ASKING RIDGE, NJ, and WATERLOO, ONTARIO — Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion today announced that the BlackBerry® Storm2™ smartphone will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications stores, online at www.verizonwireless.com, and through business sales channels beginning Oct. 28. The BlackBerry Storm2 with BlackBerry® OS 5.0 evolves the BlackBerry® touchscreen platform with hundreds of hardware and software enhancements – including new SurePress™ “clickable” display technology and built-in Wi-Fi® – delivering the exceptional multimedia experience and communications capabilities customers have come to expect from their BlackBerry smartphones.

Key Features:

• Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate
• Large (3.25”), dazzling high-resolution 480 x 360 display at 184 ppi
• Capacitive touchscreen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless
• 3G and global connectivity support for making phone calls in more than 220 countries and accessing data in more than 185 countries (with more than 80 destinations in 3G)
• Network Connectivity: EV-DO Revision A; UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz); and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks
• Supports Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• 256 MB of Flash memory
• 2 GB of onboard media storage and a microSDâ„¢/SDHD memory card slot with a 16 GB card included

Software Updates on BlackBerry Storm2:

• Features BlackBerry OS 5.0, which includes typing accuracy and selection improvements, as well as usability and visual enhancements such as inertial scrolling, spin boxes that make it easier to set dates and times, gradient shading on buttons, and more use of animation
• BlackBerry® Browser is improved with faster JavaScript and CSS processing as well as support for Gears and BlackBerry Widgets
• Customers running BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0 will gain the ability to set follow-up flags, manage e-mail folders, access remote files (Windows Shares), forward appointments, view calendar attachments, and more

Additional Features and Specifications:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, Image Stabilization (IS), flash and video recording capabilities
• Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology, loud distortion-free speakerphone and face detection (proximity sensor) that prevents accidental clicks and blanks the screen while the customer is on the phone
• Media player for videos, pictures and music, plus support for BlackBerry Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry® Media Sync, for easily syncing Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone*
• 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and dedicated volume controls
• Bluetooth® (v2.1) capable with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals
• Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging; and Verizon Wireless’ VZ NavigatorSM service is pre-loaded
• V CAST Music with Rhapsody
• Access to BlackBerry App Worldâ„¢, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones, with categories including games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more
• Support for Verizon Wireless’ Mobile Broadband Connect tethering service
• Removable, rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides up to 5.5 hours of talk time or up to 11.2 days of standby time

Pricing and Availability:

• The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone is available beginning Oct. 28 for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data plans for the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.
• New Operating System for Existing BlackBerry Storm Customers
• Existing BlackBerry Storm customers will be able to update their handsets to the new BlackBerry OS 5.0 software via Web software load (www.blackberry.com/update), BlackBerry Desktop Manager, or from Verizon Wireless’ download site (www.verizonwireless.com/storm). The software is available today.

From Sensobi.com:

Sensobi is a better address book for business professionals to help you stay on top of your important contacts.

We let you know who you need to speak with, and who is falling off your radar. Before you make that important call, you can see when you last spoke and what it was about. We provide the smarts to help you connect with your professional and personal networks. Download Sensobi and super-charge your address book, your business, and your career.

We are also a team of software engineers and business professionals dedicated to improving how you connect with your professional and personal networks. We breathe life into your address book, one of the most heavily used apps on any smartphone.

Sensobi is currently in beta  ..   But, the great people at Sensobi reserved a beta code just for The Gadget 411 readers  check it our here http://sensobi.com/form/gadget411 Be Sure to take there survey on the site and let them know what you think.  Also comment below.

The RIM Blackberry Tour (9630) comes ready to use with 256mb of onboard memory with a upgradable Micro SD slot. With its 480 x 360 pixel screen it compliments the 3.2 megapixel camera/video well.

When taking this product out the box i was very surprised with the weight and how slim the phone was. The internet on this thing was amazing! Verizon 3g really does get the job done.Texting and Emailing couldnt have been easier,with the qwerty board, and the red message indicator light on the front.

The Scroll wheel on the front could not have made navigation on this easier.

On the  the left side of the device is a customizeable button which is defaulted as Voice Dailing on the right side is volume up and down, and another customizable button which is defaulted as Camera. Also on the right side is a 3.5mm headphone jack for quick hookup with your favorite headphones.

For full details of this phone check out the verizon site . The blackberry 9630 tour comes in two models one with the camera , and one without, and is $269.99 with a 2 year contract. Check out the full specs, and photos below!

Size (L x W x D): 112 x 62 x 14.2 mm
Weight: 130 grams
Memory: 256 MB internal Flash memory
Expandable Memory: microSD located under the battery door cover
Battery: 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Battery Life: TBD
Keyboard: 35 key backlit QWERTY
Display: High resolution HVGA 480×360 pixel
Camera: 3.2 MP camera, flash auto focus
GPS: Assisted, autonomous and simultaneous GPS enabled with preloaded BlackBerry Application for e911 capabilities
Media Player: Video format support MPEG4; Audio format support MP3, AAC AAC+ etc
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, PBAP
Headset: 3.5mm stereo headset capable
USB Port: Enables charging and high-spead data synchronization via USB “A” to micro USB “B” cable
Network Support:
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
Single-band: 2100 MHz
UMTS/HSPA networks
Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz
CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks

[View with PicLens]

“Many of you commented on my ‘updated your BlackBerry’ post back in April saying ‘…this is great! But what about Mac?’” said Andrey, a product manager on RIM’s handheld software team, in a blog post. “We have all been hard at work here for a while now, and you may have noticed some Mac support with the preview version of BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac released back in December.”

Using RIM’s software, BlackBerry owners with Macs will be able to sync iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts and tasks. Currently, there is no way for Mac owners to update an operating system, back up, and restore data without running some kind of Windows application.

Come September, however, the software will allow users to add and remove applications, update their BlackBerry when new software becomes available, and back up and restore the handheld with automatically scheduled backups and security features.

“It’s significant for Mac users who’ve been using BlackBerry devices,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. “Up until now, all BlackBerry use has been done on the device, but no synching of data with the Mac has been possible. Now both devices, the Mac and the BlackBerry, can be extensions of each other, which is ultimately what a user wants.”

Strategic Move

Making the new software available is a strategic move by RIM and may just help the smartphone maker better compete against Apple’s iPhone with a new market to manage BlackBerry devices. It also may help small businesses that use only Macs to utilize BlackBerry devices.

“Every one of these steps is important and not about one particular strategy like marketing, making sure carriers are getting phones on time, etc.,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Interpret. “It fills a hole RIM had with consumers, and particularly Apple customers, who do not have access to a RIM server to sync their BlackBerry.”

Whatever RIM’s intentions in developing the software, BlackBerry owners are anxious for its release.

“This is great news, so thank you RIM,” said one poster under the name of Moles. “Is there going to be a public beta? If so, where can I sign up?”

Jive Turkey posted: “Yippee, now if by September you mean September, this is my happiest day as a BlackBerry owner.”

“Great News,” said poster BlackBerry Tune. “My Mac is desperately waiting for this. Release it soon, please.”

Those interested in using the software are being encouraged by RIM to register for updates on the software at RIM’s Web site.

In The Meantime

While waiting for the September release, users can still download the free version of PocketMac for BlackBerry, which supports Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. The new BlackBerry Desktop Software will support Mac OS X 10.5.5 and above, according to the company.

Thanks Mobile Tech Today

Outside of the iPhone and the G1, very few phones fuel the forum flamewars like the BlackBerry Storm. As the first touchscreen BlackBerry, it was bound to have some haters. Whether you’ve been enamored since day one or a zealous skeptic since the beginning, the phone has one fault that is undeniably unfortunate: no WiFi.

There’s nothing that can be done on the WiFi front for the original Storm – but what about take two?

As with any phone that sells reasonably well, rumors of a follow-up are already abound; According to SlashGear, RIM is already busy crackin’ away at the BlackBerry Storm 2, complete with WiFi. That all sounds perfectly reasonable (hell, we could have assumed as much) – but the release window seems a bit crazy: according to their source, they’re aiming at September of this year.

The Storm was released in November 2008. If the Storm 2 were to hit the shelves this September, that’s roughly 10 months between the original product and the followup. Sure, it’s possible (phones generally take a year and a half to go from concept to consumer, but they could have been working on Storm 2 for months prior to the original Storm’s release) – but even Apple, king of planned obsolescence, puts a full year of padding between their handset releases. Does RIM really have the gall to outdate one of their biggest ventures before it even hits its first birthday?

from mobilecrunch

Funambol provides easy-to-use push email and mobile sync between billions
of smart & feature phones, the Internet cloud and popular desktop apps.
Their open source MobileWe software works with a large number of webmail systems, including Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, Gmail and Hotmail, as well as work email via POP/IMAP and Funambol community projects for enterprise messaging.
It supports syncing with popular desktop apps, including Outlook and Thunderbird. Funambol also provides the broadest mobile device compatibility, supporting two billion phones and counting. MobileWe performs push email as well as syncs contacts, calendars, tasks, notes and soon additional content such as photos and much more.

And at CTIA, Funambol debuts their new Ajax powered MobileWe portal.

Mobile cloud sync is rapidly gaining momentum, as witnessed by the introduction of Apple MobileMe, Google Sync, Nokia Ovi Sync and Microsoft My Phone. Funambol v8 MobileWe is the only open source cloud sync and push email solution that can be rapidly branded, customized and integrated into customers’ infrastructure. In addition to the AJAX portal, the software provides enhanced clients for several smartphones, including BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android. It enables PIM sync for hundreds of new SyncML phones and lets users easily sync rich content such as photos.

“Cloud sync is red hot, and everyone in the mobile ecosystem needs a solution to grow user loyalty and increase revenue,” said Fabrizio Capobianco, Funambol CEO. “Funambol v8 MobileWe, based on open source, is as simple as ‘just add water’. It enables device makers, carriers, portals, ISPs and ISVs to rapidly deploy a branded service, which can be hosted by Funambol or internally implemented.”

Funambol MobileWe supports billions of phones, including smartphones such as Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Storm and Google Android. It syncs and shares contacts, calendars, email, pictures, and more, via the Internet cloud, and popular desktop apps, such as Outlook, and webmail, including Gmail, AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.
read full press release here.

Review which mobile phone supports the features you need to get the most out of your cell phone.

For more information, please visit http://www.funambol.com. You can follow Funambol on Twitter at http://twitter.com/funambol.

Some of the features are:

Flag messages and set reminder times.
View personal contact subfolders and edit contacts.
View and use contacts that are in public folders and copy them to your local contact list.
A file browser to access shared network locations to open, add, or save documents.
Forward meeting invitations and calendar entries.
Ability to add, delete, move, or rename personal folders.
Ability to view personal distribution lists in Outlook contacts.

The BlackBerry Bold comes pre-loaded with several popular applications including AT&T Navigator, CV (Cellular Video), YELLOWPAGES.COM Mobile and selections from AT&T Mobile Music service – XM Radio Mobile and MusicID. AT&T also provides customers with tens of thousands of uses for their BlackBerry Bold smartphone through content available in the AT&T MEdia Mall and from third-party partner sites.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a lustrous black exterior, satin chrome-finished frame and a half-VGA (480 x 320 at 217 ppi) color display and a newly designed full QWERTY keyboard. On the inside, a powerful new 624 megahertz (MHz) mobile processor that provides impressive performance, more storage memory than ever before – 1 gigabyte (GB) on board and up to 16 GB via its microSD/SDHC expansion slot – and a rich set of multimedia capabilities, including a media player for music, videos and photos and a 2 megapixel camera with built-in flash, zoom and video recording, as well as an optimized Web-browsing experience with desktop-style depiction.

SlashGear has done an unboxing, hands-on and a review on the new BlackBerry Bold for AT&T, check them out if you are getting one!]

Source SlashGear