Rabu, 30 November 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community


BlackBerry DevCon Asia Relocated to Singapore

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:46 AM PST

BlackBerry DevCon Asia Relocation

We told you before that RIM was relocating BlackBerry DevCon Asia to Singapore because of the catastrophic flooding in Thailand. Now RIM has provided more details on the change on their website. The Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre is the new location for BlackBerry DevCon Asia. The event will still be on the same day but RIM is offering up to $550 in an incentive program for flights and hotel if you booked through their official vendor.

Check out the details on the BlackBerry DevCon Asia website FAQ section

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 30, 2011, 4:46 am. | BlackBerry DevCon Asia Relocated to Singapore | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry PlayBook App Development: Surprising Opportunities

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 02:02 PM PST

A few weeks ago I wrote an article describing my development efforts to date, which have mostly been on the PlayBook platform, with one foray into the phone world. My conclusions were that in some cases PlayBook apps compensate well, but that I mostly write apps for fun — and that my lone BlackBerry phone app compensated me extremely well.

How times change.

In that same article, I proposed four apps that I was considering writing, and asked you which app was most appealing. I’m glad the audience suggested implementing iTunes Sync, because it has made for a wild ride these last four days. The app went live on Friday November 25th. I was expecting a reception in line with my Picasa Sync effort, which brought in $20/day for the first two days and then went dormant when it fell off of the “Newest” section in App World. But on day one, over the course of about 12 hours, it brought in $157 dollars. Day two, $350, and it shot up to be the #2 app in the “Top Purchased” section.

After four days, total revenue is $970. For the ten hours it took to implement iTunes Sync that is compensation of $97/hour, and the app has only been available for four days.

A friend of mine commented, “What a trooper, still deving for the PlayBook” and later commented “Now imagine how much more lucrative if you dev on Android or iOS”. What people like this don’t realize is that a developer’s impact on a platform is also very related to competition. The iOS market, with something like 500,000 apps, often has 50 or more apps for any given idea. Take for example my Baby Names app, which has compensated me $90/hour on BlackBerry phones, whereas the iOS implementation has compensated me $1/hour. I think this makes a strong case for BlackBerry app development. It may not be obvious, but not all of the great opportunities in life are obvious.

Money aside, I am encouraged that with only 10 hours of development effort, I can make a significant contribution to the PlayBook community by delivering a piece of functionality that people have obviously been missing. Again I wonder whether there would be some means to better connect the needs of the PlayBook community with the creative efforts of developers. PlayBook owners lament that key software features are missing, and developers lament when they write an app that doesn’t end up connecting with people’s needs. If PlayBook owners had a means to have their voice heard, and developers had a means to receive that and act on it, the ecosystem might develop much more rapidly.

In that spirit, and because it worked so well last time, I will again propose four app ideas and allow you to choose your favorite idea. I will implement the winning idea and put it up for sale on App World:

  • An app that syncs iTunes movies and video podcasts to your PlayBook wirelessly.
  • An app that syncs music sitting in Artist/Album folder structures but which isn’t in iTunes. (Such as if you use Windows Media Player)
  • An app to allows you to control AirPlay devices from your PlayBook.
  • A photo sharing app whereby you select a photo or group of photos and can share it via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, SmugMug, Email, or FTP location by checking boxes and then clicking “Share”.
  • A smart slideshow app that goes and gets recent starred photos from Picasa, Facebook, Smug Mug, Flickr, etc, downloads them to your PlayBook, and shows those new photos more often than your old photos. Combined with the rapid charger stand (which I purchased) this turns the PlayBook into a beautiful (and smart) digital picture frame. We have a digital picture frame, but it is painful to keep it updated with recent photos.
  • A smart and pretty alarm clock that ties in with your Google Calendar, weather reports, birthdays from Facebook, and uses the music you have on your PlayBook. The option to have it speak to you this information as your alarm with the rather impressive voices from http://www.expressivo.com/. Another nice use of the rapid charger stand.

Thanks everyone for your support, it makes it much more fun when there is a sense of community.

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Posted by danielb for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 5:02 pm. | BlackBerry PlayBook App Development: Surprising Opportunities | 25 comments |


Slacker Radio v4.1.22 Released With Support for Ford Sync AppLink

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 12:54 PM PST

Slacker Logo

Slacker updated their Slacker Radio app to v4.1.22 this week with support for Ford's Sync AppLink. This allows you to stream radio to your car stereo and use your voice to control the music. That means you can skip, block, pause, or like tracks without picking up your phone. Electronista confirmed that this works on both online and cached Slacker stations which is nice. In other words it lets you seamlessly control your music while in the car.

If you have a Ford car with Sync AppLink you can pick up the updated Slacker Radio in App World

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 3:54 pm. | Slacker Radio v4.1.22 Released With Support for Ford Sync AppLink | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Details, Slides & Screenshots – Late March Launch

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:03 AM PST

Mobile Fusion 4-1

We told you that RIM would be covering the new BlackBerry Mobile Fusion multi-platform mobile device management system during their webcast today. The webcast just finished and I wanted to share with you some of the updates that came out of it. Its easier to do it in bullet form so here it goes:

  • BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will be offered in closed beta in January and will LAUNCH in late March. There are currently some limited beta trials going on.
  • RIM has drastically expanded the number of devices that can be managed per server with Mobile Fusion. In their tests the Fusion system can handle up to 10,000 devices per server which is 10 times the current BES limits.
  • There is no limit to the number of devices that can be assigned to a user. As you can see in the screenshot that user has 4 devices. In other words there is no one to one user to device relationship.
  • Mobile Fusion adds employee self service for many things for both smartphone and PlayBook users.
  • Current enterprise solutions for employee owned devices are what RIM calls a "crippled experience" that limits the functionality of the device or makes the enterprise data live in a limited box.
  • The Balance technology in Fusion and the PlayBook & BBX devices will make this separation of work and personal data without compromises. It also offers clear indicators of what is going on (see the slide screenshots)

Alan from RIM then went on to answering a few questions. Here are the answers:

  • There is no pricing officially announced yet but it will be "very competitive"
  • The Fusion server will fully support virtualization and can share the SQL server with your BES 5.0.3 server
  • There is no hard limit on how many devices can be assigned to a user
  • We will support other systems beyond iOS and Android if we see enough customer demand
  • QNX and BBX phones will work with Fusion
  • Push email on the PlayBook. Alan was coy answering this one saying that it would have the "same experience making use of RIM's strengths"

Last but not least an attendee asked how they could join the early trial betas and Alan said to reach out to your RIM contact to ask to be part of early or upcoming trials.

Mobile Fusion Mobile Fusion 2

Mobile Fusion 3 Mobile Fusion 4

Mobile Fusion 5 Mobile Fusion 6

Mobile Fusion 7 Mobile Fusion 8

Mobile Fusion 9 Mobile Fusion 10

Mobile Fusion 11

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Posted by Luis Merlos for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 2:03 pm. | BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Details, Slides & Screenshots – Late March Launch | 6 comments |


Reminder: BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Multi-Platform Enterprise Solution Webcast Today!

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:29 AM PST

BlackBerry Business

Now that RIM has made the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion multi-platform mobile device management solution official we understand the need for a webcast today. If you happen to be in the enterprise or government field you definitely want to dial into this half an hour webcast today. Alan Panezic, Vice President of Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at RIM, will be talking about the new solution. RIM promises that Mobile Fusion will be a big deal:

Building on years of leading mobility management solutions from RIM, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will simplify the management of smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry, BBX, Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems, including BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, BlackBerry super phones running RIM's future BBX operating system, iPhone, iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab and other Android-based smartphones and tablets

You can sign up for the webcast here and it starts at 1pm ET/10am PT TODAY!

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 10:29 am. | Reminder: BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Multi-Platform Enterprise Solution Webcast Today! | One comment |


Official OS 6.0.0.706 for the BlackBerry Curve 9330 & Style 9670 from Sprint

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:22 AM PST

Style 9670Sprint has just updated the official OS for two of their last generation devices. Tom let us know that the BlackBerry Curve 9330 and Style 9670 have been updated to OS 6.0.0.706. No word on what is new in these versions but you can pick them up below and let us know!

Download OS 6.0.0.706 from BlackBerry.com

Warning: This OS will not install on any other BlackBerry besides the one mentioned above. Don't forget to delete the vendor.xml file located in c:program files>common files>research in motion>apploader to install it on a different carriers device. If you do not know how to upgrade your BlackBerry OS please start by reading this step by step guide.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 10:22 am. | Official OS 6.0.0.706 for the BlackBerry Curve 9330 & Style 9670 from Sprint | Leave a comment |


PixelMags Bringing Magazines to the PlayBook Soon

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:42 AM PST

PixelMags2

PixelMags is known for bringing magazines and more to iOS devices. Derek pointed out to us that they have an update on their website saying that BlackBerry PlayBook and Android apps are coming soon. PixelMags is not the biggest facilitator for magazines but it will be nice to get some more options on the PlayBook. Here is what they have to say about the PlayBook on their website:

That’s right, on the BlackBerry Playbook. Just one more reason to get excited about content distribution. What are you waiting for? Go on, push the button!

Check out PixelMags at www.pixelmags.com

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 9:42 am. | PixelMags Bringing Magazines to the PlayBook Soon | 2 comments |


Rogers BlackBerry Bold 9790 Pricing Leaks Out

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:47 AM PST

Rogers Bold 9790

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 might have launched elsewhere but in North America we still have some mystery. It is supposed to be just in time for the holiday gift giving season according to a flyer that MobileSyrup scored. The flyer also details the pricing for the devices with it clocking in a bit cheaper than TELUS.

3-year contract: $99.99 (with a $45/monthly voice and data plan)
2-year contract: $349.99
1-year contract: $399.99
No-contract: $449.99

Anybody planning on picking one of these up?

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, November 29, 2011, 8:47 am. | Rogers BlackBerry Bold 9790 Pricing Leaks Out | One comment |