The Gadget 411 – Gadget Reviews & Tech News

PRESS RELEASE:

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.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Well this is good news. Amongst all the rumors swirling around the Palm Pre, it’s predicted shortages, it being dissed even before it comes out, Reuters reports that it was announced today that Verizon will be carrying the Palm Pre in about six months. Great news, because this phone is touted to be Palm’s saving grace and deserves to be on a better carrier than Sprint.
Also in the works is a new version of the Blackberry Storm. Perhaps a head-to-head release? Oooh Fight!

via Reuters

Popularity: 4% [?]

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

Popularity: 8% [?]