In case you don’t have a BlackBerry equipped with RIM’s new HTML web browser. Opera Mini has a new beta version available for download. The new Opera Mini Beta features skins to change to color of Opera Mini, Overall performance and note syncing between your PC and BlackBerry. Point your BlackBerry browser to mini.opera.com/beta to download it OTA (Over the Air).
If your not using Viigo you don’t know what you missing! Viigo has been a long time favorite application for me and now we get to see a preview of what Viigo will look like on RIM’s new touchscreen BlackBerry Storm. This is the first third party application we have seen for the Storm as of now and it looks sweet! I can’t wait to get my hands on a Storm and this app!!
One of my biggest pet peeves about BlackBerry smartphones is that they don’t ring and vibrate at the same time. For some people this may not be an issue, but for me before BlackBerry was regular phones which did both. With my BlackBerry I find most people hang up after the first few vibrates before I actually hear my phone ringing. I was browsing the BlackBerry Sync Store and discovered a great application called VibAndRing which does exactly what it sounds like. This application makes your BlackBerry ring and vibrate at the same time without any delay. Read More
If you have a Blackberry and use it to listen to music, you may or may not be a fan of the built-in Media player. Sure, it’s handy to have a program already there, but you may want something more… Meet FlipSide from Electric Pocket.
FlipSide is an MP3 player program by Electric Pocket. It’s available for most Blackberry and Windows Mobile smartphones. I got a chance to test out the BlackBerry version on my BlackBerry Curve and Pearl.
Install was quick and easy. You put in your activation key and you’re off to the races! It automatically scans your Blackberry’s memory card to find all your songs. Unfortunately, when it does the scan it slows down your device quite a bit. But once it knows what you’ve got, you can fly through your music like nothing!
Music is sorted alphabetically by Artist and Album. For example, it will show music like this
Once you click on an album name, the songs are displayed either by track number if the ID3 tags are entered, or alphabetically if they are not.
Something I think is great is the album art feature. If you have the album art picture already in the folder on your memory card, it will display it. However if you don’t, not to worry! FlipSide has the ability to download the album art for you! All you have to do is press the menu button and choose “Find Album Art”. Of course, your MP3 file has to be properly tagged with the song information so it has something to go by. Often times, it doesn’t get the proper picture. I guess it’s just a matter of making sure their database is up to date and accurate. I’m sure it will be fixed in time.
Sound quality is great. The songs are nice and clear and it can go pretty loud. It would be nice if you could adjust the EQ in the options, but for the music I listen to it doesn’t make too much difference. Another thing, is you have to be in the player window if you want to adjust the volume. So if you need to quickly turn down your music if you’re playing Brickbreaker, you have to switch application to FlipSide to do so. The built in player is able to turn down your music and switch songs from any screen. I’m sure that these 2 issues will be addressed in future releases.
I like the way it looks and operates. It’s a uniquely designed piece of software and it’s very appealing to the average user. I’ve seen some MP3 players that require a university degree to operate or load up with music. But FlipSide is seamless and very user-friendly.
Overall, I am pleased with this player. If you’re one of those Blackberry Addicts who loves to have their music on them at all times and doesn’t want to carry a bunch of gadgets, then FlipSide will definitely help make your Blackberry a “jack of all trades” that much more.
What Works
What Doesn’t Work
My rating – 9/10
If you’d like to give FlipSide a try, you can download a free trial version in the BlackBerry Sync Store. If you love it and want to make it your own, it’s only $19.99 and can be purchased at the BlackBerry Sync Store as well.
Also, if you’ve used this player and would like to share your experiences or need some help with anything, check out our forums and tell us your stories.
It seems that the Verizon BlackBerry Storm will be packing a trial of McAfee’s Mobile Security software out of the box. Mobile Security scans all attachments, files, messages and downloads to ensure they won’t harm your brand spanking new Storm. There is no word as to how much it will cost after the trial to buy.
[Via BBCool]
If your a Mac user like myself you might be a little frustrated with the lack of BlackBerry software available (directly from RIM). Things are looking up though! Last week we heard that RIM was in fact working on a Mac version of their Media Sync which syncs with your non-DRM protect iTunes music. Today who else but Boy Genius got his hands on a copy of the software for Macs! Take a peak at the upcoming software, which hopefully will be available shortly. All I can say is this is gonna be sweet with a BlackBerry Storm :) Read More
Wow what a crazy weekend this has been for the BlackBerry world. First we’ve seen a ton of leaks for the BlackBerry Storm and now its the BlackBerry Application Center to go along with the Storm. This will be RIM’s shot at Apple’s App Store for their iPhone. You will be able to download tons of applications designed for your BlackBerry Storm with a few simple clicks…
Features list of the BlackBerry Application Center:
Good news for us Canadians today… Both Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility have launched OS 4.5. Rogers has released the OS 4.5 for Curve 8310 and 8320 (4.5.0.81) and Bell has released OS 4.5.0.77 for both the Curve 8330 and Pearl 8130. Keep in mind you if your carrier doesn’t offer OS 4.5 yet you can still install it – Just follow these steps.
Head on over to your carrier download page at BlackBerry.com >>
Thanks Shawn for sending this in!
Today’s a good day for Mac users like myself. A recent post in RIM’s Knowledge database (Article KB16003) is showing RIM is getting ready to launch Media Sync for Mac OS X users. It looks like this software is designed for the BlackBerry Pearl 8220, however I’m sure it will work with all models. You might even find it will ship with the 8220? So keep an eye on here for this software as it should be out soon!!
Any luck at all and RIM will launch a Mac verison of Desktop Manager soon enough as well…
[Via BBNews}
A new feature that RIM has introduced today is BlackBerry operating system upgrades via BlackBerry.com/upgrades. You will be able to update your OS with the latest version provided by your carrier. So for any carriers that currently support OS 4.5 you will be able to get the latest version. This new software detects available updates by your device PIN (check whats available here).
Check out the latest OS upgrades at BlackBerry.com/upgrades >>
