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Posts tagged BlackBerry App
Viigo app to become a thing of the past?
Jul 12th
I’ve been using Viigo daily since it was in its early stages; it has to be well over 2 years now. Since that time, Viigo has been steadily updated, adding new features and performance enhancements, until 9 or 10 months ago when the updates stopped. The app is rock solid and there is definitely nothing wrong with it, but we all like to see new features and improvements from time to time. What could be the reason for the lack of updates?
RIM acquired Viigo back in May of this year and to be honest, at first I was wondering if this was a good or bad thing. I’d heard about RSS feeds being integrated into the BlackBerry message list, but there was no explanation of how that would work. RSS feeds being thrown into your inbox with every update could potentially make a bit of a mess. I for one, use the main BlackBerry message box with 4 email accounts, SMS, Facebook, Twitter and Kik, but would definitely not want RSS feeds to be included in that list.
After watching the second official BlackBerry 6 teaser today, RIM’s reason for purchasing Viigo became a bit clearer. In BlackBerry 6, while RSS feeds will somewhat integrated into your message box, you will be able to swipe from side to side to separately view social feeds, RSS feeds etc. Users will have the option to manage/add RSS feeds directly from within the RSS feeds section as well. It seems like RIM has taken the functionality of Viigo News and fully integrated it into BlackBerry 6.
All in all, I love what I’ve seen so far on the BlackBerry 6′s RSS integration, but I’m hoping RSS feeds stay out of the main message box, or at least there’s an option to keep them out.
Now does this mean the Viigo app will become a thing of the past? Will other aspects of Viigo be integrated into BlackBerry 6? Will the Viigo app run on BlackBerry 6 for those that don’t like change? If not, will it be updated to do so? Since there’s really been no news on Viigo, only time will tell.
App Review: Forward Reply & Edit for BlackBerry
Jun 10th
For some reason the BlackBerry OS still does not give you the freedom to edit original information when forwarding or replying from the native email application. Forward Reply & Edit makes these options available to you. Once installed and activated, you can just simply click the menu key when highlighting an email or from within the message, and select ‘Forward & Edit’ or ‘Reply & Edit’. It’s that simple. The app is free, but in order to activate it you will need to select a friend to recommend it to. Just another handy little app I use from day-to-day.
You can download Forward Reply & Edit OTA here or in App World
Dragon For Email Now Available For Blackberry Devices
Apr 22nd
Nuance Communications has released a Blackberry version of their popular Dragon Dictation App for the iPhone, which is one of the most popular free programs available in the App Store.
According to their press release, “with Dragon for Email, spoken words are instantly transcribed, giving users the power to simply ‘say anything’ and see their message appear up to five times faster than typing. Dragon for Email is integrated directly into the BlackBerry Email application giving people a natural, flexible way to interact with their device. People can use voice and text input interchangeably at any time to enter the contact name, subject line, or full message body.”
I don’t know how good it is for the Blackberry, but full email integration is awesome, especially if you’re someone who does a lot of driving and would like to keep productive on the road. I can definitely see myself using this (though it seems to only be available in the US App World).
Check it out at Nuance, and let us know what you think!
Foursquare For Blackberry Updated With New UI, Speed Increase
Apr 20th
Foursquare for Blackberry has been updated again, and this time it’s only minor tweaks to the app, as it has become very usable, very quickly (I remember getting into the first beta around Christmas 2009, so the app has come a long way in only five months.
This time, the UI is slightly different, and the company has incorporated a new back-end check-in system to make it harder to cheat, and speed up location awareness.
Hit up Foursquare for more information.
Let me Poynt you on your way
Mar 3rd
I am, flat out, entirely too indecisive. It stems from my ADHD being distracting and my laid back personality. Where do I want to go for lunch? Well, as long as it isn’t where I went yesterday, I don’t care. What do I want to do Friday? Whatever. Where’s there a grocery store? I don’t know.
Luckily, there are several BlackBerry apps that come to my rescue – Poynt, Yelp and Where. Over the next few days I will be reviewing each of these apps, with my all-inclusive wrap-up coming on Friday.
Of the 3, I definitely use Poynt the most often. After the 20 second, automated setup, it uses your phone’s GPS to find restaurants, movies or anything else you’d like. It then provides you with the 20 closest (in proximity) locations to your search. *want to have some fun? Search for Starbucks in Manhattan!* You can find more options as well, but if the first 20 aren’t good enough, that’s more on you than the app. It’s also wonderful if you’re traveling since you don’t need to know anything about your location for it to work.
In the more recent versions, Poynt has added the ability to search for businesses, people, movies, restaurants, gas prices and an option to map your current location.
Poynt works with both BlackBerry Maps and Google Maps, with the option to select your preference. Personally, I like the ability to choose every time, as I use both mapping applications depending on what I’m trying to do (BB maps for directions, Google Maps for satellite pictures)
Of all the mapping apps, this one is, far and away, my most used. And the best part…it’s free!
Any of you guys use this app? Have something you like better? Let me know!
To download, head here from your BB browser
And sorry about super cheesy title for this post…it was just too tempting to pass up!
Follow me on twitterUltimate Lock brings out a confession
Feb 24th
After weeks of Tiger Woods apologies, I have come to a realization. I, Guru Ricky, have lied to you, my loyal readers. I am sorry.
So what did I lie about?
I lied when I said that the one thing I would change on my 9550 would be the battery life. In truth, it would be the Lock function. You see, I’ve been using a variety of lock applications for quite a while now – so long that it’s become part of my life and I didn’t even notice.
For a while, I used Berry Slider. Then, when there wasn’t an OS5 compatible version, I used Pattern Lock. Then, after updates, I went back to Berry Slider. I thought I was happy, having finally found my perfect lock app. But that feeling is being challenged by Epic Applications new Ultimate Lock.
As much as I love my BB, apparently I wish it would lock/unlock like an iPhone or a Nexus One. I want more than simply pressing a button on the top of the phone.
Like most locking apps, Ultimate Lock uses a finger-swipe to unlock your device. Based on the Droid/Nexus One, you swipe from left to right to unlock, while a swipe from right to left will switch from one user-defined profile to another (quite handy for quick switches without having to unlock the device).
UL offers all your normal settings option: launch on lock button, on phone call, on screen timeout, etc. You can set personalized backgrounds or use a pass code for added security.
There is one feature that is unique to UL, and that is the notifications options. Most lock apps will let you know you have a message, but UL will go as far as telling you who sent the message and what kind of message it is (see picture at the top for example).
For more info, check out the video.
I’m still playing around with this app, but I’ll post any cool findings on Twitter, so make sure you’re following me. And let me know if you use this app, or any like it.
Follow me on twitterTwitter for BlackBerry vs SocialScope
Feb 19th
It’s been just over a week since Twitter for BlackBerry came out so I figured it’s about time to compare it to my preferred Twitter app: SocialScope.
I’m only going to be comparing the similar functions of the two apps so even though SS carries Flickr (anyone use this? what’s it for?) and foursquare support, I won’t be discussing them further than this sentence that ends right here.
After waiting for months for a SS invite, I finally got one on Christmas Eve (talk about timing!). I actually got it from a friend who had an extra – like my own personal Santa. With most BB apps, it’s the little things I appreciate. For example, SS puts all of the tweets I send facing the opposite direction (the people I follow show up avatar then tweet; mine show up tweet then avatar), making it easier to find my own tweets; T4BB doesn’t have this option. SS also has the option for 2 accounts, though it’s possible T4BB will add this feature in the future.
Also, SS (and UberTwitter – haven’t used any others significantly to vouch for) use different colors for @replies and DM’s in your timeline (replies are yellow, DM’s are blue) to help them stand out.
One area T4BB totally beats SS is with software updates. It’s only been a week, but T4BB has already updated their app (though rather minimally) where as SS updates are as hard to get as, well, the app itself. Another is that T4BB alerts you to new tweets via your Messages folder (“opening” the message opens T4BB) which is also nice.
As far as appearances go, both apps look clean and polished, as you would expect from any app really.
SS also has significantly more options in the settings menu. You can choose how tweets are displayed (username or actual name), what service you use for uploading images, image caching, etc.
I really don’t see myself leaving SS, but you never know. We’ll just have to wait and see what RIM does with their app
So what do you guys think? Like SocialScope? Or Twitter for BlackBerry? Or maybe you prefer UberTiwtter? Or even Seesmic?
Leave some comments and let us know!
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