Switched

Tweet this! · by **Caleb Johnson** (RSS feed) — Sep 30th 2009 at 12:01AM

Have you ever been stuck late at the office and realized that you'd forgotten to set your TiVo to record the new episode of 'Lost?' If you own a BlackBerry, your heart will no longer sink upon such a revelation. Research and Motion (RIM) and TiVo are today launching TiVo for BlackBerry, available for download on the BlackBerry App World.

The free app features a program guide, which users can browse by category, most popular, or even daily picks. The guide also offers plenty of details about each show, including a description and air time. Of course, the real benefit of the app is the ability to remotely program your TiVo to record your favorite shows.

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by **Caleb Johnson** (RSS feed) — Sep 28th 2009 at 3:12PM

the address book, browser, and device setup wizard. You can also expect access to trending topics.

Will BlackBerry users switch from third-party Twitter apps to an official RIM app? Probably so. It would make sense that the Twitter app be similar to other RIM social networking apps, so it shouldn't be too difficult for seasoned users to use. [From: CrackBerry, via Mashable]

by **Terrence O'Brien** (RSS feed) — Jun 5th 2009 at 2:38PM

Warning, BlackBerry owners: the popular smartphone's manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), has found a major security flaw that could let a hacker take over a BlackBerry server (like the one you use for your work e-mail account) by simply sending someone an e-mail. The vulnerability could allow attackers to hijack a server running BlackBerry software by simply sending e-mails with infected PDF files. If a customer were to open the file, the virus would install its payload of malicious software on the server side, from which hackers could send spam and collect personal data.

No hackers have yet taken advantage of the vulnerability, but RIM is urging all of its customers to install an issued security patch to avoid future exploitation. Of course, many businesses wait to thoroughly test patches like this before deploying them to employees. For those who insist on holding off, RIM is suggesting that e-mail attachments be temporarily disabled, just to be safe. They've posted details about the patch and the suggested work-around here.

Let's hope the White House gets on this patch soon. It'd be pretty embarrassing if the one person to fall victim to the flaw was our president. [From: Reuters]

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by **Ross Miller** (RSS feed) — Apr 1st 2009 at 9:02AM

As expected, the BlackBerry App World has launched early this morning for US, Canada and the UK. If your software's updated to 4.2 and you've got a trackball / touch screen and PayPal account, head on over to RIM's Web site to download. Tell us, is it everything you thought it would be?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

by **Chris Ziegler** (RSS feed) — Mar 5th 2009 at 10:51AM

What's bigger than a store, a market, or a catalog? A whole frigging world, that's what. A sign-up page to be notified when the BlackBerry App World is available -- which we've linked -- went live at 10PM last night.

by **Paul Miller** (RSS feed) — Feb 27th 2009 at 11:46AM

This, shall we say, confrontational BlackBerry Storm ad by NY ad agency Guava has been making the rounds today, depicting a blackberry "bullet" taking a violent path through a familiar-seeming piece of fruit. An anonymous source told us that RIM considered it but eventually got cold feet -- and we can understand why. Nonetheless, it's an awesome bit of smack, so hit up the break and check it out for yourself.

[Thanks, Michael]

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by **Laura June** (RSS feed) — Dec 12th 2008 at 6:15PM

It's pretty much common sense that when you're ditching your old cell phone you want to erase your personal data, contacts and emails -- or at least try to. Oh sure, there are plenty of examples of failing to do so, but this one's rather... shall we say, "special." Some operatives at Fox 5 in Washington, D.C. booked over to the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters' yard sale yesterday, and they saw some ultra cheap BlackBerry -- just $20 a pop, probably an inventor's discount -- so they picked up a few, undoubtedly thinking they'd make nice holiday gifts. They were kind of surprised to find that, after giving the 'Berrys some juice, one of them had 50 contacts for "campaign leaders, politicians, lobbyists and journalists" as well as hundreds of e-mails. When reached for comment, a campaign spokesperson said that "procedures are being put in place to ensure all information is secure," followed minutes later by a blank email CC'd to his entire address book with the subject line "We're so screwed."

by **Chris Ziegler** (RSS feed) — Dec 6th 2008 at 3:18PM

Lo and behold, Verizon's taken a break from releasing low-end Nokias for just long enough to officially release its first Storm update -- which just happens to be the same one that's been floating around on the interwebs for a few days now, 4.7.0.75. Anyone unwilling or unable to connect to their PC to nab the update can wait until 9:30 Pacific this evening, when it's said that an over-the-air version of the same software will hit the airwaves. Best of luck, upgraders!

[Via CNET]

Update: We've given the update a shot, and Mac users should be warned that there doesn't seem to be a good way of shoehorning the goods on to the phone at this point -- probably better off to wait for the OTA.

by **Thomas Ricker** (RSS feed) — Dec 4th 2008 at 11:35AM

Some things are best tested by others. Say, for example, the guy who first drank from a cow's mammary organ or the equally daring person who took the point from the knife above to the display of his new BlackBerry Storm. In either case, the results are tasty. See for yourself in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Mike]

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by **Tim Stevens** (RSS feed) — Nov 6th 2008 at 12:24PM

Oprah Shows Off First Phone (and Matching Outfit!)

How long have you owned a cell phone? We're sure there are some of you out there who still go without, but for most, a celly of some sort has been a constant companion for at least a few years now. Not for Oprah Winfrey, though, the world's richest woman in entertainment. She may have her own YouTube channel, but she's actually never owned a phone until very recently, and took Tuesday night's post-election festivities as an opportunity to show it off to the world.

As seen in the above pic from geeksugar, Oprah was seen carrying a handset in a leather case that perfectly matched her outfit for the evening. Unfortunately, the case obscures just what model of phone it is, but we're guessing some sort of BlackBerry, and that RIM is thrilled to have added Oprah to its long list of celebrity addicts. [From: geeksugar]

Related Links:

Click Here for Other Celebrity CrackBerry Addicts

Source · by **Darren Murph** (RSS feed) — Oct 16th 2008 at 12:39PM

Oh yeah, we know a certain dutiful crew in the R&D labs at RIM are toiling away on the BlackBerrys that we'll be swooning over in the years to come, but what winner took the time (and what champion instructed him / her?) to conjure up this PowerPoint slide?

Reportedly, this here slide was used within the company to show just how awesome its handsets are, because clearly, if six rich people accept free phones well before the street date from you, that equates to stellar quality and usability. Oh, and just remember RIM -- we'll bet Motorola used to brag about all the superstars with RAZRs, too. See how far that got 'em?

Related Links:

by **Terrence O'Brien** (RSS feed) — Oct 1st 2008 at 8:10AM

43% of Used Blackberries Still Contain Sensitive Data

A new study of 160 second-hand BlackBerries has found that a disturbing number of them still contain highly sensitive data. Financial data, banking information, and corporate details were found on 43-percent of the used handsets.

The data on these devices could be potentially devastating to companies if it ever found its way in to the public. On almost a quarter of the devices, researchers were able to determine not just the company, but the specific employee the handset belonged to.

What makes the finding particularly odd is that IT administrators have the ability to remotely erase BlackBerries and the handsets have in-built encryption to protect sensitive data, but many companies don't make use of these features. As we've said before, smart phones actually pose a bigger threat to companies than lost or stolen laptops. It's only a matter of time before a BlackBerry comes back to bite a company in the ass. [From: IntoMobile, Via: Textually.org]

by **Nilay Patel** (RSS feed) — Sep 16th 2008 at 4:02PM

Politics aside, we're totally cracking up that McCain policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eaken told reporters today that his BlackBerry was "the miracle that John McCain helped create" -- dude, BlackBerrys are Canadian.

[Via Wonkette, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

by **Darren Murph** (RSS feed) — Sep 10th 2008 at 9:31AM

We'll be honest -- KickStart just had a nicer ring to it, but we suppose Pearl Flip will do. RIM's long-awaited (and not-at-all veiled) BlackBerry flip phone has finally arrived, weighing just 3.6-ounces and boasting a 320 x 240 internal display, Bluetooth 2.0, built-in multimedia player, 802.11b/g WiFi and a SureType keypad. The battery promises four hours of talk time / over a fortnight of standby life, and while pricing and exact release details are still hush-hush, Americans can count on seeing it "this fall" exclusively on T-Mobile. In related news, RIM also announced support for AIM / ICQ on all BlackBerry smartphones, though it's only available for USers at the moment. Feast your eyes on the links below for more, more, more.

Read - BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 release
Read - AIM / ICQ for BlackBerry
Read - BlackBerry Flip dedicated site

by **Joshua Topolsky** (RSS feed) — Aug 6th 2008 at 9:17AM

You know how Stewart Copeland plays that insanely slick triplet hi-hat part in "Message in a Bottle," and every time you hear it you wonder how it's possible for him to stay so perfectly in time? And you know how his drums fit so perfectly in the pocket with Sting and Andy Summers on pretty much anything The Police ever touched despite the fact they all hated each other?

Well, Copeland's "soundtrack" for the BlackBerry Bold -- commissioned by RIM -- should rid you of all of those amazing memories real fast. The drummer provided six ringtones, an alarm sound, and a Bold "theme" for the company's new device, yet not one of them is remotely pleasant to listen to.

In a word or two? They stink. [From: apc via CrackBerry; Photo courtesy of spisharam]