If you're a fan of news feeds and reading them on your BlackBerry, you have probably used BlackBerry News at some point. Good news, Research In Motion has released an update to this application for BlackBerry, bringing it to v1.2.0.5, with performance enhancements as well as Wi-Fi support.

If you're not familiar with BlackBerry News, it makes it really easy to discover great new content. The more you use it, the better it gets at suggesting the kinds of things you like to read, do and use. And when you find something you want to share, that’s a snap too, whether it’s by email, SMS or BBM. The app is free, and available in BlackBerry App World at the link below.

More information/download BlackBerry News

The other day TheRecord, a Kitchener-Waterloo news publication, ran a remarkable story about how RIM quietly installed a small plaque dedicated to Dr. Ernest Davison in their Boardroom. Now who is Ernest Davison you might ask? As the National Research Council representative in Waterloo, he was instrumental in helping local companies secure grants under the Industrial Research Assistant Program, including RIM. At a time when RIM was barely getting by, Mr. Davison was there to help. He urged Mike Lazaridis to apply for and receive that research grant for surface mount technology (SMT), a new way to construct electronic circuits, which led to RIM reaching an annual revenue of $1 million in 1990. 

Who knows what path RIM would have taken without the groundwork this inventor and engineer helped lay? His vast knowledge of technology coupled with his unwavering loyalty made him a powerful resource for tech companies seeking to grow. This is a generous gesture and shows just how much of an unsung hero Mr. Davison was behind the scenes. His friend, Newt Gingerich said it best: "He's one of the reasons Waterloo Region is what it is today." I couldn't agree more with that statement. 

Ernest Davinson's story is really an interesting one, and you can check it out at the link below. 

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Click here to read the full article 

There are some names that come to mind when considering respected, world-wide news coverage. CNN, the BBC, Reuters (pronounced "roy-ters"), Al Jazeera. As an American (and indeed as a citizen of a country), my understanding of the world around me is somewhat insulated. As Ethan Zuckerman explains in a very good TED talk, we tend to get our news from familiar sources. It's only when we expand our news sources that we begin to see the rest of the world.

Al Jazeera English has an amazing app to do just that. Available for free in App World, the app links you to news stories from around the globe.  Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas are available with a click of the trackpad. But this app goes far beyond just the written word. In an article about NATO air strikes, with a click of the camera icon you're taken to the video version of the story.

The videos don't stop with just a few segments from the news. Al Jazeera English provides its live, 24-hour news broadcast as a streaming video. Just click where says Live Stream to launch the show in your browser. Want a little in-depth analysis? Click on the Programmes to read stories and watch videos from some of the shows on the network. When I say videos, I don't mean a short clip. I was pleasantly surprised to find my Torch happily streaming a 23 minute show.

My one complaint about this app is unique to the Torch (as of this writing). The touchscreen controls will not scroll. There's no problem when touching and using the app's buttons, but scrolling is a no-go. The only way to scroll is with the trackpad. Something that I'm sure will be fixed in version 1.01.

The Al Jazeera English app is packed with features from a respected world news outlet. I know I'll spend a lot of time using it to see, hear, and read about the larger world around me.

More information / download at BlackBerry App World 

Today, CNBC launched a new professional level BlackBerry application, CNBC Pro. It is designed for investors around the world and offers a comprehensive suite of servies. Its choc-full of CNBC goodies like market data, live CNBC archive, analytics and much more. Key CNBC Pro Features include:

• Real Time global market data from 100+ exchanges
• Live CNBC TV & VOD Archive- Watch CNBC US, Europe, an Asia Pacific live programming anytime
• Personalization- Create and track your favorite securities with access to integrated charts and live CNBC related news headlines
• Superior Analytics- View company specific news, videos, profiles and key metrics
• Automatic Sync- Sync your personal settings between your desktop and BlackBerry
• Cutom Real Time Price & Exclusive CNBC Breaking News Alerts- See breaking stock market news, anyalysis and expert investment opinions

The pricing is a bit nutty at $24.99.month or $269.99/year, so unless you can justify the easy use of an all-in-one app it may be tough to justify the pricing. Full press release after the break.

More information and pricing of CNBC Pro

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Yesterday, as Mobile World Congress was winding down Erik Huggers, BBC Director of Future Media & Technology held a keynote speech declaring the BBC was taking it's content to the smartphone market. Indicating that BBC users were also smartphone users and the BBC was dedicated to providing those users with the content they wanted on their mobile devices. Starting with the iPhone, the BBC will be releasing multiple applications including BBC News and BBC Sport among others.

The demo shown off was for the iPhone and will arrive in early April with the BlackBerry and Android versions to come later in the year. Huggers also sated that the BBC was also working on dedicated iPlayer applications as well which could deliver great video content but also made metnion that the iPlayer services are currently available now in a mobile optimized fashion of which, the BlackBerry 9700 and Storm 2 are supported for those in the UK. Great to see the BBC recognize the simple fact that mobile subscribers is massive I just hope they also realize that market lives beyond the UK and considers widespread releases.

• Read The Full Press Release Via The BBC Press Office Website>>

Some people love RSS feeds, others don’t. Some people want a need to have up to the minute news from a variety of sources, while others find it too much information to manage. But if you are one of the former then managing you feeds is now becoming much easier. And now you can successfully manage those feeds on your BlackBerry.

The team from NewsGator has released NewsGator Go! for BlackBerry this week. NewsGator go is application that allows you to easily organize your RSS feeds. So, now you can follow the latest news and not suffer from information overload.

You can visit the NewsGator site for a free demo version. The full version is $29.99.

Thankfully, the application works on BlackBerry OS 4.0 and is compatible with Blackberry models in the following series  -- 7100, 7200, 7500, 8100 (Pearl), 8700, 8800.

The application has a number of cool features including Intelligent Mobile Optimization, which allows you to manage anywhere from five to 500 feeds.
Optimized for the BlackBerry, everything can be managed through the track wheel allowing for easy one-hand operation. Articles are also formatted for mobile services making them easier to read.

With the NewsGator Go, you can clip and save posts, mark as read and forward interesting posts to other readers. Or you can just manage the posts so that you can discard unwanted posts and save others for later viewing.

For more information on the application visit the NewsGator site.