blackberry

Pink and red BlackBerry Pearl 8130s spotted

Catching Verizon Wireless and Sprint off-guard, Research in Motion showed off some upcoming colored models of the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for the respective carriers at CES 2008. The red version will go to Verizon, joining the silver Pearl 8130, while the powder-pink model will land at Sprint along with the purple Pearl. No specific release dates were given, but I'd guess the launch dates aren't too far away--February at the latest.

Find It! for BlackBerry tells you where to go

Google and Microsoft haven't quite cornered the market on mobile search and directions apps, at least not yet. Infospace Find It!, built with the BlackBerry in mind, gives users multiple entry points to search businesses, people, and directions while squeezing in features not yet stocked by competitors.

To satisfy variant search methods, Find It! sorts searches by name, by category, and by maps and directions. When choosing to search by name, you can look up a business or person in or near a location. This wasn't always successful during my tests, nor was the reverse phone number lookup, a feature unique to Find It! among its better-known and more prosperous rivals. However, when Find It! did strike gold, it didn't skimp in doling it out. Upon locating an individual or business, users can click-to-call, view a map, get directions, save the entry to the address book, and see what else is nearby.

I should mention that both Microsoft's Windows Live Search for Windows Mobile and Google Maps for Mobile had their fair share of data holes--one didn't even register CNET after a search, the brute--so Find It!'s defaults are common to still-youthful mobile search.… Read more

SlingPlayer for BlackBerry coming in 2008

It's been hinted at for months, but Sling Media has finally officially confirmed that a BlackBerry version of the company's SlingPlayer software is on deck. The software--which allows live TV to be streamed from any Slingbox model--is designed for broadband-enabled (3G wireless or Wi-Fi) BlackBerry smartphones. The software will cost the same one-time $30 fee as the similar versions already available for Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian phones. Sling will be demoing an early version of the software on the Pearl 8120 at CES next week, and the company hopes to have it ready for public release by … Read more

Modern vacation: Fully wired, totally ruined

Weekend getaways and romantic dinners used to be sweet escapes from the daily grind. Nowadays, R&R is often interrupted by a buzzing Blackberry or the ding of an instant message on the wireless laptop.

Yes, staying connected is simple for employees. So is getting burned out.

Read the full story on LiveScience: "The modern vacation: Fully wired, totally ruined"

iPhone vs. BlackBerry

RIM's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone are already battling for your thumbs and ears, but the competition should escalate even further in 2008, according to analysts. Blackberry, the leader of the corporate pack, will be inching toward consumer markets while the people's choice, iPhone, is looking to cure addicts from their "crackberry" dependency. Will there be a winner in the battle of smartphones versus conventional handsets?

Read the full story on BusinessWeek: The Coming Apple-RIM Battle.

RIM seeks patent for angled BlackBerry keyboard

Just when you've gotten to the point where you can type on your BlackBerry upside down in the dark, they're thinking about changing the keyboard.

A patent application filed on behalf of Research in Motion was recently revealed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and it describes an "angular keyboard" where the keys are set at a 45-degree angle to the base of the unit.

Anybody who has spent hours dashing off e-mails on a BlackBerry would have to learn a whole method of text input, but the payoff might be felt in the … Read more

Six months: iPhone vs. Blackberry Pearl

I've been living a dual mobile life with both an iPhone and a Blackberry Pearl for almost six months now, and I thought that before we before we get overwhelmed with new gadgets rolled out at CES and Macworld, I would check back in on my developing relationship with the iPhone. I appreciate its charms much more after working with it for a while, and I have found an important new use for it, but it is significant that I have not come close to setting aside my Blackberry yet.

After the jump, you'll find my side-by-side comparison, written from a busy working Mom's perspective:… Read more

Put a keyboard in your pocket, $29.99 shipped

Smartphone keyboards are fine for composing short e-mails and maybe tweaking the occasional Word document. But if you want to get any serious work done on your device, fuhgeddaboudit. Your thumbs don't deserve that kind of punishment. Instead, reach for the iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard, which serves up a full-size set of QWERTY keys and then folds up slim enough to slip into your pocket.

The Stowaway normally lists for $149.99 (ouch!), but Amazon has it on sale for just $29.99--which qualifies it for the store's free Super Saver Shipping. Just make sure you … Read more

Google Sync for BlackBerry arrives

As if we hadn't all already given up trying to extricate Google from our brains, the company came out Wednesday with sync for Google calendar and your BlackBerry.

It also supports Google Apps for your Domain.

If Google Sync for BlackBerry doesn't kill MS Exchange, I don't know what will. And really, Exchange should be dead already.

You probably need this BlackBerry Calendar Patch to make everything go right.