Sabtu, 18 Juni 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

Distimo Tells You What Words NOT to Use in Your App Name

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:12 PM PDT

 Angry Apps

A friend of mind sent me this interesting blog post by Distimo highlighting what words developers should not use in their application name. They base this on the fact that if you use these words you will not only get lost in the thousands of apps but will also lack any distinction. Personally I think that is a big deal because many users find recommended apps in App World by searching for a word or two of the name. On the other hand some apps specifically want to be confused this way.

After stripping away the noise they found that these were the top 25 words used in all app names across all of the major app stores for each device:

wallpaperliveguidenewstheme
ebookclocktravelappsexy
gameworlddictionarymapcalculator
radiolovegirlswidgetenglish
hotpuzzlefootballpocketcity

They also had some fun tracking how the worlds Angry and Birds have become more popular since Angry Birds first came out in December of 2009. Funny stuff… Check out the chart at the top of this article to see what I mean.

So devs just make sure not to call your app the Live Sexy Pocket City Girls Puzzle App or at least give me some credit for coming up with it. :)

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

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 6:12 pm. | Distimo Tells You What Words NOT to Use in Your App Name | Leave a comment |


Notifier Sends BlackBerry Notifications to Your PC or Mac over Wi-Fi

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 01:13 PM PDT

Notifier Notifier2

Notifier is an interesting new app to hit App World. The concept of the app is that it sends notifications from your BlackBerry to your PC or Mac from your BlackBerry over Wi-Fi. While there have been apps that do this in the past I am kind of digging the notifications on this one and the use of Wi-Fi. Right now it seems to only do notifications for phone calls, SMS, and battery alerts but hopefully more will come soon with email and the ability to view the email.

There is a desktop and BlackBerry app that work together to make the magic work and for $0.99 it is a pretty cool app. Check out Notifier in App World at this link.

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

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 4:13 pm. | Notifier Sends BlackBerry Notifications to Your PC or Mac over Wi-Fi | Leave a comment |


Giveaway: Win 1 of Two BlackBerry PlayBook Cases From DICOTA

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:31 AM PDT

tabbook5We recently told you about the BlackBerry cases from DICOTA and today we are featuring the BlackBerry PlayBook cases. While at BlackBerry World we fell in love with the stylish designs they were showcasing and we reached out to them to see if we could get our hands on some. Thanks to DICOTA two of you will be rocking your PlayBook on one of these cool looking cases.  These cases are not yet available to purchase but DICOTA and BerryReview are giving you a chance to be one of the lucky one's to sport these cases.

tabcover2The first case is a carrying case for your PlayBook called TabCover. The Tab cover is a slip-in sleeve.  The features include:

  • Padded sleeve with soft lining that functions as a cleaning cloth for the screen
  • Velcro closure makes sure your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is securely stored inside the case
  • Decorative stitching and synthetic leather details

Link to website

 

TaBook: This is one of our favorite designs it that can be transformed into a stand while the PlayBook is kept safe inside.

  • Booklet case with stand function for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet
  • Allows you to use the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet while still inside the case
  • Stand can be used in either typing or viewing mode

Link to website

tabbook2tabbook6tabbook7 (1)

 

Giveaway: For a chance to win one of the cases simply leave a comment below before Monday June 20. Only one comment per person is allowed. Good luck.

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

Posted by Luis Merlos for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 2:31 pm. | Giveaway: Win 1 of Two BlackBerry PlayBook Cases From DICOTA | 33 comments |


How to Diagnose Your PlayBook Wi-Fi Connection & View Status

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:02 AM PDT

IMG_00000392 IMG_00000393 

I have had quite a few users ask me similar questions in the last few weeks so I thought I would address it with a simple post. There is a nice and slightly hidden set of features in the Options->Wi-Fi menu that you can access if you click on the little Wi-Fi icon with the question mark at the bottom left of the Options->Wi-Fi menu pane.

Say for example you want to know what the current speed of your connection is to your access point then hit the drop down menu and select "Wi-Fi Information." Then scroll down to connection data rate. For some reason mine always shows 24Mbps even though my laptop is reporting 130Mbps in the same location.

From that dropdown menu you can also access you Wi-Fi logs to see what is going on. You can also diagnose your PlayBook Wi-Fi internet connection by testing it out with a Ping or checking on the routing with a traceroute or DNS Lookup. I don't understand why RIM didn't make that option button a bit bigger but there is a load of information in here.

Let us know if you find any other tips like this!

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 12:02 pm. | How to Diagnose Your PlayBook Wi-Fi Connection & View Status | 2 comments |


Carphone Warehouse UK Has Some Fun Demoing the BlackBerry PlayBook

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT

Carphone warehouse playbook2 Carphone warehouse playbook3 

With the BlackBerry PlayBook launch this week in the UK the Carphone Warehouse had some fun demoing the device on YouTube. The video is part of their Eye Openers channel so it definitely is not a run of the mill demo. They focus on the gestures but they definitely seem to be having fun at the same time. :)


Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 11:06 am. | Carphone Warehouse UK Has Some Fun Demoing the BlackBerry PlayBook | 2 comments |


WordRival v1.4 Adds Push Alerts

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:01 AM PDT

WordRival

WordRival is one of the better cross platform Scrabble-like games available for BlackBerry. I just got a notification from our store that the app has been updated with a much needed feature. Until now you had to have the app open to get next play notifications but now you get push alerts when it is your turn even if the game is closed.

You can pick up a free trial of the game at www.aztux.com or the full version of WordRival in the store for $4.99 ($3.99 on sale)

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

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 11:01 am. | WordRival v1.4 Adds Push Alerts | Leave a comment |


How to Install Country Restricted PlayBook Apps in App World

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 06:58 AM PDT

IMG_00000409

Most people who live outside of the US and Canada have usually experienced BlackBerry smartphone and PlayBook apps that are not available in their country. While there are a few drastic things you can do to change that on BlackBerry smartphones there is a relatively easy way to bypass this restriction on the BlackBerry PlayBook. It all involves using HTTP proxies to make RIM's App World servers think you are in the country where the app is restricted to. :)

Keeper was kind enough to list out how exactly to pull this off in the forums and I highly recommend you check it out if you have a PlayBook and live outside the US. It involves using free or paid HTTP proxies and is pretty easy to setup. Let us know if it works for you!

PS: If you already pay for a VPN service to access content in the US (Hulu, Pandora, etc) you may want to try it out instead.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 9:58 am. | How to Install Country Restricted PlayBook Apps in App World | 3 comments |


Avoid Eating Veggies in OmnomBot for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 06:30 AM PDT

omnombot_playbook_021 omnombot_playbook_01

While everybody else is going green the OmnomBot is doing all he can to avoid any vegetables. The developer of the popular Aqulux game, Milkman games, let us know about their release of OmnomBot for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The game has a fun premise of making sure the OmnomBot does not eat any vegetables and only eats the good stuff. Maybe there is some subliminal messaging going on here… :)

Not the most complicated game but definitely fun to pass the time. OmnomBot is available in App World for $1.99.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 9:30 am. | Avoid Eating Veggies in OmnomBot for the BlackBerry PlayBook | One comment |


Should RIM Fire the Lawyers and Hire Developers?

Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:45 AM PDT

Throwingpapersintheair

One of the most interesting parts about yesterdays earning call and fiscal stats was that RIM announced a "Cost Optimization Program" that spells bad news for some of RIM's 17,000+ employees. Cost Optimization according to RIM will involve streamlining operations across RIM and will include a headcount reduction. While reading what RIM meant by this I could not help but think of a certain department at RIM that I always love to hate. Read RIMs goals for the Cost Optimization Program and tell me what you think:

  1. Streamline operations across RIM
  2. Taking out redundancies
  3. Reallocation of resources to focus on high growth opportunities and strategic objectives
  4. Accelerate new product introductions
  5. Headcount reduction based on these changes

I have been hearing from contacts at RIM for awhile now that this sort of headcount reduction was in the cards simply to trim the non-performing departments. The thing is that every time I read that list of goals for RIM I can think of one department at RIM is notorious for running counter to all of those goals. I am sure by now you realize I mean RIM's legal department.

While I concede that RIM's NTP $612 million settlement was a setback it really set RIM on the wrong path. I have not heard of one project or initiative at RIM that was not held up in some way by RIM legal. When you hear RIM employees talk about the bureaucracy and red tape for a product launch or service update once again we usually have RIM legal to thank.

That makes me wonder if maybe the first department RIM should "Streamline" is their overeager legal department. Sometimes I think that department gets paid by the word to write disclaimers and user agreements in every language. I am not trying to advocate these people losing their jobs or say that all of RIM legal is expendable but that is definitely in the top three in need of streamlining. RIM seems to have three classes of lawyers. The CYA (Cover Your Ass), patent application, and litigation defense. I understand the latter two but they really need to break out of the CYA model. Its one thing to protect the company but maybe they would be better off teaching the lawyers how to develop BlackBerry apps… to accelerate new product introductions.

Feel free to discuss it more in this forum thread. Another great example of RIM legal at work is their attempts to take down www.updatemyblackberry.com which you can read about at this link.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 8:45 am. | Should RIM Fire the Lawyers and Hire Developers? | 14 comments |


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