If this isn’t straightforward advertising, I don’t know what is.

The guys over at Crackberry.com are reporting that Canadian carrier, Rogers, has put an official stamp on its launch date for the impending Blackberry Bold: July 25. Woohoo!

Canadian crackberry addicts are probably dancing in the streets too, because the 9000-series handset has fast become the most anticipated Blackberry model launch ever. The mood is less than festive for American crackheads, however, because AT&T is staying mum on its proposed launch date for the Bold.

It was all but certain AT&T would get the Bold first, because of its often-exclusive deals with Research in Motion. But then rumors of a network delay and battery life issues pushed back AT&T’s launch date.

Research in Motion has stayed mum on any AT&T launch delays, as well. But you didn’t think RIM would actually chime in, did you? Tech analysts are sharks, after all.

Stay tuned — unless you live north of the border. I see a lot of Canadian Blackberry addicts visiting their nearest Rogers dealer on the 25th in order to personally grope the sexy, new Blackberry Bold.

After a weekend of sometimes maddening Blackberry service outtages due to carrier upgrades to BIS 2.5, most Blackberry subcribers were treated to absolutely nada today when it came to new features.

But if you somehow managed to smuggle OS 4.5 beta onto your Blackberry, then you’re probably doing kartwheels right now. Scottc over at TravelTechTalk certainly is.

The lucky Blackberry user said the BIS 2.5 upgrade allows his phone to properly receive and view HTML E-mails! He gives some simple instructions on how he pulled it off too.

But before you begin searching for OS 4.5 and try to follow his footsteps, be forewarned. You could possibly brick your phone if the installation goes awry. As for me, I think I can wait another month or two for the official release.

Crackberry.com is reporting that Blackberries will eventually begin shipping from the factory with a start up “Safe Mode” similar to PCs.

If true, it could be a lifesaver for Blackberry noobs who inadvertantly install a bad theme or OS upgrade that instantly nukes or bricks their handset. Cool!

What’s even cooler is that the report says the feature will start shipping on the rumored Blackberry Javelin as a part of OS 4.6.1!

The report goes on to say that OS 4.6 could also include a multi-player gaming platform called the Blackberry Gaming Service. The feature would allow you to send invites to your Blackberry pals to play games through your handset! Awesome!

The downside? You have to have the game loaded on to your handset, before you can accept the invitation to play. Boo!

The guys over at Berryreview.com noticed a BIG limitation of Blackberry’s much-anticipated HTML email functionality upgrade in the coming days: It won’t be able to generate HTML email, only read it!

That obviously means you won’t be able to send out those nicely formatted and graphically laden emails that you can from your laptop or desktop.

The limitation was documented in a knowledge base article on RIM’s site, so it must have some truth to it. Boo!

Still, it will be nice to have factory support for advanced HTML layouts directly from your Blackberry. Don’t you agree?

Here’s another reason to use Google Search on your Blackberry: better browser support.

That’s right. The 800-pound gorilla of Internet search engines today announced that it has beefed up its search support for Blackberry browsers.

In a nutshell, Blackberry users will see:

• More comprehensive search results from product searches, blog searches, news archives, and more
• Blended search results that can contain web, image, local and news results in combined listings, instead of separately
• Longer search results snippets, so you can scan for answers quicker
• Improved related search capability at the bottom of each results page.

Phew! Got all that?

If not, you can see a demonstration video here.

Forget what you knew about the rumored Blackberry KickStart fliphone. It won’t be a 9000-series phone afterall.

Instead, it will be designated the 8820, according to report by Blackberrynews.com. The simple but stylish flip phone was rumored to have receive a 9100 designation but plans have apparently changed.

The report also states that the mysterious “Seawolf” clamshell-phone will also get a lesser model designation: originally slated as the 9110, but now expected to arrive as the 8210.

If that doesn’t get you confused then nothing will. Long live the 8000-series!

Tired of typing on your Blackberry all the time? Try Vlingo.

The new app is generating enormous buzz in the Blackberry community for its voice-powered interface based on vlingo’s speech recognition technology. It’s also said to be a “learning” application, which performs better over time. How cool is that?

The app could provide to be just the ticket if your town or city requires a handsfree setup while driving. The downside is that there is a slight learning curve, but no worries. Pinstack.com has posted a pretty good tutorial on how to set up the free application on your Blackberry. You’ll be talking instead of typing in no time.

To download the app OTA, click here.

InfoSync.com is the latest site to test a pre-release version of the Blackberry Bold 9000, and the testers expectantly lavish praise on the new 3G handset.

They say its Research in Motion’s best effort to date and talks about the Bold’s dazzling LCD display, new UI, and enhanced applications over current-generation Blackberries. What wasn’t expected was how light they say the phone is, even with the battery installed. Cool!

They also talk about the Bold’s new keyboard, saying its stiff but easy to type on. I’ll reserve judgment until I can get my grubby little hands on one.

Boygeniusreport.com is reporting that the much ballyhooed Blackberry Bold 9000 will indeed be delayed until August, according to high-level RIM sources. Boo!

The report says battery overheating issues are to blame and that AT&T and RIM are scratching their collective heads over a fix. I guess you’ll have to watch teaser video of the new 3G smartphone to tide you over until it actually launches. Or you could try calling John Mayer and ask to borrow his.

Research in Motion has gotten into the teaser game, by unveiling this official video of the impending Blackberry Bold 9000.

Although relatively short, it gives a good glimpse in how polished the Bold’s UI will be. The video not only shows the new browser makeover, but also shows how brilliant the new LCD display is.

The most important feature of the new Bold, however, may be its HSDPA functionality. The 3G technology will allow users to talk and send documents via email at the same time. Technology rocks!