Kamis, 16 Juni 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

US Government Spent $117 Million on BlackBerrys Since 2001

Posted: 16 Jun 2011 02:10 AM PDT

Government Gadgets

I was reading an interesting recap Gizmodo did of US government gadget purchases from June 2001 until today and one number stuck out at me. They collected their information from the federal procurement database and found that of all the government gadgets RIM easily took the cake at a $117 million cost including the expenses of using the BlackBerry (BES service, servers, etc).

While other devices/gadgets may not have been around as long as the BlackBerry the next in line is the Apple iPod at $10.8 million. This should give you a basic idea of why RIM caters to the high security and mission critical market.

Let us know what you think of the other data!

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 16, 2011, 5:10 am. | US Government Spent $117 Million on BlackBerrys Since 2001 | Leave a comment |


RIM Releases BlackBerry Avatar Builder Apps for Guys and Girls

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 04:17 PM PDT

312767 312780

I know that RIM employees love their avatars especially after their Lego avatars of yesteryear. In a new move in that field RIM Kevin @CrackBerry noticed that RIM has released two new free apps that let you generate some slick BBM Avatars from your BlackBerry. The apps come in separate guys and girls versions which is interesting and I am sure it will be a hit.

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Its nice and fun to edit up the avatars. I just downloaded it and am working on my own. It would be really fun if RIM let you mix it up a bit more but hopefully RIM will keep these apps in development. These are the kinds of apps that RIM should be pumping out regularly! :)

Check out the different versions below:

312769 312770  312784 312787

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 7:17 pm. | RIM Releases BlackBerry Avatar Builder Apps for Guys and Girls | 7 comments |


RIM Porting Native Email & Pin Java Apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook?

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 03:05 PM PDT

playbook_02

I am really scratching my head on this one. Luis and Ashley pointed out to me a ZDNet UK Interview done awhile back (May 14th) with RIM’s software CTO, David Yach, covering a few topics. There are a few juicy tidbits in here but there is one part that I am having trouble deciphering. When asked by ZDNets Mary Branscombe how RIM plans on bringing the PlayBook and BlackBerry OS 7 together he gives a very interesting answer. Read this and tell me what you think it means:

We’ve shown that on PlayBook already — that was what was running inside the BlackBerry player that we announced. How better to prove the BlackBerry (Java) player is real if it can run the most complex apps that run on BlackBerry today which are our own email, PIM and calendar apps? That will be our path for taking those apps to market on the PlayBook.

We have heard rumblings that RIM was planning on bringing the BlackBerry email (BIS/BES) experience to the PlayBook by porting at first but I didn't realize that it could simply be playing those apps in the "Java Player" for the PlayBook. We have spoken about this a few times but this is the closest I have ever heard of RIM actually going out and saying it would be so. The thing is that would require RIM to develop quite a few more private API's for the Java Player that don't exist in the current BlackBerry Java platform. Let me know what you think.

David goes a bit more into the issue a little further in the interview when asked how the PlayBook will be managed in the Enterprise in the future:

By effectively taking the BlackBerry 7 apps, BES comes along with that, BIS [BlackBerry Internet Service] comes along, all the closed security model comes along. What we are doing on the BES side is enabling the capability for BES to handle more than one device.

That seems to continue that same train of thought… What does "Taking the BlackBerry 7 Apps" mean? Personally RIM has a very strong communications suite in their BlackBerry Java email and PIM apps and it makes alot of sense to bring them over. The thing is that whole suite comes with legacy "baggage" which I am not sure is a great thing for a new platform. For example, there is no need for the data sipping practices RIM uses on a Wi-Fi or 4G tablet. On the other hand the BlackBerry java communications platform is certified secure and is RIM's cornerstone feature.

I highly recommend you check out the full interview at ZDNet and feel free to report back with your thoughts!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 6:05 pm. | RIM Porting Native Email & Pin Java Apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook? | 10 comments |


BlackBerry PlayBook Available in the UK Today – Starting a Day Early

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT

PlayBook Phones 4u

While we knew that the BlackBerry PlayBook would launch in the UK tomorrow and continue rolling out internationally one of RIM's UK vendors was a bit antsy. Engadget spotted a press release put out by Phones 4u announcing that they are stocking the BlackBerry PlayBook a day early in two of their stores. According to Phones 4u:

To celebrate the early availability Phones 4u Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street will be showcasing the BlackBerry PlayBook in the instore BlackBerry zones where visitors will get the chance to be one of the first to try out the new device and get a feel for the world’s first professional grade tablet.

So far the pricing for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet 16 GB Wi-Fi version is £399 or with a BlackBerry 9300 bundle on O2 £37 tariff. The 64 GB Wi-Fi model will be available online only and priced at £549.

Full press release below:

BLACKBERRY® PLAYBOOK™ AVALIABLE IN LONDON STORES A DAY EARLY
From today, Phones 4u the leading mobile retailer for the youth market, will be stocking the highly anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet from Research In Motion (RIM) in two London stores, a day ahead of the nationwide launch on 16th June.
To celebrate the early availability Phones 4u Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street will be showcasing the BlackBerry PlayBook in the instore BlackBerry zones where visitors will get the chance to be one of the first to try out the new device and get a feel for the world’s first professional grade tablet.
Scott Hooton, Trading Director at Phones 4u commented "BlackBerry is incredibly strong in the 16-25 market, 3 of the top 5 retail contract sales in April were BlackBerry devices. Their popularity stems from the brands fashionable nature and its offering of tools, such as BlackBerry Messenger, that allows people to easily stay in touch with friends. The arrival of the BlackBerry PlayBook and unique BlackBerry Bridge feature allows us to offer a top of the range tablet with uncompromised mobile browsing ability, which really sets the device apart from other tablets. We are delighted to be offering the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet a day early in two of our London stores. The BlackBerry PlayBook is set to be THE launch of the summer and we are taking this opportunity to show our customers exactly what all the fuss is about!"
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with 16 GB and built-in Wi-Fi® connectivity will be available from all Phones 4u stores and online for £399 or with a BlackBerry 9300 bundle on O2 £37 tariff. The 64 GB model with Wi-Fi will be available online only and priced at £549. The tablet features an ultra-portable design and delivers industry leading performance, uncompromised web browsing with support for Adobe® Flash® Player, true multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development environment.
You can find out more about the high performance BlackBerry® PlayBook™ and order yours today via the Phones 4u website.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 5:18 pm. | BlackBerry PlayBook Available in the UK Today – Starting a Day Early | 3 comments |


BlackBerry PlayBook Getting Adobe AIR 2.7 Update by End of June

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 02:11 PM PDT

playbook_01

 

We know that RIM is testing out a version of the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS v1.0.6 in the Beta Zone but it is limited to "Select Developers." That version is supposed to include Adobe AIR 2.7 and Flash 10.3 so developers can ensure their apps are optimized and ready for the Tablet OS 1.0.6 release. The beta program is only supposed to be open for a week but now we have more confirmation that it is coming soon.

Ashley let us know that Mihai Corlan, a Platform Evangelist for Adobe, posted on his website that Adobe AIR 2.7 is coming to the PlayBook by the end of June. I guess that means we will be seeing another OS update this month… Mihai does not go into the details of what he AIR 2.7 update means for the PlayBook but I hear it has better support for mobile UI elements though don't quote me. :)

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 5:11 pm. | BlackBerry PlayBook Getting Adobe AIR 2.7 Update by End of June | 2 comments |


Giveaway: Win One of 25 Copies of BerryReader From BellShare

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT

Tired of your current RSS reader on your BlackBerry? Thanks to the guys over at BellShare we have 25 copies of BerryReader  to giveaway. This app is one of Ronen's favorite RSS readers. This application syncs with your Google Reader account which makes it easy keep up with your tech news. The application also allows you to add other feeds easily.  Check out the full list of features below.

berryreader1berryreader2

App Description:

  • Access your All Items, Starred Items, Shared Items, a single feed or a single folder for reading
  • Automatically update in the background
  • Share articles via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook
  • Manage (add/remove) subscriptions from your device
  • Quickly toggle an article’s Starred, Like, Unread and Shared labels or edit the article’s tags for later filtering.
  • Read the selected feed/folder even while offline, changes to labels and tags will be cached and automatically synced when network coverage is regained
  • Get notified whenever new articles are available (Includes custom LED color support through BerryBuzz)
  • Choose between compact and full article list layout and black on white or white on black color scheme
  • Automatically load thumbnails and full images for every article (Fully preload for offline viewing or when needed to conserve bandwidth)
  • Swipe left/right on an article header to mark read/star the article (touchscreen devices only)
  • Hover over an article to open a shortcut popup for easy changing star/like/tag of an article (touchscreen devices only)
  • Mobile optimized viewing of full articles using Google or Instapaper mobilizer
  • Fully optimized and compressed synchronization to keep your data usage at a minimum
  • Optimized for minimum memory and battery usage

The app can be purchased at the Berryreview store, for $9.99

GIVEAWAY: We have 25 copies of BerryReader to giveaway all you have to do is leave us a comment below. Please do not double post or you may be disqualified to win. Comments must be left before Friday 17th of June.

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Posted by Luis Merlos for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 3:00 pm. | Giveaway: Win One of 25 Copies of BerryReader From BellShare | 64 comments |


BlackBerry OS 7 To Support SD Card Backup & Restore!

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 10:26 AM PDT

BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator3

Hot diggity! A long time ago I posted a Dreamberry/rant about how RIM should add on device backup and restore options to the BlackBerry OS without using desktop manager and it looks like they have listened. The N4BB team (thanks to @rr_yy) scoured the BlackBerry Torch 9850 simulator that leaked yesterday and found an interesting new feature called Device Switch. This feature lets you backup all of your data and restore it to the same or new device. The only thing it seems to be missing is the ability to backup apps.

BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator2 

BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator4 BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator5

I have to say I am really excited about this and it would easily be one of my favorite features in OS 7. Check out the pictures or video and let us know what you think!

BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator6 BlackBerry OS 7 Simulator7

Video below!

 

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 1:26 pm. | BlackBerry OS 7 To Support SD Card Backup & Restore! | 11 comments |


Dolby Suing RIM for Patent Infringement on the BlackBerry PlayBook & Smartphones

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 07:59 AM PDT

Boxing Executives

Another month and yet another patent lawsuit for RIM. Its not like RIM is getting singled out in the patent madness since the mobile industry is going crazy over it but they keep on dragging on. The latest is from Dolby which is suing RIM for patent infringement of "many RIM products" including their smartphones and PlayBook.

This lawsuit is revolving around RIMs use of the AAC codec for audio from what I can tell. RIM has been supporting the AAC codec for awhile now so I am not sure why Dolby woke up now. It seems like they were trying to reach a patent licensing agreement and Dolby is using this lawsuit as a stick to get RIM to settle. According to Dolby:

"Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby's technology," said Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby. "We have a duty to protect our intellectual property."

Dolby was even "kind" enough to issue a press release about their lawsuit:

Dolby Sues Research In Motion for Patent Infringement; Seeks Sales Halt Of Unlicensed Blackberry and Playbook Devices and Monetary Damages For Past Use

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Dolby International, has filed patent infringement lawsuits in the U.S. and Germany against Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RiMM), a Canadian manufacturer of wireless handset and tablet devices. The lawsuits seek recovery of financial damages and injunctions to halt sales of the many RIM products that infringe Dolby's patents.

"Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby's technology"

The lawsuits explain that RIM infringes Dolby patents covering highly efficient digital audio compression technologies which allow manufacturers and consumers to provide and enjoy high quality audio while using extremely limited amounts of transmission and/or storage space for such audio. RIM employs Dolby's patented technologies in its Blackberry smart phones and Playbook tablet devices, without having obtained licenses from Dolby, the lawsuits say. All other major smart phone makers have agreed to license the Dolby technologies which are the subject of this litigation.

Dolby's patented technologies, which have been incorporated into the international standard known as High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding ("HE AAC"), provide the core of HE AAC. Demonstrating the value of the Dolby technologies, HE AAC is widely used in consumer electronics devices such as smart phones, portable music players, and computer tablets to play back music and other digitized audio that has been compressed to less than 10% of its original digital file size.

"Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby's technology," said Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby. "We have a duty to protect our intellectual property."

The U.S. lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The German lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany.

via TechCrunch

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 10:59 am. | Dolby Suing RIM for Patent Infringement on the BlackBerry PlayBook & Smartphones | 7 comments |


#TeamBlackBerry Votes on Top 5 PlayBook Apps – What Are Yours?

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT

top-5-playbook-apps-7 top-5-playbook-apps-2 top-5-playbook-apps-3 top-5-playbook-apps-4 top-5-playbook-apps-6

In what I think is a unique move for RIM the official BlackBerry Insider Blog has posted the top 5 BlackBerry PlayBook apps used by #TeamBlackBerry on Twitter. While there are no real "upsets" in the list I found it really interesting that RIM would post such a list since they have always shied away from doing it in the past. I have been trying to get RIM to highlight apps that embody the BlackBerry experience or even have the highest sales/growth in App World. They started doing some of that with the BlackBerry Developer Challenge this year including mentions for certain app achievements and hopefully they will continue!

So here are the top 5 BlackBerry PlayBook apps chosen by #TeamBlackBerry through user responses on Twitter:

  • Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook
  • Poynt for BlackBerry PlayBook
  • Doodle Blast
  • Need for Speed Undercover
  • GeeReader

I have to agree with all of those which are also on my list but I would replace Doodle Blast (while really good) with my current favorite game Farmdefense. So what is your top 5 or top 10 BlackBerry PlayBook apps?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 10:52 am. | #TeamBlackBerry Votes on Top 5 PlayBook Apps – What Are Yours? | 4 comments |


RIM to Announce “PlayBook Results” Tomorrow With Financials

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 07:03 AM PDT

Circle of BlackBerry bridgePair

Tomorrow RIM is going to be announcing their financials for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. There is much speculation on exactly how many BlackBerry PlayBooks RIM has moved since the launch in April. While RIM has not come out and specifically said they will announce the sales numbers for the PlayBook tomorrow but they have committed to "provide a business update on BlackBerry PlayBook results on June 16th."

So I thought we could have a little fun with it before RIM makes it official. How many BlackBerry PlayBooks do you think RIM has sold? A Bazillion? Eleventeen? a hundred thousand? Brownie points if you give a good rationalization/reason for your vote! As I said before I hope Balsillie can announce somewhere near 400/500 thousand devices moved.

If you want to listen in to the conference call you can on the 16th starting at 5pm ET. Details…

Research In Motion Limited will be reporting results for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 on June 16, 2011 after the close of the market. A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 5 pm ET, which can be accessed by dialing 1-800-814-4859 or by logging on at www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml. A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 7 pm by dialing (+1)416-640-1917 and entering passcode 4445546#. This replay will be available until midnight ET June 30, 2011.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 10:03 am. | RIM to Announce “PlayBook Results” Tomorrow With Financials | 8 comments |


Gym Technik v0.9.114 Improves App Navigation & Fixes

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 05:58 AM PDT

bb_01_s04 bb_01_s01 bb_01_s02

The popular exercise app Gym Technik was updated over the weekend to streamline the application. The new version is not a huge bump at v0.9.114 but every bit counts. :) Its kind of amazing to see how far this app has come since it was first introduced.

Features of this update include:

  • Streamlined user interface navigation
  • Improved account setup and management
  • Fix to exercise order discrepancy between web and BlackBerry app
  • Fix to workout edit function on the BlackBerry app
  • Better visual scaling of the body stats graph improving visibility of smaller fluctuations
  • New "Getting Started" guides
  • "Workouts" will appear as the app name, rather than "Gym Technik"

According to Gym Technik you should follow these steps to update:

  1. Sync the data in the BlackBerry app (skip this step if you don't have the app on your BlackBerry).
  2. Point your BlackBerry browser to get.gymtechnik.com and follow the steps to download.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 15, 2011, 8:58 am. | Gym Technik v0.9.114 Improves App Navigation & Fixes | One comment |


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