timeline, but it only makes sense. I wouldn't think for a second that RIM's pipeline is going to stop after the Bold, 8220, Javelin, Niagra and Thunder... the devices are only going to keep coming and they're only going to get better and BETTER! Exciting times, but dang... I just want the BlackBerry Bold to be released in North America already!!

So today is August 5th 2008 and you know what that means right?! NO?! It's National Pull Your Battery Day!! What does that mean to you?? Well, it's a perfect time to show your BlackBerry how much you love it by doing a quick battery pull. This simple project will help with clearing out some gunk and speed up your berry!! So if you uninstalled something and forgot to reboot, no worries as this will clean it all up!! And remember, if you're not a fan of the yanking the battery, you can always do the RIM-preferred Alt + Right Caps + Delete soft reboot.

After you pull your battery on your BlackBerry and while you wait for it to finish turning back on head over to the August 5th, National Battery Pull Day thread and leave a comment to show your dedication to helping your berry stay clean and healthy! You know what they say... "A Battery Pull A Day, Will Keep The Doctor Away!"