Category: Random Thoughts

8

Get The Best Price In Shopping With Free Frugalytics v1.0 For Your BlackBerry

frugalytics

The BlackBerry Sync Store has a variety of software, much of which is free. We know some of the best things in life are free, and many of us are learning to be frugal and shrewd when it comes to shopping and pricing. With that being said,  let me introduce you to the Free Frugalytics v1.0-Shopping For Smart People by Intelary Inc. 

I know there are times when we’re shopping and even spend some time going from store to store pricing an item. Well with Frugalytics, you can save that time. Look up specific items, read reviews and even which stores have the best price. You can search millions of products to compare prices, read descriptions, and reviews. Comparison shopping is now in the palm of your hand. It is an intelligent shopping resource which will save you time and money. You can rest assured knowing that you are getting the best deal for your money. The best thing besides the assistance it lends our shopping life, is that it’s created to be a lightweight and easy to use application and it doesn’t slow down your phone and its OS. Frugalytics by Intelary Inc also informed me that they are currently working on local shopping results (a subsequent tie to GPS), deal alerts, and country specific versions for international users. I can see Black Friday being more of a happy day with less stress already.

Use of the application is very easy. The icon is a green square with a white F in the middle. When scrolled over it has sun ray patterns, click on it and it loads immediate access to the Frugalytic$ mobile site where you can either search by categories there or search a name or ID in the search bar. It’s just that easy, and Frugalytics will display the results. Give it a shop, after all, what have you got to lose when you have money you can save?

There are two ways to access the app, to download it to your BlackBerry, or to use the Frugalytics mobile web interface.

Grab Your Free Copy of Frugalytics v1.0 from the BlackBerry Sync Store >

In case that link doesn’t work, here’s the OTA link to download straight from your phone: Frugalytics OTA

Minimum requirements are the BlackBerry OS v4.2.

Compatible devices are: 7130c, 7130e, 7130g, 7130v, 8100 (Pearl), 8110 (Pearl), 8120 (Pearl), 8130 (Pearl), 8220 (Pearl Flip), 8300 (Curve), 8310 (Curve), 8320 (Curve), 8330 (Curve), 8350i (Curve), 8700c, 8700f, 8700g, 8700r, 8700v, 8703e, 8705g, 8707g, 8707h, 8707v, 8800, 8820, 8830, 8900 (Curve), 9000 (Bold), Curve, Pearl, Storm

OS:  4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7

4

Excel At Your Own Pace With Free GridMagic CE!

gridmagic1

In keeping up with remembering that many of the best things in life are free, especially with today’s economy, here’s the latest free software from the BlackBerry Sync Store that is FREE.

I know that the Docs To Go that are loaded on the BlackBerry 4.5 OS and above do have Word and PowerPoint compatible office apps, it does have a free upgrade available for Spreadsheet To Go, and a purchase version too with PDF to Go (I’d advise the free upgrade first should you upgrade and if picture texting stop working, delete the program before calling tech support and see if it resolves the issue. If no problems arise, you’re free to do the paid version). Well there is a program that is free, in fact the only free, spreadsheet app. The app is GridMagic CE v3.3.0.201 by Simprit Pte Ltd. I know it’s a constant question by professionals about the Excel programs, well look no further than GridMagic. There is a family of GridMagic and this version CE, stands for Community Edition. It has basic features free for personal and educational use.

Features include:

  • Optimized and designed for BlackBerry smartphones.
  • Supports 65,536 rows and 256 columns (same as Excel 2003).
  • Multiple sheets per workbook.
  • Display formatted cell/text (including alignment, borders and background colors).
  • Row and column resizing.
  • Find, go to, and End mode.
  • Support Zoom factor.
  • Workbook editing and cell/text reformatting (cut, copy, paste cell data, insert/delete cells/rows/columns).
  • Auto cell formatting by entered example.
  • Auto switch to numeric mode based on cell format.
  • Saving workbooks to smartphones (workbook categories for easy management).
  • Real-time recalculation.
  • Features the most frequently used Microsoft Excel functions.
  • Desktop Synchronization (compatible with Microsoft Excel).
  • BlackBerry attachment integration.
  • I downloaded the app, and while I don’t keep any Excel documents on my BlackBerry, it does have sample Excel sample files of a loan calculator and one for contacts, and there are instructions for use of the app. You have a fifteen day period to register and purchase the GridMagic Standard or Professional, but for basic use the Community Edition works fine. But you do have the full Standard version for fifteen days. The CE version has basic viewing features and BlackBerry integration, the Standard version ($19.95) has basic viewing, basic editing, limited advanced features, downloadable workbook apps and templates, and up to 100Kb attachments, the Professional version ($49.95) has everything the Standard does but with any size attachment and fully advanced features.

    Grab a Free copy of GridMagic CE from the BlackBerry Sync Store >

    Compatible BlackBerry handsets: 71xx series, 72xx series, 75xx series,, 75xx series, 81xx Pearl Series, 83xx Curve series, , 87xx series, 88xx Series

    Compatible OS: 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6

    2

    What To Do If You Lose Your BlackBerry

     lost

    We all find ourselves losing things from time to time. But just like losing your wallet or purse, losing your BlackBerry is just as devastating. The thought of being without your mobile texts, emails, the messengers, and even mobile Twitter, is so distressing, leaving just a feeling of being lost and alone, total isolation from the world, we all know that feeling since our BlackBerry is our friend and our secretary. Hopefully you had your BlackBerry synced and backed up by way of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. I am also hoping you have it secured by a password. In the event that your BlackBerry is stolen and they try to open the phone, the BlackBerry will give them three tries to the password and if they don’t guess it, the BlackBerry is automatically wiped of any information. But in the event that you are tragically separated from your beloved BlackBerry, these are the steps you can take. The best medicine is prevention and preparation so I have two apps to share besides the obvious.

    berrylocator

    There are a few things you can do besides backing up your information and password protecting it. You can also install a few programs that will assist you in finding it. The first one I’m going to highlight is an application for $6.95 by the name of  Berry Locator. If you have Verizon, this one is not an option because Verizon currently blocks third party GPS access on all BlackBerry devices with the exception of the Storm and will not pull up a map. With this application you send an email to your BlackBerry with a custom phrase in the subject line and your BlackBerry will sound off like crazy even if it is in silent mode. If you’re unable to find it, the app displays the email message on the screen so you can send a message and contact information to whoever finds the phone. If you would like to try this app: Berry Locator

    berrylocatormap

    Supported models for this app are: 7130c, 7130e, 7130g, 7130v, 8100 (Pearl), 8110 (Pearl), 8120 (Pearl), 8130 (Pearl), 8220 (Pearl Flip), 8300 (Curve), 8310 (Curve), 8320 (Curve), 8330 (Curve), 8350i (Curve), 8700c, 8700f, 8700g, 8700r, 8700v, 8703e, 8705g, 8707g, 8707h, 8707v, 8800, 8820, 8830, 8900 (Curve), 9000 (Bold), Curve, Pearl, Storm
    And compatible with OS 4.2 and above.

    First there was RoboCop and now now there’s ROblock, v2.0, at the price of $9.95. ROblock is a program by Vapssky. This program can point the location of your lost or stolen device on Google Maps using the WHERE command. If you do not have GPS integration or a GPS signal available, then it will use the cellular tower location information to show the approximate location of your device. You have three ways available to communicate with your phone: sms; email; and the web interface. There is sms/email notification in the event that your phone has a sims card and it is replaced. You have the power to recover the Address book contacts. You have the ability to remotely wipe the entire content of your phone and your micro sd card, which is irreversible so make sure you have it backed up. There is a remote lock and alarm as well, in which you can lock the phone, locking the keypad and making it inoperable. This is the most intriguing part to me which I love: a high pitch alarm you can activate which will sound until the phone is unlocked. You can unlock it as you locked it and the alarm is optional. You can make your lost or stolen phone dial any number you want, so that you can listen in on it’s location and where abouts. You can send custom text messages with return information by command that will come up on the display so the finder can return the device. Here’s another advantage, this program can wipe the entire device without BIS/BES service. It uses sms, email, or GPRS for communication so you can wipe or recover the device even where service is unavailable, or the SIMs card has been replaced. If you’re interested in this app, you can download it at ROblock.

    This program is compatible with OS 4.2 and higher.

    smrtguardcommands

    smrtguardface

    The other option was introduced at WES. The application is called SmrtGuard- Your Smartphone Guardian. This program will be available upon launch of May 25, 2009. You are able to remote track your smartphone with no GPS required. It allows you to remotely wipe your sensitive data, fully wipe your phone from where you are. You can also back up your sensitive data which includes PIMs, call logs, emails, and more, allowing you to back up and restore personal data. The data can be accessed through the SmrtGuard web portal. You can also audio ping to locate your phone as well, just in case you have it on mute. Guardian features included are: Personal Guardian that allows you to send a distress SMS/Email/Call with a single button push; and the SimCard Guardian that gives you the ability to inform users of unregistered Sim cards being used in the smartphone. You can use it to remotely listen in on the smartphone’s surroundings and the ability to remotely lock the phone. You can also use it to track a loved one. This application allows you by using the dashboard to decide if the phone is lost or stolen, auto ping to find, and detonate the phone to wipe out everything. The program will have three types of pricing available: Monthly for $3.99; Bi-Annual for $22.99; and yearly for $44.99. The program will be available from their online site when it lauches. The program will be available for purchase here: SmrtGuard

    Supported models for this app are: BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Curve (83xx Series), BlackBerry Pearl (81xx Series), BlackBerry Flip Pearl, BlackBerry 88xx Series                                      Supported OS are: BlackBerry OS 4.2.x , BlackBerry OS 4.3.0, BlackBerry OS 4.5.x, BlackBerry OS 4.6.x, BlackBerry OS 4.7.x

    In the event the phone is pretty much lost and you don’t want to incur possible phone charges, you do have the option to call and suspend the line. If the line is suspended, they will not be able to use the phone to make phone calls, let alone out of country phone calls. Reporting it to the police is important if the phone has been stolen is important as well. In the US you do have the option to have insurance and make an insurance claim. For a deductible you can have your phone replaced.

    Do you have a lost or stolen phone story you’d like to share? We’d like you to leave your comments and let us know.

    2

    Is There Life For Your BlackBerry After Water?

    waterbb

    This week on the CNET website, Ina Fried wrote her story of her ordeal as she dropped her beloved BlackBerry in the commode. She expressed the panic we all feel. And like any good sleuth even googled for information. She also inquired of her carrier as to how often it happens, and also brought up about how phones have a liquid damage indicator which if red, will void the chance of a warranty replacement.

    Of course in the event your phone does find itself immersed, the best thing to do is removed the battery as quickly as you can. Dry the phone off as well and the battery. Taking the phone there are various ways as to how to dry it out. Some advise wrapping the phone in paper towels, in silica gel packs, or even uncooked rice (typically this is suggested for 48 hours, not turning the phone on at all during that time). Whatever you do, leave the phone be for a day or two.  Of course she had to test here and there and eventually her phone did dry out and it was soon typing normal once again.

    What I loved most about the article was that Ina writes about her missing her emails, having to keep entertained with her iPod, and missing her phone. She also tried checking the phone throughout the drying process. That is one thing I would advise against. There is a chance the phone will short circuit which would not be good. Now if the phone is wet, this is a voided warranty. I also liked how she was so happy that her phone began to work again, and sharing her joy. This is equivelent to Dr. Frankenstein bringing life to his creation, “It’s Alive!!!!” 

    When the phone incurs liquid damage, it becomes an insurance claim and I am hoping that you would have your beloved insured. An insurance claim to process doesn’t take long to receive a phone and may even be in your hands before the drying handset is totally functional. Now here’s the most important thing to remember: the disk that comes with your phone when you purchase it….that disk is very important. The reason for that disk is to install the BlackBerry Desktop Manager so you are able to back up your files and information and to sync your BlackBerry to your pc. Don’t wait till the phone is wet to think about saving your information. If your phone short circuits and meets it’s untimely demise, at this point it’s too late to ask your wireless consultant or representative if they can transfer contacts. So please, if you haven’t already, install that disk and back up your phone, sync it, do those little things on a weekly or every other day basis so you’re prepared for an event such as this. Preparing for the end is highly recommended because trust me, you’re going to feel it’s the end of the world when you are without your BlackBerry for even a few hours, let alone days. Transferring your back up information to a new phone will be as easy as plugging it in to your pc and putting the back up file back onto your BlackBerry.

    Have you ever dropped your BlackBerry in water? Did you try it out and did it work again? What method did you use? Please let us know and share your comments.

    [via: CNET News]

    0

    US Cellular Is Swapping Lives…Battery Lives

    uscellular

    I’m talking about battery replacements. Today US Cellular launches a Battery Swap program, leading the industry in something new and first of it’s kind. US Cellular Customers can come in to any US Cellular store and swap a dying or dead battery for a fully charged one, and it’s FREE. They are the only wireless company to do so. To be eligible, the phones have to have been purchased in the last eighteen months. No more than four swaps per handset are allowed in a month. For more concise details, click here to go to the US Cellular Battery Swap Program and while there are simple things that you can do to prolong battery life, this program is outstanding. Hopefully more wireless providers will take the cue and follow.

    [via: BlackBerry Rocks & Mobility Digest]

    0

    The Basic Set Up Of Your BlackBerry

    blackberry

    There is always your first BlackBerry, whether it be a work phone you receive, your very first purchased BlackBerry you purchase from an authorized agent, or even an online purchase. The difference in loving your BlackBerry and despising your BlackBerry all fall within the proper set up of your BlackBerry and learning from the start some of it’s capabilities. There’s so much more to a BlackBerry than just a phone with email, internet, and text. It’s a communication portal to the world. So I’m going to list the basic set up of the BlackBerry as it should be.

    The first thing you’re going to do is make sure the esn activated on your account if you purchased it from online. Next you will turn your phone on and go through the programming steps. If you received it from work or purchased it from an agent, chances are that the phone is activated and programmed. The next step you will do is the Set Up Wizard. Run this icon and follow the steps. Removing other languages other than your main language is advised to save space on the phone.

    The next step is to go to your messages icon. Click on the icon, and press the option or “BlackBerry” button. This is the button with the BlackBerry symbol on it. The menu will appear, scroll down to options and click the trackball. You will see General Options, click on it. Scroll down to where it has the line SMS and Email Inboxes. Click on where it says Theme Controlled and click the trackball. Choose Separate. This will separate your texts and emails. Click the option button and save. Back out and back out once more.

    Next we will be going to the Options icon or the wrench. Now if any time during this set up the internet loads and asks you about email, by all means start setting up Follow the prompts in setting up your email and adding any emails you have, adding them to your phone. If it hasn’t done so yet, proceed to the Options icon. Click the Options icon, scroll to Advanced Options and tap again. From here you will have GPS as a choice, click on that. You will see Device GPS and GPS Services. On GPS Services, you can see it’s off by default. Click on the off or 911 only and change to Location on. Click the options button and save. This will enable GPS for your handset. Certain carriers do have limitations set on GPS so it may only work for certain applications. Back out, and go to the next item down, the Host Routing Table. If your internet has not loaded yet, you can click on this option, tap the options button and choose Register Now. Back out of the application, and be ready to set up your email.  Now if you are going to install a microsd card, it can be inserted on the side of the Pearl or beneath the battery of the World and Curve. Be sure the Pearl is off when inserting the card. When you turn the phone back on, go to the Options icon and click, scroll down to Media Card and click. Click the options button and choose Format Card. This will ensure the card will work with your BlackBerry. If you want to set up a key guard lock, you can go to the option Screen/Keyboard in options and click. Here you can change font, the size, the style. and light features, and the Right Side or Left Side Convenience Key can be set to keyboard lock. If you scroll down from the Media Card in the Options, you will see Theme. Clicking on it will show what themes are currently available on your phone. You can scroll and click on the theme desired. Begin to back out. It’s not freezing, it is installing your theme of choice.

    Make sure you set the BlackBerry Messenger up by clicking on that icon and making sure your name shows and from here you can add any BlackBerry friends or coworkers. One important page for your browser is the BlackBerry Mobile website, from this site you can see what is available from your phone and download various apps and shortcuts for your BlackBerry, along with being able to ask a question and receive an answer that’s BlackBerry related. It’s a page that if your carrier does not have in your bookmarks, you should add. This can be downloaded here BlackBerry Mobile.

    Sound and alerts are another thing that tend to  be important. Go to the sound icon which is called Profiles and looks like the sound horn icon you have on a pc. You can click on it and choose a Profile, as in Loud, Quiet, and Normal. I don’t advise Vibrate as it tends to use more battery life. If you want to set different tones for different apps, click the Profiles icon again, and scroll down past Off and you will see Advanced. Click on the Advanced option. Click on the Profile you have active. From each of these you can click on each one, click the sound for Out Of Holster and choose what type of sound from vibe to tone, next the Ring Tone, the Volume, Number of Beeps, Repeat Notification if you want it by Led Flashing or None, and Number of Vibrations. You have the In Holster options beneath that, and these are the sounds while the phone is in a case or holster. Click the option button, save, and back out. Choose your sounds for your apps and back out when you’re done.

    This is just a basic set up, now you can get familiarize yourself with your phone, get comfortable, and will be able to start downloading ringtones, themes, and apps. This set up will ensure a more comfortable experience from the start with your BlackBerry and allow you to personalize it.

    2

    Software Alert: SMobile Security Shield Parental Control Gives More Power To Parental Control

    smobile

    Parents, with all the media coverage of sexting, and the worries of your children and teens on MySpace and who they are texting on their cell phone, you won’t need to worry much longer. SMobileSystems has heard your pleas and has created the answer to those hopes with a new software designed for your peace of mind.

    The software, SMobile Security Shield Parental Control Edition, is a software you can download to your child’s and teen’s handset within minutes. Why is this software unique? It gives an online dashboard to the parents to be able to monitor communications on the phone including:

    • E-Mail and Text Message Monitoring. What is the content of the email and the texts?
    • Call Monitoring
    • GPS Locate, where is the person who is communicating with your child? Track the phone if it is stolen.
    • Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware
    • View Contacts, who is your child communicating with?
    • Monitoring Dashboard for the parents online, so parents can view the messages and contents of the messages. And make changes accordingly, even blocking calls, texts, and emails.
    • Application Monitoring, such as Facebook and MySpace
    • Lock, Wipe, Backup & Restore; In other words you can lock up their phone, wipe it if it’s stolen, and Back it up to Restore later.

    This offers peace of mind against the following:

    * Misconduct
    * Exploitation
    * Unwanted Communications
    * Sexting
    * Loss and Theft
    * Malware
    * Online Predators

    The only protesters against this software may be the children who must watch what they say and do. For more information on this product, click here>

    The software is now available, it is now $29.99 per year per handset, and if you had placed a request for release date prior to the software being available for BlackBerry, you should have been sent a discount code. You can purchase the program here, SMobile Systems>

    [via: BlackBerry Cool & SMobile Systems]

    2

    RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie Wants To Buy A Hockey Team And Move Them Too!

    jim-balsillie-phoenix-coyotes

    Here’s something to howl about if you’re a hockey fan. RIM Co-CEO wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Before I go into details, let’s see how the offer came about. The ownership group of the Phoenix Coyotes had filed for bankruptcy protection May 5, 2009. The filing as noted by a news release also included was a proposed sale for $212.5 million by an organization organized by Co-CEO Jim Balsallie. The NHL was not aware of the bankruptcy court proceedings and since removed Jerry Moyes, who was in charge of them, from acting on the behalf of the team. The NHL has taken ownership of the team.

    makitseven

    Jim Balsallie has been trying to bring US hockey teams to Canada for the last 2 and 1/2 years. This includes the Nashville Predators and Pittsburghn Penguins. Both were dropped when the NHL denied the relocation of the teams. It’s no secret that he has a passion for hockey, he heads to a hockey rink once a week at 5:30 am to train and plays twice a week in a local old-timers league. He loves his hockey and sports, and no one will argue that. Balsillie has also started a public plea for help by coming up with a website called Make It Seven. The sale is with the condition of relocation to some undisclosed area in Southern Ontario.

    coyoteshelp

    The Phoenix Coyotes and their fans have not sat back quietly either. They have come up with a website for public support as well called Save The Coyotes, and even asking for fans and Arizonans  on Twitter to please show support and to help by purchasing a t-shirt called Keep It Six. They are hoping to find a new owner to outbid Mr. Balsillie and stay in Arizona.

    A bankruptcy judge still has to accept the chapter 11 filing and the purchase offer. From that point any other bidders may bid for the team and try to outbid Mr. Balsillie. Now if the bankruptcy court decides they cannot force the team to move, then the deal will fall through. So ultimately the fate of the Coyotes rests in the hands of the courts and with the influence of the NHL. Whether or not they find a new owner to outbid Mr. Balsillie, we will see. If the Coyotes do relocate, they will be returning as they were once the Winnepeg Jets before coming to Arizona to become the Phoenix Coyotes. If Jim Balsillie succeeds, does anyone care to make a guess as to what name might await the Coyotes?

    [via: Die By The Blade, The New York Times, globeandmail.com, IntoMobile, Save The Coyotes & make it seven]

    0

    Software Upgrade Alert: ÜberTwitter Beta 2 Has Been Released With New Features And More!

    ubertwitter

    ÜberTwitter released their next Beta, 2. With all the Twitter clients out there, including TwitterBerry, SocialScope, and TweetGenius, ÜberTwitter has been working hard to improve and work on their client as well. Some of the new features and fixes include several new and great things to look forward to including: two notification profiles, internal GPS support, view your friends and their information, your friends’ list of followers, when your friendss joined Twitter, shortcuts, marking tweets as faves and unmarking faves, support for wifi, and support for scrolling BlackBerry phones such as the 8700 just to name a few. For a total list of updates and fixes, you can visit the ÜberTwitter homepage.

    For those who aren’t too familiar with ÜberTwitter, it’s a Twitter client that integrates with Google Talk and also works with cell sites not just Satellites for GPS allowing you to list your location. If you have it and haven’t updated, it’s time. And if you’re interested in trying a new Twitter Client give it a try.

    You can download ÜberTwitter here at the ÜberTwitter download OTA>.

    [via: BlackBerry Rocks]

    0

    WES2009 Moments And Highlights From Tuesday On Twitter

    wes20094

    WES2009 has now been going on for two days. I’ve been watching my Twitter, reading it and enjoying the pictures and updates. While it was somewhat quiet today, there were a few tweets from our fellow Tweets. So here’s what you have missed this Tuesday if you’re not following Al Sacco, Bla1ze, CrackBerry Adam, CrackBerry Kevin, Nan Palmero, and/or Simon Sage. Thanks to these fantastic BlackBerry advocates, we are able to have a glimpse of what we’re missing. So here’s what happened Tuesday.

    Keynotes today, and Mike Lazaridis spoke about the BlackBerry birthday, success, and growth. There was a little bit spoken about Chalk Media and Mobile Voice System. Wireless Presentation Solution for Projecting Power Point was mentioned. LotusLive was mentioned as well. Today was mostly pertaining to BES, but there were some fun moments and the entertainment for the evening was a dj and Will.i.am.

    And if you Twitter and would like to stay in the loop with WES 2009, please follow @asacco @azeis @crackberrykevin @nanpalmero @simonsage @videos4bb @kasperapd for great coverage and up to the minute Twitter news and TwitPics.