A new BlackBerry theme came out today for the Pearl, Curve and 8800-series which will tickle pink any nostalgic gamers out there. Every icon is an animated sprite from a certain game involving certain Italian plumbers stomping on certain turtles attempting to rescue a certain princess. While “Classic Video Game Theme” might be a thinly-veiled attempt to evade IP lawyers, it’s still a slick looking theme. As far as I’m concerned, it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo’s legal banhammer comes down on this one, so pick it up while you can!
While it might not be the cleanest picture in the world (you would want to see these pictures of the BlackBerry Javelin if you’re looking for clarity), this shot does give us a feel for the size of the BalckBerry Javelin versus the BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry 8300. As you can see, the BlackBerry Javelin is well smaller than the big ol’ 8800, and just about as big as the Curve. While the BlackBerry Javelin might not be packing 3G, its slim form factor, 480 x 360 screen, 3.2 megapixel camera and Curve-style keypad are winning a lot of people over already. Expect this one out around late November – maybe even before Christmas if the release date isn’t pushed back.
Viettel will be bringing the BlackBerry 8700, BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry 8100 and BlackBerry 8320 to Vietnam this October. The 4,000 devices on the way will be the first shipment Vietnam sees, and Veittel is lined up to be the sole distributer in the long run. We actually get quite a few Vietnamese readers on BBCool, so it’s good news for them. Mobifone is in a close race with Viettel for cellular subscribers, but an exclusive BlackBerry deal could be the tiebreaker that puts Viettel in the lead.
VimpelCom has launched the BlackBerry 8800 in Russia today under the Bee Line brand, following up on a fine contract with British American Tobacco and a batch of BlackBerry 8700s. It might seem like sloppy seconds when other countries are getting the likes of the BlackBerry Bold in mere weeks, but at the end of the day, the 8800 is still a solid platform for BlackBerry service – heck, I see government workers on the bus every morning still packing the old blue 7200 series models who would kill for an 8800. It might be easy to see the flip BlackBerry 8220 replacing the BlackBerry Pearl, and the BlackBerry Javelin eventually replacing the BlackBerry Curve, but those devices are still solid, and will likely stick around for a good long time after the Bold is released.
If you’ve got a roasted keypad on your BlackBerry 8800-series device, take a look at this video. It’s a little long, but goes through every step nice and slowly. Even if you’re carrying something else, it might be worth checking out The Moment of Truth at 14:50. Oh, and the skin is from DecalGirl, if you’re curious.
Announced back in back in May, Du’s BlackBerry service has finally gone live after government approval and is now available in the United Arab Emirates. There’s quite the BlackBerry lineup for Du, including the BlackBerry 8100 for AED 1,799.00, the BlackBerry 8300 for AED 1,880.00, the BlackBerry 8700 for AED 1,350.00 and the BlackBerry 8800 for AED 2,199.00. It’s a solid start for an inaugural launch and shows that Du is clearly throwing their chips in with RIM in order to take on the current leading carrier, Etisalat. It’ll be tough going, but we certainly know what it’s like in Canada to not have much in the way of competition.
For anyone still on the line between an upcoming 3G iPhone or the slick new BlackBerry Bold, The iPhone Blog has a nice comparison video. Just keep in mind the reviewer is an Apple fanboy – consider yourselves disclaimed. Supposedly, the BlackBerry 9000 got no inspiration whatsoever from the iPhone… decide for yourself. Also, Howard Chui also has a run-through of the BlackBerry 9000 compared to the 8800, if you’re considering an upgrade.
Mobile Telephony of Serbia customers will now be able to get their hands on the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, BlackBerry Curve 8300, and BlackBerry 8800. Mobile Telephony of Serbia, otherwise known as mt:s, is offering the phones with the help of Alcatel-Lucent, who have participated in the setup of many of RIM’s expansions. All three phones were already available in the area through a partnership between VIP and Vodafone, but choices are always good.
AT&T has teamed up with TeleNav to launch a branded GPS service on a wide range of smartphones. It comes with everything you’ve come to expect from a GPS suite: written and spoken direction, access to points of interest, even gas prices and traffic information. Uniquely to BlackBerrys, speech recognition is also available, allowing you speak the name of a business or address for turn-by-turn directions. The whole thing comes with a $9.99/month price tag, and is available on the 8310, 8800 and 8820. They’ll be demoing the whole deal in booth #3428 at CTIA, so give us some impressions if you get a chance to check it out.
TrafficGauge has announced that they now support the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, and 8800 for their eponymous traffic monitoring software. The app monitors freeway traffic, color-coding it for light, medium, and heavy traffic. It’s only available for select cities in the US, so if you live elsewhere you’ll have to use one of the otheroptions.
VimpelCom has launched the BlackBerry 8800 in Russia today under the Bee Line brand, following up on a 
Announced back in 
Mobile Telephony of Serbia customers will now be able to get their hands on the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, BlackBerry Curve 8300, and BlackBerry 8800. Mobile Telephony of Serbia, otherwise known as mt:s, is offering the phones with the help of Alcatel-Lucent, who have participated in the setup of 
AT&T has 
