There’s a scene in the movie Fight Club where Tyler Durden pours acid on Edward Norton’s character and says to Edward as he screams in pain "It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we are free to do anything." Think of that article I wrote on 10 Reasons Why Google Will Buy RIM as symbolically freeing myself. It’s only in acknowledging that RIM could go away that I now truly feel free to tackle the task of leading the good fight for BlackBerry.
One of the big deficiencies within mobile app store environments these days is the ability to meaningfully discover apps, games and themes that are going to be worthwhile for you. Best Sellers and Top Downloads lists do typically provide a good starting point for app discovery, but moving beyond that app stores tend to fall apart. Star ratings usually regress somewhere to the mean (that 3 star average that leaves you wondering whether you should or shouldn’t download an app) and the comments left by anonymous users far too often provide little or no value (anybody notice all the spam and gibberish in App World these days?). Sum it up, and it’s no wonder so many BlackBerry users check into a site like CrackBerry daily for advice and info on what apps to download. App discovery via the app store environment itself can be frustrating!
That all changes today with the rollout of AppVerse within the CrackBerry App Store. AppVerse delivers a really trusting and engaging app store experience, thanks to the layer of social interaction and features it adds. Should you choose to create your AppVerse account (it’s not mandatory and you can shop in the CrackBerry App Store as you always have), you can setup your public profile which display app purchases you have made, along with reviews and ratings you provide (you can choose to hide apps as well and also have full control over privacy/notification settings from the My Account > AppVerse page). You can follow other AppVerse members, comment on their reviews and rate whether individual app reviews were helpful or not. You can also ask other AppVerse members to provide a review for any app you’re interested in. This social interaction really ups the accountability of everybody in the app store, which delivers reviews that are REALLY HELPFUL. When you tap into the power of AppVerse, that frustration and uncertainty are gone. You can even review apps that are not available in our CrackBerry App Store (ie. it’s in App World and not the CrackBerry App Store catalog yet).
It’s still early days, so if you find any bugs or have any ideas for new features you’d like to see implemented, be sure to drop us a comment. We already have some more features planned for rollout in the weeks ahead, but take a browse around and you’ll see it’s already off to a great start. Not sure where to begin? Try checking out the AppVerse profiles of me and our other writers and forums moderators here on CrackBerry at the link below.
Mobile World Congress 2011 is now over, and it helped to deliver a bunch of news and interesting posts to the CrackBerry blogs this week (click here to see MWC related posts). More PlayBooks were announced (I’m still waiting for the WiFi only one!), NFC on upcoming BlackBerry Smartphones got official, and we saw a bunch more demos of apps running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. We dive into all of that and more on this episode, so sit back and listen to Adam, Bla1ze, Craig, Joseph and myself talk about BlackBerry and a bunch of other things too. Disclaimer: In our excitement we may have dropped a few F Bombs on this one that we were too lazy to edit out. Listen at your discretion. All in all, it turned out to be a pretty fun show.
CrackBerry LIVE Podcast: Ok ok… so we’re finally seriously for real thinking about trying to record these podcasts live like our friends at TiPb.com and AndroidCentral.com do. We’d go for audio only, with a chat room on the blogs, so you can chat with us when we record. Vote on the poll above to let us know what you’d prefer to us do… and sound off in the comments if you have anything specific to ad. Enjoy the show!
Here’s a fun video for a Friday afternoon as we head into the weekend… Back in late October 2010 two members of the production crew for the France-based television show Capital (that airs on station M6 on Sunday evenings) came to Canada to do a segment on Research In Motion and BlackBerry following the success RIM has had in that market. Capital hit up RIM’s Headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, first, but like most big tech companies RIM doesn’t easily open their doors up to the press so the crew jumped on a plane and flew a couple hours west to Winnipeg and hung out with me for the day to get another perspective.
Check out the video above which takes a look at the history and success of BlackBerry, and also looks at some of the side stories to the big RIM show. In addition to seeing me at my daily CrackBerry blogging routine Capital also spent some time with Eric from Allerta, who’s manufacturing the InPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry. The video is in french, but if you listen carefully you can still hear the english underneath the french dubbing in most parts (if anybody wants to translate the narration in the comments that would be awesome!). My segment hits at the 4m45s mark. I hope you enjoy the show!
The last couple of weeks have been full of leaks regarding the 2011 BlackBerry Smartphone roadmap, so we had a LOT to talk about on this CrackBerry Podcast. But before we get to the phones, we first spend a bunch of time talking BlackBerry PlayBook, going through many of the frequently asked questions that have been popping up in the forums.
This was a fun episode and definitely one you’ll want to listen to (aka, if you’ve never listened before, this is a good one to start off on!). The PlayBook conversation dominates the first half of the show, so for all the phone talk you’ll want to jump to 44m15s into the show. On the phone front, we’re talking BlackBerry Bold Touch, BlackBerry Curve Touch, monaco (full touchscreen), Torch 2, next generation Curve and more. It’s a whack load of phones.
Last but not least, we’re happy to have Craig back on this episode, joining Adam, Bla1ze, Joseph and myself. We had fun recording this one, so hope you enjoy the show!
December 31st is here, which means it’s time for some quality fluff posts! Lol. This one is actually quality without the fluff though, as we roundup the links to some of our most-viewed news, reviews and video content of 2010. Keep in mind I pull this data from our site analytics, which means stories published earlier in 2010 have more time to generate views throughout the year. That noted, it’s clear to see the BlackBerry Torch was hugely in demand this year as content related to the Torch are at the top of the lists. And for good measure, we tossed in our editors’ favorites as well (you can probably guess what mine was..lol). What was your favorite story of 2010? Sound off in the comments!
That’s it. 2010 is history. Following up on last year’s 2009 year-end special, we jumped on the podcast lines this morning to take a look back and say farewell to the 2010 BlackBerry year. It was definitely an interesting 365 days for RIM. The company has seen its greatest success ever in terms of units shipped/sales/profit, yet at the same time has had to deal with more competition and changing consumer tastes.
We go through it all in this one, including our thoughts on what we may see in 2011, so sit back, grab some bubbly, and listen to Adam, Bla1ze, Joseph and myself ring in the New Year CrackBerry style! Enjoy the show, and Happy New Year!
You gotta love the Ongoing Follow CrackBerry Contest… you get a chance to win great prizes each month just for following CrackBerry on youtube, twitter and facebook!
With just a day and a few hours left before the end of 2010, you still can get in our on contest this month for some great prizes. If you aren’t already, you’ll want to make sure you’re following us on all of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook so you get a shot of winning all three. We have some great prizes again this month so make sure you get in on the action before it’s too late. We’ll be announcing this months winners in just a few days, so stay tuned. Visit the follow crackberry contest page for full details.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas would appear — with BlackBerry Stocking stuffers!
With the holiday’s fast approaching you’re more then likely planning on buying some cool smart phone gifts to get your special someone. The CrackBerry.com Accessory Store has got you covered this holiday season!!! Remember if you’re on a tight budget this year (I am!) We got some great stocking stuffers to please every smart phone loving soul.
It’s that time of year again, and the holdays are rapidly approaching. We have plenty of Holiday Gift Guides so you know just what to get the BlackBerry lover on your gift list, and in this round we’ve put together a list of accessories and apps for the BlackBerry business user. These items are sure to make his/her work days a little bit easier and more productive. Check out the all the top gifts we’ve compiled here and check another user off your list!
Do you or someone you know take frequent vacations? Do you travel often for work? If you fit any one of these profiles then have no fear this holiday season. Whether on the road or in the air, we’ve put together a great list of accessories and apps no one should be without.
That’s right folks, we’re back in 2010 with a new FREE CrackBerry Holiday theme for your BlackBerry! With December here our holiday theme will get you and your BlackBerry into the festive spirit!!
Theme Credits: This year our friends at WJD Designs volunteered to put together the official CB holiday theme. WJD Designs was the runner up in this year’s CrackBerry Awards Theme Developer of the Year category, and they’re gunning to win it next year. So BIG THANKS again go to WJD Designs (store | twitter) who also had help from JP Designs (store | twitter) and Chris Bogart (twitter) in bringing the 2010 CrackBerry holiday theme together.
Compatible Devices: Storm 2/Storm1, Bold 9700, Tour, Pearl 3G, Bold 9000, Curve 8900, Curve 85xx. Note, the crew did work on a version for the Torch but with the theme builder being in beta it was very buggy (hurry up RIM!) and we don’t want to release anything that’s not stable. Visit the download page at the link below for more info.
That’s it. Click the link below to head to the download page and enjoy the holiday season!!
Finally!! It’s been just over six weeks since our last podcast (my bad – I blame CB Redesign as soaking up all my time), which means we cover a lot of good stuff in this show. While my written BlackBerry Bold 9780 review will be hitting the blogs soon (Monday, don’t miss it!), in the mean time you can listen to our verbal review. We dive into this discussion just a few minutes in. From there, we cover a bunch of other BlackBerry talk of late, including the Kik craziness, BlackBerry Style and Pearl 3G user impressions, and some of the latest rumors for things to come in 2011. Unfortunately Craig couldn’t make this one as we recorded during the day, but we had CrackBerry Idol runner-up Joseph Holder fill in.
We hope you enjoy episode 60. And we PROMISE to be back before the end of 2010 with our super duper Best of 2010 year end show!
The Holiday Season is almost here and what better time to take out your wallet and open those piggy banks then by sharing your love of all things BlackBerry with family and friends. Need help finding just the right gift for those music loving BlackBerry addicts? Whether they are out and about, at home, or in the car, we’ve got your covered. These products will be sure to put a smile on any music lover’s face.
I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations this week concerning Kik, the BBM-like cross platform instant messaging application available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. Kik is still pretty bare in features, but it’s quick, uses data (not SMS) and like BlackBerry Messenger has Delivered and Read confirmation of messages. The majority of these Kik conversations have focused on two key points: one, Kik’s amazing growth (upon release they went from 0 to a million users in 15 days and continue to grow) and two, the fact RIM kiked them out of App World and shut down their push service this week (see Kik’s plea and RIM’s official response).
While the Kik success story/controversy is an interesting one to discuss, the notion that keeps coming into my head when I start talking about Kik isn’t Kik itself, but rather Should Research In Motion offer BlackBerry Messenger as an app/service to other smartphone platforms? Let’s think about this. The rapid growth of Kik tells me the smartphone world wants a cross-platform BBM-style messenger client. To be the category killer of cross-platform smartphone messaging clients, you need infrastructure, a solid app and a critical mass of users. If a small startup can build an app like Kik and quickly establish their brand and score some awesome growth, just imagine what RIM could accomplish with their massive infrastructure, existing BlackBerry Messenger know-how and brand recognition and global marketing reach. If they decided to go this route, it wouldn’t take long for pretty much every smartphone owner to be BBMing, not just BlackBerry owners as it is now (it may not be true BBMing as BlackBerry users know it, but it would be something close enough). Who knows, BBMing could eclipse texting (SMS)!
So should RIM do it? Personally, I think they should. I get the reasons why they wouldn’t. RIM makes money from selling smartphones, and right now BlackBerry Messenger is one of those hooks that keeps people on BlackBerry and actually attracts some people to BlackBerry (I’ve heard stories from carrier reps where individuals walk into the store and ask for the phone that does BBM). But I don’t think this reasoning holds up long-term. As soon as a cross-platform BBM-style client emerges in the smartphone space and attains critical mass (ie. Kik or another), even if not as fully-featured as BlackBerry Messenger the hook of BBM starts to diminish. If it’s inevitable that a cross-platform BBM alternative is going to emerge down the road, is it not better for RIM to be the ones who put it out? There are some iPhone owners out there who no matter what are never going to own a BlackBerry (Apple fanboys!), but I bet those same people would rock BlackBerry Messenger on their iPhone.
Anyways… it’s something to ponder. Vote on our poll above and let us know what you think in the comments!
Sure, this one is a bit of a shameless plug, but it’s pretty funny too so I think we can get away with it! Gary Mazo, co-author of CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use & Abuse, had some fun in xtranormal putting this one together. Check out the video above. I think that’s going to be my new pick up line… Show Me Your Barcode! But seriously, if watching this video is like looking in a mirror, or if you know somebody who acts like this all the time, it’s time to pick up the CrackBerry book. You can grab it from amazon or a local bookstore near you!
On a related note, last weekend CBC in Canada ran a documentary called Are We Digital Dummies? that tackled the information overload we experience these days and our resulting behaviors. Yours truly popped up in the documentary a couple times, and both the CrackBerry site and the CrackBerry book got some nice plugs! If you’re in Canada and missed the documentary, you can watch it online at the link below. It’s a really well done and really interesting piece. Makes you think.
Undoubtedly, Universal Search is one of the best and most useful features of BlackBerry 6. A lot of developers have taken advantage of this feature and integrated it with their products. ShaoSoft has done the same, but for searching the CrackBerry forums and blogs. No need to go to your browser and search, just simply type your BlackBerry related query from the homescreen and select either "Search Blogs" or "Search Forums" from the Universal Search hits. The app is only 19kb and best of all its free!! So if you have a device running BlackBerry 6, head on over to the CrackBerry App Store and download it today. Thanks ShaoSoft!
BlackBerry Messenger. BBM. It’s one of those hooks that keeps sooo many of us loyal to BlackBerry. Once you’re connected to friends, family, co-workers and colleagues via BBM it’s hard to not be. Over the past few months we’ve really seen Research In Motion start pushing BlackBerry Messenger on commercials and in advertisements, including one of its newest and best features, BBM Groups.
If you’re reading this post on CrackBerry, I’m going to assume you know what BBM Groups are all about. If not, check out our BlackBerry 101 Lecture on BBM Groups. So the question I have today for CrackBerry Nation is how many BlackBerry Messenger Groups are you a member of? Cast your vote on the poll above and let us know!
Following the vote, let us know in the comments what kind of BlackBerry Messenger Groups you’re part of. Is it a social group for friends and family? A group for the people you work with? Maybe it’s a group for the sports team you play on. BBM Groups are one of those BlackBerry things that have really impacted my life for the better! So if you’re using Groups in a creative way, be sure to share your story with the community.
Seriously. I probably own more Apple products than the average hardcore Apple fanboy, and despite being BlackBerry addict #1 still have a lot of respect for Apple and Steve Jobs. That dude is smart. But at the same time, I’m starting to think he’s getting a little crotchety in his old age. Between antennagate and yesterday’s Apple earnings call, El Jobso is making a habit out of really smack talking on the competition, which is a bit tactless and classless if you ask me (besides, that’s what Smartphone Experts podcasts are for!).
If you missed what was said, jump on over to our sibling site TiPb.com for the blow by blow (Steve on Google’s openness, Steve on RIM, Steve on 7" tablets, live earnings call notes). Long story short, Jobs said RIM is going to have to fundamentally reinvent themselves if they want to catch up to the momentum Apple and Google have. I don’t disagree with that, but I do think QNX is that reinvention and the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first product of what I like to think of as the new RIM. But Steve even harped on the PlayBook (indirectly) by bashing all 7" tablets. Steve’s argument is that while you may think a 7" tablet should offer 70% of the experience of a 10", it doesn’t – it’s more like 45% because of the diagonal measure. Steve says for a great app experience you need 10 inches, and that simply increasing resolution of a 7" tablet isn’t the answer. Steve’s conclusion on 7" tablets is that he feels they’re all going to arrive DOA and that manufacturers will be learning the hard way that they need to make a 10" tablet for round 2. Why don’t you tell us how you really feel, Steve?
While I don’t disagree with Steve’s logic on why a physically bigger screen is better, I do disagree in his thinking that a device like the PlayBook is doomed before it starts. I think RIM is doing a smart thing by labeling the the BlackBerry PlayBook as the first Professional Tablet. Put it this way – the only time my iPad leaves my house is when I’m traveling and going to be stuck on a plane for a few hours, because the thing is too big to carry around with me (not to mention I still feel like a douche bag to pull it out in public). With the PlayBook small enough to slide into my inside coat pocket, I think it’ll get a lot more play. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the iPad, so I’m really curious and hopeful that the BlackBerry PlayBook delivers a compelling user experience. I have high expectations for what RIM had better deliver in the PlayBook.
Since when has RIM ever been about making only one form factor of product? RIM is all about choice. Just look at their lineup of form factors for BlackBerry Smartphones. With the PlayBook hardware finalized, wouldn’t it be safe to assume RIM is already laying the design work for another tablet? Maybe a bigger one for consumers since the first one at 7" has been christened as a professional tablet? Doing the professional tablet first gives RIM time to build up their QNX app catalog, so it’s full of apps for when a 10" PlayBook 2 (or whatever they call it) gets announced. It’s not that RIM is making a mistake in building a 7" tablet. It’s that they’re starting off by differentiating themselves in a way that will allow them to carve out a niche and capitilize on their historical strengths, and from there will broaden out their product offering.
Anyways, vote where you stand on the size matters issue above, and sound off in the comments!
Foilow @crackberryworld on twitter for International BlackBerry News!
Regular readers of CrackBerry.com know that when it comes to our BlackBerry news coverage we tend to focus on North America first, occassionally blogging the news happening internationally when big stuff happens. But the truth is, CrackBerry.com gets a lot of traffic from all over the world, so we’re making a pledge to do a better job of covering the BlackBerry news that happens outside of the United States and Canada.
To that end, we’ve started up a new blog post category called International News (you can find it on the drop down menu under Articles ) and we’re bringing onboard more writers to help handle the load. You may have already noticed two of our international bloggers at work… both Yousif Abdullah and DJ Reyes, who participated in our CrackBerry Idol competition, have already been hard at work blogging in the new news section. For the forseeable future we’ll still be writing all international news posts in english, but we’ll see how things go… with time we may work to expand into more langagues.
Follow CrackBerry World News via RSS and Twitter: By default, our International News posts will not appear on the CrackBerry homepage or in our default CrackBerry RSS/Twitter feed, though from time to time we will promote international stories of mass appeal to the main site. In addition to clicking into our International News blog post category, you can also follow via RSS and on twitter at @crackberryworld.
Submit Your Stories: If you ever have or come across stories you think should appear in our International News section, you can email them in to us at editorial@crackberry.com.
That’s it! We hope you enjoy this new improvement to CrackBerry.com. We’re working hard on a lot of exciting things right now, so as always, keep it locked to CrackBerry.com!!
We’ve been talking about the inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry (aka "the BlackBerry watch") since we first posted the renderings of it almost a year ago. For those who’ve been waiting anxiously to be able to buy one of these bad boys, things are getting closer. The watch is currently in a closed beta. While the beta testers weren’t supposed to do any sort of reviews or posts on the watch while in beta, one tester just couldn’t help but do up a video unboxing and walkthrough of his inPulse which you can watch below. It’s a thorough unofficial first look. Stay tuned to CrackBerry… our official beta review is coming soon. For more info on the inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry, visit getinpulse.com.
Unofficial Hands-On Walkthrough of the inPulse Smartwatch
The CrackBerry App Awards party went down as a huge success this week. With over 200 people packed into Xobni’s awesome headquarters, it was a perfect venue and atmosphere to hand out the 2010 Crackies. Big thanks also go to the BlackBerry Partners Fund for sponsoring the event and make it all possible. I have a feelng we’ll be doing it up again in 2011 even bigger and better.
Following up the CrackBerry App Awards Winners’ Announcement, we finally pulled the video from the event off the CrackBerry camera and got it up onto youtube for your viewing pleasure. Above you can watch the party walkabout, hosted by Adam, and below you can find interviews with some of our winners in attendance, recorded after winning their award. Enjoy the show!
Devcon 2010 has officially come to a close and it was a great success all around. Closing out the week with a BANG (literally, you should have heard the sound effects!) we held our first live CrackBerry App Awards on Wednesday night and had an amazing turnout. There was plenty of food, booze and good times to be had. HUGE thanks go to Xobni, the BlackBerry Partners Fund and everyone that came out to enjoy the party.
Lots of the winners were in attendance so we got to hand out our special spinning Cracky trophies in person. We’re also doing up some special graphics for the winners to use on their websites, promo materials, etc. (we’ll follow up directly with those shortly). We also have plenty of video from the night on the way, but for now keep reading for the full list of this years winners as well as some photos from the event.
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