The robot connects by Bluetooth and conference attendees are invited to race around an obstacle course and compete for the fastest time. First prize gets a Storm2 and the robot, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place all get a Storm2 as well.

Did you try it? What was your time?

Poynt is probably the best LBS app for BlackBerry. Currently, the app lets you find local businesses, movies, restaurants, events and people. The app gives you the relevant information you’re looking for, and with driving directions, interactive maps and contact information, Poynt connects you with these places.

In the upcoming version of Poynt (weeks away!), the app will be adding gas and weather functionality. These features are really awesome and we have some pics of the features in action.

The gas feature in Poynt shows you all the surrounding gas stations in your area and what the current price of gas is at that station. This feature is going to be huge for anyone who commutes to work and it will save you a ton of money over time.

The weather feature in Poynt has two components. When you set your location with Poynt, the app’s background will change based on what the weather is like. If it’s snowing, Poynt’s background will be covered in snow and show you what the temperature is. In the pic, we show what Poynt looks like for someone in Anchorage Alaska. If you want more information about the weather, you can click through and get the full weather forecasts and details.

These new features are going to make Poynt, an already killer app, even better.

Poynt is available free in App World.

The BlackBerry Developer Challenge was narrowed down to the Final 16. The event takes 16 up and coming apps and helps them grow by giving the top apps investment.

The 16 finalists were:

1. Kik (awesome music app)
2. Sid Meier’s Civilizations (classic game)
3. Handmark’s AFP news app
4. David (a pragmatic app that tracks your wireless usage to help save you money)
5. Wicked Blogging App (WordPress for BlackBerry)
6. FileScout (advanced file manager for BlackBerry)
7. Expense Report Reader
8. Fierce Towers (tower defense)
9. Shozu (social networking platform for BlackBerry)
10. CBS News app (another news app by Handmark)
11. E-mobile software (an app similar to a theme)
12. Vision for YouTube
13. Astraware solitaire
14. Market Simplified (trading software)
15. 7Digitial Music Store 16. Unsynced Music Player (new music app api)

The crowd was getting very restless and Mike did his best to keep them quiet. Before we found out who won we watched a great show of half naked girls dancing around with swords and snakes on their heads while putting their legs behind their backs. The winner? The dancing girls. Sure, it wasn’t an app but it definitely stole the show.

No, but seriously folks, the big winner was the 7Digital Music Store for $75K. Congrats!

The latest location services from RIM offer some great implications for BlackBerry apps.

The latest location services from RIM use cell tower triangulation to help with location based apps. Using cell tower triangulation, you can get location services inside a building where you wouldn’t normally get a GPS signal.

Another feature of the new location services is that it leverages a community generated database of information. An example of this is pictured above where a map displays all the available cell towers around the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.

For a good example of an app that leverages these new services, check out Loopt in App World.

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At the BlackBerry Developer conference we got a sneak peek at the upcoming ebay app for BlackBerry.

The app features a deal of the day where you can bid on the day’s hot item. Another great feature of the app is the ability to add a reminder to bid on an item, with a fully integrated calendar alert system.

If you’re an ebay fan, be sure to pick up this app when it goes live. We’ll keep you posted on pricing and release date, but so far all we know is it will be available in App World later this month.

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No developer conference is complete without Nintendo Wii and Guitar hero.

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It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. Wait a minute, I can’t get my BlackBerry Storm until 1 month after it’s been commercially available? That is a long horizon, friends.

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People really want their BlackBerrys! The Bolds are unbranded and the Storm IOUs are only for Verizon devices. I can’t wait to get mine!

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Congrats to Jamie Julius of Nobex Technologies, who gave the winning pitch at the first ever BlackBerry Cool 15. You can download the Nobex Radio Companion at http://www.nobexrc.com/download/ Enjoy your BlackBerry Storm! Congrats also go to David Shalamberidze, who won the audience BlackBerry Storm giveaway!

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This is as close as I got to the Verizon booth before the bearded man in the red shirt gave me flack for snapping a pick of him. Apparently because the device is still in development. I guess he didn’t read BBCool today, heh.

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There are a lot of people here! The music is too low key, though… I guess developers like to relax more than bump and grind.

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RIM knows secure communication platforms. RIM also knows good food!

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Here’s blogger Kevin from CrackBerry resting up for the BlackBerry Cool 15 on a BlackBerry Bag. You know it’s a developer conference when the sessions start at 10 and there are bean bags everywhere!

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Blogging outside in sunny Santa Clara! Nothing beats a nice conference in October.

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This is a much better view than the one we had for CTIA. Thank you Hyatt Regency!

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Here’s a quick demo of LogMeIn’s Rescue+Mobile, which gives admins the ability to provide support help to your mobile device.

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This is our booth for CTIA. They were going to put BlackBerry Cool on it, but we didn’t want to be showy.

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I know I’m not the type of person that the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 is marketed to, and thus my opinion of it is biased. So I enlisted the help of two lovely ladies hovering around the RIM booth to set me straight. The results are surprising: they wanted my Bold! There’s still a market for this FlipBerry, however.

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MOBITV REVEALS PRODUCT STRATEGY TO DELIVER TARGETED APPLICATIONS FOR MOBILE CONSUMERS

Leading Mobile TV Service Provider Previews Mobi4BIZ Offering with Live Video for the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

EMERYVILLE, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008– September 10, 2008 – MobiTV, Inc., the leader in the delivery of rich media mobile content and services, today announced the next phase of its product development strategy which entails a series of vertically-customized products and services that combine live video, VOD and up-to-the-minute data together in a personalized, compelling and easy-to-use interface for mobile professionals and on-the-go entertainment enthusiasts.

Mobi4BIZ is the company’s breakthrough product offering from its vertical development strategy and will make its market debut in the U.S. supporting the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM). Mobi4BIZ is a video-centric application for mobile consumers and business professionals that combines live TV and VOD content. Mobi4BIZ will have at its foundation CNBC, with video content and up-to-the minute stock market data from official CNBC ticker. Other anticipated partners include Bloomberg Television, FOX Business and TheStreet.com. Mobi4BIZ features user-driven programming, where the consumer creates a watch list and all content discovery within the application is related to that list.

“MobiTV continues to demonstrate unparalleled innovation and leadership in the mobile video industry, and is proud to offer a preview of the industry’s first vertically-targeted, integrated media application for mobile professionals,” said Charlie Nooney, Chairman and CEO, MobiTV. “This is complimentary to our current broad consumer offering and recognizes the adoption and consumption of mobile media within specific segments. Natural extensions of this strategy include kids, sports, education and enterprise.”

Mobi4BIZ Features
? Superior video quality and resolution for both full and partial screen modes
? Company-specific VOD content
? Alerts for breaking news video on portfolio companies
? Personalized content on portfolio companies including detailed financial data
? Simple portfolio navigation and management
? Personalized stock ticker
? Financial graphs, analysis and tools

MobiTV at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008
MobiTV will be demonstrating Mobi4BIZ and a selection of its other award-winning services and offerings at this year’s CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008, at Moscone Center, September 10-12. Visit MobiTV in the West Hall, Level Two, Booth #1107.

About MobiTV
MobiTV (http://www.mobitv.com), the market maker and leader in the delivery of mobile content and services, develops and offers technology solutions that power an end-to-end managed network for content ingestion, encoding and optimized delivery over mobile and broadband networks. MobiTV’s platform technology delivers live television, premium and primetime programming, video-on-demand, satellite and digital music services from top broadcast and cable television networks and major music labels through its carrier and operator partners to more than four million subscribers worldwide. Founded in 1999, MobiTV is a privately held company with headquarters in Emeryville, California.

For more information about MobiTV mobile television products and services, go to: http://www.mobitv.com/gettv. To learn more about MobiTV mobile digital music products and services, go to: http://www.mobitv.com/getradio. Business partners and customers interested in learning more about MobiTV’s hosted content delivery technology and solutions, please visit: http://www.mobitv.com/technology/partners.

The final Tele Atlas Maps in Apps finalist is Open Green Map, with an application that uses LBS to organize communities towards environmental consciousness.

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Next up in the Tele Atlas Maps in Apps finalists is Pongr, which has a great consumer pricing application. Post a comment and tell us what you think!

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Tele Atlas was kind enough to give us a sneak peak yesterday of their Maps in Apps contest finalists. Here’s Travel Channel with their Travel Channel to Go app. Post a comment and tell us what you think!

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Finally, here’s Dan Hesse discussing the problems with openness and usability. Or, ‘why your mom won’t use an Android phone’.

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Here’s Dotson making the great point that the movement towards open networks does not limit the value of closed, integrated solutions – namely BlackBerry.

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In contrast to Dotson, Sprint CE0 makes the great point that openness is only as important as the consumer demand for it, but everone in the audience cheered when asked if they would like open networks and open handsets. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam also seemed hesitant to be pro-open, which makes sense considering the Verizon/BREW/Qualcomm model is a closed one.

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Here’s Robert Dotson (sweater) talking about the need for openness in the Telecomm space. He seems a big fan of Google.

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First impressions of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220? Not for me, but the ladies and the kids will love it. It’s running OS 4.6.0 and these models aren’t T-Mobile branded.

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Hey, it’s the BlackBerry 8350i which just got launched today. It’s got external microSD, GPS and iDen goodness. People keep asking about the Thunder/Storm, however.

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Sprint to Deliver Industry-Leading Push-to-Talk Services on New BlackBerry Smartphone

Operating on the fastest national push-to-talk network, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the first from Sprint to offer built-in Wi-Fi capabilities and Group Connect, allowing instant group conversations with up to 21 people nationwide

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and Waterloo, ON – Sprint customers seeking the benefits of industry-leading push-to-talk services and the power of BlackBerry® smartphones will have a new version of the coveted combo available later this year. Sprint (NYSE: S) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to deliver the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8350i – the newest Nextel Direct Connect-capable BlackBerry smartphone – by the end of 2008.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the latest BlackBerry smartphone to utilize iDEN technology and feature Nextel Direct Connect, the only national push-to-talk service in the industry to offer sub-second call setup and connection to the world’s largest push-to-talk community with millions of users and integrated business solutions, including one of the largest selections of GPS-enabled solutions. With Nationwide and International Direct Connect, Sprint customers will be able to instantly connect within the US and to users in other eligible countries including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will also be the first BlackBerry smartphone from Sprint to offer Group Connect, allowing customers to instantly set up group conversations with up to 20 other participants.

“Smart phones in general, and BlackBerry products in particular, have become more important to both business people and consumers lately,” said David Chamberlain, Principal Analyst with analyst firm In-Stat. “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i with PTT capability rounds out Sprint’s options to fill communications needs of many industries particularly those in the blue-collar segment of construction, field services, transportation and manufacturing.”

“Sprint is the undisputed leader in push-to-talk services, and with the launch of the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone, we are keeping our promise of expanding the Nextel Direct Connect capabilities and options for our customers,” said Danny Bowman, president of Nextel Direct Connect. “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be very attractive for business customers who need instant, convenient push-to-talk services to communicate now with employees, customers and suppliers but also want the capabilities of a high-end smartphone.”

In addition to delivering the unmatched push email and messaging capabilities of the BlackBerry solution, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will provide rich multimedia, organizer and Internet browsing capabilities, as well as access to thousands of other mobile applications. The smartphone will also include built-in Wi-Fi® capabilities, allowing customers to browse the Internet and download email attachments quickly and easily. When connected to a Wi-Fi network, customers will also be able to send and receive emails or surf the Internet while talking on the phone.

Other key features include:

* Integrated GPS – Built-in capabilities for assisted autonomous GPS capabilities
* 2 Megapixel Digital Camera – with 5x digital zoom, flash and video recording*
* DataViz® Documents to Go® – preloaded software makes it easy to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly on the smartphone
* Internal Antenna – improves design appeal and durability
* Speakerphone – optimized for exceptional sound quality with Direct Connect
* Advanced Media Player – great for listening to music, watching videos and showing pictures
* Removable/Rechargeable 1400 mAH Battery – provides exceptional battery life
* Expandable Memory – microSD memory card slot allows plenty of storage for pictures, videos, music and documents
* Bluetooth® – version 2.0 with support for (A2DP) stereo Bluetooth and more
* Additional Messaging Capabilities – support for instant messaging and multimedia messaging including audio, pictures and text to email addresses and capable phones

“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone will offer customers an exceptional communications and multimedia experience together with the power and convenience of the popular Nextel Direct Connect service,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM. “We are pleased to build on our successful relationship with Sprint to bring this powerful new smartphone to Sprint’s customers.”

Customers can find more information on the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone and sign up to be notified of commercial availability from Sprint at www.sprint.com/instantconnectbb. Pricing, service plan details and an exact availability date will be announced at a later date.

Nationally, the Nextel National Network continues to operate at best-ever performance levels based on internal metrics. Internal performance metrics show double-digit percent improvement year-over-year (i.e., March 2007 to March 2008) for drops (i.e., where a customer’s voice connection fails or drops during a call) and blocks (i.e., where a customer is unable to make a voice connection) for the Nextel National Network. Customer issues related to dropped and blocked calls, and voice quality combined, have decreased more than 60 percent year-over-year (i.e., March 2007 to March 2008). This level of improvement translates to a more reliable calling experience for our customers. Customer calls on the Nextel National Network are successfully connected and maintained better than 99 out of 100 times.

For more information about Nextel Direct connect, please visit www.sprint.com/nextel.

* Video recording requires a microSD card which may be sold separately

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 is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 52 million customers at the end of the second quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.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.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

The BlackBerry Booth is jammed with Americans wanting to get their hands on the Bold. Unfortunately, I’m the only one who can tell them when it will be released on AT&T. Also, the Bolds are unbranded and running OS 4.6.0.

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Day 1 keynote is about to start. No wifi here, so no livebogging, but we’ll vpost anything interesting that comes up.

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