BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is the First Mobile Platform to Achieve Common Criteria Certification

Rome, Italy - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced that its BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® device software have been awarded Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 2 augmented (EAL 2+) validations. The certifications were awarded at the 8th International Common Criteria Conference in Rome and acknowledge the robust security features of the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution. READ THE ENTIRE PRESS RELEASE

BIS OUTAGE UPDATE!

Well, even though this was initially reported around 8am EDT this morning, things seem to have gotten progressively worse in the last hour or so. Now there are reports of blackberry.net email addresses also being effected AND possibly browsers, BlackBerryMessengers and 3rd party applications that rely on data being effected... We are still here to keep you updated! More info as it breaks.

BlackBerry Internet Service Interruption Alert! 9/15/2007

Users with BlackBerry Internet Service email are currently experiencing lags of getting email, if they are getting them at all. blackberry.net email address do NOT appear to be involved in this. However, it is confirmed that such email providers such as GMail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Comcast, etc ARE effected. We will keep you posted on further developments on this story.

Q4 BlackBerry Training Schedule now available.

I want to personally invite you to join us for an upcoming BlackBerry Clinic. You will learn more in 2 hours with me and my team than most users that have had the device for 5 years!Here is how you get registered: 1.Go to BlackBerryGuy webpage 2.Click the drop down box and select the date you wish to attend 3.Complete the information requested and click submit Below are some of the BlackBerry Clinic dates and times. All trainings are held at NationLink Wireless Corporate offices: 342 Cool Springs Blvd, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37067 Friday, October 12th: 1:00pm - 3:00pm Friday, October 26th: 9:00am - 11:00am Wednesday, November 7th: 2:00pm - 4:00pm NationLink Corporate OfficesTrainings are now approved for continuing education for Attorneys (CLE) and Accountants (CPE) in Tennessee. For ACCOUNTANTS - go to http://e2ma.net/go/741344995/633220/22183695/goto:http://www.tscpa.com for registration.

BBG Parent Company A Future 50 Winner!

For the third year, NationLink (The parent company of BlackBerryGuy) has been awarded as one of Nashville Future 50 companies. This is awarded to 50 selected companies that have exceptional revenue growth rates. We appreciate your business and the role you played in our achievement!

Can you hear me now? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!

There have been some major changes in the Sprint and Verizon roaming agreements in the last few months. In order for Sprint users to take advantage of this, they have to complete a PRL update. If anyone is finding that Verizon has better coverage then Sprint, a PRL update should fix this. Here's how you do it: - from your Sprint phone, Dial *2 - Ask the Sprint Care Rep to do a "PRL Update" to your device. - Turn your phone off and turn back on - Enjoy your awesome roaming update!

TMO decides to make some BB owners happy early...

The "official" launch date for the new 8320 BlackBerry Curve was slated for T-Mobile for Monday, September 24th. However, due to the popular demand of the new device (or it could have been the hundreds of crackberrys calling their local stores asking if it was in yet), TMobz decided to go ahead and start selling the device as early as Friday the 21st (for those fortunate enough to have a local rep who would "hook them up").

We are wondering how the person who spent $1,000 on eBay for the 8320 to get it "before it launched" feels now, considering that by the time he got it delivered on Saturday, about a hundred or so people had already gotten theirs from corporate stores. BlackBerry users screamed they wanted it, and TMO answered. WOO HOO!

October 4th: RIM To Announce 2nd Quarter Results

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) will be reporting results for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 on October 4, 2007 after the close of the market. A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 5 pm ET, which can be accessed by dialing 416-640-1907or by logging on at www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml. A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 7 pm by dialing 416-640-1917 and entering passcode 21221688#. This replay will be available until midnight ET October 18, 2007.

BlackBerry.Com Get's A Make-Over

BlackBerryCool has pointed out that the BlackBerry.com website has undergone a makeover. Not that this is really news. It seems as if every time we visit BlackBerry.com that they are changing it up.

On a seperate note, we did notice the other day that if you go to http://www.blackberrymultimedia.com/, it re-directs you to the Blackberry Pearl webpage.

Wonder if RIM has future plans for this site with the new "Media Berrys" that are coming out and are just anchoring it for right now...hmmmmm..... *image courtesy of BlackBerryCool.com

TMobile Slashes Email Only Prices...Raises Data Only Prices

So TMobile has restructured their BlackBerry data plans just s tiny bit. The new breakdown allows to you to get your Email only, for just $9.99 a month. But why would you want e-mail only? Why not spend the extra $10.00 a month and get all the goodies that come along with having internet access as well? Makes no sense to us, but we are sure there are some people out there who will get the new $9.99 plans...Probably those folks running around out there now with the Pearls and no data on them. To us, its worth the extra $10/month just to get the "Data Connection Refused" off the top of the screen, let alone actually having internet too!

A New String O Pearls

So here are the new TMobile Pearls that were recently launched this week.

Is it just us, or are these things hiddeous? I mean, seriously...Could you not have come up with SOME better colors than these? This almost makes the 8320 PimpBerry Curve look like a wise color combination.

Sprint 8130 Pealr Information Surfaces

As the date gets closer, more information rolls out. It has been reported by numerous sources in the online world that the Sprint 8130 BlackBerry Pearl will be launching the weekend of Thanksgiving. Now we also have what appear to be official Sprint information regarding the 8130. Many websites threw this image up, and we aren't really sure who THE first site was, so we will give credit to EngadgetMobile on this one.

The biggest "wow factor" that we have seen is that it is going to have access to Sprint TV and the Sprint Music Store, thus making it the first BlackBerry to "officially" have the ability to stream media (Thank you CDMA Speeds!). On-board GPS is also slated for the 8130. Many people have been wondering about WiFi. This isn't official, but from what we have heard in the rumor mills, there will not be a device produced that is both CDMA AND WiFi. WiFi it seems is going to be left to the GSM carriers, which is probably best since CDMA speeds really don't justify the need for WiFi anyways.

Making BlackBerry® a part of Leadership

"Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out." - Stephen Covey This week, take a look at your daily activities and your business successes. See where the faults are and where your best achievements are uncovered. As leaders, it is our responsibility to identify and help align "best activities". As EFFECTIVE leaders, it is our responsibility to make sure things get done!! BlackBerry® is how we "get things done" on the move. Increased productivity, minimized "lost time" and maximized relationships... That's the benefit. Contact me to hear how my BlackBerry® has changed my life - zachary.barker@mynationlink.com

What did the BlackBerry say to the TREO?

SMACK!!! Take a look at the latest SmartPhone usage poll that was posted over at CrackBerry.com:

The Blog Looking Kinda Funky?

Maybe it's because we are used to perfection thanks to our trusty BlackBerrys, but the blog seems like it's looking all kinds of screwed up right now...Font way to big, and that good ole' "READ MORE!!!" at the beginning of every post... Who knows...We're working on it. But if you notice anything, please point it out so that we can dust off our Sherlock Holmes hats and get to investigating!

OperaMini 4 Beta For BlackBerry

Opera is at again with their Award Winning mobile browser, aptly named OperaMini. I have tried and it's better than before, but still not as user friendly as the BlackBerry browser. If someone could just figure out how to merge the two, then we would be happy campers! If you want to check it out for yourself, head on over to the following link via your BlackBerry Browser and download it and make sure you choose the High Memory version: mini.opera.com/beta A special note...As of press time, when we tried to load the application through Desktop Manager, it wouldn't load...So don't waste your time. Just download it OTA directly from your BlackBerry...

Bill Gates Wants To Take Over The World...

Everyone already knew that, but yet once again, rumors have started flying around that Microsoft wants to buy into RIM (Research in Motion, you know, that company that made the little device in your hand that you can't live without!). Anyways, we personally don't believe it's going to happen. But we could be wrong...We may be eating our words and editing our blog here in about a year or so...

September 24th Curve Showdown Between AT&T And TMobile?

That's what it's looking to shape up as... Word on the street is the 24th of September is going to be a very interesting day in the BlackBerry community... It seems as if AT&T and TMobile are going to be trying to "curve" one and other by launching the new round of Curves on the same day. Confused yet? Let's break it down.... AT&T: 8310 Curve...The same Curve that you get right now, but with GPS built in, but no WiFi. TMO: 8320 Curve: The same Curve you can get now from AT&T, but with built in WiFi, but no GPS. GPS Advantage: Know where you're going and where you are. WiFi Advantage: Finally be able to use your Berry in your office or home if you have crappy cell coverage. Overall advantage...None...Some users will benefit of one, some of the other...Will be interesting though to see how many Curve owners jump ship from one GSM carrier to another because the other is offering the option they want. Word also is, TMO might be releasing the 8310 in the near future...but those are just rumors...Just as is almost everything that you find on all these blogs... So now you know... And to add a little fuel to the fire, here are some "Spy Pics" of the up and coming Curve on TMOBILE...Now, keep in mind, the overall form factor of the Curve is the same for every Curve...BUT...We are posting this picture because to us, this is the ugliest color combination for a BlackBerry since the Red Pearl (just our humble opinion)....

HOWEVER...Word has it that you won't be forced to carry this around and look like a pimp if you don't want to! There is also a "titanium" colored Curve that will be available...Allegedly...Supposedly...Well, honestly, noone will know for sure until it drops. But over here at the BBG offices, we are desperately hoping that there are other color combinations other than the 8320 PimpBerry.

BGR: 8820 Soft Launch Slated For...Well...Yesterday...

Via BGR: "We just got word that the BlackBerry 8820 might be "soft launching" on AT&T today (yesterday). That means the unit should slowly be making the rounds into stores, and will possibly be available for direct ordering and/or Premier soon. Pricing is said to be the same as the current BlackBerry 8800, which would put it at $299 after a 2 year agreement. All BlackBerry 8800 shipments have been stopped indefinitely as far as we’re aware. They’re all EOL’d. If we’re lucky, I think we can expect these 8820s in stores by tomorrow (today since we are a day late)" Kinda bad news for those people who have gone out and gotten the 8800 series already, but hey, a BlackBerry is a BlackBerry, and if you are like us, it doesn't matter if they launch 10 BlackBerrys back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back...We're still gonna have them in our possession. Thanks to BGR for the tip!

BlackBerry Pearl 2 Pictures Arise...

Hayden over at Pinstack posted some pictures of the new Pearl 2 that is coming out, and these are the first known pictures of the Pearl...You wanna see 'em? Of course you do...Check 'em out...

Is she not a beauty? Not sure which carrier this is on, but it appears to be a GSM carrier...BUT...Word on the street is this is the same Pearl that is going to be hitting Sprint and Verizon...WOOHOO! .

We're Baaaaaacccckkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We FINALLY got this issue with BlogSpot resolved and hope that it never happens again. But, if it does, we will have to pull out our handy GPS Equipped 8830's and TeleNav ourselves straight to their offices and have a sit down with them. We've already contacted Tony Soprano to let him know he may have to arrange it. Sorry for the downtime, but it is now time to catch up on all the happenings in the BlackBerry world! So strap on your seatbelts and get ready for a ride!!!

BlackBerry Vs. iPhone

To determine whether the grass really is greener on the iPhone side of the fence, we have chronicled the experience of a venture capitalist (who wishes to remain anonymous) who has been using an iPhone and a BlackBerry 8800 side-by-side for the past few weeks. His conclusion: despite the overall attractiveness of the iPhone, it lacks too many vital features to replace the BlackBerry as the corporate weapon of choice.

For starters, a BlackBerry set up with Microsoft Exchange Server sports intelligent push email while the iPhone does not. When an email is sent to an account on a BlackBerry, the message is downloaded immediately and an LED on the phone notifies the user that he or she has a new message. The iPhone, on the other hand, recognizes new messages at most every 15 minutes and must be checked actively to see if anything has arrived. This deficiency makes handling email on the iPhone slower and less efficient; it also translates into wasted battery power as users need to perform the extra step of opening the iPhone’s email program every time they want to check for new mail.

Perhaps even more significantly, the iPhone fails to synchronize as well as the BlackBerry. When a BlackBerry user changes a calendar event or some contact information on his or her desktop computer in Exchange, the changes automatically appear on the BlackBerry. This makes keeping track of basic business information a snap because one never has to worry about acting on outdated data or manually updating one’s handheld. In contrast, the iPhone does not synchronize calendar and contact information wirelessly, which makes it less dependable for information ultimately stored on a server.

In addition to these major drawbacks of the iPhone, our venture capitalist cites the following as reasons to prefer the BlackBerry: The BlackBerry 8800 possesses GPS, which makes Google Maps much more useful, especially for turn-by-turn directions The iPhone lacks basic cut and paste capabilities Despite Apple’s reputation for superior user interface design, the BlackBerry possesses keyboard shortcuts that make navigation around and between applications a breeze The BlackBerry’s phone quality is better than the iPhone’s The Safari browser is certainly more stunning than the BlackBerry’s primitive browser, but the iPhone seems to load even text-only pages more slowly than the BlackBerry over the EDGE network

The BlackBerry possesses a general contacts application that makes contacting people by any given method more convenient The battery runs out faster on the iPhone simply because it is used for more tasks. This makes it less reliable for when one must take the device somewhere overnight without the opportunity to recharge.

Despite all of these criticisms of the iPhone, our venture capitalist admits that he would switch over to the iPhone if only it supported push email, calendar and contacts synchronization, and GPS.

For him, the prospect of ridding his pockets of a separate device for music (an iPod nano), as well as enjoying all of the iPhone’s slick features (such as full-featured web browsing, stocks and weather apps, and its YouTube program), makes the iPhone very tempting.

However, until Apple resolves these shortcomings (and perhaps Google makes its applications, especially Gmail, work as seamlessly with the iPhone as Microsoft makes Exchange work with the BlackBerry), others are going to have to pry his BlackBerry from his cold, dead hands (his words, mind you, not ours).