Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve just heard from the boys and girls at RIM that the company did, in fact, deploy the long-awaited two-way Gmail synchronization capability to North American BIS users this week. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means that if you’ve got a BlackBerry on any North American carrier that isn’t going through BES, Gmail should behave more like it should — deleted items will disappear from your phone, emails read elsewhere will show up as read on the device, and you’ll have access to all of your sent items. Oh, and you can create and delete labels from the comfort of your QWERTY thumb board, too, which is a sweet deal. Sure, the feature might be literally years late as far as we’re concerned — but hey, better late than never.

Confirmed: BlackBerry two-way sync for Gmail is now live originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one thing business types love more than their BlackBerry, it’s their BMW — or so we’re told. It makes all sorts of sense, therefore, that the two companies would partner up to help the things they sell communicate with each other more effortlessly. Using Bluetooth MAP (Message Access Profile), BlackBerry devices can now beam emails and contacts over to BMW’s iDrive dash system, where the driver can listen to his messages via a text-to-speech option or make calls using the car’s speakerphone. The first supported handset is the newly minted Pearl 3G, and we’re told this functionality will come as an integrated part of BlackBerry 6. To see how it works on a 335is, click past the break for the video.

[Thanks, Horatiu]

Continue reading RIM converts BMW’s iDrive into ‘a remote control for your BlackBerry’ (video)

RIM converts BMW’s iDrive into ‘a remote control for your BlackBerry’ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may know the line of OtterBox cases and tough and attractive cell phone protectors, but did you know they also do good works? Well, they do if you pick up a limited-edition pink-and-white case. OtterBox will donate 10 percent of the purchase price to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, so not only will you get protection, but you’ll help a worthwhile cause.

The first in this pink series is the case for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 and 8530. You can pick one up for $34.95 from the OtterBox site. The company is a corporate sponsor of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and the 2010 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It’s pledged a minimum contribution of $50,000 for this campaign.

Hey cats and kittens, here’s an exciting little piece of news we wanted to share with you. Thanks to the love and support of our readers, our iPhone app has just crossed the million downloads mark in the App Store! That is, of course, just iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users — we’re growing our numbers steadily across BlackBerry, webOS, and Android formats as well. And Speaking of Android, we’ve got a little update that’s available right now in the Market which should fix those nasty force close issues some users were seeing. If you’re still having issues, make sure you reach out to us — we really love the feedback! We’ve also just issued a webOS update, so look for that on your Pre or Pixi. We have even more stuff in the pipeline as far as apps are concerned, including a major forthcoming iPhone update, as well as updates and tweaks for the other existing apps… and we’re at work on a dedicated iPad application as we speak!

Yes, exciting times are ahead people, but for now, you can grab our current offerings right here:

• iPhone / iPod touch / iPad
• Android
• webOS
• BlackBerry

Update: The Android update was released two days ago, so you may have already downloaded it (for those in comments not seeing it). If you’re not sure, the most recent version is 1.0.4.

Engadget app update: iPhone app passes the 1m download mark, Android and webOS get an update! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While RIM’s WES 2010 keynote is still ongoing, the company’s YouTube channel has kindly released the first teaser video for the incoming BlackBerry 6 operating system. There’s a lot of movement on screen — so much, in fact, that it’s almost like RIM really doesn’t want you to see the OS at all. We did catch sight of a Cover Flow-aping music organizer, an onscreen keyboard engaging in some threaded messaging, Facebook and Twitter clients, and even the briefest of glimpses at that famed WebKit-based browser. Interaction in the video is done via touch, but you’ll naturally be able to utilize the new interface on more conventional, touch-less devices as well. Skip past the break for the moving pictures.

Continue reading RIM shows off BlackBerry 6 on video

RIM shows off BlackBerry 6 on video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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