Previously available only on the mobile Web, buzzd delivers editorially driven event and venue information, along with up-to-the-minute reviews and ratings from other members of the buzzd community. With money from the BlackBerry Partner Fund, buzzd has created a BlackBerry app for their services.
Users can browse and search continuously updated event feeds, which include pricing, location, and event details as well as the firsthand ratings and reviews posted from the event by other members in real-time. Event and venue information is courtesy of Citysearch, Flavorpill, Time Out, MyOpenBar, last.fm, Clubvibes, Upcoming.org and many other local content providers. User-generated feedback for “real-time” activity about venues and events is also layered at the top of event listings throughout the platform.
New Features in the buzzd Application for BlackBerry Smartphones:
• Live Search which helps users find anything from an “Open Bar” to “Chinese Food”
• Compatible with BlackBerry® OS 4.2 and higher (including the BlackBerry® Pearl™ and BlackBerry® Curve™ series, as well as the BlackBerry® Storm™ and BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphones)
• Autodetection of location and proximity-based event recommendations
• Map integration
• Click-to-call venues
• Send events and listings to friends in your address book
• Add events to BlackBerry® Calendar
• Add venues to BlackBerry® Contacts
• Buzz updates also broadcast to Twitter
• Photobuzzing (tagging a photo from the camera to venue/event)
• 1.5 million venues available and over 50,000 events/month across US, UK, Canada
Netbooks are getting a great deal of attention in the tech industry because they’re seen as the stepping stone from laptop to mobile. RIM does not see the netbook as competition and will continue to make powerful smartphones that will ultimately make the netbook obsolete.
“Form factor is a personal preference but it’s got to be something that lasts the better part of the day and you can hold up to your ear and clip onto your belt,” he said in response to our question about his vision for future products. “Those are a very tight systems constraints for a netbook.”
In response to the netbook offering a keyboard and screen experience not available for mobile, Jim says:
“If you want richer keyboards and richer displays you can just use perphiperals and bluetooth.”
Bob Stutz an executive from business software supplier SAP, which delivers business applications to BlackBerry devices, went on to completely dismiss the netbook.
“We’ve been down this route with these kinds of devices,” he said, “Why we are doing this with RIM today is because these (other) devices don’t work,” he said, noting that consumers want sturdy, inexpensive and well connected devices.
“Customers really have been down the gamut … They’ve been down this path. At the end of the day what we’ve really found is that if they can do it on a BlackBerry that’s what they’ll want.”
With the launch of App Word and existing carrier sales portals, one would tend to think subscribers aren’t in need of another content distribution method for BlackBerry. Qualcomm would disagree and they’re launching an expansion of their Plaza suite of solutions to include Plaza Retail.
Plaza Retail consists of three elements:
* Management Center – A content merchandizing system that will support Java, BREW, Flash and BlackBerry with planned support for Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian and LiMo. Management Center allows for managing pricing, licensing, packaging, promotions, placement, segmentation, personalization, delivery and analytics in a unified manner across multiple platforms.
* Storefront – A multi-platform client, Web, or mobile Web (WAP) storefront built on Web standards and a storefront management portal that enables retailers to easily update their store layout, promotions and micro-stores, thereby enhancing merchandising effectiveness and driving a common branding and user experience across their entire device lineup.
It’s very difficult to find a good Twitter account in the BlackBerry industry because Twitter is fundamentally a promotional tool. Being a promotional tool, Tweets can be incredibly mundane considering many companies see Twitter as a means of telling their customers “an update is available.”
Personally, I keep my Kyle McInnes Twitter account separate from the BlackBerry Cool Twitter account. The reason being, is that I see BlackBerry Cool as a community and my personal Twitter account is for my personal life.
Our Twitter account is not just a link sharing account. We have a whole community of Twitterers who discuss everything surrounding the BlackBerry space.
It is recommended that you change your BlackBerry battery every 18 months to ensure optimum performance. If you’re a US Cellular customer, that isn’t a problem because they’ve announced that they’re offering a new battery swap plan for US Cellular subscribers. The plans allows you to swap a dead battery for a fresh one, if you’ve purchased your device in the last 18 months and you’re experiencing a short battery lifespan.
Today is May 19th and the BlackBerry community is still eagerly awaiting their Skype applicaiton. The lite version of the Skype client will be available as a free Beta download for the Bold and Curve models.
The lite version of Skype delivers core Skype capabilities to BlackBerry, including:
* Make Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world
* Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups
* Make Skype calls at low rates to people on landline or mobile phones
* Receive calls to your online number on Skype
* See when your Skype contacts are online/available to chat
Anyone else wondering when it will actually appear?
