Well what do we have here? A tipster just sent us an image of the official invite to an AT&T hosted BlackBerry event in NYC on Tuesday, August 3rd. Based on the obvious icons in the flyer, this event can only mean one thing. BlackBerry 6. Now if I had to guess, this has 9800 written all over it, unless they have some other secret device they have been testing. This would seem to jive with the rumor floating around that the 9800 would be released on the 15th of next month. This time frame gives them space to announce and gather up as many preorders as they can. While this is obviously speculation, the writing seems to be on the wall for us to see BlackBerry 6 sooner rather than later. Heres hoping for the 9800!

Thanks anonymous!

The United States government has officially ruled on in favor of “Jailbreaking” your iPhone thanks to the latest review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Every three years the Library of Congress reexamines the DMCA for exemptions to secure that copy written properties can be used in a non-infringing way. The iPhone being one of most popular platforms today but, has also been highly criticized for it’s App Store approval process. Developers wanting to bypass Apple, subsequently created a gray market for applications not sanctioned by the Cupertino company.

Apple has argued in the past that jailbreaking your iPhone can hender one’s experience and render the phone unusable. Not to mention Apple views jailbreaking as a violation of the manufacture warranty and continues to inhibit the ability through software updates. On the other side the fence some believe competing alternatives to Apple’s App Store will give freedom to developers to reach users through multiple nuances. With the government having the final word on the legitimacy of modding your iPhone, only time will tell whether the vast majority of users will tap into other sources of app suppliers or just stick to what they know, which is Apple’s App Store.

More on this story here.

Just as Steve Jobs promised at the July 16th press conference. Apple has initiated their free case program for the iPhone 4. All iPhone 4 users can head right over to apple.com and get the details or more conveniently download the Case Program app from the App Store directly to the iPhone and make their pick from a variety of third party case makers. Also if you purchased a Bumper prior to Apple’s announcement, you’re eligible for a full refund. Apple will honor refunds and the case program until September 30th. The Considering Apple acknowledged signal attenuation wasn’t unique to the iPhone 4, I can’t help but, wonder how other iPhone user feel who may be experiencing the same problems.

For refund status click here.

I’ve had my iPhone 4 for about a week now and I have been paranoid of dropping it since it was handed to me in the AT&T store. Today I can breathe easy because I just received the OtterBox Defender Case for iPhone 4. We have reviewed OtterBox cases in the past and it never ceases to amaze me how well these cases are made. In fact the the Defender Series for the BlackBerry Tour earned so much of my confidence that I posted a video of me giving it a toss with the device camera rolling. I will not be doing that with my iPhone 4 (yet), but only because I have not had enough hands on time with this case, not because it wouldn’t hold up.

At first look the case is typical of all OtterBox Defender series, in that it’s got a high impact polycarbonate shell and screen protector with an impact absorbing silicone cover that wraps around the shell.  The inside of the case has a felt backing to protect your glorious glass “scratch resistant” back while it’s in the case. (Mine already has scratches on it from my keys.), and also sports port-holes for the Apple logo, camera, flash as well as the front facing camera with clear plastic protection all around.

The Silicone cover as well as the shell have all of the needed openings for the volume buttons, mics, headphone jacks etc. The cover seals with a creative lip that goes around all of the edge of the shell and around the openings for the sync cable on the bottom of the phone and make a very tight seal for the case.

With the phone in the case it’s not too bulky and I could still slide it in and out of my pocket with little effort, though it may pick up some lent along the way. If you do not want to pocket your device a holster is included, but it is quite large when on your belt. A better use for the include holster is the fact that the clip can be held open and used as a desktop/bedside stand for your iPhone. Other than protecting you phone from drops and scratches, this is probably my favorite feature of the case.

Overall this case is great, it carries OtterBox’s tried and true reputation of protecting all types of devices without sacrificing the beauty that is Apple products. Also, in an OtterBox press release they note that:

The black OtterBox Defender Series case for the Apple iPhone 4 has been officially NAC tested to address the loss in signal strength. Test results indicate this case solves the antenna issue by acting as a dielectric between the two antennas of the device. No loss of signal strength occurs when using the iPhone 4 in a Defender Series case.

I can without a doubt confirm this to be true. While this case is currently not on Apple’s list of free case offerings, it may be worth holding out on ordering your free case for a week or two and see if it get’s added to the list. If my opinion matters at all, I would say that at 49.95 USD this case is a must have for an iPhone 4 user if there is any chance you may be taking it outside your house. To purchase your’s or see the other cases available from OtterBox head over to their store at OtterBox.com

Version 2.1

Run Skype in the background with multitasking in iOS4. Receive Skype calls and IM while other apps are running or when your iPhone is locked.You can also continue your call while you switch to another application.

You can update for your App Store Update or Click Here to download to iTunes.

[via BGR]

Canada! It’s your turn to enjoy the iPhone 4. Telus announced that that they will be launching the iPhone 4 on July 30th. Pre-orders are not possible at the moment so if I were you, I would call in sick next friday . Rogers is expected to launch on Rogers the same day also. We’ve told that Telus and Rogers would be selling them factory unlocked. I guess we shall wait and see. When getting your iPhone 4, make sure to also grab a bumper!

To all you Android loving, push to talk loving, Spring customers this here phone is for you. On July 25th Sprint will be releasing the Motorola i1 to its business customers for $149.99 with a new line/upgrade  and to everyone else on Sunday, Aug. 8. It purportedly comes with “military ruggedness” as well as WiFi and a full touchscreen. Check out the full press release below for lots more info.

World’s First Nextel Direct Connect Smartphone
Powered by Android, Motorola i1, Available for

Sprint Customers on July 25 for $149.99

Motorola i1 combines military spec ruggedness with the latest in

smartphone technology, industry-leading push-to-talk,
Wi-Fi and a sleek full touchscreen design

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – July 19, 2010 – Industry-leading Push-to-Talk with access to thousands of Android™ applications for less than $150?  Now that is taking care of business!

Sprint (NYSE: S) today shared pricing and timing for the world’s first Android-powered smartphone with Nextel Direct Connect^® – it will be available first on Sunday, July 25, through direct ship sales channels, including Business Sales, telesales (1-800-SPRINT1 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-800-SPRINT1      end_of_the_skype_highlighting) and Web sales (www.sprint.com/motoi1) for $149.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate (taxes & surcharges excluded). It will then be available in all remaining Sprint sales channels beginning on Sunday, Aug. 8.

With more than 17 years of experience, Sprint is the undisputed industry leader in push-to-talk, serving the world’s largest push-to-talk community with millions of Nextel Direct Connect subscribers on the fastest national push-to-talk network. More U.S. workers communicate in less than a second with Nextel Direct Connect than with any other push-to-talk service.

With solid body construction that meets military specifications for protection against dust, shock, vibration and blowing rain¹, Motorola i1 is designed for those who work and play hard. It offers the Android 1.5 operating system, and automatically syncs and integrates office and personal information such as emails, calendar appointments and contacts.

“Motorola i1 is the only Android device to offer Nextel Direct Connect as well as the latest smartphone features and the ability to withstand some of the harshest environments,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development, Sprint.  “This phone brings a new level of smartphone to our Nextel customers making it one of the most efficient devices to get work done, and our customers who rely on Direct Connect will appreciate this feature-packed phone that doesn’t miss on must-have features like Wi-Fi and a 5 megapixel camera.”

Motorola i1 enhances the Nextel Direct Connect experience with the ability to view who is calling regardless of what application you are in, whether you are managing your emails, checking your calendar, composing messages or viewing media.

Motorola i1 also offers a variety of robust business and entertainment applications through Android Market™, and when combined with the built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, it provides a great view of what’s happening both personally and professionally.  Applications like Scan2PDF Mobile 2.0, Unit Converter – ConvertPad and RealCalc Scientific Calculator can help get work done, while staying connected to friends through Facebook™ or Tweeting using an easily customizable Twitter™ app like Touiteur.

In addition, Sprint partner applications available for businesses on the Motorola i1 include:

• Xora™ mobile workforce management solutions provide businesses with real-time visibility into field operations, and helps automate payroll and job workflow processes. The Android version of Xora Time Track™ includes new features like photo barcode scanning and signature capture, eliminating the need to purchase additional hardware to support such capabilities.

• TeleNavTrack™ uses the latest technologies to make mobile workforce and asset management reliable and affordable for businesses of all sizes.  It lets businesses use wireless barcode scanning to track inventory and assets, manage deliveries, better predict arrival times, change schedules on-the-fly and deploy workers.  It can also reduce paperwork by allowing the mobile workforce to complete invoices, orders and timesheets on the device.
• Sprint Mobile Locator is a Web-based solution that allows businesses to easily track and locate workers, and view a mapping display on a PC in near real-time using a wireless phone’s built-in GPS capabilities.

Key features include:

• Popular business tools such as Microsoft^® Document Viewer and corporate sync ensure Word or PowerPoint files can be accessed on the go
• Message entry is a breeze with both Android standard virtual keyboard and Swype™ virtual keyboards being offered
• A 5 megapixel camera with flash, geo-tagging and panoramic capabilities provides crisp photos and clearly displays them on the vibrant 3.1-inch HVGA screen, and video can also be recorded and stored on a provided microSD for sharing or future viewing straight from the device
• The Android browser allows you to see web pages and Flash 8-enabled sites in full view using Wi-Fi, and the latest Opera Mini 5 browser enables quick browsing over the Nextel National Network and Wi-Fi

With the new Sprint Free Guarantee, the most robust satisfaction guarantee in the wireless industry, customers can try a new line of service with Sprint for 30 days. If they aren’t completely satisfied with Sprint during that period, they can cancel service and return their device to be reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get the early termination fee waived, get a full refund for monthly service plan recurring charges incurred and get all associated taxes and fees waived.

In addition, Sprint will waive the restocking fee for new customer exchanges as part of this policy. Refund excludes usage not included in the plan, premium content, third-party billing and international charges.

Application development information for Motorola i1 is available on the Sprint Application Developer web site at www.sprint.com/developer. Sprint offers developers a free sandbox with iDEN capabilities to test their apps. Sprint is a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance™ and the Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, and is the first and only wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless and instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

Being humble and forthcoming about a mistake you’ve made is never easy, especially when the world is watching. But neglecting to fix that mistake can beget consequences that often outweigh the mistake itself. Well it would seem that the heads over at Apple are trying to follow a simular moral compass. As you are undoubtedly aware with all the media converge surrounding the iPhone 4 antenna design. Apple has decided to give its customers a free case to suffice until a better solution is contrived. More importantly than giving people what they want is to be transparent about the issue at hand and the press conference Apple held on the 16th felt like a step in that direction. During Steve Jobs’s presentation, he showed photographs of the facilities used to test the iPhone 4 while addressing signal attenuates. Apparently those photos were derived from an entire video, showing behind the curtain trail and study done by Apple engineers. Historically people are more tolerant of a problem if they’re educated enough to understand it. I think this is an example of that train of though. Has your frustration been curbed? Drop us a comment and let us know.

Hello BerryScoopers, iPhoners, Androidians (yeah I just made that up ha!) and all other mobile tech enthusiast. I’m new the addition to the BerryScoop team and I’d like introduce myself to ya. First off I’ve been a techhead, gadget freak and aspiring digerati since I was a young lad. As I got older my passion for the tech spilled over into my professional career. I’ve worked directly and indirectly for more than a few well know mobile device manufactures and telco companies. No I’m not going to name names but, trust me there are products you’ve owned or own now that I’ve been apart of on some scale or another. I’ve always had an affinity for expressing my passion for technology to others and thus my interest in blogging began. Not long after I started dabbling in writing online, I soon realized being in the industry professionally doesn’t really allow for moonlight editorial pass time. I didn’t leave a prototype in a bar or anything like that but, lets just say I had to make a choice between career or hobby. Fortunately though my most recently employer decided to sell itself due some very bad marketing decisions and lack luster sales to some small computer company in Palo Alto, CA. It wasn’t hard for me to see that their acquisition would soon become my freedom. Now with a new career path, I’m able to make a living and do what I love_____<– insert fist pump here. I currently use an iPhone 4 as my primary device, so for the most part you can expect updates surrounding the iOS platform from me. I do own different devices with other platforms, so none of the fanboy talk and I will from time to time chime in on competing operating systems as well. That’s my story folks! I’m happy to be here and I look forward to growing BerryScoop through my contributions. Feel free to hit me up via email at TheCoolestGeek@BerryScoop.com or on Twitter @TheCoolestGeek. Peace!!

Our sources at Verizon have informed us that tomorrow, July 18th, Verizon stores will cease all sales of Kin devices. This comes as no surprise with the embarrassingly low device sales, and awful reviews from the majority of the tech community. This seems to be the quickest end to a Microsoft project (or mobile platform for that matter) to date. So if you really wanted a Kin (not sure why you would :p ) you better head over and pick one up quick. Goodbye Kin, you were just awkward.