I’m sure this comes as no surprise, but RIM CEO Jim Balsillie just told Reuters that the company is working on a successor to the BlackBerry Storm. He said that the company believes there is a large consumer segment for such a device and according to Jim Balsillie, the current Storm is a “huge success in terms of sales and adoption.”

We would agree on both counts. He also noted that “we have next-generation devices with [touch] and the whole roadmap.” Balsillie did not give any specific details, of course. And he didn’t say when such a product might hit the market.

If you’ve been in suspense and can’t wait to find out more about that BlackBerry Curve 8520 with the optical trackball in place of the spinner, the folks over at CrackBerry have posted a pre-release review. Overall, it’s a pretty nice phone, and the optical trackball works well. The hardware is well put together and the OS runs smoothly.

Is it as cool as the Curve 8900? Not really. The design in general has been updated, but things like the screen, battery, and camera are from the Curve 8300. What gives? It is EDGE-only and may turn out to be a pay-as-you-go phone. We’ll see

Looks like your Storm 2 wishlist just got an item slashed off. SlashGear has a source that they are pretty confident in, who says that the successor to BlackBerry’s touchscreen smartphone will add WiFi support for faster web browsing. It’s one of the smartphone’s biggest criticisms.

The source also dropped some hints that there are other surprises on the horizon but there are no specifics. Look for a release sometime in September on Verizon.

Looks like the rumors were true. BlackBerry App World showed up today, but that isn’t the only exciting Blackberry news. QuickPlay Media’s PrimeTime2Go is launching as well. It delivers video only over WiFi and will work on all carriers.

The app will let you watch full-length television shows on certain BlackBerry devices. So far they have deals with NBC, CBS and MTV, so they should have a good selection of shows that will only get better. The service will cost users $7.99 per month, though it will only work on the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900 (to start).

Time to mark your calendars Crackberry users. According to BusinessWeek, RIM will be launching the BlackBerry App World April 1 at CTIA. RIM’s answer to the iTunes App Store. We’re pretty sure Businessweek isn’t getting an early start on April fools day. RIM’s starting price for apps (not including freebies) is $2.99, vs. Apple’s 99¢.

The move should be a good test of RIM’s true potential and consumers are desperate for BlackBerry apps like those on the iPhone. There’s been some controversy over the pricing, but we don’t think the price will turn users off at all. You tell us.

RIM is keeping quiet for the moment, but the timing makes us believe this rumor. BlackBerry App World is launching on April 1st so it would be perfect timing for RIM to introduce a television service for BlackBerry devices. Makes sense right?

According to NewTeeVee, “multiple sources” tell them that RIM is planning to announce a “full-episode television service” for BlackBerry users. Supposedly, it will download content via WiFi, so carriers shouldn’t be an issue and using Wi-Fi will avoid clogging 3G networks.

The Blackberry Storm is by many accounts the single worst smartphone to ever wear the Blackberry logo. Customers who purchased the device have complained that its performance is sub-par and some reports claim Blackberry knew the device was buggy when it launched the Storm.

Research firm iSuppli has taken the Storm apart to find out how much the components and construction of the smartphone cost RIM. The cost for parts and construction is a bit under $203 according to iSuppli. To compare, the firm found that the parts and build bill for the iPhone 3G was under $175.

It had to happen. If a device is as popular as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, it will get the Colorware treatment sooner or later. Usually sooner. Just like the iPhone 3G, and your DS. So, if you want to beat your precious gadget upside the face with an ugly stick, the folks at Colorware will gladly help.

It doesn’t have to be ugly of course, you can put together something striking I’m sure. Just be certain it’s what you want before you commit. A solid color will run you $129, but if you want a different top, bottom, frame or sides, it will be higher. You could just love your device for who it is, which is the cheapest option and it will love you back. Maybe.

You’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for the Blackberry Bold. It’s release has been delayed on both Rogers and AT&T. AT&T’s delay is much longer since Roger’s was pushed from July 25 to July 29 (tomorrow). AT&T subscribers on the other hand will have to wait until the middle of next month. The handset will hit retail stores around September 1. Meanwhile, Telstra in Australia announced that the Bold will make its debut there at the end of September.

Tired of all the iPhone news? The good folks over at CrackBerry have gotten their hands on the first live pictures of the Thunder. Yes it looks pretty damn sexy.

The photo above shows off the often discussed “tactile” keyboard. Just hold the phone in landscape mode and you can use a full-qwerty keypad. Portrait mode will let you enter data on a SureType keyboard. You can change the orientation at anytime.

Here it is. RIM has finally taken the wraps off the Blackberry 9000 we’ve been hearing rumors about and officially launched the Blackberry Bold. Reportedly the latest smartphone from Research In Motion gets the “Bold” name from the exceptionally crisp and bright display that comes with it.

That display comes as a 480×320 pixel, 65,000 color VGA screen that according to Crave is better than anything else they have ever seen. The other most notable feature is the wireless connection options available on this guy. It’s a GSM 850/900/1800/1900 phone and has HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100) support which has never before been available on a Blackberry, and apparently they’ve done it right without sacrificing battery life in the process. Let’s also not forget that the Blackberry Bold is also connected via Wi-Fi (a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 and GPS.

Today AT&T announced the availability of their own new version of the BlackBerry Pearl with the 8120 as a replacement for the 8100. The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 comes to AT&T with some new features that are already enjoyed by Sprint and Verizon, but most notably has WiFi added to its connectivity and forgoes the GPS.

An external-facing microSD slot, regular-sized 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 megapixel camera with video recording and an improved browser round out the updated features on the new smartphone. It also of course has all the features of the 8100 model as a quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz) world phone along with the slim candy bar design, Bluetooth and the almost-QWERTY keyboard.

A new patent application showed up recently on the USPTO website from Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of Blackberry mobile devices. The application shows a slider phone with a hidden QWERTY keyboard behind and looks an awful lot like some mobile handsets we’ve seen recently from HTC.

The device is described by RIM as a Hybrid Portrait-Landscape Device With Trackball Navigation and Qwerty Hideaway Keyboard. I don’t think we’ve seen any devices from HTC that have a trackball which is somewhat of a trademark of RIM, but is that enough to make this a novel invention? We’re also wondering if this could be the new touchscreen BlackBerry that we’ve been hearing rumors about for quite some time now.

Here’s another release that just made it within its announced time constraints, launching on the last of the month. RIM and AT&T have announced the official release of the BlackBerry Curve, available through AT&T starting tomorrow, May 31st for a price of $199 with a two year contract and a mail in rebate, of course.

The BlackBerry Curve is the latest, smallest and lightest BlackBerry smart phone with a full QWERTY keyboard that RIM has produced. In fact, AT&T (through a predecessor company) was the first carrier to introduce a BlackBerry wireless solution back in ’99 and is now the first with the Curve. The features available in this phone combined with the price is almost enough to make a guy want to switch carriers.

Press Release

The BlackBerry Curve (aka the 8300) is the latest model that’s been added to the BlackBerry lineup of handheld devices from Research In Motion (RIM). The claim to fame for this new model lies in the combinations. The BlackBerry Curve sports a smaller size combined with a full QWERTY keyboard, and also packs in blend of features to serve both work and play.

The BlackBerry Curve is the smallest and lightest BlackBerry yet that has a full QWERTY keyboard. At only .6 inches thick, 2.4 inches wide and 4.2 inches tall, the device is almost the same size as the BlackBerry Pearl aside from being just a little bit wider to accommodate the QWERTY keyboard. The Curve also outweighs the Pearl by .7 ounces with a total weight of 3.9 ounces. The BlackBerry Pearl is the smallest BlackBerry device that …