�
*Winner Announced*
It has been what seems like a long time since we started our Berry Merry Christmas Giveaway but we now have an official winner. We here at tBBF would like to offer congrats to tcu16. An email has been sent to tcu16 with instructions on how to redeem the coveted 8520 gift pack. We would like to give a big THANKS to all who entered. Keep checking back often and tell everyone you know, there will be a lot more giveaways. Again congrats to tcu16 for winning our Berry Merry Christmas Giveaway, we hope you enjoy your new BlackBerry!
*UPDATE*
So there is only one day left until the big giveaway. If you haven’t yet then you need to get entered in order to win. It’s going to be a great start to a new year! Good luck to all who enter!
Tis the season of giving, lets ring in the holidays with a bang! It is our first Christmas here at tBBF and we thought whats better then to give?
Do you want or need a new sleek trackpad equipped device? I know I do but this ones for you, our readers. We are are going to give all of you the chance to get your hands on a nice new BlackBerry 8520 package for the holidays. Included in the package is a Blackberry Curve 8520, a bluetooth headset and a car charger. Or the winner may choose our other package which includes a nice new 8520, a bluetooth headset and a gel skin for your Berry.
Sounds too good to be true I know…but it is. here are some very important rules that you will need to follow.
1) You will need to follow @theBBfactory and @mdorrett on Twitter. * if you don’t have a Twitter account sign up HERE*
2) You will need to add this pin to you BBM list with “8520 giveaway” in the invitation 306413F2 for those of you that do not have a BlackBerry yet you may use “GTalk” mdorrett@gmail.com
3) You will need to go to our 8520 Giveaway Forum and tell us why you deserve a new Berry. Please include your BBM and Twitter name so we can verify.
The winner will be chosen at random on New years eve and will be contacted via email shortly after with instructions on how to choose package and claim your prize.
We here at theBlackBerryfactory wish you and your families all the best during this holiday season. We enjoy having you our readers in our lives and hope that you keep us in yours. Many will enter and only one will win! Good luck to all of you!
In the effort to branch out and reach readers accross all current smartphone platforms, we have moved. All the latest BlackBerry news as well as in-depth how to articles can be found at our new home…. theSmartPhonefactory.com, we value our readers and hope to see every one make the move with us. the forums will also be ported over along with all user accounts and email addresses. All registered users will receive an email with the details.

Even during an outage RIM has found the time to release yet another version of BlackBerry Messenger. With all the recent releases, it doesn’t look like they are going to stop anytime soon.
5.0.0.57 is now available on the BlackBerry download site and I imagine it won’t be too long before it is available in App World. I have not had the chance to download the newest version due to the outage. From what I have been told this is just another service update. Not too sure what issues it addresses at this point, but my understanding is not too much has changed.
If you were one of the lucky ones that managed to grab it before the outage, leave us a comment and let us know whats new in the update if anything. If you had to wait to grab your copy get it HERE.

As you probably already know, RIM is experiencing another outage. I have heard that the outage is affecting most all U.S. carriers. I am unsure at this point if it is affecting Canadian carriers, From what I have read on the very few Twitter updates I received, they have been affected as well.
When I called Verizon Wireless to report the outage I received the standard recording saying that “They are aware of an issue in your service area, in regards to email and the BlackBerry server. RIM is working on the issue.”
So as it seems this is an issue that has been going on most of the day, as I am unaware of exactly what time I lost my data connection to the server. Hopefully RIM will have us back up and running soon. If you have service or any info in regards to the outage. Please leave us a comment here with carrier and region. Thank You and Happy Holidays

It seems as though Christmas has come early for all of us Storm owners and users. With all the recently released devices it seems Storm owners have been swept under the rug so to speak when it came to OS leaks.
MTS Mobility (Manitoba Telecom Services) formerly Manitoba Telephone Service has made OS 5.0.0.419 an official release. I myself have not played with this OS release, so I am not entirely sure what the changes are. I can only say for certain that it is running a higher platform version.
This brings a lot of excitement to Storm owners worldwide. This has been the only release or leak that I have heard about since Verizon Wireless released 5.0.0.328. We can only hope that with all the leaks and releases in the last two weeks, that there is some more love headed our way.
Download your nice new OS HERE and remember to drop by our forums and let us know your findings. Remember to follow install directions when installing.
RIM has released another “official” build of BBM, this time were looking at 5.0.0.56. no change log to report but well keep you posted with any findings.
grab your copy HERE
Users across the US and abroad are reporting a mass BlackBerry data outage. Currently email seems to be the only service effected as SMS, BBM and browser are still up and running. please head over to our data outage forums and leave your carrier, location and the time your device went down. theBlackBerryfactory forums

Heres your first look at the Sprint branded BlackBerry Tour 9650 aka Essex. CrackBerry forums member Matt_25 posted the shot above and several others. Check out CrackBerry.com for more photos.
seems that RIM has jumped ahead of all the latest BBM leaks and released BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.0.55.No change log to report at this time but be sure to leave a comment with any findings. grsb your copy
at http://BlackBerry.com/messenger
theBlackBerryfactory forums have went through many changes since our launch back in august. This is because we want to provide our readers with the cleanest, easiest to navigate layout possible for both the blog page and forums. Among the many features and categories you’ll find in our forums, we also have several knowledgeable moderators to assist you with any questions you may have. Below is a list of mods and they’re email addresses, feel free to contact them with any questions or concerns.
MikeBeattie -
support@theBlackBerryfactory.com
Macapple -
mike_belland@theBlackBerryfactory.com
Garvicad –
garyparent@theBlackBerryfactory.com
Cbeslash -
mattstauffer@theBlackBerryfactory.com
Xondra -
xondrasmart@theBlackBerryfactory.com
All user accounts will be transferred from the blog to forums, so if you have registered with us in the past you will not have to re register to join the forums. All users will receive an email with they’re updated login information as well. Thanks for your patience during this process and be sure to head to the forums and check things out,
theBlackBerryfactory.com/forums

After seeing BlackBerry Messenger .52 and .53 hit the web with in a few days of each other we now have BBM 5.0.0.54 to play with. Keep in mind this is “leaked” software so be sure to back up your contact list before downloading. Enjoy!!
Head over to BBHybrids to grab your copy and be sure to drop your findings in the comments for all to read.