Rabu, 06 Juli 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community


Verizon Confirms Stingy Tiered Data Plans Starting on July 7th

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:53 AM PDT

Verizon data plans

We all knew this was coming but now the writing is really on the wall. A Verizon spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Wireless that they will be killing off their unlimited data plans starting July 7 in favor of usage based data tiers. They also confirmed the horrible data plan tiers that now shaft you with less data for your buck. Here is a quick snapshot of the plans with a comparison to AT&T:

Verizon Rumored PlansAT&T Current Plans
2GB – $30/month
4GB – $50/month including tethering
5GB – $50/month
7GB – $70/month with tethering
10GB – $80/month
12GB – $100/month with tethering
200MB – $15/month
2GB – $25/month
4GB – $45/month including tethering
NOTE: from here on down its $10 per 1GB unless you are on the 200MB plan where it is $15 for another 200MB

Anybody else kind of dreading the direction this tiered data is taking? What's next? Paying $30 for 200MB?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 6, 2011, 5:53 am. | Verizon Confirms Stingy Tiered Data Plans Starting on July 7th | Leave a comment |


App World 3.0 Upgrade Coming Soon! RIM Notifies Developers

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 02:13 PM PDT

App World World of Possibilities

RIM just sent us an email that they are starting their rollout to App World v3.0. I have been dying for a new update to App World to fix annoying bugs and add features like an update all button but so far the details are slim. Here is what we know so far. RIM will be taking down the BlackBerry App World Vendor portal for maintenance on July 6th from 2:00am – 6:00am (EST).

image004 image003

After that maintenance period is over there will be two now fields for application devs to fill out:

  • Short Description: This is your feature description or your one line sales pitch. Please provide a "short description" of each of your items to make your app more discoverable. We support multilingual short descriptions so you can make your sales pitch more local and relevant to better attract users who speak more languages around the globe.
    • Note: BlackBerry App World supports 108 Countries worldwide and growing!
    • The maximum character length is 50 Characters (including spaces
  • Feature Image: You can now upload a featured app image. This is required if you want your application to be considered for feature. It will make your application much more discoverable.
    • Image Specifications: 1920 x 1186 pixel .PNG file

Let us know if you hear more! I am also hoping that RIM will up the resolution on PlayBook app screenshots to a larger size like the featured image which is now over 1080p.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 5:13 pm. | App World 3.0 Upgrade Coming Soon! RIM Notifies Developers | 14 comments |


Free ShowMe Weather App Spices Up the Forecast with Built in Chat

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 01:03 PM PDT

  screenshot_1

When Ashley first let me know about ShowMe Weather v2.0 I thought it was an interesting use of the BlackBerry Social Platform chat integration. PocketBerry spotted this new free weather app which throws in a odd feature along with your daily forecast. You can finally do what you always wanted to do! Talk to more people about the weather using the built in chat client. You can pick up the free ShowMe Weather app in the store for free.

This has me wondering if every app will integrate chat features once RIM launches the Social Platform SDK/API out of public beta for all to use. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. What do you think?

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 4:03 pm. | Free ShowMe Weather App Spices Up the Forecast with Built in Chat | 3 comments |


RIM Shows Off BlackBerry Balance in Quick 2 Minute Video

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 10:57 AM PDT

 BlackBerry Balance BlackBerry Balance2

While most of the features of BlackBerry Balance are already available for IT BES administrators to try out there are many who want a quick recap of how it actually works. RIM previously put up some great documentation on the features segregating work and personal use back at BlackBerry World but there was a lack of visuals. They just made some strides towards fixing that with a quick 2 minute demo video showing how it looks from a BES admins viewpoint and how it works on a BlackBerry device.


Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

If you are interested in the solution I would recommend checking out www.blackberry.com/balance.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 1:57 pm. | RIM Shows Off BlackBerry Balance in Quick 2 Minute Video | 9 comments |


AT&T BlackBerry Torch 2 9810 Launching in August?

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 10:48 AM PDT

AT&T Launch BlackBerry Torch 9810 rumor

We have been hearing for awhile now that the BlackBerry 2011 lineup was pushed into late Q3 which could mean either August or September. RIM is obviously pushing for a earlier launch but a new leaked doc from AT&T shows the BlackBerry Torch 4G coming in August. The previously leaked spec sheet for the Torch 2 9810 shows:

  • 14.4Mbps download speeds with HSDPA though limited to 13.4mbps due to chipset
  • 5.76Mbps HSUPA uploads

That is still in the quasi 4G space that carriers are calling 4G now so it could be the name for the new Torch. What do you think of having a Torch 4G?

via Android Central via CrackBerry

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 1:48 pm. | AT&T BlackBerry Torch 2 9810 Launching in August? | 24 comments |


Dropbox for BlackBerry v1.0.49.1 Released With Favorites List & Bug Fixes

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 10:37 AM PDT

dropbox for BlackBerry

Dropbox updated their popular BlackBerry client this week to v1.0.49.1 which is a small update from the previous v1.0.39.34. N4BB managed to snag the change log from App World showing that the new client includes a new feature allowing you to view favorite files along with unspecified bug fixes. We have no other word on what is new in this version but if you use Dropbox it is definitely worth the download.

Pick up Dropbox v1.0.49.1 in App World

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 1:37 pm. | Dropbox for BlackBerry v1.0.49.1 Released With Favorites List & Bug Fixes | One comment |


RIM Starts BlackBerry Developer Stories Video Series with Paul Haenel

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 10:32 AM PDT

BlackBerry Dev Paul Haenel BlackBerry Dev Paul Haenel2

RIM keeps on powering through with more videos on YouTube. Their latest series seems to be focused on BlackBerry Developer Stories with Australian developer Paul Haenel. Paul is talking about developing for the BlackBerry platform, both PlayBook and smartphones, in this latest video. I was hoping for a bit more meat in the video but its interesting to see a dev creating BlackBerry apps using a Mac since the tools simply weren’t available a year ago. Check it out below:


Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

I know quite a few successful BlackBerry devs and I have been trying to get them to speak up about the platform. If you are a dev yourself feel free to reach out to us if you want to go on record like Ekke did during the holiday with his well written "Letter from Outer Space."

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 1:32 pm. | RIM Starts BlackBerry Developer Stories Video Series with Paul Haenel | One comment |


Bubble Level Pro Turns Your PlayBook into a Bubble/Spirit Level

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 09:04 AM PDT

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While there have been a few levels for the BlackBerry Torch I think Bubble Level Pro is the best BlackBerry level I have seen yet for the PlayBook. Stephen Lake Design has released Bubble Level Pro which is a torpedo bubble/spirit level app for the PlayBook. Its a nice and simple app that is very useful when hanging frames or trying to level your projects.

You can pick up Bubble Level Pro in App World for a very reasonable $0.99

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 12:04 pm. | Bubble Level Pro Turns Your PlayBook into a Bubble/Spirit Level | Leave a comment |


Dear RIM Legal, Enough with the Beta Zone User License Agreements!

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 07:55 AM PDT

BBM License Agreement2 BBM License Agreement 

I am all for RIM Legal protecting the company from valid legal threats but it is starting to seem like their bonuses are based on how much they can annoy customers in the BlackBerry Beta Zone. I am not talking about them holding up projects or being in dire need of streamlining. Today the subject of my wrath is the exponentially growing list of End User License Agreements RIM's legal department wants their customers to agree to.

Want an example? Take the latest version of BlackBerry Messenger beta that was released in the Beta Zone. Even giving RIM legal the benefit of the doubt and saying I already have an account in the Beta Zone they have a serious proliferation of user license agreements happening. First you need to agree to two licenses to join the BlackBerry Messenger beta. Then another one to download the program. Then when you fire up the app and think you are finally done you are hit with yet another license agreement. The best part? This last license agreement is so long it is the equivalent of 46 full screens of text in size 6 font!

In my head I see one user agreement as reasonable, two is a bit paranoid, but four is simply ridiculous. Multiply that by each addon program or beta and insanity ensues. I just switched to a new BlackBerry Torch today and had to accept the user license agreement when I turned on the device. I then had to accept another one for Facebook, a second for BlackBerry Messenger, a third for Twitter, and the list goes on. Signed up for that nifty new BlackBerry ID? There went another license agreement…

Its not like RIM legal actually expect people to read this stuff though they force you to scroll down through it so why do they bother? Do they gain some sense of sadistic joy in not combining all of these legal agreements into one that simply says "I agree to accept every possible way RIM can weasel out of a warranty or legal liability unless they are specifically liable according to the law of my current locality" and be done with it? I am no lawyer but I feel like RIM needs to release a new Beta Zone app that automatically accepts all license agreements for you and sends a picture of a crying puppy to legalinfo@rim.com.

These license agreements are not going to make or break RIM but they really leave quite a bit lacking in the user experience department. Considering how RIM is focusing on "streamlining operations" is it too much to ask to streamline the legal-eze?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 10:55 am. | Dear RIM Legal, Enough with the Beta Zone User License Agreements! | 12 comments |


Scientists Flip Coin as Evidence Now “Increasingly Against” Phone->Cancer Link

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 07:06 AM PDT

Anger

So far we know that cellphones are potentially carcinogenic like coffee, they do something to your brain, and even 10 year studies on the subject come up inconclusive. Still that has not stopped people scurrying around worried that their favorite gadget is slowly killing them… faster than everything else that is already working on killing them. The latest entry to this circus of flip flop science comes from a committee of experts from the US, UK, and Sweden. They did a major review of the current published research on the cellphone cancer link and "concluded there was no convincing evidence of any cancer connection" according to Reuters.

The best quote from the report:

Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults

While it is obviously hard to prove a positive connection between cellphones and cancer it still is extremely telling that even with tons of money and research we can't even show any solid correlation. It could be cellphones are simply as bad as everything else we pit ourselves against like car exhaust and power lines. Still that won't stop scientists from studying it… All they need is one extreme scientist and cellphones may become like the vaccine shots causing autism fears.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 10:06 am. | Scientists Flip Coin as Evidence Now “Increasingly Against” Phone->Cancer Link | 4 comments |


PhotoStudio Photo Editor for BlackBerry Enters Public Beta

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 06:07 AM PDT

ps3 ps1

BerryBlow let us know about their latest creation that just entered public beta. The new PhotoStudio is a slick photo editor for BlackBerry smartphones. I have always thought that RIM should ship a decent photo editor with their devices but thankfully 3rd parties have been stepping in for them. PhotoStudio packs a whole slew of features including:

  • Base photo operations: brightness, contrast, RGB color adjustment, hue, saturation etc.
  • Transform operations: resize, rotate, crop.
  • A set of clips. Apply set of beautiful digital frames to your photos.
  • A bunch of effects. Grayscale, Ocean, Sepia, Mystique, Pink, Disco 80s, Old style, Old newspaper, Rainbow, Office style, Behind the glass and so on…
  • Combine operations: Apply single or multiple effects to one image.
  • Several output formats: Save the result in two formats: you can save a result as screen dimensions photo or you can apply all stored operations to an original photo.

You can download the public beta of PhotoStudio from BerryBlows website if you have an OS 5.0+ device with 480×360 screen resolution. The download link for PhotoStudio is here.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 9:07 am. | PhotoStudio Photo Editor for BlackBerry Enters Public Beta | 3 comments |


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