We all know carriers are little bit more focused on buzz words for their advertising these days more so then actually conveying relevant information to the folks who happen to end up tuned into their commercials. Clearly, Saturday Night Live is aware of that fact as well and they took some time go ahead and have a little fun at Verizon's expense on one of their recent skits.

Needless to say, it's focused on their 4G LTE Android offerings and there is no mention of BlackBerry really but that doesn't mean it didn't make an appearance. That Motorola XYBOARD they show off sure does look like a BlackBerry PlayBook. Either way, a pretty hilarious clip. If you can't see the video -- sorry blame NBC and their content restrictions.

Source: NBC; Via: Android Central, The Verge

I've always been looking for a bigger and better way to lock my device. I'm not always a fan of typing in a password, and I really just never got into using the lock button for some reason. I've tried many pattern and key locking apps over the years, but one I found last week I totally fell in love with. Easy Lock (available in both pro and lite versions) is a simple "slide up" lock screen for your BlackBerry. You can assign it to lock on the hardware lock button or specify a timeout of up to 15 minutes and your device will lock automatically. A full screen covers your device -- complete with time, date and notifications -- and you just slide it up to unlock your device (much like Windows Phone). It feels so fluid that it's like it was meant to be there all along. Check out my video above to see it in action, then head to BlackBerry App World to try it out for yourself. 

More information/download of Easy Lock Pro
More information/download of Easy Lock Lite 

It's Health & Fitness Month at Mobile Nations!

With the Mobile Nations Fitness Month under way you are likely trying to find all the ways to utilize your BlackBerry smartphone to help keep yourself on the right path. Back at CES 2012 I found myself in a conversation with Adam and Kevin about getting healthier for the new year, devoting time to health and getting more fit, and it really struck home -- it was time to get my health back in my hands. Unfortunately now-a-days it is far easier (and cheaper) to grab a burger and fries from McDonalds after a long days work than it is to go home and make yourself a well balanced meal.

I knew that the convenience was just something I was telling myself to make myself feel better, and that there was really no excuse for me not to be healthier and in much better shape than I was. It was time for a change, and a big one at that. Since my BlackBerry device is almost always with me it was obvious that I should take advantage of that fact, and use it to my advantage, so I did just that.

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Alright folks, here at CrackBerry we just love when we get the chance to give stuff away. This time we're offering up Slide Show Maker for your BlackBerry device. Ryan first showed us this app back in June of last year so I won't go into a full review. The gist of the app is to take your photos one step further then the native "Slide Show" already available on our BlackBerry devices.

Slide Show Maker Features :

• Browse through all your pictures on your device. You select which to include in your sllide show.
• Arrange the selected pictures any which way you'd like
• Add a title slide
• Add some background music (only 5 sound clips available)
• Share your slide via email or on Facebook

Slide Show Maker is available for the following BlackBerry devices running OS 4.5 or higher: 8520, 8530, 9000, 9300, 9330, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9700, 9780, 9788 and 9800.

Contest: RP Mobile has given us 50 copies to give away to our faithful CrackBerry readers. Here's a great chance to try out an app for FREE and leave an honest review in App World (aside from all those spam ones we so often see). If you have a compatible BlackBerry and want to enter, just leave a comment below. The contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST. One entry per person please.

If you've been around CrackBerry for any length of time, you may remember Dear Berry. Dear Berry took a bit of a hiatus (ok, maybe more than just a bit) but now she's back, better than ever and ready to help with all of your BlackBerry woes. If you need advice on how to better balance your life and/or your life with your BlackBerry, Dear Berry is here to save the day. Have a question about BlackBerry etiquette? Need advice on how to cope with your BlackBerry addiction? Dear Berry has you covered. And while DB prefers technical questions to be asked in our amazingly helpful CrackBerry forums, she's pretty good with troubleshooting BlackBerry issues and can handle those too. Whatever the problem, Dear Berry has the answer!

Send Your Questions To Dear Berry: If you have a question, comment or just need advice, you can send an email to dearberry@crackberry.com or on Twitter @DearBerryCB. She'll pick a question each week (maybe more if they start pouring in!) and answer it here in the blogs. So if you're in desparate need of help - worry no more because Dear Berry is back!

Valentine's Day is this Tuesday and if you're still on the lookout for a cute theme to celebrate the holiday then be sure to check out BBMagic's latest release, Animated Valentine's Day Heart. It's designed to help you get in the loving mood with its beautiful animations and vibrant red color scheme. Featuring a Valentine's Heart animated background, heart message indicators, red hot custom colors, and OS 7 icons, Animated Valentine's Day Heart is a smooth, clean, and adorable looking romantic theme that is perfect to commemorate this popular day. With support for BlackBerry 8520/30, 8900, 9000, 9100, 9300, 9500/20/30/50, 9630/50/70, 9700/80/88, and 9800, you can grab this theme for just $.99 in BlackBerry App World. (This theme is not compatible with OS 7 devices).

Remember you can also display your affection for this holiday by browsing through our galleries and forums.  

Contest: We have 50 copies to give away courtesy of BBMagic. To enter simply leave a comment on this post. Contest ends Sunday at midnight PST. One entry per person please. Good luck!

More information / screenshots and to purchase Animated Valentine's Day Heart

Take advantage of the new BlackBerry Upgrade Promotion and get cash back when you purchase a new BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 or Curve 9350/9360/9370!

Yes you read that right .. you can indeed get paid if you upgrade to a new BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 or Curve 9350/9360/9370. RIM has had their BlackBerry Trade Up program in place for a while now, but according to some emails sent out to eligible T-Mobile customers (and a bit of our own recon), there is also a BlackBerry Upgrade Promotion that could net you some quick cash just for purchasing a new BlackBerry. RIM's Upgrade Promotion gets you cash back in the form of a shiny Visa gift card when you purchase a new Bold 9900/9930 or Curve 9350/60/70. The promo applies to US customers only, and you'll get $100 for a Bold or $50 for a Curve. Pretty sweet deal right? Well it doesn't stop there. If you want to go all Extreme Couponing you can get pretty creative and end up with quite a bit of cash in your pocket by combining some promos.

Take this situation - This weekend T-Mobile is offering all of their 4G smartphones up for free - so if you are eligible for an upgrade or just want a new line - you can grab a BlackBerry Bold 9900 on Friday or Saturday and you'll get a $250 rebate (of the mail-in variety) off the bat from T-Mobile, knocking the purchase price of your device down to $0. Add that to the $100 you'll receive from the Upgrade Promotion and you're at $100 cash in pocket. Not enough? Well say you have a BlackBerry Bold 9780 from which you're upgrading -- you can take advantage of the Trade Up Program as well and you'll get an additional $80 back (according to the quote I received). So overall you're looking at $180 in your pocket just for grabbing a brand new BlackBerry Bold 9900 from T-Mobile and sending off your old device. So yes, you're getting paid to get a new phone and unload your old one. Even if you keep your old device you still end up on top with $100. Pretty sweet deal right??

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We were starting to wonder when the BlackBerry Beta Zone would start rolling out new betas. But wonder no more as a new BlackBerry App World beta has just been released. Getting bumped up to v3.1.1.15, it's noted to have the following changes:

• Alternate billing options shown in purchase confirmation screen
• Submitting Apps has new, easier-to-use confirmation screen 
• OS 7.1 Support
• Various Bug Fixes

If you're a member of the BlackBerry Beta Zone, you can log in right now and grab the latest release from there.

BlackBerry Beta Zone Login

Cruising through the BlackBerry experience during BlackBerry DevCon Europe, we came across these sweet colored Curves. The Ballet Pink and Royal Purple Curve 9360 haven't had much press, although they have been seen around a few times before. Nothing fancy going on with either of these, but we always like to see how cool devices look with a splash of color. If you're looking to pick either of these up you may have to wait just a bit until they hit more carriers (you should see them rollout soon in Europe).

Take a closer look at both in the video above and keep reading for more images. Sexy Curves and they Know it!

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Orange UK has officially released OS 7.0.0.611 for the BlackBerry Bold 9790. While this is an official release, remember to use caution when updating your device. If you need help along the way, you can head into our help forums or check out some of our BlackBerry 101 articles including How to Install or Upgrade to a new OS. If you do install this OS, hit up the forums thread below for findings, fixes and more discussion.

Download OS 7.0.0.611
Discuss more in the forums