Opera Software just announced the availability of its Opera Mini 6.5 mobile browser on yet another platform. The native version of the popular data-saving browser just hit the BlackBerry App World and, if you happen to have a BlackBerry OS smartphone, you can have it right away.

You need to be running version 4.2.1 or later of the BlackBerry OS, no matter your carrier or country. This means that Opera Mini will be available on every half decent BlackBerry device, but the PlayBook tablet. Read more »

RIM have teamed up with Porsche Design Studios to create the BlackBerry P’9981, a mix of hard edges and precise angles unlike any other BlackBerry we’ve seen before.

The P’9981 enters the market as the elite BlackBerry, demanding an exclusive price tag for an exclusive device. We spent some exploring how the Porsche Design treatment changes a product like the P’9981. Read more »

The BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 was hotly anticipated, so the news about it seeding the other day spread like wildfire. I spent a few hours of quality time with my Playbook on 2.0, so I’m ready to give you all the details on what’s hot and what is, well, not so much.

And before we continue, I want to answer the most frequent question I got since the release came out: No, you can’t simply drop an Android app on it, install it and use it just like that. It’s an important chunk of information that was known ever since the beta 2.0 leaked, but one that many people have missed for one reason or another.

The BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 does not allow you to install Android apps directly, but it allows developers to port them really easily into the .BAR format, which would then be able to run on the Playbook. RIM would also prefer it that you do not download apps from sources other than the AppWorld.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, let’s see what novelties the Playbook OS 2.0 brings along. Read more »

Surprise, surprise! After numerous rumors of a launch date for the eagerly awaited update, the Playbook 2.0 is finally seeding to users worldwide. We were just greeted with an update notification.

Hello, Android apps, hello Mail client, hello built-in Calendar. The update is downloading as we speak. We will update with live impressions once it’s setup and ready to go. BlackBerry has already come up with a scoop of the new features. Read more below. Read more »

We have been hearing about it for quite a while now but RIM has yet to give a specific release date for the next major release of the BlackBerry PlayBook operating system. However, Engadget has now received some images that help clear the doubts.

According to these images, the OS 2.0 update is slated for release on February 21, just three days from now, at 4:01 a.m (in an unknown timezone). Read more »

While this release was supposedly scheduled for tomorrow, it seems like RIM will be waiting an extra 10 or so days to release the much-anticipated update at the Mobile World Congress.

The new PlayBook OS will add many new features to RIM’s proprietary OS, such as a calendar, contacts, email, as well as an Android emulator. Read more »

The most recent version of BlackBerry OS is now unofficially available for the BlackBerry Bold 9790.

The update, released early last month by Research in Motion, is officially available only to a limited number of BlackBerry devices. Read more »

RIM has decided to speed up the rate at which Android apps are submitted to the BlackBerry PlayBook section of App World – from now on, every Android app developer who submits an app by February 13 has a chance of getting a free PlayBook tablet.

We’re talking a free 16GB PlayBook, which retails for $199. Sounds like a great freebie, and there’s not a lot of work involved if you already own an app. Read more »

We welcome another BlackBerry smartphone to our battery test arena. The Curve 9380 hardly aced our benchmarks, but maybe the more expensive Bold 9790 would be a better match for the other top dogs.

We already gave you the BlackBerry Bold 9790 numbers on Friday, when we published our review, but now we are going to focus on how does it do in comparison to the other smartphones we have tested so far. Read more »

After running our eyes over RIM’s scheduled plans for 2012, the word at the front of our minds was ‘boring’.

Probably not what the Canadian smartphone maker was hoping for, but there were one or two exceptions which caught our eye, one of which could well be a CDMA variant of RIM’s latest Porsche designed Berry’. Read more »

The BlackBerry PlayBook caught a lot of flack when it launched because it lacked apps that seemed central to the functions of a business tablet – contacts, email and calendar. RIM has been working on adding these features in PlayBook OS 2.0, which rumor has it is finally launching on February 17.

We’ve seen leaked screenshots of the new apps a couple of times so we know what to expect. Read more »

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 has just arrived in our office. It’s the second BlackBerry OS 7 running Bold we get our hands on and just as the Bold 9900, the 9790 also comes with a touchscreen.

The Bold 9790 is has less-capable raw power and specs than the Bold 9900 – it comes with a smaller 2.45″ HVGA touchscreen, a 1GHz processor and a 5 megapixel snapper capable of capturing VGA videos. Read more »

Not sure if developers suddenly found out about the existence of the PlayBook or if the recent fire sale (and the resultant rise in user base) has finally made them take interest in the device but the troubled tablet has finally started getting some popular titles.

Following the trio of Angry Birds released last month, developer ZeptoLab has released their highly popular Cut the Rope HD for the PlayBook. Read more »

RIM promised compatibility with the Android apps for the PlayBook with the upcoming OS 2 update but that won’t be coming before February. So what do you do if you want to, say, use Google+ on your PlayBook right now? The answer is, root it.

CrackBerry.com has gone through the trouble of making an extensive guide that will help you root your PlayBook so you can run Android Market on it and thereby, have access to the Android Apps within. Read more »

It seems RIM has been trying to get rid of their entire BlackBerry PlayBook stock and the emphasis today is on the 64GB version. Last week they had all models on promo prices ($199, $249 and $399 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB respectively). Today, in a surprising move, we find the three models all equally priced at $299. Obviously, it’s only the 64GB version that has its price cut down from the original fire sale in December.

The new sale ends on February 4th. Read more »