New York - Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone accounted for 19.2% of U.S. smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2008, down from 26.7% in the fourth quarter of last year, while rival Research in Motion's (NASD: RIMM) BlackBerry saw market share rise from 35.1% in the fourth quarter to 44.5% in the first, the Associated Press reported, citing a vendor survey conducted by market research firm IDC.

New York - In a likely bid to challenge Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (NASD: RIMM) is developing a touch-screen version of the device, expected to be released in the third quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported. The BlackBerry Thunder will be exclusive to Verizon and Vodafone, will and feature just four physical keys and no keyboard.

Barcelona - Melodeo, a provider of mobile music delivery technology, has announced a deal with Blackberry device maker Research in Motion that will let Blackberry users access their iTunes music libraries on the devices, Billboard reports. Melodeo's NuTsie service is expected to launch for Blackberry users sometime in the spring.

San Francisco - Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry mobile device, announced that it has launched an optimized application for use with the Facebook online social network. The application will automatically push Facebook messages, Wall posts or pokes to a user's BlackBerry, as well as allow users to post photos to Facebook. T-Mobile USA will be the first carrier to provide the new application, which will also be offered for download from Facebook.

New York - MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, announced on Tuesday that it is working with Research In Motion to allow BlackBerry smartphone users to have one-click access to MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball. Fans can now download an MLB.com icon to their BlackBerry smartphone, allowing immediate access to the MLB.com mobile website with a single click.