BlackBerry Tour officially hitting Verizon on July 12th

We’re not sure how much doubt a person could have had before, but in the interest of being crystal clear, Verizon Wireless will make the BlackBerry Tour available online and in stores on July 12th for $199 with a two year agreement. You can preorder the device starting from this moment on.

What has more buttons: an F1 steering wheel or your BlackBerry?

As Matt will tell you, I know absolutely nothing about cars. Four wheels, a steering wheel, a couple of pedals—that’s the extent of my knowledge. That said, for whatever reason, I find myself getting into Formula One; it’s just fun! So, with that in mind, watch as I watch Force India’s team manager explain all the high-tech wonderment of a Formula 1 steering wheel.


The gist of it is, unlike on your sweet Toyota Corolla, every pertinent control for driving the car is available on the wheel itself.

RIM’s profits rose to $643mm, shipped 7.8mm devices last quarter

Let’s face it, folks — RIM is on a tear and its Q1 2010 results are proof positive of this fact. While a tax drop might have helped propel the company’s quarterly profit to a record high of $643 million, the fact remains that things are pretty much going better than ever — especially considering the global recession. 7.8 million devices were shipped and 3.8 million new BlackBerry owners were added, although the latter is down approximately 100,000 from the previous quarter. As for the immediate future, don’t expect RIM to lose momentum any time soon. Devices like the Storm 2 will surely help add to its 28.5 million userbase worldwide — and let us not forget about the highly anticipated Tour 9630 that’s all set for a summer release.

BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 now available from Verizon Wireless

Right on time, the Pearl Flip has made its official debut on Verizon Wireless’ website and is now ripe for the picking. Surprisingly, sort of, the Pearl Flip has already been discounted — selling for $79 after a $70 mail-in rebate and two year contract instead of the announced $129.99. Apparently, Verizon included the Pearl Flip in that $50 price drop when it ended the BlackBerry BOGO promotion. For those who prefer a more personal shopping experience, the Pearl Flip is also available in stores today. Now with the 8230ccccccc out of the way, Big Red can focus on bigger and better ‘Berrys (Tour, anyone?).