BlackBerry
BlackBerry App World
Jul 9th
BlackBerry App World, RIM’s answer to Apple’s app store, now holds 2000 Applications. But is it enough?? not for me, the pricing of apps is ridiculous in comparison to those of the iPhone and Android and RIM need to step up a gear in encouraging developers to release more apps at affordable prices. The usability of App World is somewhat lacking too! there is no way to separate the free apps from the paid for or the old from the new, and for PayPal haters there is no way of purchasing.
Before Apple’s iPhone, the apps found upon a BlackBerry where somewhat unique, I mean when RIM released the FaceBook app no other phone manufacturer or developer had such an amazing piece of kit others tried and failed miserably, RIM had this knack of making things work and making them desirable.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t think BlackBerry have taken a step backwards, but I do feel they need to be quicker in taking a step forwards. The iPhone really has taken off and people will stop at nothing to get one, even the ridiculous pricing doesn’t seem to put people off. Google and its Android OS is coming on leaps and bounds with views of the “Hero” leaving many a jaw dropped and now with Sony Ericsson’s effort “Rachael” confirmed by GSMArena, very soon the market will be flooded with sexy looking Android devices.
OS 5.0 for BlackBerry cannot come soon enough in my opinion, especially now that the iPhone has push capabilities, even my G1 buzzes before the Bold™ when I get an email!
Though for anyone who has ever used a BlackBerry you will know they still have a mysterious attraction which will keep me coming back to a phone that “just works”.
In reply to my Shazam gripe!
Jul 8th
Back in June I moaned about having to pay for Shazam for the BlackBerry whilst I could use their service completely free on the G1, in my haste I removed Shazam from the Bold as I couldn’t use it without paying yet I am told it is still free from numerous sources including Shazam, and that I will have limited use of the app + adverts unless I pay up.
For some reason I couldn’t use the app whatsoever without payment and I hadn’t used it for a while so I couldn’t have reached the limits set by Shazam. So I guess I’ll have to install it again and give it another go!
As mentioned I emailed Shazam and this is the response they gave:
“We make significant investments in developing applications for each platform and we always try to find the right balance so we may offer Shazam to the masses in an affordable and fair way.
We believe that Shazam is a compelling and popular service for music lovers, and feedback from our existing customers has indicated that they would be very happy to pay a small fee for the Shazam service. However, we’ve looked at how they use Shazam and have recognized that users have different requirements.
There will always be a free Shazam service - on a limited usage and feature set - supported by advertising with an upgrade path for a full-featured version with a small up-front fee or pay a monthly subscription for a premium service. In time, we expect to have this pricing model consistent across all the platforms that host the Shazam application."
So there we have it! more info over @ Shazam!
MSDict Viewer for BlackBerry®
Jun 23rd
One app I cannot live without on the BlackBerry® has to be the MSDict Viewer, it's user friendly interface is easy to work with and a pleasure to use.
With MSDict Viewer you have the option to download the whole dictionary to your devices internal memory, your SD card or simply leave it be on the internet! There are many different languages available the largest being 7,950KB. There’s also “word of the day” and “random word” in the menu to keep you entertained! It will also read any word you have copied in an external application upon start up, for this to work you have to manually exit the app each time you have finished with it and also have “read clipboard on start up” selected in the preferences field.
The compatible device list for this app is pretty impressive too, I can't see a BlackBerry® device that has been left out, there is even love for the Storm!
So if your speeling is as atrowscious as mine check out the fully functional 15 day trial here it is then €19.99 to purchase.
Incidentally a similar app is again available for free on the G1!
Shazam for BlackBerry
Jun 23rd
Here’s a classic example of sublime madness, to enjoy Shazam on my BlackBerry I have to hand over some of my hard earned! Where as I can have it for free on my G1! So for now I’ll delete Shazam from my BlackBerry and review it on the G1 at a later date!
I have emailed Shazam customer support regarding this so I’ll post back when I hear from them!
Welcome to Nanu’s Blog!
Jun 19th
Welcome to my blog, I intend to use these pages to review and comment upon the gadgets etc that play a part in my life, I am an avid Blackberry fan and
my addiction started with an 8700, I then progressed on to the 8300 Curve and now the Bold. As with many people who have had a taste of BlackBerry I became addicted within days, the BlackBerry now goes everywhere I go, much to Maud’s disapproval.
Next we move on to my newly acquainted device and that is the Google phone, the HTC T-Mobile G1. And all I can say is wow, the Android platform in my opinion will play a big part in the future of mobiles and even computer OS’s. There is already a lot of support for the Android platform and being open source it allows developers a lot more freedom, not only that in comparison to the BlackBerry, applications are so much cheaper, perhaps my only complaint for BlackBerry is the ridiculous amount charged for applications.
I also recently invested in an old G4 iBook and again I am really impressed, the Mac OSx works wonderfully and even running Leopard on an old PPC device works well, In time I will be replacing my desktop PC in favour of an iMac, admitedly I won’t be doing away with windows altogether I will run bootcamp so I still have access to XP.
