Posted on January 22, 2010, at 3:44 pm .
Recently, I shut down my Rackspace service and switched the company to Google Apps. While some users have complained that BIS email is slow, I’ve noticed a very manageable difference in delivery times for BIS versus BES. Also, whatever features I have lost in terms of contact sync and email delivery, I have definitely made up for in savings. Sure, there are some setbacks with Google Apps in terms of user experience, and I no longer have FANATICAL support, but with savings of $150-$200 per month, I’m happy with my choice. Here is a guide for anyone looking to migrate over to Google Apps.
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Posted on January 21, 2010, at 10:16 am .
Otterbox has been known to make high quality and durable cases for BlackBerry phones for some time now. They recently released their Otterbox Commuter Series for the BlackBerry 9700. I promptly handed this case over to my good buddy, Choco. He is a man’s man. We once went on a camping trip and he was asked to bring back firewood…he returned with a truck tow strap around his chest and a tree that he later cut into pieces. He opens beer bottles with his teeth. This is the guy to test the Otterbox. So what did Choco think?
Likes
The Otterbox came in nice packaging, it was good looking but I didn’t have to have a chainsaw and pry bar to open it *Note: He does carry these tools anyway* The materials are solid. It didn’t feel cheap where I could tug on it a couple of times and it loosen it up). I found all of the cut outs to be clean and smooth to the touch. The device feels a little bigger without being bulky which gave me a better grip. I found that the push buttons on the outside of the case work well and that everything maintained responsive. The case also doesn’t add very much weight to the phone which is important to me. I didn’t feel like the phone tried to fall out of the case, so it really inspired confidence.
Dislikes
The phone no longer fits in the holster and it doesn’t come with a replacement holster. I also found it troublesome to see the LED indicator from certain angles. The screen protector is a nice touch, but as most screen protectors, they can be a little tough to apply properly. Finally, I found the hard plastic doesn’t go all the way around, so whenever you want to plug in the charger or headphones it pulls back a little. I do suspect that it might stretch after a while, though.
Overall, the Otterbox Commuter for the 9700 is a winner. It has a great feel in my hands, it protects my BlackBerry when I forget to do so and it does it in a slim enough package that I can still stuff it in my pocket without feeling awkward.
There you have it folks! Choco is a fan of the Otterbox Commuter. If you have any questions about it, please post it in the comments and we’ll make sure you get taken care of!
Photos by
San Antonio Photography
Posted on January 20, 2010, at 4:15 pm .
I have the latest accessory from RIM called the BlackBerry Presenter: a means of displaying PowerPoint presentations from your BlackBerry to a projector. The way it works is fairly simple. To get started, you do the following:
- Download the Presenter app to your BlackBerry.
- Connect the Presenter to a power outlet.
- Connect your projector to the Presenter.
- Pair your BlackBerry to the Presenter.
- Open a PowerPoint file and in the menu section select “Present”.
After using the device with several different types of PowerPoint presentations, I can say that this accessory had some serious drawbacks, but also more potential than any other accessory RIM has ever made.
Click through to continue reading this review
Posted on January 20, 2010, at 1:33 pm .
Recently, foursquare for BlackBerry has gone version 1.03, which is the version they will likely launch with. Other than bug fixes, this latest version adds a few navigational features and seems to be fully ready for launch. I thought I’d review foursquare now, as it’s basically ready and I’ll post the download link so that anyone who doesn’t have foursquare on their BlackBerry can go ahead and download it.
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Posted on January 14, 2010, at 11:52 am .
After Matt wrote about the BlackBerry launcher for foursquare, we got a link to the Beta and I thought I’d post some impressions and screenshots of the app because it’s really cool, and personally I feel like it’s ready for launch.
The foursquare BlackBerry app has all the features you would expect including checkins, shout outs, place search, leaderboards and access to the foursquare place directory.
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Posted on January 11, 2010, at 10:43 am .
Over the years RIM has been continually changing the BlackBerry battery cover. Some covers have been better than others, and I thought I’d put together a review post including new and older devices. The devices included in this review are:
BlackBerry Bold 9700
BlackBerry Curve 8530
BlackBerry Bold 9000
BlackBerry Storm 9550
BlackBerry Storm 9530
BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220
BlackBerry Tour 9630
Generally, I’m looking for a battery cover to be solid, sturdy, easy to remove and put back on, and have an element of fashionable design.
Click through for a full review of the various BlackBerry battery covers we have seen to date
Posted on January 8, 2010, at 1:09 pm .
This is the first week after the holidays and there were some great apps launched as well as some awesome apps such as UberTwitter have been updated. We’re also expecting big updates from Slacker and Poynt in the near future so keep an eye out for them. Stay tuned for some CES 2010 coverage, with BlackBerry Cool correspondent and power user Nan Palmero.
Click through for a full recap of what you may have missed this week
Posted on December 18, 2009, at 2:53 pm .
With AutoText, you can actually insert Macros or shortcuts for other functions such as display the current time and date, your PIN number, owner information or even simulate pressing the backspace or delete keys. Here is how:
1. Create a new autotext entry by going to Options > AutoText > Menu > New. Under Replace, use “ts” (“Time Stamp”).
2. Scroll down to With and press the MENU key and select “Insert Macro”. TIP: All macros start with the percent sign (%).
3. Now, just scroll up or down and select the macro you want. In this case, we want a short date (%d) which is the “mm/dd/yy” format.
4. Type a SPACE and “-“ then SPACE, then insert the short time (%t). The field should now read “%d – %t”.
Now whenever you want to put the current date and time, just type your new entry: “ts” and press SPACE. You will now see something like 1/31/2009 – 9:25a whenever you type “ts” then SPACE.
This tip was provided by Gary Mazo from his recently released book with Martin Trautschold entitled BlackBerry Bold 9700 Made Simple.
The “BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 Made Simple” electronic edition can be found for $14.95.
Pre-release special pricing for the Full Training Center is just $19.95 ($10 off regular $29.95) and the pre-release pricing for the Videos Only package is just $14.95 ($5.00 off the $19.95 regular). Save even more today with our 30% off Holiday Coupon Code: “64D83F49F2“.
Posted on December 15, 2009, at 6:13 pm .
Booting up a BlackBerry is incredibly frustrating and slow. Usually it’s best to take the old proverb “a watched pot never boils” and just leave it in your pocket for a of couple minutes and check back. At least with OS 5 we get a status bar showing relatively how long it will be until you can get busy on your BlackBerry again.
Here I have 4 BlackBerrys, all with OS 5 loaded. Two are official OS 5 builds, and 2 are leaks. We’re going to put in the battery at the same time (or as close to the same as possible), and see which one loads first. Here are the contestants:
Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 OS 5.0.0.320 (this is what it came shipped with)
TELUS Storm 9530 OS 5.0.0.328 (I think this is the latest leaked)
T-Mobile Bold 9700 OS 5.0.0.330 (out of the box OS)
Rogers Bold 9000 OS 5.0.0.411 (I believe this is the latest leak)
The winner? Check out the video after the jump.
See the Storm2 vs the Storm 9530 vs the 9000 vs 9700 all running OS 5
Posted on December 14, 2009, at 4:48 pm .
Nao Symphony by Cignias is a speaker system that wirelessly interacts with your BlackBerry over Bluetooth or WiFi. The Nao Symphony system also has an iPod dock, so you can wirelessly control music on your iPod, from your BlackBerry, and play it all through the Nao Symphony speakers. This is the first time I have seen a speaker solution that comes with full support for BlackBerry, and isn’t just an iPod dock that is also compatible for BlackBerry.
Read the full review of the Nao Symphony system after the jump
