Posts Tagged ‘BlackBerry’

Get spooked with fun Halloween apps on BlackBerry devices

Monday, October 31st, 2011

It’s Halloween today. Here’s a selection of ghouly apps for the occasion.

There are apps for both BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook. All the apps can be downloaded from BlackBerry App World. Click on the screenshots to get to the app on BlackBerry App World.

Apps Brief Description
Count Munchula (Free)
smartphones only

Count Munchula (Free)

The world-famous Screen Muncher just couldn’t resist getting dressed up for Halloween as a blood-sucking vampire named Count Munchula! “Munch” your BlackBerry screen and capture it as an image to post directly to Twitter, share through email, or save for later!

Screen Muncher lets you capture anything you see on your BlackBerry screen just like a desktop “print screen” on a PC. This funny, cute and useful app includes a very special “Count Munchula” sound effect, animation and vibrates every time you Munch a screen!

Pumpkin Slider (US$0.99)
smartphones only

Pumpkin Slider (US$0.99)

Pumpkin Slider is designed to lock your BlackBerry and prevent any unwanted key press. Even if your BlackBerry is unlocked by accident, Pumpkin Slider still locks your phone and you do not need to worry about the Send key or any unwanted key pressed. Pumpkin Slider automatically locks your BlackBerry when the screen dims.

Pumpkin Slider is fast to setup, easy to use and works with the Lock button on your BlackBerry.

Jack-O-Lantern (Free)
smartphones only

Jack-O-Lantern (Free)

Ever wanted your own Jack-O-Lantern but didn’t know how to carve one? This app is a virtual Jack-O-Lantern for your BlackBerry to help you celebrate the Halloween season. You can change the Jack-O-Lantern’s face by swiping from the left or right on the eyes, nose, or mouth. You can also change the colour by clicking on the screen. Happy Halloween!
Halloween Photo Editor (US$1.99)
smartphones only

Halloween Photo Editor (US$1.99)

Halloween Photo Editor is a powerful image processing app that turns your photos into unique Halloween themed art. Very intuitive and easy to use. even beginners will quickly learn how to create impressive Halloweenish effects! Gear up for your Halloween celebration with this amazing photo app!

The app features 4 awesome Halloween filters, 16 unique Halloween themed photo frames and 11 cute clip art images.

Ghosty Party (US$1.99)
smartphone/PlayBook

Ghosty Party (US$1.99)

Vaporize as many ghosts of the same color as you can to get a high score, with cute halloween theme animations, bonuses, and sound effects. The more ghosts you tap at once, the more scores you will get. The more same color ghosts combo, the more scoresmultiply.

The game features an autosave function on exit or phone call, and the PlayBook version also has global online support to post your scores on Facebook.

Halloween Haunt (S$1.99)
PlayBook only

Halloween Haunt (S$1.99)

Zombies, Ghosts, Mummies; oh my! Halloween Haunt is a 5 Reel Slot Machine that features up to 15 credits per line (up to 9 lines) – Changeable credit values ranging from 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢. Once the ‘High Roller Gauge’ is completely filled, you will gain access to even higher credit values; 50¢, $1, and $5. Slot machine symbols include ‘WILD’ and ‘SPIN & WIN’ symbols, which trigger the FREE SPIN feature. Earn your way to 50 trophies, purchase the 10 items in the gift shop, and work your way up to piles of cash like candy on Halloween!
Halloween Sounds (US$0.99)
PlayBook only

Halloween Sounds (US$0.99)

Wanna scare theguy in the next cube out of his wits? Look no further! With Halloween Sounds you can play endless pranks on friends and enemies alike. 15 spooky sounds and Spooky Soundtrack which plays a creepy soundtrack and adds scary sounds on top of it. The perfect soundtrack for handing out treats, or great mood music for a costume party.

Access Microsoft Office 365 from a BlackBerry smartphone

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

Research In Motion (RIM) and Microsoft have announced BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365. An open beta for the service has been launched in more than 30 countries.

“BlackBerry Business Cloud Services is an easy and cost-effective way for businesses and government agencies to extend Microsoft Office 365 to BlackBerry smartphones and manage the deployment in the cloud,” said Alan Panezic, Vice President at Research In Motion.The new RIM-hosted online service is targeted at midsized businesses and enterprises – extending Microsoft Exchange Online to BlackBerry smartphones, and allowing organizations to self-manage their BlackBerry deployments in the cloud.

The service mobilizes Microsoft Office 365 Exchange Online via RIM-hosted BlackBerry Management Service. It features advanced Web-based IT and employee self-service smartphone management and security functions

Key features include:

  • Access to Microsoft Exchange Online email, calendar and organizer data from a BlackBerry smartphone.
  • BlackBerry Balance technology, which presents a unified view of work and personal content on a BlackBerry smartphone while keeping the content separate and secure.
  • A web-based console for IT administrators to provision, manage and secure BlackBerry smartphones from anywhere.
  • Online access to employee self-service smartphone security functions, allowing users to reset a device password or remotely lock or wipe a device in the event of loss or theft.

Managed service providers, systems integrators, carriers, resellers and other partners can also use the cloud service to manage BlackBerry deployments on behalf of their customers.

BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365

BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365

A number of Fortune 500 customers and several government agencies in the US participated in an early access program and are among the many organizations that already plan to use the service.

Microsoft Office 365 customers can sign up for the BlackBerry Business Cloud Services beta here. The cloud-based service is available for no additional charge to Microsoft Office 365 Midsized Businesses and Enterprises plan subscribers and works with BlackBerry smartphones on business or consumer data plans.

BlackBerry smartphones first in the world to be certified for MasterCard PayPass

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 are the world’s first SIM-based smartphones to receive the MasterCard PayPass Handset Certification.

Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tabletThe two smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) are the first SIM-based NFC (Near Field Communication) smartphones to be certified by MasterCard Worldwide as PayPass-approved devices.

The certification was granted on the basis of the BlackBerry smartphones meeting the functionality, interoperability MasterCard PayPassand security requirements of MasterCard. With this certification, any MasterCard PayPass-issuing bank globally will be able to deploy MasterCard PayPass-enabled accounts to the SIM card of these smartphones.

“MasterCard is proud to be the first to certify these popular BlackBerry smartphones for mobile payments, and offer consumers another simple, easy, safe and convenient way to pay,” said Mung Ki Woo, Group Executive, Mobile at MasterCard Worldwide. “The availability of NFC on popular BlackBerry smartphones is an important milestone for the mobile contactless payments business.”The ecosystem to allow customers to take advantage of the certified BlackBerry smartphones for NFC payments is already growing. France Telecom – Orange is the first operator worldwide to have commercial NFC launches in two countries, UK and France, with trials in several European markets.

France Telecom – Orange believes that mobile NFC has the potential to enable a new revolution in mobile by further connecting people’s mobile digital world with the physical world around them.

In Singapore, I don’t think citizens probably will see NFC payments in place until at least middle of 2012 and beyond.

New BlackBerry Curve 9360 arrives in Singapore

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Unveiled some two months ago, the Curve 9360 has now been launched in Singapore. The sleek, fast and easy-to-use smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM) promises to deliver smooth social experiences wherever you go.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 was first unveiled in late August 2011.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 was first unveiled in late August 2011.

The BlackBerry 9360 features the new BlackBerry 7 operating system and is now available in Singapore from authorised BlackBerry partners and carriers. The main specs can be found here.

The new BlackBerry Curve smartphone retains the iconic QWERTY keyboard and an optical trackpad for easy, one-handed navigation. GPS and Wi-Fi support are also included, as well as a 5MP camera with flash and video recording that can be shared instantly on social networks. The microSD/SDHC slot supports up to 32 GB memory cards for additional media storage.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 smartphone features an upgraded processor and display, more memory, and built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communication) – a new technology that enables the ability to pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 focuses on providing a smooth social experience.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 focuses on providing a smooth social experience.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 promises to provide the world’s “best mobile communications and social experiences” with a highly refined and integrated suite of phone, email, messaging and social apps to keep users connected and productive throughout the day.

The latest release of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) is pre-loaded, and users can interact with other ‘BBM connected’ apps. The social experience includes an updated Social Feeds (2.0) app, Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones (2.0) app, and Twitter for BlackBerry.

Quick summary of IT company results

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

It’s been a busy few days of earnings results from IT bigwigs. Here’s a quick sum-up of the state of the IT industry:

Brisk days of results from Apple, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, RIM BlackBerry, Amazon, and IBMYahoo! did well with profits beating estimates – could it be because expectations were low?

Conversely, Apple didn’t do so good, missing analysts’ predictions for the first time in at least six years – but that’s probably because expectations were so high!

Google’s doing real well with sales and profit beating estimates – from search advertising growth as usual.

Microsoft is patting itself on its back – for not having bought Yahoo! back in 2008. And taking a swipe at Google’s Android – Steve Balmer says you need to be a computer scientist to use an Android smart phone, unlike Windows Phone 7.

RIM’s still trying to find its way forward by taking a step backward – trying to bridge new QNX with “old” BlackBerry OS 7 – hope that works out.

Amazon is being sued for screwing up the career of an actress by revealing her real age against her will in IMDb.

On the corporate IT front, industry bell weather IBM missed analysts’ estimates on slowing revenue growth at its software, hardware and services businesses.

RIM unveils BlackBerry BBX

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

At BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011, RIM unveiled BlackBerry BBX – the next generation mobile platform that takes the best of the BlackBerry platform for its smartphones and the best of the QNX platform that it uses for its PlayBook tablets.

“With nearly 5 million BlackBerry apps downloaded daily, our customers have made BlackBerry one of the most profitable platforms for developers,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at RIM.The BBX platform will include BBX-OS, and will support BlackBerry cloud services and development environments for both HTML5 and native developers.

BBX will also support applications developed using any of the tools available today for the BlackBerry PlayBook – including Native SDK, Adobe AIR/Flash and WebWorks/HTML5, as well as the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps – on future BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

Research In Motion (RIM) believes the new BBX will connect people, devices, content and services.

RIM freebies to recompense service disruptions

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Research In Motion (RIM) is making moves to recompense widespread service disruptions last week. Premium apps will be offered free of charge to BlackBerry customers, while enterprise customers will be offered one month of free Technical Support.

Gesture from RIM to sooth ruffled customers.Last week, many BlackBerry users experienced service interruptions and delays over a period of approximately 3 days in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, 1.5 days in Latin America and Canada, and 1 day in the United States.

Global teams worked around the clock to contain the issue and minimize the impact to customers as much as possible. Service levels returned to normal on Thursday, October 13.

To make amends for the disruptions, RIM has offered – for free – more than US$100 worth of premium apps from October 19 to December 31, 2011.

RIM’s enterprise customers will also be offered one month of free Technical Support. Current customers will be offered a complimentary one month extension of their existing Technical Support contract.

Customers who do not currently have a Technical Support contract will be offered a one month trial of RIM’s BlackBerry Technical Support Services – Enhanced Support, free of charge.

Additional details about the program and information about how to register will be available here.

Free Premium Apps from BlackBerry App World

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Research In Motion (RIM) announced today that more than US$100 worth of selected premium apps will be offered free of charge to BlackBerry customers, in view of service disruptions last week.

Game Publisher
SIMS 3 Electronic Arts
Bejeweled Electronic Arts
N.O.V.A. Gameloft
Texas Hold’em Poker 2 Gameloft
Bubble Bash 2 Gameloft
Photo Editor Ultimate Ice Cold Apps
iSpeech Translator Pro iSpeech.org
DriveSafe.ly Pro iSpeech.org
Drive Safe.ly Enterprise iSpeech.org
Nobex Radio Premium Nobex
Shazam Encore Shazam
Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant Vlingo

The apps will be available from October 19 to December 31, 2011.

The complete selection of premium apps will become available for download at BlackBerry App World over a period of four weeks beginning Wednesday, October 19th.

The selections over this period will include the following (with more to come):

Formula One apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphones

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

The Formula 1 comes to Singapore this weekend. Check out the F1 apps for the BlackBerry tablet or smartphones – both free on BlackBerry App World.

Formula One in Singapore from 23 to 25 September 2011.

Formula1.com 2011 app for BlackBerry smartphones.

Formula1.com 2011 app for BlackBerry smartphones.

For BlackBerry smartphone users (device software 4.2.0 or higher), check out the Formula1.com 2011 app from the organisers of Formula 1 itself. Users can access information such as race results, championship standings, timetables, calendars, circuit data etc.

The app streams real-time data directly from Formula One Management’s Technical Centre at the racetrack displaying the same information supplied to the teams from every session, putting you right at the heart of the action. The app also sends you push notifications and keeps you updated even when the app is closed.

Maxis F1 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook

Maxis F1 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook

For BlackBerry PlayBook users, check out the Maxis F1 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook app from Infindo Technology. Users can get detailed information for all the races with exclusive live commentary, top stories, results, schedule, standings, drivers/teams/circuit info etc.

Both apps are free and valid for the entire 2011 F1 season.

Two new BlackBerry 7 Torches arriving in Singapore

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

The new BlackBerry Torch 9810 and 9860 will hit the shelves in Singapore next week on 22 September 2011. Pre-orders for both BlackBerry 7 OS based smartphones can be placed with SingTel from today.

Pre-order the BlackBerry Torch 9810 or 9860 online from today.

Pre-order the BlackBerry Torch 9810 or 9860 online from today.

The two new Torches were first introduced by Research In Motion (RIM) in early-August and unveiled in Singapore in mid-August together with the Bold 9900.

BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone from RIM

BlackBerry Torch 9860

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone offers fast and fluid performance in a stylish new all-touch design.

With a new 3.7” display – the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone – the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone is optimized for high-quality multimedia, web browsing and gaming; whilst offering the real-time communication and collaboration lauded by BlackBerry fans.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone form RIM

BlackBerry Torch 9810

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is an evolution of the BlackBerry Torch 9800. The new model is faster and more fluid with high performance hardware features while the new BlackBerry 7 OS delivers an enhanced multimedia experience.

Featuring a large 3.2”, high-resolution touch display and a distinctive BlackBerry keyboard that easily slides out to allow fast typing, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 offers the best of both worlds.