Review: UniqueSkins Custom Skin Decals
Rating:
Website: www.uniqueskins.com
Cost: $6.99

I recently had the opportunity, along with some other members of the BerryReview Team, to play around with skins from UniqueSkins.Com. For those of you who may not have heard of them, UniqueSkins offers customized skins for several electronic devices, including Blackberry smartphones. What’s ‘unique’ about UniqueSkins is that you have the option of uploading your own image(s) to create a truly customizable pimping for your Berry.

In my own experience, the whole process of customizing my skins was easy. When you first visit their website, you simply choose the device you want to customize. Then, following a series of links, you’ll be taken to their interactive online ’studio’ where you can then upload your own images or select an image from their pre-existing library (which I did).

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A few days ago Josep sent me a link to a great knowledgebase article that details the differences between BES and BIS. This is a quick fact sheet and does not get down into the gritty details but it is a great resource for explaining the difference to new users.

Check it out at this link or a copy after the jump

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One of our secret agents picked up this official announcement via the PartnerZone and felt it was needed to share it with all of you:

The upcoming BlackBerry® Storm™ is the first touch screen BlackBerry smartphone from Research In Motion and it builds upon a variety of existing BlackBerry features and capabilities to produce a truly compelling touch experience.  With the BlackBerry Storm, RIM will introduce a version of software (v4.7) that delivers a new set of APIs and capabilities for third party developers including:

1)   Enhancements to the existing RIM User Interface APIs to provide support for touch and gestures including proper handling of multi-touch events.
2)   Support for MIDP applications that leverage touch.
3)   Virtual keyboard APIs
4)   Enhanced and open GPS APIs on all networks

In addition to the new API capabilities, your Browser-based applications will build upon the browser capabilities released in v4.6.0 including:
For third party developers, one of the unique features of the BlackBerry Storm is its compatibility mode which provides an operating environment for existing 3rd party applications that are not implemented to support touch.  This feature will automatically convert the touch events into existing trackball events.  When an application is executing in compatibility mode, a virtual keyboard will be shown at all times for text input to mimic the physical keyboard on previous devices and will only support portrait mode.

• Improved web page rendering including AJAX
• XMLHttpRequest
• JavaScript® 1.5
• CSS 2.1
• DOM L2 (including Core, HTML, Style, Events)
• HTML 4.01 (including Forms, Maps, Tables, Frames, Objects)
• Improved Native Attachment Download
• Support for downloading files via the browser

Key Features
- Screen Resolution: 480×360
- Virtual Keyboard: SureType (Portrait Mode) and Full Keyboard (Landscape Mode)
- Networking: Global network support (2G/3G)
- Memory: Embedded Memory

For all BlackBerry Alliance partners, RIM will be providing access to developer documentation, the BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE) v4.7 and the BlackBerry Storm simulator in October to enable development and testing of your applications on this new and compelling smartphone.

Price $49.95

www.otterbox.com

Rating:

Description:

The OtterBox for BlackBerry® 8800, 8820 and 8830 (World Edition) Defender™ Series boasts 3 layers of protection while maintaining a sleek, slim fit to the device. This award-winning case features additional bump, scratch, drop and light rain protection. All functions of the phone remain fully usable through the case, and all ports are accessible through convenient Silicone plugs. This case includes a holster style belt clip for your convenience.

I was very excited to put this case to the test.  I had the choice between the black and yellow or just the straight black.  I chose the straight black being it seemed more “business like” but I have to say I find the black and yellow pretty cool !! Installation was very easy, however I could not get the clear plastic screen cover as smooth as I would have liked. OtterBox does give you some tricks to do so… but I really couldn’t get them to work.  Overall it wasn’t really that terrible.

I have used the case for about two months and overall I am impressed.  It really does deliver.  If you need to protect your Berry this is the case for you. As per the description.. it offers bump, scratch and light rain protection. That it certainly does. The clear plastic cover of the case covers your screen and your keyboard. It “form fits” the keyboard very nicely. The trackball was a bit of an issue for me at first, as the case makes it a bit difficult to use, but I am a firm believer in “Anyone can get use to anything” and I did.  After about a week it became a “non-issue”. Ports as well as the on-off button, mute button and volume buttons are easily accessible. The hard part of the case which is a combination of rubber and plastic really protects. I have dropped, kicked, and even thrown my Berry and it is none the worse for wear. You can’t submerge your Berry in water but as far as splashes of water and rain… it holds up. I will be getting a Bold soon and will definitely be getting an OtterBox for that (coming soon by the way).

I would definitely recommend an OtterBox for anyone out in the field. If you are a “blue collar” guy/girl then this is a must have.  Even the corporate user would benefit from the case.  I personally know a lot of sales and marketing reps that have done major damage to their Berry. In fact, I see it on a daily basis and wish some of these folks were using OtterBoxes !!!

Pros:

Really protects.. makes your Berry almost indestructible.

Cons:

It is a bit bulky. The case changes the footprint of your 8800 series BlackBerry into an 8700 series. If you are looking for sleek and slim this case is not for you.

Its times like these that I am glad I live in Manhattan without a car. I rented a car two weeks ago and tried to check an email while I was driving and realized how distracting it was. I can only imagine if I was trying to type a response…

With that said Paul just sent us an article that as of last week you will get fined in California for writing an SMS while driving. The first offence is $20 with repeat offenses being $50. I guess this is in response to the train accident that was supposedly caused by the conductor sending an SMS.

My question is how will a police officer know if you are typing an SMS or just checking an email or even more so using a voice activated app like Vlingo?

via LA Times

Frank just let me know that EA has released NASCAR 09 for the BlackBerry. The graphics are nothing to write home about but if you like NASCAR this should be for you. Sadly EA does not offer a trial for this pricey $14.99 game. I sent them an email complaining about it but I doubt I will get a response.

From the description:

Start Your Engines! Get behind the wheel as one of 19 top NASCAR drivers. Climb the corners on authentic tracks. Draft, block and accelerate your way to the checkered flag.

Show off your pit strategy with repairs, tire changes and fuel ups. Pick your favorite race or an entire 26-event NASCAR season. Earn valuable points in your high RPM quest to qualify for the Chase and win the Cup. Exciting 3D graphics, realistic effects and dynamic perspectives put you in the driver’s seat with NASCAR 09!

Features:

• Experience graphics, effects and audio that put you in the car.
• Outmaneuver the competition with dynamic track views.
• Block, draft, and pass other cars to the checkered flag.
• Participate in individual races or a 26-race NASCAR season.
• Feel the collision between cars with vibration feedback.
• Show your pit strategy with repairs, tire changes and fuel ups.
• Race against up to 18 intelligent competitors.
• Select from 8-12 unique racetracks.

Michael Small, of BlackBerryThemes.co.uk, just sent me his latest batch of themes and there is some cool stuff happening in the world of themes. Since Plazmic 4.6 is unofficially floating around the Internet, we have had the opportunity to check out some of the new stuff before the official release. This upgrade adds the ability to do some very neat things, so keep your eyes pealed for innovations around every corner. A theme lovers paradise.

First things first. BlackBerryThemes.co.uk has made public it’s first ever Bold theme. While the theme is still fairly simple, it is just a preview of the amazing things to come. What we have is a Bold Today Theme Custom called “Blues Bold”. This theme shows you your next 2 calendar appointments, 2 entries in your phone/call log and 5 application short cuts. I don’t have a Bold to test these on, but I am assuming that you can specify which five icons you would like to see.

This theme is for the Bold only. Pick it up via OTA at this link.

Those of you who are not lucky enough to have a Bold have not been forgotten. The newest Plazmic offers improvements to our themes as well. Michael has produced 3 very clean themes for our older devices. All of these themes are for 88XX, 83XX and 81XX running OS 4.5. You can download these themes via desktop download here or via OTA here at BlackBerryThemes.co.uk’s thread on BlackLightThemes.com.

The first theme is called Carbon 4.5 Today Plus Theme, which offers a monochromatic color scheme in a clean package. The second theme is a whimsical Cartoon Lion L theme. The final theme this round is a theme Michael calls Inlighten, sporting a very cool background and a neat home screen icon layout.

I have not found any for sale on US shores yet but it looks like 16GB MicroSD cards are right around the corner. Marc on BoyGenius spotted a 16GB SanDisk for sale on a UK site. Here I found another UK seller claiming to have them in stock.

Ever since I got a Bold my MicroSD card has started to fill up. When it was just audio then 4-8GB was the sweet spot. But now with DivX support I am left with less than 100mb free on my card. The only problem I have is that I can’t seem to find any documentation confirming that the Bold will support 8GB+ card. I remember reading it somewhere but I can’t find it anymore.

Here is to hoping that the card comes out soon. It seems that popular consensus has the 16GB cards coming out very soon for somewhere between $79-$99. Which fits in with the announced $99 price point.

BTW: What the hell ever happened to their 12GB card…