ProfilerPro is an app that lets you completely customize the sound profiles on your BlackBerry. You can schedule profiles each day to change from one profile to another, as well set different wallpapers and ringtones based on the day. ProfilerPro also integrates with the BlackBerry Calendar application. You can schedule a profile switch by creating a new appointment and the profile will automatically switch when the appointment starts and ends.
vPost is a product we have written about several times on BlackBerry Cool. The app is an easy way to capture all types of media, and share them via email. You can send pictures, video, and audio to friends and family easily with a minimal number of clicks.
Some new features in the latest version include:
Address book integration.
Ability to rename captured media.
No size limitations.
Setup wizard.
Create groups to make sharing amongst friends easier.
The Urbanspoon app is a really cool way to choose what restaurant you’re going to be eating at. All you do is let the app tumbler spin and it gives you either a random restaurant or style of cuisine. The app gives you all the relevant info about the restaurant too, including a number to call, map and reviews.
The BlackBerry Curve 8530, which has been announced from Sprint, will come with OpenGL support. This is going to be huge for the device as it will bring some really slick applications which compelling UIs and 3D graphics.
The news comes as we recently got clarification from RIM that CDMA devices with OS 5 and the latest Qualcomm chipsets, will all ship with OpenGL support.
So not only will you be able to get the 8530 in Black, Royal Purple and Red, but it looks like you will also be able to get some awesome games like Super Monkey Ball (not confirmed).
So far at the BlackBerry Developer Conference we have seen 3 games for the BlackBerry Storm2 using OpenGL. The first, Need for Speed Sprint by EA, was by far the most impressive. The game uses 10 years and millions of dollars behind EA’s 3D mobile graphics engine and it looks amazing on the Storm2. The others are by Concrete and Sega. Concrete is releasing PBA Bowling for the Storm2 and they have leveraged OpenGL to provide a slick-looking 3D bowling experience. Lastly, Sega gave a quick preview of Super Monkey Ball, which wasn’t demoed on the Storm2, but we were told to expect it.
So what other rich 3D games and content can we expect from the Storm2? Currently, there isn’t much but everything we’re seeing here at Dev Con is telling us that early to mid 2010 is when we can expect to see development take off. The problem lies in that having only one device with OpenGL support may not be enough to convince smaller developers to make great games that use these new features. It’s really easy for a huge company such as EA to make a 3D OpenGL game for the Storm2, regardless of whether the revenue will justify it.
Smaller companies like IUGO, that make incredible iPhone games, aren’t taking advantage of OpenGL for the Storm2, because it’s hard to justify the development costs. The new tools that RIM have announced at the BlackBerry Developer Conference are going to generally help development, but in the end we need more devices supporting OpenGL to make it worth it.
If you’re a Storm2 user and you’re looking for more games that use the features of the device, some larger companies such as EA will be around to satisfy your immediate needs, but early to mid 2010 is when this device is going to get really good.
Kryos are a company here at the BlackBerry Developer Conference that help companies build applications for BlackBerry. Their latest announcement allows companies to rapidly develop and deploy LBS applications.
The platform used in developing these applications is called the Velocity Mobile Platform, which is now in version 1.2. The latest iteration of the platform supports GPS and offers a number of features such as device side scripting and validation, graphing, and BlackBerry OS 5.0 support for the latest BlackBerry smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and BlackBerry Storm2 9550.
So if there are companies out there looking to get their LBS applications on the latest devices, but may not have the in-house tools to do so, Kryos may be your gateway.
So this is the second day of the BlackBerry Developer Conference and it’s going really well so far. It’s impressive how RIM is responding to the surge of consumer subscribers and the majority of announcements we have seen are consumer-centric.
Since we have been talking consumer here at the Developer Conference, it’s impossible to not mention iPhone and competing platforms. With OpenGL support, multi-touch on the Storm2, as well as some new APIs that will help developers make more compelling content, there is a lot of pressure to not just “keep up with the Johnsons.” Click through for more about the BlackBerry Developer Conference
The official Craigslist app by Movela will be hitting App World any day and it looks really great. Even though the above video is a little old and we’ve known the BlackBerry client was coming soon, it should only be a matter of days until it hits App World so stay tuned.
The client features the ability to browse and search craigslist postings, bookmark and reply to posts, save searches and more. The app also supports all categories and all countries you would find on Craigslist.org. The app was developed by Movela with technology from Pyxis Mobile.
So if you’re an avid Craigslist fan, or you just want to read Missed Connections while on the go, this app should be great.
Sensobi is a cool free app that lets you know who is falling off your radar. Before calling a contact, Sensobi will let you know when you last spoke and what it was about. The latest release of Sensobi, version 1.5.494, features real-time notifications, as well as a face-lift on their UI.
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) Click through for more pics and info from the Developer Challenge Final 16
