Pandora Radio is your own FREE personalized radio now available to stream music on your BlackBerry. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a “station” that plays their music and more music like it.
Already a Pandora user? Even easier. Just sign in. Pandora on BlackBerry is fully integrated with Pandora on the web. Enjoy all your existing stations – and create new ones right from your BlackBerry.
Popularity: 49% [?]
At first, this didn’t seem like the most natural fit (BlackBerry users tend to be businesspeople, not Facebook’s primary audience), but the application is pretty awesome for all BlackBerry-wielding Facebook users out there.
Facebook for BlackBerry has really tight integration with the BlackBerry operating system, so many of the features “fit right in” with the rest of the device. For example, when you get a new notification sent to your BlackBerry (which is customizable) you get a notification icon on the top of the BlackBerry home screen, just like the current new voicemail or new message icons. It shows a little “F” when you have a new message. Great stuff.
You can even upload photos from the BlackBerry device’s memory straight to Facebook.
From BlackBerry’s site:
Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones
Hooked on Facebook®? Now you can take Facebook with you on your BlackBerry® smartphone wherever you go and stayed logged in as long as you want. Download this free application today and take connecting with your friends to a whole new level.
With Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, you have wireless access to:
- Home screen notifications — so you know right away when you have a new Facebook event like a wall post, message or poke
- The full text of new messages or wall posts, new photo tags and friend requests. Plus send your own messages, wall posts, pokes and friend requests
- Your Facebook status and the Facebook status of your friends — change yours from the road!
- All of your Facebook contacts
- Photo-sharing — simply snap a picture with your BlackBerry smartphone’s camera*, then post it to Facebook with one click. Even tag friends in photos
- The Facebook environment you’re already familiar with, optimized for your BlackBerry smartphone
Popularity: 88% [?]
I think people are now starting to not only take notice of mobile web browsers, but actually demand more from them. This may be partly due to the iPhone and its commercials talking about “not just the mobile internet, but the actual internet.”
The new version of Opera Mini 4 does not disappoint. This free over-the-air download adds many of the favorite features of the iPhone browser to the BlackBerry.
Now, you can take advantage of enhanced small screen rendering, a Virtual Mouse, and download/page loading speeds of up to 3 times faster than the built in browser.
From OperaMini.com:
Mini technology
Opera’s mobile software uses a remote server to pre-process web pages before sending them to your phone. Web content is compressed to reduce the size of data transfers, enabling fast browsing experience at low costs even on simpler phones.
More features from OperaMini.com after the break.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Sorry for the older BlackBerry 7290 image, but it was what Google provided. Also, this is now part of the Google Apps for BlackBerry/Google Mobile Updater.
Google Talk is pretty awesome. The integration level between the BlackBerry itself and the application is superb. It works much like BlackBerry Messenger, but even better!
From Google:
Google Talk for BlackBerry devices
Get Google Talk on your BlackBerry and chat with your friends on the go for free. You can even keep emailing and playing BrickBreaker while you chat.
Part of the Google Apps for BlackBerry
Popularity: 67% [?]
I love GMail. It is powerful, easy to use, and just works. This is pretty much the same thing with the free GMail application for BlackBerry. Once installed, you just log in with your Google Account or GMail address. It will sync everything with your GMail account.
Be sure to check out how much fun the guy whose account is pictured to the left is having. Suprise parties, sushi, BBQs and trips to Hawaii. See, if you use GMail, your life will be better!
From Google:
New! Our new Gmail version is even faster and uses less data than before. You can also now sync your phone’s mail client inbox with IMAP.
Read and reply to emails – fast — Get your Gmail messages anytime, anywhere. Once installed on your mobile device, Gmail is only a click or two away. Your messages open nearly instantaneously.
View attachments — Open attachments you receive in messages, including photos, Microsoft Word™ documents, and PDF files.
Part of the Google Apps for BlackBerry Suite
Popularity: 82% [?]
This is what I have been waiting for since I got my first BlackBerry — the ability to sync your calendar remotely. I realize that this feature has been around for many corporate users with the BlackBerry Exchange Server, but for us lowly BIS users, the view has been much more bleak. Prior to this addition from Google, I would sync my BlackBerry calendar with my Apple iCal, and then have to set up iCal to sync with Google Calendar. This was a not the most glamourous way to keep my appointments in order, for sure.
Google Sync actually couldn’t work better. You download the program as part of the Google Apps for Blackberry package and tell it how often to sync. It will automatically sync your BlackBerry calendar with your Google Calendar (which has wonderful RSS capabilities to keep your desktop calendars up to date.)
One might imagine that the future for this program could hold wireless syncing between your BlackBerry contacts and GMail.
From Google:
Get calendar alerts – Using your BlackBerry® smartphone’s native calendar, you can now access your Google calendar even when you don’t have network coverage and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration.
Always in sync – Your Google Calendar stays synchronized whether you access it from your computer or your phone. You can add or edit entries right on your BlackBerry® smartphone or on your Google Calendar on the web.
Once installed, simply click on the Google Sync icon (which looks like this):
Then, sign in to your Google Account or your Google Apps account, and that’s it. The Calendar application on your BlackBerry will always be synchronized with your Google Calendar. You can even edit events or create new ones on the handheld.
Popularity: 55% [?]
This is the one program that I use on my BlackBerry 8800 most often (which is several times a day.) This is pretty much a full version of Google Maps scaled down to your BlackBerry. The best part is that it uses your integrated GPS receiver if you have one, making this an incredibly powerful tool. Because of Google Maps for BlackBerry, I do not currently have a GPS in my car. I can find where I am going just with this app.
This would be one of my “must have applications.”
From Google:
GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a feature on many mobile devices and peripherals. Google Maps for mobile combined with GPS provides a faster, easier way to access local information when you’re on the go. The BlackBerry® 8800 smartphone from Cingular™ is one of several new open GPS experiences with Google Maps (check out some of the others by clicking the
arrows on the right). Here’s why we’re so worked up about GPS:
Where am I?
New! Google Maps with My Location. Learn more.Where’s the nearest…
Cup of coffee, late night pizza or last-minute bouquet?Is there traffic up ahead?
See it so you can avoid it.How do I get there from where I am?
Type your destination and away you go.Starting today, we have an answer: Google Maps for mobile with My Location . My Location is a new beta technology from Google that uses cell tower identification to provide you with approximate location information, so it will work on phones without GPS. Simply fire up Google Maps for mobile, press [0], and the map will indicate your approximate location by centering on a blue circle like this:
If you do have a GPS-enabled device, My Location can actually complement it. My Location kicks in faster than GPS in most cases, so you can access your location even faster on the map. It also works reliably indoors (unlike GPS) and doesn’t drain your phone battery at the rate that GPS does.
Popularity: 29% [?]
The first in a series of applications from Google to feed my BlackBerry/Google addictions — Google Mobile Search. This puts a Google Search icon on your BlackBerry that is the fastest way to search Google. Rather than have to wait for the Google homepage to load, this directly submits your search to Google.
From Google:
In under a second, you can start entering your query without waiting to load the Google home page. This saves you valuable time when you are trying to find the address of a nearby restaurant or the latest price of your favorite stock.
Get the answer you’re looking for – fast. Anything from flight updates and sports results, images and weather reports to web and mobile web pages is just a click away. We’ll also make sure that pages are formatted appropriately for your mobile device’s screensize.
Local listings at your fingertips. Search and locate everything from restaurants to a local dry cleaner. Google will suggest businesses in your area and remember where you are. So the next time you search, you’ll get to the listings you’re looking for faster and easier.
Personalize your search homepage with just a click. Check weather updates, stock quotes, add other website feeds and keep tabs on the information most important to you while on the go.
Part of the Google Apps for BlackBerry Suite
Popularity: 20% [?]
This is probably the best mobile application suite from one of the best companies around — Google. If you are like the rest of the Google-using world, you probably want access to your GMail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, etc. Now you can have it.
Perhaps the best part is the Google Sync, which automatically syncs your BlackBerry device with Google Calendar. All of this is done with a new Google Mobile Updater, which automatically checks for and downloads updates and new applications. Check out mobile.google.com.
We will be taking a look at each Google product for BlackBerry individually in upcoming posts.
Popularity: 56% [?]
Blackberry Messenger is a PIN-based instant messenger program that sends a message to other Blackberry users through their PIN number. It is based on the popular instant messenger format, and is very easy to use. It is indeed a great tool, especially if many people you work with have a Blackberry also.
One nice feature is the ability to chat as a closed group, such as a team at work. You can simply create a group list, and chat away.
In testing, the messages go through fairly quickly, and will alert you via a vibration when you receive a new message.
One note: you must have Internet Explorer 5.0+ to visit the website on a desktop. Otherwise, you can download it over-the-air (using Blackberry Browser).
Desktop Link
Blackberry OTA Link
Popularity: 8% [?]
Use the form below to search the site:
Still not finding what you're looking for? Drop a comment on a post or contact us so we can take care of it!
All entries, chronologically...
