As the upcoming BlackBerry apps are going to get very rich & user friendly, RIM has continously been making announcements about new features and services for developers that appeal to the consumer market this reflects how the market is growing & need for rich media has increased.

At BlackBerry Developer Conference, RIM and Adobe announced that creative professionals and application developers will be able to use the Adobe Flash Platform and Adobe Creative Suite content development and authoring tools, to easily create rich content and application experiences for BlackBerry.

With Flash, OpenGL support and the new GUI builder, BlackBerry apps in 2010 are going to be more advanced & feature full.

Verizon Wireless’s version of the BlackBerry-maker’s touch-screen Storm2 device comes with a Microsoft Bing BlackBerry application.

The new BlackBerry application provides local search, mapping and Web search features that are available on the mobile version Bing.com, but in an easy-access package.

Verizon’s latest BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry Storm2 9550. Here it is!

Popular Blackberry website CrackBerry has again showcased (below is the screenshot from their video) another unreleased BlackBerry. Amazing! It is the new BlackBerry Tour2 9650, also termed as essex, is nothing special, and is just the same Tour 9630 with a newer trackpad and WiFi.

Blackberry 9630 buyers, don’t feel bad!!

Research In Motion (RIM) launched their second full touch-screen handset earlier this month, the BlackBerry Storm2 9520. The device is the successor to the original BlackBerry Storm, with new touch-screen technology, an updated operating system and, most importantly, Wi-Fi, which was sadly missing from the first handset.

Blackberry Storm 2 Vs Original Storm
The new and old models look very same with their large screens, same form factor, and the same core email and text messaging functionality. The Storm2 touch-screen is the significant change from the original Storm. Underlying the surface of the 3.25in display is an electro-mechanical mechanism for interpreting the touch-screen requests, whereas the previous handset had a purely mechanical mechanism.

Selecting an application or any item on both the original Storm and the Storm2 is still performed by just touching the display, while launching that item is done by pressing down on the moveable screen, which retracts slightly and then returns back to its starting position.

RIM has done away with the large plate under the screen and has replaced it with four smaller sensors. These are located under each corner of the display for a more accurate reading and interpretation of the user’s touch request as compared to the earlier single large plate.

This new SurePress technology in Storm 2 also allows faster typing. You are now able to press down on the screen in rapid succession, while in the past you really couldn’t mimic typing on a real keyboard. These four sensors also offer the capability of multi-press on the virtual keyboard, with the combination of holding down the shift or alt key plus another, which also wasn’t possible with last year’s Storm. We’ve seen multi-touch used on the Storm2 to zoom in and out of images. It’s not the iPhone’s ‘pinch to zoom in and out’, but it’s still a move in the right direction for RIM.

On the previous handset, the screen also moved in and out whether the phone was powered on or not. As the new SurePress technology isn’t just mechanical but is electro-mechanical, the screen doesn’t move with the handset powered down or even in standby. This should help in preventing wear and tear in the long run, or even help avoid general faults with the movable part of the screen in everyday use.

Following is a video released by AT&T, like a preview of BlackBerry Bold 9700. The video goes describes a little about the device hardware, as well as basic BlackBerry feature. However there is little information about the software & advanced upgrades if any.

RIM keeps changing the form factor and feature set to play with pricing and different target markets. Storm 2 is the only biggest evolution for BlackBerry.

Some Distinct Specifications

• Track Pad
  Based on optical technology, the track pad helps you easily scroll through the information you need, with an experience similar to the track pad on a laptop computer.
• Wi-Fi Support (UMA/GAN)
  Added Wi-Fi® connectivity makes accessing to your BlackBerry® data services in Wi-Fi  or other areas with Wi-Fi connectivity convenient and easy.
• Full-featured phone
  Have the features of a desktop phone with you when you’re between appointments or running late.
• Bluetooth-enabled (v2.1)
  The BlackBerry® Bold 9700 smartphone is Bluetooth-enabled, so you can keep your hands free to focus on other tasks at hand.

• 3G (HSDPA) Compatible
  Designed to take advantage of the speeds available on 3G networks.
• Send and receive text and picture messages (SMS & MMS)
  Keep in better touch with contacts who prefer text2 and picture messaging.
• Enhanced Web Mail
  Whether you use Gmail®, AOL® Mail, Live Hotmail™ or Yahoo!® Mail, you can enjoy on-the-go access to your favorite supported web mail.
• Edit Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Power Point
  Enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel and Microsoft® PowerPoint files from just about anywhere.
• Instant messaging
  Chat from just about anywhere using Windows Live™ Messenger, Google Talk™, Yahoo!® Messenger, AOL® Instant Messenger™ or ICQ® apps built specifically for BlackBerry smartphones.
• Social Networking for BlackBerry smartphones
  Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones, Flickr™ Photo Uploader for BlackBerry® smartphones and MySpace® for BlackBerry® smartphones.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has been introduced with 3G and the best features of the BlackBerry line. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has been reduced to the size of the BlackBerry Curve, and an analyst called it “the nicest BlackBerry they’ve ever made.” The BlackBerry Bold 9700 runs OS 5.0 and music playback is now up to 38 hours.

Price: $199

Research In Motion has launched a BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-500, a Bluetooth headset for use with BlackBerry smartphones. The HS-500 sports a one-button access to voice dialing and answer, end, and mute controls.

The wireless device includes automatic volume adjustment and background noise canceling. Users can also listen to voice guided turn-by-turn directions when using the headset with a BlackBerry and a supported navigation app. Which is the main attraction of its use, while you are moving.

The BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-500 is available now for $79.99.

Features:

• Call control button - control calling features like, answer, end, mute and voice activated dialing with the press of a button
• Automatic volume control and noise cancelation - hear and be heard loud and clear in noisy environments
• Works with selected third-party GPS mapping applications - listen to turn-by-turn directions

• BlackBerry 8100
• BlackBerry 8100 (Red)
• BlackBerry 8100 (White)
• BlackBerry 8110
• BlackBerry 8120
• BlackBerry 8130
• BlackBerry 8300
• BlackBerry 8310
• BlackBerry 8320
• BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520
• BlackBerry 8800
• BlackBerry 8820
• BlackBerry 8830
• BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900
• BlackBerry 9000
• BlackBerry® Storm™ 9500
• BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530
• BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630

Just how mobile carriers have in-network calling the BlackBerry have BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry instant messenger that works more like e-mail than SMS to send real-time messages through RIM’s servers.

RIM launched BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 yesterday, a version that pads the messenger with avtars.

You can now transfer photos to contacts on BlackBerry Messenger 5.0, also there is no provision for transferring large files up to 6MB in size.

BlackBerry Messenger features:

Avatars can be easily set up and then populated from BlackBerry Contacts.

Group Functionality – allows groups of friends, family and personal contacts to stay connected & share experiences instantly on their BlackBerry smartphones:

• ongoing group chat
• sharing pictures
• organizing tasks and events with shared lists and calendars

Bar-code identity – easily add/invite contacts to BlackBerry Messenger by displaying a 2-dimensional bar code that the invitees can capture with their BlackBerry camera

Large Media File Transfer – up to 6MB

RIM also adds a new way to find friends. Users have been able to connect with a PIN, e-mail address, or name. Now they can lock onto each other with bar codes and cameras.

Google Voice for BlackBerry version 0.1.5 is available for download. A mobile app to have all calls made to your Google Voice number directed to your cellphone or any other phone is a great benefit. But when you add that feature to the mobile client, Google Voice seems to look like the full-featured service for managing your phone calls and text messages on a mobile device.

However, there’s just one catch for BlackBerry users. While the mobile app can tie into a Google Android phone’s native address book for making calls and sending text messages, this feature is absent from the BlackBerry app.

So if you’ve already got most of your contacts in your BlackBerry address book, you may need to spend some time importing the information to Google Voice.

Google definitely didn’t make Google Voice completely suitable for BlackBerry, so I still think that there is a real opportunity for a third party developer to release a Google Voice client that could become very usable and obviously ridiculously popular.

RIM Desktop Manager makes it easy to sync data between Mac applications and BlackBerry smartphones; free download scheduled to be available on October 2.

This new BlackBerry Desktop Manager software will let Mac users to sync data from Mac applications like iCal®, Address Book, Microsoft® Entourage® and others, as well as add and remove applications, schedule automatic backups, encrypt backup files and install software updates for their BlackBerry smartphone.

BlackBerry Desktop Manager Software also integrates BlackBerry Media Sync, enabling Mac users to sync their iTunes® music collections with their BlackBerry smartphone*. From within the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, users simply select the desired iTunes playlists and the music, including song information and album art, is quickly transferred onto their BlackBerry smartphone.