Rabu, 14 Desember 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community


NTSB Wants to Ban Cellphone Use & Hands Free Tech While Driving

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 02:28 AM PST

 Driving-texting-teen

While most states in the US are adopting rules that ban talking on cellphones or texting while driving they have actually promoted using Bluetooth headsets or handsfree tech. Now the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has put out a non-binding recommendation that states also ban all of the hands free technology like Bluetooth headsets, car hands free systems, and voice controlled actions. Here is what thye had to say to Reuters:

"When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it’s a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It’s worth a human life."

Still I doubt such a law will ever be adopted by states. It actually sort of makes sense since distractions no matter how you manage them are still distractions. On the other hand that would also be the case for using your GPS, listening to the radio/iPod, etc. Still it is nice to see that they realize that even hands free systems pose a risk to other drivers on the road.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 14, 2011, 5:28 am. | NTSB Wants to Ban Cellphone Use & Hands Free Tech While Driving | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 Comes Out of Beta (Gold Release)

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 01:27 PM PST

BlackBerry Java SDK Update 

We told you on December 6th that the BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 was supposed to go Gold that day according to RIM's Alec Saunders. Things seem to have gotten a bit delayed but Henrik from Bellshare let us know in the comments that it is finally here! You can download the new BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 from RIM's developer site. The main new features are:

  • NFC P2P – The NFC Peer-to-Peer API allows applications to share files and other data through NFC technology initiated communication with Bluetooth® handover.
  • FM Radio – The FM Radio API is designed to give applications the ability to manipulate FM tuner settings on BlackBerry smartphones with supporting hardware.
  • Profiles API – The Profiles API brings more Super App features to applications, allowing them to query current profile settings and adjust their own application behavior accordingly or, conversely, intelligently change the current profile to match the user’s current activities.
  • Other new features included in the SDK
    • Magnetometer — calibration changes
    • ICCID of SIM

Download the BlackBerry Java 7.1 SDK here

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 4:27 pm. | BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 Comes Out of Beta (Gold Release) | 2 comments |


How BlackBerry App World v3.1 Gift Begging & Giving Works

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 01:11 PM PST

App World Gifting Begging2 

I have to say RIM really managed to confuse me with the new gift begging and giving service they are adding in App World v3.1. RIM still has not added basic gift cards and coupons on App World but they are ambitiously adding a process where users can beg their friends to buy them an app and process the payment through their friends account over BBM. At first I was very interested in how this process works since it would be nice to be able to finally do BerryReview giveaways through App World but it looks like I will have to wait on that. You can see how the gift begging –> giving process works in the slide above along with the requirements and features below:

Apps, Games, Themes and Ringtones can now be purchased for your friends.  Have your BBM friends request content that they're interested in and you can buy it on their behalf!

  • Requesting enables users to pay for content on the behalf of another user
  • Leverages the BBM 6 Social APIs to send the request between users
  • The app must be requested in order for a friend to buy it
  • Content item must be available for both requester and gift-er in BlackBerry App World
  • Both requester & gift-er can cancel the subscription at any time via My World
  • Requested subscription management is handled by RIM within BlackBerry App World

So you have to ask yourself how much harder it would have been for RIM to simply sell gift cards or offer coupon codes…

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 4:11 pm. | How BlackBerry App World v3.1 Gift Begging & Giving Works | 2 comments |


BlackBerry App World v3.1 Defaults to Carrier Billing – Adding Ringtone Channel?

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 12:49 PM PST

RIM Carrier Billing

RIM has made a few small changes in App World v3.1 that is set to launch this week on the 15th. First of all RIM will be making a much bigger push into Carrier Billing. They will be making it the default billing option instead of PayPal or Credit Card if users don't already have a preferred payment method setup. The other thing we heard from one of our sources is that RIM is adding a new "ringtones channel" but we are not quite sure what that means yet but it is supposed to go live soon.

Here are some more details on the default Carrier Billing option:

  • If a user does not have a preferred payment method set up, carrier billing becomes the default payment method (if available) for all new and existing users
  • Simplifies buying process as purchases can be made without the extra step of setting up a credit card or PayPal account
  • Users can change their payment method to either credit card or PayPal
  • Increases the adoption of carrier billing
  • Excellent revenue opportunity for carriers with this feature
  • Carrier billing can increase revenue by 100%-300%
  • Enterprise users must enable carrier billing for this feature to be active

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 3:49 pm. | BlackBerry App World v3.1 Defaults to Carrier Billing – Adding Ringtone Channel? | One comment |


Devs: RIM Opensources Useful Java & WebWorks UI Frameworks

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:44 AM PST

BBUI BBUI2  

Devin let me know that in the last few weeks RIM has opensourced a separate WebWorks and Java UI framework for developers. The WebWorks framework is called BBUI.js and has been around in some forms for awhile but is definitely useful to help devs get phone apps out quickly. RIM has also put out what they call the "Advanced UI Library" for Java developers to help them get some basic elements in their Java apps.

Advanced UI6 BBUI3

Devs can find both of these projects in RIM's GitHub repositories below:

Advanced UI2 Advanced UI4

Advanced UI5  Advanced UI3

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 1:44 pm. | Devs: RIM Opensources Useful Java & WebWorks UI Frameworks | 2 comments |


Fandango Movie Times & Tickets BlackBerry App

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:37 AM PST

Fandango BlackBerry

Fandango has had their BlackBerry app around for awhile now but it got a small update to v2.1.3 earlier this month. Fandango reached out to us saying that they have just launched their showtimes and ticketing app though I think that functionality was there before. Either way the app seems to be new to App World with only one review. Just as a reminder the Fandango App gives you access to:

Browse Movies:

  • Find movies playing in your local theaters – slide through our movie carousel to view "Now Playing, "Opening This Week" and "Top Box Office" lists, or use our search function to locate movies by name
  • Discover movies ‘Coming Soon’– check out our "Featured" titles or view upcoming movies scheduled to play near you
  • Watch high-quality trailers – tap the "play trailer" button to begin
  • View the most accurate showtimes; read fan ratings and reviews, genres, synopses, run times and director
    and cast lists

Find Theaters:

  • Find theaters closest to you using Blackberry's GPS feature
  • Add theaters to a "Favorites" list for faster searching
  • Discover theater amenities such as stadium seating and wheelchair accessibilit
  • Connect with Blackberry Maps to find driving directions

Purchase Tickets in a Flash:

  • Purchase tickets seamlessly without leaving the app
  • Buy tickets for more movie screens – 16,000 and counting! — than on any other movie app 
  • Invite your friends to your movie – share showtimes or your movie details
  • Sign into your Fandango account to purchase tickets with your credit card stored online
  • Or securely store credit card information to your device – it's your choice!
  • Create a new calendar event directly from your purchase details
  • View your purchase history to access ticket details

You can read more about the free app at fandango.com/blackberryapp or pick it up in App World

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 10:37 am. | Fandango Movie Times & Tickets BlackBerry App | One comment |


Dev Gets USB Host Working on BlackBerry PlayBook With Dingleberry Exploit

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:12 AM PST

PlayBook USB Host

We told you that the Dingleberry jailbreak would start getting interesting once developers started extending the platform beyond what you can do without a jailbreak. RIM has been teasing us with possible USB host functionality on the BlackBerry PlayBook since it launched. They have been slow on delivering features like that though we know they are coming.

Until then Josep @MiBlackBerry let us know that elTecnoBlog has posted up a video showing USB host working on his Dingleberry jailbroken BlackBerry PlayBook. It is promising though I hope they come up with a cable instead of that little micro-USB to USB dongle. :)


Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 10:12 am. | Dev Gets USB Host Working on BlackBerry PlayBook With Dingleberry Exploit | 8 comments |


Free RadioOpt Traffic Monitor Wants to Monitor Your BlackBerry Data Usage

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 06:25 AM PST

Radioopt traffic monitor Radioopt traffic monitor2

I am not sure how RadioOpt Traffic Monitor is totaling your data usage on BlackBerrys due to API changes RIM made ages ago but it may be worth a shot. A friend of mine has been trying to make it by on AT&T's 200MB BlackBerry data plan and told me he has been using RadioOpt Traffic Monitor. The app does seem to be working for him though it does have some questionable items in its user license but still I thought it would be worth mentioning.

Radioopt traffic monitor3 Radioopt traffic monitor4

RadioOpt Traffic Monitor is free and ad free in App World. Let us know what you think if you give it a spin!

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 9:25 am. | Free RadioOpt Traffic Monitor Wants to Monitor Your BlackBerry Data Usage | 3 comments |


EA Dead Space Now Works on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 05:45 AM PST

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A few readers let us know that Electronic Arts has updated their sweet Dead Space game for the PlayBook to v1.0.8 this weekend. There is nothing huge in the update other than support for the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 beta. That is nice for people like me who have had to deal with some games not working since we are using the PlayBook developer beta.

You can pick up EA Dead Space for the PlayBook for $9.99 in App World

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, December 13, 2011, 8:45 am. | EA Dead Space Now Works on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 | One comment |


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