Blackberry Rx

The developer community around the iPhone is fairly different from that of the BlackBerry developer community in that iPhone developers have OpenGL at their disposal, allowing them to create visually rich applications, as well as as the marketplace and demographics are slightly different. While the BlackBerry Storm is capable of running OpenGL hardware-wise, we have yet to see the API’s unlocked.

Lets assume for a moment, and this might be a crazy assumption, that BlackBerry had OpenGL API’s (possibly with the Storm 2?), and that any iPhone app you see could be ported to BlackBerry. For this to be true, we would also need to see device memory increase, as well as perhaps a built-in compass.

With those assumptions, and there may be a few more, what applications have you seen for iPhone, that you would like for BlackBerry? Or rather, what are your favorite iPhone apps that aren’t available for BlackBerry?

Here are some that I would like to see, and they’re mostly for entertainment. I’m sure there are a ton of apps out there in various categories so share what you find.

Birdhouse
“Ever think of something for your Twitter that you don’t want to post right away? Birdhouse is the perfect place to put it.”

OldBooth
“Have you ever wondered what you’d have looked like in another era? How about your friends? Be a lady from 20s or a funky hairy hippie. Now you can turn into in the fastest way ever.”

Yelp Augmented Reality Easter Egg feature
“Download the new Yelp app (came out yesterday). So you shake your iPhone 3 times. That activates a feature called Monocle. A message should come up if you activated it. A blue box will come up saying “the Monocle has been activated.” It will create a button in the top right corner. Now you should be able to look at the bars, restaurants, etc. Only works on iPhone 3GS.”

Ocarina
“Ocarina is the first true musical instrument created for the iPhone. Both experts and beginners will be amazed by this innovative player. Ocarina is sensitive to your breath, touch and movements, making it even more versatile than the original.”

TapTapRevenge
“Tap Tap Revenge is a rhythm game similar in concept to games like Phase for the iPod, or the console titles FreQuency and Amplitude, all developed by Harmonix, which also makes Guitar Hero and Rock Band.”

Google Earth
“Hold the world in the palm of your hand. With Google Earth for iPhone and iPod touch, you can fly to far corners of the planet with just the swipe of a finger.”

Crayon Physics
“Crayon Physics is a 2D physics puzzle / sandbox game, in which you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects.”

iEmoji
The Japanese are really into Emoji and it’s a fun way to make your SMS and BBM messages more fun. With iEmoji for BlackBerry, you would have access to a much broader range of cartoons to express yourself with.

Real Racing
“This new racing game is looking to add even more content to the racing genre for the iPhone and does this wonderfully.”

MouthOff
“MouthOff is a simple mouth simulation app for the iPhone. The idea behind the app is to provide a silly way to express yourself.”

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Mobile Minutes Tracker by Pageonce is now available free in BlackBerry App World.

The app gives the user the ability to monitor their phone bill and keep track of their balance, usage, as well as receive alerts.

Features of Mobile Minutes Tracker by Pageonce include:

• View current minute balance, rollover minutes, data plan, SMS use, billing cycle, and previous payments on a single page
• Receive alerts when you reach 90% of your limit or when bill is due
• Breakdown information by family member
• View the phone bill directly from Mobile Minute Tracker

Get Mobile Minutes Tracker free in BlackBerry App World.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Viigo has introduced a secure, mobile microblogging service for enterprise in conjunction with StatusNet support. This may be the first of its kind.

If you aren’t familiar with StatusNet, it’s basically a Twitter for corporate users. It’s a free, Open Source, microblogging platform where users can exchange 140 character messages either over the public Internet, or securely via a corporate Intranet.

While corporate Twitter accounts are generally very reserved due to brand and legal considerations, microblogging does mean more collaboration which makes it ideal for enterprise. By creating a secured microblogging service, companies can leverage the power of microblogging services, without worrying about the security implications.

For more information visit, the Viigo Enterprise Solutions page.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Pixelated Plus is a strategy/puzzle game where you have to change the squares until the whole screen is a single solid color.

To play, use the buttons on the bottom of the screen to change the color of the square in the upper left hand corner and those surrounding it. Changing this square to the color of those around it, allows it to slowly grow until it fills the entire screen. The ultimate goal is to do so in as few moves as possible.

Pixelated Plus costs $2.99 on App World on is now available for the BlackBerry Tour 9630.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Here at BlackBerry Cool, we have had our share of pre-release BlackBerry devices in the office. While it’s fun to play with the device and get an idea of the form factor, the software hasn’t been through the requisite testing and is usually very buggy. The OS is generally outdated and overall, it’s a very limited version of what you will get when the device comes to market.

A company on eBay is currently offering two pre-release BlackBerry devices: the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (listed as the BlackBerry Onyx).

The above image is a screencap of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 listing and it shows just how ridiculous this listing is. The image shows the 9700 with a trackball. We know the device will be shipping with a trackpad and if you were to purchase this device you would be seriously missing out. Currently, the item’s highest bid is at US $1,625.00.

The BlackBerry Storm 2 is currently bidding at US $1,125.00 and it’s looking like it might be a scam. While the seller has a great seller’s rating, the item uses a picture from Engadget. The only other image attached to the auction looks like a mess of wires. If the user was serious about this sale, you would think they would take the time to post a proper picture as in the case of the 9700 listing. Again, with this purchase you are going to miss out on what could be a great device. A touchscreen BlackBerry such as the Storm 2 will have to go through an incredibly rigorous testing period as the accelerometer and new UI adds more levels of complexity. Buying this device before it’s ready for market will be a complete waste of your hard earned money.

I’m not even going to link to the eBay auction out of principle.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Twitterlerts is a Twitter client that would be ideal for public relations. Twitterlerts monitors keywords and gives you alerts when someone is tweeting that keyword.

Twitterlerts features include:

• Easily make powerful searches on Twitter.
• Save searches for rapid use.
• Set alerts on important subjects
• Share interesting Tweets by email
• Most features work without a Twitter account
• Sign-in to Twitter to Tweet, Reply, Repost and Follow

While Twitterlerts seems to be geared towards professionals looking to stay on top of their product, it could also be of value to the average consumer. For example, users can set alerts about their favorite celebrities and get instant notifications of any celebrity sightings or news. After all, Twitter is usually the first to know.

Twitterlerts is available for $4.99 (regularly $7.99) until August 31st.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

It’s a tragedy that summer is almost over and it’s almost time to go back to school but there’s good news around the corner. By the time you settle down in your courses and you’ve read the syllabus, new BlackBerry devices will launch and you’ll forget you have midterms.

Get ready to go back to college and represent your institution with a College Theme. All Bplay College Themes are $1 off until 11:59 PM EDT, Sunday, August 30th. That means themes are only $4.99 each (regularly $5.99).

Check out all your favorite College BlackBerry themes from Bplay.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Astraware have launched a collection of classic board games called Astraware Board Games. The board games pack is available for the Storm, Curve 8900, Tour and all trackball/touchscreen BlackBerry devices. It features chess, checkers, reversi, backgammon, Nine Men’s Morris, Snakes and Ladders, Tic Tac Toe and more.

Each board game has user-customizable rules and a range of difficulty levels. Some of the features you’ll find in this board game pack include:

• 8 classic boardgames in one easy-to-use pack.
• User customizable rules so you can play it your way.
• 3 levels of difficulty, designed for casual players and non-experts.
• Evokes the feel of classic boardgames played on wooden boards.

The Astraware Board Games collection is currently on sale for $7.99 until September 7th.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

DubMeNow began as a way for BlackBerry users to easily exchange business card information and they’ve recently added a new feature to their app.

The new feature is called ‘Locate’ and it gives you the ability to exchange contact information such as email, phone, address, photo, etc. and links to their social networks, including: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and more using their location.

The Locate feature should be a hit with users at a conference or venue that they know they’re going to want to exchange information with the people around them.

Included in the latest update are some new improvements as well including:

• Users can add a photo to their contact info, and include social networking information such as Twitter handles, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr accounts, blog URLs and much more.
• Users can send a LinkedIn invitation along with their contact info.

To download DubMeNow, visit http://m.dubmenow.com from your BlackBerry Browser, or find it free on App World.

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

The latest free Twitter client to hit the market is TwiXtreme. TwiXtreme by Xtreme Labs have come in at a time when the most popular free Twitter client, UberTwitter, began offering a free ad-supported version.

TwiXtreme offers many of the basic functionality you would expect from a decent Twitter client including:

• Upload Pictures
• Cool Graphics
• Free & No Ads
• Re-Tweet
• Favorites
• Mentions
• Trends
• Direct Messages
• Nearby Tweets
• Profile View
• Search

The downside to TwiXreme is that the UI could be a little better. A blue background can make reading text a little strenuous on the eyes. Also, the ads on UberTwitter can turn out to be positive for the community. If the developers have monetized the application, they can use the money to invest in the application, thus offering a better product to the end user. Overall, this is a decent free Twitter client, but if you can get a Social Scope invite, do so immediately.

Download TwiXtreme by visiting their site TwiXtreme.com from your BlackBerry Browser.

Xtreme Labs have made some really good applications in the past such as Speed Test. Speedtest is a decent app that lets you evaluate your BlackBerry network speeds, or your WiFi connection. Download it OTA by visiting http://is.gd/lKYB from your BlackBerry Browser.

[Thanks Shaun C]

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009