Optus have the handset available on a $79 Blackberry Cap plan over 24 months, which includes up to $300 worth of calls and text, and “unlimited” Blackberry email and internet.

Telstra customers looking for the new BlackBerry can grab the handset for $999 upfront, or $0 on an $85 Mobile PLUS plan, or on a variety of enterprise or fleet plans.

Finally, potential Vodafone customers can grab the handset from next week, according to David Flynn at APC, on either a $79 cap plan (with $550 worth of calls and text, plus unlimited Blackberry email and web) or a $99 unlimited talk and text plan that has 1.5GB of data, including use as a tethered modem.

It’s a very nice phone – if I was an email hound, it would almost certainly be my handset of choice at the moment…

CrackBerry says it’s been sitting on the photos for a while, but was waiting for its tipster’s go-ahead to run them. No specs yet, but we’re told they’re coming soon. Stay tuned.

[CrackBerry]

According to comments on various message boards, BlackBerry data is either out or patchy at least in the States and Canada, with users unable to access BlackBerry services — but not necessarily third-party software like Opera Mini or Google Maps, although some, like Facebook, use BIS and are thus having problems. It’s not carrier-specific, with problems being reported on Verizon, T-Mobile, Telus and Rogers, but it’s also not universally down like the Great Sidekick Outage of 2009 — some users are reporting no problems at all, while others are completely unable to access data. We’ll keep you updated, but in turn, why don’t you keep us updated: Any BlackBerry users out there having data problems?

Despite the communication announcing the new Optus App Store’s arrival, there’s precious little actual information about it, other than the fact that there’s over 1000 apps available now, and that you can charge the app purchase to your bill. There’s no word on whether the content for this menacing threat to App stores is universal across the different platforms or whether apps are device specific. There’s also no word as to just how much applications will cost, and what percentage Optus will take, or how developers go about getting their programs on the Optus store.

If you’re brave enough to boldly go where only Optus employees have gone before, you can access the store by clicking the App icon in Optus Zoo on your phone, or texting app to 966 (so long as you’re an Optus customer, of course).

Well, for one, Nokia, whose smartphones have failed to penetrate at all in the US, despite massive popularity overseas, and whose Symbian OS is starting to look downright old. Manufacturers like LG and Motorola, who for the last year were depending mostly on the waning Windows Mobile 6.1, have had a rough time of it, while Palm, presumably included in the “Other” category, consolidated its line to one phone for the duration of 2009, which has done wonders for its image, but unfortunately not for its sales.

Interestingly enough, Apple and RIM are doing spectacularly well for similar reasons: both have appealed to mainstream consumers with new products — the marked-down iPhone 3G and cheap-but-decent BlackBerry Curve line, respectively — while pushing app stores as a selling point. And honestly, look around. Smartphones are decidedly a thing right now.

I’ll be interested to see what happens next year, when Android’s had a little time to spread its legs. It looks like Google helped buoy HTC a little bit this year, but Android phones are still a rare sight. [Ars]

The phone will set you back $399 up front, and you can get on a prepaid plan for as little as $30 a month, which gets you “unlimited* data with access to BlackBerry email, IM, social networking & Internet browsing”. The asterisk means it’s not actually unlimited at all, but restricted by “fair use” policies – I know, kind of misleading, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good deal for people wanting to develop a Blackberry addiction without a contract…

[Optus]

The LG Chocolate Touch is the latest iteration of the Chocolate line, and brings with it some new music features: FM radio, dedicated key for favourites, Dolby Mobile sound enhancements, and an unexpected and downright weird “Join the Band” feature. Join the Band features a virtual drum kit and scrolling 88-key keyboard so you can tap along with your music. Of course, it also offers Twitter, Facebook and MySpace integration, a 3.2-megapixel camera and one-touch uploading. It’s not a super exciting phone like the BL40, but at least it’s odd enough to be sort of interesting. It’s available today and costs $US80 after a $US50 mail-in rebate.

On the BlackBerry side of things, we have yet another ‘Berry with the Curve moniker (if you’re confused about the multitude of identically-named but different-numbered Curves, check out this handy chart). The Curve 8530 is the follow-up to Verizon’s Curve 8330 and has features more in line with the GSM Curve 8520 than the Curve 8900. If you’re still following me, great, because this is one of the best Curves out there: It’s got Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS. It’s the only Curve with 3G and improves on its GSM brother by offering GPS. Other than that, it’s the same 85xx Curve that Matt already reviewed. It’ll cost $US100 after a $US100 mail-in rebate when it’s released on November 20.

And bringing up the rear, we’ve got the Samsung Convoy, a burly push-to-talk flip phone that meets military specification, unlike me. It’s got a 1300mAh battery, which is bigger than some smartphones, and is built to withstand shock, dust, vibration, salt fog, humidity and solar radiation. It’ll probably survive until the end of the Iraq War. The Samsung Convoy will be available November 15 for $US50 after a $US50 mail-in rebate. [Verizon]

Succinctly, it’s the new BlackBerry to buy if you’re on T-Mobile or AT&T. Doubly so on T-Mo, since it’s their first 3G BlackBerry.

It’s not very much like the original Bold at all, which was the Escalade of BlackBerrys: big, obnoxious, but seriously comfortable to drive because it gave you tons of room to spread your legs (err, thumbs). If you’re used to that, at first the 9700—which is even smaller and lighter than the Tour on Sprint and Verizon—feels like you’ve been shoved inside of a clown car because the keyboard and screen, while retaining the same shape and resolution, respectively, have been shrink-rayed. (Note: In the gallery, the T-Mobile one is the Bold 9700, the AT&T phone is the original Bold.)

But, then you realise you’re not typing any slower, or less precisely. The 9700’s keyboard isn’t as flat out comfortable as the original Bold—purely a matter of physics—but it’s a minor marvel of ergonomics that RIM has recession-sized the keyboard this effectively. They’re simply brilliant at building keyboards. The screen has the same resolution as the Bold’s, but in a smaller size, meaning it has a higher pixel density. Despite that extra clarity, I felt a bit constrained by it, especially browsing the web.

It’s the second BlackBerry to ditch all-too-easily-slain-by-lint trackball for an optical trackpad, and the first that’s not built for Walmart. You’ll miss the trackball for about 15 seconds. Like I said before, the trackpad’s 90 percent as good as the ball. You might miss the physical feedback, and it sometimes doesn’t totally accurately interpret a diagonal swipe that you know wouldn’t be a problem with the ball but it’s good enough, and by far the most accurate and responsive trackpad I’ve used on a phone.

It’s running BlackBerry OS 5.0 which isn’t tons different than the OS that shipped on the original Bold or Curve 8900, but it’s definitely springier and it has a few brushstrokes of added polish here and there. One place you notice is the browser—while not as fast as the iPhone 3GS or Android, it has some extra zip to it, and it even sped past the Storm 2 loading pages, despite racing on T-Mobile’s 3G network vs. Verizon’s.

Basically, barring any major bugs that pop up over the next couple of days, this is the BlackBerry you probably wanna bug your corporate overlords to handcuff to your pants if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile, since it’ll slide into them easier than any BlackBerry yet. I just hope you enjoy the feel of faux leather. [BlackBerry]

Utilizing their knowledge in C++ programming, the successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced, dynamic development environment to develop a WebKit-based browser for the BlackBerry Platform.

The only question now is, when? Normally the initial hiring of a core developer could be taken to mean that the project is embryonic, but keep in mind: RIM bought an entire, complete browser. This may just be an optimisation project, not a full-on browser development, so decent browsing on BlackBerry might not be that far off. [CareerBeacon via Engadget]