SEMC Blog -- which tends to have an inside line on these matters -- is claiming that a new firmware for the awesome-but-pricey X1 is just around the corner. That in itself isn't really notable since we've seen new firmwares for the device hit in the past, but the juicy morsel here seems to be that the latest build will include "support of BlackBerry connection," which we take to mean integrated BlackBerry Connect. That'll certainly improve the X1's street cred in the business world, but we can't help but wonder whether it's too late to eke out a major sales push on this one -- especially now that buzz over the X2 has swelled to a rolling boil.

Looking for a bit of BlackBerry love on your new (or old, as the case may be) HTC handset? Fret not -- so long as you're the proud owner of an HTC TyTN II, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro or Touch HD -- as your phone has just picked up BlackBerry Connect support. The read link directs you to a download where you can suck down the necessary bits and bytes and proceed to installation, but we'd make sure everything was backed up before forging ahead. Give it a go and report back, will ya?

[Via phonescoop]

Given its business-oriented roots, Nokia's Eseries took a pretty big hit to its credibility when it lost BlackBerry support with the release of the E66 and E71 last year -- support previous models had rocked out of the box. In a recent interview with Reuters, Tom Furlong, the company's head of messaging services (bet he gets a lot of texts) talked up its recent tie-ups with Microsoft and IBM for corporate email, saying the move precluded them from continuing support for BlackBerry as well -- though it's unclear if that's for contractual, political, or engineering manpower reasons. So the bad news is that BlackBerry support won't be coming from Espoo from here on out, but the great news is that RIM will apparently be picking up where Nokia left off. No timeline was given, but Furlong says its transatlantic buddy is "readying" support for S60, so who knows -- that sexy E71 might still be the ultimate mobile email machine after all.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

It looks like RIM's virtualization software is getting close to materializing for end users on Windows Mobile, a bold statement by the company that it's not the least bit afraid that extending the BlackBerry ecosystem to WinMo devices in a far more rich, attractive, and useful way than BlackBerry Connect ever could won't risk cannibalizing sales of its own devices. Shots of the so-called BlackBerry Application Suite running on a Fuze have shown up, looking darn near as polished as a native RIM handset -- except you won't find anything like this form factor from RIM, now will you? All told, that makes it a good option not just for folks that are stuck to Windows Mobile, but also to anyone looking for their nonexistent QWERTY slide BlackBerry. Unfortunately, there's no telling when this thing is going live, but hey, at least it isn't vaporware.

[Thanks, Mark D.]

As the new business-class torchbearers in Nokia's smartphone lineup, it only stands to reason that the new E66 and E71 would support BlackBerry connectivity out of the box. After all, the E61, E61i, E62, and E65 all did, thanks to RIM's BlackBerry Connect client and the sobering realization that just such a software package is the only way for some employees to get out of using a RIM device at their office. Alas, support for BlackBerry Connect has quietly been dropped from the gorgeous new devices -- and as much as we'd like to say otherwise, no amount of beauty is going to make up for being unable to grab the average user's corporate email. Users are upset, particularly those who upgraded from older models assuming that BBC support would be carried over, so RIM had better be cooking up an update if they want to avoid the grizzly scene that usually ensues when you fire up a bunch of people wearing formal business attire.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

In case there was any lingering doubt that AT&T would pick up the Kaiser as the successor to its 8525, this should put all those nasty thoughts to rest. Paul from MoDaCo has noticed that HTC's US site now rocks a guide to setting up BlackBerry Connect on the AT&T 8925 "Tilt," confirming several notable things: one, that AT&T is getting the device, two, that it's called the Tilt and its model number is 8925, and three, that it'll support BlackBerry Connect. Sadly, HTC's apparent misstep (or clever leak designed to get us all foaming at the mouth, depending on how you look at it) reveals nothing about a Tilt release date, but we've gotta think it's coming before too long now.

[Via MoDaCo]

It seems Samsung thinks that one slider ain't enough for T-Mobile USA's lineup. The aptly-named t429 (pictured left) will slot in just below the long-since-released t629, offering up a measly VGA cam and Bluetooth in a dark, reasonably attractive package with an expected launch date of August 20 (no @Home here, sorry). Boy Genius Report has the full details, plus a closer look at the flashy t729 -- a phone that curiously extends Samsung's licensing relationship with RIM for BlackBerry Connect and SureType -- with availability allegedly starting August 1. We'll wait for 3G, personally, but you gotta like Samsung's initiative here.

Oh, by the way, have you heard? Moto isn't the only one releasing push email for their QWERTY candybar handheld; Palm's announced BlackBerry Connect support for the Cingular Treo 650, albeit a bit (ok, a lot) late.. Seems kind of silly that it would be the case, but when it comes to push email support, the carriers have to get involved as well, so it's not just as simple as having an Exchange server and MSFP or BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Connect, you know? In other words, be thankful Palm's helping y'all out at all, we were kind of thinking after ALP and everything they'd just go scorched-earth on us and let the 650 die slowly.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It turns out the 8100 / Pearl won't be the only device with SureType dropping on T-Mobile in the next few weeks. Samsung's curious clamshell, the SGH-T719 with BlackBerry integration and that love-it-or-hate-it SureType keypad, is now listed as "Coming Soon" on T-Mob's site. The 1.3-megapixel cam is nothing to write home about, but it's got Bluetooth and support for quad-band GSM plus EDGE -- not a bad option for road warriors that are, for whatever reason, morally opposed to smartphones but still like their email fresh and fast.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Though it should hardly come as a shock to readers familiar with our Keepin' it real fake series, RIM might be surprised to find a bounty of BlackBerry-alikes as they enter the mainland Chinese market, undercutting a source of otherwise significant new revenue as millions of new folks discover the addictive devices for the first time. Though unlicensed knockoff manufacturers typically don't fly in the US or Western Europe, Reuters points out that it can cost as little as $125K to bring one online in China -- a compelling proposition in one of the world's hottest mobile markets. What's more, they're finding that some Chinese are buying BlackBerrys strictly for their, uh, sound quality and good looks (can ya believe it?) but are bypassing China Mobile's email hookup entirely, citing it as overpriced. Could the BlackBerry end up a boon for customers in the world's most populous country, yet a bust for RIM?

[Thanks, David]

With Palm's Treo 700p launch seemingly, just weeks away, the poor little Treo 650 must be feeling a bit worse for wear. Well, Uncle Walt still loves ya and rumor has it, Palm does too. In fact, if true, then Palm is planning a major firmware update which should arrive immediately after the Sprint 700p launch in order to keep the platform "competitive." The firmware, dubbed "lowtide," is said to include several new items, chiefly among them is the long promised BlackBerry Connect application for installation and configuration of BBConnect clients, built-in MobiTV support (for Cingular Treos, apparently), FAT32 supporting 4GB SD cards, and hold onto your hats kiddies, WiFi drivers for Palm's WiFi card... about 2 years too late. (Yeah, there are supposedly a bunch of minor changes, too.) Of course, we can't confirm if any of this is true, but we'll be giving our Treo 650 a big hug when those wolfish 700ps are released anyway... just in case.

The long wait is over for Palm enthusiasts, as the highly-anticipated but seemingly always out-of-reach BlackBerry Connect service is finally available for Treo 650 owners -- specifically, future 650 owners who are in one of the seven non-US markets covered by Singapore-based SingTel, the sole carrier offering the service at rollout. We first heard word of a BlackBerry service for Treos last October, and more recently saw the Connect service working "in the wild" at 3GSM, which takes all of that push email goodness and formats it into an interface familiar to Palm OS users. SingTel will be offering the 650 for a very reasonable $186 to customers who sign up for the $38/month BlackBerry Enterprise Solution Unlimited Local Data Usage Plan through May 12th.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, photo credit: Treonauts]

We got a chance to take a good, long look at Samsung's new T719, their SureType-equipped slim flipphone with BlackBerry connect. The 1.3 megapixel camera and slim design are all well and good, but the keyboard is obviously notable for a non-smartphone Samsung device. The BlackBerry integration was so seamless it was actually invisible (emails just showed up in the unified email / SMS / MMS messaging app); the rest of the interface was the usual Samsung UI we've come to know and tolerate like. The handset itself? It was surprisingly light, solid, and the keyboard was bright and tactile. Plus, how can we fault a phone that had "Engadget" in the dictionary (or at least was able to predictively guess our weirdo name)?