If you’ve just purchased your very first BlackBerry, you’re probably wondering what the best, most essential apps are. With thousands and thousands of apps in BlackBerry’s App World, having a list of the essentials just makes everything a little easier. Whether you’re looking for social networking apps, utility apps, or something in between, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of the 10 apps I use all the time and love.
It should be noted that some of these come preloaded on most BlackBerrys but depending on your carrier, you may not have it on your device. We’ve therefore included a bunch of apps that should be preloaded but may not be.
If you have a BlackBerry and you don’t have a FaceBook account, there’s no better time like the present! The official FaceBook app for BlackBerry was developed by Research in Motion. You can upload and tag photos, create new albums, write on walls, RSVP to events, send messages, change your profile photo, and a whole lot more with ease, right from the palm of your hand. You can even link your BlackBerry contacts to their FaceBook profile, allowing you to use their profile photo as their contact photo. It’s a super simple app, and best of all, it’s free.
Did you forget to check the weather this morning? No problem. When you’ve got a weather app on your smartphone, you can check the weather at any time. WeatherEye is a free app that’s always up to date with current local weather conditions, and can also give you an accurate 5-day forecast.
This is a good application to have just in case you happen to misplace your BlackBerry. When you download this app, you can use your Desktop computer to go to http:blackberry.com/protect, and from there, if you lose your phone, the app allows you to lock, locate using gps, or wipe your device from anywhere. Even if you’re not the type of person who loses things, it’s always good to have that extra peace of mind.
Poynt is an award winning app for a reason. It’s an event-planning, restaurant-finding-and-reviewing, gas-price-checking, location-finding super app that quite literally does it all. It’s like your own personal assistant that lives inside your BlackBerry. Poynt uses your device’s GPS to deliver information to you whenever you need it, where ever you are.
Imagine having a radio station that only played the type of music you wanted to hear. Now imagine being able to get hat for free on your BlackBerry so you can listen whenever or wherever you want. Sounds too good to be true, right? Welcome to current state of mobile music. All you have to do is enter one of your favourite songs into the app, and Pandora will compile a tracklist of just that type of music. Awesome, isn’t it?
You might have noticed lately on product packaging or on posters these funny looking square-shaped barcodes. Those are called QR codes, and they’re design specifically for mobile users. You scan them and they automatically direct you to a mobile website or something similar. (You’ll also notice that BlackBerry Messenger uses QR codes to add new contacts and share BBM Groups.) To use a QR scanner, all you have to do is point and shoot, as if you’re taking a photo with your BlackBerry.
vScreenshot is a screen capture app that lets you save screen shots on your BlackBerry. Did you just top the leaderboard on your favourite BlackBerry game? Did one of your friends just say something hilarious on BBM? Take a screenshot to save that moment forever.
The Unsubscribe.com app is an amazing app for anyone who is quick to sign up for services but doesn’t want all the follow-up emails. Unsubscribing from emails is as simple as 2 clicks (menu>unsubscribe). The app is completely free and considering how much time it saves you it’s definitely worth it.
The BlackBerry Maps app is decent but sometimes Google Maps will find an obscure address that BlackBerry Maps won’t. Also, there are some BlackBerrys out there that don’t come with BlackBerry Maps due to an agreement with the carrier. Make sure to download the free Google Maps app regardless so you always have options.
Dropbox is a cloud storage service and combined with your BlackBerry means you get access to your files anywhere you go. Whether those files are saved on your desktop or your mobile, you can access them anywhere. The free Dropbox app for BlackBerry will also mean you don’t have to upgrade your SDCard so it’s definitely worth a download.
Sync your files from your computers to your BlackBerry® with Dropbox. It’s a FREE app that connects all your computers and mobile devices together so you can access your files safely and securely anywhere you go.
And a bonus app exclusively for BlackBerry 7 devices:
Wikitude is an amazing app that is exclusive to BlackBerry 7 devices. It uses augmented reality to show you who’s tweeting around you, nearby venues, Wikipedia articles about things that are near and around you – all of this is shown to you just by holding your BlackBerry in front on you and using your camera to scan your surroundings. It’s kind of one of those things where you have to see it to believe it.
These are just a few apps that we enjoy using, but there are a ton of useful apps featured in BlackBerry App World. Let us know in the comments which apps you use all the time or can’t live without.
