Filed under: RIM Looks like BlackBerry Internet Services is having a rough night, with a number of sites reporting it being down not just in North America, but also elsewhere around the world. A handful of tipsters have expressed similar issues, and though we’ve had some weirdness with our service tonight, it seems to be working well enough

Filed under: Handsets, Features, RIM, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA, BlackBerry OS For a company with the most starched, buttoned-up roots of any major wireless manufacturer, RIM’s venture out of its enterprise comfort zone to the consumer space went amazingly smoothly thanks to the introduction of the original Pearl, a phone that’s still sold in a variety of colors, configurations, and carriers to this day.

Filed under: Handsets, RIM The lads at jkontherun took that new connection between BlackBerrys and the REDFLY for a spin.

Filed under: Features, Podcasts “DRRRROOOOOOOOID.” Okay, we spare you from actually playing the “DROID” alert sound at any point during the podcast, but the fact remains: Verizon’s powerhouse from Motorola is a major topic of conversation on this week’s show.

Filed under: Handsets, LG, Verizon Wireless Rounding out the flurry of interesting Verizon Wireless launches today are the BlackBerry Curve 8530 and LG Chocolate Touch (pictured). The 8530 is pretty much just the Verizon edition of T-Mobile’s 8520, but the LG Chocolate Touch bears closer examination. Basically it’s just a war on the eyeballs of anyone who’s ever seen the BL40, with the front, back, materials and interface of the device all falling incredibly short of aesthetic pleasure.

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Sprint, EV-DO, CDMA, BlackBerry OS As we revealed this morning, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 — a CDMA remix of the 8520 now available on T-Mobile — is coming to Sprint to do battle with its Verizon-branded cousin. Unlike Verizon, which promises a November 20 launch for $99.99 on contract after rebate, Sprint isn’t revealing pricing or availability details for the low-end BlackBerry — but naturally, if they’re smart, the answers will be “cheap” and “soon,” respectively. BlackBerry Curve 8530 now official on Sprint originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:03:00 EST

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Rogers Wireless, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, BlackBerry OS AT&T and T-Mobile customers have a little bit to wait yet before they can clamp down on a 9700 of their own, but Rogers — which has a history of being in the VIP section for new BlackBerry launches — has already brought the new Bold flavor to market. RIM’s latest high-end full QWERTY device will run you CAD $299.99 (about $281) on a three-year contract, scaling all the way up to CAD $599.99 (about $563) commitment-free — so needless to say, you have to really want this thing.