An anonymous tipper sent this in, but I am a little slow on the draw as now it seems to be common knowledge that AT&T is holding launch parties for employees, authorized dealers, resellers, etc. to go and see the Blackberry Bold in action. Go to this site for details and check out a neat little video about ‘What Makes You Bold?’. I guess this is proof that it won’t be long before you can actually go into an AT&T store and get one for yourself…

Review: Beyza SlimLINE Leather Case
Rating: 9/10
Link: www.BeyzaCases.com
Cost: $33.50 @ BeyzaCases.com

Before reviewing this case, I had never heard of Beyza Cases. Honestly, I’m not really sure how I could have missed them, if their entire product line matches up with this case, they should certainly be getting more attention.

The Review Unit

Not that this has anything to do with the product or the review for that matter, I thought it would be interesting to mention the form in which the case arrived at my door. The Beyza Cases Box was wrapped in a giant packaging bag. Not a box or a mailing pouch, a plastic bag. While it was a very nice plastic bag, I did find it a little humorous. The box contained a nice pull string cloth pouch with the case inside. I actually plan on keeping the pouch to reuse at Christmas time, I am always looking for a way to dress up Gift Card packaging. Read the rest of this article

I know that this is not a BlackBerry tool but I decided to mention it anyway. Quite a few themes and applications are released in a .zip format making a free unzip utility a must have. Especially when users start running into the more commonly found .RAR & .7z extensions for compressed archives.

The one tool that will help you compress and un-compress practically every archive is 7-Zip. It has a simple installer for practically every variant of Windows. It also has unofficial packages for everything from Mac OS X to FreeBSD.

Check it out at www.7-zip.org and let us know what you think. I personally also use WinRAR but 7-Zip is free…

I am not sure how we missed this application, but we are human. Thanks to Frank for bringing it to our attention. Turns out that a small developer, Orion North America, released an application that essentially lets you set a popup email notifier that will let you know when you get an email while you are in any application. I am not sure exactly how well this works, but it is innovative. It is also reasonably priced at $6.95 in the store with lifetime upgrades. There is also a 2-day trial available that should let you get a feel of the application. I get so many emails on my BlackBerry making this application impractical, but let me know what you think.

From the description:

Don’t you wish BlackBerry had an email notifier popup like the one you are used to in MS Outlook or Gtalk Notifier (Growl on the Mac). Stop wishing and get PeeKaWho. With it, you can get critical information from your emails fast. With PeeKaWho, you can see who is emailing (with brief email body) while drafting another email, playing your favorite game or other tasks on your BlackBerry.

Features:

• Able to get email notifier popup from any application on your BlackBerry (even Homescreen).
• Able to configure popup so you only see popup from the people matters to you.
• Able to configure and disable popup so you don’t see popup from certain applications (i.e. - no popup while you are trying to dial a phone number or answer a call)
• No setup fuss. No pain. It Just Works!
• Complete integration with the existing email program.
• FREE LIFE TIME UPGRADE - as long as you own your current device (SAME PIN)
• ———————————-
• New to Version 1.12
• No more APN settings, activation is easier.
• Fade time is longer, up to 60 seconds
• Fixed button problem on 87xx series running OS 4.5
• Now includes a 2 day full trial
• ———————————-
• New to Version 1.14
• Minor bug fix on saving auto fade time in v1.12

I read books on my BlackBerry all day so when I got an email from S4BB that they are beta testing BlackBerryBooks.com I got excited. It has over 25,000 public domain books for downloading and they are all compatible with the free Mobipocket eBook reader.

Check it out by pointing your browser to www.blackberrybooks.com and let us know if you find any gems. Don’t expect any recent books since this is mostly classics such as Thoreau’s Walden.

Otterbox have just made available their new case for the BlackBerry Bold. 

I have not got one of these yet but from the looks of the pictures they certainly look to enhance the already slick lines of RIM’s newest baby. They are available in 2 color choices, Black or Yellow and rest assured as soon as we get our hands on one of these rugged looking cases, we will bring you all the results of a full testing regime.

You can see more images or order one from OtterBox at this address: BlackBerry Cases and at only $49.95 do you really want to risk that nice brushed aluminum finish of your new BlackBerry?

I don’t know how this flew under the radar but Ed @ Brighthand managed to catch it. We mentioned the Agendus for BlackBerry beta back in July but the full version has now been released to very little aplomb. Iambic really needs to do some PR & advertising. The application looks stunningly well designed and the price point of $19.95 is perfect. Any previous Palm or Windows Mobile user can tell you about Agendus so I wont go into detail. There is a trial available so definitely check it out before you buy.

From the description:

Agendus for BlackBerry brings to BlackBerry phones the pragmatic features and functions that have made Agendus our flagship title on the Palm OS based Treo/Centro so successful, as well as Windows Mobile and Symbian UIQ phones: It tightly integrates the built-in calendar, tasks, and contacts, and is intuitive to use.

Agendus for BlackBerry: PIM Meets RIM.

Our award winning PIM (personal information manager) has paired up with RIM’s (Research in Motion) BlackBerry devices to provide a fully integrated, productivity enhancer that’s easy to deploy and intuitive to use. Enthusiastically embraced by Palm OS and Windows Mobile users, Agendus has been especially tailored to work seamlessly on BlackBerry devices where it taps into the built-in data storage to pull information into the Calendar, Contacts and Tasks. Agendus also smartly adapts to your BlackBerry’s look, taking on the colors, styles and themes already being used. Like Peanut Butter & Jelly, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Agendus and the BlackBerry are two great tastes that taste great together!

The following is a quick rundown of some of the things that make Agendus Shine.

• Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks Integration. Agendus ties together the most frequently used applications on your phone, so you get more things done using fewer (in most cases half) button presses. Because personal information is readily accessible, you won’t be bogged down switching in and out of applications to get to the Calendar, Contact and Task information you need.
• Many Viewing Options. Agendus has always offered users a number of options for how information and activities are displayed. The BlackBerry version includes an at-a-glance view of the day ahead that includes Meetings, Tasks, recent messages and calls, and OTA information such as Weather and Quote of the Day. There are also views for one day, a week (list and grid mode), a month (expanded), as well as views for Tasks and Contact information (list and expanded). All of these options let you tailor Agendus to work in a way best suited for your needs
• Plug and Play. Simply download the software and you’re good to go! No additional set-up is required. The application immediately populates with the data already found on your BlackBerry once installed.
• Data Safe. Rather than completely replacing the Calendar, Contact and Task applications that come equipped on your BlackBerry – Agendus taps and enhances them! By reading/writing to the same data storage location that the built-in applications use, all the same personal data found in Agendus can also be found in the built-ins and vice versa.
• Sync Easy. This powerhouse works hand-in-hand with the synchronization set-up you currently have established, so you can seamlessly replicate the personal data within Agendus on your mobile to your desktop mail client by performing routine syncs.
• Desktop Companion Available. If you enjoy using Agendus on your BlackBerry, you’ll also enjoy using Agendus on your PC.
• Filter. Sort. Find. Fast! Get to the information you want, when you want. Adjust your view display or quick filter by entering letters for a keyword search.
• Wireless Capabilities. While on-the-go, retrieve weather forecasts, Quote of the Day, and This Day in History facts all through your wireless network connection.
• 100% Theme Friendly. Agendus automatically adjusts itself to conform to the theme (color, styles) already in use by your BlackBerry.

I was just reading a writeup on Flurry by Doriano @ Mashable and thought it was worthy of mention. Flurry has just announced a new free mobile application analytics service for developers letting them know more about their users. I am not sure how intrusive this is to users but the idea seems pretty cool. Especially since Flurry is cross platform and supports JAVA ME, Android, and the iPhone OS.

Any developers want to chime of if this service is of any use to BlackBerry J2ME developers?

Check it out at www.flurry.com