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Ever since BlackBerry DevCon 2011, RIM has been pushing out this all new BlackBerry Jam.  BlackBerry Jam has become a portal for developers which includes a community as well to link up discuss app building, attend events, and more.  Here’s a cool promo clip from RIM detailing some features of BlackBerry Jam.

I found this one a bit comical, but it could actually work out for you! RIM let us know about a last minute Valentine’s Day strategy that of course includes your BlackBerry smartphone.  The strategy pretty much consists of applications and BBM messaging.  Here it is:

• Step 1: There’s nothing she’ll find more romantic than a surprise retreat to a romantic location. Book a quick getaway with the BlackBerry Travel app. Book transportation, lodging, etc., all while you’re pretending to be sending out a very important email during staff meeting.
• Step 2: To locate a hot dinner spot at your destination, use the OpenTable app.  OpenTable will show you real-time table availability at nearby restaurants. Refine your search by cuisine, price, or reservation time, and then make your reservation from your BlackBerry. If you’re feeling more adventurous , check out the101 Best Date Ideas

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 RIM officially released BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing v3.0 today in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  For those unaware of this application, it’s designed to make joining and schedule conference calls easy.  Key features include:

• Join Now Button– The BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing app adds a button to calendar reminders on your BlackBerry smartphone that can dial you in to a call with one click. If the invite includes multiple dial-in numbers for different locations, the app can choose the most appropriate one for you (within Canada, the US and the UK only).

• Reconnect – Reconnect with one click if you’re disconnected or need to drop off a conference call.

• Easy Conference Scheduling – You can schedule a conference call complete with conference bridge details directly from the BlackBerry Calendar in an easy two-step process.  To enable this capability, you can set your conference call profile once in the BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing app, including dial-in numbers and access codes, and then simply add the profile as part of the calendar invitation. (The moderator code is kept hidden from participants in the calendar invitation.) Many of the leading audio conferencing systems are supported.

Usually when a new BlackBerry smartphone is close to launching, we see a simulator pop up on the official BlackBerry website.  We have the same scenario here as the new and unreleased BlackBerry Curve 9320 has a simulator online to download.  For those who decide to download, it’s a bit funny of an installation.  You have to download the installer first, then you’ll be rerouted back to your browser for the download, and lastly you’ll have the installer app pop up where you click next-next a bit until it completes.  Visual C++ 2008 is required where you’ll be prompted to download it in the middle of the installation if necessary.  Any way, this is just a OS simulator, so don’t expect to get that virtual hands-on with the device you might be looking for.

Download Simulator >>

 

Source: N4BB

An awesome sale is headed to T-Mobile!  TmoNews grabbed a screenshot showing that T-Mobile has a special offer coming on February 11th where new and current customers can get some popular smartphones free.  While browsing through the devices pictured, I noticed the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 are both listed.  So if you were looking for that upgrade soon, it might be worth waiting until February 11th, the Bold 9900 obviously being the better choice.

RIM has released a new expansion pack in Scrapbook for BlackBerry PlayBook for Valentine’s Day.  The expansion pack includes hearts, kisses and various backgrounds to tag onto your photos.   Time to impress your loved ones!

Scrapbook for BlackBerry PlayBook >>

Source: BerryFix

Verizon recently rolled out a new update for the BlackBerry Bold 9650.  Of course no OS 7 love since it is an older BlackBerry device.  This update is OS 6.0.0.719, and hopefully decent for those not satisfied with the current OS on their Bold 9650.  You can download it officially from Verizon’s website.

Download OS >>

Thanks Bogizo for the tip!

We’ve already been publicly informed by RIM that BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 will be officially launching this month.  It’s nice to see they aren’t quietly launching this update as stores in the United Kingdom have begun receiving advertisement banners for it.  Above is one of the ads spotted by the folks over at N4BB.  PlayBook OS 2.0 is bringing along a lot of goodies including native email and ported over Android applications.  It’s just a matter of time until we get the official date of its release this month.

Aside from the Client for Google Chat, the same developer released Client for Facebook chat, also for the BlackBerry PlayBook.  The Facebook chat feature is available through the native Facebook client, but some prefer a standalone chat application.  We have one for BlackBerry smartphones too which seemed to take off well.  Client for Facebook Chat carries a $1.99 price tag so determine if it’s something you’d like to buy.

Client for Facebook BlackBerry PlayBook >>

For new BlackBerry devices, Music Store comes pre-installed.  Now for older devices with OS 6 or even OS 5, there is no native music solution.  You could just download the 7Digital Music Store which is pretty much the same thing but it’s not RIM’s native music store app.  Any way, RIM has launched Music Store in BlackBerry App World for many devices- not only OS 7.  Also, good stuff seeing it’s back to 7Digital and not Amazon MP3.  This way the PlayBook and smartphones share the same source for music rather than two different libraries and purchases.

Download Music Store >>