Posted on March 19, 2010, at 4:45 PM .
Some big news this week included pictures of the BlackBerry Slider, some BIS 3.0 details as well as more pictures of the upcoming Pearl 9100. The Slider is shaping up to be an interesting form factor from RIM, but it could be a headache for developers. This means that the device will launch with limited software available, and I can only imagine how bare a Slider’s App World will look at launch. This is standard practice from RIM as it took developers a few months to catch up after the Storm launched.
BIS 3.0 was supposed to bring 2-way Gmail sync and now it’s not clear whether this is actually going to happen. We’ll have to wait until the service launches in North America, but it Gmail sync may not come until BIS 3.1.
Other than the above, we have a ton of posts regarding cool software you should check out. Some of my favorite apps including Visible Vote (I’m Canadian but I just like the concept), Opera Mini and LaterDude Pro, have all been updated this week. Also be sure to check out the “Other” section of this week’s roundup as we have some good editorial content you won’t find anywhere else.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerry Cool Roundup for the Week of March 15th’
Posted on March 19, 2010, at 3:56 PM .
Back in ’94, Bluetooth was invented and standardized to be a wireless cable replacement technology. After a long battle with adoption and interoperability, Bluetooth is now standard issue in most smartphones, road-ready laptops, and a slew of other devices that connect to them wirelessly. Originally created to replace RS-232 serial cable, Bluetooth is now built into all manners of electronics, over 10,000 product lines in total.
The mobile phone, automotive, computing, and consumer electronic industries have come together to make technology easier and better for everyone. When it was first being pitched, marketers spoke of dreams of the Personal Area Network or PAN. The promises of the PAN was more than a little science-fictiony, with fantasies of doors opening like Star Trek and house keys being obsolete.
The first Bluetooth-enabled phone launched a decade ago. RIM’s first Bluetooth-enabled device was the now-famous BlackBerry 7290, which curiously enough came in blue.
This is how the Personal Area Network is shaping up for BlackBerry users five years after RIM started supporting Bluetooth.
Continue reading ‘Five years of Bluetooth on BlackBerry: Current and Future Implementations’
Posted on March 19, 2010, at 3:24 PM .
This has been around for a few days now and I wanted to write a review of sorts on the service. The idea of being able to create BBM barcodes on your Facebook profile is a great idea. Facebook is the perfect portal to BlackBerry users who aren’t power users and familiar with all the features that BlackBerry has to offer. I have talked to friends over Facebook who have only discovered barcodes on their BlackBerry since I posted the BBM news to my wall. RIM aren’t the only people educating users through Facebook. SAM and MO BlackBerry, the avatars created by Rogers to educate their sales reps, use a variety of Facebook apps and posts to get the message out.
Even though it’s a great idea, the service still lacks in a few ways. The process to create a BBM barcode is very simple, all you have to do is follow the steps, input your pin, and the app will generate the barcode. Once the barcode is created, you can customize it and add it to your profile picture. The app will also create a box for your Facebook profile page, as well as a news feed post about the barcode. This is where the service starts to break down.
Continue reading ‘Review: Facebook Profile BlackBerry Messenger Barcodes’
Posted on March 19, 2010, at 1:05 PM .
The BlackBerry Pearl Stratus 9100 has shown itself on Tecnomovida and they’ve done an incredible job of taking nice, crisp images. It’s really refreshing to see such clean pictures of an unreleased BlackBerry. Other than the pics, we can see that the device is running OS 5.0.0.449 on platform version 6.2.0.6. What do you guys think, any Pearl users out there excited for the update?
Continue reading ‘More Pictures of the Upcoming BlackBerry Pearl Stratus 9100′
Posted on March 19, 2010, at 10:54 AM .
There are some mockups of what could be BlackBerry OS 6 circulating and while it’s not clear whether the images are just conceptual or they’re actually going to be implemented, it’s still interesting to see what RIM might be working on.
The mockups tell us surprisingly little about what to expect in OS 6, except for that if they’re real, we can expect RIM to move away from traditional icons and towards a more dynamic homescreen environment. Personally, I think this is a great idea and while some think the homescreen looks crowded, I wonder if this is intentional.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerry OS 6 Mockups and Speculation About Widgets’
Posted on March 19, 2010, at 10:31 AM .
PocketMac have released the latest version of their software for syncing your BlackBerry with Mac OS X. The latest release has some performance enhancements as well as some new sync features. This latest version also supports the newest BlackBerry OS 5 devices and support for MAC OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
With PocketMac, you can now sync with:
- Apple Address Book
- iCal
- Daylite
- Entourage 2008
- LotusNotes
- iTunes
- iPhoto
- Stickies
For more information, head over to their site. We’ll get a review on BlackBerryCool soon so you can see what to expect before spending $19.97. There is also a free trial.
