If you didn’t think the “Kickstart” would hit Rogers, send us over what you’re smokin’! Canada’s largest GSM provider will most certainly be grabbing the Kickstart. We haven’t confirmed the release date of the device on Rogers just yet, but we’d guess it would be around a couple weeks of T-Mobile getting it. Rogers is going to be changing the name of their “Home Calling Zone” UMA service to “Rogers Talkspot,” something the Kickstart will be able to make use of just fine. In addition to the Q3 Kickstart launch, Rogers has also got the Motorola ROKR E8 for $99.99, the Samsung T336 for $49.99, the Sony Ericsson Walkman W760a for $79.99, and finally the Sony Ericsson W350a for $29.99. All the aforementioned handset prices were on 3-year agreements — duh! But seriously, if RIM prices the Kickstart right (we’re hoping $49.99), Motorola and Palm employees might as well just hand in their resignation letters directly to RIM — it’s over! Couple more shots after the jump…

Thanks, Rogers ninja!

We’ve got around 80 open spots for anyone who wants to get in on some sweet beta test action! We’re pretty far along in terms of development, but we’d love some input on features you’d like to see most. You can already view our content, view comments, post a comment, become an honorary BGR informant, snap a pic of some cool unreleased phone and submit it to us, and more! Sound good? What else should we add? If you’d like to test the app, drop a comment below and we will pick 80 of you guys (or gals).

We just got a hold of some internal T-Mobile snap shots, and any Sidekick will truly appreciate them. They detail the much-rumored Sidekick Gekko, from here on out known as the… wait for it… almost there… T-Mobile Sidekick 2008! That’s it, guys. Creative name right? In all seriousness, it looks like the word about customizing the shells on the device look to be true. It’s an “entry-level” device, and as such, we reckon it won’t break the bank. Here are the official specs on the T-Mobile Sidekick 2008:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• 2 megapixel camera
• 2.6″ WQVGA screen
• Video recording
• Stereo A2DP Bluetooth
• Standard Sidekick features

Couple more shots after the jump along with some more info!

Every once in a while, we have a slow enough day at the BGR HQ that we sometimes put on our “nerd glasses” and peruse our web server logs for some nitty gritty information. As we are a fairly popular gadget and technology blog, (no, we’re not declaring war) it seems like a popular ‘first destination’ for many people who have loaded up the latest beta OS for an existing device or even unreleased devices not yet on the market.

Needless to say, over the last few days, we have noticed some interesting build numbers for the iPhone and iPhone 3G. It appears that AT&T and Apple are testing iPhone device software version 2.0.1, builds 5B101 (iPhone) and 5B103 (iPhone 3G). Although we are not certain of much more information than this little bit, we do know that testing began prior to the launch of device software 2.0 and the iPhone 3G on July 11th. We have also narrowed down the known test users to the San Francisco (40 mins from Cupertino) and Atlanta (HQ of AT&T Mobility) areas. Hmm.

Regardless, this shows that Apple has a nice headstart on what will likely be the first major update to the iPhone 3G… and perhaps we’ll even get an official iChat client!

P.S. - Don’t forget our totally awesome iPhone 3G giveaway, ok? You’ll be getting OS 2.0.1 soon enough…

Sorry, had to get that out of me. Since you know, they’ll be like 1,000 posts on this on every other site. You’re now free to resume your regularly scheduled browsing activities.

Read

If you’re a car fanatic, you can’t help but being intrigued by Rolls-Royce’s newest announcement; the RR4 due to start production in 2010. It’s the “baby” Rolls-Royce that’s been floating around in the rumor mill for the last couple years. And by baby, we mean smaller. Ever since BMW bought Rolls, their design and technology has slowly made it’s way into Rolls-Royce’s lineup. From the same 7-Series key, to iDrive, to the same driving controls, they’ve integrated a whole lot. Now, the RR4 is set to further expand that line by using the 7-Series framework. Expect it to be similarly sized, but pack that Rolls-Royce punch. Now, who else is getting one with us? Matching cars? Let’s go! We got first dibs on BGR Blue, though…Couple shots of the limited edition sketch and Rolls materials after the jump.

One of our Motorola ninjas hit us up to give us the low-down on their brand new unreleased flapship phone. It was described to us as being Motorola’s “last stand”, so to speak. Internally, everyone is hedging their bets on this bad boy, and if this doesn’t get accepted like Motorola hopes it will, it’s all over for them. Then again, it’s been all over for them for a while now, no? In any case, the specs on the phone codenamed Alexander are:

• Originally a 5 megapixel camera, but possibly scrapped since the ZN5 is out. It looks like it’s going to be an 8 megapixel camera phone. At least that’s what is floating around in the R&D labs…
• The device will have a built-in NVIDIA chip which will handle both video and 3D graphics.
• It will have GPS
• It might possibly be a touch screen but that has not been confirmed to us just yet.
• The phone is rumored to run UIQ as the OS, “probably version 4.0 or higher.”
• It’s called a “Dark Project” phone because of the secrecy surrounding it. Well, that worked out really pretty good.
• Release right now is set for October, but as always, that could change.
• Again, this is said to be Moto’s last big attempt at getting back their market share and reclaiming victory. If this doesn’t work out, we’re told it’s all over for them and they will sell the company.

How many RAZRs does it take to save Motorola? Apparently way more than 100M.

It almost seems like we’re unearthing a new BlackBerry model every week. There were a number of doubters on the internet when we first posted news of the BlackBerry 9100 and external display. Those rants were quickly hushed when we brought you pictures of the BlackBerry Kickstart just two weeks later. The naysayers stating our pictures were of a dummy device were further pushed towards the land of mum when we posted more evidence of the flip-phone BlackBerry just days later.

Moral of the story? Believe the hype, we’re almost always right.

In similar fashion to our exclusive breaking stories on the BlackBerry 9100, we now have evidence of a couple more devices and confirmation of others. No flashy pictures of unreleased devices this time. No mock-ups, either. This post is truly for the fans who feed on news of all sorts. 

First up, just to brush the dust off an already old record, despite the lack of a physical device release - the BlackBerry Bold / 9000 / Meteor.

Next up, the BlackBerry Javelin, the non-3G Bold-looking device (with a larger screen resolution). Remember Mr. Javvy? 

Following closely behind is the BlackBerry Storm, also known as the BlackBerry Thunder, one of the most anticipated RIM devices to date. Rumored to cover both EV-DO Rev A and HSPA, in addition to being the first touchscreen BlackBerry, this should be a promising exclusive release for the collective juggernaut of Verizon and Vodafone. How do you like that virtual keyboard support?

As mentioned earlier, we bring you the BlackBerry Kickstart / 9100 / ReleaseNameToBeDetermined.

What’s this, you say? A follow-up to the yet-to-be-released BlackBerry flip-phone featuring GPS? Welcome to the party, BlackBerry Seawolf / 9110. Yes, once again, you heard it here first. We’ll go ahead and start a rumor that this device will launch on AT&T in the United States.

The one that has your pal BG scratching his head - the BlackBerry Aurora. Perhaps this previously unmentioned device is now in the R&D graveyard. The device ID listed for it is the same as the BlackBerry Storm above. And let’s not overlook the indicator this device belongs to the Pearl family. Regardless, it is intriguing.

So that’s our BlackBerry rundown for the day. Quick recap? BlackBerry Seawolf 9110, BlackBerry Javelin, BlackBerry Thunder, and BlackBerry Aurora. Happy now?

This is a semi-rant, but can someone tell me why of all manufacturers, HTC has started to make devices that are no longer quad-band, and no longer have tri-band HSDPA? They were one of the first to finally get it right and support all bands, even back in the day with the original TyTN. From then on, almost every professional HTC device was quad-band and let us Americanos rock out with HSDPA. Can someone enlighten us? Why has the number one Windows Mobile manufacturer in the world removed such an essential feature from their new lineup? They pulled a Nokia and will start offering localized devices with local GSM bands. Oh yeah, the XPERIA, made by HTC, will be quad-band and offer tri-band UMTS/HSDPA. This, my friends, is not a step in the right direction… 

UPDATE: HTC hit us up and said that size constraints with the Touch Diamond was they weren’t offering a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA device…

One of Roger ninjas hit us up to give us the breakdown of mobile device launches for the month of June. It’s a pretty impressive line-up if you ask us. As usual, dates do change, but this is what we got so far:

• BlackBerry Bold launch time frame is June 9th-29th. (we don’t have an exact date just yet)
• The HTC Shift will launch on Rogers within the next 10 days. Rumored date is May 22nd, and it’s going for $1,500 on a 3-year agreement.
• The Motorola E8 will be making the trek up north for a June launch. No specific launch date or pricing info yet.
• The Motorola ROKR U9 which as we’re told was supposed to be launched in May, will now be launched in June on Fido.
• Motorola’s W755r (same exact model AT&T has) will also be coming to Rogers in June.
• We’ve also been told Rogers will not be getting the BlackBerry 8320. They are sticking to the BlackBerry 8120 and BlackBerry 8820 for their UMA action.

I think we’ve about covered it for now. Also, the BlackBerry Bold date seems a tad early, so we’d guess it would be launched towards the tail-end of that timeframe. AT&T should either launch before that date, or soon after as we can’t imagine Rogers getting it first. But that’s our own prediction and not based off actual AT&T internal information. Who’s excited out there

A "breaking news" bulletin was just sent out to all AT&T Retail employees today stating that they have started limiting iPhone purchases to one per customer. The email isn’t exciting, but the inventory is definitely starting to dry up. Full email (which isn’t that interesting) is after the jump.

Since we were the first ones to break the news about a touchscreen BlackBerry device, it’s only fitting that we follow up and give y’all the real lowdown on it! This is going to excite a lot of people, but anger many. Are you ready? The BlackBerry Thunder, as it is codenamed now, (all you "reporting" on it as the Storm are incorrect) will launch in Q3 of this year. It is a full touchscreen BlackBerry — no slide out keyboard — with only 4 physical keys. Those are the send / end phone keys, the BlackBerry menu key, and the back key. Here is the most interesting part, though: it will launch as a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone! We’ve heard the unit will be a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE), and GSM HSPA for traveling internationally. Verizon and Vodafone will have the same unit. Currently, the model number is the BlackBerry 9500, though it’s very early and that’s likely to change. This is HUGE for the Verizon lovers. For once they’ll get an exclusive device, but Verizon will have a sales quota for the device and if they don’t meet those numbers, we’ve heard the exclusivity will then dissolve and it’s over. This will be extremely interesting to see play out.

P.S. No, you morons, the image above is not real. Didn’t we go through this once before?

P.P.S. For futher clarification about the whole LTE thing, the chip might support it, but that does not mean the network will be ready by any means…OK?

We just got word that some of T-Mobile’s upcoming phones are delayed or scrapped altogether. The Nokia 5310 Xpress Music handset which replaces the current Nokia 5300 is now slated for release in early June. It will launch in red, orange, and purple colors. The more higher-end Nokia 5610 Xpress Music has also had a launch delay and is set to launch in early July. If there was one device that was 86′d, which manufacturer would it be? Motorola, silly! Their Motorola Z6w (Z6 with Wi-Fi) was targeted for a June 23rd launch, but has now been cancelled. This is said to be due to early testing issues. Any questions? No? Class dismissed!

We’re almost there, guys! It’s been told to us that at 12AM EST, the BlackBerry Bold press release will cross the wires. We’ve heard a lot of conflicting reports — that the device might launch a lot earlier than expected, or the press release will just have a vague launch timeframe with AT&T, Vodafone, and some other worldwide carrier partners. If you’re attending WES, you’ll be able to demo a BlackBerry Bold and check it out. The rest of the general public will have to wait until it launches.

• description: BlackBerry Bold
• title: BlackBerry Bold

You heard it here first, people! The much-awaited BlackBerry 9000 will be announced on May 12th, the first day of WES 2008 in Orlando, FL. There will even be booths setup so y’all can demo the device to your heart’s delight. Word has it that Mike Lazaridis will be up on stage announcing the device. You know, getting his Steve Jobs on! This is 100% confirmed, too. So…who’s excited?

P.S. If you absolutely can’t wait for the 12th, Kevin over at CrackBerry.com got his hands on a BlackBerry 9000 and has put it through the paces!

Our AT&T ninjas are at it again! This time they’ve dropped us a note that the Nokia E71 will be making its way to the carrier. We’re working on getting pictures of the AT&T-branded Nokia E71, but until then, call this a rumor. You know, so you don’t totally hate us if this doesn’t turn out to be true.

[Image by DechoWireless]

UPDATE: Sorry, guys. We’re lacking some serious sleep over here. The dates are in fact June 15th to July 12th. Our apologies. The full internal email, after the jump!

AT&T Mobility

Vacation Schedules

To: All Employees

Last year at this time we asked that all vacations be scheduled before June 15 or after July 15, to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch.  Thanks to your hard work, we experienced excellent sales during the mid-summer period.  This year, the numbers you produced in 2007 will be hard to beat; but as a business, we must rise to the challenge, and make every effort to exceed last year’s sales results.  Your management team is counting on you!

We’ll meet the challenge “head-on” by providing an exciting Summer Promotional Launch to enable your sales to soar.  We again anticipate heavier than normal customer traffic in our stores, providing an excellent earning opportunity for every front line retail sales consultant (RSC) in company owned retail stores.

To ensure proper staffing during this period, Sales personnel planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their vacations before June 15 or after July 12 to participate in the heavy selling period

Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling is not feasible

No additional vacation will be approved for 6/15 – 7/12

If customer traffic is manageable, there may be an opportunity to approve vacation toward the end of the period.  Managers will communicate updates as they become available.

There was a little bit of confusion with the 3G-less BlackBerry 9000 we posted. We heard two different codenames: Javelin and Niagara. Well, we were just told some more information on both devices. It seems the BlackBerry codenamed Niagara is actually an EV-DO device slated to hit Verizon in May of 2009. That seems a long way away but here are the specs on that model:

• "Large screen family"
• QWERTY keyboard
• 480×360 LCD
• EV-DO Rev. A
• aGPS
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 4.7 OS platform
• BES 5.0 support (HTML email, etc)
• Qualcomm MSM7600 processor

That’s the Niagara. What about the BlackBerry Javelin? Well, here you go:

• QWERTY keyboard
• 480×360 LCD
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 4.6 OS platform
• BES 5.0 support as well
• ArgonV processor

Both devices look extremely similar in physical appearance, thus the confusion. So, look at that. You just got two devices for the price of one. Who’s out there in Verizon land and excited for this one? May of next year, though…doesn’t seem right does it? Then again, you never know with Big Red.

So you know how we’ve been talking about the BlackBerry 9000’s ridiculously high selling price? Well, it looks like RIM is gearing up to launch a 3G-less BlackBerry 9000 so to speak. It looks pretty similar but there are also a few changes to the design like a larger bezel around the front, and a whole different back case. Besides no 3G, we’d imagine the specs to be pretty similar to the BlackBerry 9000. Enjoy a larger-sized photo of this conceptual sketch after the jump!

You didn’t think we’d actually leave you hangin’, did you? To follow up on on yesterday’s post of the BlackBerry KickStart photos, we’ve got here a couple more images of the phone with T-Mobile branding and some interesting details on the physical design attributes. It looks like the screen is monochromatic with a color glow. Whatever that means. We’re imagining the border around the screen to possibly "glow" different colors and when the outer display is off, it’s invisible. You just see the shiny black face. There’s a whole bunch of colors set to launch with the KickStart and they’ll be anodized. Additionally, the back battery cover will either be a soft-touch rubberized finish, or a low gloss finish. We’d imagine some sort of customization opportunities for the end user with the low gloss finish. Perhaps you could get the battery cover with personalized images and things. Sounds fun. Ready for the hard specaroonies? Who are we kidding — you know you are!

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• "Next Gen" SureType keyboard
• 2 Megapixel camera
• 16-bit color LCDs
• Internal LCD is 240×320, external one is 160×128
• Wi-Fi b,g
• 3.5mm headset jack
• OS is 4.6

We’re not going to flat out call it, but look for a release around September on T-Mobile! Hit the jump for the rest of the shots!

Are you ready, people? We’ve been holding this info for a while now trying to confirm it, but no more! We have here pictures of a new BlackBerry device. It is a BlackBerry clamshell — a flip phone and codenamed the Kickstart! Let me repeat this. This isn’t fake, this isn’t a hoax. We’ve known RIM is planning to launch a flip phone within the year, and we now have the pictures to prove it! As you can see, it uses a SureType keyboard, has an external LCD, and a pretty decent looking internal LCD. It also uses the TrackBall for navigation and does have a camera. We’re hearing a release date before the end of the year. What do y’all think of it? Hit the gallery for all the pictures of the brand new BlackBerry flip phone!

Click on over to our BlackBerry Kickstart gallery!

• Radio - GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA
• Bands - Quad-band GPRS/EDGE: 800/850/1800/1900MHz
• HSDPA: 850/1900/2100MHz (praise the lord!)
• Expandable memory - microSD
• Display - HVGA Color LCD (480×320)
• TrackBall Navigation
• Camera - 2MP (Boo!)
• Wi-Fi - a,b,g
• A-GPS
• Battery - 1500mAh
• High quality material, high-end finish
• Software - 4.6

So there you have it — full specs on the much-awaited BlackBerry 9000. Ah, the carriers! AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, and Vodafone are indeed the launch carriers with AT&T having a U.S. exclusive and being the first carrier to launch worldwide. What would we do without our carrier ninjas? First yesterday’s document and now this! Shout out to y’all, you know who you are!

We just got word that the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide is about to undergo a little color-change operation. Wow, that sounded weird. In any case, the new "fire red" Sidekick Slide should be hitting T-Mobile shops in late May, or early June according to our tipster. All you naysayers that complained about the purple color are going to have to find something else to complain about. Oh, we know! When you open and close the phone it deletes your contacts and turns on and off. (Kidding)

• Everything we reported was true. 624MHz processor, 480×320 screen, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, etc.
• The web browser flies. "Loads web pages in 3-4 seconds."
• The BlackBerry 9000 in its current state runs OS 4.5
• Early launch date was slated for a consumer AT&T launch on June 18th. Remember that we predicted the device was delayed. See below.
• The battery lasts around 4 hours with straight phone calling. "Battery sucks, to be honest. With Wi-Fi on, I only got a little less than two hours browsing the web," and all testers are reporting huge battery issues which could be why we’re all hearing it is delayed.
• We’re not sure of the next part, but he said that the device either has 256MB of internal memory or 128MB. Don’t ask why we couldn’t tell the difference.

That’s all we got for now!

We’re not really sure where to go with this one. An August release for the BlackBerry 9000? We’ve heard it may actually be that far away. Let us also clarify: the BlackBerry 8xxx, the one we posted from Vodafone’s lineup, and the one that appeared on eBay is what we are referring to as the BlackBerry 9000 from here on in. We initially heard AT&T would have a 6-month exclusive on the device in the U.S., and that was to be released in late May, but more like June. New information provided to us has us believing the July / August release date might be accurate. You know how we roll over here at BGR, so take this as a rumor (obviously) and don’t sell your RIMM shares just yet. Remember that the BlackBerry Curve was released in late May last year, so this would put RIM well over the one-year mark (not counting the ridiculous incarnations of the 8300-series, 8800-series, and 8100-series) for a brand new device. What you think, people? Can you wait that long, or are you jumping ship if July / August is the real release date?

While combing through our very special delivery one more time, we noticed something that looked a little out of place. There was a black rectangle box covering up something on the BlackBerry 8xxx slide. When we moved it, guess what was there? Yes, folks. The Rogers branding. While it isn’t the biggest news, this just confirmed something we already knew, and heck, who could resist posting an ultra-super-clear shot of the BlackBerry 8xxx? Enjoy!

We’re going to use the excuse that Paris Hilton usually has the hottest new gadgets/cell phones as our tie-in to why we should post this. But to be honest, this really doesn’t have much to do with anything…we just thought this was hilarious:

GAUHATI, India (AP) - In a November story, The Associated Press incorrectly reported that Paris Hilton was praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India. Lori Berk, a publicist for Hilton, said she never made any comments about helping drunken elephants in India.