If you've had you eye on the Tour, we bet you didn't forget they were going on sale today -- but just in case you had, consider this your official reminder. Both carriers are now offering RIM's latest and greatest CDMA BlackBerry for $199.99 on contract, so you're probably not going to see a lot of defections between carriers this time around. Pardon us if we don't shed a tear for the lack of exclusivity on this one.

Read - Sprint
Read - Verizon

You haven't forgotten about that BlackBerry Storm 2, have you? The Boy Genius Report is claiming it's gotten device specs for RIM's touchscreen-centric maven, also reportedly called the 9550, and while not surprising (and not confirmed), according to his source the CDMA device will be sporting 802.11b/g (which we already sort of knew), a 3.2 megapixel camera, 360 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, and BlackBerry OS 5.0. If that's not enough, the site's also saying a GSM version of the original, with 3G in tow, does exist as the 9520 and is possibly on track for release soon on AT&T and Rogers. All nice fodder for dreams, but we're not getting our hopes up until something more official rears its SurePress-laden head.

Looks like RIM's getting serious about optical trackballs -- first the Curve 8520 ditched the spinner and now it looks like the Onyx has been upgraded as well. That's pretty much just as we've all expected ever since we first laid eyes on this 3G mashup of the Bold and Curve 8900, and we're pretty stoked about it, since we find optical trackballs to be pretty great. Of course, there's no word on a ship date, but we're hoping it'll be soon.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

By the time Sprint gets around to releasing the 9630 Tour with WiFi, due out sometime early next year, we think most everyone'll have moved on to any one of the numerous BlackBerry devices likely to hit in the interim. What's more important in this FierceWireless report is that Sprint's requiring WiFi "in all its major devices going forward" -- which should mean pretty much every smartphone that lands in its CDMA-loving mitts. Verizon Wireless, who along with Sprint is also launching the WLAN-less Tour this Sunday, said that the company's working with RIM to get WiFi into future BlackBerry, but didn't oblige us with any hopeful descriptors that'd help us understand just how strong of a push was being made. Frankly, smartphones without WiFi at this point is downright criminal, and with CDMA phones trailing behind their GSM counterparts in this category, kudos to Sprint for taking the initiative.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Investment firm Allen & Co's Sun Valley, Idaho media summit is a place for the world's wealthiest and most influential decision-makers to chill out, enjoy a couple double Macallans on the rocks, and talk shop. It might even be a rare opportunity to escape to the comfort of a competitor's product -- a guilty pleasure you wouldn't dream of indulging in more buttoned-up environments. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was caught snapping a candid shot from a BlackBerry (we're pretty sure it's a Curve 8900) at the event -- and yes, granted, Google makes apps for BlackBerrys, but when there's a phone that bears your company's own name, it feels just a little bit like cheating, doesn't it? We guess the big, ratty Google sticker adds back a sliver of street cred, but it's not like this thing's packing some furiously awesome camera that a Magic, Dream, or Hero doesn't. How's Gmail treatin' you there, Eric? You're using that, at least, right?

[Via CNN]

Yeah, we're sure there are only so many ways you can feature a bit of Brian Eno-produced stadium rock in space in support of your hip, relevant tech company, but we'd say RIM copped a bit much of Apple's style in its new U2 ad. Check out "BlackBerry loves U2" and its iTunes-touting Coldplay inspiration after the break for all the shimmering, uncanny similarities. Though, to be fair, Apple has done its own share of ad swipes in the past, so perhaps RIM was just looking to imitate the master?

It may have some 48,000 or so to go before it catches the runaway leader in app choice, but doubling up its catalog after launching just 3.5 months ago ain't nothing to scoff at. As RIM suffers through the traditional growing pains with its fledgling BlackBerry App World, it has managed to amass around 2,000 programs for users to love, hate or feel completely indifferent about. According to Jeff McDowell, vice president of global alliances, that number is apt to rise when it goes live in Italy, France, Germany and Spain this month. Also of note, Mr. McDowell declined to say just how many downloads had taken place, but he did note that RIM was "very happy" with the response. Unfortunately, we're not so certain that the company is eager to raise that 2,000 figure to something much higher, with ole Jeff spouting off that "[it doesn't matter] whether it's 40,000 or 2,000 [apps], you've still got a broad range of choice." We're willing to bet the public sees that a bit differently -- right, public?

[Via Electronista]

It's no secret that using Gmail on a BlackBerry is a painful experience -- since the built-in mail client has shamefully broken IMAP support, your only real choice is a variant of the same Java-based Gmail app that runs on ancient featurephones, and that rules out direct integration with either contacts or attachments. Yeah, it's sad, but hope is in the air, as RIM's apparently beta testing something called the "Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry," which promises to bring things up to speed. Features are said to include Conversation View, support for labels, stars, and archiving, and full mailbox search -- you know, Gmail. Of course, it would be even nicer if RIM would just sack up and bring proper IMAP support to the most famous messaging platform in the world, but we'll take what we can get.

[Via BerryReview]

It's your holiday weekend America -- how are you going to spend it? We'll tell you how: by listening to Engadget Podcast 153 over, and over, and over. What better way to utilize your extra day off and barbecue-packed good times than by putting Josh, Paul, and Nilay on repeat for you (and your friends') enjoyment? Check out the 'cast this week as the boys explore the ups and downs of the Olympus E-P1, Dell's MID plans, and field a handful of questions from our handsome, intelligent, and just basically awesome listeners. You won't be disappointed.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Virt - Katamari on the Rock

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00:02:10 - Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review
00:10:26 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market
00:14:22 - Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren't worth the fuss
00:24:45 - Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ
00:32:08 - Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development
00:38:10 - Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI
00:47:30 - Video: NVIDIA Tegra's GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash -- Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt
00:47:30 - Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing
00:50:17 - BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold
00:53:00 - RIM CEO: "SurePress is here to stay"
00:57:00 - 13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact
01:04:55 - iPhone 3GS review
01:07:15 - Palm Pre review

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So much for exclusivity, eh? Sprint is staying toe-to-toe with Verizon in the race to get the BlackBerry Tour to market, launching the consensus hottest RIM device to date on July 12 for $199.99 on contract after rebates. It's awfully refreshing to see an ominous statement like "later this summer" morph into "early summer" instead of slipping into the "dead of winter" as is all too often the case with hotly-anticipated phones, and we have a sneaking suspicion the Tour's gonna sell like a remastered Bonnie Tyler live album (that's a good thing, by the way). Who's in?

You might say that Verizon's brand new BlackBerry Tour 9630... ahem, took a "tour" through our offices this morning, gracing us with its QWERTY-having, global-roaming, 8830-killing presence. There's absolutely no question it's the best-looking CDMA BlackBerry to date and we also think you'll be able to stop Bold owners in their tracks as you flash this thing around town; we'd argue that the Curve 8900 is still a cuter handset when you take the company's lineup as a whole, but then again, the 8900 lacks 3G, and the Tour's keyboard might just be the best RIM's ever crafted for a phone. Bottom line, owners of any BlackBerry on Verizon or Sprint should be salivating at the sight of this thing -- and if they're not, honestly, they need their salivary glands checked. Stay tuned for our full review, but in the meantime, enjoy an unboxing and a few quick shots of the Tour taking its first breaths!

Whether or not it's coming to T-Mobile (spoiler: all signs point to yes), BlackBerry's Curve 8520 has now been ordained with FCC approval, clearing the hurdle for its sale stateside. Optical trackpad and EDGE connection your cup of tea? You know where to look, and for everyone else, there's always the Tour.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Not that we haven't heard a few miraculous gadgets-saving-lives stories before, but this one is in a league of its own. According to the always-embellishing Sun, one David Fitzherbert is thanking his smartphone after coming entirely too close to falling 700 feet to his death. As the story goes, he got wedged between a pair of rocks after losing control of his skis in the Matterhorn, and while we aren't quite sure why he chose RIM's BlackBerry over -- say, chap-stick, car keys, his wallet or a fattening breakfast -- he credited it with adding just enough width to his person to keep him wedged. Two hours after finding himself between a rock and a hard place, rescue crews arrived and flew him to a hospital where he used the "0.5-inch wide" phone to tell his wife that he had survived a nasty spill. We still say David owes a round of thanks to genetics, luck and Zeus, but hey, what do we know?

Looks like Verizon's got a winner here. That leaked promotional graphic was right on the money, as the carrier's just replaced its BlackBerry Tour teaser with a pre-order page and, lo and behold, it's indeed coming July 12th for a penny under $200. We're still waiting to see if Sprint's whispered July 20th date pans out, but regardless, if you want a Tour before anyone else, looks like VZW's the way to go.

[Thanks, Jeff]

Update: She's official. The press release says so.