There are times in life when you anticipate something for so long and it fails to deliver. On the other hand, there are times when things turn out to be more than you expected. I have been using Slacker.com, the personal internet radio, on my computer for the last few months, ever since the BlackBerry application was announced at CTIA this past fall. At CES, after months of anticipation, Slacker launched their BlackBerry application for devices with OS 4.3 and above (4.5+ is best). In short, it is magnificent.
Leading Mobile Broadcast Network Adds Desktop Widget, Android Support, More
CES SHOW, LAS VEGAS, NV – January 8, 2009 – FlyCast announced a number of new
enhancements to its industry-leading mobile broadcast network today, including a move to the desktop with its new player widget for PCs and Macs. Other announcements include support for the T-Mobile G1and other upcoming Google Android-based devices, a new “What’s On Now” program guide feature, a Facebook interface, a partnership with AccuWeather.com and support for AAC+ and Windows Media streams.
“2009 will be a year of transition for broadcasting, as hundreds of millions of new ‘smart devices’ hit the streets, with incredible media consumption capabilities,” noted FlyCast CEO Sam Abadir.
“FlyCast continues to lead the way in offering broadcasters and webcasters innovative platform capabilities to take full advantage of these new and compelling distribution opportunities.”
Exclusive station caching feature guarantees playback everywhere while also dramatically boosting battery life and performance
LAS VEGAS – January 8, 2009 – Slacker, Inc. today announced the availability of the free Slacker Mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion. BlackBerry smartphone users can now hear their favorite Slacker radio stations wherever they go, whether they are connected to a wireless network or not – a Slacker Mobile feature exclusive to BlackBerry smartphones. The application, which is compatible with BlackBerry Device Software version 4.3 and higher is available as a free download by visiting Slacker.com from your BlackBerry smartphone.
It seems as though RIM has finally heard the cries of many Mac BlackBerry (MacBerry?) users. Earlier this week they released a ‘Preview’ build of BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac, and I had to give it a test run. In general, it works as advertised and syncing playlists is surprisingly fast. Unfortunately, you can’t just drag over iTunes albums as is, but have to make a playlist out of each.
Here’s some things to keep in mind:
This is a ‘preview’ build. RIM seems afraid of Mac development and has gone out of their way to tell users that their not legally responsible if Mac Media Sync roxXors yurz blakberreez. You have been warned. Mac Media Sync will not work with Pocket Mac or Missing Sync. Which would be fine if RIM had also released a Mac Desktop Manager, but one step at a time, I guess.
Our Canadian Music Blog, TransCanadaRadio.com also happened to be at the Telus BlackBerry Storm Launch Party. While I was at the back of the room playing with the toys, TCR was front row rocking out to Arts&Crafts recording artist Stars.
If you like what you see above (and you should) you can check out more live music at the link below. Rock and roll.
A helpful tipster with the inside scoop just let us know that Verizon has launched the VCAST Music application today for the BlackBerry Storm. VCAST Music allows you to purchase songs individually or subscribe to get unlimited access for $14.99 per month. A quick catalog search of Verizon’s offering tells me that VCAST Music has millions of songs available. You can learn more about VCAST Music at the link below and view another image of the Storm application after the jump.
Hello, BlackBerry Nation! I apologize for the light posting today, but there was a very good reason: I was in Toronto spending some hands on time with the Telus BlackBerry Storm. There’s a lot of things to write about, but I thought I’d start with something that excites me as a Canadian and music fan. Like its Verizon counterpart, the Telus BlackBerry Storm will launch with a packed-in 8GB MicroSD card. However, that SD card will be filled with music and music videos from renowned Canadian label Arts and Crafts.
The Arts and Crafts label features some of the best new Canadian musicians, such as Feist and Broken Social Scene. Here’s a list of of which Canadian artists are confirmed to come on the Telus BlackBerry Storm:
Stars
Broken Social Scene
The Stills
Constantines
Kevin Drew
Jason Collett
Brendan Canning
The image above is taken from Brendan Canning’s “Churches Under The Stairs” video. You can watch the video after the jump and see how Canning, Kevin Drew and the rest of the Broken Social Scene crew looks on the BlackBerry Storm (read: very good).
As someone that is constantly concerned about the amount of radiation my BlackBerry emits, you might call me the paranoid sort. So when I heard about this recent report by the FDA saying that headphones — yes, even the kind all you multimedia-enabled BlackBerry users have — can interfere with heart devices like pacemakers if held too close, I had to write about it:
“Headphones contain magnets, and some of these magnets are powerful,” said the study’s leader, Dr. William Maisel, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a heart device consultant to the federal Food and Drug Administration.
When headphones were about an inch from the device, interference was detected nearly one-fourth of the time — in four of the 27 pacemaker patients and 10 of the 33 with defibrillators. A pacemaker reset itself in one patient.
Dr. Maisel said that the headphones could have an effect even when unplugged. Don’t be too concerned, however: the report also said that as long as you keep the headphones away from your chest, you should be fine.
The mid-October ballpark release for the Verizon BlackBerry Thunder has been narrowed down to the 8th., but as with any rumour, take it with a grain of salt… What’s true now might not be in two months. The same sources are also claiming that the Thunder will be packing a 3.2 megapixel camera and over-the-air Rhapsody downloads. We had heard about carrier music stores integrated with the BlackBerry 9500’s music player, and now we’ve got a name to look forward to. Rhapsody is pretty popular, second to iTunes and maybe Amazon… how many more online music outlets will plug into the BlackBerry Thunder? As for the camera, I expressed plenty of concern about its quality in last week’s podcast, so colour me relieved.
We’ve got some more shiny pictures of the BlackBerry Thunder in action. Here you can check out how the media player will look while playing music, complete with title, artist and album art. There’s also a better look at the camera functions in both landscape and portrait modes. Flash, zoom, cropping, video and e-mail functions are all built into the main interface and a glimpse at what we can expect from OS 4.7. There are still plenty of pictures of the BlackBerry Thunder’s media player and virtual keypad out there, if you’re looking for more pics to slobber over.
