Rumor has it that the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is hitting TELUS October 21st and they’ll be phasing out the 9700. It’s hard to keep up with RIM in terms of device launches. Just when you hear that the 9700 will be getting BlackBerry 6, the leaks start to come out about an slight incremental improvement to the product line. The Bold 9780 will likely feature:
512MB RAM
5MP camera with LED flash
2.4-inch display (resolution of 480×360)
WiFi and GPS
624 MHz processor
BlackBerry 6 with the WebKit browser
Expect a review as soon as this device has launched.
The artist Riz made a video called “PING!!! Me Baby” using just a BBM screen and the song, whether you like it or not, is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Along with the video release is a contest that Riz is hosting on his site where you can win a BlackBerry Bold. In order to get your free MP3 download of the song and chance to win the Bold, watch the new video for “PING!!! Me Baby” and answer three questions correctly. All the answers will be found in the video itself.
Slacker was at Pepcom 2010 demonstrating an upcoming update to the app/platform that is rolling out in October. The newest features to the app include On-Demand service, deeper search for artists, albums and genres, better integration with the Torch and BlackBerry 6 and more options for building and managing your stations/playlists.
Slacker has grown to a behemoth database of music that caters to a wide range of tastes. I like to test the app with obscure bands and remixes and as time progresses the database gets easier to search. For example, you used to not be able to find Chromeo remixes in Slacker, but now there’s a DJ whose job it is to hunt down these tracks and put them up. One such guy on the Slacker team is @partyben. Check him out in the Slacker forums. If you don’t like his stuff, you can always browse the forums, find admins who share similar music tastes, and maybe they’re on Twitter sharing their updates.
If RIM bought Viigo for its RSS and feed aggregation, what about RIM buying Slacker to compete in the music space? They are after all on a buying streak. More screenshots after the break.
We’ll have a deeper look at these features with a walkthrough coming soon.
GesturePad is a really cool app that lest you define custom gestures and assign them to tasks such as composing an email or SMS, calling a number, showing all of a person’s contact options, opening a website or launching an application. The gestures only work when you have the app launched, so it’s worth setting this app to a convenience key.
Other features of this app include:
Unlimited number of custom gestures can be added
Option to have a confirmation prompt after gesture
Option to have the application close once the gesture is recognized and the action is performed
Ability to modify or delete gestures after you have created them
Sprint has announced that they will be carrying the BlackBerry Curve 3G and will be making it available through direct channels on September 26th and elsewhere on October 10th. The Curve 3G is the same as the 85XX series style and form factor wise, but it’s BlackBerry 6 upgradeable. Generally, this phone will run you about $50 more than its predecessors, which many will find worth it considering the upgrade. The Curve 3G will be available in Graphite Gray or Royal Purple.
Zeebu has launched the first ever coloring book app for BlackBerry – ArtGO! Coloring Lite. The app lets your little guy color just like a regular coloring book, but since it’s an app you can save it as your wallpaper, or email it to a friend or relative. You can also share the drawing on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Other features include:
Automatically keeps your coloring inside the lines (this feature can be turned on or off)
Save your art to work on later
Zeebu’s locking mechanism can be enabled to keep little ones from getting out of the app
