Vringo is a video ringtone service for your mobile device that includes a social component so you can share your favorite videos with friends. When their beta launched this August they had support for only the Bold. Now Tour and 8900 Curve users try out their fully functional social and visual ringtone application.
The service provides a large catalog of free video ringtones and it also lets you turn your own videos into a video ringtone format.
Try the free Vringo video ringtone beta on your Bold, Tour, and Curve 8900.
To make and edit your own video ringtones, check out Vringo Studio.
In an effort to help you all out with expanding your BlackBerry devices media capabilities, each week we are gonna take a look at some of the hottest downloads from Videos4BlackBerry. As we’ve mentioned before Videos4BlackBerry is a one stop shop for videos on your Blackberry covering a lot of your TV favorites such as True Blood, Deadliest Catch, Rescue Me and so much more. So lets have a look at this week’s top videos. Check out this week’s top videos for your BlackBerry
RealPlayer SP has launched in beta today and the service allows you to transfer any video to your BlackBerry for free. For $40 [one-time cost] you can upgrade to the RealPlayer Plus SP, which supports h.264 video conversion, DVD playback and DVD burning.
Once a video is downloaded, simply select the make of your mobile phone, portable media player, or games system from the menu — and RealPlayer SP automatically does the rest. The same videos can be shared with friends through Twitter, Facebook, or email with one extra click. Mac support will come later this year.
Features of this application include:
Play Web video on nearly any device, including Blackberry, Nokia smartphones, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Xbox, and many others through automatic conversion and transfer to the correct device format, including Flash, Windows Media, QuickTime & RealVideo.
Save time by downloading several videos or transferring the same video to many different devices from one screen.
Add custom device profiles and easily change format settings to maximize video quality and control for a device.
Create audio-only files from videos for playback on devices that only support audio.
Support for latest versions of Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome.
RealPlayer SP beta is available as a free download.
Everything looks beautiful on the BlackBerry Storm. At WES, many of the booths were demo’ing their products on the Storm because the combination of a big screen and smooth UI, makes for the best way to showcase your application. Video is stunning on this device and I found a good post explaining how to get NBC prime television streamed to your device for free.
Shows include The Office, 30 Rock, Crusoe, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Kath and Ki, Knight Rider, Lipstick Jungle, My Own Worst Enemy, The Biggest Looser and more.
“If you didn’t use the BB Media Manager to convert/transfer video files, what are the best formats and settings to use for a video file so that it is playable on the BlackBerry Bold?”
Although not officially confirmed, it seems RIM is going to announce a full-episode television service for BlackBerry. The launch may come at CTIA but we’ve also heard App World will be announced and they may not want to take away the spotlight.
The new service is rumored to feature:
Unlimited monthly subscription service for a fee
Once a user orders a program, the content will be downloaded in the background over Wi-Fi
Multiple broadcast and cable networks have licensed content for the service
If the above comes true, I would be really interested to see what sort of content we can expect. Ideally, the service would start by offering the usual premium content that can be offered for free such as Comedy Central and Comedy Network shows.
Micro-payments can really help this service too. If I could pay $0.99 per episode of Lost or The Office, I would happily do so. Hopefully this service offers some content that really makes it worthwhile.
TVNow have a mobile video on-demand application for BlackBerry that is starting to take-in content and should be ready to go live in the near future. Obviously the most important element for video on-demand is content which can make or break a video app.
TVNow’s first set of videos will be instructional clips. “For example, we have a cooking series,” says company creator Andrew Tidby. “So, it’s going to be like having a cookbook and a TV series in your pocket.”
The company is also looking to acquire higher value content in its second phase. “What’s going to happen sooner rather than later,” he said, “is that if you want to watch Family Guy or Lost, you just punch it into your phone and watch it there, or have it beamed directly to your television through your phone.”
Tidby said TVNow will partner with the National Film Board of Canada, so that users can watch any of their short movies, anytime, anywhere. He also hopes to engage the BBC and the Sundance Film Festival, so viewers can have access to international programming and independent films.
One of the many problems they will face are content laws. TVNow is a Canadian born company which could pose many hurdles. For example, Canada is limited in its ability to provide Comedy Network content because Comedy Central is the main provider in Canada. Also, Canadians cannot get access to free NBC content from Hulu, making it even more of a pain for Canadians to get good content.
This app will really need some great content to succeed and it doesn’t take much. One major deal with HBO and some movies could really make this app worthwhile.
This is obviously a fan vid right? I doubt RIM has gone viral and started putting together ads with no branding or real marketing behind them. Cool idea though!
I don’t know how many people will be interested in this, as I have no problem browsing YouTube via my Storm’s web browser, but a dedicated application usually offers more functionality over the mobile web. Google has released a YouTube client for the BlackBerry Storm, allowing users to get a YouTube experience catered specifically for their favorite touchscreen. Here’s what’s included:
* Browse millions of videos from your phone.
* Access your favorites, your own uploaded videos and your favorite channels.
* Share, rate, and comment on videos from your phone.
* Upload videos from your phone.
* Find the specific video you’re looking for by easily searching for it.
* Discover “Related” videos for each video you watch on your phone.
Post a comment and tell us what you think of the YouTube application. If you like it, we’ll do a hands-on video for the BlackBerry Nation.
Following up on his article responding to criticism for his review of the BlackBerry Storm, New York Times technology critic David Pogue has hit the TV circuit. I normally wouldn’t have posted this, as after Al Sacco’s rebuttal, I feel I am over Pogue’s review. However, the video is an excellent lesson for RIM. RIM knew they were releasing an OS update shortly after launch, we knew it, but David Pogue didn’t. If RIM had told him rather than keeping mum, they probably wouldn’t have received such a negative review from one of the most influential voices in the technology world. Click the link below to see Pogue’s CNBC interview.
Following up on his 
