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.

Now here’s some great news we like to start off our week with.  We got some screenshots from BerryReview on the newest BlackBerry Protect aka Shield as we knew it for awhile.  This is RIM’s free remote backup and wipe application that is expected to be in App World Test Center later this week.

Features:

• Locate on map
• Activate loud ringer
• Device lock
• Password change
• Lost and Found screen
• Remote wipe both device and microSD card
• OTA backup of PIM data, bookmarks and text messages

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We’ve already seen leaked screenshots of BlackBerry Shield.  As we still wait to see when it will be launching, we came across these bits of leaked details which may or may not make you all happy.  Since we posted the leaked screenshots before, some of you were questioning whether or not your media could be backed up or not — the answer is no.  The service is all still free however, and there is still a bunch of great features in store for us.  What we’re happy to see is that a wide selection of BlackBerry devices are being supported and go back as early as the Storm 1 and the Bold 9000.  Hit the jump for all the new full leaked specs.

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We were hoping to see something about this at WES this year, but didn’t of course.  Our friends over at BBNews.pl got their hands on some nice screenshots showing you what BlackBerry Shield is all about.  For those unaware, Shield is supposed to be RIM’s new service that allows you to remotely track and wipe your BlackBerry device in the event of it being lost or stolen.  Hit the jump for a better thumbnail view along with some leaked specs on Shield.

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We don’t know how soon “soon” is, but that’s the word on the street.  Before BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express made its launch, we had some leaked details on the BlackBerry Shield service, which is a handy utility that will become convenient for everyone.

Features:

• Remote Device Wipe  – in case of loss of the terminal, just log in to BB Shield to remove all data from the device and / or memory card.
• “Lost & Found” Screen – you can customize the sentence on the screen to display that the BlackBerry is lost and show any information about the content (i.e. “I know you have my phone now“).
• The ability to remotely set the password on the BlackBerry
• A loud bell alarm – useful option, even if you’ve lost your BlackBerry (at home) – once you’ve activated this option, your BB will ‘behave’ loud sounding an alarm, which will hopefully prompt a passerby (or yourself) to pick up your lost BlackBerry.
• Tracking capability – based on the GSM transmitters and / or GPS position that is constantly monitored in the BlackBerry unit, and there may be the possibility of seeing it on the map (like Google Maps) from the BB Shield dashboard.
• Backup – create wireless backup and restore, which can be set automatically exercise in the given time intervals

The tip comes from a BlackBerry representative for Sprint, who emailed one of the store managers about the new service being offered in the near future.  Customers will feel safer using BlackBerry with the Shield services as the Sprint BlackBerry rep mentions “it will let people have a peace of mind when it comes to their data being safe.” We’d love to have more confirmation on a date, or a more specific tip of any kind, but all we have are the specs and the fact that it is “coming soon.”

-by Mac Jadalhack