Last week I told you about Blurts no longer being in beta and getting released as a free and premium version. To celebrate the success of the launch with BBRocks! readers, MLH Software has given me 50 free copies of Blurts Pro to give away!

Recap on the Blurts Pro features:

• Display Caller ID Alert
• Display Email Alerts for all email accounts
• Bluetooth auto connect
• Display SMS/Text Alert
• Send SMS/Text from your computer
• Answer call from your computer
• Ignore call from your computer
• Activate Speaker phone from your computer
• Control call volume from your computer
• Place/Dial call from your computer
• Disconnect call from your computer
• Blurts will auto start on device reset
• Options to control alerts

Blurts Pro is currently on sale for $4.99 until November 15th and will work on all Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry devices running OS 4.2.1 and higher.

CONTEST: For a chance to win 1 of 50 free copies of Blurts Pro leave a comment on this post using a valid email address before 11:59PM EST on Tuesday, November 17th. Only leave one comment, duplicates will be ignored and will not increase your chances of winning. *

Related Posts:

• Blurts Out Of Beta, Available As Free & Premium Version – Send Alerts From Your BlackBerry To Your PC via Bluetooth
• Blurts Beta: Send Alerts From Your BlackBerry To Your PC via Bluetooth
• Super QWERTY, One Key To Access All BlackBerry Applications – 15 Free Copies!
• Contest: 100 Free Copies Of LaterDude Pro!
• FREE! SmartCalling BlackBerry Assistant Software lets you auto-redial, vib+ring and more!

That’s right, it’s another contest winners announcement! Last week MMMOOO let me know about their new Super QWERTY BlackBerry app and gave me 15 free copies to giveaway which, if you left a comment before 11:59PM EST last night, you had a chance to win. Here are the winners:

• dazednfazed
• Lo
• Sunnie Ahuja
• Dayana Guerra
• sj.kimberly
• Shane
• Daniel
• DavidB
• jamesfallen
• Michael Warner
• AsosaYoung
• Mohammad Umer Alam
• ruhrohs
• Glenn
• theresamarie

Winners can expect an email from me soon with info on how to get their free copy. For more info about Super QWERTY check it out in the store.

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• Contest Reminder: 25 Free Copies Of Textender!
• Fancy Characters: Insert Special Characters Anywhere On BlackBerry – 100 Free Copies!

Yet another announcement of winners for a contest that was part of the BBRocks! Birthday Celebration!

In this contest readers were able to leave a comment before 12AM EST on November 6th for a chance to win 1 of 4 iSkin BlackBerry cases for their device. The iSkin Vibes case is available for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, Bold and Storm; the iSkin FX case is only available for the Curve 8900. All iSkin Vibes cases are $29.95 and the FX case is $32.95. Here are the four winners that will get one of these for free:

• KristelPippi
• Sirhijinx
• wojtas
• Iris

Winners can expect an email from me soon. If you’re still interested in these cases but did not win this contest you can check them out in the store. You never know…maybe iSkin will want to have another contest with BBRocks! readers in the near future!

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• CONTEST: Win An OtterBox Case For Your BlackBerry
• CONTEST: 1 Of 5 Chances To Win $15 Of Games From The BBRocks! Store
• 100 BlackBerry Unlock Codes From CellUnlock.net Winners Announced!

Early last week I started a contest where readers could win 1 of 100 free BlackBerry unlock codes from CellUnlock.net. Since then many of you have left comments but it looks like the limit wasn’t hit, so everyone who left a comment before 11:59PM EST on November 7th wins a free unlock code for their BlackBerry!

BlackBerry models this contest applies to: Pearl (8100/8110/8120), Pearl Flip (8220), Curve (8300/8310/8320/8520/8900), 8800, 8810, 8820, Bold (9000/9700), Storm (9500/9530/9550), Tour (9630).

Winners can expect and email from me or CellUnlock.net soon to get their info and process their code.

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• 4 iSkin Vibes/FX Cases For The BlackBerry Curve 8900, Bold Or Storm Winners Announced!
• Free AT&T/Cingular USA, T-Mobile USA and Rogers Canada BlackBerry unlock code giveaway extended till 5PM!
• 50% off unlock codes for AT&T/Cingular USA, T-Mobile USA and Rogers Canada BlackBerry devices

The site should be up and running again and to make sure that it is I am posting this as a way to check. If everything goes well it should sync across the BBRocks! Twitter and Facebook accounts, and all who are subscribed to the RSS feed should also receive this update.

I would appreciate it if everyone let me know that the site is back up and running for them and where they are in the world, and whether or not you even experienced an outage with BBRocks! Thanks for your patience!

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Earlier this morning I posted about T-Mobile Germany updating their site to include contract and pricing info for the BlackBerry Bold 9700. T-Mobile USA has yet to announce official pricing but here is the rumored pricing according to a PhoneArena tipster:

• $199.99 with a new 2 year agreement
• $449.99 with no contract, or an installment plan of 20 $22.50 monthly payments on the “Even More Plus Plan”

Still no official launch date but since T-Mobile stores already have dummy units and they just had a launch party last week, we should be seeing an official announcement or site update to include the Bold 9700 real soon. For now you can check out T-Mobile’s promo page at t-mobile9700.com.

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• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Listed And Priced On T-Mobile Germany Site
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Dummy Units Arriving At T-Mobile USA Stores!
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Coming To T-Mobile Germany In November
• Verizon And Best Buy Getting The BlackBerry Storm 2 Around October 25th?
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Press Release Roundup For AT&T, Bell, Rogers, Telus And T-Mobile (Some Pricing Info)

Oh happy day! As if the announcement of Flash development for the BlackBerry platform wasn’t enough, RIM has gone and announced upcoming support for OpenGL ES for the development of 3D games and graphics, Java GUI builder to help with development of user interfaces for apps and the BlackBerry Theme Studio for creating themes!

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK).

…

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

…

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio – a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry® Storm2™ and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphones.

Great way to start the BlackBerry news week! For more info and links check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

OpenGL ES Support, Java GUI Builder and Theme Studio to Help Developers Generate Dynamic User Experiences

San Francisco – 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced enhancements to the BlackBerry® Application Platform that will further enable developers to rapidly develop rich content and applications. The enhancements include support for OpenGL® ES for the development of 3D games and graphics; an upcoming Java® GUI builder for the rapid development of user interfaces for BlackBerry applications; and BlackBerry® Theme Studio for the creation of themes for BlackBerry® smartphones.

“We are making it easier than ever for developers, hobbyists and content providers to build graphic-rich experiences for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform at Research In Motion. “These new features will help drive a multitude of engaging themes, games and applications for BlackBerry smartphone users.”

OpenGL ES Support Enables 3D Games and Graphics for BlackBerry Smartphones

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK). A beta version of the BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0 including OpenGL ES support is available at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp

GUI Builder for BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse to Simplify User Interface Design

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

The GUI builder for the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will be previewed this week at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference (www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com). It is expected to be available in mid 2010.

New BlackBerry Theme Studio Enables Easy Theme Design, Illustration and Animation

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio – a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry® Storm2™ and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio includes:

• BlackBerry Theme Builder – a design tool for customizing a smartphone’s user interface, including the home screen layout, fonts, icons, message list colors, cursors, dialog boxes and home screen application icons.
• BlackBerry Composer – an illustration and animation tool for creating animated SVG graphics that can be used to add animation to theme buttons and backgrounds as well as animate web sites and applications for BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio 5.0, which replaces the previously available Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit™, features the ability to import Adobe Photoshop files to BlackBerry Theme Builder, add ringtones and build screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading within themes. Ringtones and screen transitions are supported for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher.

RIM also announced today that themes for BlackBerry smartphones can now be submitted to BlackBerry App World™.

BlackBerry Theme Studio is available for free and can be downloaded at www.blackberry.com/themestudio.

For more information about the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developer.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

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• RIM Unveils New Services Platform for BlackBerry Developers – Lots Of Goodies!

Back in early October I told you about RIM joining the Open Screen Project to enhance the BlackBerry platform with rumored Adobe Flash support by next summer. Today RIM and Adobe announced that they have expanded their collaboration and that developers will soon be able to easily create rich content and apps using Adobe’s authoring tools to include Flash and more.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the mobile application and content development workflow between BlackBerry application and web content developers and creative professionals that use Adobe tools. It will also reduce the re-creation of graphic assets and iterations that designers and developers have to go through to generate rich application user interfaces, animations, images and video content when supporting multiple platforms.

Today’s news builds upon the recent announcement that the two companies are working together as part of the Open Screen Project to bring the Adobe Flash® Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones. The two companies will also be collaborating to adapt other key components of the Flash Platform including Adobe AIR®.

Very exciting news but that’s not all RIM is working on! Continue reading for more info in the press release and stay tuned for some more news from the BlackBerry Developer Conference.

Press Release

Adobe to Deliver Support for BlackBerry Smartphones within Adobe Creative Suite; RIM to Incorporate Flash Platform into BlackBerry Platform

San Francisco, CA – At the 2009 BlackBerry® Developer Conference, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today expanded their collaboration and announced that creative professionals and application developers will be able to use the Adobe® Flash® Platform technology and Adobe Creative Suite® content development and authoring tools to easily create rich content and application experiences for BlackBerry® smartphones.

“There is tremendous opportunity for RIM and Adobe to align our platforms to help developers create BlackBerry applications that are highly engaging and deeply integrated in order to deliver the best user experience in the market,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “We are working closely with Adobe to enable our developer communities to build rich content services and BlackBerry Widgets that leverage the latest runtime environments, APIs and network services through Adobe’s industry leading design and development tools.”

“RIM is at the forefront of driving smartphone innovation, and it’s only natural that further integrating our respective platforms will set new standards for engaging content and applications,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe. “The expanded partnership between both companies will open up great new opportunities by making it even easier for content designers and mobile application developers to create rich and compelling content for the BlackBerry platform.”

Future versions of Adobe Creative Suite starting with Adobe Creative Suite 5 will provide the ability for designers to create optimized graphic assets, such as image and video content, from tools such as Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Illustrator® and Adobe After Effects®, for the BlackBerry platform. These graphics assets can then be easily imported into BlackBerry application development tools, including the BlackBerry® Java® Plug-in for Eclipse™ (www.blackberry.com/developers/java) and the BlackBerry® Web Plug-in for Eclipse™ (www.blackberry.com/developers/web), for use in applications and user interfaces.  Backgrounds, icons and images created with Adobe tools such as Adobe Photoshop will also be able to be used in the new BlackBerry® Theme Studio (www.blackberry.com/developers/themes) to create compelling BlackBerry themes.

Adobe Dreamweaver®, Adobe Fireworks® and Adobe Device Central software will also be enabled to support the creation and testing of BlackBerryWidgets and web content optimized for the BlackBerry® Browser. Additionally, users will be able to directly import photos and video captured on their BlackBerry smartphones and edit them using Adobe’s consumer offerings including Photoshop Elements and Photoshop.com.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the mobile application and content development workflow between BlackBerry application and web content developers and creative professionals that use Adobe tools. It will also reduce the re-creation of graphic assets and iterations that designers and developers have to go through to generate rich application user interfaces, animations, images and video content when supporting multiple platforms.

Today’s news builds upon the recent announcement that the two companies are working together as part of the Open Screen Project to bring the Adobe Flash® Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones. The two companies will also be collaborating to adapt other key components of the Flash Platform including Adobe AIR®.

RIM and Adobe are demonstrating a sneak peek of the enhanced mobile authoring workflow during the keynote address today at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference. To learn more about this collaboration, developers can visit the BlackBerry® Developer Zone (www.blackberry.com/developers/adobe) and Adobe Developer Site (www.adobe.com/devnet).

About Adobe Flash Platform
The Adobe Flash Platform is the leading web design and development platform for creating expressive applications, content, and video that run consistently across operating systems and devices and reach over 98% of Internet‐enabled desktops. According to comScore Media Metrix, approximately 75 percent of online videos viewed worldwide are delivered using Adobe Flash technology, making it the number one format for video on the web. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium.  For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

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• RIM Announces BlackBerry Academic Program
• IBM, RIM Plan to Introduce New Lotus Features and Developer Tools on the BlackBerry Platform
• RIM Introduces New BlackBerry Tools for Web Developers

Lots of news coming out of the BlackBerry Developer Conference today!

RIM has announced the BlackBerry Academic Program which provides colleges and universities content to help learn about developing for the BlackBerry platform. Course content is currently available for mobile application development, administration of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry support.

• Mobile Application Development Courses – Students can learn about the tools and techniques for developing applications for BlackBerry smartphones. Courses cover topics such as BlackBerry smartphone features and functionality, user interface design, multimedia application development, mobile web application development and Java® application development.
• Administration Courses – Mobile communication and collaboration tools continue to play a large role in boosting the productivity of enterprise workforces, and the need for trained professionals to administer and support mobile solutions has grown with it. There are over 200,000 BlackBerry® Enterprise Server installations globally and trained professionals are needed to maintain and support these deployments.
• Support Courses – Students are trained to work in technical call centers or IT support environments in support of the BlackBerry solution. The Support courses also include information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam.

Over 500 students have already taken courses in the program and universities in Canada and the US are beginning to offer courses and course content from the program in their curriculum. For more info visit blackberry.com/academic or check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

Program Provides Colleges and Universities with Curriculum and Course Content

San Francisco – 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM, TSX: RIM) today announced the BlackBerry® Academic Program to provide colleges and universities around the world with a curriculum and course content to offer courses in administering and supporting the BlackBerry® solution and developing for the BlackBerry platform.

“Career opportunities in information technology are abundant, and there is increasing demand for people with expertise in managing BlackBerry products and services and developing BlackBerry applications,” said Robert Crow, Vice President, Industry, Government and University Relations at Research In Motion. “Millions of people are using BlackBerry smartphones in more than 170 countries today and the BlackBerry Academic Program will help colleges and universities prepare students for careers in technology and help to meet the growing demand for BlackBerry developers, administrators and technical support professionals in the global marketplace.”

Course content is currently available for mobile application development for BlackBerry® smartphones, administration of BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, and support for BlackBerry smartphones. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with academic professionals and has been in pilot for over a year.

Mobile Application Development Courses – Students can learn about the tools and techniques for developing applications for BlackBerry smartphones. Courses cover topics such as BlackBerry smartphone features and functionality, user interface design, multimedia application development, mobile web application development and Java® application development.

Administration Courses – Mobile communication and collaboration tools continue to play a large role in boosting the productivity of enterprise workforces, and the need for trained professionals to administer and support mobile solutions has grown with it. There are over 200,000 BlackBerry® Enterprise Server installations globally and trained professionals are needed to maintain and support these deployments.

Administration courses offered through the BlackBerry Academic Program can help prepare students to administer, configure, troubleshoot, and perform essential tasks for managing a BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment.

For example, the “Maintaining a BlackBerry Enterprise Server in a Microsoft Exchange Environment” (BCP-410) course includes information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam as well as additional information that can help students find opportunities in IT departments of large organizations.

Support Courses – Students are trained to work in technical call centers or IT support environments in support of the BlackBerry solution. The Support courses also include information that can help prepare students for the corresponding BlackBerry Certification exam.

The BlackBerry Academic Program provides an outline of the content for each course, as well as learning materials including student textbooks (with instructor copy), student lab manuals, instructor guides and an academic product suite that covers hardware and software. Course content can be offered over the full length of a semester, or as individual modules that can be integrated into an existing information technology curriculum.

Academic Program Rolls Out

Over 500 students have already taken courses based on the BlackBerry Academic Program as part of a pilot project and several universities in Canada and the US are now in the process of incorporating courses and course content from the program into their course offerings.

For more information:

BlackBerry Academic Program – www.blackberry.com/academic

BlackBerry application development – www.blackberry.com/developer

BlackBerry Certification Program – www.blackberry.com/certification

A special track supporting the BlackBerry Academic Program has also been added to the BlackBerry Developer Conference this year in San Francisco (November 9 – 12, 2009). More information is available at www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com.

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• RIM Announces Enhanced BlackBerry Technical Support Services for Small-Medium Businesses and Enterprise Customers
• RIM Launches BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0
• RIM To Host Second Annual BlackBerry Developer Conference From November 9-12, Mobile Guide, Last Day To Register Online!
• College Begins Certified Training for BlackBerry Specialists

Thanks to @themes4bb I’ve got some great news for developers working with the BlackBerry platform!

At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Converence in San Francisco (currently in session), RIM has announced a new services platform for developers that will enable them to streamline business processes and build highly responsive, location-away, revenue-generating apps. Among the new services will be a BlackBerry Advertising Service, Payment Service and new Location Services.

BlackBerry Payment Service to Enable In-Application Transactions and Streamlined Payment Processes

A new BlackBerry® Payment Service from RIM will present BlackBerry developers with new opportunities to monetize applications by selling digital content such as premium content, monthly or annual subscriptions, and additional levels or upgrades for games and other entertainment applications from within their applications. The BlackBerry Payment Service will also incorporate merchant services, including customer billing.

…

BlackBerry Push Service for Delivering Content and Alerts to Applications to Become Generally Available

BlackBerry® Push Service, which was first made exclusively available to BlackBerry® Alliance Program members earlier this year, will be made generally available to registered developers in the first half of 2010. BlackBerry Push Service allows developers and content providers to deliver time-sensitive alerts and up to 8 KB of data to applications.

…

New Location Services to Advance Location-Aware BlackBerry Applications

Adding to the GPS capabilities already supported on the BlackBerry Application Platform today, RIM will introduce three new location-based services for developers to build highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The three new location-based services include cell site geolocation, reverse geocoding and travel time.

I’m glad RIM is opening up more opportunities for better integration and development of the BlackBerry platform. This is only one of the announcements made at the Developer Conference so far, I’m sure we’ll be hearing some more great news soon!

For more info visit blackberry.com/developers or check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

Advertising, Payment, Content Push and New Location Services Will Present New Opportunities for Monetization and Innovation on the BlackBerry Application Platform

2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – San Francisco – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled a new services platform for developers that will enable them to streamline business processes and build highly responsive, location-aware, revenue-generating applications for BlackBerry® smartphones. The new services platform will offer advertising, payment, content push and new location services.

“The BlackBerry ecosystem is thriving and with the new services platform announced today we will help developers further monetize their applications and build breakthrough, highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “RIM is continuing to provide the tools, technologies and business services that developers need to create and market even more powerful and successful applications on the BlackBerry Application Platform.”

BlackBerry Advertising Service to Create New Revenue Opportunities for Developers

The new and innovative BlackBerry® Advertising Service will enable developers to integrate advertising into their BlackBerry applications, helping them generate revenue and simplifying the business of mobile advertising. With the BlackBerry Advertising Service, RIM plans to provide developers with access to a large pool of quality and innovative ad units from trusted top tier and specialty advertising networks such as Jumptap, Lat49, Millennial Media, Navteq, 1020 Placecast, Quattro Wireless and Sympatico.ca. The service will feature ads compliant with the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) guidelines as well as rich media ads that will be able to deeply integrate with BlackBerry applications. Examples of this deep integration between ads and applications will include the ability to easily initiate a call from an ad, add a calendar entry or contact entry from an ad, and directly link to an application in BlackBerry App World™ from an ad. The service will also include real-time, detailed, consolidated reporting of advertising across ad networks, including ad impressions, clicks, conversions and earnings, as well as integration into the Omniture Online Marketing Suite™ for more advanced analytics.

BlackBerry Advertising Service and a software development kit (SDK) are planned to be available in the first half of 2010.

BlackBerry Payment Service to Enable In-Application Transactions and Streamlined Payment Processes

A new BlackBerry® Payment Service from RIM will present BlackBerry developers with new opportunities to monetize applications by selling digital content such as premium content, monthly or annual subscriptions, and additional levels or upgrades for games and other entertainment applications from within their applications. The BlackBerry Payment Service will also incorporate merchant services, including customer billing.

BlackBerry Payment Service and an SDK are expected to be available in mid 2010.

BlackBerry Push Service for Delivering Content and Alerts to Applications to Become Generally Available

BlackBerry® Push Service, which was first made exclusively available to BlackBerry® Alliance Program members earlier this year, will be made generally available to registered developers in the first half of 2010. BlackBerry Push Service allows developers and content providers to deliver time-sensitive alerts and up to 8 KB of data to applications.

More information about BlackBerry Push Service is available at www.blackberry.com/developers/pushservice.

New Location Services to Advance Location-Aware BlackBerry Applications

Adding to the GPS capabilities already supported on the BlackBerry Application Platform today, RIM will introduce three new location-based services for developers to build highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The three new location-based services include cell site geolocation, reverse geocoding and travel time.

Cell Site Geolocation – Cell site geolocation is a new service that will provide developers with an alternative to GPS, providing an estimate of a smartphone’s location based on cell tower triangulation. Cell site geolocation is generally faster than GPS, uses less battery power (which makes it ideal for applications that run in the background while multi-tasking), and is ideal for indoor use where the line-of-sight to satellites required by GPS receivers is not always available.

The cell site geolocation service is planned to be available in the first half of 2010. It will be supported on BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 or higher.

Reverse Geocoding – RIM is introducing a new reverse geocoding service that converts geolocation coordinates to a specific address for use in BlackBerry applications. Reverse geocoding is available today with BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 or higher. A reverse geocoding API is available with the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit 5.0 (BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0) which is available in beta at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp.

Travel Time – RIM will also launch a new travel time service. Using a simple API call, developers will be able to incorporate estimated travel time within their applications for almost any destination in the US and Canada. The travel time calculations will be based on distance, speed limits and aggregated traffic conditions. The service returns values for an estimated arrival time, total travel time and total distance that can be used in an application.

The travel time service is expected to be available in the first half of 2010.

For more information and updates about the new services available to developers on the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developers.

Related Posts:

• RIM Further Extends Push Technology to BlackBerry Developers
• KeyToss Announces the Most Advanced Hotel Booking Service on the Mobile Web
• Apisphere Joins BlackBerry Alliance Program
• RIM Announces Widget SDK For The BlackBerry Platform
• RIM Introduces New BlackBerry Tools for Web Developers

Package Version: 4.5.0.297
Consisting of:

• Applications: 4.5.0.176
• Software Platform: 2.7.0.105
• 8120
  • File name: 8120M_PBr4.5.0_rel297_PL2.7.0.105_A4.5.0.176_Telefonica.exe
  • File size: 97.96MB
• 8310
  • File name: 8310M_PBr4.5.0_rel297_PL2.7.0.105_A4.5.0.176_Telefonica.exe
  • File size: 90.92MB

Note: The Software Platform and Applications version numbers can be found under Options-About screen on the handheld.

• Download: OS 4.5.0.176 for the Pearl 8120 or Curve 8310 from Telefonica
• How To:
  • Backup And Restore Your BlackBerry
  • Upgrade your BlackBerry Operating System (OS)

Please report any feedback/findings in the comments.

REMEMBER: It is recommended that you make a backup before attempting to upgrade your BlackBerry just in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process. *

Thanks @Raptor464!

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• Official OS 4.5.0.173 For The BlackBerry Pearl 8130 From SaskTel (Fixes Browser Bug)
• Official OS 4.5.0.174 For The BlackBerry Curve 8300 From AVEA (Fixes Browser Bug)
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Click here to view the embedded video.

Originally only available for the Storm, @FabianMH has made his Whippoh BlackBerry app compatible with the new Storm2.

As seen in the video above, Whippoh is a free app that allows you to simulate a whip by performing a whipping movement with your Storm. The sound will only simulate if you make a correct whipping motion with your Storm…practice makes perfect!

Download Whippoh for free in the store and be sure to check out the rest of Fabian Heuwieser’s apps.

Related Posts:

• Whippoh for the BlackBerry Storm updated, now FREE!
• Premium app: Whippoh (previously named BerryWhip) for the BlackBerry Storm, $1.90 today only!
• All Fabian Heuwieser BlackBerry apps on sale for $0.99 until May 31!
• FREE! bWatchDoggy for the BlackBerry Storm, a barking watch dog application
• Free app: StormDice for the BlackBerry Storm

Back in mid-October T-Mobile Germany listed the BlackBerry Bold 9700 as being available in November but no pricing info was available at the time. T-Mobile Germany has updated their site (translated) with pricing and contract info for the Bold 9700.

Pricing for the Bold 9700 with T-Mobile Germany starts at 159,95€ ($240.18) on a new “Relax 120″ plan, up to 499,95€ ($750.23) with no contract. Since T-Mobile USA already has dummy units in stores hopefully they will follow with a site update of their own.

For more info visit the T-Mobile Germany Bold 9700 page.

Related Posts:

• Rumored Pricing Info For The T-Mobile USA BlackBerry Bold 9700!
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Coming To T-Mobile Germany In November
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Dummy Units Arriving At T-Mobile USA Stores!
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 Now Available From Bell
• BlackBerry Bold available from T-Mobile Germany