Amazon.com has launched the Kindle for BlackBerry. The free app lets users of BlackBerry phones can read Kindle books on their BlackBerry devices. The app works in a similar manner to the iPhone app. Kindle ebook purchases on the BlackBerry will be available on a Kindle, computer, or other Kindle-compatible mobile device. You can access your Kindle books with the app even if you don't have your Kindle with you. The app will also automatically synchronize your last page read and annotations between devices with Whispersync.
The Kindle for BlackBerry app is currently only available for U.S. customers. Kindle for BlackBerry is available to U.S. customers. Kindle newspapers, magazines, and blogs are not currently available for Kindle for BlackBerry.
The Kindle for BlackBerry app can be download here from Amazon.com or by typing "amazon.com/kindlebb" into your BlackBerry browser to download.
North America BlackBerry Users Suffer Another Outage
Many BlackBerry customers were unable to send or receive messages for several hours earlier today. CNN reports that the outage lasted over eight hours.
At one point, BlackBerry estimated 100 percent of its customers in North America were affected by the outage, according to an e-mail sent to customers.
"BlackBerry subscribers may be unable to send or receive messages. Subscribers may also be unable to register their device, roam in another location, or use other services such as Internet browsing," the e-mail said.
"BlackBerry Internet Service subscribers may be unable to use the BlackBerry Internet Service web site or perform activities such as creating new accounts, integrating third-party email accounts, or viewing email attachments."
This was the second major outage for BlackBerry in less than a week. They have not yet given an explanation for the recent outage. Hopefully, they will figure out the problem and keep it from happening again.
Nielsen Says Apple iPhone Leads BlackBerry in U.S. Phone Market
A new chart from Nielsen indicates that Apple's iPhone 3G has the largest share of the mobile phone market in the U.S. with 4%. RIM's BlackBerry is a very close second with 3.7%. market. The Motorola Razr is in third with 2.3% of the market share. The LG VX9100 is fourth with 2.1%. You can see more mobile phone usage charts from Nielsen here.
Bloomberg reports that BlackBerry users experienced email outages earlier today. Research in Motion (RIM) has since resolved the issue.
Technicians are working on the outage, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Phone service and Web browsing aren’t affected, RIM said.
The outage is affecting all BlackBerry users, regardless of their carrier, who rely on RIM’s Internet-based service for e- mail delivery instead of corporate servers, said Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile carrier. That means large corporate customers aren’t affected.
TheStar.com reports that the outage affected the type of consumers RIM is trying to gain. TheStar.com says RIM wants more average consumers as well as its core base of corporate users. PC Worldreports that RIM has not yet provided details about the cause of the outage. PC World says it could be another growing pains related issue for RIM as its customer base continues to grow.
Best Buy's Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8330 Black Friday Offer
You can get a Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8330 free with a 2-year Sprint contract at Best Buy on Black Friday. CNET says the BlackBerry Curve 8830 normally costs $50 with the plan. The deal is one of CNET's Top 15 Tech Black Friday deals. You can see the complete list here. You can see Best Buy's Black Friday ads here.
Amazon.com, Walmart Both Offering $100 Gift Cards With BlackBerry Purchase
Amazon.com and Walmart are trying to match each other this holiday season in a battle over customers. The two retailers are already battling over book and DVD prices. Now the two customers are both offering similar BlackBerry deals.
Amazon.com is offering $100 gift certificates for buyers of certain BlackBerry smartphones and a two-year plan. The offer ends November 20th. Amazon.com promises to mail the gift card within six weeks after a customer purchases a BlackBerry device with a two year contract. You can see Amazon.com's offer here.
Wal-Mart is offering a $100 gift card both online and in stores with the purchase of BlackBerry and a two-year contract. You can find details here in our earlier post and here on Walmart.com. Walmart's offer also ends November 20th.
Craigslist Makes App For BlackBerry But Not iPhone
Craigslist is the most popular online classifieds website. They have come out with an app and what is interesting about it is that it is not available for the iPhone or iPod Touch. The new Craigslist app works only with the BlackBerry. The app will let people browse, search, save and reply to Craigslist listings with their BlackBerry. Wiredsays the app costs $5 and was created by Movela and Pyxis Mobile.
The official Craigslist app will soon be exclusively available to BlackBerry users. The $5 app created by Movela and Pyxis Mobile will allow users to browse and search through Craigslist postings across different categories, reply to them and save searches. The app supports all categories and countries available on the Craigslist website. So if you want to read 'missed connections' on the go, the BlackBerry will be the only place for it.
"We took about two days to create an initial version of the app and then took it to Craigslist for their approval," says Todd Christy, president and CTO at Pyxis Mobile, which helped develop the app. "They liked it because we had a working app and not just a concept."
A Craiglist app for the iPhone could happen someday but not until the "distant future."
Walmart Offering $100 Gift Card With Blackberry Purchase
Walmart is offering a $100 Walmart gift card with the purchase of a Blackberry phone and a two-year contract. The offer begins 8 am on November 14th and November 20th. Customers will receive a $100 Walmart Gift Card with the purchase of any of the following BlackBerry devices with a two-year contract:
AT&T Curve 8310
AT&T Bold 9000
Sprint Curve 8330 (Red & Titanium colors)
T-Mobile 8520 (Black, White, and Frost)
T-Mobile Pearl 8120 (Emerald)
Verizon Storm
Verizon Storm II
The Blackberry deal is available nationwide at all Walmart stores. An offer will also be available online at www.walmart.com/wireless. Online customers who purchase a BlackBerry device with a two-year contract will receive a $100 Walmart.com eGift Card that will be emailed in four to six weeks.
Research in Motion has launched an updated version of its BlackBerry Bold smartphone called the BlackBerry Bold 9700. The new smartphone features a 3.2 megapixel camera, high resolution display, enhanced multimedia playback, a faster web browser, 624 Mhz processor and an optical trackpad instead of a trackball. It is also thinner and lighter than its predecessor.
Gadgetell says AT&T has said they will be offering the 9700 for $199 after a mail-in rebate of $100. You can find more discussion of the new BlackBerry here on Techmeme.
Alexander Amosu's Diamond Blackberry Costs $240,000
Luxury Designer Alexander Amosu has created a diamond covered Blackberry Curve. Amosu's Blackberry is coated in 18-carat yellow gold and encrusted with over 4,400 brilliant cut diamonds. Only three of the expensive luxury gadgets will be made. At $240,000 it fits its tagline as the "world's most expensive BlackBerry." Alexander Amosu also made a diamond covered iPhone.
Reading a book on Amazon.com's Kindle is easy. It's big enough to see a page of text, for one thing and it's easy to hold. But what about downloading ebooks onto your BlackBerry or iPhone? Is it even worth it? Stacey Delo of The Wall Street Journal reviews several applications that allow you to read books on your smart phone. She tests Barnes & Noble's eReader on her BlackBerry and Amazon's Kindle on her iPhone. The biggest problem? The size of the screens, although the iPhone's scroll feature is nice. Take a look:
Information Weekreports that Research in Motion (RIM) is cutting proces on the BlackBerry Storm from $200 with a new contract to $99 with a new contract. The price makes the Storm more competitive with the iPhone 3G that Apple also recently lowered the price on to $99.
The Storm is the first touchscreen BlackBerry from Research In Motion. It was designed specifically to give Verizon an alternative to the popular iPhone lineup. The handset debuted in November last year for about $200 with a new contract, and it sold well over a million units despite some launch bugs that led to mixed reviews.
AT&T and Apple upped the ante recently with the release of the iPhone 3GS, which boasted hardware improvements, new software, video-recording abilities, and the handset sold over a million units during its launch weekend. The companies also dropped the price of the iPhone 3G to $99 for new contracts, which is an aggressive price point for a device that has been so popular with consumers.
Wired says the drop in price could signal a Storm 2 is on the way.
Bloombergreports that Paris Hilton is switching her cell phone from a BlackBerry to a Sony Ericsson phone. This is because Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. is sponsoring her new BFF reality show that is to be filmed in Dubai.
Hilton is on her first visit to the Middle East as she targets the region as a new market for her brand. Dubai, one of seven sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates, has become the region's most cosmopolitan city as it built offices and hotels to attract global companies such as Goldman Sachs and Halliburton Co.
She was given five Sony Ericsson handsets, Hilton said.
"One is even like a watch with a phone on it and it's so cool," she said. "So I'm switching my BlackBerry to Sony Ericcson today. Sorry BlackBerry, I'm now a Sony Ericcson user and very excited."
Following an infamous appearance in a sex tape posted on the Internet, Hilton's career as a celebrity has included acting, singing, clothing lines and a perfume.
Bloomberg also says Paris Hilton is property hunting in Dubai and quotes Paris as saying she would love to launch a hotel in Dubai. Paris Hilton greeted the press in Dubai wearing a lime-green, Arabian gown and an ornate headdress.
Kevin Bacon was mugged at the subway station at Seventh Avenue and 53rs street on Thursday. The mugger grabbed Bacon's BlackBerry and ran off, with Bacon in hot pursuit.
Bacon didn't give up the BlackBerry easily. The star took off after the crook, but lost track of him as he raced through the station's crowd, the sources said.
The numbers for Bacon's wife, Kyra Sedgwick -- who plays a cunning detective on the hit TV drama "The Closer" -- is no doubt stored in the phone, possibly along with dozens of other box- office stars who have graced the big screen with Bacon.
But this isn't the first time Bacon was robbed. He and Sedgwick were swindled by Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to running a $65 billion fraud in March.
NYC Transit officials said no subway personnel were told about the crime, although sources said Bacon did call police.
The Post says that according to NYPD Transit Bureau records cellphones are the prime target of muggers in 37% of the 823 robberies committed in the subway system last year.
BlackBerry Curve Outsells Apple's iPhone in 1st Quarter
Reuters reports that data from research group NPD found that the Blackberry Curve outsold the Apple iPhone in the 1st quarter of 2009.
Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry Curve moved past Apple Inc's iPhone in the first quarter to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S., research group NPD said on Monday.
RIM, which already dominates the corporate smartphone market in the United States, also had three of the top five best-selling consumer smartphones in the period, with the Storm at No. 3 and the Pearl at No. 4, NPD said.
T-Mobile's G1 ranked No. 5.
The iPhone was the top-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S. in both the third and fourth quarters of 2008. The Curve was second and the Palm Inc's Centro was third.
Here is a list of the top five bestselling smartphones in Q1 2009 from the NPD Group's press release. RIM had three of the five bestselling smartphones.
RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
RIM BlackBerry Storm
RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
T-Mobile G1
There's a lot of discussion in the tech blogs - see here - about RIM's phone knocking Apple off the #1 spot.
Many BlackBerry customers were unable to send or receive messages for several hours earlier today. CNN 
Amazon.com and Walmart are trying to match each other this holiday season in a battle over customers. The two retailers are already battling over book and DVD prices. Now the two customers are both offering similar BlackBerry deals.
Craigslist is the most popular online classifieds website. They have come out with an app and what is interesting about it is that it is not available for the iPhone or iPod Touch. The new Craigslist app works only with the BlackBerry. The app will let people browse, search, save and reply to Craigslist listings with their BlackBerry. Wired 
Walmart is offering a $100 Walmart gift card with the purchase of a Blackberry phone and a two-year contract. The offer begins 8 am on November 14th and November 20th. Customers will receive a $100 Walmart Gift Card with the purchase of any of the following BlackBerry devices with a two-year contract:
Information Week 
Bloomberg 
Reuters 
