Following up yesterday's post on the previously-rumored BlackBerry Music app that RIM is said to be rolling out soon, we're starting to get a better picture of exactly how this service will function. Here's the latest summary of what we can expect:

• Users will have to download the new standalone BlackBerry music app from App World
• Once installed, there *should* be a free trial (may vary by country/carrier - but expect a month free)
• Once the free trial expires, the service will cost $5/mo.
• With the app installed, you can choose up to 50 songs of your choice. Apparently the catalog selection is pretty good!
• From there, you invite your contacts via BBM, etc. to also download the app if they don't have it and join your music sharing network (invited contacts must pay the $5/mo. also to take part and remain part of the service).
• From there, you can listen to not only the 50 songs you've selected), but any of the 50 songs from your music sharing network. So if you have 20 contacts, you'll have access to 1,000 other songs in addition to your 50. We're not sure yet if there's a limit to how many people you can share with, but essentially the more people in your music sharing group the more music you'll have access to.

I like the premise, though of course I'm not a huge fan of the price. But if it hits critical mass it'll be an interesting way to discover new music from your friends and colleagues and I think I'd personally shell out for that. Especially if we see some advanced stats tracking too - I wouldn't mind knowing which songs from within my network get listened to the most so I know which of my friends to put in charge of DJing my next party.

Assuming it launches as outlined above, how are you liking the concept? Would you pay $5 for it? Think all your friends will too? Let us know what you think in the comments!

You heard it here first... the upcoming BB flip is the BlackBerry Style!

Been wondering what product family Research in Motion was going to slot the upcoming BlackBerry 9670 clamshell into? Could it be a Pearl? Maybe a member of the Curve family? Nope. We've confirmed with multiple sources now that the new BlackBerry 6 toting flip is getting a new product family name of its own. Enter the BlackBerry Style. I guess consumers who go for a flip phone these days do have a particular sense of style, so maybe the BlackBerry Style name is a fitting one. With a name like Style we may see a ton of consumer and fashion focused BlackBerry Style Cases and BlackBerry Style Accessories emerge too.

So what do you think of the name? Like it? Love it? Hate it? I always find when I first hear the name of a new BlackBerry I don't like it overly much... but then it grows on you, and it just sticks. I think that's likely to be the case here too. Let us know what you think in the comments!

First look at the next generation of low-cost BlackBerry Curve, the 9300...

** images removed per request ** 

Back on April 8th we outted a new BlackBerry device model by finding it's UAProf xml document up on BlackBerry's website, and now we've got the first solid photos of it here for you to enjoy. What you're looking at (more images below) is the next-generation of the BlackBerry Curve 8520/8530, the BlackBerry Curve 9300 (and we're sure a Curve 9330 CDMA variation is in the works too).

As you can tell from the photos and from what we gathered previously from the UAProf doc, the BlackBerry Curve 9300 is really a refresh to the 8500 series, adding 3G and the WiFi n standard on top of the existing 8500's specs (9300 retains the lower res 320x240 display). While we just received the photos today on the 'ole CrackBerry tip line, we're not totally sure on how new/old the hardware/software being displayed actually is. This unit is showing off OS 5.0 (while leaked photos of the 9800 and 9670 have been running BlackBerry 6) and only 256MB of memory vs. the 512MB newer devices are getting. I would **hope** by the time the Curve 9300s hit the market that they'd be running BlackBerry 6 and 512MB of memory, though it is possible that in a plan to further differentiate the lower end of the BlackBerry lineup from the higher end that RIM would keep the Curve platform on BlackBerry 5.0 and the 256MB of memory for the time being. You can just taste this one coming to AT&T and being promoted with their new $15/mo. data plans (especially if they leave WebKit off of it which will make it that much easier to stay under 200MB of data usage). We'll just have to wait and see how this one pans out. More photos below!  

BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (left) vs. the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100

It looks like Christmas came early on the good 'ole CrackBerry tip line. I woke up this morning to some nice 'presents' in the form of these BlackBerry Pearl 9100 photos. A few weeks ago we dropped a number of first-look BlackBerry Pearl 9100 images here on the blogs, but missing from that set of eyecandy were comparison photos to the original BlackBerry Pearl.

In these photos, the new Pearl is compared to a dummy unit of the Telus BlackBerry Pearl 8130. Though the 8130 is a dummy unit, it's a solid representation and gets the job done. As you can see, at first glance the new and old Pearl are similar in appearance, and then the latest RIM BlackBerry styling from devices like the Storm2 and Bold 9700 jump out at you on the 9100 - trackpad and beveled edges on the glass like the Bold 9700, battery door cover like the Storm2, sliced into a narrow form factor with a fierce looking keyboard.

My big question to everybody.... do you think now that the trackball (the original PEARL) is gone from the device, that the new Pearl needs a more manly name?? Sound off in the comments!

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