BlackBerry Protect just got an update to version 1.1.1.50 today.  The update is for BlackBerry 7 OS devices only!  Unfortunately there is no change log- all we see is the message that reads “BlackBerry Protect version 1.1.1.50 is an update for BlackBerry 7 devices only.” If you spot anything new here, let us know!  It looks like the new version is not listed in BlackBerry App World web store but if you head over to App World from your BlackBerry and refresh, you should see it roll out.

BlackBerry Protect got an update a few hours ago to version 1.0.10.50.  Unfortunately there is no change log here, so we’ll assume it goes out to the behind the scenes bugs you may or may not notice.  As always, let us know if you notice any changes in this build.

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As you all know, BlackBerry Protect launched in open beta for the US and Canada at first, but the EMEA launch stayed postponed until this weekend, as we had expected from the leaked roadmap we had about a month ago.  So for all you in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa, feel free to get your Protect fix by downloading free in App World’s Test Center.

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Backup is important.  Who likes to lose all their info from their BlackBerrys when they’re lost or stolen, or even crash?  RIM recently launched BlackBerry Protect as an open beta which allows you to wirelessly backup you device, wipe it if it is stolen, track it, and much more.  It’s been out for a few days and we’re curious to see how many of you have hopped on to try it out.

Cast your votes in our poll, tweet us, or drop a line in the comments and let us know about your BlackBerry Protect experience.

The wait is finally over.  BlackBerry Protect has officially launched in open beta over in the testing center of App World, just as we guessed.  The rumors were true and today was the day after all for the launch.

BlackBerry Protect is free to use and allows you to remotely backup, restore, and locate your BlackBerry.  If you ever get yours stolen or lost, you can perform a remote wipe, prompt a lost and found screen, make the ringtone louder, and even locate the device on a map.

Download BlackBerry Protect >>

So we’ve been waiting for BlackBerry Protect to launch for just about a year now and RIM really hasn’t come out the closet on it just yet.  It’s been a little weird on this one.  There were teasers of it coming soon, and mentions of it in the BlackBerry Connection newsletter, but they never came out and actually introduced it to us.  We know that it is in private beta for only select users via BlackBerry Beta Zone.  N4BB got tipped on the open beta launch dates for BlackBerry Protect:

• March 5th – North America/Latin America
• March 19th – EMEA
• April 2nd – Asia Pacific

So three days it is.  I can wait.  I’m guessing we’ll be seeing this come to BlackBerry Beta Zone, or perhaps in the Testing Center in App World.

RIM has teased us lightly on BlackBerry Protect over the last few months, and the one thing we haven’t heard about it is when it will launch finally.  The folks over at BerryReview received a tip about an internal email at RIM stating that BlackBerry Protect for beta users are going offline for the next two weeks in deleting all current beta users’ data.  Also they confirm that the service will be up and running right after that.  So two weeks to go and we are excited to finally see all the attributes of BlackBerry Protect.

We’ve been teased for way too long on BlackBerry Protect launching.  I am actually still surprised that it’s December and we still don’t have the service open for the public yet.  Back at DEVCON this year, I spoke to a few other bloggers and developers who had said they received invitations to test out the service.  Cool, so we’ll all be seeing it in a couple months tops – still nothing yet.  Ronen from BerryReview has spotted a frequently asked questions page for BlackBerry Protect, and last week we saw the service get advertised in the BlackBerry Connection Newsletter.  So how soon is the launch date going to be now?  Check out the BlackBerry Protect FAQ here.

Well we’ve been teased about BlackBerry Protect launching sometime in the future, but haven’t seen anything surface yet.  Ronen at BerryReview spotted BlackBerry Protect mentioned in the BlackBerry Connection Newsletter which explains how the service works and all the key benefits.

The funny thing is there’s a link to download BlackBerry Protect on this page but when clicked, it just reloads the same page.  So keep your eyes and ears open as we might be getting it sooner than expected.

According to BBCool, BlackBerry Protect has opened up for BlackBerry Torch users via BlackBerry Beta Zone.  The full change log in the beta update includes:

• Browser bookmarks stored in subfolders were not backed up.
• When you set or change your device password through the BlackBerry Protect web site, a password validation message was displayed before you finished typing the password.
• The label in the search field was misaligned in some browsers.
• If you had selected no data types to be backed up in the BlackBerry Protect application and attempted to back up data through the BlackBerry Protect website, a message was displayed saying that the device was not connected to the wireless network.

So head over to BlackBerry Beta Zone today to download BlackBerry Protect for your BlackBerry Torch 9800.

-by Otoniel Bruno