Once upon a time, if you had a problem with your BlackBerry, you could run to a Verizon store and exchange it if you had a defect or issue.  Now Verizon has prohibited in-store device exchanges for smartphones of all kinds.  That includes BlackBerry, Palm, DROID, and Windows Mobile devices.  Now is this such a bad thing for you? Not to get off topic, but when the BlackBerry Tour 9630 came out, I recall going with a friend to exchange his because it was defective (yes the trackball).  He didn’t do a backup or anything so we found ourselves on my laptop in the store doing “Switch a Device Wizard.” Going through all that would of been eliminated if a device would of been sent in the mail, where the customer can do it all at a nice piece of mind.

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One of my Verizon buddies let me hear a voicemail message from the regional manager asking all store reps to push Palm devices over BlackBerry right now.  I wish we were allowed to post the voicemail, but did not get permission as it would result in people losing jobs and such.  So back to the voicemail, the Palm seems to be getting not enough exposure, attention, and purchases.  They don’t want the BlackBerry pushed more so “they don’t have the higher hand in negotiation,” said the regional manager.  So what’s the point of all this? If you are looking to switch to Verizon or even upgrade your existing phone with them, do your research remotely and walk into the store knowing what you want, hopefully a BlackBerry.

These new tips to Verizon reps may or may not be going on in your area, but the confirmed parts are regions in the NJ/NY area.

-by Otoniel Bruno

UPDATE: FAKE! We’ve received several reports and links to sites showing similar images.  We hope to see something in the future for it though.  Thanks to all for letting us know about it.

What is this BlackBerry? I am baffled, but before we continue, we don’t know what is going on here.  We got a random email from an address we couldn’t reply to with the name Xena (let me know if you guys want to try emailing him/her yourselves), with just this small part of a picture showing the top of a BlackBerry with a front facing camera.  My guess is this is just a fake, as I will continue my search finding replicas or some sort of explanation to it.  If any of you have an answer drop us a line and we’ll throw an update on this post.

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This app is just awesome. When your using it as a lock application, the Office Hot Shot screen will display when any of the user configurable lock conditions are met. For example, you could configure it so the lock screen displays everytime the backlight times out, keeping prying eyes from seeing what’s on your device. Touchscreen users could set Office Hot Shot to launch when connecting on a phone call, keeping your device safe from accidental touches from your cheek during a call. Once activated, Office Hot Shot displays on your device, letting you see in a glance useful information, such as the day, date, time, unread emails, missed calls, battery level, and more!

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We got the word last night from the folks over at Elecite that they have just rolled out a new theme called Pulse.  I use a BlackBerry Storm 2 9550 secondarily, but wish it was available for the Bold 9700.  Pulse is strictly for the Storm 1 and 2, so if you’re not an owner of either devices, just sit and drool.  Elecite has put out a trial available for this one so you can test it out before committing to purchase it.  Will we start seeing this for all future themes? Not sure, but you can surely appreciate it this time around.  Hit the jump to check out the video or click here to check out Pulse by Elecite.

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I came across this eBay auction today on the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 unlocked and brand new.  It’s going for $459.99 plus shipping but something just doesn’t seem right.  The image looked too familiar and that’s when I realized that it comes from Salomondrin’s video review posted a few months back.  The seller has decent feedback, and does promise a 7 day money back guarantee.  I read the description over and over but there seems to be no fine print about it.  Is it fake or real? The image isn’t of the actual device so you make your decision.

• Check out the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 on eBay >>

-by Collin Sorp

Choose from any of your favorite characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess, Bowser, and Yoshi.  The theme comes custom for all five characters and icons will be adjusted accordingly.  All the icons, backgrounds, and bars up top look as though they are straight out of the game.  I encourage these developers to make a similar theme for the QWERTY people (Bold 9700, not to be so specific).  The Mario Series theme goes for only $5.99 for the BlackBerry Storm 9500 and 9530 for any character that you choose.

• Check out the Mario Series Theme for BlackBerry Storm >>

-by Mac Jadalhack

Some of you may not be satisfied with your current YouTube fixations via BlackBerry.  Oneweb is an alternative solution to that, which is pretty nice in my opinion.  You’ll be able to search and watch any YouTube video, even those without a mobile version available.  That doesn’t seem to be a problem these days, but some may come across ones which have not been formatted for mobile just yet.  Oneweb is a video player app that makes the video fit your screen and play on your phone while reducing annoying buffering, pending, loading messages. Oneweb-4-YouTube reduces over the air data transfer for fast video playback and can reduce your mobile data charges (if you are not on an unlimited data plan which I hope all of you are).

Features:

• Streaming video from popular video web sites like Youtube
• Faster downloads of most web sites
• Search YouTube videos

Oneweb is absolutely free to download from the PocketBerry Store.  There are alternative Oneweb apps such as the Oneweb Bollywood application which allows you to stream Bollywood films, videos, and clips on your BlackBerry through a nice application interface.  Feel free to check that out also.

• Download Oneweb 4 YouTube >>

-by Otoniel Bruno

There’s been a lot going on in the BlackBerry world with this year’s Olympics events.  First we get themes and now we get full games for it! Embrace the spirit of competition and go for the gold on your mobile phone with the Vancouver 2010 Official Mobile Game. See if you have what it takes to be crowned champion in five exciting sport events! Are you fast enough for speed skating? Can you conquer the freestyle moguls? Will you survive cross-country skiing? Tackle each of them separately or compete in all five together to become the ultimate winner. If you’re looking for a healthier dose of competition, play with up to five friends in the multiplayer mode. Catch the fever and join the world’s most electrifying competition: the Vancouver 2010 Official Mobile Game!  For only $6.99, you can have this game on your BlackBerry.

Compatibility: 8100 Pearl, 8110 Pearl, 8120 Pearl, 8130 Pearl, 8230 Pearl Flip, 8300 Curve, 8310 Curve, 8320 Curve, 8330 Curve, 8330m, 8350i, 8520 Curve, 8530 Curve, 8800, 8820, 8830, 8900 Curve, 9000 Bold, 9500 Storm, 9520 Storm 2, 9530 Storm, 9550 Storm 2, 9630 Tour, 9700 Bold

• Check out Vancouver 2010 for BlackBerry >>

-by Otoniel Bruno

I have no problem seeing free applications out there monetizing.  Even if that means having advertisements within their application such as UberTwitter.  The whole world complained once it got advertisements which was ridiculous as a premium $4.99 version was available ad-free.  Developers need and deserve to make their money somehow.  Pop-up ads wouldn’t be so savvy, as that’s how it looks to be in the sketch above. As PC gets spyware and Macs stay safe (for the most part), is RIM going to be the new PC? I sure hope not.  That’s one way to look at it if you look too much into the sketches.  This can’t be totally bad and can actually have a positive influence on BlackBerry and its users.

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