Remember a few weeks back when Pinstacker Ms. Brenda first interviewed a new BlackBerry owner?

Well as it turned out it only took a month to convert a non-BlackBerry user to a BlackBerry addict, or CrackBerry addict to some.

The new BlackBerry addict is looking forward to the upcoming BlackBerry 8800, as so many of us are.

The new user even ordered accessories for the BlackBerry. The list is clear proof of addict status. A car charger, a leather case, LCD screen cleaning kit and a travel charger.

Add to that downloading of themes, tunes, and wallpaper we can be sure there is a CrackBerry addict.

As if all that isn't enough, the new user ran the battery down low and was without a usb cable. Panic attack, like any good BlackBerry owner.

Welcome to the family.

The founder of Ascendo dropped me a note a while back asking if I'd be interested in checking out their DataVault product. I told him I would check it out.

"How much better can it actually be than the Password Keeper program that comes with the device?" I thought to myself.

It turns out that DataVault is quite a bit more convenient in a number of ways than Password Keeper. If you have complex passwords to keep track of (who doesn't nowadays), you owe it to yourself to at least see how DataVault works - you might be surprised how it can simplify your life.

Well 20 minutes ago it wasn't there.

But now it is:

White Pearl is up on T-Mobile.

You're looking at it up top.

That grab, doesn't give you a close up of the white Pearl page on Tmo's site.

But this will:

I just took this screen grab of the T-Mobile site's BlackBerry section.

Something's missing.

No white Pearl. Not yet.

Once again, we see a time gap between RIM and a carrier's joint announcement of a new handset, and its immediate availability- and its ability in the real world.

I suspect this will be fixed in a few days, if not a few hours.

But make with the click-y and I will show you the page at 11:10 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the official announcement crossed the wires:

Right after midnight ET this morning, RIM and T-Mobile formally announced the white BlackBerry Pearl. Low as $149.99 with rebates. That's $50 less than the "regular" Pearl.

Announcement is so new, not even linkable yet, so I will update with that as well as when official pictures become available later this a.m. Link below.

And I think you will like this pix.

It's now available at T-Mobile retail stores, authorized dealers, online (probably later today) at www.t-mobile.com, or by calling 1-800-T-MOBILE.

In addition to the "regular" Pearl features, there's a bunch of white accessoriesThe new white BlackBerry Pearl also comes with a complement of white accessories -- stereo headset, travel charger and USB cable -- that are included in the box.

This time it is New York City that will have parking help online, however in New York it is not coming from the city.

Instead of the city telling you what spots are open there is a database of parking garages and which streets are legal to park on during various times. If you know you need to be near a certain place at a certain time you can take a look to see which streets will be safe to park on and start there.

The website also recommends calling ahead to reserve a spot in a close by parking garage.

The service costs about $30 a year and there are about 100 people signed up at www.wheretoparkmanhattan.com. You can access the website from your PC or on you BlackBerry's browser.

What's the strangest way you've gotten use out of your BlackBerry device? Has it been a life saver in a pinch? ("It was so windy and some papers would have blown away - so I used my BlackBerry as a paper weight!" doesn't count!)

Here's mine:

One warm summer evening our family went to a neighbor's house for a pot luck dinner. There's a small, windy trail that connects our houses - lots of turns and roots to trip on. We stayed a little longer than planned and it was pitch black dark when we made the trek home. No moon to light our way, no street lights, no flash light. My kids were starting to worry - would we ever make it home???

My trusty BlackBerry 8700 to the rescue! The backlight on the device is amazingly bright! I took it out and let it puts out just enough light to make out the trail on the way home.

Disaster averted! And I was the family hero! (Well, the BlackBerry was!)

It wasn't until I got back and searched around that I discovered there's a neat program for the BlackBerry called MyFlashLight that displays a white screen for just this purpose.

Were you in a bind where your BlackBerry came through somehow in a pinch? We'd love to hear it!

As good as official without being official yet.

Not only that, but Boy Genius has posted some shots on his site.

The one up there in the upper right is the most straight-on to me.

But wait. Don't you want to see three others:

A BBHub reader writes that he has just downloaded Yahoo! Go For Mobile.

That after several readers reported last week that their download attempts resulted in notifications the beta was filled.

"I believe its out of the beta stage and no longer gives the 'testing is full' message," he writes. "Loaded great. Sharp icon but it runs slower than expected. Good features though. Still not sure if its a keeper."

Pinstacker N8DBB is reporting massive T-Mobile outages. He says the outages are due to the storm hitting the central US now.

Just for the record, I rarely have had problems with my T-Mobile service and I love them as a provider. Of course I am also located in Florida, so I am very far from the central US and never have to worry about winter storms.

Are you having data outages tonight on T-Mobile?

Do you have a Cingular BlackBerry and like to chat on Yahoo?

Pinstacker Stack Pro N8DBB recently complied a How To Guide for Cingular BlackBerrys to get Yahoo IM from other posts.

The problem is that Cingular does not have the service book required for Yahoo IM to work on your BlackBerry.

If you have an unlocked BlackBerry and a friend with another provider's SIM card you could always pop that into your BlackBerry and get the service books.

If not there are a few steps to follow. Basically you download a backup file to your PC, load it on your BlackBerry, register your BlackBerry to get the other service books you need. This should get the needed service book on the BlackBerry and you would be good to go.

Good luck!

Surfing the web this afternoon and I found the AskMen.com BlackBerry Etiquette. What do they have to say about the subject?

• Use an email filter to only get the emails you need to.
• Say no to a Bluetooth headset.
• Leave the BlackBerry behind, or hide it well when going out.
• Don't show it off.
• No texts during dinner or anytime you are out with others.
• Subtle ringers.

I think I have broken every single rule they have. I use my Bluetooth all the time, I hate getting the screen dirty by holding it up to my face. I am always showing off my BlackBerry, and sending texts any time I can.

What does BlackBerry etiquette say about using the BlackBerry in the bathroom?

I have spent several months convincing a friend at work that he needs to upgrade his very old phone that doesn't even have a web browser. He was tied to his old Cingular phone that could barely send and receive text messages.

I had been showing off my BlackBerry 8700 and he complained it was too big. I pointed him to the Pearl, as it is smaller. He wavered for sometime.

Finally he discovered the MyFaves plan with T-Mobile and took the plunge, ordering himself a brand new T-Mobile Pearl complete with the BlackBerry data add on package.

Hopefully he will have the phone in time for work this upcoming week and I will get to play with it. No one I know actually has the Pearl, so I am excited.

Just came across a post on Pinstack about Opera Mini changing their search engine on the opening page from Google to Yahoo.

Some people are not happy with the change and want to go back to Google searches.

On my BlackBerry I still have Google showing up. According to the Opera Mini blog new downloads will include the Yahoo Search. Existing users will see the switch made soon too. Click the Read link to see the posting.

Not sure that I have an opinion one way or another. But there are a lot of people on both sides on this one.

Feel free to let Opera know what you think by posting on their forum, here, if you are for Yahoo or for Google.

Ultimately the change has been made and from what I read if you don't see the Yahoo logo on your Opera Mini you soon will.