Looking to have a little fun with the photos on your BlackBerry smartphone? Josep over at MiBlackBerry pointed out a cool new beta application that may interest some of you out there. MiniPaint allows for on device editing of your photos to assist in creating some funny results, as seen above. You can add clipart, text and even resize the photos all from your device.

The application being beta, does have a few issues but nothing that isn't easily workable. First off the navigation is a little hard to get used to as you physically need to use the "enter" key often as opposed to actually pushing the trackball in to submit changes. Also, when saving pics you will have the MiniPaint logo on all them but hey, it's beta, it's free and a commercial version will be available at a later time with even more features added to it.

MiniPaint has support for OS 4.5 and up, BlackBerry Storm remains and untested device so if you download it and it works, send some feedback letting the developers know.

• For More Information And Downloads Head To The MiniPaint Website>>

Go get it folks! The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is now up on the AT&T website, right on schedule. Pricing details were previously known but for as a reminder the break down is as follows:

• No contract – $449.99
  
• 2 Year Contract -$299.99 reduced w/MIR to $199.99

AT&T now requires you to have a data plan with the device purchase so keep that in mind folks, as that is at least another $30. But really, if you are a BlackBerry user you likely already have a data plan on your account.

• Head On Over To The AT&T Website And Get Your BlackBerry Bold 9700 Ordered>>

Just a few contests this week, but still some great apps. We have offerings of Stop Turning!, MeterBerry and Leave It On, as well as some unlock codes from CellUnlock. If you haven't entered yet, you still have a few hours to get in on the fun. Just head over to the original contest posts and leave a comment. Thanks as always to the generous developers and retailers who make our contests possible week after week. If you'd like to run a contest of your own, shoot and email to editorial(at)crackberry.com for more info.

• Leave It On Updated to v.1.5 - 100 Free Copies >>
• MeterBerry System Information Utility - 100 Free Copies >> 
• Stop Turning! Locks Your Storm Screen Orientation - 50 Free Copies >>
  
• Contest: Demo Video Of Telenav GPS Navigator Running On BlackBerry Bold 9700 And Giveaway >>
  
• Contest: Win 1 of 100 Free Unlock Codes For Your BlackBerry Bold 9700! >>

With the BlackBerry Developers Conference now in the history books, the next big event for Research In Motion is the EMEA Alliance Summit 2009, which is to be held in Rome, Italy on November 25th - 27th. The Alliance Summit is set up in order for Alliance members to meet up and learn about the new tools and innovations coming from Research In Motion and give insight into where technology is headed.

In addition to the social networking aspect of the summit, it will also give way to opening discussion regarding the BlackBerry Alliance program offerings and how it may be improved for the better. You'll also wanna check out one of the highlights of the event. The EMEA BlackBerry Innovation Awards, which will showcase how BlackBerry Alliance Members are delivering innovative and compelling services and products to end-users.

• For More Information Head On Over To The BlackBerry Developers Blog >>

Elecite has got an interesting new theme available. Sentient, looking like BumbleBee from Transformers is another from their cyborg series of themes. 6 user customizable icons take front stage to help get this one started and customized icons behind the "shield" keep the flow of the theme going nicely. If you wanna see Sentient in action, be sure to check out the video here.

Sentient is currently available for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, 95xx, 96xx and finally, 9700 series devices for only $6.99, check out all the screenshots at the Elecite website.

• Purchase And Download Sentient Via The Elecite Website Today>>

I just checked out SmartSig and I have to say it is very cool. One of my long running gripes with BIS email signatures is that they show up at the very bottom of an email, after all the text in the email - even reply or quoted text. With SmartSig you can change that and have your signatures show up right where they belong. The app lets you choose custom signatures for email and SMS, and you can create and edit them right on your device. You'll need to delete your BIS signature for SmartSig to work properly, but from there you're all set. SmartSig runs on all devices with OS 4.3 and higher and is available for $1.50 in the CrackBerry App Store.

• More information and download of SmartSig>>

 

It looks like the AT&T branded Curve 8520 dummy units have started to arrive in some stores. The new device is ready for AT&T and was stated to be arriving "in the coming weeks", but no exact date just yet. We've seen this in the past over and over with dummy units and accessories popping up just a few days before the actual device is released. So if you've been waiting on this one, you may not have much longer to go.

Seesmic, one the larger provides of desktop applications for Twitter has moved into the mobile market. As of now, heading on over to the Seesmic website from your BlackBerry will enable you to download the all new BlackBerry Twitter client.

Features:

• All your timelines-Seesmic for BlackBerry groups all your Twitter timelines into one simple application. Whether you want to scroll through your friends timeline, check on a saved search, view a list or want to find a private conversation with a friend, everything is one click away from the main menu.
• Saved search and list support- Searches and lists saved on your Twitter account are automatically imported and made available inside the BlackBerry application – a first for a Twitter application the BlackBerry.
• URL Shortening -We integrated the same URL shortening capability than in our popular Desktop client. Just type a URL, press the shortening button and we’ll transform your long URL into a really small one so you have more space for your tweets.
• Background Notifications -While it is running in the background, Seesmic for BlackBerry will alert you to received Direct Messages and @Replies that require your attention. This is done using the familiar system-wide icon notification bar that alerts you to new mail, sms messages and voicemails.

Two versions are currently available while in beta and alpha stages v1.0 for BlackBerry devices running OS 4.6 and higher, and an alpha v1.0b for the Tour 9630 and Storm series devices. No support to be found for 4.5 or anything less then, but in all reality who would be running anything less then anyways? Give it a shot, let us know how it works in the comments.

• More Information And Downloads Available Via The Seesmic Website>>

As more and more BlackBerry lovers are getting their hands onto the BlackBerry Bold 9700 it's time for us to go ahead and have a contest for you all. We've teamed up with CellUnlock once again to bring you all 100 free unlock codes for ANY BlackBerry Bold 9700 carrier.

In addition to the 100 free codes, CellUnlock will give away 100 more additional unlock codes if we can help them break 1,000 followers on Twitter so be sure to follow CellUnlocknet and give em a shout.

[Contest will run until Novemeber 25th. Please enter only once, duplicate entries will be ignored and of course, big thanks go out to CellUnlock for offering this up. Good luck to you all.] 

Sick of your Storm's screen rotating when you don't want it to? Would you just like to keep it in landscape or portrait mode? Well Epic Applications has the solution for you. Stop Turning! does just what its name implies - it stops your screen from rotating when you don't want it to. Simply hit the menu key and select Stop Turning! to lock your device's screen into its current orientation. I have found this application to be extremely useful when I put my Storm down to read an email, and the screen keeps jumping between orientations. Stop Turning! supports OS 4.7 and 5.0 on the Storm and Storm2. Its on sale in the Crackberry App Store for $1.49 till November 22nd.

Contest: We have 50 free copies of Stop Turning! to give away. Just leave a comment on this post to enter. Contest ends this Sunday at Midnight PST. Please only leave one comment - multiple entries won't count.

• More information and download of Stop Turning!>>

Beejive has released a new beta of their all-in-one IM client. Beta 1.9.7 is geared toward OS 5.0 users, and has a bunch of updated features. Beejive was kind of shaky on some 5.0 builds, so the new beta hopes to get closer to a fully working version. Features include:

• file transfers via link, you can now transfer files to buddies on all IM accounts.
  
• email push when app running in background (see preferences in app).
  
• send voice notes
  
• send GPS location (if supported by phone)
  
• new chat styles & background images
  
• new buddy list layouts
  
• improved battery life
  
• overall UI redesign
  
• facebook IM
  
• various other bug fixes & enhancements

You can give it a go if you've been having issues with the application on 5.0. Download links and support are available from the Beejive forums.

• Download Beejive IM Beta 1.9.7 for OS 5.0>>

In my hunting for a new theme for my 9700 last night I came across Liquid Chrome. Liquid Chrome is one of the new theme builder 5.0 themes that are now starting to show up, practically on a hourly basis in the theme shop. While I'm not typically a fan of yellow, the transitions in Liquid chrome caught my eye enough to give it a shot and I have to say I don't mind yellow so much any more. The theme developer, Jake has taken the time to make sure all the transistions flow nicely throughout the theme and let's face it that wallpaper is just plain cool. Liquid chrome has a full hidden dock and hidden today sections to keep it looking clean, while keeping you up to date as well.

Liquid Chrome is available for the Bold, Storm, Tour, Curve 8900 and 8520 as well as the Pearl Flip for only $3.99 until November 30th. Be sure to check it out - and if you are running a 5.0 device be sure to use the 5.0 version if you want to have the transitions work as noted.

• Purchase And Download Liquid Chrome Today For Only $3.99>>

Our I Love My BlackBerry Contest was a HUGE success. Thanks to all those who entered. You should have received an email about your prizes (if not contact sitesupport(at)crackberry.com). We just have to give a shout to all of our sponsors for providing awesome prizes for the contest - we couldn't have done it without them. Big thanks to Schlage, Slacker, ShaoSoft, Dreamtheme, Coveroo, SmrtGuard and ShopCrackBerry for the goods. Hit the jump to check out all the generous donations from our sponsors.

This one is for the Hockey fans out there that just want quick update access to all the NHL hockey scores. Hockey Scores is a small app that does just that and nothing more. In your hand and up to the minute scores from the NHL every time you open that app. Lightweight and fast, Hockey Scores is currently available for all devices and can be picked up in BlackBerry App World. If you are looking for a more feature rich application, you may wish to have a look at The Hockey News Mobile or Scoremobile

• Download Hockey Scores From BlackBerry App World Today>>