blackberry

Alltel gets its own RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330

It seems everyone wants a piece of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 as the popular smartphone is making the rounds with the carriers. First, with Verizon Wireless and Sprint at CTIA 2008, and now, Alltel. Available for preorder today online (ships May 1), the Alltel BlackBerry Curve features integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, a 2-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will also support several of the carrier's add-on services, including Alltel Navigation, Alltel Axcess Voice2TXT service, and its "My Circle" plan. Pricing for the BlackBerry Curve 8330 starts at $229.99 … Read more

Tech firms rule Top 100 brand list

Google still rules Millward Brown Optimor's annual BrandZ top 100 list, which annoints the world's most powerful brands based on financial performance and a global consumer-opinion survey.

Technology-related companies did especially well, taking more than one-third of the top 30 spots.

No. 7 Apple was a big mover, increasing its brand value by 123 percent, and BlackBerry (from Research In Motion) increased 390 percent, positioned at No. 51. The staid IBM's brand value increased 65 percent, and Amazon.com, at No. 61, was up 93 percent.

On the downside, No. 62 Yahoo took a 13 percent brand … Read more

Your cell phone: More than a jukebox

Got a few minutes to kill? Sure, you could flip through your tunes, but when the same songs get old, and when you tire of your headphones winding from your ears like some extraterrestrial umbilical cord, check out the worlds of communication, learning, and game-playing applications to discover beyond the beats. Or, dare we say, while listening to them. Check out your burgeoning options for cell phone entertainment in the slide show.

Fring--VoIP, Skype, IM and more on your iPhone (Verdict: very cool so far)

Never one to shy away from bleeding edge technology, my co-worker Dan Diephouse (of open source web services frameworks Xfire and CXF fame) is running Fring on his iPhone and we both agree that it's pretty fringing cool.

I was able to dial Dan on Skype and he was able to call me via Skype all on our corporate wifi. He was also able to use his VZW laptop card to connect to the iPhone. Very cool and extremely useful when traveling abroad or generally on the road.

ZDnet has video demos and Fring themselves have a demo video … Read more

First Look: Facebook for BlackBerry

You won't be able to turn people into zombies with Facebook for BlackBerry (quick link), but you will be able to perform the essential Facebook maneuvers to keep up with your friends. Since launching in late October 2007, the wildly popular app has topped 1,000,000 downloads. With intuitive actions and a familiar look and feel that mimics the online site, it's easily a must-have BlackBerry app.

Be forewarned that the application doesn't scrimp on profile photos, so data transfers can sometimes limp along. Have patience. Also, since Facebook for BlackBerry's functionality is currently limited … Read more

CellSpin posts multimedia tidbits online

Note: Article updated on 4/15/08 to correctly note where posts default.

CellSpin is the easiest multimedia blogging platform for smartphones I've seen to date. Similar to Utterz and Trutap, CellSpin lets people post photos, videos, text, and audio clips to various online profiles--in CellSpin's case, Picasa Web photos, Flickr, LiveJournal, Blogger, eBay, YouTube, and Windows Live Spaces. Of course, you can't post text to YouTube or video to Facebook, but CellSpin keeps it clear in a convenient chart.

Posting is fairly simple from the downloadable app. You click one of four large icons corresponding to … Read more

Photos: Smartphones at CTIA 2008

It's a wrap! CTIA 2008 has come and gone and the show produced quite a number of smartphone announcements. Research in Motion unleashed a fleet of new BlackBerrys; Microsoft unveiled its latest mobile operating system; and we even saw a new entrant into the field. There was plenty more action, so take a look at all the new smartphones in this photo gallery.

Buzz Out Loud 696: So Say We All

Happy frakkin' Friday! BSG is back, we're recording in a studio other than our own, and Madonna sleeps with her BlackBerry. Ew. Also today, Craig cracks down on a Craigslist blog and a U.K. Internet service provider fights back against the filtering machine. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 696

Craigslist to fan blog: We want your domain, please http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9911446-36.html

Finally: Craigslist launches a blog of their own http://www.craigslistblog.org/2008/04/03/ finally-craigslist-launches-a-blog-of-their-own/

Study: More couch potatoes parked in front of PC to watch TV http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080404-study-more-couch-potatoes-parked-in-front-of-pc-to-watch-tv.html… Read more

FreeMobile411 launches on 4/11. Ha.

There's no real killer app yet for retrieving listings information on your mobile phone, but there could be soon.

On Aptil 11, FreeMobile411 launches the consumer version of its carrier-offered services. Visting FreeMobile411.com from your mobile browser gets you a decent-looking ad-supported WAP site that simplifies directory search and helps you avoid long waits while listening to ads from dial-in services like 1-800-FREE-411.

Enter the search term--it can be a business name ("Blockbuster"), business type ("video store"), or person ("Bill Blockbuster"). Then select the search type, and fill in either the city … Read more