BlackBerry Storm 9500 OS 4.7.0.85 Leaked

OS 4.7.0.85 for the BlackBerry Storm 9530 leaked back on December 27th, and now, Storm 9500 owners can take their shot with 4.7.0.85.

This is NOT an official release, so install at your own risk and only if you're comfortable with doing so.

Download OS 4.7.0.85 for the Vodafone Storm 9500

BlackBerry Storm lock screen application

CellAvant has come up with a free application for the BlackBerry Storm called TalkLock. Its functionality is remarkably straightforward, doing exactly what you'd expect it to do. When you start a voice call, the screen automatically locks up so that you don't accidentally hit any of the virtual buttons.

To unlock the screen during a phone call, you perform an iPhone-like "slide to unlock" as you can see in the provided screenshot. This helps to prevent any accidental unlocks and any subsequent accidental hangups, conference calls, and speakerphone activations.

You can find out more about TalkLock and find out how to download the application to your BlackBerry Storm through the official webpage.

BlackBerry Storm YouTube Client

Google has released a YouTube client for the BlackBerry Storm, allowing users to get a YouTube experience catered specifically for their favorite touchscreen. Here’s what’s included:

* Browse millions of videos from your phone.
* Access your favorites, your own uploaded videos and your favorite channels.
* Share, rate, and comment on videos from your phone.
* Upload videos from your phone.
* Find the specific video you’re looking for by easily searching for it.
* Discover “Related” videos for each video you watch on your phone.

BlackBerry Storm TeleNav GPS Navigator

New BlackBerry Storm users looking for software can take heart, as TeleNav has put a late Christmas present in your stocking with TeleNav GPS Navigator for Verizon Wireless subscribers. Here’s a quick look at what users can expect from TeleNav GPS Navigator:

* Full-color 3D moving maps
* Voice and on-screen directions
* Speech recognition (optional for address entry)
* Traffic alerts with one-click rerouting and an on-screen ETA
* 10 million business listings
* Gas price listings
* Wi-Fi hotspot finder
* Pedestrian mode so you can use it while walking around town
* My TeleNav online preplanning

TeleNav is obviously up against the entrenched competition of Verizon Navigator on the BlackBerry Storm, so they’ve decided to sweeten the pot with a free 30-day trial. TeleNav GPS Navigator is regularly $9.99/month for unlimited use.

BlackBerry Storm OS 5.0 features leaked

The last batch of BlackBerry Enterprise 5.0 features that got leaked had a lot to do with the technical back-end, but we just got wind of a bunch more that end-users will be happy to hear about. 

Above all, these outline some of the big changes we’ll see on handheld software version 5.0. Right now we sit at 4.7 on the BlackBerry Storm, so it might not take long at all to segue into the new OS - maybe one or two updates. No word on a release date, but the Wireless Enterprise Symposium next April sounds like a good bet.

- Flag messages and set reminder times on your BlackBerry.

- View personal contact subfolders and edit contacts! Until now BES used to put all of your contacts into the Contacts application even if they were in different folders.

- You will be able to view and use contacts that are in public folders and copy them to your local contact list if you have permissions.

- You will have a file browser to access shared network locations to open, add, or save documents. You will be able to see document information from there such as file type, size, and date.

- Forward meeting invitations and calendar entries from your BlackBerry.

- Ability to add, delete, move, or rename personal folders.

- Ability to view personal distribution lists that you have in your Outlook contacts and send email to them.

RIM is working on a solution to make emails that come from your BlackBerry look exactly like they would if they came from Outlook.

A pretty solid list of improvements all around, and no doubt welcomed by the enterprise crowd. 

Just keep in mind that both the the server-side BES software and handheld software will both need to be installed in order to enjoy these new features.

BlackBerry Storm OS 4.7.0.83 (+ Video)

If your BlackBerry Storm is still misbehaving then you might want to treat it to another dose of leaked firmware. This time around it’s version 4.7.0.83.

Preliminary changes seem to suggest that the handset responds faster, with both applications loading and closing faster and the on-screen keyboard doing a better job of keeping up with typing. Browser rendering is also reportedly faster, with one user suggesting that some sites loaded in a third of the time they used to.

Other suggest that the accelerometer is faster (though some users report it’s actually slower than before in the home screen) but that now the Storm can sometimes miss clicks in the corners of the display. Of course, as an unofficial leak you try firmware 4.7.0.83 at your own risk; installing it could affect your handset’s warranty or even break it altogether.

Get the new BlackBerry Storm 9530 OS 4.7.0.83 here

OS 4.7.0.83 Running on the BlackBerry Storm 9530! on Vimeo.

BlackBerry Storm Available From Bell Mobility Online

A new shipment of BlackBerry Storms are coming in to Bell in the near future. If you’ve been waiting to snap one up since the initial flurry of activity on Bell (sold out in hours), you’ve got another chance now…

The BlackBerry Storm is available for purchase via the Bell website right now. They have ‘limited quantities’ available to ship immediately… so you might want to jump on this while they are still in-stock. You can get it for $249.95 on a 3-year contract with a minimum prerequesite $45 voice/data plan. Alternatively you can pick it up on no contract for $699.95.

If you intend on picking a BlackBerry Storm up from Bell via their website… good luck!