Taylor and Josep sent me a link to a thread on BBForums talking about the latest version of the Garmin GPS application for the Bold. The thread author, CornerCarver, has nothing but praise for the latest version which is impressive considering how hobbled the original version was for BlackBerry. This might not take off yet because the Bold is not officially out in the US and the maps seem to be US only for now… Also I have not managed to find any other references that the application is Bold compatible but I will take CornerCarvers word on that.

Some of the key features pointed out:

• Links to your address book
• Traffic updates
• Panoramio - Pictures of scenic locations
• Always updated POI database
• Flight Status

The price is still $99.99 for the life of your device which is a pretty good deal or $9.99 per month. Has anybody had a chance to check it out on their Bold? I am curious to see how it performs…

Version 5.0.1 seems to also be available for other BlackBerry devices. Check out the latest version at www8.garmin.com/mobile/blackberry/ or Handango. There is also mention that the 20% off coupon SAVE20NOW will save you 20% off the $99.99 price. On the other hand Garmin does not show up if you select the Bold as your phone on Handango…

Its a GPS mystery

Sam from KeyToss just let me know that they have updated their mobile portal with a bevy of new features. You can check them out at http://m.keytoss.com/ from your BlackBerry browser.

From the press release:

You can now add virtually any link to your personal web pages, and share them with others.  KeyToss enables four types of custom links:

• links to mobile-friendly pages
• links to pages that are automatically converted to mobile format using one of four mobile transcoders
• links to user-selected news feeds
• links to Google Local searches customized to the user’s location

Users can choose from a set of pre-selected links, or enter their own links, either by typing them directly, or by clicking a bookmarklet while browsing from a PC.

Other new features include a Gmail status module and a mobile transcoder module.  The Gmail module alerts the user to new messages in the selected Gmail account, and provides a direct link to the Gmail Mobile website.  The mobile transcoder module gives users a choice of four mobile transcoders - Google, Mowser, Skweezer, and Phonify - to convert any webpage into mobile-friendly format.

KeyToss features:

Access to over 50 search tools in one search bar.
Tools include Google, IMDb, Amazon, Yelp, Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, Yahoo, MSN, and Yellowpages.com.  Users can select which tools to include in a drop-down menu, and can access the full set of tools at any time using keywords.  The major search players are unable to offer this major convenience to users.  Even Yahoo, with its newly declared “open” strategy, is unlikely to give users the option of using competing search engines.

Localized searches.
KeyToss saves the user time by automatically sending the user’s pre-selected location for searches on Google Local, Yelp, and Yellowpages.com.  The user can store an unlimited number of locations and can switch between locations with one click.

News feed summaries.
Add just about any RSS or Atom news feed, and control how to display it.  Number of headlines, summary display, conversion of article links to mobile-friendly format, and choice of mobile transcoder.  Users benefit from knowing what’s popular with the growing KeyToss community, which has shared over 1,300 news feeds.

Localized Links.
Location-aware websites allow users to customize content to their location, but typically require the step of entering additional information.  KeyToss saves users time by embedding location information in the links.  For example, when a user clicks on movietickets.com, the site will immediately display movie theaters in the user’s own location.  If the user changes locations within KeyToss, the links automatically update.

Powerful browser-based desktop interface.
Users can benefit from a large screen and high bandwidth while designing and managing their custom mobile portal from their computers.  Convenient bookmarklets enable users to add new mobile sites and news feeds to their portal with one or two clicks.

File Transfers.
KeyToss makes it easy to move documents, applications, and media files from the computer to the phone.  This eliminates the need to manipulate memory cards or deal with cables and sync software just to move a single file.

Sports scores, weather forecasts, and stock quotes.
All customized to the user’s preferences, of course.

Well guys, it’s about time that someone came up with this! Akakios, of BlackLightThemes.com and Michael Small, of BlackBerryThemes.co.uk, have teamed up to put together a one stop shop for theme developers. At BBIconStore.com you will be able to purchase icon sets, meters, bars and even premium themes. As of right now, they only have 7 icon sets up for sale, but rest assured there will be plenty more in the weeks ahead. The price for the icon sets currently available is $14.99.

I think this idea is really great. Once you purchase these icon sets, you will be allowed to use them on your own commercial or free themes. They even have an add-on to your order, what they call “File Protection”. This protection allows you to receive a second download link up to a year after you purchase your icons, in the event that your hard drive should crash.

If you happen to create your own icons or premium themes, BBIconStore will sell them for you for a small commission. They have even said that they will create custom icon sets. Hopefully all the theme developers think this is a great idea and the store will catch on. Maybe they will put out a few sets of free icons to lure people in.

So everyone let us know how you feel about this store!

What if ??? As a purely hypothetical question (and more out of morbid curiosity); If RIM were to foreclose tomorrow and BlackBerry devices were no longer available, which platform/device OS would you go with? There is a fair bit of devices out there to choose from so I decided to focus on the operating systems powering these devices. Let me know if I missed any in the comments.

Have your say in the poll and let us know:

 Loading ...

Marshall left a comment on our previous post about OS 4.5.0.81 for the 8310 pointing out that it can now be found for the 8120 on the Vodaphone Australia & Fuji website.

Check it out at this link: https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=B86E8D03FE992D1B0E19656875EE557C

Nice catch Marshall!

I was browsing www.getjar.com and I found yet another application that may help you recover your precious blackberry from McAfee. this program may come in handy in case you loose it or some one with sticky fingers gets  a hold of your BB.  We have mentioned a few of those berry locator programs before such as roblock. McAfee anti-theft is nothing revolutionary but it is a very handy and easy to use program.

Mcafee anti-theft has the ability to assign multiple SIM cards which is ideal for those that tend to use more than one service /line on their BB.

I was impressed that the application only takes 56k of memory for what it does. There are two main features used to inform you in case your blackberry gets lost or stolen by using email and/or SMS allowing you to assign more than one email and phone number to contact you. If some one inserts a SIM card on the phone other than what you have added then the program will send you  messages to the assigned email or phone number. The program has an option to set how many times you want it to contact you and what what time frame in between intervals. Unlike some of the other pay applications right now this beta is free for to try until the end of the year which wouldn’t be a bad idea to have this install just incase something happened.

With this program when you get notify you not only get notify that some one has your cell phone but it also includes the phone number to the unknown SIM card but also data that can be used at www.celltomap.com to find the location of the stolen phone.

You can get these application at wap.getjar.com from your blackberry browser using product number 34074 or by PC by heading over to this LINK.

One of our readers left a comment about a free application for AMERITRADE clients that allows you access to your account on the go. MarketSimplified looks like the most powerful trading application for BlackBerry to date. I have not had that long to play with it but it packs a bevy of features that combines everything from streaming quotes to your watchlist. It even has a great dashboard for a quick snapshot view of your positions.

You can read more about the features at this link or qualify for the free application with your AMERITRADE account. So far it seems to support the 8300, 8700, & 8800 but no word on the 8100 or Bold.

Brian from PimpMyBerry.Com is at it again with a new theme called ‘iSunset’ for your Blackberry. This theme boasts a really tranquil image of a sunset overlooking the water with icons that are ‘iPhonish’. Brian has thought of everyone here making this theme available for 81xx, 83xx, 87xx & 88xx devices running either 4.2 or 4.5

Follow this link via Blackberry Forums for more details and OTA links and if you really like the theme, show Brian some love with a donation.