RIM’s new BlackBerry phones faring well with enterprise, consumer adoption slow

Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry 7 smartphones are seeing strong initial sales among businesses looking to upgrade from older BlackBerry smartphones, however consumer sales have been weak according to Canaccord Genuity. In a research note, Canaccord analysts Mike Walkley and Matt Ramsay found during channel checks that upgrade sales of BlackBerry 7 devices in North America were quite strong with enterprise customers in August. Specifically, Verizon Wireless saw strong Bold 9930 upgrade sales among its substantial enterprise customer base, while AT&T and Sprint saw mixed sales. T-Mobile’s $300 Bold 9900 has not been selling well according to Canaccord’s checks. Read on for more.

 

7.0.0.353 becomes official for the Curve 9360 from Digicel

Just the other day we saw 7.0.0.353 leak out for nearly every new BlackBerry 7 device, and then yesterday we saw it go official for the Bold 9900, and today Digicell made it official for the BlackBerry Curve 9360. As always you will want to make sure you have a back up of the device before you load it up, and be cautious while loading it on your device. Be sure to let us know in the forums how it goes for you.

Download OS 7.0.0.353 for the BlackBerry Curve 9360

via:cb

Jennifer Garner takes her new Bold for a spin to the Apple Store

We usually hold our celeb sightings for the weekly roundup, but this one was too good to let wait. Jennifer Garner was spotted out and about in Santa Monica yesterday sporting a fancy new BlackBerry Bold 9900 (or Bold 9930). It’s great to see shes such a BlackBerry lover that she snagged the new device already, but perhaps the best part is that she is using it while shopping in the Apple Store.

We’re not quite sure why she’s there, but hopefully she’ll stay true to BlackBerry and not swap it out for a new iPhone 🙂

Thanks Jessica!

More images at Pop Sugar

via:cb

RIM to benefit from Apple’s patent attacks on Samsung

As Samsung’s latest devices continue to be targeted by patent complaints filed by the likes of Apple and Microsoft, Research In Motion may reap the benefits of these numerous quarrels. In a note to investors on Tuesday, Gus Papageorgiou of Scotia Capital sees Apple’s multiple complaints against Samsung as potentially opening doors for the struggling BlackBerry maker. Pointing specifically to Apple’s recent win barring the sales and marketing of several new smartphones by three European Samsung subsidiaries, Papageorgiou believes sales of RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 devices will be bolstered by the void these devices will leave in certain regions of Europe if the ban goes into effect on October 13th as scheduled. He also notes that the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 is already selling well in Europe, however, which means RIM’s potential benefits from the impending ban on Samsung smartphones could be icing on the cake. Read on for more.

“These initial victories for Apple do not bode well for Samsung especially in the European market where its market share has moved from 5.0% Q2 last year to 18.8% this year,” the analyst wrote. “In addition to these legal issues, we believe the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is already outselling the Samsung Galaxy S. Based on GSM Exchange’s website, which tracks the top 3 most actively traded devices in Europe, the Bold 9900 is now in the #2 position ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S II and behind the iPhone-4 16Gb.” Papageorgiou raised his price target on RIM stock to $46 from a previous target of $35.60, and he upped his rating to Outperform from Sector Perform.

 

BGR

RIM Launches Bold 9900 in South Africa

Today RIM has officially announced that the Bold 9900 will be available via Vodacom in South Africa.The 9900 will be Vodacom’s first OS 7 device to reach its customers.Vodacom offers services to over 43 million customers in South Africa.

The Bold 9900 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to offer built in support for NFC ( Near Field Communications),which allows it to pair with NFC-enabled accessories, and read SmartPoster tags. The Bold 9900 comes equipped with a 1.2 GHz processor, a 24-bit high resolution touch screen, and the ability to record HD video.

What do you think of the Bold 9900? Tell in the comments bellow..

T-Mobile Offering BlackBerry Bold 9900 to Developers for $199 With No Activation Fee

T-Mobile might be selling the BlackBerry Bold 9900 to customers for $299 but one of our tipsters let us know about a program T-Mobile is running for BlackBerry developers. Developers can get the BlackBerry Bold 9900 for $199.99 for a limited time after a $50 mail in rebate. T-Mobile did something similar in the past together with RIM for previous devices so its nice to see them continuing. The offer for developers expires on November 1st 2011 and requires a 2 year agreement though they nicely waive the $35 activation fee. No word on if this offer is also good for users who are upgrading.

SK Telekom makes OS 7.0.0.353 for the Bold 9900 official

 

If you are a BlackBerry Bold 9900 owner who isn’t a fan of leaked OS’s, but instead prefers to only install official variants you will be pleased to know SK Telekom has made OS 7.0.0.353. Last week we saw this version as a leaked OS, but today it has been made an official, so get to downloading. As always, be sure to back up your device, and exercise caution while installing this release, and be sure to let us know in the forums how it goes for you.

Download OS 7.0.0.353 for the Bold 9900

via:cb

BlackBerry Bold 9900 now available on T-Mobile, still late to the 7 OS party

We knew this day was coming, so there are no surprises here. BlackBerry’s latest addition to its portrait QWERTY family, the Bold 9900, is on sale now at T-Mobile stores. The chrome trimmed, 14.4Mbps HSDPA capable handset’ll run you $350 (before a $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year commitment, or you can always fork over the full $600 if you’d rather steer clear of the carrier’s contract chains. In case you were in need of a refresher, the phone packs a zippy 1.2GHz processor, 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen and runs BlackBerry 7 OS. Feeling like it’s time to update your crackberry habit? Then head to the source below to get your order on.

N4BB

T-Mobile

Engadget

AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9900 Update: Still waiting on an official release date…

 

Please AT&T… give us a release date for the Bold 9900. We don’t want to have to picket 🙂

Anybody who dare think or say that the passion for BlackBerry is waning need not look further than the reader comments on our Petition to AT&T to Release the BlackBerry Bold 9900. AT&T… you seriously need to read them. It’s clear that AT&T CUSTOMERS WANT THEIR BLACKBERRY BOLD 9900s and by not having it released you are losing out!!

On this week’s CrackBerry Podcast, we discussed the petition and half-seriously/half-jokingly decided that September 17th would be the day we take to the streets and do some good ‘ole fashioned smartphone picketing to bring more real-world attention to our cause if we hadn’t received a received word on a release date by then. That’s all we’re looking for AT&T, just a little better communication about the BlackBerry Bold 9900. Better than a release date we’d like to see it released SOON of course, but I think a lot of us would be happier right now if we just knew when it would become available.

I’m still struggling with a reason of why it hasn’t been released seeing as Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are all selling the 9930/9900, but at this point I don’t even care. The most likely reasoning is actually a positive one — that AT&T is pushing their exclusive of the Torch 9810 for only $49.99, which is a GREAT DEAL (so thank you for that AT&T). I know quite a few Torch 9800 owners now who have gone ahead and upgraded to the 9810 because of this deal and they’re loving it. But I just hate seeing people jonesing for a new BlackBerry any longer than they need to, and I think to a lot of people the Bold 9900 is distinctly different than the Torch 9810.

In the meantime, the petition is still going strong at the link below (and by leaving a petition comment you’ll be entered to win an AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9900 when it gets released) so be sure to jump over to the petition and have your voice heard.

Read / Sign the AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9900 Petition.

via:CB

Free MOLOME Photo Filter and Sharing App for Bold 9900 & 9930

Dan pointed out a cool new app called MOLOME that is sadly limited to users of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930. The app lets you quickly snap a picture and apply one of 14 cool filters to the picture. You can then share it on the MOLOME community along with Twitter and Facebook. If you use MOLOME you can also be notified when people “Love” your pics or comment on them.