The robot connects by Bluetooth and conference attendees are invited to race around an obstacle course and compete for the fastest time. First prize gets a Storm2 and the robot, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place all get a Storm2 as well.

Did you try it? What was your time?

Poynt is probably the best LBS app for BlackBerry. Currently, the app lets you find local businesses, movies, restaurants, events and people. The app gives you the relevant information you’re looking for, and with driving directions, interactive maps and contact information, Poynt connects you with these places.

In the upcoming version of Poynt (weeks away!), the app will be adding gas and weather functionality. These features are really awesome and we have some pics of the features in action.

The gas feature in Poynt shows you all the surrounding gas stations in your area and what the current price of gas is at that station. This feature is going to be huge for anyone who commutes to work and it will save you a ton of money over time.

The weather feature in Poynt has two components. When you set your location with Poynt, the app’s background will change based on what the weather is like. If it’s snowing, Poynt’s background will be covered in snow and show you what the temperature is. In the pic, we show what Poynt looks like for someone in Anchorage Alaska. If you want more information about the weather, you can click through and get the full weather forecasts and details.

These new features are going to make Poynt, an already killer app, even better.

Poynt is available free in App World.

The BlackBerry Developer Challenge was narrowed down to the Final 16. The event takes 16 up and coming apps and helps them grow by giving the top apps investment.

The 16 finalists were:

1. Kik (awesome music app)
2. Sid Meier’s Civilizations (classic game)
3. Handmark’s AFP news app
4. David (a pragmatic app that tracks your wireless usage to help save you money)
5. Wicked Blogging App (WordPress for BlackBerry)
6. FileScout (advanced file manager for BlackBerry)
7. Expense Report Reader
8. Fierce Towers (tower defense)
9. Shozu (social networking platform for BlackBerry)
10. CBS News app (another news app by Handmark)
11. E-mobile software (an app similar to a theme)
12. Vision for YouTube
13. Astraware solitaire
14. Market Simplified (trading software)
15. 7Digitial Music Store 16. Unsynced Music Player (new music app api)

The crowd was getting very restless and Mike did his best to keep them quiet. Before we found out who won we watched a great show of half naked girls dancing around with swords and snakes on their heads while putting their legs behind their backs. The winner? The dancing girls. Sure, it wasn’t an app but it definitely stole the show.

No, but seriously folks, the big winner was the 7Digital Music Store for $75K. Congrats!

The latest location services from RIM offer some great implications for BlackBerry apps.

The latest location services from RIM use cell tower triangulation to help with location based apps. Using cell tower triangulation, you can get location services inside a building where you wouldn’t normally get a GPS signal.

Another feature of the new location services is that it leverages a community generated database of information. An example of this is pictured above where a map displays all the available cell towers around the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.

For a good example of an app that leverages these new services, check out Loopt in App World.

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At the BlackBerry Developer conference we got a sneak peek at the upcoming ebay app for BlackBerry.

The app features a deal of the day where you can bid on the day’s hot item. Another great feature of the app is the ability to add a reminder to bid on an item, with a fully integrated calendar alert system.

If you’re an ebay fan, be sure to pick up this app when it goes live. We’ll keep you posted on pricing and release date, but so far all we know is it will be available in App World later this month.

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No developer conference is complete without Nintendo Wii and Guitar hero.

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It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. Wait a minute, I can’t get my BlackBerry Storm until 1 month after it’s been commercially available? That is a long horizon, friends.

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People really want their BlackBerrys! The Bolds are unbranded and the Storm IOUs are only for Verizon devices. I can’t wait to get mine!

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Congrats to Jamie Julius of Nobex Technologies, who gave the winning pitch at the first ever BlackBerry Cool 15. You can download the Nobex Radio Companion at http://www.nobexrc.com/download/ Enjoy your BlackBerry Storm! Congrats also go to David Shalamberidze, who won the audience BlackBerry Storm giveaway!

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This is as close as I got to the Verizon booth before the bearded man in the red shirt gave me flack for snapping a pick of him. Apparently because the device is still in development. I guess he didn’t read BBCool today, heh.

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There are a lot of people here! The music is too low key, though… I guess developers like to relax more than bump and grind.

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RIM knows secure communication platforms. RIM also knows good food!

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Here’s blogger Kevin from CrackBerry resting up for the BlackBerry Cool 15 on a BlackBerry Bag. You know it’s a developer conference when the sessions start at 10 and there are bean bags everywhere!

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Blogging outside in sunny Santa Clara! Nothing beats a nice conference in October.

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This is a much better view than the one we had for CTIA. Thank you Hyatt Regency!

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Here’s a quick demo of LogMeIn’s Rescue+Mobile, which gives admins the ability to provide support help to your mobile device.

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This is our booth for CTIA. They were going to put BlackBerry Cool on it, but we didn’t want to be showy.

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I know I’m not the type of person that the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 is marketed to, and thus my opinion of it is biased. So I enlisted the help of two lovely ladies hovering around the RIM booth to set me straight. The results are surprising: they wanted my Bold! There’s still a market for this FlipBerry, however.

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MOBITV REVEALS PRODUCT STRATEGY TO DELIVER TARGETED APPLICATIONS FOR MOBILE CONSUMERS

Leading Mobile TV Service Provider Previews Mobi4BIZ Offering with Live Video for the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

EMERYVILLE, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008– September 10, 2008 – MobiTV, Inc., the leader in the delivery of rich media mobile content and services, today announced the next phase of its product development strategy which entails a series of vertically-customized products and services that combine live video, VOD and up-to-the-minute data together in a personalized, compelling and easy-to-use interface for mobile professionals and on-the-go entertainment enthusiasts.

Mobi4BIZ is the company’s breakthrough product offering from its vertical development strategy and will make its market debut in the U.S. supporting the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM). Mobi4BIZ is a video-centric application for mobile consumers and business professionals that combines live TV and VOD content. Mobi4BIZ will have at its foundation CNBC, with video content and up-to-the minute stock market data from official CNBC ticker. Other anticipated partners include Bloomberg Television, FOX Business and TheStreet.com. Mobi4BIZ features user-driven programming, where the consumer creates a watch list and all content discovery within the application is related to that list.

“MobiTV continues to demonstrate unparalleled innovation and leadership in the mobile video industry, and is proud to offer a preview of the industry’s first vertically-targeted, integrated media application for mobile professionals,” said Charlie Nooney, Chairman and CEO, MobiTV. “This is complimentary to our current broad consumer offering and recognizes the adoption and consumption of mobile media within specific segments. Natural extensions of this strategy include kids, sports, education and enterprise.”

Mobi4BIZ Features
? Superior video quality and resolution for both full and partial screen modes
? Company-specific VOD content
? Alerts for breaking news video on portfolio companies
? Personalized content on portfolio companies including detailed financial data
? Simple portfolio navigation and management
? Personalized stock ticker
? Financial graphs, analysis and tools

MobiTV at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008
MobiTV will be demonstrating Mobi4BIZ and a selection of its other award-winning services and offerings at this year’s CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008, at Moscone Center, September 10-12. Visit MobiTV in the West Hall, Level Two, Booth #1107.

About MobiTV
MobiTV (http://www.mobitv.com), the market maker and leader in the delivery of mobile content and services, develops and offers technology solutions that power an end-to-end managed network for content ingestion, encoding and optimized delivery over mobile and broadband networks. MobiTV’s platform technology delivers live television, premium and primetime programming, video-on-demand, satellite and digital music services from top broadcast and cable television networks and major music labels through its carrier and operator partners to more than four million subscribers worldwide. Founded in 1999, MobiTV is a privately held company with headquarters in Emeryville, California.

For more information about MobiTV mobile television products and services, go to: http://www.mobitv.com/gettv. To learn more about MobiTV mobile digital music products and services, go to: http://www.mobitv.com/getradio. Business partners and customers interested in learning more about MobiTV’s hosted content delivery technology and solutions, please visit: http://www.mobitv.com/technology/partners.

The final Tele Atlas Maps in Apps finalist is Open Green Map, with an application that uses LBS to organize communities towards environmental consciousness.

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