Pocket BLU have released a BlackBerry app that lets your BlackBerry communicate directly with your Blu-ray player. The app has some decent features and it seems like it can replace your Blu-ray remote, which is great because I personally lose remotes all the time. Features include:
View select content (deleted scenes, bonus content, etc) anywhere by streaming, over the internet, directly to the mobile device or downloading to the device to enable viewing even when not connected to the internet. This feature is only available on high-end devices.
Control playback and on-screen menus of the movie just like a traditional remote.
Simplify chat and registration by entering text directly onto the on-screen edit boxes using the keypad on the mobile device.
Tyler Shields, senior researcher at Veracode Research Lab developed a proof-of-concept spyware package that demonstrates how simple it is to retrieve private data from a BlackBerry.
The above video demonstrates the spyware package, which he calls TXSBBspy, and uses it to take some very confidential information. In the demonstration, he uses some basic, publicly available functions to remotely dump all email and SMS messages, send the contents via e-mail, and conduct real-time monitoring of phone messages. He also remotely listens to a room using the BlackBerry’s mic, and follows the a user unknowingly by listening to their GPS updates.
This is a hot topic right now for BlackBerry as more users are downloading applications and accepting permissions without fully understanding what they’re allowing the app access to. Personally, I think RIM needs to give very specific instructions to the user about what they’re allowing an app to access. The permissions screen is far too vague.
A while back we told you about a free Tetris game for BlackBerry called BBTetris. The game is a decent free alterternative to the Tetris that I believe EA has the rights to distribute for BlackBerry. The free version is now called BlockBerry, and is on version 5.78. The latest version saves your sound settings and improves the Storm experience.
IDC have announced the top selling smartphones in America and BlackBerry accounted for 5 of the top 10. While this is pretty significant, I’m sure RIM isn’t too happy about growth rates. RIM was significantly stronger than its competitors in terms of pure sales, but Apple’s growth far outpaced all others, with a unit sales increase of 97.7% in Q4 of 2009. Overall in 2009, Apple still dominates in terms of growth by 81.9% compared to RIM’s 46.2%. Continue reading this article
The latest data to come out of Mplayit is about smartphone gaming trends. I’ll stick to the data about BlackBerry, but it’s also interesting to see how other smartphones are making out. Obviously iPhone is dominating the mobile gaming space, as the most popular apps for iPhone are almost 100% games.
Mplayit’s findings, drawn from live data collected from over 50,000 users of its Facebook app store over a two week period ending January 29, highlights the kinds of games that were popular for each of the three major smartphone audiences. The most active game categories on all three platforms were largely identical: Arcade, Casual, Card/Casino, and Puzzle. However, there were some significant differences in taste across platforms.
Music games were particularly popular on the iPhone, befitting its media-centric iPod heritage. Android users showed a predilection toward ‘geeky’ games making innovative use of things like the GPS, camera, and augmented reality. And the BlackBerry audience gravitated toward television and movie tie-ins. Continue reading this article
Voice Command can be a really annoying feature when it gets activated accidentally, but it’s also very helpful whenever you need some hands-free dialing. Voice dialing isn’t the only thing you can do with it though. Other commands include:
“Call Extension” will call a specific extension.
“Call [Contact Name] Home” will call the contact at their home number.
“Check Battery” will check the battery status.
“Check Signal” will let you know the strength of your wireless signal and whether or not you have “No Signal”, “Low Signal”, “High Signal” or “Very High Signal”.
“Turn Off Voice Prompts” will turn off the “Say a command” voice and replace it with a simple beep.
“Turn On Voice Prompts” turns the friendly voice back on. Click through for more tips and help with BlackBerry Voice Commands
SeeClickFix is an interesting concept that helps individuals improve their communities and report emergencies. The site and BlackBerry app, allow users to take a picture of a problem (pothole, unsafe building, potential accident), leave details, and upload the problem to a community board where it hopefully gets dealt with.
The SeeClickFix service brings a measure of transparency and accessibility to the service request process. Reporting an issue takes only a few seconds, and the ability to view, comment on, or express support for issues raised by others makes it much easier to stay in touch with what’s going on in the community.
To download the SeeClickFix app for BlackBerry, visit m.seeclickfix.com/ from your device.
Gym Technik let us know that their fitness app for BlackBerry, NextGen, has been updated. The app is now compatible with OS 5 devices including the Storm2. Gym Technik’s NetGen app helps you track your workout routines and optimize them. The app breaks down your workouts with graphs and analytics and gives you a better picture of what you’re doing.
SmrtGuard have rolled out a free version of their awesome BlackBerry protection tool called SmrtGuard-Free. The app lets you find your BlackBerry with GPS, remotely wipe data, remotely listen (forward your BlackBerry number in case it was left at home), track loved-ones, protect your SIM card and more. You also get secure data backup and migration features free for 30 days.
This week we got more details about the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 9100 which should be hitting carriers soon. We also have a ton of app news and some good editorial content. I think next week we’ll see more about the Pearl 9100 and the Tour2 9650 as we get closer to these devices launching. Click through to get caught up on the past week in BlackBerry
