Rebate forms are often a carrier or manufacturers way of leaking a little tidbit out, whether accidental or not.  The latest rebate from from Verizon shows two new SKU’s regarding the 9650.  While this is purely speculation, we can safely assume that the 9650 may soon see BlackBerry 6!  If that is the case, this will be the first Bold device to get bumped up, and on the carrier that seems to be notoriously slow with upgrades no less!

So how many of you have a 9650 and are looking for a nice upgrade?  Also, if you plan on staying with OS5, let us know in the comments below!

via: BerryReview

Finally, we have a (reportedly) stable BlackBerry 6 build leak for the successor to the Tour, the 9650.  For those of you who plan on trying this, I have heard that this build works and is not detrimental to the health of your BlackBerry.  However, we cannot confirm this, so try at your own risk! Let us know what you find in the comments below.

Also, as always, please remember not to do this if you do not know what you’re doing.  BBerryDog and it’s affiliates are not responsible for any damage incurred while using or loading a leaked OS. Feel free to check out our How-To Guides for information on backing up your device and loading an OS.

***Download the file here.***

via: CrackBerry

There were a few of you requesting the BBerryDog theme in different colors, so we’re (when I say we’re I mean Don from Dream Themez) here to deliver. As of right now the only other color available is crimson from Today’s iPhone, but they will be coming in the assorted colors associated with PhoneDog’s network sites, TmoNews, Today’s iPhone, and DroidDog. (Therefore, green, fuchsia, and orange are left as you can see in the picture below.)

To download your new, red BBerryDog theme, click here. As of right now it’s only available for the 85xx, 96xx, and 9700. Also, we have also received quite a few requests for a BBerryDog theme for the 83xx series. Your wait is over! You can now download the red version here from your BlackBerry Browser (blue version pending). Don is spread pretty thin between work, being a contributing editor, and making themes, so if the color you’re waiting for is not available yet, it is coming, but it may take a little longer than originally expected. He is working diligently on these themes for us and we want to make sure there is a flavor out there for everyone. So anyone who wants to show a bit of gratitude, you can follow Don on Twitter, or ask us about how you can donate. Also, if you’re an MMA fan like many of us here at BBerryDog and Don, check out Don’s other theme site Dream Themez MMA, and Unfiltered MMA where Don is a contributing editor.

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

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

Well the wait is finally over for Verizon customers.  It was officially announced today that Verizon will begin selling the BlackBerry Bold 9650 online starting tomorrow, June 3rd.  It still will not be released to stores until June 10th.  The phone will cost $149 after $100 mail-in rebate and a new two-year contract.  This release date is just slightly less than a year after the release of the Bold’s predecessor, the Tour 9630.

Via Crackberry.com, Verizon News

Key features:

• Optical trackpad for easy and fluid navigation
• Built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g)
• Push to Talk feature – Allows customers to leverage Verizon Wireless’ 3G network for instant two-way communication with up to 50 people with the touch of a button
• VZ Navigator® version 6 – Gives customers access to free mapping and integration with Bing to sort searches by relevance and a new option to choose day, week or monthly subscriptions
• VZ Navigator Global capabilities – Provides turn-by-turn directions and maps in English while navigating through more than 20 destinations, including Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This easy-to-use application also marks distances in miles or kilometers and finds restaurants, gas stations, banks/ATMs and other popular spots using the Local Search feature

Additional specifications:

• Stylish design (4.40” x 2.44” x .55” and 4.8 oz.) with glossy black finish and chrome highlights
• Mobile e-mail and messaging capabilities
• Large (2.45”) high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi) that displays pictures, videos and Web pages with contrast and detail
• 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
• Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music; a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack; and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
• BlackBerry® Media Sync to easily sync music as well as photos*.
• Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr® as well as popular instant messaging services, including BlackBerry® Messenger
• Support for BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
• 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB microSD™ HC cards (a 2 GB card is pre-installed)
• Full HTML Web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP
• Built-in GPS with support for location-based applications and services as well as geotagging
• Premium phone features, including voice-activated dialing, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1)
• Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America as well as single band UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad
• Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for up to 5 hours of CDMA talk time

(Looks like the guy that snapped this screen shot probably had a bad day after this.)

The long awaited BlackBerry Bold 9650 looks like it is finally going to be making its appearance on Verizon, and in the not to distant future. The device has been rumored since the beginning of February, and the successor to the Tour (9630) is well overdue. I was a little angered about RIM releasing a successor to the Tour so soon at first, seeing as I had bought mine near the initial release date and first word of the 9650 was only about six months later. After hearing so many rumors about it and different release dates, I’m just ready for the thing to hit the market already. May 27th is the first hard evidence that we’ve been given on a release date for the 9650, and I hope they stick to it.

As far as the picture shows there are no new specs for the 9650, but we all know that it will sport the new trackpad and Wi-Fi. From my understanding, the bottom keys will also have a slightly different shape to accommodate for the extra space required for the trackpad, and hopefully the 9650 will carry a little more on board memory than it’s predecessor. The Tour’s design is definitely my favorite BlackBerry form factor to date. That form factor packed with all the same specs as the 9700 would definitely make this my favorite BlackBerry. What do you guys think?

via: CrackBerry

This screenshot that popped up on HowardForums reveals a little secret of US Cellular’s. There isn’t a lot of juicy information about it like we would all like to hear, but this mail-in rebate form shows that US Cellular has plans of getting the Bold 9650, and maybe even before Verizon releases it. Judging from the picture, I would be inclined to say that US Cellular will have the device available prior to July 15th, which isn’t saying much, but I don’t think it would be on this form if it wasn’t planned to be released before then.

Click here to view the full mail-in rebate form.

via: CrackBerry

It’s always exciting to see pre-release pictures of upcoming BlackBerry devices. There’s always so much speculation about the hardware that it lets the imagination run a little, and more often than not, makes us get our hopes up for a slight letdown. But hey, that’s the fun part! Yesterday some pictures of OEM replacement housing for the 9650 were released and ended all doubt as to whether the device was going to be branded as a Bold or Tour. Today some pictures of the actual device itself sporting a shiny Bold branding appeared over at CrackBerry. I just switched back to my 9630 last night after using my 9700 for a while, and I must say, this is my favorite BlackBerry for factor that I’ve ever used. It’s the perfect size and shape for me, I’m glad to see they’re keeping it the same.

A few more pictures can be seen after the jump!

via: CrackBerry

Not only do these photos settle the dispute about the name, but also the model number. There were rumors going around that since the name was getting changed to Bold rather than Tour2, that the device model number was going to be the 9750. Considering the actual form of this phone is the same as the Tour’s, and it’s CDMA (with GSM), I expected it to stay 9650. But this definitely helps settle that. (Since this device hasn’t been announced yet, and these aren’t official press released photos, it doesn’t mean that all of this will remain the same, but it is very good indication of that.)