Mmm, can you smell that? It’s my most favorite smell in the world: new car smell. After running up the mileage way past warranty on the old BBCool, it was time to start fresh. While upon first glance the changes may seem entirely aesthetic, the new BlackBerry Cool is much more than a fresh coat of paint. We’ve completely overhauled the site from the ground up to make way for more improvements/cool features to appear in the coming weeks and months.
So please, do us a favor and kick the tires a bit; we’re sure to have missed some things along the way. If you notice any bugz/glitches/browser weirdness, please ping us using our contact form with the heading ‘NEW BBCOOL’. You can also post a comment and let us know what you think - please keep all criticism constructive.
Big shout out to the entire BBCool/Smoke Labs team for making this happen so fast!
Great news for iDEN BlackBerry users not on the Sprint network. RIM and NII Holdings jointly announced the impending release of the BlackBerry Curve 8350i in Latin America during Q1 of 2009. the iDEN BlackBerry will see release in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.
For those not in the know, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i is the first iDEN BlackBerry since the old 7100i, and features push-to-talk capability as well as Wi-Fi. There are about 10 million North and South American iDEN subscribers eager to get their hands on this device. You can read the full press release after the jump.
Our sister site QuicklyBored is interested in all things entertainment on your mobile, and I guess this applies. A company named Pinota (Finnish for “to stack”) has released the first and only adult entertainment network for BlackBerry.
Right now, they’re offering a sign up to be a beta tester at:
Much like Kevin, I too spent most of my time at the BBDC praising the two nice gents from Google, but soon left them alone after they refused my third request for a job (one day…). Turns out it was a good thing I left them alone, as they were busy prepping an update to Gmail Mobile 2.0. Gmail Mobile has always been a must-have app for Gmail users that want to keep their Gmails separate from their regular BlackBerry inbox, and the Google team has made it even better. The most notable updates are basic offline support and multiple account management, but you can see the full update breakdown after the jump!
Head to m.google.com/mail to download the new version. Google: my offer still stands. I will work for peanuts.
Some of you may think that the release of the BlackBerry Bold and OS 4.6 has solved the attachment viewing problem on the BlackBerry (the Bold comes with various free DataViz Documents to Go applications). However, most BlackBerry users aren’t Bold users and there are many devices out there that won’t be able to update to higher OS versions (how many people are still waiting for OS 4.5?).
WICKSoft has released their Attachment Viewer for BlackBerry, which supports all BlackBerry devices (even the 7290!), more document formats (e.g. OpenOffice) and loads quicker than Documents to Go. WICKSoft gave me the application earlier this week and I can say that it’s much easier to use when you’re looking at attachments with multiple pages; the increased speed really reduces the frustration factor of waiting for pages to load. You can see the full press release and some images after the jump.
The fine folks at Pyxis Mobile pinged me last night to let me know that they have released a beta version of SmartFlicks for BlackBerry. SmartFlicks is a Netflix client that is impressive not only for what it does, but for how it was made. Apparently, Pyxis leveraged the same client and codebase used to service their financial services customers to build the application in a day. Also, because the application is ‘built’ on your BlackBerry when you run it, Pyxis can add features and enhancements at any time that will appear in SmartFlicks the next time you log in.
You can download the SmartFlicks for BlackBerry beta after the jump, but if you’re attending the BlackBerry Developer Conference, make sure to swing by the BlackBerry Cool 15 and watch Arun Nagarajan of Pyxis Mobile demonstrate SmartFlicks and the technology behind it in person!
We’re now a weekend away from the BlackBerry Developer Conference, and I couldn’t be more excited. Mike Lazaridis keynote, hands on with the BlackBerry Storm, and the BlackBerry Cool 15. Oh wait, that reminds me, we’ve been talking about the BlackBerry Cool 15 all week, and we haven’t mentioned what the prizes are. Developers take note:
RICK SEGAL OF THE BLACKBERRY PARTNERS FUND will be participating as a judge and taking a keen interest in the applications presented. He will have offer sheets in hands and he is looking to spend, spend, spend.
WE’RE GIVING AWAY TWO BLACKBERRY STORMS! That’s right, not one, but two BlackBerry Storms will be given away at the BlackBerry Cool 15! While one will obviously be going to the developer with the best application, we haven’t decided what to do with the other one yet. Maybe give it to a lucky member of the audience? We’ll see…
You now have NO REASON to miss the BlackBerry Cool 15. Meet us at the Marriott Hotel in session rooms California 7-9 at 8pm on Monday, October 20th (right after the welcome reception). We’ll see you there!
A special thanks must go out to Rick Segal, Mike Kirkup and everyone at RIM/BlackBerry Partners Fund that has turned this wishful thinking into a reality.
A week ago we told you that Vlingo was running a closed beta for its Vlingo 2.0 voice-powered application. I’ve been told by our friends at Vlingo that the 2.0 beta is now open to all residents of the UK, US and Canada!
Because Vlingo is an application that learns and improves based upon user feedback, it’s really important that the BlackBerry Nation helps Vlingo out to make their application as useful as possible. This is especially true for UK BlackBerry users!
In addition to participating in the Vlingo 2.0 beta, you can also fill out a quick 10-15 minute survey. Doesn’t sound like your thing? What if I told you that everyone who completes the survey will be entered in a drawing to win an 8GB iPod touch or one of 3 $50 Amazon.com gift certificates! I thought that might peak your interest!
You can find everything you need to know about the Vlingo 2.0 open beta and survey after the jump. BlackBerry Nation, Assemble!
I have to hand it to Kevin, he knows how to get people to humiliate themselves for prizes throw a contest. He’s asking members of the BlackBerry Nation to tell him what they’d do for a BlackBerry Storm (nothing dangerous). The catch is this: if selected, you have to then prove it by recording yourself doing what you said you’d do.
It’s a great contest idea, and we like to think that someone may end up with a BlackBerry Storm tattoo on their body when this is all said and done. Hit the link below for more information:
If you’re excited about the number of cool BlackBerry applications you’ve heard about recently, it probably has something to do with the BlackBerry Partners Fund, the $150 million venture capital fund announced at WES. I would ask you to look no further than the BlackBerry Developer Challenge and the BlackBerry Cool 15 as examples of their pedigree. Today they announced the addition of two new members to its investment team: Marc Faucher and Matt Golden.
“Marc and Matt add competencies that perfectly compliment the knowledge and
experience currently resident within the members of the BlackBerry Partners Fund management team,” said Kevin Talbot, Co-Managing Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund. “With these appointments the BlackBerry Partners Fund has further solidified itself as the preeminent source of venture capital for mobile application or service developers.”
Both Marc and Matt have a variety of experience from other venture funds, as well as major wireless players like Bell, Ericsson and Tira Wireless. Welcome to the team, guys!
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