Verizon released the BlackBerry OS 5.0 update alongside the Storm2 launch date this morning. I just had to try it out as I had ranked the BlackBerry Storm as the worst phone ever made. I’ve only had the update loaded for about an hour so far, but everything seems slightly better including the reception, responsiveness, and the iPhone-like effects. I still don’t like the phone but at least it seems usable now.

Crackberry has some hot video of the Storm 2, RIM’s follow-up to the abysmal Storm. This new model has a less clicky screen with better keyboard and it’s slightly thinner. It also has dedicated call buttons. No word on Wi-Fi, though.

via Giz

Quick note for all you BlackBerry Storm users out there: Starting today Verizon is pushing Slacker Radio out to all the Storms network wide. Why? Well, Verzion worked out a deal with Slacker to integrate V Cast into the app. So when a song is playing on Slacker, there will be a button which will allow you to purchase the song via V CAST Music with Rhapsody catalog. Neat, I guess.

Another day of WES2009, another day of BlackBerry news. This morning brings an announcement from LogMeIn, makers of the remote desktop access software of the same name. For those unfamiliar with the concept, LogMeIn allows you to control a Windows or Mac computer from another terminal across the internet. Previously, the term “terminal” here was limited to meaning any PC or system with an up-to-snuff browser. As of December, the launch of LogMeIn Ignition expanded it to include the iPhone. This morning, LogMeIn is announcing that they’ll soon be throwing the BlackBerry Storm into the mix as well.

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Research In Motion’s founder and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, has cleared up some non-existent confusion about his company’s first touch screen device, the Storm — it’s a netbook.

Wait, what? Sorry, can you repeat that? I must have misheard you Mr. co-CEO.

In a recent interview, when asked “Would you consider Netbooks as your competitors?,” Mr. Lazaridis responded:

No, I think I can put Netbooks in here [referring to the BlackBerry Storm]. These are Netbooks. They are just smaller.

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As if Thanksgiving left-overs and a bit of time off weren’t enough, Storm owners got a bit more to be thankful for over the weekend. After a somewhat shaky launch and a whole lot of complaints about some fairly rough bugs, RIM is set to release the first firmware update some time this week. Fortunately for those ready to throw their Storm out to sea, some folks at RIM (or Verizon, perhaps) decided to bring the goods a bit early for their more technologically apt crowd by leaking not one, but two firmware updates.

Anyone can nab the first leak, which comes in at version 4.7.0.75. Here’s the download link. As it doesn’t appear that any patch notes were leaked with the release, the list of fixes is all conjecture at the moment. In general, however, stability seems to be on the up-and-up.

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With hype comes scrutiny. Build consumer interest in a device up to that which Verizon has built the BlackBerry Storm, and you’re bound to hear the complaints. The Storm has been on the shelves for less than a week, and forums around the web are already littered with word of reproach.

A list of the issues that RIM has recognized as software flaws has been passed out to Verizon employees to keep them from accepting them as reasons to exchange the customer’s device. Of course, this list made its way out almost immediately. According to the document, we can expect the first set of fixes to come in Week 1 of December.

Far more interesting than the problems themselves are the interim solutions. Key press not recognized? Solution: Press it again!

Issues to be resolved by the first OTA update (Maintenance Release 1) – December, week 1:

• If a customer receives a call while listen to music at low volume using a wired headset, the music volume may suddenly increase to the highest level (!). Interim recovery instructions: Lower the volume using the buttons on the side of the handset.
• When using voice-activated dialing, incoming audio may be muted. Interim recovery instructions: Enter the menu and select “Activate Handset or Speaker”.
• The handset may reset itself while sitting idle or while using multimedia applications. No interim recovery instructions provided.

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Here come some numbers with decimals, so get ready. BGR is speculating that batches of the BlackBerry Storm that had been shipped with OS version 4.7.0.82 may have caused some sort of glitch. And when BGR asked Verizon about the official OS version, Verizon told them it was 4.7.0.65 – that’s lower than 4.7.0.82, mind you.

Read the rest of this entry over at CrunchGear >>

If we piece together a couple of Verizon sources, the BlackBerry Storm will launch on November 17, 2008 for $219 with a two-year contract. None of this is of course confirmed through VZW, but it seems to fit the timetable and price point.

Verizon needs to get this BlackBerry out before the holidays as some suits will want to treat themselves to a new CrackBerry as a stocking stuffer. Plus, Verizon does not have a true iPhone killer yet and while the Storm will not slay the king, it’s the closest thing on the market so the price must be close to the iP3G’s $199 entry price.

Once again, none of this is confirmed but Verizon must be close to releasing this BlackBerry. What are they waiting for?

ZDNet – Release date

HoFo via Eng – Price

So you’ve dipped your feet into iPhone and Android development, but aren’t really feeling either platform? Got an idea you think a carrier or two would pick up for the BlackBerry Application Center? Time to get crackin’.

Now that the Storm is on its way to the starting block, RIM has released the development tools needed to get an application up and running on the handset. To make the dev process a little less tedious (and, I’d imagine, to give wary techies a bit of a trial run), they’ve also released an emulator for the device. Check out the BlackBerry Dev Program for more info.

[Via Phonescoop]

At long last, Verizon and Vodafone have officially acknowledged that they plan to offer the Storm in the coming weeks. Prepped to fit the needs of the enterprise user who may be tempted to sway from RIM, this much-coveted handset is the first touchscreen BlackBerry. With the 480×360 screen, 3.2 mp autofocus camera, Bluetooth 2.0, “ClickThrough” user selection for a button-like touch screen, 3.5mm headset jack, EVDO Rev. A and HSPA, 1 GB of internal memory, microSD (8 gigs included in the box), full HTML browser, both standalone and A-GPS, PDF/Word/Excel/Powerpoint support, quad-band radio (850/900/1800/1900), it’s a mighty stalwart contender against Apple’s finest (or just about anyone’s finest, for that matter).

Pricing and availability aren’t available – but if leaked Best Buy documents hold true, we’ll be seeing it by November 16th at the latest.

Full specs after the jump.

Update: According to the press release that just came down the pipes, TELUS will be a Storm-bringer for Canada.

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Anybody who is considered the “geek” amongst their less tech-minded peers best look out. The BlackBerry Storm has made its way to the moving picture box, and they decided to go all Coen Brothers with the ending. For the next week or two, you get to deal with a constant stream of “Hey! Hey! You like computers! What’s on the other side of the Storm?!” from anyone who can’t use Google.

With there still being about a month more to wait before the BlackBerry Storm hits the shelves (be it that the early November launch rumors hold true), what can anxious soon-to-be Storm owners do to pass the time?

They could write haikus, comparing their love for the Storm’s touchscreen to a springtime breeze. They could also make a papercraft version of the BlackBerry Storm, jam their current phone inside, and try to convince people they have a prototype model. Or they could not be weird, instead using that time to dig through the 17 pages of BlackBerry Storm User Guide goodness that the Boy Genius just managed to finagle.

It covers just about all of the basics you’d need to know to tap your way around the Storm: Video recording, creating voices notes and playlists, utilizing the GPS, using the browser and calendar, etc. if you’re planning on picking one up, you might as well be prepped for launch day – plus, all your friends will think that you’re just really, really good at adapting to new phones.

Further proving that there is at least one VZW employee out there who really likes leaking BlackBerry Storm details, CrackBerry has managed to get their hands on the BlackBerry Storm pre-launch marketing sheet.

Now, don’t get too excited when you see the words “Launch Date” next to “9/17/08″; Verizon is not going to surprise everyone and release the Storm today. Those dates are for marketing campaign launches, indicating that Verizon plans to begin waving the Storm in front of everyone’s face from today on.

Besides detailing what kind of junk the salesfolk will be pushing on you during the transaction, the only meaty morsel here is the upgrade eligibility date: November 1st, 08. It’d be pretty tough to upgrade to a handset that isn’t on the shelves yet, so as long as Verizon stays on their game we can expect to see the Storm on the first of November.

Remember those BlackBerry Storm still shots that leaked out from the internal Verizon employee announcement just a few hours ago? The entire video from which the screens were captured has now leaked online. The video quality is a bit like being 3 shots in and sitting on a tilt-a-whirl, but if you’re itchin’ for Storm information and the stills just aren’t doing it for you, this might just hit the spot. Fortunately, Verizon was nice enough to subtitle it for everyone to make up for the audio degradation.

[Via Crackberry]