BlackBerry Accessories

As a BlackBerry owner we are constantly tapping on our QWERTY keyboards sending out emails and messages which now even resulted to a new medical condition that have been dubbed “BlackBerry Thumb” for constantly typing on a small keypad.

So it is no surprise that we are the most prolific Tweeters out there. There are several applications that allow you to tweet which are developed by third parties but unfortunately there is no native BlackBerry Twitter application yet. There were suggestions that it will be developed but I won’t hold my breath on that.

I’m going to give a short review of the top 3 Twitter clients I have tested which are worth mentioning.

UberTwitter
If you were looking for a Tweeter client that is feature rich, UberTwitter would be your choice. It has everything a Tweeter user needs i.e. perform searches, multiple accounts, hosted service for video, pictures and shared GPS location. It has a very clean UI that allow you to choose fonts type, font size, size of your avatar images and many more UI options. You can have your Google Talk Status updated with your last twitter update, add location to your picture and videos, choose how you want your location to be determine i.e. via Cell Tower or Autonomous GPS and network options. Another useful features that I love is the keyboard shortcut, less keystroke the better.

Currently, you can purchase it for US$4.99 or download the free version that includes a small advertisement at the top of the screen. UberTwitter was my first Tweeter client in my BlackBerry since I required multiple accounts.  Now, it is my secondary Tweeter client as it has been replace by SocialScope.

http://www.ubertwitter.com

TweetGenius
Just recently launch it new version that very much with an iPhone feel to it, which will set you, back about US$9.99 or currently going on sales at US$7.99.  The latest version is more than just a pretty face now with more features compare to its previous. With the new features it will now be able to compete with the rest of the Tweeter clients. The keyboard shortcut such as hitting “s” key brings up a magnifying glass graphic over another semi-transparent background. One other feature which differentiate TweetGenius is the “Track’ feature as it will help you to track important follows at a touch of a button.  Another feature that I’m not able to test is its ability to optimize its network access to save battery power that will be good for people who are on a lower data package.

What I love about this version is that they have improved the user experience with tight; smooth transitions between screen and visual cues give it a really polished feel, which I feel worth spending US$7.99. With your purchase, you will get a free upgrade until the new major release and the license it’s transferable in case you replace or upgrade to a new device.  If you love a pretty UI, go ahead give TweetGenius a try.

http://tg1.beejive.com/

SocialScope
SocialScope is my current favorite combines the beauty UI of TweetGenius with features of UberTwitter. Unfortunately, it does not incorporate any GPS features. One feature that stands out is the ability to updates all your social networks with one click. You can post and view both Twitter and Facebook status at the same time. Other features that I love are the Address Book integration, leveraging BlackBerry standard shortcuts, support for BlackBerry spell checker and URL Shrinking.

All the bells and whistles came from the full featured desktop program that translates to the mobile version. You can also view information about a particular user within the application which make it a really feature rich Tweeter client compare the rest. The downside is that it is currently in private beta that the invitation has closed. You can go over and register and get an account when it is available.

http://www.socialscope.net/

Conclusion
Selecting a BlackBerry Twitter client require you to evaluate before choosing one as it depends on your personal preference and what type of tweeter user you are.
Personally, I choose SocialScope as it has features that fit my requirement of having one single application to manage both my Tweeter and Facebook status update.  My second choice would be UberTwitter as it has a free version that has all the features of the paid version except a small advertisement.

Ultimately it is your choice, so go ahead and play around before you decide which one suits your needs best.

Happy Tweeting and follow my tweets…….

Mobile TV has been touted as the next big thing on cell phones for the last couple of years, but it is only recently that the technology has caught up with the imagination of designers, and the latest generation of mobiles has relay allowed the medium to finally take off. The large screen of the Blackberry is better suited to television programs than many of its competitors, and now, thanks to BBTV, you can enjoy many of your favorite shows on the move and finally watch TV on your blackberry wherever you go.

BBTV is a special media player that is designed to work on the BlackBerry mobile phone, and allows you to see a whole range of specially selected programs that have been specially adapted to display perfectly on the screen of your phone.

The world of mobile TV is based around short clips and easy to digest programming that is intended to be watched on the go. From news headlines through to comedy clips and short scenes and highlights from top shows, there is plenty of great content to enjoy.

BBTV is available on BlackBerry mobile phones from the Canada West network and other providers. It brings high quality content to your phone, and lets you enjoy what you want wherever you are; an excellent service to subscribe if you commute long distances to and from work.

By adding this small piece of software and adding the option of watching TV on the screen of your blackberry, you will get access to lots of exciting new TV shows wherever you are, and extend the functionality of your Blackberry.

If you have been holding your breath and waiting for the onset of full scale Mobile TV, then the chances are that the BBTV system will strike you as a bit of a compromise, and no doubt feel a little let down by the fact that it does not yet include the capacity to let you watch full shows and blockbuster movies. This is the age of HDTV and it is BBGears’ hope that in the near future, besides full blockbuster movies, full HD shows can be streamed OTA without the need for special HD antennas.

As a step along the way to a world where the movies and top TV shows are made accessible to mobile phones on an on-demand basis, BBTV is a great starting point, and offers good picture quality, and integrates well with the overall shape of the phone. It may not be perfect, and may be a little limited for some tastes, but as with anything else, the more people that take up the opportunity to get the service, the better the service will get.

For more information and BBTV subscription, please visit Canada.com’s BBTV page.

Most business travelers now find that their Blackberry has become their entire office on the road, and thanks to its ubiquity, there are an increasing number of applications and add-ons that can extend the ability of the Blackberry to offer a whole range of additional functions and allow owners of these popular gadgets to get even more out of them, and as a result, have less to carry with them when they are away.

The Blackberry has a large screen that has been specially designed and optimized to make reading documents as easy as possible, and this has opened up the device to a whole host of applications such as text editing and document authoring programs.

One great way to take advantage of the quality of the screen of the Blackberry is with the latest free eBook reader for Blackberry from MobiPocket. This fantastic piece of free software will allow you to download literally thousands of eBooks onto your Blackberry, and then read them whenever you want.

Of course, there are many different PDF readers available on the Blackberry already, but what makes this fantastic piece of software special is that with the free eBook reader for Blackberry from MobiPocket you can not only read the documents on the screen, you can also use the keyboard of the Blackberry to add notes to the eBook in order to help you to understand certain sections, or draw attention to them for further investigation later.

The screen of the Blackberry is large enough to make reading easy, and because it is high resolution, your eyes will not get too tired when you read books on it using the free eBook reader for Blackberry from MobiPocket.

The MobiBook eBook reader also synchronizes with your home PC, allowing you to transfer annotated documents from one device to the other, and share an entire library of eBooks between your various platforms in order to be able to keep up to date with your reading.

The only downside with this great piece of free software is that it will make you even more reliant on your Blackberry, as not only will you need it to keep in touch wherever you are in the world, it will also become your handheld library, and a great source of entertainment whenever you need it.

Go to MobiPocket’s website for more information or click here for OTA (Over The Air) installation.

BlackBerry users are typically people on the move; be it for business, pleasure or both. I am one of them who travels often; so much so that I tend to keep my family photos in my BlackBerry to view them whenever I felt lonely. I tried taking photos using the built-in camera but the quality of these images are nothing compared to digital cameras.

In this post, I would like to introduce you to a software by Ascendo Inc. called Ascendo Photos. Ascendo Photos is an image manager for your BlackBerry. Using this relatively cheap software, you can transfer your family photos (of course you can transfer other photos too) from your desktop to your BlackBerry and use these set of photos as backgrounds, slideshows or even screen savers.

One of my acquaintance, who is a real estate agent, uses this software to showcase real estates to potential customers. He now uses a digital camera to take photographs of this sales inventory, transfer the images into his BlackBerry and uses it as a selling tool. Just an idea I wanted to share with you on how you can maximise the use of this product.

With this nifty little program, I can now easily transfer (a matter of drag and drop) and manage my family photos on my BlackBerry. Thanks to Ascendo Photos, my family has been closer to me whenever I travel than before.

The Ascendo Photos software is sold at Handago for $29.95.

As a BlackBerry user, I have noticed that my work has evolved in such as way that I am now very mobile and always on the road.  Gone are the days where I will be attached to my Comdial telephone, contacting customers and fixing appointments (I prefer those days).  Today, I am very much on the road, communicating via email, SMS and voice calls on my BlackBerry; appointments are made on the fly and in my car.  Sometimes, I am required to be at customers’ premises at short notice which is when my BlackBerry GPS will come in handy.  With GPS, I am able to quickly locate my customer’s office and even get driving directions.

Well, we all know that not all BlackBerry has GPS capabilities or functions.  Do not fret as GPS is not your only solution to locate your customer or intended destination.  With Navizon’s product called the Virtual GPS, you will be able to have location position much like GPS using satellite.

Navizon’s Virtual GPS uses celullar and WiFi signals to triangulate your location.  Traditional GPS on the other hand uses satellite positioning.  With this product, you can now enjoy GPS-like facilities on your GPS-less BlackBerry. 

The Virtual GPS software is available at $24.99, works on BlackBerry, Symbian, Java and Microsoft Mobile.  With this product you can either use the built in maps or in conjunction with Mobile GMaps (software dependent).  No GPS? No Problem.

You can now do more with your BlackBerry now that QuickTime has released the QuickPlayer for BlackBerry application. You can now watch streaming audiocasts from quality media providers directly from your BlackBerry. Here are some examples of top-tiered media companies that offers audiocast streaming through BlackBerry (in alphabetical order): ABC News, AccuWeather.com, Clear Channel, Gaiam, MarketWatch.com, The Wall Street Journal and Westwood One.

To download QuickPlayer for BlackBerry, point your BlackBerry browser to GetQuickPlayer.com and follow the on-screen instructions. Though the service is free to download, there will be a monthly charge of US$7.95 to get unlimited access to all program channels — currently amounting to over 100 channels.
Note that this monthly charge excludes data charges that may apply from your mobile service providers. If you are currently subscribed to unlimited data access plan, you would have nothing to worry about.
Currently, the QuickPlayer for BlackBerry applications works on the following BlackBerry devices:

• BlackBerry 7130e
• BlackBerry 8700 series
• BlackBerry 8703e
• BlackBerry Pearl