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As you may know, RIM kicked of the BlackBerry Devcon in the Europe this morning with the opening keynote. While they didn’t announce the launch date for the much anticipated update to the BlackBerry PlayBook, Alec Saunders did give us a glimpse on just how well RIM’s PlayBook update system was working.

RIM said that within a month of a newly released OS for the PlayBook, 90% of owners have upgraded the latest OS, a stat that definitely gives developers a confidence boost. By having such a large number of users updating so quickly, developers won’t have to worry about compatibly as much with older operating systems. Keep it locked to TheBerryFix.com to get all the info from BlackBerry Devcon Europe.

It’s the year of BlackBerry and it’s the year to BeBold, and what better way to do that then letting the one you love know on Valentine’s Day. RIM has released an expansion pack to their TAT inspired PlayBook app called ScrapBook. The latest expansion pack gives you some Valentine’s Day love with hearts, kisses, and festive backgrounds to create some works of art.

You got to love these updates with no need to update the application, just hit the “download” button on the new expansion pack. Team BlackBerry, let us know how you plan to BeBold this Valentine’s Day!

During CES, RIM announced the availability of their latest BlackBerry handheld operating system, BlackBerry 7.1. The latest OS brings a bevy of new features, and the most requested and anticipated of them all is mobile hotspot. It looks like T-Mobile is now jumping on the OS updating bandwagon and offering the latest and greatest to their customers. If you’re a T-Mobile customer, you should be able to hit the OTA update button, or grab a USB cable, and load up BlackBerry Desktop manager to get the newest OS for your Bold.

Source : CrackBerry.com

If you thought that the last BlackBerry 7 device train had come and gone then think again. CrackBerry.com has dug up some interesting information essentially confirming two new BlackBerry Curve devices. There isn’t much information regarding what the devices will feature like what speed the CPU will run at, or if they’ll be touch based devices. But this is a step.

We’re hoping that RIM makes a statement regarding these two phones in the next few days while the BlackBerry Devcon is under way in Amsterdam. Keep it locked to TheBerryFix.com as this, and more stories emerge.

Source : CrackBerry

Starting today, Telus stores have officially dropped the retail price of the 16 & 32GB BlackBerry PlayBook models. The biggest question that’s been floating around the web is, why? Well, we don’t know exactly why, but could be due to the impeding launch of the HSPA+ enabled model. And the latest news pushes even more in the wind of an impending launch as Telus has placed the PlayBook into EOL (End Of Life).

This means they will sell all their current stock and will not replenish with the same model. I guess only time will tell, and with BlackBerry Devcon Europe starting and BlackBerry World in a few months, we will know sooner than later.

Source : Mobile Syrup

While it’s no six months like Rogers customers are getting, Telus and Bell subscribers are able to receive a free BBM music trial themselves. Telus and Bell are offering up a 4 months premium subscription to their customers when they download BBM Music but it’s only for a limited time. The offer is valid until the end of February 2012.

The only downside is, if you’ve downloaded the app already you aren’t able to get in on the free months. If you haven’t downloaded the app, what are you waiting for. Hit up the link below to get a 4 month BBM Music subscription for free.

• Download BBM Music from BlackBerry App World 

If you’re a hockey fan than this app for BlackBerry is right up your ally. he Liam Maguire Ultimate Hockey Experience App is available for BlackBerry smartphones and gives you a new way to test you brain on all that is hockey, also gives you a chance to win some cool stuff.

“The Liam Maguire Ultimate Hockey Experience App is a new concept app that combines, news, trivia, chat, video and Wayne Gretzky Authentic Sponsored memorabilia prizes.”

Key Features:

• Chat with other hockey fans and join Liam once a week for his unique insite of the week that was in the NHL.
• Wayne Gretzky has sponsored the Trivia Contest area by  offering up WG Authentic Memorabilia.

“Liam Maguire is a hockey trivia expert, author and has appeared on Hockey Night in Canada and various radio and TV shows. With the Liam Maguire Ultimate Hockey Experience app, users can play a trivia game and if opt to “Ask The Expert” for insider information and trivia directly from Liam Maguire’s personal vault of facts and stories. During the trivia games, users have the opportunity to win NHL memorabilia provided by Wayne Gretzky Authentic. The app also gives you direct access to Liam as once a week fans will be able to hear Liam’s unique perspective on what transpired in hockey during that week.”

So if you’re looking for a way to kill time and are down for some free memorabilia then grab the link below to BlackBerry app world. Let us know what you think of the app, and what apps you’re playing yourself.

• Download the Liam Maguire Ultimate Hockey Experience app from App World

Just last week the BlackBerry world was shaken up by the announcement that Jim and Mike, RIMs Co-CEOs, would be stepping down from the world they created. But today we’ve got another little shake-up happening.

CrackBerry.com was able to get images of what appears to be one of the two BlackBerry 10 devices to launch this year. There isn’t too much known about this guy, other than it will run a 1.5 GHz Dual Core CPU, which is similar to the new PlayBook that should be launching this year, as well. We also know that the device will pack LTE in addition to HSPA+ for those not yet setup with the new, blazing-fast connection. So what do you think? Good, bad, or amazing!?! Let us know in the comments below.

Source : CrackBerry.com

[To view this video on your BlackBerry, Click Here]

Something that our readers may have notice is the negativity to BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. Over the past year RIM has had a few troubles and the media has attacked them like none other, after all it is easier to write negative press than positive. Positive press actually makes you do some work and research and build a real news article.

Well CHYM 96.7 has seen through the media fog and is asking you to look past it too. As people continue to wish for the demise of RIM what they don’t understand is just how connected RIM is with the world.  The town of Waterloo Ontario, Canada is built upon RIM. While yes there are many tech companies within the Waterloo region RIM is the one that is building for the future of the students of the University of Waterloo and other schools in the area. If you’ve been following this site for the past year you’ll also remember that I had the chance to go out to RIM HQ and spend the day with the team at BlackBerry, but also see how they are giving back to the community, and the globe. One of RIM’s big initiatives is their build a village program, something I’ll be talking about more in the coming weeks. So you’ll want to stay tuned. In the meantime watch the vide above to see just how connected RIM is, and what the impact would be if the wish of many came true.

Remember, without RIM the team that works on TheBerryFix.com would not have a job either. Post a comment on how RIM is connected to you, and spread the word. Heck make a video and send it to us to post on the main page if you feel so inclined to do so.

Source : CrackBerry

And our final contest has come to an end, as a result the winner is about to be announced.

The winner of the BlackBerry Torch 9860 is……Chase Robert Andrew

Thank you for everyone that entered into the contest by comments or email. Stick around, we are sure to have a few more of these up our sleeves. Chase, please email us at contests (@) theberryfix.com to claim your BlackBerry.

In todays press conferences RIM’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins stepped up to the plate to finally address a question that has been burning with analysts. Will RIM licence BlackBerry 10 OS to third parties. Thorsten went on to say that if manufactures contact RIM after the launch of BlackBerry 10 he may “entertain” the idea of licensing the newly minted operating system. While he did say they would think about it, they will not make it part of their core operations.

I would like to think that RIM would see the success of BlackBerry 10 and decided not to even think about licensing the new OS. If you think about it, when you license an operating system you really don’t have direct control over how it’s used. A good example is Google and it’s Android platform. Android is found on high-end, low-end and everywhere in-between giving consumers a drastically different experience on each device. This type of user experience typically has a rapid growth and short life span, I guess only time will tell. I’m curious to know what our readers think of this, do you think it’s good or a bad idea to license the new OS.

RIM’s newly appointed CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed in an early morning press call that in his new position he doesn’t intend to split the company at any point in time. Thorsten Heins goes on to say that the hardware only business is all about low-cost and volume and he believes that RIMs value is within their hardware, software, and services combination.

This comes at a time where one of the biggest rumors was that RIM would be looking to sell part or all of the company to rival Samsung. But it looks as though the rumors can be put to rest, once again.

During CES 2012 we let everyone know that Verizon had announced the Curve 9370 to their BlackBerry line up, and with an announcement comes a launch. Verizon has officially made the BlackBerry Curve 9370 available for order in corporate stores and almost anywhere a Blackberry is Sold. The new device will run you about $99.99 on a two-year voice and data plan. If you’re looking at picking up this bad boy, grab the link below and it’ll take you where you need to be.

• Get the full scoop on the BlackBerry Curve 9370 from Verizon

Last night a new Tablet Beta OS, and this morning RIM gives devs a new NDK to start building applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Today RIM is releasing the PlayBook Tablet OS NDK beta 3. The new development kit includes a few new APIs and added libraries to make building for the PlayBook easier.

Tooling enhancements:

• A new easy-to-use Add Library Wizard, which is designed to simplify the process of adding library dependencies to a project
• Improved navigation and workflow in the Deployment Setup Wizard
• The ability to filter files out of the BAR package to which helps to exclude unnecessary assets
• Enhancements to the BAR file editor to view localized manifests for each locale

API improvements:

• BPS services can now use channels as chosen by the application for multi-threaded messaging
• Scoreloop social gaming APIs

Documentation updates:

• A new “Hello Native SDK” tutorial provides a walkthrough of the OpenGL ES 1.1 Application Project template that comes with the QNX® Momentics® IDE
• A new “Displaying a dialog” recipe instructs users how to display dialogs on the screen and handle dialog events

RIM mentioned on the Inside BlackBerry Blog that “As we make our way towards BlackBerry DevCon Europe, we’ll be continuing to evolve our online content to help those using our Native SDK port their existing cross platform C/C++ applications to the BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 OS as well as ensure that all developers using each of our development options can be successful on the totally awesome update coming to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.” So if you haven’t yet, head over to the BlackBerry Jam Zone to start developing your latest application with the new NDK.

• Download the newest beta for the BlackBerry Tablet NDK

Looks as though RIM is pushing an updated version of the BlackBerry PlayBook developer preview through the BlackBerry Jam Zone. There isn’t much known about the update at this point but it is a fair increase from the last build. If you’re running OS 2.0 on your PlayBook you will have to re-register your device with RIM before the update will be made available. To do so just follow the link below and you’ll be directed to the right place. Let us know what you find in the comments below.

• Register your PlayBook with the 2.0 Developer preview program

Source : CrackBerry