Astraware Games Coming to BlackBerry

Posted by: weiganla on May 14 2008 - 475 views

Right after RIM announced it was creating a $150 million fund to support BlackBerry software development, Handmark (the parent company of awesome game studio Astraware) released plans to launch a couple of lifestyle programs and several Astraware games for BlackBerry. Coincidence? Hmm.

The two Handmark programs will be available May 28. Bible Translations features wireless access to 16 translations of the Good Book. Ringtone Junkie is a ringtone manager that also includes unlimited access to its basic ringtone catalog.

Game fans will have to wait a little longer. The press release promises games in Q3 including squishy shoot-em-up Platypus. Astraware’s flagship gamepacks Solitaire, Sudoku, Casino, and Boardgames will show up in Q4.

RIM is obviously trying to extend into the non-business market, but I had my first experience with a BlackBerry Pearl yesterday and I really, really don’t get the appeal. A friend was missing calls because the ring volume was too soft, and it took me about five minutes to figure out how to fix it. I might have done it in four if the darn trackball wasn’t slowing me down. RIM wants me to play games on that thing? I’d rather chew off my own thumb.

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Mobile Platform Wars - Blackberry Ups The Ante

Posted by: PatrickJ on May 12 2008 - 293 views

The platform wars are going mobile. Whether it’s the iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Windows Mobile, the mobile platform that will win in the end will be the one with the best and broadest collection of applications.

I hope that thought - from TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld - proves true.  I think in the mobile space there have tended to be other big factors in determining success and failure for individual devices and even platforms, and many smartphone users have barely scratched the surface when it comes to mobile apps usage. 

Hopefully we’ll see that change as more and more of our computing activities are done on mobile devices, and as more great mobile applications are developed.

Today, Blackberry became the latest mobile platform vendor to throw some *serious* money into the ring to help spark development of apps for the Blackberry (and other) mobile platforms.  Google started this recent trend with their $10 million Android Developers Challenge, then Apple’s iPhone SDK launch event brought news of a $100 million iFund for iPhone platform development ventures - and now RIM and its partners have upped the ante even further, with a $150 million venture capital fund "to invest in mobile applications and services for the BlackBerry(R) platform
and other mobile platforms."

That’s an awful lot of money being thrown out there for enterprising mobile developers.  Anybody else wish they had even an ounce of coding talent right about now? 

Very soon we should start seeing some of the results of all this funding and encouragement to all these mobile platforms.  I feel sure we’ll see some great apps, and hope that some of them will even start winning over some of those mobile users who’ve never gone past phone calls and texting up to now …

Via: Gizmodo

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BlackBerry 9000 "BOLD" Official… Sexy!

Posted by: Peter Murphy on May 12 2008 - 693 views

Now this is a growing trend that, seems accepted, we all know what it looks like by now, we know the specs and here comes the press release. Oops, how do I delete that wrong photo, I don’t. I think Abbey might be after one of these BOLD Boys.

"The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

Possibly not as stylish as Abbey, but definitely geeky enough to earn an honourable mention in the Goth hall of fame.

Then I look again and the "Bold" seems reminiscent of the iPhone, the styling seems rather similair.

I do love the smooth lines, but it looks like a  fat iPhone, even though it’s the first BB that has actually ignited my visual senses.

Look, the specs on this new BlackBerry are so awesome, I could be converted, or maybe not.

What I do like is RIM’s commitment to lifting the style quota, included in their devices. Having a device that has a smaller screen and a qwerty or azerty keyboard is some thing

of a deterrent for me, I would prefer a smaller form factor and a larger VGA screen and qwerty keyboard.

It’s still a beautiful device!
Full press release after the link

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Jott On The BlackBerry- Let The Revolution Begin

Posted by: danc on Apr 07 2008 - 509 views

There are three kinds of people-
Those who know about Jott and use it all the time and couldn’t live without it.
Those who know about Jott but currently underutilize this amazing service.
Those who need to wake up and get to know Jott.

I do not know of a service that has received a more universally positive response than Jott.

I love Jott and have become a Jott-evangalist– speaking and writing about it every chance I get. More importantly, I use Jott ALL THE TIME for everything from creating reminders to putting down various thoughts that occur to me while driving. Heck, I even “wrote” the first pass of this using Jott.

Now, Jott is taking things to an entirely new level and, if it works as well as everything else Jott has done, it is nothing short of revolutionary.

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Coming Soon to a Verizon Near You

Posted by: weiganla on Mar 31 2008 - 550 views

Just ahead of the biannual CTIA wireless convention, Verizon has unveiled a new phone lineup which was apparently developed in consultation with Hollywood executives. Hollywood probably put out more sequels and remakes last summer, but not by much. Check out the retreads, I mean, releases:

Verizon Wireless XV6900 — Does this look like the Sprint Touch to anyone? That’s because it’s the same phone. If there’s a difference in specs I didn’t notice it, and still no WiFi. Available in late April.

MOTO Q 9c — Thank goodness Verizon recognizes their consumers have a range of needs. Now personal users can choose the MOTO Q 9m WinMo 6 smartphone and business users can go for the 9c, which has been thoughtfully optimized especially for them with a less colorful shell. Available in April.

enV2 by LG — The original texting-focused enV will be jealous of its successor, which got a slimming makeover. It may be blocky but it’s also kinda cute. Available in April.

 Alias by Samsung — It’s just like the existing dual-hinged SCH-u740, only… in silver! Available in April.

 BlackBerry Curve 8330 — Verizon’s version of the Curve looks at lot like other 83X0s such as this one from AT&T. At least it’s been beefed up with EV-DO. Unscheduled outages come standard. Available in May.

via Gizmodo

images from Verizon

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T-Mobile and RIM, BlackBerry 8820.

Posted by: Peter Murphy on Mar 25 2008 - 463 views

This is a pretty slick looking phone, and the biggest boost to the 8820’s functionality is wifi.

The stylishly professional BlackBerry 8820 helps people stay connected to business associates, colleagues, family and friends by offering Wi-Fi connectivity for voice and data, access to location-based applications and services, and a superior mobile experience for personal and corporate e-mail.

That’s where T-Mobile comes into the equation, this baby will utilise the HotSpot @ Home Wifi service, allowing customers nationwide calling through any accessible wifi network. Not to mention a better internet experience. The phone also has built in GPS, with native apps such as Blackberry Maps and TeleNav GPS Navigator. The quad-band phone also supports international roaming and is enabled for T-Mobiles popular MyFaves service.

 

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