Blackberry Software

Go a tip from Miguel at LaBlackBerry that Sirius XM Radio is rumored to be releasing an app for BlackBerry within the coming weeks.

The app will be much like the iPhone version, and for the initial launch, Sirius XM for BlackBerry be be available for the following handsets:

BlackBerry Storm 9530
BlackBerry Storm2 9550
BlackBerry Bold 9000 and 9700
BlackBerry Tour 9630
BlackBerry Curve 8900, 8520 and 8530

According to the tip, Sirius XM for BlackBerry will be a “mobile extension of the Subscriber’s paid Premium Online Service.”

Additionally, 120 channels will reportedly be available through the app, the same number currently available on the iPhone app.

Also, just to be clear, the above image is just the iPhone app Photoshop’d into the Storm.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2010

This convenient Desktop Cradle by Seidio keeps your BlackBerry Storm2 9550 or Storm2 9520 charged and ready to go. It utilizes the charging contacts on the back of the newer BlackBerry models and is compatible with Seidio’s line of Innocases.

Buy Now: Only .95

Buy Now: Only .95

As we’ve been advised by Audit over at Dataoutages, Rogers and RIM have planned some downtime for their BlackBerry users on BIS and BES systems on January 17th. The window of downtime is not really that bad, depending on what type of hours you sleep. Start Time: 02:00 AM (EDT) End Time: 06:00 AM (EDT) with the outage being that of a National one for Rogers Wireless customers.

"Work Summary: Rogers customer with Blackberry devices may be unable to send or receive messages during the maintenance. They may also be unable to register their device, roam in another location, or use other services such as Internet browsing. At the same time, BlackBerry Enterprise Servers may be unable to connect to the BlackBerry Infrastructure during this maintenance."

All in all, not that bad of an outage. Oddly enough, planned outages seem  to be more tolerated or accepted then a flat out blindsided one. That’s how I feel anyways, what about you all..tolerated, accepted or still a major bummer?

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Rogers BlackBerry Planned Outage For January 17th

Speck had long made some pretty awesome cases for BlackBerry, and last week added to their extensive lineup with the announcement of their new Fitted, PixelSkin and SeeThru cases. The new cases are sure to add some flair to your device, and will come in a variety of styles for the Tour 9630, Bold 9700, Storm2 and 85xx devices. The Fitted cases feature a snap together fabric covered hard shell that offers all around protection for your device. The PixelSkin (my favorite) is a pixelated rubber case that provides both protection and grip. The SeeThru cases are simply clear ("smoke") hard cases that will include a detachable holster and rotating belt clip. These new additions will add some flair to Specks great line of products, and should be available sometime in February. The Fitted cases will retail for .95, while the PixelSkin and SeeThru will sell for .95. Check out some photos of each after the jump, and for more information, head to speckproducts.com.

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CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Speck Announces New Fitted, PixelSkin and SeeThru Cases for BlackBerry Smartphones

Which CDMA Full Physical Qwerty BlackBerry Smartphone Would You Buy?(trends)

The idea for this CrackBerry Poll came about when michaelwpg and me were drinking one night last week in Vegas. I honestly can’t remember how the topic came up (I think maybe we were just trying to change the subject after those three err.. ladies of the night jumped all over us at the bar – nothing happened, I swear!), but we were contemplating which device we would buy if we were to live in the US and be Verizon customers. Keeping the thought of the Tour2 out of our heads, and just looking right now at what’s available, both of us actually agreed we’d go for the Curve 8530 over the Tour 9630. In our case, the optical trackpad alone is reason enough to go for the Curve 8530. What we weren’t sure of though is whether our Curve 8530 over Tour decision would be what the majority of people would go for, or the minority, or if this would come down to a split decision as each device is compelling in its own way. Everything else remaining equal:

• BlackBerry Tour: 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, high res 480×360 display, world phone capabilities, trackball, no WiFi, no OpenGL support
• BlackBerry Curve 8530: 2.0 megapixel camera with no flash, lower res 320×240 display, CDMA-only, optical trackpad, has WiFi, has OpenGL support for 3D graphics/games, dedicated media player controls

Pretty much everything else on these devices — memory, speed, operating system — are on par. The form factors are different but that is a matter of preference – I personally really like the look and feel of the Curve 8530 a lot. Screen pixels make a big difference for web browsing, but otherwise are not too big of a deal. The camera difference will be critical for some, not for others. Pricewise, the Curve 8530 is selling on Verizon right now for .99 on a 2yr contract vs. the Tour at .99. A differential really isn’t that big – so I’d argue money is not a factor in deciding which to purchase at this moment in time.

So… BlackBerry Tour 9630 or BlackBerry Curve 8530…. That IS the Question! Cast your vote above and let us know in the comments what it was about either device that would make you choose it over the other. 

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. CrackBerry Device Poll: CDMA Customers, of the BlackBerry Tour and Curve 8530, Which Model Would You Buy Today?

One of the exhibitors at CES, Music Skins, specializes in vinyl skins which form-fit your device, giving an all around protective layer while providing a sense of flair at the same time. What originally began as an entirely music-centric lineup has branched into several genres and even includes the option of custom designs. They even offer downloadable wallpapers to match the skins, providing a 360 degree effect not found from any other customization option out there. The skins are a breeze to put on, and add no bulk to the device, allowing the use of cases, holsters and cradles. Removal is also simple and leaves no residue, as no additional substances are required to apply the skin. The skins even include air-release channels, allowing you to remove air bubbles with a quick push of the finger. While the skins are manufactured to be single-use, careful application/removal should allow multiple uses if it’s taken care of.

During their press conference at CES, Music Skins announced their newest line of designs – The Beatles. While The Beatles may not be everyone’s cup of tea, this marks a landmark point for the industry as it makes Music Skins the first accessory company to be authorized to distribute the Beatles brand. With 8 new Beatles designs available and a large catalog of other designs, there is something for every music lover (and for most anyone else) to be found through Music Skins.

Contest: The great people over at Music Skins have given us 25 skins to give away. Simply leave a comment to this post to enter. Multiple entries will not count. Contest closes this Sunday at Midnight PST.

• More information and purchase of Music Skins >>

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Music Skins Adds The Beatles to Their Lineup – 25 Skins to Give Away

Some of you may remember when Research In Motion announced their acquistion of Chalk Media. Chalk Media develops applications which allows businesses to deliver training and video messages via BlackBerry smartphones using the Chalk back end servers. You can read more about the acquisition and uses in the previous write up we did here on CrackBerry. Now while we have not heard much about Chalk on the consumer side of things, Research In Motion has been making good use of their Fredericton, New Brunswick based company.

Research In Motion has once again set their sights on Fredericton, New Brunswick with the promise of hiring new employees in the area according to an article by the DailyGleaner. With Fredericton being the homebase of Chalk Media the Government has agreed to offer up 0,000 worth of funding and RIM has agreed that the 50 new hires will be for their operations, rather then a whole new setup.

If all goes according to plan, you could see a lot more jobs open up under the RIM banner in New Brunswick as well. You students at University of New Brunswick may wanna get your paperwork in order. You could quite possibly have an employer knocking on your door soon, literally.

[ BBCool ]

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. RIM Expanding Operations With Chalk Media In Fredericton, New Brunswick Hiring 50 New Employees

Contest winners from last week are listed at the bottom of this page

First of all this week, we would like to send out a thank you to all those wh had such wonderful things to say about our inagural roundup. Also to those that have been sending us tips on the themeroundup@crackberry.com email all week (hard to get your favorite theme featured if we don’t know about it!). So, without further ado, we present this week’s Theme Roundup, and announce the winners from last week’s contest. Click the link below to read on.

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CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry Theme Roundup for January 13th 2010

One of the companies at CES 2010 this year that caused a bit of a buzz was ZAGG. Most people are familiar with ZAGG as they are the makers of Invisible Shields – voted by the CrackBerry community as the Best BlackBerry Clear Skin in 2009. At CES last they week the company showed off a couple new, entirely different products, which shows for 2010 ZAGG is really stepping up their game in the smartphone accessories space.

ZAGGbox (video above): How do you describe the ZAGGbox? Think of it as slingbox meets personal center meets Zentral Home Command. The ZAGGbox has a terrabyte harddrive that stores your personal and recorded media content and can play it all back on your tv very quickly via remote. Right now there’s only an iPhone app (BlackBerry app coming soon), which allows your device to also become the remote control. From there, you can stream back any of your content right to the mobile device. It’s pretty slick. No word on exact pricepoint yet, but we should know soon. This is a pretty big play for ZAGG and I can see there being demand for the product. It’ll be interesting to watch them ramp up to meet the demand.

ZAGGsparq (video below): Yet another charging solution at CES 2010. This one isn’t wireless, but it is portable and offers 6000mAh of backup power to recharge devices that can connect to the ZAGGsparq via a usb cable. It’s a nice tight, well-designed unit. 

Good stuff from ZAGG. If all goes well, 2010 should prove to be a big year for them!

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CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. CES 2010: ZAGG Gets Serious About Smartphone Accessories with ZAGGbox and ZAGGsparq