Sabtu, 30 April 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community


Last Chance to Win a BlackBerry PlayBook in our April Rewards Contest!

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 04:43 PM PDT

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HappyCatApril is rolling to a close and along with it comes the end of our popular BerryReview Rewards Contest for April. This is your chance to win either a BlackBerry PlayBook (16GB model) or a $500 Amazon/PayPal gift certificate as the prize. The rules are mostly the same but we have switched up the selection and entry process a little bit. The contest ends this weekend so get cracking!!!

All you have to do to enter the BerryReview Rewards Contest for April is simply leave a comment, forum post, and/or tip submission during the month of April 2011. This month we are also including all "Retweets" of BerryReview articles on Twitter as extra entries to win! The selection process will be a bit different this month with us choosing a finalist from each of the categories (comments, forum posts, tips, Retweets) and then having our judge select the winner out of those four. Every comment, forum post, Retweet, and/or tip submission counts as another entry so get cracking!

You must be registered and logged in to BerryReview when leaving comments for them to be included in the contest and the winner will be chosen by the BerryReview staff in the beginning of May. You can check out all the details and official rules in the announcement post. If you have any questions comments leave a comment on that post.

Start a New Forum Discussion Visit the forums

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 7:43 pm. | Last Chance to Win a BlackBerry PlayBook in our April Rewards Contest! | Leave a comment |


Basecamp HQ Gets a BlackBerry PlayBook Client with Nomad Free and Premium Versions

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 03:19 PM PDT

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If you are a Basecamp user you will be glad to learn that Clearbridge Mobile has released Nomad for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Nomad comes in a free and premium version and allows you to access all your Basecamp projects from the application. The free version is limited to only one project with the premium $9.99 version available for multiple projects.

Features of the Nomad app for the BlackBerry PlayBook include:

  • Multi-account support
  • Allows access to multiple projects
  • Dashboard – Simple and single view to see your entire project including Messages, To-Dos and upcoming Milestones.
  • Messages – Allows you to view, reply, comment on and delete messages so you can keep in touch with your team whenever and wherever.
  • To-Dos – Allows you to view, create, comment and delete To-Dos.
  • Milestones – Allows you to view, create and delete upcoming Milestones. In fact, we present your upcoming Milestones in a calendar view.
  • File access – You can view files and images associated with your project.

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Nomad points it out but you will obviously need a Basecamp account (www.basecamphq.com) to use with the app. You can find both the version of Nomad in App World at these links:

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 6:19 pm. | Basecamp HQ Gets a BlackBerry PlayBook Client with Nomad Free and Premium Versions | Leave a comment |


RIM Leaks the BlackBerry Bold Touch on BlackBerry.com

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 02:06 PM PDT

Watermarked02110429201906We were expecting to hear the announcement for the BlackBerry Bold  Touch next week at BlackBerry World but it looks like somebody over at RIM accidentally made the page live. BGR managed to snap some screenshots before the page was taken down. As you might be able to see from the images RIM is calling this new device "A bold step ahead, the new touch BlackBerry Bold".  The device is supposed to launch with the new branded BlackBerry 7.  RIM is promising quite a few improvements with this new devices that it will be much better than BlackBerry 6. It is funny lately the leaks have been coming straight from RIM themselves not from other sources.

Source and Images: BGR

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Posted by Luis Merlos for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 5:06 pm. | RIM Leaks the BlackBerry Bold Touch on BlackBerry.com | 2 comments |


GeeReader Free Google Reader App for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 01:59 PM PDT

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Finally! EPI-USE Africa Pty Ltd has released GeeReader today which is a sweet Google Reader app for the BlackBerry PlayBook. It does not seem to cache articles for offline reading but it offers a sweet interface for Google Reader. It lets you login to your Google Reader account and view all your articles. The only things I found missing were the ability to add a new feed and share the item on Twitter or Facebook.

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The app lets you click on any article in Google Reader and it opens up a smaller view showing the article. Once the window opens if you like to make it full screen simply tap the blue bar at the top.

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Until then this is THE app to have on your PlayBook if you don't want to use Google Reader in the browser. You can check it out at this link in App World or simply search for GeeReader.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 4:59 pm. | GeeReader Free Google Reader App for the BlackBerry PlayBook | 3 comments |


BlackBerry PlayBook Application UI Design Guidelines

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 12:40 PM PDT

BlackBerr PalYbook Design guidelines1

I have been working on a few BlackBerry PlayBook applications over the last few weeks. A friend of mind pointed out to me that RIM published up their customary development guidelines for the BlackBerry PlayBook. This guide details how RIM thinks application developers should design their user interface and the different factors they should have in mind for ease of use. These guides are critical since I cannot count how many times developers have tried going against the grain. The BlackBerry World Conference app is a perfect example using the equivalent of a mouse pointer for navigation.

RIM produced a pretty solid guide and I recommend checking it out if you are working on a BlackBerry app. What is truly fun in then flipping back to the PlayBook applications currently available and seeing how they stack up.

Check out the BlackBerry PlayBook UI Design Guide at this link

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 3:40 pm. | BlackBerry PlayBook Application UI Design Guidelines | 2 comments |


OtterBox Now Officially “Built for BlackBerry”

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 10:43 AM PDT

Built for BlackBerry

RIM has been reworking their accessory program in the last few months around a new "Built for BlackBerry" program for accessory manufacturers. OtterBox has long been one of the best producers of quality cases for BlackBerry but now its official. They just announced that they have been accepted as a member of the Built for BlackBerry program. According to OtterBox:

Built for BlackBerry selects elite accessory manufacturers who set the standard for quality, craftsmanship and customization. OtterBox specializes in BlackBerry smartphone protection and over the years has demonstrated expertise in accessory innovation, landing a prestigious spot in this new program. All OtterBox cases are designed with protection and functionality in mind, resulting in sturdy solutions that uniquely accommodate all device features.

So if you were staying up all night losing sleep wondering if your OtterBox Defender case was truly Built for YOUR BlackBerry… You should start taking some sleeping meds. :)

Also OtterBox announced that the U.S patent office has issued patent # 7,933,122 for their Defender Series® cases for technology. The cases offer some awesome protection for your BlackBerry and other electronic devices.  This is good to see them win this patent since they have set a high standard in an innovative  protective case design. If you like to read the full press release check it out at this link.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 1:43 pm. | OtterBox Now Officially “Built for BlackBerry” | One comment |


Find Streaming TV for your PlayBook Using SideReel and TVDuck

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 09:14 AM PDT

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Since Hulu in all of their wisdom has decided to block the BlackBerry PlayBook from streaming videos we are left hunting for them on our own. David pointed out that quite a few sites are still working on the BlackBerry PlayBook so I thought I would mention a tip or two of my own. I have found myself using the very useful SideReel website to find shows along with links to where they are available to stream from. Many of them sadly go to Hulu which is blocked or XfinityTV which I am having trouble with though it does work every once in awhile. On the other hand it does provide links to CBS, NBC, and others that do work.

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If that official route fails a friend pointed out to my you may want to try TVDuck. Their legal situation seems a bit questionable but they have been around for a bit. They also rate the links based on quality which is nice though you have to jump through a couple ads to get the videos to play and they tend to be much lower quality.

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Check it out and let me know how it goes. Also if you have your own tips and tricks feel free to share them!

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 12:14 pm. | Find Streaming TV for your PlayBook Using SideReel and TVDuck | One comment |


BlackBerry PlayBook TV and Media – What Can You Watch Without Hulu?

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 08:15 AM PDT

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In my experience, once Hulu blocks a device, many of its content providers follow suit. As many of you know Hulu recently added the Playbook to their list of blocked devices. But to my surprise, in testing many content providers still work just fine. Here are a few:

So, Playbook owners, what other media sites have you been using on the Playbook?  

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Posted by David for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 11:15 am. | BlackBerry PlayBook TV and Media – What Can You Watch Without Hulu? | One comment |


BlackBerry PlayBook Apps Can Be Extracted From Backup Files?

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 07:59 AM PDT

BlackBerry PlayBook Apps Exposed2

One of our readers, John, let us know about a thread on the official BlackBerry support forums discussing the ability to extract BlackBerry PlayBook application binaries from backup files. This all started from a thread on CrackBerry forums by HaTaX pointing out how he managed to do it for DoodleBlast and PeopleOnMyLawn. It turns out that the BlackBerry PlayBook backup files in *.bbb format are simply zip files that can be extracted. It not only contains a backup of your data but also the applications you have installed.

BlackBerry PlayBook Apps Exposed 

HaTaX managed to pull out the SWF (Flash) binaries and posted them up:

I don't think that developers are going to be too happy about this though it is something that users can already do with BlackBerry smartphone application files. The difference is that SWF files can usually be decompiled into their parts with numerous tools available online. Let us know what else you find.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 10:59 am. | BlackBerry PlayBook Apps Can Be Extracted From Backup Files? | 6 comments |


Troubleshooting BlackBerry PlayBook Bridge Issues – Fix Coming

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 07:06 AM PDT

BlackBerry PlayBook Bridge

Last week I confirmed with a contact at RIM that there are some reported issues for certain users trying to pair their BlackBerry PlayBook with their BlackBerry phone. RIM has confirmed this in a knowledge base article published today along with providing a pretty comprehensive resolution or workaround option that attempts to resolve a few issues. My contact told me this may be related to certain BlackBerry smartphone OS builds so you may want to also try upgrading your OS if all else fails. RIM's publication claims the issue is only related to OS 6.0 devices so let us know if you are experiencing issues with OS 5.0 devices.

Here is how RIM describes the issue and workaround:

When attempting to pair (manually or automatically) a BlackBerry® smartphone with the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, one of the following errors is displayed:

On the BlackBerry® tablet

"Unable to connect BlackBerry® Bridge with BlackBerry smartphone. Please ensure you have BlackBerry Bridge installed on your device and turned on"

or

"Unable to pair with playbook. Try again"

or

"Failed to pair with BlackBerry model"

On the BlackBerry smartphone

"Unable to pair with PlayBook. Try again" – BlackBerry device

Environment

  • BlackBerry® smartphones running BlackBerry 6 OS
  • BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet
  • BlackBerry® Bridge

Resolution

This is a previously reported issue that is being investigated by our development team. No resolution time frame is currently available.

Workaround

Delete the paired device on the BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.  Attempt to pair again using BlackBerry Bridge.

Step 1: Disconnect from BlackBerry Bridge and delete the paired device from the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet:

1. Select the Options icon from the top right corner of the main screen.
2. Select the BlackBerry Bridge item from the left side.
3. Select the Disconnect button from the bottom right side.
4. Select the Bluetooth® menu item from the left side menu from within the Options.
5. Select the Pencil button.
6. Click the Trash icon beside the paired BlackBerry smartphone.

Step 2: Delete a paired Bluetooth enable device

To perform this task, you must first disconnect your BlackBerry device from the Bluetooth enabled device.

1. On the Home screen, click the connections area at the top of the screen, or click the Manage Connections icon.
2. Click Bluetooth Connections.
3. Highlight a paired Bluetooth enabled device.
4. Press the Menu key > Delete Device.

Step 3: Uncheck all Bluetooth Message Services on the BlackBerry device

1. On the BlackBerry device home screen, Click on Options > Network and Connections > Bluetooth Connections
2. Click the Menu key and select MAP Options
3. Uncheck all Email addresses under Message Services
4. Save and exit

Step 4: Remove unused Serial Port Profiles (PlayBook uses the Data Transfer Serial Port Profile)

  1. Open Bluetooth Connections from Manage Connections icon in home screen.
  2. Click the Menu key and select Options
  3. Uncheck unused Serial Port Profile entries except Data Transfer (Desktop Connectivity, SIM Access Profile, Wireless Bypass) 
  4. Save and Exit

Step 5: Restart the BlackBery smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

1.  Perform a hard reset on the BlackBerry device, KB02141
2.  Perform a hard reset on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, by holding the Power button for 10 seconds

Step 6: Connect your tablet and smartphone using BlackBerry Bridge

To connect your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to your BlackBerry smartphone, you need to install the BlackBerry Bridge app on your smartphone.  You can download it from the BlackBerry App World storefront.

1. On your tablet home screen, on the status bar, tab Options icon and select BlackBerry Bridge
2. Tap Setup > Continue
3. In the BlackBerry Bridge app on your smartphone, tap Add Device > Next
4. Point your smartphone camera at the barcode that appears on your tablet to scan the barcode

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 10:06 am. | Troubleshooting BlackBerry PlayBook Bridge Issues – Fix Coming | 5 comments |


Tasterous Shows You Tasty Food Available Around Your Location

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 05:55 AM PDT

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Tasterous in its brilliant simplicity combines your current location with food. What more could you want in an app? The free Tasterous app helps you find great eats around you by simply checking out the pictures of popular dishes at nearby restaurants other users have submitted to the service. The whole idea is that it helps you discover new food wherever you are. Alternatively you can follow your friends who are also on the service and see what they are eating… :)

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The app lets you sign in with Facebook which assists in the login creation process and I could not find any other way to create an account. From there you can choose or search who you want to follow or see what food is popular around your location. You can also upload pictures from your phone bringing you full circle.

I am not sure what countries Tasterous is available in but check it out and let us know. All in all Tasterous is an app designed for food connoisseurs by food connoisseurs. You can pick it up at tasterous.com/download/

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 29, 2011, 8:55 am. | Tasterous Shows You Tasty Food Available Around Your Location | 2 comments |