Ever wanted to go to school and learn about BlackBerrys all day long? Well, two bits of news for you: one, you’re crazy. Two, RIM is officially offering curriculum to academic institutions under app development, support, and administration branches. This can help you provide students the knowledge they need to achieve those dreams of making the killer app, ruling a BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) rollout with an iron fist, or manning a soul-draining tech support cubicle. Instructors can use the textbooks, labs, and materials to teach the courses in whole semesters, or piecemeal as modules in other courses.

This is a really interesting strategy on RIM’s part, and reminiscent of their past efforts in certification programs. Plugging into legitimate educational institutes ensures that the hard skills necessary to maintain RIM’s infrastructure in the big wide world don’t die, and young tech professionals recognise the platform as a valid and real path to make a living. I’m interested in seeing the quality of graduates versus other IT professionals who have fallen into BlackBerry after finishing nonspecific courses…

For more information, hit up www.blackberry.com/academic, and be sure to stay tuned over the coming week for more information from the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference.

While Adobe might be taking potshots at Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) for not providing the footholds to get Flash on the iPhone, RIM has announced that upcoming versions of Creative Suite 5 will allow developers to import Flash content in a BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM)-friendly format through the Eclipse JDE plug-in. So, yeah, Flash on BlackBerry. We had heard this was coming, and it’s great to see something good and official, though we’ll only really understand the scope of this announcement once we see developers do something with it (similar to the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Gears and widget support in OS 5.0).

Adobe’s participation extends to all of their popular tools, like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator at first, Fireworks, and plenty of other popular apps already being used by web developers will be available later; AIR is in the works. This all elaborates on the Open Screen Project Adobe was talking about not too long ago, and has the potential to make the BlackBerry experience a heck of a lot more enjoyable. Flash-enabled widgets are a great weapon against Android and webOS who have had the benefit of creating a smooth user interface from the ground up; RIM is shackled to their old OS, and as we all know, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Well, BlackBerry, prove us wrong – let’s see some new tricks.

Creative Suite 5 should be coming out in 2010, along with all of this BlackBerry support, but you can find more details on RIM’s Adobe tools here. Stick around for more announcements and news from the BlackBerry Developer Conference!

The cat-and-mouse game between Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and would-be iPhone hackers is about to get a little more interesting. Following the recent release of “blacksn0w,” an iPhone unlocking tool capable of unlocking new iPhone 3GS’s running the latest iPhone OS, Apple has posted a new job listing for an “iPhone OS Platform Security Manager.” Apple is apparently looking for someone to head the development team tasked with securing iPhone boot-up and operating system installation as well as other aspects of iPhone platform security.

We’re not sure if Apple is looking for someone new to fill the position, or if Apple wants to replace the current iPhone OS Platform Security Manager. In either case, it’s pretty clear that the iPhone maker wants to make sure that hackers like George “geohot” Hotz and the iPhone Dev Team aren’t able to keep cracking the iPhone.

The back-and-forth between hackers and Apple is an ongoing saga juicier than your daily soap operas. The iPhone and iPhone 3G were initially jailbroken (the process of opening the file-system to allow unauthorized application installs) and unlocked to work with any GSM network, courtesy of the iPhone Dev Team. Apple then updated the iPhone OS to close the jailbreak exploit known as “24kpwn,” eventually updating the baseband firmware (the code that controls how the iPhone connects to wireless networks like AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)) from version 04.26 to 05.11 to prevent unlocking. iPhone hacker geohot countered with his “blackra1n” jailbreak utility, following that up with the release of “blacksn0w” to unlock the latest iPhone 3GS baseband (05.11) to work with GSM networks around the world.

That pretty much brings us up to speed (in a nutshell, from a very small nut). The iPhone platform is, at this point, jailbroken and unlocked. Now it’s Apple’s turn.

It’s conceivable that Apple’s incoming iPhone security manager will put an end to baseband 05.11 unlocks, but it’s hard to see Apple ever locking down the iPhone completely. Still, if you’re interested in jailbreaking and unlocking your iPhone, you’re best bet is to jump on board soon.

[Via: NetworkWorld]

iPhone gaming can be hazardous to your privacy, apparently. A security hole in the iPhone OS allows someone with the right know-how to design an iPhone app to secretly learn an iPhone’s phone number. The problem is serious enough that iPhone game developer Storm8, creators of Vampires Live and iMobsters, has been hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly collecting the phone numbers of iPhone gamers without their knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco on behalf of Washington State resident Michael Turner, claims that Storm8 included “malicious software code” for gathering phone number data into the company’s iPhone games. “Storm8 has written the software for all its games in such a way that it automatically accesses, collects, and transmits the wireless telephone number of each iPhone user who downloads any Storm8 game,” alleges the suit.

In its defense, Storm8 acknowledged back in August that it was getting phone number data from its iPhone games. The company claims a “bug” was to blame.

What’s interesting here is that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) didn’t catch the supposed “bug” before approving the game for the AppStore. Apple’s getting really good at rejecting iPhone apps that don’t fit into the company’s narrow view of acceptable content, but it seems they still need to work on the basics – like rejecting potential spyware.

Should Apple be held accountable for letting an iPhone app embedded with “malicious software code” onto the AppStore? Should Apple pull the app on grounds that it’s collecting iPhone users’ phone numbers? We’d like to hear what you think in the comments below.

[Via: boingboing]

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps just keeps getting better. Google recently rolled out the “Layer” feature for Google Maps on BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), Windows Mobile and Symbian S60, allowing users to overlay different types data on top of Google Maps – stuff like Wikipedia entries and your friends’ Google Latitude locations. Today, Google is launching a new NYC subway map layer that should help anyone in The Big Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) navigate the city’s maze of subways.

In addition to the step-by-step public transit directions that Google Maps has been serving up for a while, the new Google Maps NYC subway layer “will help you quickly navigate the New York City subway system.” You’ll need to update your Google Maps for Mobile app to the latest Layer-supported version before you can use the NYC subway layer. Once you’ve done that, “just click the Layers menu and then turn on the Transit Lines layer.”

We’d whine about not having a San Francisco public transit layer available for Google Maps, but public transportation in the SF Bay Area sucks compared to NYC, so it makes sense that NYC gets first dibs. Which is why we drive everywhere.

Google Maps NYC subway layer

[Via: PhoneScoop]

There’s more to the Droid than its high-end spec-sheet and Android 2.0 OS. Turns out, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless is going to let Droid owners use their new smartphone as a 3G modem. But, it’ll cost ‘ya.

In return for allowing you to connect your laptop to your Droid and use its 3G data connection to hop online (tethering), Verizon will ask that you hand over an additional $30 per month – that’s on top of the $30/month data plan that gives you 5GB of data per monthly billing cycle. The tethering option basically doubles the cost ($60) of the Droid data plan, which gives you a total 10GB of data allowance.

The cost might be a bit prohibitive, but at least it’s an option on the Droid. Unlike some other smartphones that we won’t mention by name.

[Via: EngadgetMobile]

AT&T (NYSE: T) is adding two new touchscreen-equipped Samsung devices to its offering – Mythic and Flight, both which will be available on November 8th.

The first of the two, pictured on the left, comes with 3.3-inch display, 3.2-megapixel camera, Samsung’s well-known TouchWIZ UI, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, and the ability to sing along AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile Music and AT&T Mobile TV services. The price is $199.99 on a contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.

As for the Samsung Flight, it’s a non-3G device that sports GPS, 2-megapixel camera, smaller touchscreen, and supports AT&T Navigator and AT&T Mobile Music services. This one’s obviously cheaper device, hence AT&T is asking $99, again on contract and after a rebate…

[Via: Unwired View]

Since Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps for iPhone doesn’t support (so far) turn-by-turn GPS navigation directions, iPhone users are left having to pay for GPS navigation apps from the AppStore. But, getting navigation on your iPhone doesn’t have to be expensive. Today, Networks In Motion has announced a new update to its Gokivo iPhone app [iTunes link] that offers users two relatively cheap options for GPS navigation. Users can download the Gokivo app for $4.99 from the AppStore and enjoy 30 days of voice-guided navigation, or, for $39.99, Gokivo will serve up iPhone navigation for a full year. And, to celebrate, NIM is giving iPhone users a chance to download their Gokivo for iPhone navigation app for FREE!

The Gokivo app supports voice-guided directions, including spoken street names. It also serves up real-time traffic alerts to help you avoid any delays. And, with iPod integration, you can listen to your favorite tunes from within the Gokivo iPhone app.

To get Gokivo for free today, you’ll first need to download the Gokivo iPhone app and pay $4.99. Then, simply email Gokivo with you riTunes receipt to nim@sutherlandgold.com and you’ll be reimbursed via PayPal or gift card, whatever you prefer.

Gokivo for iPhone [iTunes link]

[Via: NIM]

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Wave on the iPhone, in theory, would be a great way to use Google’s new collaborative chat service. So, when we first heard that Waveboard for iPhone launched as the first Google Wave iPhone app, we were excited to try it out. Then, we realized that the Waveboard app is nothing more than a Google Wave viewer. Waveboard basically does what Google’s Google Wave mobile website does – it simply lets you view “waves.” And it costs $1. Color us unimpressed.

To be fair, Waveboard includes an integrated browser and a “shake” feature for reloading waves. Push notifications are working through a workaround, but Waveboard’s developers say that proper push notifications are on the way.

We’d rather bookmark Google Wave’s mobile website on our iPhone and save the buck for an iPhone fart machine. But, if you’re curious, and feeling a little wasteful, give Waveboard a download [iTunes link]. Let us know what you think!

Waveboard for iPhone [iTunes link]

There’s no recession for the leading mobile games developer Gameloft. During the first nine months of 2009, the company’s consolidated sales went up by 18%, reaching 90.2 million EUR. On a constant exchange rate basis, that’s actually 16%, which is still impressive.

Here’s how the numbers went from quarter to quarter compared to the last year (in millions EUR):

• Q1 2009 – 30.8 vs Q1 2008 – 25.3 (+22%)
• Q2 2009 – 29.3 vs Q2 2008 – 25.0 (+17%)
• Q3 2009 – 30.1 vs Q3 2008 – 26.2 (+`15%)
• 9-month total – 90.2 vs 76.5 (+18%)

During the first nine months of 2009, Europe, North America and the rest of the world represented 38%, 33% and 29% of total sales, respectively…

[Via: PRNewswire]