When it rains it pours!! If you didn't see our Photos of the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100 (codenamed stratus/striker), be sure to check them out along with the photos spotted/posted by our buddy salomondrin. He also posted up the sweet video above (though it's not him in the video doing the talking per usual - but we're sure that'll happen soon and we'll post all the good stuff he brings). Be sure to watch the video. The new BlackBerry Pearl is going to be one SWEET device.

• Discuss this video in our new BlackBerry Pearl 8100 forum >>

First Live Photos of the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100!!

OoohHHH BaBy!! Any BlackBerry Pearl fans out there? I know there are. And I know so many of you have been waiting for Research in Motion to release an updated version of the candybar-styled BlackBerry Pearl 81xx Series Smartphone. Good news. The wait is getting shorter, because what you're looking at in these photos is the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100! 

We've actually been sitting on these pictures of the new 3G BlackBerry Pearl 9100 for a while now with this post sitting in the queue ready to go live (for obvious reasons -- source's request -- we can't always post stuff the second we have it), but now that it's out there (good stuff Sal!!) we can post these babies up. Be sure to look below for more photos.

As you can see, the new BlackBerry Pearl (has gone by the codename stratus and/or striker we think.... codenames are so confusing sometimes) gets its styling from the latest generation of the BlackBerry Smartphones. The new Pearl really looks like a narrowed down BlackBerry Bold 9700, but with the full physical qwerty keyboard swapped out in favor of a slick new SureType design. We didn't post any photos of it here, but under the battery door the new Pearl features a newly-designed battery. Lots more specs and info to come soon, but for now enjoy the photos! For those who appreciate a small device, this is going to be the one you want. 

Mad Skillz - Entry #51 - Professional Yo-Yo Berry

OK folks, this is our last shout-outs post in what was a purely awesome I Love My BlackBerry Video contest. For this final round, I went through the videos and have highlighted in this post nine entries that really grabbed my attention for different reasons. I'll give a brief overview, and then you can watch all the videos below. As for the video above... well... let's just say it hit a sweet spot with me because back when I was 8 years old (in '88) I remember watching the Smothers Brothers reunion season on CBS. The Yo-Yo Man (Tom Smothers) was my HERO. Seriously, I was addicted to yo-yos long before I became addicted to BlackBerrys.

More Shout Out Awards:

• Mad Skillz Award - Aron Bendet is the Yo-Yo Berry
• First Entry In - Props to Matthios Rios for getting this video in just hours after we announced the competition
• From the Heart - Robert Sinisi's video is straight from the heart. Our best wishes go out to his sister
• Most Educational - We can now sign BlackBerry thanks to Jenna Endicott's entry
• More Mad Skilz - Marco Hartig killed his BlackBerry... in style
• Most Money Spent on a Video - Troy Peterson.. you is crazy! Watch him buy 7,000 shares of RIMM for close to half a million dollars :)
• Passion & Awesomeness - Troy Reynold's Inglorious BlackBerry Addict tale is a must-watch!
• Gag Reel Award - Troy Anderson's documentary had an awesome Gag Reel at the end. Kudos to that!!
• CrackBerry Crazy Awesome - BlackBerrying while Sky Diving? YOU BET!

In addition to our Slacker, SmrtGuard and ShaoSoft Prizes going out to all contestants that put in an entry, all of our shout-out winners will also get their own Coveroo and DreamTheme Prime Theme! 

Entry #12 -Two Different Kinds of Fruit

* Update - We got Eric's Special Time entry back up. Watch it below!!! *

This post is way overdue! Between the BlackBerry Developer Conference last week, and playing catch-up from being away this week, I'm a bit behind on our I Love My BlackBerry video contest shoutouts. Today we've got a couple of the funny short-commercials that were entered. Above you can watch Randall Brown's Two Different Kinds of Fruit video and below you can catch Brian Smith's I Have an App For That skit (this video always wins the award for Best Hair). There were two other entries that I absolutely LOVED in this category, but unfortunately the contestants yanked from youtube (leave your entries up... our final shoutout is coming tomorrow!).  Kudos goes to Entry #34 by Eric Hilliard for Special Time and to Entry #32 by Brad Cook for Unavoidable.

A note to contestants: Just to recap where things are at... the grand prizes winners have their BIG prizes en route to them already. Our finalists will be getting their $50 ShopCrackBerry coupon codes before end of day Friday. Our finalists and shout-out winners will be getting contacted about their custom CrackBerry coveroos before end of day Friday, and then everybody will who entered a video will be getting contacted about their Slacker and SmrtGuard and ShaoSoft and Dream Theme prizes before the end of the weekend. Thanks for the patience!

Our CrackBerry Tip box was flooded this morning by happy canuks letting us know that the Telus BlackBerry Storm2 9550 is available on Telus' website. It's kind of interesting to see a carrier offering both GSM and CDMA-based smartphones... Storm2, Tour 9630... Bold 9700?? Tough Decision! 

The Telus BlackBerry Storm2 9550 sells for $199.99 on a three-year contract, $499.99 on a two-year contract, $549.99 on a one-year contract or you can pick it up for $599.99 off contract. If you're not yet familiar with the BlackBerry Storm2, you'll want to check out our BlackBerry Storm2 Review and BlackBerry Storm2 Features and Specifications page. 

• Check out the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 on Telus >>

Recently DreamTheme launched 20 new personalization products across 3 new app categories. This week they have just released a new ringtone bundle called Dancify. The Dancify DreamTones app is a small app you install that gives you access to over 20 professionally recorded vibes you can then save as a ringtone. The DreamTones packs actually are composed of 7 or 8 tracks, with segments of different lengths to allow a bit more control over the nature of the ringtone you are interested in for assignment to different events on your BlackBerry. You can check out Dancify and DreamTheme's other DreamTones packs by listening to them at www.dreamtheme.com.

For those of you that have already bought the 'Unlimited Dreaming' package from DreamTheme, the Dancify DreamTones are now available to you at no charge. You can buy Dancify DreamTones, Unlimited Dreaming, or anything else from DreamTheme's catalogue here at the CrackBerry App Store. Use the code "Crack" to get an additional 15% off when purchasing through the CrackBerry App Store Client or Mobile App Store site!

• Dancify DreamTone Pack for BlackBerry Smartphones >>
• Browse all DreamTheme Products >>

We saw OS 5.0.0.348 leak last week for the Bold 9000 and Curve 8900. This time it's the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that's getting some love. I can't wait for 5.0 to roll out officially for more devices.... it'll be happy times for many a BlackBerry user out there.

*OS Disclaimer - Please Read: Keep in mind this is NOT an official release and as such is not supported by RIM or your Carrier. If you choose to install, do so at your own risk and only if you're comfortable in the process of upgrading and downgrading your device software. It is quite normal during operating system development for certain features to be crippled or disabled while others are tested, and these beta builds often reflect that. They are not always better. Depending on your BlackBerry comfort level, it may be best for you to wait for community feedback on a build before deciding to download and install for yourself or simply wait for the next official release. If you require support, you will find it in our CrackBerry forums via our extremely knowledgeable community base - do not contact your carrier or RIM for Beta OS technical support (their first course of action will be to advise you to downgrade to a supported OS). Follow the links below for more information and instructions. *

• Download OS 5.0.0.348 for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 >>
• Instructions: How to Upgrade your BlackBerry's Operating System >>
• Instructions: How to Downgrade your BlackBerry's Operating System >>
• Instructions: Mess things up? Fix a Bricked BlackBerry Here >>

Going through the leftover footage we grabbed during the BlackBerry Developer Conference last week in San Francisco, I stumbled upon the above clip I recorded in the hallways of the conference area. It's pretty geeky cool - RIM had a flat screen set up with what I dubbed the "BlackBerry Matrix." 

The monitor showed the logos for apps being downloaded from BlackBerry App World in real time (though it may have been more like real time plus a one minute delay). It was mesmerizing. What you don't see in the video above is that if I just would have turned around for a second, the camera would have caught about 20 people huddled around the monitor just staring at the screen for minutes on end. The BlackBerry Matrix had us. 

Ok, so maybe it's not really a celebrity BlackBerry sighting in the traditional sense, but it is a sure sign that BlackBerry Smartphones have gone mainstream, now even reaching that little 'ole famous town called Springfield. Last night on the Simpsons, Homer was spotted using a BlackBerry 7230 (or is that a 7290?!) after having been given a new position at work. I guess enterprises in cartoon land are still issuing "Old Blue" out to their users. Personally if I was Homer, I'd have asked for an upgrade to a brand spank'n new BlackBerry Bold 9700. More power, 3G and the 9700's battery life is still awesome.

I wonder what the smartphone of choice for those annoying neighbors over in Shelbyville is?

Yes, that's a BlackBerry Tour made out of Lego Building Blocks!

The second-annual BlackBerry Developer Conference is now a part of RIM history. Following last year's DevCon, we had Sharad Mohan, Co-Founder and CEO of Gym Technik, review the first-ever BBDC from his point of view as a new BlackBerry developer. This year, we asked Trevor Chong, Product Director of Gym Technik, to follow up with us on his four days of DevCon 2009 and share his thoughts with everyone by answering a few of our questions. To me, GymTechnik is a perfect example of who RIM targets with an event like the BlackBerry Developer Conference -- young guys, passionate about their product/service and excited at the opportunity in the mobile space and potential developing for BlackBerry has to offer -- who better to review DevCon?! So without further ado, let's turn it over to Trevor!

BlackBerry Developer Conference - Year II in Review
by Trevor Chong, Product Director of Gym Technik

As you know, we have been running our free fitness tracking service to all our members the past year. We would like to thank our users, our Ace and Beta members, and RIM for their great support this past year. We look forward to continue serving the BlackBerry community.

At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference it was made clear on more than one occasion that to build better BlackBerry apps and maximize your app's awareness (and downloads/sales) you need to embrace all delivery channels (App World, Mobihand, etc.) and especially engage BlackBerry enthusiast sites such as CrackBerry.com.

During one DevCon session in particular, mention was made of a free service we offer here at CrackBerry that not all developers were aware of but encouraged to take advantage of, and that is getting your own dedicated forum within our CrackBerry forums. The BlackBerry Software and Service Companies forum is the place for developers to maintain a presence and reach out to our enthusiast community. Read on for more details!

The NBA season is in full swing, and what better to way to keep up than to follow along on your BlackBerry. With the NBA Game Time app from NBA Digital (built by those xtreme labs guys again - check out the Dev Con video above), you never have to miss a beat. The biggest feature is live scores, stats and standings for the entire league, but add in live radio broadcasts and you've got it all. Video clips, schedules, player cards and more. It's all packed in and ready to keep you up to date all season long. The app works on all devices and is available in BlackBerry App World for $9.99. There is also a slimmed-down free version available.

• More information on NBA Game Time 2009-2010 >>

Following up on yesterday's Open GL support announcement by Research in Motion, we've now seen a few examples at DevCon of BlackBerry apps and games showing off 3D graphics in live working apps.

Xtreme Labs gave us a demo of the picture viewing / album app they have been working on with BumpTop.com that features oodles of 3D graphics love. Check out the video above to see it in action. It's still an early beta, but it's an encouraging sign for BlackBerry developers as the Xtreme Labs guys only had access to the new APIs for a short period of time leading up to the conference (less than two weeks). 

Cool stuff. We'll let you know when the BumpTop app becomes available for download.

The guys at Xtreme Labs, developers extraordinaire, let us get the first look at the upcoming urbanspoon app for BlackBerry last night at the Dev Con opening reception. With this app, you can easily locate restaurants in your area by spinning the "tumbler". Let urbanspoon choose a restaurant at random, or specifiy the type of cuisine you're looking for. The tumbler rolls, and you are presented with information including phone number, map and restaurant reviews. The Storm version even allows you to spin the tumbler by shaking the device.

Get urbanspoon for BlackBerry: The app should be landing in BlackBerry App World over the next few days, but you don't have to wait to download it. Visit urbanspoon.com/blackberry from your BlackBerry's web browser to download it. 

Following up on yesterday's announcement of Open GL ES support for BlackBerry Smartphones, we followed up with RIM today at the BlackBerry Developer Conference to clarify exactly which devices would be able to take advantage of the 3D graphics standard via the newly-released Open GL APIs. The original press release made note that it would be available to BlackBerry Smartphones running the OS 5.0 platform and higher, which is not totally the case. Not all in-market OS 5.0 devices will be able to run these new apps which incorporate 3D graphics.

Currently, the only devices that will be able to take advantage of the Open GL APIs are those devices running OS 5.0, the latest Qualcomm chipsets that also meet the minimum memory requirements needed to run the standard smoothly, specifically the BlackBerry Storm2 and yet-to-be released BlackBerry Curve 8530. Other existing devices, including the original Storm, and the new Bold 9700 will not be able to run apps and games that make use of the 3D standard even though they have OS 5.0 (am guessing Storm1 doesn't have the memory to do it, while the Bold's processor doesn't play friendly with it just yet). The Tour hasn't had 5.0 officially rolled out to it yet, but hopefully when it does it'll make the Open GL cut. Looking ahead, hopefully more devices (including GSM BlackBerry Smartphones that are not running on Qualcomm chips) will be able to run BlackBerry games and apps that feature Open GL 3D graphics.