With the new Webkit browser many users are interested in how well the browser actually does. While Kevin from Crackberry compared it to its other competitors, the guys from bbleaks compared it directly to a Storm2 and put both through an Acid3 test. Check out their video and notice the massive improvement this browser is going to bring. I’m actually really excited to try it out myself. On the one hand it looks like RIM definitely made a big leap forward here, on the other hand though RIM still can’t compete against most Android devices or the iPhone 4. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

via: BBleaks

As many of you have probably noticed, we’ve been pretty inactive for the past two days, and for that I offer our sincerest apologies. I won’t rehash details, but needless to say we experienced something of a “perfect storm” of non-work issues that left several of us indisposed. As a way of apologizing, here is a roundup of all the major news we missed!

- BlackBerry 6 Home Screen Evolution: The official BlackBerry blog, Inside BlackBerry, posted an excellent piece on the evolution of the Home Screen in BlackBerry 6. Our favorite excerpt:

If there was one thing you want our readers to know about the Home Screen redesign, what would it be?

I’d say that the redesign of the Home Screen in BlackBerry 6 is fresh, but familiar. When you look at it, it still looks like a BlackBerry Home Screen (for example, wallpaper selection continues to be a key attribute of the visual design), but it’s been updated – much like a home renovation still ‘feels’ like home, but is actually new.

With BlackBerry 6, we are introducing a host of new features in the design, evolving the look and feel and enabling the user to really customize the Home Screen. Overall, the visuals are cleaner and sleeker, and movement between and within the applications is more fluid, allowing users to navigate their BlackBerry smartphone in a much more intuitive and interactive way.

-Bold 9800 slider and BlackBerry 6 now supported in App World: This one doesn’t come as a huge shock, but this means developers can begin submitting BlackBerry 6 applications to the App World!

-Analyst claims 4G BlackBerry Triton coming to Verizon in December: For the time being, we’re going to be pretty skeptical on this one. Analysts have a tendency to be…inaccurate, and until we see some hard evidence for the devices existence we’re going to file this one away in the “Baseless Rumor” drawer. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see a 4G BlackBerry (Storm 3?) help launch Verizon’s LTE network, and it would certainly go a long way toward helping RIM regain some ground in the Android-dominated Verizon lineup; we just prefer more facts before espousing the epicness of vaporware.

-The Bold 9780, a refresh of a refresh: The most underwhelming device to come out of Waterloo since the Curve 9300…oh wait. Continuing a disturbingly bad habit, the 9780 is a token refresh of the 9700, itself a refinement of the Bold 9000. To say we’re disappointed would be a massive understatement. RIM is competing against the likes of the Droid X, Galaxy S, iPhone 4, Evo 4G, and soon to be Windows Phone 7 running on super-solid hardware. If they want to stay relevant, we need to see some radically different hardware (like the 9800) that makes us say “Wow, I really want that”.

-Photos of  Bold 9650 running BlackBerry 6: Thank goodness! Now we know at least one current BlackBerry device will see an official update to the BlackBerry 6 OS. With the Storm 2 and Bold 9700 all but written off for OS upgrades (at least official ones), we’re glad recent 9650 owners won’t be burned three months after buying their device. Of course this continues to highlight RIM’s need to upgrade the application memory to something in the gigabyte range.

-RIM purchases “BlackPad.com”: This is the best evidence yet for the existence of the fabled BlackBerry tablet. Awful name aside, we’re not very big fans of the tablet idea here at BBerryDog (or at least this editor isn’t). The BlackBerry OS has never exactly been known as a multimedia or creative powerhouse, which happens to be the primary function of most tablets to-date. We’re not entirely opposed to the concept, but we need to see a concept before we’ll think about believing.

-The case of the mysterious AT&T monoliths: There is a lot of speculation about what these mystery monoliths contain within their glowing bowels, and so far nobody has any real idea. Most speculation points to one of three options: the Bold 9800 (which would coincide with the upcoming AT&T and BlackBerry event), an unknown Android device, or a Windows Phone 7 device (if it turns out to be some silly messaging phone, we’re quitting AT&T). We’d love for it to be the Bold 9800, but given the number of leaks, we’re wondering if it might be a Windows Phone 7 propaganda tool.

That’s all we have for now! Again, we offer our sincere apologies for the news gap and we’ll be back in action next week at full strength. For now, let us know what you think of these news developments in the comments!

Remember when the Storm2 9550 and the Curve 8530 were released? It was not that long ago, was it? Yet Verizon seems to be giving those two an End of Life after not even a year. It would only seem logical to EOL these two if there were some replacements on the way. The Curve 9300 series should replace the 8530, and the Storm2 is getting a refresh for OS 6 (maybe this is the Odin refresh we read about?).
The exact details of the EOL notices are the following:

BlackBerry Curve 8530:
The Curve2 is end of life – Final Shipments August
Refer to the “Stock Check” tool in POS for on hand availability
Device will retire on 8/1, replacement coming in Q3/Q4

BlackBerry Storm2 (9550):
The Storm2 is end of life – Final Shipments August
Refer to the “Stock Check” tool in POS for on hand availability
Device will retire on 8/15, replacement coming in Q3/Q4

When I first read this I was speechles. Since the Storm2 hit the German market, I wanted to have one and now that I have one, it will be replaced? I was so excited when I heard that OS 6 is finally on its way to the users and now – looking at my “old” Storm2 – my excitement just hit the basement and is hiding far beyond zero. It’s cool to have an Odin Refresh, really, yet I don’t want to spend so much money, just so I can have a Storm2 “refresh” that is capable of running OS 6.

Do you think it’s worth it? Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments.

via: BlackBerryCool

This rumor, while it may not be true, is quite saddening. You may recall a few weeks back when we reported a rumor going around saying which devices were slated to get BlackBerry 6 or not. One of the devices listed was the 9550 Storm2. Now the rumor mill is churning out stories that the Storm2 won’t get BlackBerry 6. I knew something didn’t match up when they said the device minimum requirements would be 512MB internal storage and the Storm2’s internal is 256MB. Either way, I’m still sad. I’ve been trying to get my hands on a Storm2 so I can have some of that sweet, sweet BlackBerry 6 on my Verizon line when it drops. Looks like I’ll have to come up with another plan. So, with that being said, who has a Storm2 and was hoping you had the device that was going to slide by with the exception to the 512MB rule?

via: BBLeaks

Friday is the perfect day to reveal, in my opinion, a pretty awesome application.  For those of you unfamiliar with Carbonite, it’s basically a paid, online dropbox.  You back up files to Carbonite where you can access them from any computer.  With the Carbonite app, you are able to browse through your files at will, view said files on the go, and send those files via email.  Sadly, Carbonite is a paid annual subscription starting at $54.95 a year with support for both PC and Mac.  On the bright side, the BlackBerry application is free and available on the Pearl Flip, 96xx, 89xx, 83xx, 85xx, 9000, 9700 and Storm.

As a college student, I cannot see myself using this application at all.  On the other hand, for those of you with busy lives or long commutes on the way to work, this could be the perfect app for you.  During the commute (albeit not while driving yourself), you’d be able to jump on and review documents (say a sales report, notes you took on a hearing, or just something to read) without ever downloading them to your BlackBerry.  I guess the whole decision boils down to if you’re willing to spend the money for the subscription.  Will the mobile app benefit you enough to justify the money? If so, click here to learn how to get the beta app on your BlackBerry.

via: CrackBerry

Golly gee, do we have a monster sized biscuit for you today, pups? Before I begin, please remember to take this with a grain of salt, as these are only rumors.

One of the biggest question on most peoples mind is about which devices will be getting BlackBerry 6.  At launch, the 9670 (clamshell), Bold 9800 Torch (slider), Atlas 8980, and Keppler 9300 will have BlackBerry 6 pre-installed.  BB6 updates will be available for the 9650, Pearls 9100 and 9105, Bold 9700, and the Storm2.  This seems to confirm the theory that the phones must have more than 256MB of memory in order to receive BlackBerry 6 (Remember though, these are only rumors. Don’t lose hope, folks).

Now the part that many of you may be waiting for, features not shown in the BB6 video. BlackBerry 6 is rumored to feature the following:

Multiple contact lists

Inclusion of  3rd-party apps in the message list

WiFi LBS support

Trackpad support for the swiping shown in BB6 video

Improved Auto-focus

Barcode scanning (1D or 2D)

Geographical location to zip geo-coding.

Travel-time within the United States and Canada

BlackBerry 6 is set to be released in the third quarter of 2010. Personally, I am extremely perturbed that certain new phones will not be getting BlackBerry 6. I purchased my Curve 8530 under 7 months ago, I would consider that a recent phone. This is not a smart move for RIM by any means. If anything, I think it could hinder RIM’s sales. If RIM refuses to service not only those with higher end phones, but also those who bought the entry level devices, that seems to me like a money grubbing tactic, or it shows that they were caught on their heels by the smartphone market. I love my BlackBerry, but this is just unfair of RIM. If you agree or disagree, share your thoughts below.  I know I’m not the only dog in the pound, so please bark it up.

via: BerryReview

Well, I think we can all agree that this week has been a busy week full of BlackBerry updates.  This lovely Saturday is no different as we have OS 5.0.0.741 update for the Storm2.  It can be downloaded here.  This OS is from East Asia, but is multilingual.  The file size is just over 135MB and can be updated through Desktop Manager. Feel free to reference our How-To Guide on upgrading an OS and always remember to backup your smartphone.

Overall, this is probably a minor update to fix some bugs and improve overall performance. If you’ve installed this update and notice any differences or major improvements (battery life, snappiness, etc.) let us know!

via: BBLeaks

We usually don’t talk much about hybrid OS builds here at BBerryDog due to the risky nature of installing untested software on your device, but this one is just too cool to turn down. Last night BlackBerryCool clued us all in on some hybrid builds of BlackBerry 6 mixed with other leaked OS 5.0.0.xxx versions for various models.

While I am no expert on hybrid OS builds, I have installed a few on my various BlackBerrys with no problem. Essentially, a hybrid OS is formed by someone taking files from one leaked version (in this case the leaked BlackBerry 6 for the clamshell device) and merging them with an OS from another build, typically for a different device. According to BlackBerryCool, 80 files from BlackBerry 6 have been successfully copied over into the different OS 5.0.0.xxx builds. While you probably won’t see any visual differences, the main purpose of the hybrid builds is to merge the beneficial parts of multiple OS’s together. It’s a genius idea, and always fun to tinker with.

I would not recommend attempting to install an hybrid OS unless you’re comfortable installing different OS versions on your phone and recovering a bricked device. As always, downloading and installing non-official builds is done at your own risk. With that said, if you’re interested in trying out the hybrid, giving feedback, and you’re using either a 9000, 97xx, 95xx, 96xx, 89xx, or an 85xx device, go here and download your respective hybrid OS files.

via: BlackBerryCool

Yet another early weekday update! Today we have for you the 5.0.0.713 update for the BlackBerry Storm2. Seems like Verizon is finally giving the BlackBerry users the love they deserve! This update is currently available OTA. If, for some obscure reason, you prefer desktop manager to an OTA download, feel free to go here and download the file. After updating, please comment below if you notice any differences! Tell us how the performance compares, how the battery life is, etc. Enjoy!

Via BBLeaks

For those who like tinkering with the latest OS release, we have not one, but two releases for the BlackBerry Storm2. TBayTel is pushing out 5.0.0.713 to the Storm 9550, while Domoco Pacific is pushing out the same version to their Storm 9520 customers. You can grab these updates direct from RIM (linked below), so be sure to let us know how they’re working in the comments! If you’re new to the OS upgrade game, check out our How-To’s on Upgrading your OS and Backing Up your Information.

5.0.0.713 for BlackBerry Storm 9550

5.0.0.713 for BlackBerry Storm 9520

via BBLeaks and BBRocks