The good folks at Colorware have now announced that you can order just the parts for the BlackBerry Curve 8900. This way, you don’t have to buy a brand new device from them and you don’t have to send your phone over to them either. Instead, you’ll get a package in the mail with your custom housing.

The bad news, as you can imagine, is that you’re going to be responsible for the installation process and any mistakes you make along the way will be utterly in your hands. They’ll give you instructions, presumably, but if you’ve never replaced housing before, you may be looking at a mild headache or three.

Oh and if you’re hoping to save some money with the parts-only service from Colorware, you should still prepare yourself for a fairly substantial financial hit. Pricing for parts-only still starts at $159. Presumably, this parts-only option will be extended to some other phones in the near future.

Source: Crackberry

I remember when the Storm2 was little more than a rumor and people were saying that Research in Motion would get rid of the SurePress technology for the second iteration. It turns out that these people are wrong, because the BlackBerry Storm 2 9550 is indeed equipped with a 3.25-inch clickable touchscreen.

Other highlights include full access to the BlackBerry App World, a virtual QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, a pre-installed Facebook application, and the usual suite of RIM productivity software.

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 can be had at the special promotional price of $199.99. This requires a new three-year contract with a monthly voice and data plan of $50 or more. Go without a contract and it’ll run you $599.99. Considering that Telus is also home to the Apple iPhone 3GS and the HTC Hero, do you still want the touchscreen offering from BlackBerry?

Source: Telus

Shaw Wu is an analyst over at Kaufman Bros. and he’s saying that Research in Motion has a prototype of a brand new phone and it’s unlike any other ‘Berry. More specifically, the new phone could look like the the RIM patent picture shown here from March 2008, albeit updated to better suit today’s users.

The form factor is nothing new to the smartphone world, having already seen countless offerings from HTC and Samsung that do this kind of thing, but it’s good to see BlackBerry doing this too. Wu says that this will offer the “best of both worlds.”

More specifically, Wu goes on to say that the BlackBerry Pluto 9900 (as it’s currently being called) resembles “a cross between the Storm2 and one of RIM’s non-touch QWERTY devices.” I wonder if RIM would consider a Palm Pre-style vertical slider either in addition or in place of the horizontal slider.

Which would you prefer?

Source: Electronista

More specifically, Research in Motion co-CEO and perpetual NHL franchise hunter Jim Balsillie says that BlackBerry App World will come with carrier billing in 2010. He made this announcement during a keynote at the BlackBerry Developer Conference.

By introducing carrier billing, it will be easier than ever for BlackBerry users to get new apps from the App World. Each of these purchases would just show up on the monthly bill that they (or their employer) would be paying anyway. No mess. No confusion.

To further expand the App World, RIM also introduced the new BlackBerry Theme Studio that allows for the customization of the BlackBerry UI. RIM also plans on introducing “a new advertising service for developers, which will make it easier to integrate ads with applications.”

Source: WirelessWeek

We’ve known about the existence of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 for some time, so the spec sheet doesn’t bring much in terms of surprises. The now-old trackball has been replaced with a trackpad and the overall form factor appears to be a little more compact.

Other highlights include a peppier 624MHz processor, 256MB Flash memroy, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.2-megapixel camera, 2.44″ 480×360 light-sensing display, full QWERTY keyboard, chrome accents, 3G HSDPA, microSD/SDHC memory card slot, and a removable 1500 mAh battery.

From the Rogers side of the equation, you can expect to pay $299.99 with a qualifying ($45+) three-year voice and data contract.

If you’d prefer to go somewhere else, Wind Mobile sounds like it’s getting the Bold 9700 too, as are Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility. Canadians will be able to find this phone just about everywhere, eh?

Source: Rogers PR

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 recently launched through Rogers Wireless, but it seems that they’re already gearing up for an alternative option. Beyond the regular black faceplate that will appeal to the more conservative user, it seems that Rogers wants to launch a lavender version of the Curve 8520.

We were offered an unofficial and brief glimpse at this new paint job some time back, but the shot here is taken from the official UR magazine from Rogers. This is about as official a confirmation as we’re going to get short of a full press release announcing the purple handset.

Based on what we can see here, the best guess would have the lavender BlackBerry Curve 8520 being released some time “soon,” whatever that means. Seeing how the price on the classic black model has already dropped to $49.99, a new color option can’t be far behind.

Source: Intomobile

The HSPA phone options from Bell Mobility seem to run the full gamut, but there is a definite push toward the higher end of the smartphone market. First and foremost, we’re expecting both the Apple iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, the latter of which in both 16GB and 32GB flavors. We’re expecting prices (after contracts and rebates) to be about $149, $199, and $299 for the three models.

On the RIM side, the BlackBerry Bold 9000 seems to be on the way for about $149-$199 with a three-year contract and rebates. Getting something newer, you can also look forward to the BlackBerry 9700 for about $249 with contract.

Rounding out the highlights are the LG Xenon, Samsung Impact, Samsung Omnia 2, Nokia 2730, Nokia 6350, and three Novatel HSPA data cards. Two of those cards will be pushing 21Mbps via HSPA+.

Source: BGR

From what we understand, Vodafone UK will have the exclusive rights to the BlackBerry Storm2 over in England. However, unlike the iPhone agreement with AT&T over here, the exclusivity will be very short-lived.

The Storm2 is set to launch around October 26th, but the Vodafone exclusivity will only last for “a few weeks.” That’s not particularly specific, but it does mean that the Storm2 will only be a Vodafone-only product for a relatively short amount of time. This opens the door for O2, Orange, and T-Mobile to get touchy with a new Storm too.

These other UK carriers have not come forward with any official plans to bring the BlackBerry Storm2 into their respective folds, but there’s word going around that Orange will nab it in time for the Christmas shopping season. Is a price war in the works? Maybe.

Source: Guardian

Yes, I know that you can take the aftermarket route to pick up some different faceplates and keyboards, but this would represent a real deal OEM white BlackBerry Bold. I think we’d all agree with having the color you want out of the box is certainly more convenient (and possibly more reliable) than any 3rd party solution.

Aside from the color change, it seems that nothing else is going to change with the white BlackBerry Bold 9000 for AT&T. There’s no word on an exact launch date or if it will be sold at any kind of premium, but the white Bold is showing up as part of AT&T’s internal inventory.

The BlackBerry Bold isn’t exactly a new phone anymore, so this palette swap could be a way to revitalize some interest. Then again, you may be more inclined to get the new BlackBerry Onyx 9700 instead. What will it be? New hotness in black or old buddy in white?

Source: Intomobile

The good people in Waterloo have officially confirmed that the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac will be released this Friday, October 2. Just because you’re rocking a MacBook doesn’t mean that you can’t take the path of the BlackBerry Storm instead of the iPhone.

This means that you no longer have to use VMWare or Parallels to get your BlackBerry connected to your Mac, since Research in Motion is finally recognizing that plenty of BlackBerry users prefer using an Apple computer over one powered by Microsoft’s Windows.

As far as we can tell, the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac will offer the same functionality as its Windows counterpart, though it may be jazzed up a bit in aesthetics to fit in better in the Mac environment. Either way, set your clock for 1PM EST this Friday and get your Mac-Berry on.

Source: BGR