BlackBerry Cool

RepliGo Reader 2.0 Displays PDF Files on Your BlackBerry

2010-02-09T17:54:14Z

RepliGo Reader 2.0 is an app that displays PDF files on your BlackBerry. You can open PDF email attachments as well as PDF files that reside on the device/SD Card.

Features include:

Native PDF viewing.
Email attachment support.
Continuous page viewing.
Text search.
Select text to clipboard.
Send via email.
Supports RC4 and AES encryption.
Supports password-protected PDF files.

Download a free 10-day trial of RepliGo Reader by visiting m.cerience.com/reader from your device.

Free BlackBerry Tetris Game Alternative BlockBerry

2010-02-09T17:22:23Z

A while back we told you about a free Tetris game for BlackBerry called BBTetris. The game is a decent free alterternative to the Tetris that I believe EA has the rights to distribute for BlackBerry. The free version is now called BlockBerry, and is on version 5.78. The latest version saves your sound settings and improves the Storm experience.

Here are the OTA links for the game:

95xx Storm Version (Start the game in portrait mode. It won’t display correct if you launch it in Landscape)
9000 Bold Version
97xx(Bold2) / 96xx(Tour) / 89xx(Curve) Version
83xx(Curve) / 85xx / 88xx Version
82xx Pearl Flip Version
81xx Pearl Version

Enjoy!

Official BlackBerry Bold 9000 OS 5.0.0.464 From Zain Kuwait

2010-02-09T17:02:09Z

Pic of my Bold after buying some OEM parts for it.

I’m a Bold 9000 user and the last time I saw an official release was in early January when OS 5.0.0.411 came courtesy of Bell Mobility. Zain Kuwait has officially launched OS 5.0.0.464, and I’m looking forward to seeing some performance improvements. On that note, has anyone noticed any serious battery drainage with .411?

Download OS 5.0.0.464 from Zain Kuwait.

BlackBerry Dominates Top 10 Smartphones But Growth Rate Looms

2010-02-09T16:01:23Z

IDC have announced the top selling smartphones in America and BlackBerry accounted for 5 of the top 10. While this is pretty significant, I’m sure RIM isn’t too happy about growth rates. RIM was significantly stronger than its competitors in terms of pure sales, but Apple’s growth far outpaced all others, with a unit sales increase of 97.7% in Q4 of 2009. Overall in 2009, Apple still dominates in terms of growth by 81.9% compared to RIM’s 46.2%.

IDC Top 10 for Q4 2009:

1. RIM – BlackBerry Curve
2. Apple – iPhone 3G S
3. Motorola – DROID
4. Apple – iPhone 3G
5. RIM – BlackBerry Pearl
6. RIM – BlackBerry Bold
7. RIM – BlackBerry Storm
8. Palm – Pre
9. RIM – BlackBerry Tour
10. T-Mobile – myTouch 3G

Considering there is only a difference of about 10 million smartphones sold over the course of 2009, the growth rate is becoming ever more important. Could it be that RIM’s strategy of flooding the market with incremental upgrades isn’t working as well as they hoped?

Mplayit Release Data About Top Smartphone Games

2010-02-09T15:42:14Z

Mplayit are a smartphone app vendor that is based on social networks. The company have a big Facebook presence and have been collecting some interesting data about smartphone purchasing habits.

The latest data to come out of Mplayit is about smartphone gaming trends. I’ll stick to the data about BlackBerry, but it’s also interesting to see how other smartphones are making out. Obviously iPhone is dominating the mobile gaming space, as the most popular apps for iPhone are almost 100% games.

Mplayit’s findings, drawn from live data collected from over 50,000 users of its Facebook app store over a two week period ending January 29, highlights the kinds of games that were popular for each of the three major smartphone audiences. The most active game categories on all three platforms were largely identical: Arcade, Casual, Card/Casino, and Puzzle. However, there were some significant differences in taste across platforms.

Music games were particularly popular on the iPhone, befitting its media-centric iPod heritage. Android users showed a predilection toward ‘geeky’ games making innovative use of things like the GPS, camera, and augmented reality. And the BlackBerry audience gravitated toward television and movie tie-ins.

There were also some significant commercial differences. BlackBerry users stuck with major franchises and larger publishers, reflecting perhaps the carrier-centric history of the device. Indie developers hold their own against the big games publishers on the iPhone, and continue to dominate the Android’s relatively immature market.

Most Popular BlackBerry Games at Mplayit

Arcade

1. Bubble Town
2. Ms PAC-MAN by Namco
3. Super Street Fighter II

Casual

1. The Sims 3
2. Yahtzee Adventures
3. Super Mah Jong Quest

Card/Casino

1. GT Blackjack
2. Aces Solitaire Pack
3. Girls Night Out Solitaire

Puzzle

1. PileUp! Candymania
2. Shake And Spell Free
3. Zodiac

Movie/TV

1. Deal or No Deal New
2. Spider-Man Toxic City
3. CSI Miami

What are your favorite games for BlackBerry?

Tips and Help with BlackBerry Voice Commands

2010-02-09T15:11:29Z

Voice Command can be a really annoying feature when it gets activated accidentally, but it’s also very helpful whenever you need some hands-free dialing. Voice dialing isn’t the only thing you can do with it though. Other commands include:

“Call Extension” will call a specific extension.
“Call [Contact Name] Home” will call the contact at their home number.
“Check Battery” will check the battery status.
“Check Signal” will let you know the strength of your wireless signal and whether or not you have “No Signal”, “Low Signal”, “High Signal” or “Very High Signal”.
“Turn Off Voice Prompts” will turn off the “Say a command” voice and replace it with a simple beep.
“Turn On Voice Prompts” turns the friendly voice back on.

Changing Your Voice Dialing Options

You can control various features of Voice Dialing by going into your Options and selecting “Voice Dialing”.

Change the “Choice Lists” – if you do not want to be confronted with lots of choices after you say a command. Your options here are “Automatic” (default), “Always On” or “Always Off”.

”Sensitivity” – you can adjust the acceptance/rejection ratio of voice commands by adjusting the field that initially reads “Normal.” You can go up to “3 (Reject More)” or down to “-3 (Reject Less)”.

“Audio Prompts” – can be enabled or disabled from this screen or by saying “Turn Prompts On/Off.”

“Digit playback” which repeats the numbers you say and “Name playback” which repeats the name you say, can also be enabled or disabled.

Finally, you can adjust the “Playback Speed” and “Playback Volume” of the Voice Dialing app.

Voice Dialing/Voice Command Tips and Tricks

There are a few ways to speed up the voice command process. You can also customize the way that Voice Dialing works on the BlackBerry.

To make Voice Dialing calls quicker

When using Voice Command, give more information when you place the call. For example, if you say “Call [Contact Name], Home,” the Voice Dialing program will only ask you to confirm that you are calling him at home. The call will then be placed.

Give your Contacts Nick Names

Make a “Short Cut” entry for a contact – especially one with a long name. In addition to my “Matt Cameron” contact, I might also make a contact with the same information, but put “MC” as the name. I would then simply say: “Call MC”.

Got any more tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments. If you’re looking for more tips and tricks for your newly purchased BlackBerry, check out the Made Simple Learning guides.

Help Improve Your Community With SeeClickFix for BlackBerry

2010-02-08T20:14:37Z

SeeClickFix is an interesting concept that helps individuals improve their communities and report emergencies. The site and BlackBerry app, allow users to take a picture of a problem (pothole, unsafe building, potential accident), leave details, and upload the problem to a community board where it hopefully gets dealt with.

The SeeClickFix service brings a measure of transparency and accessibility to the service request process. Reporting an issue takes only a few seconds, and the ability to view, comment on, or express support for issues raised by others makes it much easier to stay in touch with what’s going on in the community.

To download the SeeClickFix app for BlackBerry, visit m.seeclickfix.com/ from your device.

Sidebar Delivers Recommended Content to Your BlackBerry

2010-02-08T18:31:51Z

Sidebar is an interesting app that pushes recommended content to your BlackBerry as well as it has some content-related features. The app reminds me of Genius or Pandora, in that it is supposed to learn about what you enjoy reading, and push more of that content for you to read. According to the Sidebar team, “the more you use Sidebar, the better we get at picking stuff you like.” Content comes in the form of applications, music downloads, podcasts, RSS feeds, video, wallpaper, ringtones and more. Sidebar also includes a QR code scanner, which can be used to compare prices for goods, just like with Edocrab.

This application is going to have to strike a good balance between sponsored content and content the user will actually want. I can see the monetization of this app killing the user experience, if a large percentage of the content is an ad for ringtones or Amazon products. Nonetheless, I’ll give it a shot.

Sidebar is available for the Storm, Storm 2, Tour, Curve 8900 and Bold 9700, with other devices soon to follow.

Download Sidebar for your Desktop.

Download Sidebar for your BlackBerry OTA or head over to their site for other download methods.

BerryBlab Optimizes vBulletin Forums for BlackBerry

2010-02-08T16:58:34Z

Generation Media Group have launched a cool app for browsing vBulletin forums called BerryBlab. The app is really great at delivering a mobile version of a vBulletin forum, but there are some catches. First, the forum obviously has to be powered by vBulletin, and second, the forum owner must install a plugin.

The app is available as a freemium service, with the free version allowing you to add multiple forums, view threads, as well as read private messages. The premium version ($2.99) allows you to reply to threads, subscribe and unsubscribe to threads, view images, as well as reply to private messages

More information available on from the BerryBlab site.

CIA World Factbook Updated to Version 2.0 With SD Card Caching

2010-02-08T15:00:38Z

S4BB let us know that their CIA World Factbook app has been updated to version 2.0. The app comes with the most recent data of more than 270 countries and regions and a new caching mechanism lets you store data on the SD card for easy access when no network coverage is available.

S4BB have also put the app on sale for $9.99 (down from $29.99).

Gym Technik’s NextGen App Now OS 5 Compatible

2010-02-08T14:33:50Z

Gym Technik let us know that their fitness app for BlackBerry, NextGen, has been updated. The app is now compatible with OS 5 devices including the Storm2. Gym Technik’s NetGen app helps you track your workout routines and optimize them. The app breaks down your workouts with graphs and analytics and gives you a better picture of what you’re doing.

Check out the NextGen app which is now OS 5 compatible.

Verizon BlackBerry Tour2 Visual Voicemail Jad Found Online

2010-02-08T14:25:19Z

The Tour 2 9650 is coming soon and the Visual Voicemail file has been found online. There isn’t much to say about it other than we know it’s coming to Verizon. Anyone looking forward to picking it up?

Craigslist BlackBerry App Now Available in App World

2010-02-08T14:05:27Z

We’ve known the Craigslist app was coming for some time and they have recently launched on App World. At $4.99, I think the application is a little too expensive considering their site is already monetized. At this price, if I needed to use Craigslist, I wouldn’t do it from the application, I would just use the desktop version.

If the Craigslist app is a must-have for you, it comes with the ability to search postings, bookmark and reply to posts, save searches and more. What do you think, does this sound like it’s worth the price?

SmrtGuard Now Available for Free as SmrtGuard-Free

2010-02-05T22:06:49Z

SmrtGuard have rolled out a free version of their awesome BlackBerry protection tool called SmrtGuard-Free. The app lets you find your BlackBerry with GPS, remotely wipe data, remotely listen (forward your BlackBerry number in case it was left at home), track loved-ones, protect your SIM card and more. You also get secure data backup and migration features free for 30 days.

Check out SmrtGuard-Free today.

BlackBerry Cool Roundup for the Week of February 1st

2010-02-08T13:39:06Z

This week we got more details about the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 9100 which should be hitting carriers soon. We also have a ton of app news and some good editorial content. I think next week we’ll see more about the Pearl 9100 and the Tour2 9650 as we get closer to these devices launching.

Apps

Free Automatic, Wireless Backup for BlackBerry with Aurkon
Calx Kreep BlackBerry Theme Based on Playstation Game Wipeout
Loopt Updated with Tips Feature and Performance Enhancements
Bravo and foursquare Team Up for Interactive Reality TV
VZ Navigator Updated to Version 5.0
Opera Mini Launching in App World this Quarter
Didiom Pro Streams Audio from your PC to BlackBerry
BlackBerry App for the Visually Impaired Comes with $449 Price Tag
Driving Expense Tracking for Enterprise with uDrove
Create Dial, Mail and Web Link Icons on Your Homescreen with Iconify
Fun Little Movies App for BlackBerry Plays Comedy Shorts
Free Android-Style Unlock App for the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2
Gowalla LBS App Coming to BlackBerry “Very Soon”
SIRIUS/XM BlackBerry App Officially Released
WordPress for BlackBerry Now Available Free in App World
File Sharing and Syncing with Dropbox Coming to BlackBerry
Windows-Style Explorer 2.0 BlackBerry Theme from Bplay
Aquarium BlackBerry Screensaver by MMMOOO
Pageonce Release Personal Assistant 2.5 with Push Alerts
Super Bowl XLIV “Go Saints!” and “Go Colts!” BlackBerry Apps
mCaller Automatic Business Logging Application Updated

News

Virgin Mobile Canada Launch HSPA+ Network
More Pics and Details of the BlackBerry Pearl Stratus 9100 Emerge
Rick Segal Co-Founder of Fixmo Talks BlackBerry Startups
Official OS 5.0.0.419 for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
RIM Announce BlackBerry Developer Groups Program
Adobe “On the Verge” of Delivering Flash for BlackBerry
More Details About the Pearl 9100, Tour2, WebKit Browser and Dakota
T-Mobile BlackBerry Storm2 Launches This Month
T-Mobile Discontinues the BlackBerry Curve 8900

Other

GSM Data Comparison: EDGE vs 3G vs WiFi
Hot Celebs and Their BlackBerrys: Whitney Port, Beyonce, Katie Pratt etc.
What To Expect from BlackBerry OS 6 – WebOS and Java Hybrid?
Interviews with Wireless Industry Players by Rove CEO at Untether.TV
Nokia 5700 Running BlackBerry OS 4.6.0.305
Miranda Kerr is My Vote for the Face of BlackBerry

Miranda Kerr is My Vote for the Face of BlackBerry

2010-02-05T20:29:21Z

RIM need a face for the BlackBerry brand and my vote is for Miranda Kerr. It’s Friday so anything goes when it comes to posts. Enjoy!

mCaller Automatic Business Logging Application Updated

2010-02-05T20:06:23Z

mCaller have released the latest version of their call and business activity logging application with some new features and an improved UI. mCaller provides automatic time capture for business interactions, allowing for faster and easier reporting.

New features added to the application include:

Dynamic ‘To Do Today’ screen with integration into the native calendar and task list (daily planning and prioritizing).
The ability to create and manage business reference points (projects, matters, cases, engagements etc) and map activities (phone calls, meetings, notes) against them.
An excluded contacts list (keep personal activities private).
A fast look up reference of activities and calls that have been made in the last 60 days (a call log history that includes notes and project references).
Two new report types that retrieve specific account information by reference ID (projects or matters).

If you would like to give this app a try, they offer a free 30 day trial.

Super Bowl XLIV “Go Saints!” and “Go Colts!” BlackBerry Apps

2010-02-05T19:27:43Z

Twinkler Software have released a couple BlackBerry apps to help you promote your favorite team. Once you launch the app for your team, you get your team’s logo displayed and their fight song plays. Hold up your BlackBerry and let everyone know who you support.

Download the Go Saints! app.

Download the Go Colts! app.

Pageonce Release Personal Assistant 2.5 with Push Alerts

2010-02-05T18:47:54Z

Pageonce have just released version 2.5 of Personal Assistant for BlackBerry. The app now uses push notifications so users can receive alerts about their accounts without having to have it run in the background. This is particularly important for alerts such as low credit limit, suspicious credit card transactions and upcoming bills.

Check out their free version and see what you think.

Nokia 5700 Running BlackBerry OS 4.6.0.305

2010-02-05T22:26:39Z

It would be pretty funny if Nokia decided to drop their proprietary OS entirely and take that of BlackBerry. This video is obviously some crazy hack or entirely fake, but it’s still a fun idea. Personally, I’d like to see more BlackBerrys running different operating systems. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a Bold 9000 running Android?

Aquarium BlackBerry Screensaver by MMMOOO

2010-02-04T21:56:25Z

MMMOOO have launched a screensaver app called Aquarium that emulates the version you get with a Nokia device. The Aquarium screensaver supports OS 4.5 and higher and costs $2.99.

Check out the Aquarium screensaver in the BlackBerry Cool store.

Windows-Style Explorer 2.0 BlackBerry Theme from Bplay

2010-02-04T21:06:48Z

Bplay have launched a new theme that emulates the Windows desktop called Explorer 2.0. The theme looks really nice and I like the way they use a semi-BlackBerry logo for the Start menu. This theme features a fully redesigned icon set, bottom toolbar and pop-up menus.

Check out the Explorer 2.0 theme from Bplay.

To use the integrated weather feature, download the free WeatherEye app.

T-Mobile Discontinues the BlackBerry Curve 8900

2010-02-04T19:01:47Z

T-Mobile have discontinued the BlackBerry Curve 8900. According to the carrier, the device has “reached the end of its life-cycle.” With pics of the 8910 surfacing, we could see this device head for T-Mobile and replace the 8900. Personally, I really like the 8900 and if it were up to me, I’d keep the device around and offer it for free.

T-Mobile BlackBerry Storm2 Launches This Month

2010-02-04T21:02:16Z

T-Mobile have announced the Storm2 will be available in February, with no specific date mentioned. Embedded in the announcement is also Phil Lander, T-Mobile account director at RIM, confirming that RIM will launch their official Twitter client shortly (maybe this month).

[Hat tip @simonsage]

File Sharing and Syncing with Dropbox Coming to BlackBerry

2010-02-04T16:42:50Z

Dropbox is a simple file sharing and syncing service that comes with a mobile website and soon to be BlackBerry app. According to an email that was sent out to its 4 million users, the BlackBerry app is said to be “coming soon.”

The Dropbox service is really helpful for storing media files that can be accessible from anywhere. Users get 2GB worth of free space, with add-on plans offering more store and functionality for a fee.

More Details About the Pearl 9100, Tour2, WebKit Browser and Dakota

2010-02-04T16:27:59Z

Yesterday, Technology Analyst at TD Securities Chris Umiastowski, confirmed RIM’s 3G Pearl 9100, Tour2, WebKit browser and a hybrid keyboard-touch screen device. He also hints that the May quarter will be significant, stating “there could be upside to our numbers for the May quarter.”

Chris also goes on to say the doesn’t expect the Pearl 9100 to be released until April and thinks it will be “a big success, just like the last Pearl.”

The same article goes on to say that the QWERTY, touchscreen hybrid may have an optical navigation pad and will be launched in the 3rd quarter. He also says the Tour2 is now in production and soon to be released to the market. Verizon is the key customer for this device, which will include WiFi and an optical trackpad.

I personally can’t wait until the “Dakota” launches. Hybrid devices are the best of both worlds. The big question I’m still looking to get answered, is whether RIM will drop SurePress.

WordPress for BlackBerry Now Available Free in App World

2010-02-04T15:17:53Z

The WordPress app for BlackBerry is at version 1.0 and is now available for download in App World. This app was in public beta for some time, and is now available free in App World.

Features include:

Reworked UI layout for the main view, blog view, and media view.
Ability to upload videos from your media library.
New option to set media file properties (filename, caption, title, and position).
Created a new file browser that resembles the native BlackBerry file browser.
Big improvements in the speed at which you can view and manage comments.
Lots of optimizations for uploading photos and videos using base64 encoding.
Indonesian language support.
Improved French language support.

Considering the Wicked WordPress app by Screaming Toaster is $10 per year, it would be great if this free version ends up packing as many features.

Download WordPress for BlackBerry in App World.

SIRIUS/XM BlackBerry App Officially Released

2010-02-04T15:07:11Z

When we wrote about the SIRIUS/XM app for BlackBerry early last month, the rumor said it was due to launch this month. True to their unofficial word the app has launched. From the details listed last month, we know the app is a mobile extension of the subscriber’s paid Premium Online Service. The app also gives you 120 channels, the same number currently available on the iPhone app.

Any premium SIRIUS users out there? What do you think of the app?

Download the SIRIUS/XM Radio BlackBerry app.

Interviews with Wireless Industry Players by Rove CEO at Untether.TV

2010-02-03T23:03:47Z

Introduction by Rob Woodbridge

Rob Woodbridge, President & CEO of Rove, has been interviewing wireless industry players for Untether.TV, a site that aims to bring to light the great successes, failures and lessons in order to help move the innovation needle forward in mobility/wireless. It’s always interesting to see entrepreneurs talk to other entrepreneurs, and I think there is a lot of value here, especially for anyone currently working on a startup.

Nicholas Reichenbach – EVP Publishing for Magmic Games

Nick Quain – President, CEO and co-founder of CellWand Communications

Jason Flick – Co-founder and President of YOUiLabs and Flick Software

Will Hickie – Founder and CEO of WICKSoft Corporation

Anthony Rizk – CTO and Co-Founder of Zeebu Mobile

Romy Randev – EventKaddy Co-Founder

Adobe “On the Verge” of Delivering Flash for BlackBerry

2010-02-03T17:55:19Z

The CTO of Adobe, Kevin Lynch, said that they are “on the verge of delivering Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones with all but one of the top manufacturers. This includes Google’s Android, RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia, Palm Pre and many others across form factors including not only smartphones but also tablets, netbooks, and internet-connected TVs.” The missing manufacturer is of course Apple.

There has been a lot of bickering between Apple and Adobe, culminating in Steve Jobs saying that Adobe was lazy and claimed Apple didn’t support Flash because it was too buggy.

In November of 2008, Adobe came out saying that the issue with Flash on BlackBerry was that they were not able to get Flash running under Java, and that the multiple layers of code interpretation impose a performance burden. Well it seems Flash Player 10.1 has overcome these hurdles and we can expect Flash for BlackBerry soon enough.

It’s also worth noting that this information was sort of announced back at Dev Con, when we heard “RIM and Adobe will be collaborating to enable other key components of the Flash Platform, including optimizing Adobe AIR for BlackBerry smartphone use cases.”