Today, Seregon let us know that they’re announcing support for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and making a call for beta participants. The launch of the beta program gives developers a faster and easier alternative to building native enterprise applications for the highly anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook.
At CES 2011, QNX had a concept car with their embedded OS and support for the PlayBook, BlackBerry and iPhone. The PlayBook demonstration was dipped in weak sauce and really only showed climate controls and some basic media player functionality. Other than that, the demo showed some pretty basic support for short text-based messages and a cross-platform user interface which could be embedded in a variety of different car models.
If this sort of system is going to work, it’s going to have to have a lot in the way of voice controls. You can’t have drivers using a touchscreen while driving. Also, RIM is going to have to figure out how the PlayBook, BlackBerry and car are all going to communicate email, calendar and app information so that it’s of use to the driver.
ActiveTrak, the makers of GadgetTrak, has recently announced their latest product GadgetTrak Mobile Security 3. The software offers many of the same features that come with BlackBerry Protect, but it extends the service a little further, allowing you to protect your laptop as well. Other features of the software include:
GadgetTrak Mobile Security 3 is designed to leverage the native capabilities present on smartphones and media tablets to offer the best possible protection for the widest range of mobile devices
Remotely wipe personal data stored on your device such as photos, email, contacts and SMS messages
Encrypt photos and contacts using government grade encryption (AES 256) and back them up in a secure location
Locate your device using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi positioning and cell tower positioning, even if the device is indoors
Once activated, the software settings cannot be modified on the device and will even notify the device owner if the SIM card changes
The owner can remotely trigger the device to emit a loud siren that can be a theft deterrent or help find a missing phone, even if the phone is set to silent mode
We got a tip about a new book by Corey Sandler, a prolific writer of Dummies series books in the gadget space. His latest book is Brilliant BlackBerry Apps For Dummies, and it’s selling for $14.81 on Amazon. The book walks you through a list of apps from various categories and how to download and purchase them. Some of the apps highlighted include: Continue reading ‘New Book: Brilliant BlackBerry Apps For Dummies’
One of the apps we’re pretty excited about for the PlayBook is the Staks app by Thumb Arcade. We gave a quick preview of the app about a week ago and Nan got some video with the developer. The Staks app for the PlayBook takes control of your information – social, RSS, blogs, BBM and more and shrinks the feeds you want to monitor. From the feed, you can expand the ones you want to read or post to. The app looks like it’s going to be an incredible social tool once it’s launched. Stay tuned for pricing and more details.
