Posted on November 19, 2009, at 4:00 pm .
Scott Totzke, RIM’s vice-president of BlackBerry security, recently spoke with the press about the potential of the DDOS attack by hackers using BlackBerry devices to target wireless networks. The thought is that because the BlackBerry is essentially a smaller PC, it could be used in a similar manner to overload networks.
But is this really a big concern? I have to agree with Ronen at BerryReview, that someone stealing personal data with an application seems like a bigger concern. All you have to do is build an application that accesses user data, and sends it back to the company’s servers. If they wanted to, a company could use the data on your BlackBerry for malicious purposes.
It seems like only a matter of time until someone in Nigeria figures out how to submit a malicious app into Mobihand. While App World might have a vetting process that looks at what the app is accessing, I can guarantee you the Mobihand network isn’t diligent enough to catch something like this.
Remember, Mobihand are the same people who sell NetworkACC, a bogus application that claims to speed up your mobile network. Not only is the app bogus and a waste of money, but I bet you eMobiStudio are gaming the review system because their app is filled with 5 star reviews. Mobihand have such a weak review system that anyone can write a hundred positive reviews about their app.
We can only hope that if a malicious app shows itself, the good people at BlackBerry Cool, BerryReview, CrackBerry, etc. will find out and spread the word not to download it.
Posted on November 17, 2009, at 10:12 am .
This isn’t breaking news as it went live about a month ago, but it slipped under my radar and I have to post it. The Canadian Wilfrid Laurier School of Business and Economics in Waterloo, Ontario (near RIM headquarters), offers an MBA BlackBerry pilot program. The program puts a BlackBerry Curve 8900 in the hands of every student, as well as provides them with education and collaboration tools for their device.
The faculty even talks about using push technology to push content to their students’ BlackBerrys, and will be recording metrics to gauge which content is being accessed.
So if you’re a student in this program, feel free to hit up BlackBerry Cool for software and accessories. I have no problem giving you some cool applications for the device to test what it can do.
Posted on November 13, 2009, at 10:20 pm .
The Bell Blackberry Bold 9700 has a new lock on it called the Service Provider (SP) lock. Both the original “Network” lock aka MEP2, and the new SP lock aka MEP4, are needed to unlock the Bell 9700 now. We’ve found 2 methods to do it and blogged about it on our site.
Through the eyes of a cell phone unlocker, it seems that RIM is always making an effort to tighten security on their new Blackberry devices. This time it has gone beyond RIM, with Bell and soon TELUS adding new locks on their Blackberry phones.
We like to call them “MEP4? locks instead the old MEP2 that we’ve grown so fond of. It has already been implemented on the Bell 9700 which has 2 locks – the network lock and the Service Provider (SP) lock. Unlock code developers, crackers and hackers are still in the process of developing a quick and “Instant” method for unlocking these MEP4 codes. Although we are able to unlock the Bell Blackberry Bold 9700, it’s interesting to see that RIM, Rogers and T-mobile are still using MEP2 codes for the Rogers Blackberry Bold 9700 and T-mobile Blackberry Bold 9700.
Continue reading about the BlackBerry unlock process vis a vis the 9700
Posted on November 9, 2009, at 4:30 pm .
The BlackBerry Developer Conference kicked off with Jim Balsillie announcing a wide range of new tools available to BlackBerry developers that are going to redefine what we think of as a BlackBerry app.
The latest set of APIs available to BlackBerry developers are focused on making ad-supported apps easier to develop, and help to more easily monetize the developer’s hard work. The new BlackBerry Advertising Service will allow developers to integrate ads from networks such as Jumptap, Millennial Media, Navteq, 1020 Placecast, Quattro Wireless and Sympatico.ca. The Advertising Service and SDK will be available in the first half of 2010.
Click through for more announcements from the BlackBerry Developers Conference
Posted on November 9, 2009, at 4:23 pm .
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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Posted on November 9, 2009, at 4:17 pm .
BlackBerry apps are going to get very consumer friendly, very fast as RIM keep making announcements about new features and services for developers that appeal to the consumer market.
Today, at the BlackBerry Developer Conference, RIM and Adobe announced that creative professionals and application developers will be able to use the Adobe Flash Platform and Adobe Creative Suite content development and authoring tools, to easily create rich content and application experiences for BlackBerry.
With Flash, OpenGL support and the new GUI builder, BlackBerry apps in 2010 are going to look very different than in 2009.
For more information, developers can visit the BlackBerry Developer Zone and Adobe Developer Site.
Posted on November 9, 2009, at 2:38 pm .
The BlackBerry Developer Conference has kicked off with a great start as RIM have announced a host of great features for developers that are going to help them make richer and more attractive content.
The first major announcement is the addition of OpenGL ES support that will help developers make 3D games and graphics. The high performance rendering engine is available on the Storm2, and it makes games like EA’s Need for Speed Shift, look really impressive.
Another announcement is a GUI builder, integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse. The builder will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications.
The next big announcement is the BlackBerry Theme Studio 5 that replaces the previously available Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit. The studio allows developers to make themes with the ability to import Adobe Photoshop files to BlackBerry Theme Builder, add ringtones and build screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading within themes. Ringtones and screen transitions are supported for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher.
So stay tuned because we’re about to see some very compelling applications for BlackBerry that have rich 3D graphics and more integration with the device.
Posted on November 9, 2009, at 1:03 pm .
RIM have a great new initiative called the BlackBerry Academic Program that will provide colleges and universities around the world with a curriculum and course content to offer courses in administering and supporting the BlackBerry solution and developing for the BlackBerry platform.
These courses are going to be good for helping boost not only the BlackBerry developer community, but the smartphone industry. The more young, bright students that are interested in these technologies, the better.
Course content is currently available for mobile application development for BlackBerry, administration of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and support for BlackBerry.
For more information, see the BlackBerry Academic Program official page.
Posted on November 5, 2009, at 2:11 pm .
The subject has been brought up countless times: will Microsoft ever buy RIM? Surely, if you ever spoke with Jim Balsillie or Mike Lazaridis, the idea would be out of the question, but who knows?
National Bank analyst Richard Tse thinks it’s a possibility, saying that if shares in RIM keep falling, investors should consider it a possibility.
Talking about the Microsoft buyout, Tse says: “Sticking with Microsoft, sure Windows Mobile 7 is on its way but wouldn’t RIM be able to offer what they’ve strived to get beyond their OS and Office – another wedge into the enterprise. We sure wouldn’t rule this out.”
