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Ok, well it looks like things weren't 100% go on the Verizon PTT release for the Tour. While the software was seen floating around and is available to download, you still can't actually activate PTT on the Tour 9630. We got some info that Push to Talk online training has begun for Verizon employees, and from the looks of things the software and service will be officially available for the Tour on March 30th ($5/month for the addition of PTT to a data plan). While most are left scratching their heads wondering why Big Red is launching the service on the Tour in the first place, apparently Verizon's plan is to "increase our PTT customer base in 2010 ... by winning over customers from the competition and encouraging some of our current BlackBerry Smartphone customers to begin using the PTT service." So while the software is ready to go, if you are planning to use PTT on your Tour it looks like you'll need to wait another week or so before you can actually activate the feature.
Official Verizon BlackBerry Curve 8530 Update Coming on Monday?
Not really much to write home about here (unless of course someone at home has an 8530) but it looks like the Curve 8530 update we thought was coming from Verizon will indeed be arriving next week. According to our latest intel, OS 5.0.0.508 will be available from Verizon starting Monday 3/22. From the sounds of it, the new software will be ready to go for both OTA and desktop installs. The site listed in the original PDF is now live but the software is still listed as "Coming Soon". Hang in there over the weekend, we'll see for sure come Monday if this holds true or not.
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News & Rumors
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19 Mar 2010 16:05
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Adam Zeis
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24 comments
Don't Miss a Beat with CBS Sports Men's College Tourney for BlackBerry
The NCAA tournament is in full swing, and some CRAZY games yesterday made for a great start. I'm sure the upcoming games will be just as nuts, so you won't want to miss a thing. To keep you updated when you're out and about, CBS has brought us CBS Sports Men's College Tourney for BlackBerry. The free app gives you news headlines, scores, player stats, bracket tracking and more. The app will keep you informed when you're at work or away from a TV/PC so you don't have to worry about not knowing whats going down. It looks like the app works on most devices (US only) and is 100% free. Head to Blackberry App World to download.
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BlackBerry Apps
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19 Mar 2010 10:52
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Adam Zeis
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21 comments
BlackBerry Case Review: Case-Mate Hybrid Case for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
The Case-Mate Hybrid case offers two layers of protection for your device, and brings a sweet look along with it. The base of the case is a silicone skin, and its covered by a hard plastic shell to hold on tight. It wraps around the entire device, leaving only the front screen and keyboard exposed. It has covers on the side buttons, and offers a good amount of protection that should keep your device safe from a few drops on the pavement (we've all been there). The case is a bit bulkier than some, but the overall two-part design is very cool. The Case-Mate Hybrid Case sells for $29.95 at ShopCrackBerry.com and is available for the Bold 9700, Tour 9630 and Storm2.
More Best-Selling BlackBerry Tour Cases:
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BlackBerry Cases
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19 Mar 2010 09:59
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Adam Zeis
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15 comments
Deal of The Day: Save 50% on BerryBuzz Today Only!
Recently updated, BerryBuzz is on sale for 50% off today as our Deal of the Day and you can pick it up for just $2.97. BerryBuzz is a simple app that lets you customize your device LED and alerts for different apps on your device. Want blue for BBM? Purple for Facebook? Orange for AIM? You can do them all and even create custom colors. Set alerts for IM apps, the Gmail app, tasks, calendar, all your email addresses and more. New additions to version 2.2 include the ability to backup and restore settings to your media card. A free trial is available, but don't think on it too long as you'll want to get it at the sale price before the day is over.
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BerryBuzz
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19 Mar 2010 09:50
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Adam Zeis
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31 comments
SmrtGuard for BlackBerry A to Z
SmrtGuard is one of those apps that just works. It gives you peace of mind that your device is safe and can be remotely wiped of all data should it ever be lost or stolen. You can backup/restore data, remotely wipe and locate the device, protect your SIM from being swapped out and more. I love having it installed as it can be used both as a backup tool and has loads of security features. Everything can be managed from an easy web-interface (check out what it looks like after the jump) and it just does what it does. Hit the video above for a quick look. SmrtGuard is available in the CrackBerry App Store for monthly, semi-annual and annual subscriptions. A free version is available in BlackBerry App World that gives you the remote tracking, remote wipe, personal guardian and SIM guardian all for free (so you have no reason not to try it). Check the links below for more info.
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Software Reviews
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18 Mar 2010 11:59
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Adam Zeis
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40 comments
Read Full Review >>
If you remember back at Devcon, EA Mobile gave us a tease of the Open GL ES Support with the game Need for Speed Shift 3D. Well it looks like the time has finally come, and it is now available for purchase in BlackBerry App World. The game looked amazing when we first saw the demo, and I'm sure the full release won't disappoint. Highlights of Need for Speed Shift 3D include:
Check out the video about for a look at the version that was shown off at DevCon. Once we get it fired up we'll do a little video of our own. Also, as it stands it looks as if its currently only supported on the 9550. While the $9.99 price tag is a bit steep, if the game plays as good as it looks it may be well worth it. If you do purchase it, give it a ride and drop a comment with your thoughts.
Need for Speed Shift 3D Now Available for the BlackBerry Storm2
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BlackBerry Apps
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17 Mar 2010 15:15
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Adam Zeis
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38 comments
CardStar App For BlackBerry Smartphones Coming May 1st
What is CardStar you say? Its a very cool little app that lets you store all of your "convenience cards" in one place. Instead of having loads of cards or keytags for the video store, gym, car rental agencies, pet store, library, hotels or supermarkets, you just need the CardStar app on your mobile device. You simply enter your card information, and the bardcode can be displayed right on the screen. No more carting around loads of plastic cards that get lost and worn out. There are loads of retailers in the CardStar database, and you can submit a request for addional retailers if yours isn't listed in the system.
The CardStar app is listed as coming soon, and a tweet by @mycardstard yesterday stated the app will be hitting BlackBerry on May 1st. Definitely something to look forward to. I know I'm excited to ditch all those worn out tags on my keychain in favor of this app. For more details, hit up mycardstar.com. Thanks to Ben for sending this in!
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BlackBerry Apps
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17 Mar 2010 12:26
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Adam Zeis
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65 comments
How Do You Use Your BlackBerry Series: Do You Use Voice Commands?
We're back again for our second installment of our How Do You Use Your BlackBerry Series. Last weeks AutoDim results showed what I pretty much expected, almost 80% of the 10,000 that voted keep the Automatically Dim Backlight setting on. Some good comments as to just why you do or don't use it, my favorite being "Off because it does what it wants anyway".
Well this week we're back with another burning question. If you listened to our last CrackBerry Podcast, you'll remember we quickly discussed the voice dialing/commands feature. The Voice Activated Dialing is a pre-installed feature and is mapped to the side convenience key right out of the box. If can be useful for getting around the device using voice commands, and for making calls when in the car or on the go simply by speaking. So my question this week is, do you use voice commands on your BlackBerry? After you vote be sure to leave a comment telling us why you do or don't use this feature.
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CrackBerry Polls
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17 Mar 2010 10:52
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Adam Zeis
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100 comments
Xobni Mobile for BlackBerry Smartphones Now Available
The long-awaited Xobni Mobile for BlackBerry is now available. We've seen the service in action more times than we can count, and are happy to say it is finally available to the public. Xobni replaces your default address book and "automatically builds and maintains the fastest, most complete and smartest address book you've ever used". The app creates profiles based on your contacts that include email addresses and phone numbers as well as information for LinkedIn, Facebook and more. The contacts are automatically kept up to date and ranked in order of relevance. Features include:
In my opinion Xobni is one of the few "absolutely must have" apps for BlackBerry. Xobni is available as a stand-alone BlackBerry app, and can also link to Microsoft Outlook via the Xobni One service. Xobni Mobile for BlackBerry can be purchased for a one-time fee of $9.99. Xobni Mobile with the Xobni One service is a $6.99 one-time fee, plus a $3.99 recurring monthly fee. You can also purchase one-year of Xobni Mobile on BlackBerry with Xobni One for $39.90/year. For more information and downloads head on over to xobni.com/mobile.
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News & Rumors
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16 Mar 2010 18:00
by
Adam Zeis
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81 comments
More Verizon Push to Talk Information Surfaces
We got our hands on a PDF from Big Red today and it looks like Push to Talk will definitely be coming to the BlackBerry Tour. We had heard rumors as the last few leaked OS versions surfaced (PTT files and alerts were included in the OS), and a few days ago some additional info popped up in the forums. My question (as I'm sure many of you are already thinking) is if this new service will finally bring the long awaited Tour OS update. Highlights of the PTT service as outlined in the document include:
Push to Talk will be available as a $5 add-on feature and should be official late this month or in early April. For more information, head to verizonwireless.com/ptt (although nothing noted about the Tour on that site just yet).
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News & Rumors
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16 Mar 2010 10:52
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Adam Zeis
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20 comments
Contest Winners, ZenMinder, VQ Carfinder, Sands, ThumbPlay, Tether, BerryBlab and More!
Spring is almost here and the contests just keep coming. Another action packed week for giveaways. We had great offerings with ZenMinder, BerryBlab, Addictive Tower Defense, Wheres My Phone, Tether, VQ Carfinder and more. Hit the jump to see if you're one of the lucky winners. If you're a retailer or developer and interested in running a contest of your own, drop us a line at editorial(at)crackBerry.com. Congrats to all the winners!
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contest winners
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16 Mar 2010 10:01
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Adam Zeis
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93 comments
Continue reading article >>
Fandango is making the move to bring movie goers into the future by going paperless. The internet movie giant is testing out a plan to use 2D barcodes in theaters instead of the age-old physical paper tickets. Your tickets are delivered to a mobile device in the form of a barcode which the ticket taker can scan with a provided 2D scanner. A great move in making things easier and eliminating the need to pick up your purchased tickets once you arrive at the theater. Fandango is starting out with just a few theaters to start (hit the jump for the full list) but hopefully more will follow along in the near future.
Fandango Rolls Out Digital Barcode Movie Ticket System
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News & Rumors
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15 Mar 2010 12:46
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Adam Zeis
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20 comments
Continue reading article >>
Apparently not everyone has given up on the good ol' Pearl. It looks like McDonalds thinks it is still suitable to hold its own in their latest commercial. It does get some decent airtime, and man is that jingle catchy (you can snag the ringtone here). Check out the video above for a quick laugh, and good luck getting that song out of your head by the end of the day :-)
Give Me Back That Filet-O-Fish ... and My BlackBerry Pearl
Posted in
CrackBerry Humor
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15 Mar 2010 09:54
by
Adam Zeis
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15 comments
BerryBuzz Updated to Version 2.2 - Adds Backup/Restore Feature and More
BerryBuzz has been updated to version 2.2 and adds some cool new features. If you don't already know, BerryBuzz is a great app that allows you to fully customize your LED for various apps, letting you choose a different color for each alert (check out the video above for a full walkthrough). The latest version adds support for BerryWeather and the Gmail app as well as support for stopping notifications when messages have been marked opened via two-way sync/BES. The coolest feature is the ability to backup and restore your BerryBuzz settings to your media card - super handy when installing a new OS as you can get it back up and running with just a few clicks (maybe Bellshare was listening to our last podcast). The update is free for current users, or $5.95 for new users. Head to the CrackBerry App Store for more.
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Bellshare
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15 Mar 2010 09:24
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Adam Zeis
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55 comments