When I started as the Editor-In-Chief of Inside BlackBerry more than two years ago, I had no idea what to expect. That’s only half true: I knew it would involve BlackBerry® smartphones and “weblogging” in some form or fashion. While I was very familiar with RIM and BlackBerry prior to my arrival, I was also very new to the corporate world and social media was still pretty new to RIM. It was the start of an adventure.

And what an adventure it’s been! The social media team has added three additional Inside BlackBerry Blogs (Dev, Help, and Business) with a combined total of 1,164 posts across all four blogs; we have more than 20 million members of #TeamBlackBerry following BlackBerry every day on Facebook®, Twitter®, foursquare and every social network in between; and I’ve been able to jet around the world to bring #TeamBlackBerry the latest news or connect in person at dedicated events like Meet the PlayBook and #BB7FanNight. I’m proud of these accomplishments, and especially proud we earned them as a team.

So, why am I leaving? I crave new adventures and trying new things. I’m not sure what those new adventures will be or where they’ll take me, but there are a few things I am sure of that I’d like to share before I go. First, I will miss my wonderful colleagues at RIM, only a few of whom are pictured above (there are many more!). Second, that my great coworkers were only part of the reason why this job has been so special. Without you, #TeamBlackBerry, engaging with us every day — giving feedback and letting us know what’s important to you — Inside BlackBerry would not be possible, or as much fun. For that, you have my heartfelt thanks.

Lastly, that whatever path my next adventure takes me on, you can be sure I’ll have a BlackBerry smartphone, or a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, pointed to Inside BlackBerry, to stay connected with this amazing community I have been truly fortunate to be a part of. I suggest you do the same; there are so many great things on the horizon.

We are pleased to announce the availability of the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform SDK v1.0 for BlackBerry® WebWorks™! The SDK is now ready for download and hardened thanks in large part to your beta feedback. So now it’s time to realize the power of social interactions with BBM right within your BlackBerry WebWorks application.

In conjunction with BlackBerry WebWorks SDK v2.2, this documented set of APIs is designed to give developers the ability to accomplish the following with BBM:

• Access and update fields in the user’s profile such as status, avatar and personal message
  create app-specific custom areas within the user’s profile for promoting your app and recent activity
  related to it, e.g. achievements
• Initiate BBM chats with BBM users
• Initiate file transfers
• Share applications for download virally with friends in the contact list
• Initiate application-to-application background communication through BBM for sending and receiving application signaling, data

Furthermore, we’re excited to share a few changes that complement this SDK since the last beta release and here’s what you can expect to see:

• Published sample code and documentation for a BBM version dependency checker
• included all BBM WebWorks APIs into the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK as of version v2.2
• BBM WebWorks API documentation now published with BlackBerry WebWorks API Reference

To get started, download the SDK of the BBM Social Platform for BlackBerry WebWorks from the BlackBerry Developer Zone. For on device testing with the BBM Social Platform SDK, you will need to upgrade to the latest BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 version available on BlackBerry App World™. BBM-Connected Applications are supported on BlackBerry smartphones versions 5.0 and later.

To get started with the BBM Social Platform SDK 1.0 for BlackBerry WebWorks and review all the supported features, be sure to check out BlackBerry® Developer Zone’s BBM Social Platform page, and as always, stay tuned to the BlackBerry Developer Blog for more updates on our platform.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences combining the power of the Web and the BBM Social Platform!

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Here’s a guest post from our friend Anders at RIM TAT! – Ed.

Cascades is the user interface (“UI”) framework that TAT has been using for many years to create numerous advanced UIs and applications, such as Scrapbook for BlackBerry PlayBook. I’m happy to announce that it will soon be part of the BlackBerry Native SDK for Tablet OS.

Here’s a short list of Cascades features:

• Great performance, including amazing transitions and animations
• Flexible UI layouts including free form lists.
• 3D support
• Support for mixing pre-packaged UI components with custom components
• Core UI feature support

Cascades was originally developed to enable development of really innovative and unique applications. This put hard requirements on the flexibility and extendibility of the UI framework. The need for designer/developer collaboration was also one of stronger driving factors when developing the framework. Let’s dig deeper into how Cascades will aid the development of rich and compelling UI.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

Full disclosure: while Fall is particularly pretty in the Waterloo area, right now I wish I was in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup 2011, which kicked off this month and ends October 23rd. While I won’t be able to cheer from the stands, that won’t stop me from following all the action! Allow me to introduce you to a few ways your BlackBerry® smartphone or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet can help you stay on top of the games at the Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011).

BlackBerry.com/Rugby

In honor of the tournament, we have created a Rugby World Cup 2011 resource center for #TeamBlackBerry. From here, you can see the latest RWC 2011 news and upcoming games, learn how you can win a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and more.

And if you think you’ve got what it takes, make sure to enter The Ultimate Fan contest and demonstrate your Rugby World Cup 2011 devotion.

Check it all out at BlackBerry.com/Rugby!

Official Rugby World Cup 2011 app for BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

Available now for download in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, the Official Rugby World Cup 2011 app for BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gets you inside the Match Centre for live coverage, near real-time commentary and stats.

Get them both here: RWC 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry Smartphone

BlackBerry Australia & New Zealand Face Paint Facebook App

Why hide your enthusiasm for Rugby World Cup 2011 when you can paint it all over your face? With the BlackBerry® Face Paint app, available on our Australia and New Zealand Facebook® page, you can show all of your friends your team spirit. Check it out here:

Facebook Paint Your Face Application

What team will you be following on the Official Rugby World Cup 2011 app for BlackBerry? Better yet, what color will you paint your face? Tell us in the comments section below – and for our #TeamBlackBerry teammates who are able to attend, tweet us a picture on @BlackBerry using the hashtag #BBRugby!

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

The newest version of the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, BlackBerry App World 3.0, left beta earlier this week and is now available for all BlackBerry® smartphone users to download at BlackBerry.com/AppWorld. BlackBerry App World 3.0 offers improvements to app search, app sharing, and payment options. The biggest change I noticed about BlackBerry App World 3.0 is the brand new user interface (“UI”), which not only reorganizes how apps are displayed, but also streamlines the app download and discovery process. The new UI changes, big and small, make it easier for BlackBerry smartphone users to quickly add great new BlackBerry apps. It also makes BlackBerry App World much prettier!

We sat down with Product Manager, Tamara, to check out the new BlackBerry App World 3.0 UI. Check out our video above!

There’s one new feature in BlackBerry App World 3.0 that Tamara and I didn’t discuss in the video: carrier specific app channels. These app channels will appear as a Featured icon on your BlackBerry App World 3.0 Home Screen, and contain a selection of app recommendations selected by your carrier, in partnership with RIM, just for you.

AT&T BlackBerry smartphone users will be the first to receive the carrier specific app channel, with more carriers to be available soon. Here’s a list of the first apps to be available live in the AT&T carrier channel:

Delta Airlines
AT&T FamilyMap
LinkedIn
Bejeweled
ESPN Radio
Photobucket
Tetris
Wikimobile
eBay
U-verse Mobile
MONOPOLY Here & Now
Star Tweets
Slacker Radio
Scrabble
GolfDigest GPS
My-Cast Weather
Sims 3
Music Box
Free Chat For Facebook with BBM
Game of Life
PicDial (PicDial)
Flirtomatic (Handmade)
Simpsons Arcade
MONOPOLY
Trimble Outdoors

Drop us a line and let us know what you think!

The BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930 smartphones have gotten great buzz since we first announced the two BlackBerry® 7 smartphones with a BlackBerry Bold touch at the BlackBerry World™ conference in May. Members of the media and #TeamBlackBerry certainly enjoyed test-driving them at our #BB7FanNight event in Toronto. (FYI: We’ve gathered many BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 reviews from across the web for your quick reference.) Now that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are making their way to your local carriers and retail locations, we thought it would be a good time for the BlackBerry Bold Product Managers Michael and Jason to share five things you need to know about the new BlackBerry Bold touch smartphones.

1. The new touch BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones combine design style with substance

Our design goal for the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones was to deliver a stunning design that integrates the BlackBerry Bold family’s iconic QWERTY keypad with a brilliant, high resolution capacitive touch screen. Great care, time and precision went into designing and creating the keypad on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones; it was meticulously refined, sculpted and positioned to deliver the utmost in precision functionality to make typing accurate, simple and fast. In fact, even though the keypad on these two smartphones may look similar to that of the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 smartphone, it actually has 5% more surface area. Achieving such an improved typing experience – on the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones yet – is something we know BlackBerry customers will appreciate (and is a testament to our design team’s commitment to delivering continuous improvements to what matters most to our customers).

In terms of the overall design, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones were built in the tradition of the BlackBerry Bold line of smartphones, with purposeful detailing plus premium materials and finish. When you first hold the device in your hand, we think you will quickly realize how great it feels. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite design elements below:

• Brushed stainless steel frame: the elegantly brushed stainless steel frame extending around the exterior adds to the visual appeal of both Blackberry Bold smartphones, giving them what we feel is a timeless and classic look. Beyond aesthetics, the stainless steel frame adds reliable durability while seamlessly integrating important functions like the convenience and volume keys.
• “Aerospace composite” battery door: distinct to the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, the “aerospace composite” battery door is incredibly lightweight and durable. It’s made of the same composite material that’s used to construct next-generation airplanes, racecars, and high-tech sports equipment. The cool factor is high to be sure, but more importantly, this composite construction actually helps optimize antennas, radios, and other device technology for highly reliable connectivity.
• Ultra-thin design: When we looked at the amount of time people have a device in hand, it became a priority for us to make the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones ever at 10.5mm. For BlackBerry smartphone users, this means a lightweight, sleek & slim device that fits comfortably in the palm of their hand, while maintaining uncompromised performance.

2. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930: The most powerful guts ever in a BlackBerry smartphone

We wanted to match the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones’ distinctive design with powerful hardware to deliver a best-in-class BlackBerry Bold smartphone experience. With a 1.2 GHz processor, 8GB of onboard memory with the option to expand (using up to a 32GB media card), and high-speed CDMA or HSPA+ world phone connectivity, these models have the most powerful ‘guts’ ever in a BlackBerry smartphone, helping you get more things done even faster. Here are a few features we’d like to speak to in more detail.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are the first BlackBerry smartphones to feature brilliant 2.8” 640×480 high-resolution touch screens, which deliver crisp, clear images and text at 287 pixels per inch, in full 24-bit color. Powered by the BlackBerry 7 OS and Liquid Graphics™ technology, these screens provide a truly responsive and versatile touch experience, so you can browse the web, interact on social sites, read and respond to emails, and view high resolution videos and photos. If you’d like to learn more about the evolution of the touch experience in BlackBerry 7, check out Sangita and Troy’s post, which tackles the subject in more detail.

In addition to hi-speed CDMA or HSPA+ cellular connectivity, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones also feature dual-band Wi-Fi® connectivity (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Reliable Wi-Fi connectivity is important for pulling down large amounts of data quickly without a hit to your data plan, and Dual band Wi-Fi connectivity means better connectivity and faster performance at the office, coffee shop, airport, or at home.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are the first BlackBerry smartphones to feature Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC is a technology that allows BlackBerry smartphone users to just tap to connect, get information, and link up with other supported NFC devices or authentic BlackBerry accessories. For more information about what NFC means for BlackBerry smartphone users, please watch this interview with Andrew Bocking, VP of Handheld Software Product Management.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

3. The new BlackBerry 7 OS delivers better performance, usability and voice-activated Universal search

The powerful hardware in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones have been paired with the new and powerful BlackBerry 7 OS, which offers a variety of performance and usability enhancements, such as Liquid Graphics and the next generation BlackBerry web browser. While BlackBerry 7 Product Manager Annu is planning on providing a detailed blog post on BlackBerry 7, we thought we’d share one of our favorite features: voice-activated Universal Search.

With voice-activated Universal Search, the powerful on-device search functionality that premiered in the BlackBerry 6® OS has gone hands free. Using advanced speech-to-text translation, you can now search for files, emails, contacts, music, and more—all without typing a thing. Voice-activated Universal Search also combs the web and BlackBerry applications for the information you need. For example, I often use Universal Search to find an address, which automatically brings up the BlackBerry® Maps location information. Very cool!

4. The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones improve social collaboration

As we said before, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones’ full QWERTY keypad offer an efficient and speedy typing experience, but it’s not just for emails. The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones feature the latest versions of our social media applications, including Social Feeds, Twitter® for BlackBerry smartphones, Facebook® for BlackBerry smartphones, and the new BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) 6. This suite of apps makes it easy for BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphone owners to quickly connect with friends, family, and co-workers.

We’re most excited about the potential of BBM 6 for BlackBerry Bold smartphone users, because of “BBM-connected” apps. BBM 6 allows for 3rd-party applications to incorporate your favorite aspects of BBM into their apps, from status updates and sharing to BBM chats. The video below shows how popular social application Foursquare takes advantage of BBM 6, but that doesn’t mean that social on the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones is only about fun and games. Don’t believe me? Check out this post on how to use BlackBerry Messenger 6 for business.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

5. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones “Balance” the needs of enterprise and end users

In addition a full QWERTY keypad, dual-band Wi-Fi and BBM 6, the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones offer a variety of features that reinforce the BlackBerry Bold family’s heritage as the ultimate enterprise device for business people on the go. Two of our favorites are BlackBerry® Balance™ technology and the Documents To Go® Premium app.

BlackBerry Balance is a new technology in BlackBerry 7 that ensures your work life and private life never mix—so you can enjoy the fullest mobile experience on just one device. When you’re at work, BlackBerry Balance technology allows you to focus on getting tasks done while securely accessing business information, but it also makes it possible to stay connected via apps like Facebook, Twitter or personal email accounts. This is because BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to works behind the scenes to safeguard against accidentally compromising the security of company content while simultaneously protecting the privacy of your personal content. To learn more about this new technology, check out the BlackBerry Balance product page.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones also come with the full premium version of the Documents To Go app, which is a vital tool for mobile productivity. Documents To Go is a mobile document suite that is designed to allow you to create and edit Microsoft® Word®, Microsoft® Excel®, and Microsoft® PowerPoint® docs, and view PDF docs anywhere, anytime. As someone that travels regularly for work, I can attest that the ability to easily review or edit important work documents has been a lifesaver many times over.

We’re incredibly excited that the next generation of BlackBerry Bold smartphones is now available for BlackBerry smartphone users. For more information on pricing and availability, please contact your local carrier or visit our BlackBerry Bold where to buy page. Make sure to post a comment below and let us know what you think!

It is my extreme pleasure to give you an inside look at the BBM™ Music app Research In Motion (RIM) announced today. Hot on the heels of our BBM 6 launch in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront, BBM Music is expected to be available later this year for a monthly subscription fee of $4.99 USD, plus tax (to sign up to get more details later on availability and free trial in your country, please visit www.blackberry.com/bbmmusic).

BBM Music is a BBM-connected social music service that allows BlackBerry® smartphone users to share and discover music through your BBM Music friends (note: users must also have BBM 6 installed). Once you have created a BBM Music sharing friendship with a BBM contact, you can make use of all that BBM Music has to offer (like other BBM-connected apps, BBM Music was built using the same BBM SDKs extended to the BlackBerry developer community. To see a list of other great BBM-connected apps, check out our BBM 6: Apps Made Social post).

BBM Music has been designed to allow you to:

• Build your music profile from a Catalog of millions of tracks (with more to be added over the coming weeks)
• Invite friends to BBM Music from your BBM contacts and gain access to their music and share your music (once they subscribe or join the free trial)
• Create playlists from your BBM Music songs plus your friends’ songs
• Share playlists or single songs with BBM Music friends
• Follow your friends’ BBM Music activity via timelines and comments, or start up a BBM chat about your favorite bands
• Cache music for easy offline listening
• Seamless integration with other BlackBerry music services

Let’s dig deeper into how BBM Music works and why it might become the must-have app for audiophiles and the über-social.

More friends = more music

What if every new friend came with a new favorite song? With BBM Music, they could, as long as they have agreed to share their music with you! Each BBM Music user can create a profile of up to 50 songs from the millions of tracks available in the BBM Music Catalog. In addition to those 50 songs in your profile, the more BBM Music friends you have, the more songs you can add and enjoy! In other words, your BBM Music friend’s music library = your music library.

BBM Music paid subscribers will get to discover, select and share full audio tracks. This includes not only the tracks in your 50-song profile, but also all the music in your BBM Music friends’ profiles, too (if they are paid subscribers or using the trial version).

A great way to stay up on what your BBM Music friends are listening to is by viewing the activity timeline on the Home tab. From there, you can see what playlists your BBM Music friends are creating, what songs they’ve added to their profiles, and the comments friends are posting on your track selections (BTW: My coworkers at RIM seem to really enjoy my addiction to indie rock =D).

From the Me tab, you can see your own BBM Music profile, including your 50-tracks and playlists, as well as the comments you’ve posted. You can also quickly see how many listens your music selections have received from your BBM Music friends, or shuffle your track list.

The Friends tab is the place to go to see your BBM Music friends and discover what they’re listening to. You can view specific friend’s playlists and tracks, add them to your own playlists, or post a comment. This is also the place to accept new BBM Music friend requests or send out some requests of your own. Of course, because BBM Music is a BBM-connected app, you can also start a BBM chat with any of your BBM Music friends from this tab.

Even more ways to discover music

If you’re looking to branch out and try something new, the Catalog tab is the place to go to find new tracks to add to your 50-song profile. Besides a general artist, album, song search, the Catalog tab also features preset song suggestions based upon genre, what’s new, top and most recommended tracks, and even picks from the BBM Music team. BBM Music will also tell you if a song of your choosing is in one of your friend’s music profiles, so you can grab it from them and not subtract from your 50-song total.

BBM Music also provides easy access to and from other BlackBerry music services for additional discovery and purchase. For example, if there are songs you love so much you’d like to purchase them, you can select the buy option and purchase directly from the Amazon MP3 Music Store.

No coverage = no problem

BBM Music tracks are cached to your SD card for offline listening, and you can do this for playlists, too, via the Options menu. This is a great feature for commuters, as you can access your music library even when you’re travelling to out of coverage areas. BBM Music also allows for music streaming over Wi-Fi, which together with the cache storage helps save on data usage.

BBM Music strikes a personal chord with me for two reasons. First, mobile music typically tends to be a solitary experience. BBM Music takes that solitary experience and makes it social with the people that matter to me most. Secondly, as life gets busier, I have less time to discover music (sad, but true). BBM Music allows my BBM friends to introduce me to the tunes I’m missing, and vice versa. I think BBM Music could become the “mixtape” for a new generation of mobile music users.

Stay tuned for more blog posts on BBM Music. Also, be sure to head over to the BBM Music page and sign up to be notified once the service launches.

For now, post a comment and let us know what you think (and maybe post a list of your all-time favorite songs or some great new indie bands I should be adding to my profile). I look forward to reading and hearing what you think!

I’m happy to announce three new members to the BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphone family today, the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones. The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones will be available in Canada this month and via carriers in selected countries around the world beginning in September. For more details on pricing and international availability, make sure to check out our BlackBerry Curve product page or contact your local carrier.

As someone who used the first BlackBerry Curve (the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300 smartphone), I’m pretty excited to see this popular smartphone family get the powerful BlackBerry 7 infused update. I tapped Product Managers Soniya and Pankaj to tell you the three things you need to know about the new BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones. Let’s get started!

1. The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are sleek

People familiar with the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones and the all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones we introduced earlier this month have heard us talk about the sleek and trim design of the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones, and the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are no exception. Our intention was to craft the most stylish BlackBerry Curve smartphones yet, while still maintaining that classic ‘just right’ Curve feel.

We wanted to provide you a balance of ergonomics and style through a combination of key design decisions. For example, the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones feature a “Waterfall” design similar to that of the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch, curving both front and back surfaces together for a smooth fit in your hand. We paired this design with a flowing soft-touch band around the circumference of the device, which is both durable and makes the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones comfortable to hold. The soft-touch band also seamlessly integrates functional features like the volume, mute and convenience keys. And we think you’ll love knowing that the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are also some of the lightest BlackBerry smartphones ever, weighing in at only 99 grams –including battery – making portability one less thing you need to worry about.

2. The BlackBerry 7 OS powers the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones

The slim and sleek BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones have been paired with the fast and powerful new BlackBerry 7 OS. We know that BlackBerry Curve smartphone users love to browse the web, and the next-generation BlackBerry Browser is a perfect example of the performance improvements offered by BlackBerry 7. The BlackBerry 7 Browser features a significantly faster web experience, as well as optimized HTML 5 support for things like web-based games and videos. BlackBerry 7 ensures that BlackBerry smartphone users will receive a fast and fluid experience on the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones, with crisp graphics that take advantage of the new devices’ HVGA+ (480×360) display.

BlackBerry 7 also features another improvement upon the BlackBerry 6 OS: voice-activated Universal Search. Voice-activated Universal Search makes it even easier to find the files, messages and contacts stored on your BlackBerry Curve smartphone. You can also use Universal Search to scour the mobile web and supported 3rd party applications to find the information you need – hands free!

(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are also the second series of BlackBerry smartphones to feature Near Field Communications (NFC), after the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones. NFC is a technology that allows BlackBerry smartphone users to just tap to connect, get information, and link up with other NFC-enabled devices or authentic BlackBerry accessories. For more information about what NFC means for BlackBerry smartphone users, please watch this interview with Andrew Bocking, VP of Handheld Software Product Management.

3. The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones deeply integrate social

On top of the new functionality provided by the BlackBerry 7 OS, the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones feature a variety of applications that make them some of the most social BlackBerry smartphones ever. In addition to the latest versions of Twitter® for BlackBerry smartphones and Facebook® for BlackBerry smartphones, the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones feature a brand new version of the popular Social Feeds application, which integrates your Facebook®, Twitter® and BBM feeds into one convenient location. Social Feeds 2.0 contains new features such as Universal Search integration, and the ability to create custom views for your social feeds. My favorite new Social Feeds 2.0 feature may just be the ability to flag items for viewing at a later date, which ensures I don’t have to miss out on any important updates or news items when I’m on the go. Social Feeds is a great application for any BlackBerry smartphone user who can’t choose just one social network, or is looking for an easy way to stay connect to everyone and everything that matters to them (stay tuned for a future post covering Social Feeds 2.0 in more depth – Ed.).

(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

Of course, our product team’s favorite social application on the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones has to be the new BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) 6. BBM 6 allows for 3rd party applications (or “BBM-connected” apps) to incorporate your favorite aspects of BBM into their apps, from status updates and sharing to BBM chats. While there are many BBM-connected apps available, my personal favorite has to be foursquare, because I love sharing (and bragging about) new badges I’ve unlocked with friends. Make sure to read the Inside BlackBerry BBM 6: Apps Made Social post to find the BBM connected app that’s the perfect fit for your new BlackBerry Curve smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve product team is very excited to bring these two new additions to the BlackBerry Curve smartphone family. Please post a comment and tell us what you think of the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones.

Yesterday, the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) celebrated the launch of our new BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones with our special guests of honor: BlackBerry® super fans, BlackBerry customers, and the new all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones.

We always have a blast talking face to face with shoppers and BlackBerry smartphone users, but we are also there to gather important feedback. Your opinions of our smartphones contribute to the creation of their successors, and we were particularly excited to gather feedback on our first sole all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone.

So, let’s hear what people had to say! Below, you will find early hands-on impressions of the all-touchBlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones straight from our esteemed guests, so you’ll know what to expect when they’re available in stores. Remember, we may have provided the BlackBerry smartphones, but these opinions belong to press, consumers and smartphone users like you! Please don’t hesitate to post a comment of your own and let us know what you think about the new BlackBerry Torch smartphones.

#bb7fannight I rate torch at 5 it is simply fab , quick, refined & definitely touch worthy! #toronto #yyz #blackberry launch is best evening—
Georgina Bencsik (@GeorginaBencsik) August 04, 2011

I rate the 9860 a 12 out of 5 #bb7fannight @BlackBerry—
Jimz (@jimz22) August 04, 2011

The BlackBerry Torch 9850/60 is super-light, on top of having a top-notch screen. #bb7fannight—
Simon Sage (@SimonSage) August 04, 2011

#BlackBerry7 gets a rating of 5+ because it's soo user friendly, up to and beyond the time, one step ahead, light, and so efficient.—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

I give BB7 a rating of 8/10 #BB7FanNight!—
Jordana Stein (@jordanastein) August 04, 2011

Website: CrackBerry

“GREAT DISPLAY – At 480×800 pixels, this is the highest resolution display on a BlackBerry to date. The extra pixels come in handy, especially for web browsing, and the BlackBerry 7 web browser seems to be dialed in pretty good. Very smooth and usable.
FEELS GREAT – I LOVE the feeling of this device in the hand. RIM set out to build a full touchscreen phone that felt great when held both in portrait mode and in landscape mode and they really succeeded here. The sculpted back of the device almost makes it feel like you’re holding a game console controller when in landscape.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Torch 9850 / 9860 Hands-On Video and First Impressions

Website: IntoMobile

“The hardware itself is very nice, and the first thing that comes to mind when you pick it up is just how light it is. It’s also competitively slim at 11.5mm. This nicest thing about the 9850/60 is that it actually feels new.”

Read more: Video: Hands-on with the BlackBerry Torch 9860

Website: TheBerryFix

“Honestly I could sit here for days and tell you how fluid these liquid graphics are and how awesome the Open GL gaming is but why write about it when the only way to experience it is to see it.”

Read more: (VIDEO) RIMs Andrew Bocking walks us through BlackBerry 7 on the Torch 9860

Do you know what London and Toronto have in common? Yesterday, both cities hosted BlackBerry® 7 OS launch events, welcoming the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810, 9850 and 9860 smartphones to the BlackBerry® family! Among the guests of honor were the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones, both of which are BlackBerry 7 OS devices that had previously been announced at BlackBerry World™. Of course, the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) was on hand at these launch events to demo the smartphones and speak with attendees.

While the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are not yet in stores, we’re eager to share these early hands-on impressions from the press, everyday shoppers and BlackBerry smartphone users. We may have provided the BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, but these opinions are 100% their own. Once you have an opportunity to use the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 or 9930 smartphone, feel free to post a comment of your own and let us know what you think about them.

The new BB Bold 7 browser is 40% faster than before. My Bold 5 just shudder with envy. So did I. #BB7FanNight http://lockerz.com/s/126330103—
katie (@motherbumper) August 04, 2011

Very impressed with new Bold – very thin and sleek and new OS7 is super smooth on it #BB7FanNight—
Jehan Watson (@JehanWatson) August 04, 2011

#bb7fannight The 9900 defines what Blackberry is all about. The physical keyboard and touchscreen is a winning combination. @BlackBerry—
Max Fireman (@brava27) August 04, 2011

Thinnest blackberry every made also touch screen! Love the new bold 9900! #BB7FanNight http://twitpic.com/60k1tk—
Jordana Stein (@jordanastein) August 03, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9900 impression: 4.5\5! Great response! Very very snappy! #BB7FanNight—
Michael Lam (@FindMike) August 03, 2011

#BB7FanNight. Ultra sexy my heart is beating like a disco drum for the new Blackberry BOLD baby!!—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

Website: TheCellularGuru

“The Browser: is now up to 40% faster than the WebKit browser found in OS6, and 100% faster than the original browser found in BlackBerry 5 devices. The new browser has the most compliant HTML5 implementation of any device on the market; we actually pitted my Rogers Nexus S browser head to head with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 at HTML5test.com – the Nexus scored a 184, while the BlackBerry Bold 9900 scored a staggering 277.”

Read more: Interview with Annu Dawar the Product Manager for BlackBerry 7 at #BB7FanNight

Website: NerdBerry

August 4 – “Following in the footsteps of the Bold 9000 the 9900 has what is probably the best BlackBerry keyboard I have used. …. The touch screen responsiveness is top notch, and can be compared to other platforms and manufacturers … The one feature that I hadn’t really thought about going into the event, but which surprised and amazed me the most, is the Wikitude browser. The Wikitude browser takes advantage of the augmented reality and is surprising cool. As you can see in the video the augmented reality can be used for several social media functions, and the integration of BBM is off the hook.”

Read more: (VIDEO) Hands On With The BlackBerry Bold 9900 At #BB7FanNight In Toronto

August 3 – “The night has been full of hands on with the new BB7 devices, like the highly anticipated Bold 9900, and I have never been more a fan. When the Torch 9800 launched I thought I had seen the pinnacle of Blackberry, but tonight I stand corrected.”

Read more: BB7FanNight In Toronto Delivers Results!

Website: CrackBerry

“I love the look and feel of the new Bold, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE KEYBOARD, and I love that there’s finally a touchscreen on a front-facing qwerty BlackBerry. The new Bold is FAST, rich looking and is just the absolute best of the traditional BlackBerry experience.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 Hands On and First Impressions (part deux)