Today Research In Motion (RIM) released an update to BlackBerry App World, the official application store for BlackBerry smartphones. This beta release of App World version 2.0 is available via invite to certain members of the BlackBerry Beta Zone and includes several new features such as new payment options which will allow users to purchase apps via PayPal, credit card or through carrier billing (for various carriers), an improved search including QR barcode scanning and the addition of BlackBerry ID which will provide customers with a device-independent user identification that will allow for the use of the new payment options as well as allowing users to seamlessly transfer their personal library of free and purchased apps when they switch to a new BlackBerry smartphone. We should be right around the corner from an official release of App World 2.0 but if you’d like to get in on this and more BlackBerry Beta releases head on over to the BlackBerry Beta Zone and sign-up today to participate.
Welcome BB fans to the most recently leaked video of BlackBerry 6 live on device brought to us by our friends over at Driphter.com. This time RIM’s newest operating system is making an appearance on the currently unreleased Bold 9780 and while this video doesn’t give us much of a look at the new hardware involved, Willyboy6 does offer us a nice walk-through of some of the features to be found in the new software as well as another look at the WebKit browser in action. I see a lot of good things coming to OS 6 and can’t wait to see the next release of Theme Studio that will allow us to start developing newer and more complex themes to match this impressive new operating system. Check out the video above and feel free to leave a comment.
UPDATE: There has just been a new video courtesy of BBLeaks which gives a little better look at the 9780 hardware. Check it out after the jump….
More screen shots, videos, information, hybrids and beta releases of the soon to be BlackBerry 6 software come to light every day and today is no exception. The good folks over at Inside BlackBerry have just let us know about a limited beta release of BlackBerry Desktop Manager 6.0 which is currently finding it’s way to certain registered members of the BlackBerry Beta Zone. While this bit of news dose not yet give us a great amount of information about this latest software it does offer several pics of what we can expect to see in the new desktop manager and promises “some major changes to the product inside and out.” You can find more pics of the new DM 6.0 after the jump and if your interested in participating in some of RIM’s beta programs and want to be among the first to try out new BlackBerry software before it’s released to the general public head on over to the Beta Zone and sign up for free today.
Today is off to a good start thanks to our ninja friend Salomondrin who was good enough to share several new videos showing off the upcoming 9800 slider running the highest version of BlackBerry 6 we’ve seen to date (6.0.0.100). The above video and this latest OS really start to highlight some of the significant changes we can expect to see in BlackBerry 6. Check out the video above and if you don’t get your fill of cool hop on over to Salomondrin’s website where you can check out some follow up videos of the new media player and WebKit browser in action. Enjoy.
Yesterday Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple – makers of the iPhone, held a press conference at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California to address concerns regarding numerous reports of antenna issues plaguing the recently released iPhone 4. “Antenna-gate” as it has come to be known is an issue which affects the iPhone 4′s ability to maintain signal strength when held in a “death grip” (although it looks like a normal grip to me) which results in dropped calls. The thirty minute speech from Mr. Jobs, which is preceded by one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard, comes off in a highly defensive tone, perhaps rightfully so. However as opposed to addressing what mistakes Apple may have made in their latest design Mr. Jobs decided to take the stand that not just the iPhone 4 is prone to this issue, but rather all smartphones in general. Mr. Jobs then went on to specifically mention Nokia’s, Motorola’s Samsung’s, the HTC Droid Eris and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 as all being guilty of signal loss when held in a similar fashion. Nokias’ response came first to these allegations, followed shortly by a response by Research In Motion (RIM) co-chairs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”
- Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie
After watching Mr. Jobs relentlessly beat a dead horse for thirty plus minutes during this press conference I certainly was glad to see RIM release the above statement, refusing to let Apple drag down competing products by trying to universalize their own design specific problems. I have personally never experienced any type of signal issues involving how I hold my phone with any of the BlackBerry devices (or Nokia’s for that matter) that I’ve ever owned or even used, and further more I certainly would not want to rely on the use of a outer case or shell simply to insure that my phone would be able to function at the most basic level, but that’s just me.
So, what do you think BlackBerry users? Have you ever experienced the “death grip” signal loss issues? Is Apple out of line pointing fingers at other smartphone manufacturers? Is a outer shell a reasonable fix to this problem? Leave a comment and let us know what you think about this… More to come.
Today Bitstream released the latest version of the BOLT mobile web browser (still my favorite 3rd party app), bringing the software to version 2.11. This release includes bug fixes and important updates that address issues with server response times which eliminate the problems that would cause BOLT to occasionally ‘hang’ at 20% on the progress bar, also note an improved Twitter experience in this latest version. If you are currently using BOLT you may have already been prompted for this update, if however your new to BOLT browser or have not been prompted yet, just follow the link below to grab the latest version and start enjoying a great mobile web browser!
Today Research In Motion (RIM) released their second official video preview of BlackBerry 6, RIM’s newest operating system for BlackBerry smartphones. Slated for release late this summer BB 6 boast a wide range of changes and added features that will likely make a highly favorable impression on those of us who have been long time BlackBerry users as well as attracting new customers to the BB platform. BB 6 looks to bring many enhancements to the overall BlackBerry user experience, with the most notable being; a completely redesigned home screen, a universal search function, context sensitive pop-up menus, built in social and RSS feeds, and best of all the new WebKit powered browser which looks to be a huge leap forward. Still no official word on which current BlackBerry devices will see an upgrade to OS 6, but we’ll keep you posted. Check out video above and feel free to leave a comment, and let us know what you think about the new OS 6.
A better browser is coming. Over the past few months we’ve seen several videos and many nice images of upcoming devices and software to be released by RIM this year, the 9800 Slider, the 9300 Curve and BlackBerry6, RIM’s soon to be latest operating system. Now thanks to our good friends over at Driphter.com we finally get our first true look at the new WebKit browser (which will accompany BB6 on the 9800) in action! For months now we’ve only been able to speculate about exactly what this updated browser has in store for us. Now, this video and review from Willyboy6 gives us a nice first look at just what we can expect to experience from the latest incarnation of the BlackBerry Browser. Check out the video after the jump, feel free to comment or head on over to Driphter.com for the full review.
Registration is now open for the 2010 BlackBerry Developer Conference, to be held in San Francisco, September 27 – 30th. The Developer Conference is a premier showcase for what can be done with BlackBerry apps and is attended by thousands of the world’s most enthusiastic developers, BlackBerry experts, and Research In Motion partners. It is the place to get technical, code-driven information that can be applied to projects; a place where new tools and technologies can be experienced for the first time; and a place for getting your questions answered, or finding the inspiration to go further with mobile applications than you ever imagined possible.
Registering for DEVCON 2010 before August 6th can save you $200 and you can also find a bundle deals to stay at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, which will host this years event.
BlackBerry DEVCON is the ideal event for BlackBerry developers or partners, for beginner to master mobile application developers, and is customized to key attendee interests including; consumer application developers, corporate application developers and business leaders.
Good news for WordPress bloggers out there who like to have the ability to blog anywhere, anytime via their ever-handy BlackBerry device. The diligent folks over at WordPress have updated their already great mobile app to version 1.3. This update includes various fixes as well as introduces several new features including:
* Option to load more comments, not just the latest 100
* Ability to load comments by status (all/spam/pendings)
* You can now edit the comment details (Author Name/E-mail/URL)
* Option to manually set the video-size when using VideoPress service
* A much requested formatting toolbar that allows you to bold text for example
* A new word count feature is shown on the post/page write screen
* You can now submit bug reports and feedback from within the app
* Multiple improvement to how Stats are handled
* Improvements on the photo resizing options and a new jpeg encoder is now being used
If you’ve already been using the WordPress app then you’ll definitely want to grab this update or if your WordPress user looking to take you Blog on the go you’ll want to check this app out first hand, it’s free and it’s sweet. >> Grab the WordPress for BlackBerry app here.
Here it comes yet again… If you’ve been following us here at BBVoodoo over the past couple of months or just keeping up with some of the other tech and gadget blogs around the web, you’ve certainly seen at least one of the videos showing off some of the upcoming BlackBerry 9800 ‘Torch’ device as well as BlackBerry6, RIM’s latest and yet unreleased operating system in action. While this latest video preview from super ninja Salomondrin doesn’t really show us anything new, it is in English I’m happy to say and once again Sal dose bring us a nice clear look at a unreleased device in action. If your like me and have been anxiously awaiting this true touchscreen device from BlackBerry than this video is just more sweet, sweet eye-candy to drool over. Follow the jump for the video.
July has arrived, Summer is in full swing and the weather is hot! While we here in Albuquerque wait for our local monsoon season to kick in and help cool things off here the high desert. BlackBerryVoodoo’s own OoFRYoO has been hard at work developing a theme that is guaranteed to keep our BlackBerry devices looking cool all summer long. Titled ‘Plazmic’, in tribute to the original content developers kit. Fry’s latest creation is a brilliantly designed, ultra-sleek, and stunningly beautiful theme built for 9700, 9630, 9650 and 8900 devices. Featuring 10 user-customizable home screen icons that display elegantly on top of a a black glass double hidden dock which slides and hides seamlessly under a completely customized bottom banner. Plazmic users will also enjoy dark gray menus, custom battery and signal meters, turquoise and white fonts, and smooth screen transitions that bring everything neatly together for a futuristic look and feel with absolutely no compromise in performance. Plazmic is the perfect theme for professionals who demand the most from their BlackBerry device, to those just looking to stand out from the crowd with some amazing eye candy. Plazmic is by far one of the best all around themes I have personally used and it will most certainly be in use on my 9700 long after the Summer is gone.
We here at BBV are a dedicated community of BlackBerry smartphone users, enthusiast and developers.
Our goal is to bring you the best BlackBerry themes, apps, news, updates and goodies from around the world, and help you make the most out of your BlackBerry device.
Are you a developer? BlackBerry junkie? or self proclaimed ninja? Do you have a theme, news story, inside info, or product you would like us to know about? Please feel free to Contact us and we can help you spread the word.
Thanks for visiting us here at BBV. Enjoy your stay and come back soon.
Today Bitstream released the latest version of the BOLT mobile web browser (still my favorite 3rd party app), bringing the software to version 2.11. This release includes bug fixes and important updates that address issues with server response times which eliminate the problems that would cause BOLT to occasionally ‘hang’ at 20% on the progress bar, also note an improved Twitter experience in this latest version. If you are currently using BOLT you may have already been prompted for this update, if however your new to BOLT browser or have not been prompted yet, just follow the link below to grab the latest version and start enjoying a great mobile web browser!
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