New features from current production version:

• support for 5.0 OS
• file transfers via link, you can now transfer files to buddies on all IM accounts.
• email push when app running in background (see preferences in app).
• send voice notes
• send GPS location (if supported by phone)
• new chat styles & background images
• new buddy list layouts
• improved battery life
• overall UI redesign
• facebook IM
• various other bug fixes & enhancements
• This beta is not supported on devices with OS’s below 4.2.1.

Check out their forum thread for OTA and desktop install options at this link

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• TwitterBerry 0.9a Beta Released: Better TwitPic Support & More
• BeejiveIM (formerly JiveTalk) 1.1.0 Released
• BeeJive IM 1.1.2 Beta Adds Facebook Chat
• TwitterBerry 0.7 Beta 4 Released
• IM+ 7.0 Released: Adds Facebook Chat & Avatar Support

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 20, 2009, 1:03 pm. | BeejiveIM Beta 1.9.7 Released – Adds OS 5.0 Support & More | 3 comments |

That is when Bla1ze let me know about this super cheap website www.truesupplier.com that offers some good deals on custom BlackBerry parts. For example, you can pick up a leopard print housing for your 8900 for $13.99. Or a chrome with diamond back housing for your BlackBerry Bold 9000 for $26.99. You can also find some great OEM replacement parts in their store. The parts ship from Hong Kong from what I can tell which means that shipping takes a bit but Bla1ze highly recommends them

Check them out at www.truesupplier.com and let me know if you spot any gems!

PS: This brown weave black cover for the Bold 9000 is the coolest thing I have found so far!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Buy Aftermarket BlackBerry Parts & Accessories
• BlackBerry Bold Parts For Sale On CNN.cn
• Storm Costs RIM About $203 In Parts Compared To Bolds $169
• Found A Cheap Deal For BlackBerry Batteries? Let Us Know!
• Bolds $158.16 In Parts Going For $799 @ CompUSA

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 20, 2009, 12:06 pm. | TrueSupplier – Cheap Colored Parts & Housings for your BlackBerry | 5 comments |

Review: Addictive Tower Defense
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
Cost:

Since I installed Addictive Tower Defense on my Bold 9700 over a week ago I have been hooked. Don’t get me wrong I suck at the game but I played the game for over 2 hours while waiting in line at the DMV. Read on to learn why Addictive Tower Defense won our Editors Choice Award!

In case you are not familiar with Tower Defense game the concept is to stop the invading forces from getting from their starting point to their end point. You do this by erecting barriers, guns, rocket launchers, and more to stop them in their tracks and annihilate the enemy! I find it reminds me of a mash-up of Lemmings & Worms from back in the day.

The graphics in the game are not 3D but they are very impressive and the gameplay is super smooth. My favorite part is that you can pause and save the game at any point making it really easy to pick up and put down between meetings. I truly cant say much more about this game other than it is truly VERY addictive.

In short I HIGHLY recommend Addictive Tower Defense if you are getting tired of playing BrickBreaker. That is high praise coming from a man that finds faults in everything. The only two faults I could find with the game is that it does not have a free trial and that the registration code is tied to your PIN so you need to get it updated when you switch devices.

You can find the game for $4.99 in the store at this link

PS: Sorry I had to use the product description screenshots but BlackBerry Messenger bricked my 9700 yesterday and it is still recovering…

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Addictive Tower Defense – 50% Off Today Only!!! $2.49
• Giveaway: Fierce Towers Tower Defense Game – 50 Copies
• Fierce Towers Comes to 8900 & Tour – Tower Defense Game
• Fun Air Traffic Control Storm Game from Mobigloo
• Review: Netwalk game by Beiks

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 19, 2009, 3:00 pm. | Review: Addictive Tower Defense Game – Editors Choice Winner! | One comment |

Check out the free Lite version at this link and the paid version at this link in App World.

BTW anybody else notice that EA Games released NBA Street for BlackBerry? Haven’t tried it myself yet but I definitely will be…

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• If You Registered The Free EA Mobile Game From CES Is Now Available
• Free Lingo Word Game On mobile.BlackBerry.com
• Lights Out: Free Storm Puzzle Game By Tafasa
• FREE Bubble Popper Game & 30% Off AIM Games
• Free Pub Checkers Game In Owners Lounge

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 19, 2009, 12:44 pm. | Get Your Game on With NBA Game Time | Leave a comment |

Everyday on the train home I try to catch up on work. Half way during the ride my BlackBerry usually dies. I have tried many other power chargers, but I find Duracell’s to be the best. I love the portability of the charger. I personally use the Duracell Instant Rechargeable because my BlackBerry Storm has a Micro USB slot.

I keep the device in my pocket and have a cord to the phone charging the phone as I do my work. People jokingly ask me if I have an outlet in my pocket. Everyone loves it. You can attach the Duracell Instant to any phone that can charge through a standard USB port. The Duracell Pocket which is pictured above can only be used through Mini USB. After giving out the devices and surveying the guys which they prefer I got all kinds of feedback.  Some loved the Duracell Pocket because no wires are needed (as  pictured above). But some loved the Duracell Instant because they preferred the tiny device whether it was in their pocket or lap rather than attached to the phone.  I have also used the Duracell Powerhouse which is able to charge up to 2 phones at a time. The Powerhouse is very small but made to be used on a desk.

The chargers come with a short USB cable that attaches to your computer and then to the  IN slot on the charger. It took under a hour for the red light to turn green indicating the charge was complete.  I like the Duracell Pocket’s charging light the best. The Duracell Pocket’s light is perfectly lit up and in the center so you can see from all angles. The Instant has a small red/green charging light and it must be faced towards you to see it, and the Powerhouse  light is a little dim.

• Size           8 – Small

• Weight      8 -Very light

• Variety     10 – Because of the USB port on the Instant and Powerhouse you can charge many devices

• Battery Life  8 – Holds a great charge for days

So when your battery is low all you need to do is attach the Duracell Charger to your phone and it’s charging. You can even make a phone call as it charges. Never again will I run out of battery life on my phone.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Review: JavoEdge Pocket Battery Charger – Never Let It Die!
• Review: Case-Mate BlackBerry Bold Fuel – Rechargeable Battery Pack
• Review: BlackBerry Solar Charger From 100milligrams
• Review: 7 in 1 Solar Power Charger From BudgetGadgets.com
• SOLIO Hybrid Solar Charger For Your BlackBerry

Posted by Evan for ©BerryReview, November 18, 2009, 2:00 pm. | Review: Duracell Rechargeable USB Charger | 6 comments |

Usually we don’t mention these kinds of services but this one has a 7 day free trial that could be quite fun. The service only costs $3.99/month after the trial which seems ridiculously cheap… The service offers:

Personal Assistance

• Research & Information
• Personal Concierge
• Travel Reservations
• Events & Tickets
• Translation & Interpretation
• Unique Requests

Emergency Assistance

• Personal & Family Safety
• Access to Roadside Help
• Medical Assistance

Check it out at www.myassist.com and let me know what you think.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• AAA Mobile GPS Application For BlackBerry Now Available
• Roadside assistance application for you BlackBerry
• Rearden Commerce – Cool Enterprise Travel Assistant
• Four Trick Tips for Cell Phone Owners
• DexRex Goes Live… Again

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 18, 2009, 12:02 pm. | MyAssist for BlackBerry – Do You Need A Live Assistant/Concierge? | Leave a comment |

You can pick up the new version at this link:
www.emacberry.com/ota/BBFileScout.jad

Changelog – FileScout release of 1.5.0.0

What’s new?

• Display of thumbnails in search result (if thumbnail display is enabled and images are in the ‘FileScout Image Cache’)
• Thumbnail-Options: New Button to generate all all thumbnails for all images on your device (incl. the SDCard) – this operation can take a while till it’s completed – please be patient!
• When resizing images to device resolution size you can now select to keep the aspect ratio of the original image. If this option is selected, then FileScout will cut (left & right or top & bottom) of the image so that it will fit to your device screen resolution.
• UserDefined resolution (image resizing) can be now be max 9999 pixel [but it's recommended not use more then 1200px]
• Support for DesktopManager Backup & Restore (FileScout settings)
• A ‘[W]‘ in the Screen Title indicating that the background threads (required for Search and other extended features) are still running (after FileScout is started) – once the threads are completed the ‘[W]‘ will disappear.
• Integration in the RIMs FileExplorer Application: a ‘Explore with FileScout’ MenuItem is added

What’s fixed?

• Search files in the current Directory only function fixed to be usable multiple times
• Potential OutOfMemeory Error during start of FileScout (when the thumbnail store is getting too large)
• Accessing OS5 System Folder for Bold, Bold2, Storm and Storm2

For all of you who are waiting to get a "fix" for the System folder on the Bold, Bold2, Storm and Strom2 on OS5.

• RIM confirmed that they made the System folder in OS5.x read only
• FileScout (and all other 3′rd party applications) can only show the content of the System folder but can’t modify anything

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• FileScout v1.4.1 Released – Performance Tweaks
• FileScout 1.3 Released – Email Multiple Files or Whole Directory
• BBFileScout 0.6.5 Adds Thumbnails Option for Images
• Terra Mobility File Manager Pro Beta: Powerful File Utility
• BeamReader PDF Reader & File Manager Now Out Of Beta

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 18, 2009, 7:39 am. | FileScout File Manager Updated to v1.5 | 2 comments |

New in OpenBeak 1.1:

    *  Twitter Search
    * New Setup Wizard
    * Choice of viewing tweets in a list view or a bubble view 
    * Notification icon will clear when quitting OpenBeak

You can pick up the latest version at m.openbeak.com or read more at www.openbeak.com.

Let us know what Twitter client you are using!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• TwitterBerry 0.7 Beta 4 Released
• TwitterBerry 0.9a Beta Released: Better TwitPic Support & More
• TwitterBerry 0.9.1 Beta Released – Improved Performance
• TwitterBerry 0.8 Released – New Look!
• UberTwitter Dethrones TwitterBerry as Most Popular BlackBerry Twitter Client

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 17, 2009, 1:00 pm. | TwitterBerry Renamed OpenBeak | 3 comments |

The dictionary is stored in HTML so it works kind of like an iPhone app and easily pulls up information. The first time you run the app you will be asked to download the dictionary which is recommended to be done over Wi-Fi or using a USB cable with your PC though it does work over the cellular connection.

The app is currently on sale for $5.99 until Nov 20 after which it goes up to $12.99. Sadly there is no trial available.

What’s so special about this dictionary?

This application uses one of the largest English databases “WordNet”. It contains over 250,000 entries and more than 1.6 million words (American and British English). This is the only dictionary on the Blackberry that displays definitions in an HTML format (think iPhone dictionaries). This means that each definition has in-built links to related words, and you can jump seamlessly between definitions.

Each definition is displayed in a clean web-page like format and can be scrolled, searched etc just like a normal web page. No web connection needed – once the application data is downloaded the dictionary data is all stored on the device.

Features:

• Links between words: More than 300,000 links between definitions. Almost every definition contains links to other definitions including “Similar Words”, “Opposite”, “More General”, “More Specific” and more…
• Accurate content: Clear and precise definitions developed by the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University.
• GUI designed for Blackberry: not just a port of a standard Java dictionary
• Smooth & Beautiful Layout: Our unique HTML display engine presents definitions as web pages.
• Fast: Searching and jumping between definitions optimized for the Blackberry platform.
• Bookmarks: unlimited bookmarks.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Enterpret – English-Spanish Mobile Translator With Audio, Dictionary, & Thesaurus
• Review: BEIKS English Dictionary Gold for BlackBerry
• Dictionary.com Releases Free BlackBerry App
• Review: EnglishWords dictionary
• Vocabulary Memory – Spanish/German To English Translation

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 17, 2009, 9:32 am. | English Dictionary & Thesaurus for BlackBerry with Local Storage | 4 comments |

NFP Mobile features:

• Hot News and Rumors
• Columns from NFP Experts (Matt Bowen, Jack Bechta, Robert Boland and Andrew Brandt)
• Notes from Lombardi
• Fantasy Football News
• Scouting Department
• Daily Jolt
• Team News – featuring a customizable tab that lets users get up-to-the-minute news on all their favorite teams.

NFP Mobile content can be shared or saved via social bookmarking and social networking sites. Video will also be available soon, and users will have the ability to leave comments within the application.

You can pick up the app free at this link or read more at this link.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Yahoo Releases Free Y! Fantasy Football ‘09 App
• Yahoo Fantasy Football Mobile Beta Website
• ScoreMobile 1.2 Released – Free Sports App Improved
• BBSportsLines – Free Betting Odds App For Popular Sports
• Sports Illustrated For BlackBerry Now Available!

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 17, 2009, 5:59 am. | National Football Post Releases Free BlackBerry App | 5 comments |

On my flight back from DevCon I was pleasantly surprised that there was GoGo In-flight Wi-Fi service on my American Airlines flight. I paid the $12.95 one time charge to get internet access on the plane and was amazed at the service. The internet access was a bit slow like a Verizon EVDO card but it worked! I was using it on my Macbook for about 3 hours before the battery died. It let me write quite a few articles but Slacker, Pandora, & Last.fm were a bit choppy and kept on cutting out on my laptop.

So once the battery died I fired up my T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700 and used my same login to get back on the the Wi-Fi network by using the Hotspot login feature in the Wi-Fi setup wizard. The connection took a few tries to get working but afterwards it was just plain awesome!!! The coolest part is that GoGo did not charge me yet again to use a different device to connect to the internet. Sadly I did not think of testing out if both my laptop and BlackBerry could be connected at the same time for one charge but I doubt it.

I connected to the Wi-Fi network and within a few seconds I had my latest emails and everything on my BlackBerry. What truly blew my mind is that I even had UMA T-Mobile@Home service in the air! I am not sure how I feel about people making phone calls on a close and cramped airplane but I was shocked that it was not blocked! The audio quality was also great. It was T-Mobile @ 30,000 feet in the sky!

I started playing with the service and found that everything worked like it should. Google Talk, Facebook, and even SMS were working just fine. I then fired up Pandora and decided to try it out. It took a bit for my station to load but after about 30 seconds I was listening to Apologize by OneRepublic though I should have been listening to Stairway to Heaven…

Only one thought came to mind when I had all of this running. “I LOVE Technology!”

So I will end this off by saying that the next time you are on a flight with Wi-Fi give it a shot. The days of boring in-flight entertainment are over. Now if only they would provide us with power jacks or even USB ports to charge gadgets I would be in heaven!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Pandora 1.0.3 Released – Improves Wi-Fi Support & Speed
• Pandora version 1.0.2 is available
• Pandora Updated To v1.0.1 – No Change Log
• Pandora 1.10 Released – Audio Quality Options & More
• Pandora 1.1.2 Release Fixes OS 5.0 Issues

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 13, 2009, 3:00 pm. | Review: GoGo In-flight Wireless – Pandora Streaming & Even UMA Calling in the Sky | 5 comments |

Pick it up at blackberry.wordpress.org/install

Here is what’s new: (Link)

• Based on all the great feedback, we reworked much of the UI layout for the main view, blog view, and media view
• Ability to upload videos from your media library
• New option to set media file properties (filename, caption, title, and position)
• Created a new file browser that resembles the native BlackBerry file browser
• Big improvements in the speed at which you can view and manage comments
• Lots of optimizations for uploading photos and videos using base64 encoding
• Indonesian language support updated thanks to Kate of Pixel Insert
• Improved French language support thanks to Yann Nave of blog.onbebop.net

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Wordpress v0.9.0.157 Beta – Lots of New Features!
• Wordpress for BlackBerry Beta 0.9.0.140 Now Faster – BIS Support Coming Soon!
• Wordpress for BlackBerry Moving Along Nicely – v0.9.0.134
• HOT! Wordpress BlackBerry App Public Beta! Upload Pictures & Audio
• Wicked Wordpress App Public Beta from ScreamingToaster

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 13, 2009, 7:30 am. | Wordpress Beta Updated – Almost There… | One comment |

cost: $24.95                                                                                                     
Website:

The title says it all! Within 10 minutes of taking the device out of the package and placing it on my desk, everyone was crowed around my desk. I didn’t even turn it on. Wow! What is that? COOOL! Where do I get one?  And then I attached it to my BlackBerry Storm and played some music. Everyone was amazed of the great and balanced sound it produced. This little 3 inch toy is playing good sound! Right away friends in the office went online and bought their own.  Someone actually took mine, (If it was you please give back).  The Headphonies come in 7 different styles. They need to restock often, so you have to try and order them while they are in stock.

The Mobi Headphonies is very easy to use.  Plug the device into your computer via USB.  A red light will appear and in less than 1 hour it will be fully charged  light will turn green and will last up to 4 hours. There is no “on” or “off” switch, the device turns on and off based if your music player is connected. For the headphonies to turn on make sure the sound is off on your player/phone before plugging in. Included is an USB charging cord and audio cable. If your music player/phone has an audio jack then it will work with the headphonies.

• Price:      7  (not too high but not cheap)
• Compact: 7  (very light but bulky in pocket)
• Quality:   9   (for the size and money the best on the market)
• Looks:    10  ( JUST COOL! There is one for everyone)

I recommend buying the Mobi Headphonies, and you will be glad you did. Just make sure you hold onto it because someone is going to love it and walk off with yours.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Review: Duracell Rechargeable USB Charger
• Hilton.mobi & Marriott.mobi – Book Hotels From Your Berry
• Review: Maximo iMetal-590 Isolation Earphones from Maximo
• Review: Seido Headphone adapter for 8100/8800/8830 BlackBerry
• Review: BlueAnt M1 Bluetooth Speakers

Posted by Evan for ©BerryReview, November 12, 2009, 5:06 pm. | Review: Mobi Headphonies | 2 comments |

Just in time for the Holiday Season (yeah its already that time of the year) Sena has made custom laser engraving available to the public. What better way to show your BlackBerry Addicted friends/family/significant-other you care about them, than by engraving a personal message into a beautiful leather case for their favorite device. Sena makes cases for all of your favorite gadgets including, of course, their impressive BlackBerry Collection.

Sena cases are in a field of their own when it comes to style, class and quality of materials. They provide an excellent product for a very reasonable price. Their use of premium Napa calfskin leather from Italy and Turkey makes their cases not only look amazing but last forever.

This is true laser engraving meaning that your message or logo is burned into the case itself. This produces an incredibly stunning result. While it does look better on some colors/textures than others, it will add that touch of personalization to any case in their lineup. Any of the engraving can be done in one of several different fonts. Another really neat feature is the ability to upload a logo to be engraved.

More Info and Pictures After The Jump

There is an additional $9.99 fee on top of the price of the case for custom laser engraving, it also takes a little bit longer to get the case to you (an extra 2-3 days) but if you have ever ordered anything from Sena before, it will still be at your door long before you expect it to be.

Also a note for the Holiday Season, Sena also offers wooden gift boxes and gift wrapping leaving nothing for you to do once it arrives.

If you would like any further information on Sena Cases, or to purchase one for yourself or a loved one, check out their site.

I would like you all to know that I claim in no way to be a professional photographer, I feel like I did not do the engraving justice by taking pictures at night. The engraving really is quite stunning and pronounced.

In the interest of full disclosure, Sena was kind enough to send me the Tan Leather Skin case to keep after they finished the engraving.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Review: SENA BlackBerry 8100 LeatherSkin Case
• Review: SENA BlackBerry 8800 LeatherSkin Case
• Fortte Leather Cases
• Review: SENA Vertical Pouch For BlackBerry 8300 Curve
• Review: Sena Classic Flipdown Case

Posted by Nate for ©BerryReview, November 12, 2009, 12:00 pm. | Sena Cases Adds Custom Engraving | Leave a comment |

You just hit the space bar or shake your Storm and it will find a good restaurant near you buy choosing cuisine, neighborhood and price you are looking for. It also lets you simple search and browse restaurants near you using your location.

Check it out at www.urbanspoon.com/blackberry

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• OpenTable Releases Free BlackBerry App for Restaurant Reservations
• Microsoft Releases Free Live Search Application For BlackBerry
• Poynt update adds restaurant search feature
• UrbanSpoon Mobile…Your ‘on the go’ local food & dining guide
• SameCell Location Based Search Without GPS

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 11, 2009, 3:17 pm. | Urbanspoon Releases BlackBerry App – Restaurant Slot Machine | 4 comments |

Once again, the folks over at OtterBox have done it. They have made give out yet another perfect score. I went over this case with a fine toothed comb and couldn’t find one fault. The design, fit, attention to detail and overall build quality is flawless.

Some weeks ago, OtterBox sent this case out for me to review. I have been putting this review off partly because of an extremely busy work schedule and partly because I have a deep and meaningful love affair with my, OtterBox clad, Bold 9000 at the moment. I didn’t want to give the Bold up. It was robust, reliable (mostly) and, well, it’s just my favorite child right now. I’ve had the Curve 8520 sitting in the cupboard since a few weeks before release date and a brand new OtterBox sitting along side it… waiting… Waiting until I screwed up. Well it happened. Friday night the Bold gave it’s last flicker of life and succumbed to a lifetime of abuse, overuse and 300+ emails a day.

One excuse is as good as another so I swapped devices and cracked the packaging on the Curve 8520 and matching OtterBox Defender.

I was not disappointed. Overall built quality on the OtterBox Defender case fantastic. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I just can’t find a fault with this case.

Fitting is easy (when compared to the OtterBox Defender case for the Curve 8900). Again, the manufactures have used a hard membrane over the screen so when you fit the case, no annoying bubbles are formed between the screen and membrane. The keyboard is protected by a form fitted clear membrane. The only part of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that is left un-protected is the trackpad. (A small hint, the edge of the membrane surrounding the trackpad will settle back onto the underlying button after a day or two. I thought this was going to be an issue at the start as a small but noticeable lip had formed surrounding the trackpad but it settled down 24 hours or so later).

There is a total of eight dedicated locator pins/lugs around the other edge to hold the silicon skin in place. This aids in holding the very outside layer of protection in place like no other Defender Case that I have previously reviewed.

The charge and earpiece port is covered with a two stage removable plug. This allows you to uncover just the earpiece port whilst keeping dust and dirt out of your charge port at the same time. All outside buttons are catered for, including the three media keys on top of the device making every function of your BlackBerry Curve 8520 operable whilst in the case.

Previous OtterBox Defender cases occasionally caused a ‘flashback’ effect that would render flash photography from your device virtually impossible. As the Curve 8520 has no flash, this is not a problem with this OtterBox Defender.

Sound quality from the Curve 8520 is, well lets be truthful here, CRAP at the best of times. Putting it in this case doesn’t make any difference. It still sounds like crap… I haven’t had any complaints about voice quality and have taken quite a number of calls over the weekend so that factor seems to be fine too.

The first thing you will notice about the holster is the activation magnet is offset slightly to one side. But apart from that, everything is as it should be. The twenty four position belt clip is as strong as always and the device clips into the holster firmly with a positive lock-down in the final ten millimeters or so.

Pros:

• OtterBox’s famous 3 layers of protection.
• Easier to fit than any other OtterBox Defender to date.
• Access to all buttons from outside the case.
• Firm fit on the silicon outer skin.
• Two stage plug cover for earpiece/charger port.
• Moulded keyboard cover.
• Sturdy and robust holster.

Cons:

• The old Henry Ford philosophy… Any color as long as its Black…

Conclusion:

Simply put, OtterBox have got it all together when they designed and constructed the OtterBox Defender of the BlackBerry Curve 8520. I know this device is a budget line for RIM but these days, every cent counts right… For $49.95* you can essentially purchase an insurance policy against dropping and damage that we all incur on a day to day basis.

My BlackBerry Bold 9000 has been in an OtterBox Defender case since the day I got it. When I removed it the other day, the device did not have single scratch or blemish anywhere. It was just as if it was brand new. (Except the now black trackball that started life as a white one). I work in a construction environment on a day to day basis and if this is no testament to the protection OtterBox offers then I don’t know what is.

My only gripe is the lack of color range. Come on OtterBox, at the very least bring back the yellow option. (Although, I think a drab olive green or camo would be a superb look…)

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• OtterBox Defender Case; Nearly 6 month update…
• Review: OtterBox Defender Case for BlackBerry Storm
• OtterBox Releases BlackBerry 8520 Curve Cases
• Review: OtterBox Defender for BlackBerry 8900 Curve
• OtterBox Defender for BlackBerry Bold: Pre-Order Now.

Posted by Greg for ©BerryReview, November 10, 2009, 2:00 pm. | Review: OtterBox Defender Case for BlackBerry Curve 8520 | 2 comments |

The game uses the Storm2 features like the accelerometer and touchscreen to make the game interactive. For example, you tap to screen to break and swipe up to turbo boost. You also tilt the device to steer.

Should be a pretty cool game when it launches with OS 5.0 and its OpenGL support. Only the Storm2 currently ships with the OpenGL API but it should be coming to all devices that can run OS 5.0 in the future.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• RIM Announces OpenGL ES Support & New GUI Builder for Eclipse
• Magmic Releases Basketball and Rummy Games
• Free EA Games Not Released Yet!
• Magmic Releases LEGO Racers & Dinner Dash 2 Games
• Magmic Releases Two New Games – IQ Academy & NFL Gridiron

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 9, 2009, 6:36 pm. | EA Games Shows Off OpenGL in Need For Speed Shift | 7 comments |

I am not sure how badly this will hit your battery but the idea is pretty cool. The app will keep updating your location kind of like Google Maps Latitude.

Feature highlights include:

• Discover the best places and events, including those rated highly by your friends on Pulse
• See where your friends are on maps – view their latest updates listed in real-time and comment on them
• Check-in to instantly share your updates with friends – easily update Facebook and Twitter with your photos and places in one Loopt check-in
• Browse and rate local places and events – peruse detailed information from Zagat, Citysearch, and the Loopt community
• Save money through special offers from nearby retailers with local coupons

The full press release is below but you can find the latest version of Loopt in the App World by searching for Loopt.

Loopt Launches Major Update to Unite Mobile, Social, and Local Discovery on BlackBerry Smartphones
Enhanced Application Demonstrated at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference

San Francisco, CA – November 9, 2009 – Loopt announced today at the BlackBerry® Developer Conference that it has launched a major update for its free application for BlackBerry® smartphones, which is designed to connect users to the most relevant places and people nearby using background location updating.  This brand new version of Loopt enhances users’ ability to discover the world around them – revealing who’s around, what to do, and where to go.
At the 2009 BlackBerry® Developer Conference, Sam Altman, CEO of Loopt, was invited on stage to perform a live demonstration of the new Loopt mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones.  “Loopt has always been focused on building a ubiquitous interoperable service for the mobile space and we’re thrilled to be showcased on the BlackBerry platform,” said Altman.  “We are especially excited to take advantage of background location updating on BlackBerry smartphones to help power social, local discovery on this latest version of Loopt.”
Loopt on BlackBerry smartphones runs in the background, which allows users to update their location in real-time while they are on the move, even when the Loopt application is not running in the foreground.  The world around them never stops moving so Loopt on the BlackBerry should not either.
“The BlackBerry platform excels in enabling multitasking and deep integration between applications and functionality on the smartphone.  Loopt has done a tremendous job of bringing location-based services and social communications together to enable BlackBerry smartphone users to discover, share, and connect,” said Tyler Lessard, Vice President, Global Alliances and Developer Relations at Research In Motion.
Loopt now offers dynamically-generated, relevant local content about places and events from some of the best sources on the Web to help users meet up with nearby friends, explore new places to grab food, and find local events happening now. 

Feature highlights include:

• Discover the best places and events, including those rated highly by your friends on Pulse
• See where your friends are on maps – view their latest updates listed in real-time and comment on them
• Check-in to instantly share your updates with friends – easily update Facebook and Twitter with your photos and places in one Loopt check-in
• Browse and rate local places and events – peruse detailed information from Zagat, Citysearch, and the Loopt community
• Save money through special offers from nearby retailers with local coupons

Loopt is proud to partner with Zagat, the world’s leading provider of consumer-survey based information.  Zagat’s quality, trusted information is based on the collective experiences of thousands of avid consumers.
“We are excited to offer the Loopt community access to Zagat’s top lists and information about special Zagat events in their area,” said Nina S. Zagat, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Zagat Survey.  “It is our mission to provide consumers with Zagat content wherever they are and whenever they need it.”
Loopt is available for free for the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900, BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000, and the BlackBerry® Tour™ smartphones on BlackBerry App WorldTM.  Go to http://www.blackberry.com/appworld and search for “Loopt”. 

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Buzzd Adds Free Location Based App for Their City Guides
• SameCell Updates Their Applications – Splits Out Search
• Eric Carr Of Loopt Explains GPS & Location Technologies
• Google Latitude Adds Location Alerts & Optional Location History
• Where – Free GPS Location Based Widgets -Buddy Finder

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 9, 2009, 3:00 pm. | Loopt Releases Update – Adds Background Location Updating | 5 comments |

Terry let me know that Case-Mate is now selling the Fuel case for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and will soon be carrying it for the BlackBerry Tour 9630. The main downside of the 8900 and Tour versions is that they have the BlackBerry screen facing out instead of in like the original Fuel cases. This is because RIM only put the charging contacts on the back.

Hopefully Case-Mate is working on a variant for the BlackBerry Bold 9700 since I am really missing the double battery life…

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Review: Case-Mate BlackBerry Bold Fuel – Rechargeable Battery Pack
• Case-Mate 25% Off Coupon Site Wide Until Father’s Day
• Hot: Bold OS v5.0.0.190, Tour OS v5.0.0.140 and Curve (8900) OS v5.0.0.190
• Preorder Seidio’s Innocase II Surface Hard-case For The 8900 Curve
• Review: Smart Skin From Case Mate for the BlackBerry Curve/Pearl

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 9, 2009, 7:00 am. | Case-Mate Fuel Case for Curve 8900 Now Available – Tour Coming Soon! | 2 comments |

Review: SoundID 200 Bluetooth Headset

Summary: SoundID was founded by an otologist (ear doctor) who sought to create bluetooth headsets that work with the natural sound processing of the ear. With that in mind, they created the SoundID200. The SoundID200 does one thing and does it right–gives you an earphone that safely and intelligibly delivers audio to the ear and a microphone that focuses in on a user’s voice and blocks out other sounds.

Fit: The SoundID200 gives you the option of using an ear loop like most headsets, but by default uses a smaller rubber cover with a nub that presses against the inside cavity of the ear. The default configuration is designed to hold the unit in your ear like a hearing aid–nice and snug without having to reach around the back of your ear. After using the SoundID200 for about a week I have to say, its pretty damn comfortable.

Sound: The rubber cover earpiece has a funnel that goes deep into the ear, delivering the audio straight into the ear. This makes the audio seem loud without having to hurt your eardrums with actual increased volume. Lastly, by funneling the sound deeper into the ear, the effects of background noises are decreased.

Volume: The SoundID200 also utilizes automatic volume control, which detects the how loud your surroundings are and adjust the volume accordingly. Thus, theoretically, you should never have to raise or lower the volume. But if you were to manually adjust the volume there is a single volume button. Hitting it once will raise the volume to max, twice will reduce the volume to low and three times will bring the volume back to midlevels. It might seem  weird at first, but the single button system really isn’t so complicated and makes it easier to simply raise or lower volume automatic volume control. While it used to take almost four clicks to raise the volume to max, now it only takes one.

Microphone Quality: The unit employs “black out” technology, which uses two microphones to filter out background noises. A few bluetooth headsets are employing this tech lately and SoundID employs it well.

Power: Micro usb connection, so no new power cords needed.

Aesthetic: Brushed dark blue faceplate makes it stick out from the normal headsets. The boom holds close to the cheek so no dangling. Overall, looks like a quality build.

Final Verdict: If you are looking for a no-nonsense bluetooth headset that that is sensitive to you hearing health, this is definitely a good buy.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Review: BlueAnt V1 Voice Controlled Bluetooth Headset
• Review BlueAnt Z9i Bluetooth Headset
• Review: BlueAnt M1 Bluetooth Speakers
• Review: Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Caller ID Headset
• Review: New Aliph Jawbone II Bluetooth Headset – Comparison With Original Jawbone

Posted by David for ©BerryReview, November 6, 2009, 3:00 pm. | Review: SoundID 200 Bluetooth Headset | 3 comments |

The app runs in the background but since it is using your GPS all the time along with cellular connection to upload data there may be a battery usage constraint for users so keep that in mind. On the other hand a user generated coverage map could go a long way to proving to your carrier that reception sucks for everybody in your location.

You cannot see the map from the application but it is available at www.iblipped.com. Let me know if you join in on the fun by downloading the application at this link.

From the description:

Today’s cellular phone network provider’s carrier maps are often out of date and/or inaccurate. The iBlipped site aims at gathering volunteered cell phone signal strengths to point out strengths and dead zones in cell phone providers coverage.
By taking users GPS and measuring their cell signal at regular intervals we can see just how good the coverage is.

Features:

• Works for both CDMA and UMTS carriers
• Signal Strength mapping using GPS
• Time or Distance based based recording
• Ability to halt/resume gathering
• Displays cell site information
• Upload signal strength to a website for analysis
• Uploading data through email.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• User Generated Wattpad Returns to App World
• Review: Wi-Ex zBoost Cell Phone Signal Extender – Extend Your Cell Coverage
• SignalLocBB Beta – Free Signal Location/Info Tool
• Create-A-JAD – Free App to Easily Create BlackBerry OTA Installer JAD for COD Files
• SignalLoc Now Supports The Bold – Free Utility Shows Cell Tower Information & More

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 6, 2009, 4:31 am. | Help iblipped Create a User Generated Coverage Map | 9 comments |

• Distance travelled
• Elapsed time
• Average speed and pace
• Calories expended

The app will also let you map your run and view it in BlackBerry Maps. It also has audio alerts and the ability to upload your data to their servers so you can review your data and track you progress over time.

All in all it is a pretty nice app for $4.99 and it has a free trial for you to try before you buy. Let me know if you give it a shot and how it compares to other solutions or even apps like GPSLogger.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Giveaway: 25 copies of RoadRunner GPS
• Giveaway Winners: RoadRunner GPS
• BBTrips Beta 1.1 – Track Your Trip On Google Earth Free
• New app for golfers: TeeDroid Caddy
• FedEx Mobile – Easily Track Packages & More

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 5, 2009, 12:54 pm. | RoadRunner GPS – Track Your Runs & Analyze Them | 5 comments |

Jason let me know about this update on his BlackBerry 9700 and I confirmed this on my AT&T Bold 9000 and T-Mobile Bold 9700.

Let us know if you can pick up the update at m.google.com/mail and if you notice anything different!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Gmail Mobile App Goes From 2.0.5 To 2.0.6
• Google Maps Updated to v3.2.1 – No Change Log
• Gmail Application Gets Upgraded To Version 2.0.5
• Google Calendar Sync Updated To 0.4.7 – No Change Log
• Google Voice BlackBerry App v0.1.6 Released – No Change Log

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 5, 2009, 9:53 am. | Gmail App Updated to v2.0.7 – No Change Log | 24 comments |

You can download the update at m.google.com/maps

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Google Maps 3.0.2 Released – No Change Log
• Google Maps 2.3.2 Released – No Change Log
• Google Maps Updated To Version 2.0.2
• Google Maps 3.2 Released – Adds Layers to Maps
• Google Maps v3.0.2 Enables GPS On The Storm

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 5, 2009, 1:16 am. | Google Maps Updated to v3.2.1 – No Change Log | 7 comments |

The new version 2.0.1 adds:

• Copy & Paste
• AutoText
• BIS Connections

Copy and paste is a no brainer but its nice to see BIS connectivity has been added along with support for AutoText. It still amazes me that not all apps support AutoText. I keep on hearing complaints about Google Voice not supporting AutoText for sending SMS.

Check out the details at this link or download it OTA at www.vodafone.de/update

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Vodafone Update – Free Twitter & Facebook Client – Bold & 8900 Curve Only
• HOT! SocialScope Alpha – AWESOME Native BlackBerry Twitter & Facebook Client – Request An Invite NOW!!!
• SocialScope Lite: Free Twitter Client the Same as Full SocialScope?
• Twixtreme – Free BlackBerry Twitter Client that Doesn’t Suck? You Tell Me…
• Viigo Beta Adds Full Multiple Account Twitter Client to their Free BlackBerry App

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 4, 2009, 7:51 am. | Vodafone Update 2.0.1 – Free Twitter & Facebook Client | 2 comments |