Courtesy of CrackBerry forums, it’s looking like the fourth largest wireless carrier has gone ahead and put the clamp down on unlocked BlackBerry Storm devices. According to several reports, the devices aren’t functioning properly at all: many have said that they have no data connection, while calling customer service has resulted in obtaining no help at all. Others have even heard, “Your device is not supported,” even before they can connect to anyone to talk to.

All of this is coming from the customers, but with so many of them independently verifying the same situation, it’s definitely something that’s got us scratching our head in confusion. Why T-Mobile would lock down the usage of the Storm on their network is beyond us: after all, it’s not like it’s the only device being utilized on their network which doesn’t come from T-Mobile. We’ll keep our eye on this one. And, if you’ve got a Storm and you’re running around on T-Mobile’s network, let us know your own experiences.

[via CrackBerry]

Mainly, it looks like Verizon Wireless conceded that having more than one application market makes sense. Initially, Verizon was going to remove all pre-loaded application links from devices, like Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices, or Windows Mobile handsets, and put their own application store at the forefront. You would have still been able to download the appropriate company’s market, but it would have been an extra download, and just an extra hassle. Now, though, Verizon is sharing up to 70% of revenue from applications purchased through their V Cast Apps marketplace with developers.

Probably the easiest feature of the whole thing, though, is the fact that customers will be able to put their purchases directly onto their bills, so no extra credit card is needed. Easy enough for customers, and even easier for developers. And, while Verizon Wireless has officially released V Cast Apps, it’s only available on one handset right now: the BlackBerry Storm. There are more BlackBerry devices planned for the new future, so keep your fingers crossed that they roll out soon. Announcements should be forthcoming, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

[via Rethink Wireless]

BlackBerry Storm – MR3 (5.0) Software Release

• Software Version: 5.0.0 Release 508(OS 4.2.0.128 / Applications 5.0.0.328)
• Significant improvements in rotation detection and screen painting have been introduced in this software.
• Device displayed a white bar at the bottom of the screen after a rotation event.
• When setting a custom SMS tone for a single contact, this tone may playback unexpectedly for SMS’ received from other contacts.
• When swiping down the virtual keyboard in an MMS message the send and save draft icons did not appear as expected.
• When viewing an SMS there was no simple way to call the current user. Now the user can select the number from the Callback Number field or from the message body and call that number from the pop up menu.
• The delete prior function has the unwanted side-effect of triggering the compose email screen.
• The user cannot configure their profile settings to increase the number of alerts when being notified of an event such as incoming SMS or email.
• Previous software versions did not allow the user to increase the count of notifications (i.e. Beep 5 times when when I get an email and beep 3 times when I get an sms). In this software, this is now allowed with counts from 1-10.
• When trying to set a home screen background of a certain resolution (more specifically a resolution matching either the width or the height of the native resolution of the LCD) it may have appeared as a black screen.
• When trying to edit/create a folder, the virtual keyboard did not render to allow the user to enter the names of said folders.
• Intermittently, when streaming a video while doing a handover to 2G on a 3G network the video would stop playing.
• If you paused a video recording and then resumed, the icon state may not have reflected the current recording state.
• After recoding a video of a certain size (7M) the saved video may be corrupted and unplayable.
• During manual network selection, the radio buttons associated with the networks did not render as expected.
• When moving out of coverage your device display for no coverage may have been inconsistent.
• During voice calls, your device may have reset on a rare occasion.
• After viewing and accepting the End User Licensing Agreement of the App World application the application doesn’t startup (fixes introduced in the latest version of App World).
• On some rare occasions, the device may reset on its own during a voice call or while idle.
• During an MTP side load of 16GB of music, the device would leak memory and stop the transfer at ~75%.
• During device full boot-up, the progress bar skips from 0% complete to ~66% complete instead of showing a gradual progression (Note: from 66% to 100% it does show a gradual progression).

[via engadgetmobile]

This version of Slacker Radio also connects to V CAST Music, combining this exciting music application with Verizon Wireless’ industry-leading mobile music service. When a song is being played using Slacker Radio and is one of the more than 4.5 million available in the V CAST Music with Rhapsody catalog, a V CAST icon will appear on the screen that will let customers easily purchase that track while it continues playing on the smartphone.

Slacker Radio is included with Email and Web for BlackBerry plans, which begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.

[via fortythreepr]

[via phonemag]

“BlackBerry smartphone users are accustomed to being productive while on-the-go; LogMeIn extends users’ mobility by making their office and home computers fully accessible from their smartphone,” said Kevin Farrell, vice president and general manager, Digital Living at LogMeIn. “Ignition will be optimized for use with the BlackBerry Storm and make it easy for anyone to carry the power of their computer with them virtually anywhere-without the weight.”

To fit your computer desktop to the small screen, you can zoom, scroll and select all with just a flick of a fingertip. Typing is available by activating a full on-screen QWERTY keyboard, as well as special keyboards, including function keys, tab, ESC and navigation arrows.

LogMeIn Ignition is compatible with Windows PCs running LogMeIn Pro, LogMeIn IT Reach or LogMeIn Free, and Mac OS X computers running LogMeIn Free.

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone brings images and videos to life with sharp and vibrant colour through its stunning 3.25-inch, high resolution (480×360 at 184 ppi) display. Featuring a built-in media player that handles a range of video and music formats, it also supports video streaming and can be synchronised with iTunes for music content or wirelessly connected (via Bluetooth) to a home stereo using the BlackBerry Music Gateway. With HSPA connectivity, BlackBerry Storm users will enjoy a high-performance HTML browser that works in either portrait or landscape modes thanks to the built-in orientation sensor (accelerometer).

For easy access to popular IM and social networking services, the BlackBerry Storm comes with purpose-built applications for Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, and Flickr. The smartphone also conveniently supports multitasking so users are not forced to constantly open and close applications.

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone features include:

• Sleek, stylish design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chromed frame
• Large (3.25-inch), “clickable” SurePress touch-screen with 480 x 360 resolution at 184 ppi
• An ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the backlighting and an accelerometer that allows customers to view applications in either portrait or landscape mode
• Support for popular instant messaging services and social networking sites
• 3.2 megapixel camera, with auto focus and a LED flash
• A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
• Built-in GPS
• 1 GB of on board memory storage and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot
• Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go allows users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone
• Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time on 3G networks and 15 days of standby time

Check out the list of the changelog below:

• Fixed bug where Mute and End buttons would work incorrectly while using an A2DP headset on a call.
• Fixed bug that caused display to briefly show small, multi-colored dots across the entire screen.
• Fixed bug that could cause a white bar to display on the screen.
• Fixed bug that could cause custom ringtones to play even when phone is set to vibrate.
• Fixed bug where pictures taken in landscape mode and sent could show in portrait.
• Fixed rare bug causing notifications not to show for incoming text messages.
• Fixed bug causing call timer to intermittently show incorrectly.
• Fixed bug causing an error and possibly display issues when more than 40 items are present in the call log.
• Fixed rare bug where multitap keypad could behave like SureType keypad.
• Fixed bug where if a music artist is deleted from the phone, the artist’s tracks could still show.
• Fixed bug preventing renaming of file extensions on music playlists.
• Fixed bug causing choppy audio playback on downloaded WMA files.
• Fixed rare bug where phone could reset while recording a video for MMS attachment.
• Fixed bug that could cause the device to stop responding and display an error when pausing a video recording.
• Fixed bug that prevented the backlight from timing out while playing streamed video content.
• Fixed bug with display of track names containing periods.
• Reduced amount of time it takes to begin playing MP3 files.
• Fixed bug that could cause viewfinder to not display correctly when camera is started in portrait mode and quickly flipped to landscape.
• Fixed bug that occasionally caused screen to briefly show white after taking a picture.
• Fixed rare bug that caused phone to reset when taking a picture with image stabilization and white board effect enabled.
• Fixed rare bug where camera application would remain open after user had closed it.
• Fixed rare bug where camera application would start without being commanded to do so.
• Fixed bug that could cause phone to go to EV-DO after an automatic reset when it is in 1X-only mode.
• Improved capability in auto off/on functionality for connecting to wireless networks when turning back on.
• Enhanced system to ensure OTA updates continue if media card is removed.
• Added Arabic language support.
• Added full support for English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish in the East Asia language pack.
• Added rendering support for Indonesian Bahasa, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
• Added “Go” buttons next to address and search fields in the browser and search application respectively.
• Added Phone icon to home screen.
• Removed Call Log icon in Applications folder.
• Device can now be upgraded OTA using either internal memory or a media card.
• Improved volume consistency across applications and calls.
• Fixed rare bug to prevent uncommanded scrolling of text.
• Improved speed when composing messages.
• Improved speed in Calendar application when selecting “go to date”.
• Fixed bugs to ensure Application Permission screen is always correctly displayed.
• Fixed various bugs causing device resets.
• Fixed rare bug causing device to freeze while using Voice Dial.
• Improved accuracy of signal strength meter.
• Fixed rare bug where phone could lose data connectivity.
• Fixed bug to ensure new languages can always be added.
• Fixed bug to ensure phone always vibrates and beeps for incoming text messages when it is set to do so.
• Fixed bug that could cause device to not allow text messages to be sent to numbers in the Frequently Dialed Number list.
• Fixes to make sure emails are always displayed correctly.
• Fixed bugs that could cause static on phone calls.
• Fixed bug that could prevent audio from routing through a Bluetooth headset when using speed dial.
• Enhancements to ensure that phone features are not accidentally accessed when phone is held up to ear.
• Fixed bug to ensure holding down the 1 button always triggers voicemail.
• Fixed bug that could prevent .odf files stored on media cards from playing correctly.
• Fixed bug that could inform the user they don’t have rights to play music when the message is not necessary.
• Fixed bug causing popping noises in downloaded songs.
• Improved display of files saved on media cards in all applications.
• Fixed bugs preventing creation and opening of playlists in some circumstances.
• Fixed bug that could prevent access to the Music Library from the Options menu in the media player.
• Improved support for streaming video content whose URLs are longer than 512 characters.
• Fixed bug preventing correct display of streaming video content sent in a text message.
• Improved accuracy of progress bars displayed when downloading files.
• Fixed bugs preventing preview of songs when using V CAST Rhapsody.
• Fixed bugs preventing playback of video recorded on the phone.
• Improvements to prevent intermittent error messages displayed in the media player.
• Sped up display of pictures.
• Fixed bug that could cause pictures to display at the wrong resolution.
• Fixed rare bug causing device to lock while typing.
• Fixed bugs involving incorrect display of keyboard.
• Made sure device remains in portrait mode while being unlocked in portrait mode.
• Full QWERTY keyboard now available in portrait mode.
• Improved performance and stability with pre-loaded games.
• Fixed bug causing Incoming Call screen to not show when user is in some applications.
• Fixed bug that could prevent LED indicator from turning on when device is charged.
• Fixed bug causing Enterprise Activation screen to show after activation is complete.
• Improved display rotation speed while viewing contacts.
• Improved data call setup when switching wireless technologies.

Slacker station caching, an exclusive feature for BlackBerry smartphones, enables listeners to store favorite stations on a memory card, allowing the Slacker Mobile application to play without a network connection, reducing battery life consumption by up to 5 times that of a streaming playback, and enhancing application performance.

The Slacker application for the BlackBerry Storm smartphone includes detailed artist bios and album reviews for each song, providing the ultimate resource for music discovery. The Slacker Mobile application works with the free Slacker Basic Radio service, along with Slacker Radio Plus and Slacker Premium Radio subscription offerings.

Slacker Mobile for the BlackBerry Storm offers:

• Free music library featuring millions of songs
• Optimized for Storm Touch Screen operation
• Vertical and Horizontal modes
• High-quality stereo playback from cached stations and all streaming wireless connections
• Over 100 professionally programmed genre stations
• Create custom artist stations
• Station caching for music playback
• Multi-tasking – listen to music while doing email
• View artist biographies and photos
• View album art and reviews
• “Peek Ahead” artist and album preview
• Pause and skip songs
• Rate songs as favorites
• Ban songs and artists you don’t like

[via slashgear]