OfficeMax this week (9/4/11 to 9/10/11) has the BlackBerry Curve 8520 on sale for $79. This is $50 off the normal $129. Expect that this model is likely going to be replaced within the next few months as RIM begins to roll out newer versions. Virgin Mobile is a prepaid (no contract) providers of cellular services owned by Sprint and uses their frequencies. What’s attractive about this prepaid carrier is data is included in the lowest monthly price of $35/mo for 300 minutes which includes your unlimited BlackBerry data and unlimited texting.

Use one of the readily available $10 coupons to bring your cost to $69.

Fatwallet

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Numerous BlackBerry 9930 users report that the back button on their device suddenly changes from the normal function of moving back one screen to activating the BlackBerry App Switcher. This means that backing out of menus is difficult (the red “end call” still works though not as conveniently). Turns out this appears to be a known RIM OS 7.x bug. Several fixes have been reported and I’ve only found two that work on my device (OS 7.0.0.254).
First many people have said that loading a newer version of the BB OS fixes this issue. This multi-step process takes a little longer (here’s instructions) than the two fixes I’ve seen:

a. Use the ALT key. Pushing the alt key supposedly solves this issue

b. Use the SLEEP button (very top of the BB device) – push this button twice to clear the App Switcher bug.

In my experience both of the above fixes are temporary as the bug will re-appear randomly. Until RIM is able to issue an OS fix for this the workarounds are the easiest way to clear the issue.

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I’ve beeng using a Droid X on my Verizon line for a little over a year. That’s actually quite a long time for me as most of my phones seem to last maybe 6 months before I upgrade. Overall I love the Droid X and the large screen. It’s my favorite Android phone and I recommend it (actually the Droid X2)  to anyone who is in the market for an Android.

Recently I found that I was responding to more email while on the road and decided to make a swap for a while to a BlackBerry 9930 Bold from Verizon. What attracted me is really the larger keyboard and the faster processor. I’ve used the BlackBerry 9700 and the BlackBerry Torch 9800. Both were nice but offer somewhat cramped keyboards.

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 arrived yesterday and here are my quick 5 thinks that immediately struck me about this device.

Five Places The BlackBerry 9930 Wins

Keyboard. The keyboard is greatly enhanced, has a great clicky feel and is a pleasure (and easy) to type on. If you’re on the fence about this BlackBerry model head into a Verizon or Sprint store and test the keyboard. This is the single feature that convinced me to try BlackBerry again (though admittedly primarily for email as I also have a Nexus S and iPhone 4).

Speed. Say goodbye to (most) spinning hourglasses. Whereas before I used to watch the hourglass spin and make me wait while the BlackBerry processor was playing catch up – I don’t see that hourglass as much. It has appeared once or two – but quickly vanished.

Build Quality. No creaky battery cover, side rails. Prior BlackBerry devices were often fraught with minor manufacturing imperfections. Not enough to send them back – but enough to be annoying. This device (so far) seems solid. The one drawback is the back battery cover is tight. It will require strong fingernails or a screwdriver to pry off — and even then you’ll wonder if you are about to break the door.

Improved Screen. The screen color is greatly improved over prior devices. I’ve had no problems reading the screen outside in bright light.

Web Browsing. While I don’t think the web browser is any faster – the pinch to zoom feature works much better. Re-sizing the page by pinching and zooming is instant. In prior BlackBerry devices (assuming they offered this option to pinch/zoom) you’d wait for a while for the “checkerboard” to disappear as the device struggled to resize the screen.

Conclusion:

I’m only one day in and this is the honeymoon period. If you’re a BlackBerry user who intends to remain a BlackBerry user because you need the email functionality – this device is worth a look.

If you’re a new user and heavy email and/or keyboard use is not on your list of prioritized needs then I suggest that an iPhone 4 is probably a better bet for both cost and vastly expanded numbers of applications available.

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Have tablet fever but hate paying full retail? The BlackBerry Playbook will set you back about $450 via Amazon. If you hurry you can score a brand new one for only $ 299. This 7″ tablet has been widely panned for lacking essentially BlackBerry applications such as email and contacts. However if your primary interest is in browsing the web it might not be a bad deal.

Shipping via economy is free. Head on over to the link below to check out the deal.

UPDATE: Deal Expired

eBay Deal via BlackBerry  Forums

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Sprint now has the new BlackBerry Bold 9930 listed online for $199. This pricing includes a web discount of $50 meaning that if you head to a Sprint store you’re going to pay $249.
This new BlackBerry sports the latest OS 7 which is only an incremental upgrade for most BlackBerry users. The main attraction for the BlackBerry faithful is the faster QC 8655 1.2GHz processor, VGA 640 x 480 high resolution touch screen and slightly larger keypad.

Sadly Sprint imposes an extra $10 fee for “premium data” despite the BlackBerry 9930 not being capable of 4G speeds and requiring less data than comparable smarthones due to the BlackBerry infrastructure.

Here’s  quick peek at the current Sprint BlackBerry 9930 plans:

Don’t forget that new subscribers can claim a $125 credit if they port in a phone number. The service credit will be applied to the first or second invoice following the 61st day after the eligible port-in activation as long as you registered for your service credit within 72 hours of the port-in activation date.

Sprint BlackBerry 9930

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Looking to save money on a BlackBerry 8530? This isn’t the fastest or newest model – but it may be the cheapest. While pricing on this does get a little lower (Radio Shack had this for $149 a few months ago) the service pricing through Virgin Mobile is very tough to beat. For only $ 35 per month you’ll receive 300 voice minutes, BlackBerry service and unlimited SMS and MMS.

The Virgin Mobile BlackBerry 8530 Prepaid Cell Phone features the most current BlackBerry applications. The cell phone enables you to browse the Internet, send emails, instant message and more, right from your phone. Take pictures with the 2MP camera and share them on the web. With its rechargeable li-ion battery, the Virgin Mobile BlackBerry 8530 Prepaid Cell Phone lets you enjoy up to 4.5 hours of talk time.

 
This looks to be an online deal only — and there’s no expiration date visible so it could be a permanent price reduction.

Virgin Mobile 8530 – $169 at Walmart

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A new “leaked” roadmap shows mostly incremental updates to the RIM BlackBerry product line for 2011. Among the bigger items is a planned BlackBerry 7 release slated for the end of 2011 and BIS 4.1 set to be unveiled late summer 2011.

The other upgrades on the map are largely applications that will likely get some tweaking – including Facebook 2.0, Social Feeds 2.0, Twitter. There’s one application that appears to have run out of steam. Flicker is listed as End of Life (EOL) right about now.

BlackBerry Roadmap and N4BB

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Worry about losing your BlackBerry and having someone find it — complete with all your important data? Well if you’re on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server that’s not such a big deal because that advanced (and more expensive) platform allows you to remotely wipe any lost devices making their value nearly worthless for any “finders keepers” who pick up your phone.
BlackBerry Protect helps you find your smartphone and protect your important information by:

• Assisting in locating your BlackBerry smartphone on a map via GPS and cell-tower triangulation
• Locking and setting a device password
• Activating a special loud ring to help find your smartphone, even if it’s in silent mode
• Displaying a custom message on the home screen so that anyone who finds it knows how to return it
• Forcing an instant wireless backup of data even when you don’t have the smartphone with you
• And as a last resort, securely wiping all information from your BlackBerry smartphone, including the data from your SD card.

Additionally, the new wireless backup and restore features include:

• Automatically, periodically and wirelessly backing up your contacts, calendar appointments, memos, tasks, browser bookmarks, and text messages
• Optionally restricting backup to when within Wi-Fi® coverage or disable backup when roaming
• Wirelessly restoring backed up data to a new BlackBerry smartphone

However if you’re not springing for a BlackBerry Enterprise Server – you’ll now have an ability to remotely wipe your device (or sound a loud alarm to locate it lost deep within your sofa cushions). RIM have just opened the beta for BlackBerry Protect — a free service that allows you to backup, remotely wipe and located your lost BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Protect Now In Open Beta

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Since RIM demonstrated their BlackBerry Playbook the other day at the Adobe MAX conference it stands to reason that interest in the new BlackBerry tablet has picked up despite the estimated arrival date still being slated for 2011 sometime. The ringtones and sounds of the device were extracted by someone with access to the BlackBerry Playbook SDK and have been linked below for your WAV listening pleasure.

BlackBerry Playbook Ringtones and Sounds via CrackBerry

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Confirmations are flowing that DataViz – the publisher of the popular Documents To Go mobile software – has been acquired by Research in Motion. DataViz Documents To Go allows mobile devices to access (read, write) Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF files from mobile devices including iPhone, Android and maemo. According to web site Digital Daily the future of the BlackBerry versions of Documents To Go appear assured. The future for other platforms such as iPhone, Android and others appears to be very much up in the air.

Confirmed: RIM Acquires DataViz Assets

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