Blackberry Unlocked

As some of you may very well know, Windows 7 Beta has been available for a while now and with that availability comes adoration of the new Windows 7 eye candy… it looks good! For the techies and Windows-lovers in the crowd, thanks to Hedone Design you can now replicate the Windows 7 look on your BlackBerry. Hedone let us know about his new Windows 7 Replica theme, Se7en, that even includes a lot of extra not so obvious goodies in it.

Se7en of course, has a nice clean feel to it, with crisp icons that really stand out. The overall flow of the theme is great, right down to the pop up windows that have that awesome Windows 7 look to theme. But venture around the theme a bit more and you realize it's full of hidden tricks. The lower right hand corner, Battery, Signal and Profiles icons all function as buttons allowing acess to such things as Manage Connections, Options and of course Profiles. A nice innovation to make buttons out of what otherwise would be just basic information! With the option of today screen integration, hidden features and even an expansion pack being made available, this theme is a must have to add to your collection. Never mind using it, you'll have even have fun with this one just exploring it's options. Se7en is available for 8100, 8300, 8800 & 9000 (there are different versions so check out the links here and here for full details)

• Get the Se7en Theme for your BlackBerry >>
• Browse All Themes From Hedone Design >>

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. New: Premium Hedone Design "Se7en" Theme

Here's another case of something that really should be a core function of the native BlackBerry OS but is not. Buzz Me was recently announced in the CrackBerry forums  and its main function when installed is to make your device vibrate and ring at the same time. Simple logic and something that a lot of BlackBerry users have the urge to do, making it a great little app to add to your downloads. Buzz Me currently supports BlackBerry's sporting 4.5+ OS and a Storm (4.7 OS) version is also available (great example of the developer community at work). For those wondering on the cost of this application… it's FREE! This application is indeed free too download and that's a price no one can refuse. Thanks delta_foxtrot2!

• Learn More about Buzz Me in the CrackBerry Forums >>
• Download (On Device) from your 4.7+ Device Browser >> 
• Download (On Device) from your 4.5+ Device Browser >>
  

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Buzz Me – Have Your Berry Vibrate & Ring At The Same Time!

Need a fun, addicting and FREE game to play on your BlackBerry Bold this weekend? Then you'll want to check out BBTetris! BlackBerry Addict Papped optimized the game for the Bold but it may work on other trackball models as well (install at own risk). You can check these comments over at BerryReview to see how users on other devices have faired.

I installed it on my Bold just now and it's totally addicting! Game play is easy – click the trackball to rotate pieces and scroll to move it around. Just don't judge my Tetris skills by the image above… I wasn't paying attention to the game while grabbing the capture. Trust me. I've got mad Tetris skillz

If you give it a go, be sure to drop your comments to this post. You can download the game over the air by visiting the link below on your Bold's browser:

• http://papped-themes.100webspace.net/Tetris/BBTetris.jar

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. FREE: BBTetris for the BlackBerry Bold

With many Storm owners being new to BlackBerry, the folks at Made Simple Learning have released their latest book, BlackBerry Storm Made Simple, which at 397 pages is full of useful information to help both beginner and advanced BlackBerry users get the most out of their touch screen Storm.
The book is currently available in e-book format, with the print edition soon to be available from Amazon.com. It sells for $20.99. Some of the BlackBerry Storm Made Simple highlights include:

• Dozens of hidden or little-known time-saving tips and tricks.
• Learning all the ins and outs of the new Touch Screen Interface
• Synchronizing your BlackBerry with your Windows or Mac computer.
• How to squeeze every ounce of power from the Address Book, Calendar, Tasks and MemoPad.
• How to become "Master of Your BlackBerry Email"
• How to use Google Sync for true "Wireless Sync" without an Enterprise Server
• Support for both BlackBerry Internet Service and Corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server users.
• Tips and tricks to unlock the rich Media Features of the BlackBerry Storm.
• How turn your Storm into something that could replace a video and audio "iPod(tm)"
• How to use your Storm for Mapping (including Google Maps.)
• Learn how to go Online as well as update your Facebook and Myspace pages right from your BlackBerry

Since the launch of the BlackBerry Storm our CrackBerry Forums have been insanely busy, with Storm owners looking to rave, rant, hunt down updated OS's and apps, share their experiences tips and tricks and get help with their device. The knowledge base in our Storm forums (provided by our awesome members!) is HUGE, but if you fall into the "looking for help" category and want an offline learning experience that you can walk through at your own pace, you'll want to check this book out. So you can browse before you buy, Made Simple Learning has made available a sample .pdf that gives you a peek of what you can inspect to find inside.

• More Information at Made Simple Learning >>
• View Book Sample Pages >>
  
• Purchase E-Book from ShopCrackBerry.com >>

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. New E-Book: BlackBerry Storm Made Simple

A new site made its official Here we are World announcement today, and this one is geared towards the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) and those who are responsible for keeping the BlackBerrys running within businesses and organizations. You can read the announcement for Port3101.org after the jump.

read more

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Introducing Port3101.org : Your BES Connection

I was out and about for a few hours Thursday evening only to find my BlackBerry buzzing constantly with excited emails from Storm Viigo users letting me know that the latest version of Viigo (Tango 8 – build 3.0.856) has been released. This is the version we brought word of back from CES. Sure enough, Viigo sent out an email with the details…

It has arrived! The Viigo Beta for the Storm watch is over. With this download, you can now benefit from the excellent feedback we've collected from tens of thousands of people who have previewed our Alpha version of Viigo on the Storm. We've worked hard to improve the overall Storm experience (performance, usability, etc.), and we've also added some exciting new features including a new Shopping service, the ability to tweet articles with a single click, and the capability to build and track your own portfolios in Stocks & Finance. 

I haven't had much of a chance to play with it just yet (just installed and am gonna Viigo myself to sleep!) but you can read more details on the improvements in this version after the jump. Hopefully this means this latest version will be pushed out for all BlackBerry devices soon. 

To Upgrade or Install for the First Time:

• Uninstall any previous version of Viigo!
  
• Visit CrackBerryViigo.com on your Storm's browser to download>>

read more

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Updated: Viigo Tango 8 for the BlackBerry Storm Released!

Been thinking about a new BlackBerry? Can't decided between the BlackBerry Bold, Storm or Curve 8900? If so, check out the video above. Zara of MobileChic let us know about the quick video overview and comparison she put together. In only two minutes she does a pretty solid job of summing up some of the pros and cons to each device. Whaddya think? Did she nail it? Missing any points? Drop your thoughts and reactions in the comments. You can catch more of Zara's mobile reviews on YouTube.

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Video: The BlackBerry Storm, Bold and Curve 8900 Compared

Hope everyone out there had a great January. Personally, I can't wait till spring. The countdown is officially on for me. Come March temperatures start to get a little more reasonable around here Covered this week in my Software Roundup are the following titles:

New BlackBerry Software: PictureDial for the BlackBerry Storm, TalkLater, EveryHour, Ring With Vibe, Stock Manager, BeamReader

Updated BlackBerry Software: Where2Eat?, Ring and Vibrate

Free BlackBerry Software: doubleTwist desktop, QuickPull, US Time Zones Screensaver

Cool Stuff: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Deliver Mobile Site in 6 New Languages

New BlackBerry Software

PictureDial for the BlackBerry Storm

Dial your contacts, even send SMS/PIN messages, emails… or even browse websites all using picture ID's! That's right, with PictureDial for the Storm you can take a picture, or use any gif, png or jpg image to dial your contacts and more. You can assign PictureDial to the left or right convenience button for quick and easy access. PictureDial supports both the Storm 9500 and 9530.

Pick up Picture Dial for the Storm for $5.95 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

TalkLater

Covered this one last week, but I wanted to touch on it again for anyone that might have missed it. TalkLater is a handy new tool that lets you set callback reminders within your address book or call log. You can set it to remind you at set intervals who to call, and when to call them. Notifications can be set to pop-up, vibration and ringtone. All are selectable by you. With TalkLater you'll never forget to make an important phone call again.

Get TalkLater for $7.99 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

EveryHour

EveryHour is a simple time notification app. Get alerted by a predefined sound (or select your own) every hour and/or every half hour. There are single and multi sound notification types… A simple app for sure, but one that could certainly come in handy. All you need is OS 4.2.1 or newer to run EveryHour.

Try EveryHour for $4.95 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

Ring With Vibe

Ring With Vibe lets you customize how you hear a ringtone. Leave your phone in silent or vibrate mode and customize when and how you want to be notified of incoming calls. Never miss a call again! Set the app to 'ring always' and your device will vibrate and ring. There are also 'ring while charging' and 'ring when out of holster' settings you can try out. OS 4.2 or newer is needed to run this one.

Get Ring With Vibe for $2.95 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

Stock Manager

If you're in the crazy markets these days, you might want to give this app a look. Stock Manager lets you check stock and index status, plus view the latest news from the markets. It's very simple and easy to use, and features support for all markets. The stock quotes come direct from Yahoo! Finance's website. Cool for checking stocks while you're on the run.

Pick up Stock Manager for $4.95 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

BeamReader

BeamReader is the first full fidelity PDF reader for your Berry! View PDF attachments and documents stored on your memory card without any quality loss. All original fonts, images and formatting is preserved, and the files will look exactly as they do on your PC. Rendering of documents is local to your Berry, so there's no need to worry about racking up any data charges. In addition to its PDF viewing abilities, BeamReader is also a fully featured file manager. You gotta check it out to see for yourself!

To get BeamReader for $19.99 at ShopCrackBerry.com. Simply select your OS below:

• BeamReader for OS 4.7 >
  
• BeamReader for OS 4.6 >
  
• BeamReader for OS 4.5 >
  
• BeamReader for OS 4.3 >
  
• BeamReader for OS 4.2 >
  

Updated BlackBerry Software

Where2Eat?

Need help finding a place to eat? Tired of the same old restaurants time and again? With Where2Eat? you can get lists of restaurants nearest you. The app only shows 3 restaurants at a time to help you make a decision quickly. Once you find a restaurant you're interested in, simply select it to see all of the pertinent data including phone number, address, type of food, etc… Handy stuff.

Pick up Where2Eat? for $9.99 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

A version of Where2Eat? is available for the Storm as well.

Ring and Vibrate

To go along with the Ring With Vibe covered in the new software section this week, Ring and Vibrate is a small app that lets your Berry let out a ringtone and vibration alert at the same time. With it, you can also set your own vibration pattern (cool). Set the interval between each vibration, the duration of each vibration, and the pattern of the vibrations (wanted to see how many times I could work in 'vibration'). Also included in the app is a feature which will auto-lock your device after a call ends. Buy it and receive free upgrades for future versions!

Get Ring and Vibrate for $8.00 at ShopCrackBerry.com >

Free BlackBerry Software

doubleTwist desktop

doubleTwist desktop is a free PC app that lets you sync your video, images and iTunes playlists to your Berry and even gaming consoles. It will also help you send media files on to friends and family. Create MP3 versions of iTunes purchases, and easily transfer all of the videos shot with your device to your PC. Automatic conversion between a bunch of media formats, and optimization of video and audio quality settings is all built-in. The app requires Windows XP or Vista.

Pick up doubleTwist desktop for FREE at ShopCrackBerry.com >

QuickPull

Need to free up some memory? (on your device, silly ) Now you can quickly with QuickPull. This app simulates a 'battery pull' soft reset. It's quick and easy to use and install, and it really works. It's compatible with most Berry devices, including the BlackBerry Storm. To run this one, all you need is OS 4.2 or newer.

Pick up QuickPull for FREE at ShopCrackBerry.com >

US Time Zones Screensaver

This one is, well… a US Time Zone Screensaver! Surprised? This free download is a handy one if you'd like to fool around with some new screensaver action. It lets you view local times in four US time zones over top of one of three background maps.

Get the US Time Zones Screensaver for FREE at ShopCrackBerry.com >

Cool Stuff

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Deliver Mobile Site in 6 New Languages

If you travel a lot, chances are you've stayed at a Starwood Hotel or Resort through the years. Recently, they announced that their Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Mobile site is now available in six additional languages. At the moment you can get it in Japanese, Chinese and English. Coming soon are Spanish, German, French and Italian. Upon visiting the site you can explore various hotels around the world, book accomodations, contact customer service and even get directions to the hotel or resort to which you are traveling.

To check it out, hit up www.spg.com.

Until Next Week..

Have news on BlackBerry software? New software, upgraded software,
freesoftware… it's all good! If you have any software news tips send
themin to me at softwareroundup@crackberry.com. I can't do it without your help!

Of course, we also have many more New BlackBerry Software, Updated BlackBerry Software and Free BlackBerry software titles available at ShopCrackBerry.com. Be sure to visit our software store for more great deals on BlackBerry Software!

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry Software Roundup for January 30th, 2009!

About a week back now Jason Calhoun sent me an email letting me know about a sexy new theme he had just released. So, I downloaded and installed it and I have to say I love it. The styling on this theme is just awesome. With the hexagon acting as the central point for all your mostly used applications, it makes it a nice theme to get around and utilize. Personally, I love the calendar on the side and am glad the option for "Messages' wasn't placed there instead. I really find the "Messages" icon annoying as I like to know where my stuff actually came from by utilizing a dedicated icon to differentiate and I know I'm not alone here. The icons are great and the flow of the theme is just sweet as well as the color options Jason chose to implement on this one. Gets my star of approval for sure!

PS: Jason has also given me a sneek peak of his next upcoming theme and when it's finalized I'm gonna be happy to introduce it all to ya's because it's something I have been waiting for theme developers to to do for a while now, stay tuned!

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. H7 Bold Theme Released From Jason Calhoun!

In case you were losing any sleep over whether or not President Obama did in fact get to keep his BlackBerry (it was looking sketchy for a day or two there with Sectera Edge stuff floating around the web and on CNN) the proof is in the picture!

The only question now is what do you think he should do to accessorize it? Stay naked? Skin it? A custom ColorWare paint job? Maybe a Presidential Seal Coveroo? I wonder if this will push RIM to launch the CDMA 9030 a little quicker so they can get Obama on the latest and greatest vs. an 8330?  

[ via Engadget ]

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Proof: President Obama Still a BlackBerry User