Author: Joe

For the most part, our emails have remained sacred as advertising has spread across the internet. We see publishers trying all types of ways to monetize traffic, from display ads to text ads to, as you can see on this site, in-line text ads. What would happen, though, if the concept of in-line text ads extended to email? What if RIM implemented this on your BlackBerry? Via BlackBerry Cool, RIM has filed patents relating to advertising within messages. We know that RIM, through BlackBerry Advertising Service, planned to help developers implement ad network content into their apps, and these patents appear to be it. Will it change how we handle email?

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I don’t know what happened, but apparently the podcast never posted on Friday. Can’t figure that one out, but when I got back from a trip this weekend I didn’t see it on the site. So here it is, a little late, with a thousand apologies.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (11 min, 00 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BBGeekcast: February 19, 2010 – Episode 104

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BBGeekcast: February 19, 2010 – Episode 104

Since its release, I’ve tried to avoid the Kindle. I go through a book or two a week, and over the years have grown to love my paper babies. What would happen if I found out that an electronic reader was even cooler? A month ago I found out, and now I really, really want a Kindle. If I’m so inclined, I can get a start on building my Kindle library now, reading the books on my BlackBerry. Amazon has introduced the application, which allows BlackBerry users to access the vast Kindle book selection, over 420,000 total.

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This week the wireless industry got together in Barcelona for the annual Mobile World Congress. I’m sure plenty goes on at this event, as we’ve seen plenty of dispatches from our favorite correspondents. A number of them relate to BlackBerry, which means we’ve got a pretty full News From The Wire this week. In fact, the lead item is a pretty big deal if you run or work for a small- to mid-sized business.

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Over the past year on BBGeeks we’ve featured a number of call blocking applications — Advanced Call Manager and Do Not Disturb stand out. These applications provide pretty basic protection against unwanted calls. You can block specific numbers, block unknown numbers, block private numbers, or block all calls during certain times. Configured properly, they can prevent telemarketers from reaching you while allowing the calls you want to receive to pass through like normal. For some people, however, privacy is a bit more serious issue. If you’d like a bit more information about the unknown numbers calling you, there’s a new BlackBerry application that can help you out.

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If you ask a sample of random BlackBerry users about their biggest problem with the device’s software, and I bet you find a large majority answer the browser. RIM has made some serious improvements since the abomination that was the OS 4.2 browser, but it’s still lacking enough that I often find myself visiting certain sites from third party browsers (like the recently updated BOLT browser). About nine months ago we learned about Skyfire, which was supposed to revolutionize browsing on a BlackBerry. We haven’t heard much about it lately, though, because RIM has been busy creating a Webkit-based browser. This week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we got a preview of what’s to come.

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Late last week, RIM released its own official Twitter client in a private beta. Over the weekend I got to know it a bit better, and now I’m laying it all out in what you can call a pre-review. Since the app is not yet in its final form, I imagine much of what I discuss here will change between now and official release. Still, I came away with a positive overall impression.

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When the kind folks from Bitstream emailed me the press release for the new version of the BOLT browser, I was a bit surprised. In it they mentioned that the update to version 1.7 comes exactly a year after its initial launch. It seems like longer than that. As part of their early beta, I tested the browser last January, and found it a bit frustrating. Since then they’ve completely overhauled the browser, which is probably why it seems like it’s been around for longer. While I’m fine with the default BlackBerry browser (OS 4.7) for most functions, BOLT is still my go-to app when I need a bit more power. They’ve made a few key additions to version 1.7.

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As I’m busy playing with the official BlackBerry Twitter client, the folks at UberTwitter have updated their popular BlackBerry app. This includes a few new features, like Flickr and TwitGoo in-line support, but also fixes a number of bugs with Beta-6. You can get it at http://www.ubertwitter.com/bb/download.php. Check out the adds and fixes after the jump.

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A while back, a friend turned me onto a Gmail Labs feature that allows you to unsend emails. Instead of delivering your message right when you hit Send, Gmail holds the message for a few seconds and places an Undo link on the screen. If you made a mistake, you can click that undo and give it another shot. Hey, some of us have itchy trigger fingers on email. Some of us also write things that probably aren’t in our best interests, and the undo feature helps that, too. I can name at least two instances in which I wrote a poorly thought out email, but had the wherewithal to click undo before it became permanent. For those of you who want such a feature on your BlackBerry, developer PuguaSoft has created your solution.

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Big stories don’t care what the rest of the news is doing. In a week when the BlackBerry news slowed up a bit — or I just missed some of the interesting stories, which is entirely possible — we still got what’s considered a big story. It’s the monthly/quarterly release of the country’s top-selling smartphones. This is always a fun one to dive into.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (5 min, 15 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
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The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic just got a heap of snow dumped on it. For some, it’s a major inconvenience. For others, depending on the severity, it’s a day or two off of work. There’s a group among us, though, that sees snow and thinks of nothing but skiing. Sometimes I wish I were of that ilk. Perhaps then I wouldn’t turn into such a curmudgeon during snowfall. If you fall among the ski-loving folk, you might want to check out this Blackberry app. It’s called OnTheSnow, and it seems like a pretty good value for anyone who likes to travel and ski, or just get information on nearby resorts.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before. This week IDC Mobile Devices and Technology Trends released their list of top-selling smartphones in the U.S. And, for what seems like 20 quarters in a row, the BlackBerry Curve came out on top. This time around, though, a few more questions surround the rankings, including one, posed by Kevin at CrackBerry, that I hadn’t thought of before. My main question pertains to the classification. We know that Curve includes the 83xx series, but what about the 85xx? Was that included in the survey? Or were people taking advantage of discounted older generation Curves?

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When Google announced their latest project, Buzz, the other day, I wasn’t too impressed. Yeah yeah, instead of buying Twitter they’re trying to compete with it. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? Yesterday, however, I changed my tune. My friends and I use Gmail extensively, employing it as our primary instant messenger and loading each other’s Readers with a fire hose of shares. As it turns out, Buzz integrates pretty well with that level of usage. It adds what amounts to a another label to your Gmail interface, and lets you know when someone you follow sends a new buzz, updates their status (like Facebook, which, by the way, isn’t working for BlackBerry), share or new article, or leave a comment. It’s a great time-waster, and it’s certainly going to pull my time from Facebook and Twitter. Yet there’s one glitch: if you sync Gmail to your BlackBerry, you’ll get bombarded with Buzz emails. That’s no fun.

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Do you like themes that sacrifice function for visual pleasure? How about themes that do the opposite? What about themes that appear to be simple and aesthetic, but really pack a ton of functionality? What about themes that look like workhorses but actually pack a visual punch? We’re covering all the bases this week on Theme Review Wednesday, taking you through three themes that we’ve found particularly awesome.

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Your BlackBerry can perform a great number of tasks, but unless you give it permission only native applications can access the truly sensitive information. When a third party application requires access to this walled information, it requires you to change the application permissions. This happens when you first run the application after installation. You can either grant the application the proper permissions and start using, or deny the changes and not use the application. I’m as guilty as anyone else of blindly accepting permission changes from time to time. Like everyone else, I should stop and pay more attention. Grant the wrong application certain permissions, and you can compromise your device’s security.

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By now, most of us are familiar with the various places to buy digital music online. Apple’s iTunes remains the most popular, though they’ve certainly seen competition lately. Amazon has set up a viable competitor, and Microsoft has a music store for its Zune MP3 player. But what about your BlackBerry? Sure, you could just purchase DRM-free tracks from any online music store and load them onto your BlackBerry. That’s easy. But what about when you’re on the go? We’re out to compile the major BlackBerry on-device music stores.

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If you’ve already made the switch from traditional carrier voicemail to visual voicemail, there’s no turning back. Over the years I grew to loathe the carrier-based voicemail system, whereby I’d have to listen to messages in order they were received. On a visual platform you can scroll through and listen to only the messages you want, saving the rest for later or skipping them entirely without listening. We’ve seen plenty of visual voicemail platforms for BlackBerry devices, both free and premium. One of them, previously uncovered on BBGeeks, is HulloMail. Since they just released an update, I thought it would be nice to give them a quick look.

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For a while now we’ve been waiting for a Sirius XM BlackBerry app. XM released one a while ago, but with a very limited selection. Since then I’ve really wanted to see them extend their presence to the BlackBerry platform. It makes sense, but there are obvious licensing issues that delayed the deal. As we learned late last week, however, the wait is pretty much over. Sirius SM has announced a new BlackBerry app which will provide over 120 of their most popular channels. The app doesn’t cover certain mainstream programming, however, so even current Sirius subscribers won’t be able to access them. Still, it’s a nice first foray into mobile.

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What would you do-oo-oo for a new BlackBerry OS? Not just an upgrade, like OS 5.0, but a major overhaul that will put RIM’s software in line with other smartphone platforms? Yeah, I’m drooling too. We heard a bit about a mysterious OS 6.0 this week, and while it’s just a name right now that won’t hold back our vivid imaginations.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (10 min, 48 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
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