Posted on February 10, 2009, at 1:19 pm .
MocoNews is reporting that Handmark has purchased software developer FreeRange for an undisclosed sum. FreeRange is a mobile RSS applications firm with a fairly popular RSS reader, but I find them more exciting for their work on the Wall Street Journal and AP News applications.
FreeRange has said it will use the additional resources from Handmark to expand its video support, and iPhone and Android support, but I’m hoping they’ll put their magic touch on Handmark’s own PocketExpress application. The AP News app developed by FreeRange is clean, pretty and slick, and I’d love to see a rebuilt PocketExpress from the ground up.
|via MocoNews|
Posted on February 6, 2009, at 8:33 pm .
We’ve got some great deals we’d like to call your attention to over at the BlackBerryCool store. If you’re looking for the best in BlackBerry software and accessories, we have everything the competition has and more. Our long list of affiliates and sponsors provides us with unique products that you won’t find on any other BlackBerry site.
Some of the gems you’ll find include: Case-Mate Backpack, OtterBox Push to Talk Defender Case, Seidio Innocell 2600mAh Extended Battery, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: War of Two Cities, PhoneyFart and Mobile Bartender for BlackBerry.
Click thought to see some great deals
Posted on February 6, 2009, at 3:59 pm .
Late last week YouMail launched Visual Voicemail Plus, a free visual voicemail application that works on the Blackberry Pearl, Curve, Bold and Storm. I like the sound of free, and a new visual voicemail application is always worth a try, but reports are surfacing that YouMail might not yet be up to snuff. Here’s what our main man Troy had to say over at BlackBerry News:
After 24 hours it is safe to say a lot work still needs to go into the application before it is ready for prime time much like the transcription service they charge for now. Many users including myself have experienced nothing but problems with the application… Maybe with all the ad revenue from placing ads on every aspect of your messages they can now put a little more money into their projects and refine their service. Time will tell.
We’re going to give YouMail our own thorough hands-on, but we recommend that you give it a try and post a comment on your experience. If you’re not willing to take the risk, however, post a comment and let us know of your favorite visual voicemail alternative.
Posted on February 4, 2009, at 1:00 am .
Slacker today announced the availability of the free Slacker Mobile application for the BlackBerry Storm. Slacker Radio, which is optimized for the handset’s unique touch screen, and can be used in both vertical and horizontal modes, is available as a free download by visiting Slacker.com from your BlackBerry Storm.
Slacker station caching, an exclusive feature for BlackBerry smartphones, enables listeners to store favorite stations on a memory card, allowing the Slacker Mobile application to play without a network connection, reducing battery life consumption by up to 5 times that of streaming playback and enhancing application performance. In addition, BlackBerry smartphone enthusiasts can enjoy Slacker Personal Radio while doing other tasks such as emailing, instant messaging or web browsing (sorry iPhone).
As you know, I’m a big fan of Slacker. Now, my BlackBerry Storm friends can share in the same level of excellence from Slacker Radio that I have enjoyed for weeks. The link was scheduled to go live at 8 AM ET, but it appears to already be functional. If you’re in the USA (sorry Canucks), have a BlackBerry Storm or other BlackBerry with OS 4.3 or better, head over to www.slacker.com on your BlackBerry and download the free application. Hit us up in the comments with your thoughts.
Posted on February 3, 2009, at 1:58 pm .
When BlackBerry Cool became the first BlackBerry website on the Internet to provide free invites to the BOLT BlackBerry Browser private beta, we never thought so many people would have such rabid interest. After thanking you the readers for providing ’substantial feedback’ on the initial beta release, Bitstream let us know that an updated version is being pushed to users with BlackBerry-specific enhancements. You can find the full list of enhancements after the jump.
For those that haven’t tried the BOLT Browser yet, we have some great news: the ‘berrycool’ code now has unlimited referrals! So head over to the BOLT download page and tell Bitstream ‘berrycool’ sent you.
In addition, Bitstream has set up an email address for people who want to share their experiences using BOLT and possibly be quoted (with expressed permission) in BOLT’s PR efforts. The address is pr4beta@boltbrowser.com. Bitstream has also set up a support form for those with technical issues at: http://www.boltbrowser.com/support.html. So you have your task readers: download the new version of BOLT, keep providing great feedback, and help make a nifty BlackBerry Browser even better.
BOLT BlackBerry Browser Feature updates
Posted on January 29, 2009, at 2:28 pm .
Sometimes it pays to keep a close eye on your Twitter friends. I follow BlackBerry entertainment company Blay’s Twitter feed, just to stay in the know about the latest in fun stuff for your BlackBerry. Bplay has just tweeted that they’re offering everything in the Bplay store — BlackBerry themes, BlackBerry games, and BlackBerry realtunes — for 20% off! To get the discount, you must use the coupon code ‘EMAIL20′. To help get you started, here are a few of our favorite recent Bplay offerings:
If you don’t like our suggestions, you can always head to Bplay’s website for some more BlackBerry goodness!
Posted on January 28, 2009, at 4:39 pm .
It seems that Slacker has really been a hit for the BlackBerry kids out there! We received an astounding 144 responses to Monday’s post giving away a one month subscription to Slacker Radio Plus. Due to the overwhelming response, we took a little extra time to talk to our friends over at Slacker and FortyThree to ask for more licenses. Guess what? They doubled up, so now twenty of you will be receiving a one month subscription to Slacker Radio Plus! So here are your twenty winners, congratulations!
Matt
Piano123
Clint
JerryD
Al
Marty
brayndeded
MaDGirL
skelzer
Kevin Stephenson
Dean G.
conedude13
mischaka
Stacey
Angie C
Chad D
Leena
ATLcrackberry
Jerry H Browning
Corey
Each winner will be contacted by BlackBerryCool and/or Slacker; if not, please post a comment to let us know. Thanks to everyone who participated, and a big thanks again to Slacker and FortyThree, for helping us take care of our music junkies!
Posted on January 26, 2009, at 2:59 pm .
Mondays suck. Like gravity and Godwin’s Law, it is an immutable force of nature. So with the help of our friends over at Slacker, we thought we’d try to make your Monday a little better by giving away free stuff.
BlackBerry Cool Power User Nan Palmero is a big fan of Slacker, the streaming radio application for BlackBerry and desktop (check out Nan’s Slacker impressions). Always the enterprising sort, Nan was able to convince the kind team at Slacker to give BlackBerry Cool 10 FREE ONE MONTH SUBSCRIPTIONS for SLACKER’S ‘RADIO PLUS’ PREMIUM ACCOUNTS. Here’s how you can get one:
- You have to be based in the U.S. (sorry, my fellow Canucks)
- You must have a valid email address already configured with Slacker (i.e. the email address you signed up to slacker with). If you haven’t tried Slacker yet, download the free trial now!
- Post a comment on this post telling us about your favorite aspect of Slacker, what improvements you’d like to see, and when/where you listen to Slacker on your BlackBerry.
- We’ll draw the 10 winners randomly at 2pm EST tomorrow, so make sure you post right away!
While you’re posting, make sure you write a thank you to everyone at Slacker and FortyThree PR. If we’re lucky, maybe we can get some more premium accounts from them.
Posted on January 26, 2009, at 10:44 am .
A few weeks ago we had reported BeamReader had left beta and was available in a finished state. BeamReader is a full fidelity native PDF viewing application for BlackBerry and drew ‘oohs and awes’ at the BlackBerry Cool 15 event. We’re delighted to tell you that BeamReader is now available in the BlackBerry Cool Store for $19.99! Click the link below corresponding to your OS and find out why the BlackBerry Partners Fund was willing to write these guys an oversized check.
BeamReader for BlackBerry
Download BeamReader for OS 4.7 (FREE TRIAL)
Download BeamReader for OS 4.6 (FREE TRIAL)
Download BeamReader for OS 4.5 (FREE TRIAL)
Posted on January 23, 2009, at 11:03 am .
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.
Slacker for BlackBerry videos, gallery and impressions
