Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Slacker Radio 2.0 Now Available!

Published
by
Kyle
on May 30, 2009
in BlackBerry
. 0 Comments

slacker-20

Just in time for tonight’s party, our friends over at Slacker Radio let us know that the Slacker application for BlackBerry has had a full revision jump to version 2.0. According to them, with this version, performance has been significantly addressed, producing near instantaneous song transitions and skip times.  Though there will still be some dependencies on your network, play performance will get a dramatic boost.

When playing a station, you’ll notice the “next up” album art appears as you listen. When the album art appears, your skip times to the next song will be nearly instant and most all song transitions during playback will happen immediately.

If all of this sounds great to you, hit http://www.slacker.com from your BlackBerry Browser for the download of the updated version. Be sure to reboot your phone when you’re done, so the new install can clean up the old version for you.

© nan for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Review: Kinoma Play

Published
by
Bambi.Blue
on May 30, 2009
in Windows Mobile
. 0 Comments

pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot1609.gif” alt=”screenshot1609″ title=”screenshot1609″ width=”160″ height=”160″ class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-2862″ /More than just a player, Kinoma Play everything you need to find and play video, audio and pictures, whether they#8217;re on your phone, on your home PC, or on your favorite web services./p
pspan id=”more-2854″/spanbr /
/p
h3QuickList:/h3
pstrongSystem/OS/Device Requirements/strong: Windows Mobile 5 #038; 6br /
strongPrice/strong: $29.99br /
strongCompany/strong: Kinoma, Inc.br /
a href=”http://store.windowsmobilecool.com/product.asp?id=20799#038;n=Kinoma-Play-for-Windows-Mobile”Download here/a or a href=”http://store.windowsmobilecool.com/product.asp?id=20799#038;n=Kinoma-Play-for-Windows-Mobile”grab the free trial here/a./p
h3KEY FEATURES/h3
ul
liWith Kinoma Play, smartphones have digital media functionality that meets and even exceeds what users expect on their personal computers. Kinoma Play does more than access a user’s local video, audio or pictures – it also includes a built-in content discovery system, Kinoma Guide, the most comprehensive catalog of the freshest, most diverse mobile media content. Kinoma Play provides on-demand access from your phone to an unparalleled range of content:/li
liLocal files – Play the music, video, pictures, panoramas and audio books on your phone/li
liMedia services – Share your Audible, Flickr, iDisk, Live365, and YouTube accounts between your phone and computer/li
liInternet – Explore a terabyte of constantly updated, free streaming podcasts, music, radio stations and audio books from thousands of providers including AOL Shoutcast , ClearChannel, CNN, NPR, Reuters, TUNED.mobi, and SomaFM./li
liHome PC – Access the gigabytes of music, video and pictures on your home PC from your phone – both on-demand streaming and download/li
liStreaming podcasts – Instead of tediously downloading and syncing, podcasts stream on-demand, so users are always up to date/li
liMedia First user interface – When viewing photos, listening to music, or watching video user elements all-but-disappear to keep the focus on the media/li
liHigh quality YouTube – Kinoma Play provides high quality YouTube video by playing the same feeds delivered to your PC, when bandwidth permits/li
liIntegrated search – Search your phone, your home PC and the internet to quickly find what you want/li
liMenu pod – A beautifully animated dynamic menu providing fast access to many powerful features/li
/ul
h3CONCLUSION/h3
pThis software is really slick looking #8212; just check out the screenshots yourself! It offers plenty of free streaming podcasts, music, radiostations, and audio books which makes it a huge winner in my books. Well worth the price!/p
h3RATING (out of 5)/h3
pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/5-gold-stars.jpg” alt=”5-gold-stars” title=”5-gold-stars” width=”474″ height=”77″ class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-1202″ //p
h3SCREENSHOTS/h3

a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_121/’ title=’screenshot_121′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_121-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_219/’ title=’screenshot_219′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_219-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_315/’ title=’screenshot_315′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_315-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_415/’ title=’screenshot_415′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_415-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_511/’ title=’screenshot_511′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_511-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot_65/’ title=’screenshot_65′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot_65-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a
a href=’http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/review-kinoma-play/screenshot1609/’ title=’screenshot1609′img src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot1609-150×150.gif” width=”150″ height=”150″ class=”attachment-thumbnail” alt=”" //a

© Bambi Blue for a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com”WindowsMobile Cool/a, 2009
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Save money on your phone bill with BillShrink

Published
by
Kyle
on May 29, 2009
in BlackBerry
. 0 Comments

billshrink

BillShrink is a service that we haven’t covered on BlackBerry Cool yet and it could save you a lot money on your phone bill. BillShrink is a free service that collects and presents unbiased, comprehensive information so you can see for yourself which billing options are best for you and why.

In the wireless industry in the United States, there are over 10 million cell phone plans and add-on combinations. Figuring out which one is best for you shouldn’t be left up to a store representative or call center. With BillShrink, you can compare all the plans appropriate for your phone usage and see which will save you the most money.

Once you enter your info, you’ll be given info about the carrier, plan, savings and network signal quality. Try it out and see if it can save you cash.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

BlackBerry in Nigeria part 2 - productivity, iPhone and bandwidth

Published
by
Kyle
on May 29, 2009
in BlackBerry
. 0 Comments

[ED NOTE: The following has been submitted by our BlackBerry Cool correspondent in Nigeria, Temitope Smolaso Olufoye. The article is an update from his first article regarding BlackBerry in Nigeria.]

The BlackBerry device I use here in Nigeria is the BlackBerry 8100. Owning a BlackBerry in Nigeria gives me an incredible advantage. Although other phones have better cameras than the BlackBerry, I find the 8100 camera very useful. The company I work for is called Begro Geological Consultants, and we often need to attach pictures to our reports. Since I am using 8100, I can take pictures with my 8100 and attach them easily to reports. This is just one example of how owning a BlackBerry in Nigeria has helped me.

My company also benefits from my BlackBerry ownership because we often gets requests for proposals, and we don’t have a laptop. Life isn’t easy here in Nigeria and things don’t come easily, but we maximize everything that comes our way. When we get a proposal request, we immediately start writing all of our ideas on our BlackBerry, before transferring to a PC. I’m not saying other handhelds can’t do this, but it is both cheaper and easier for me to do it on a BlackBerry.

In my last article, BlackBerryCool.com reader Paul, asked me if Nigerians are talking about the iPhone. Now, the iPhone is definitely a great phone with its good looking browser and a giant screen. The problem with it, is that it’s just too expensive to get a good iPhone data plan. You pay three times what your pay for a BlackBerry data plan. Why should I pay more for iPhone when I can pay less for BlackBerry and get more from my phone. Also, with the BlackBerry Storm, I don’t think I need an iPhone. The truth is, iPhone is not as celebrated in Nigeria as much as the BlackBerry. There aren’t many service providers advertising devices other than the BlackBerry, which gets a lot of advertisements on Nigerian networks.

Another great question from my last article came from African Boy. After discussing data plan costs, African Boy asked “What is the data through-put allowed per month?”

I don’t believe it’s possible to measure throughput on a BlackBerry in Nigeria. The reason being is that the BlackBerry does not show you network data while transferring a file. I think Google is putting something together that will allow us to take these measurements. Here in Nigeria, when you reach a place where they say they have broadband, the throughput you get is only 7kbps; hardly broadband.

MTN, a GSM cellular network operator delivering service in South Africa and other African countries, has started 3.5G in about three cities and EDGE is springing up too. Considering many countries are dealing with 4.8 mbps, I’m beginning to think our money is being wasted on useless ventures.

Recently, I went into a cyber cafe and tried to download a 10MB file. After 50 minutes I checked my download and I had only downloaded 0.22bytes. This is a typical “broadband” experience here. I felt exasperated to say the least.

We’re just now starting to see fiber optic cables being laid and we’re moving forward, albeit slowly. Until then, the crawling continues.

For more information about network throughput and bandwidth tests, see the Wikipedia entry.

[ED NOTE: As I was editing this article I was using BlackBerry Messenger to chat with Temitope in Nigeria. The ability to chat with someone instantly from Canada to Africa is both an incredible feeling and a sign of the times.]

© Temitope Smolaso Olufoye for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Jim Balsillie and the makeitseven campaign update

Published
by
Kyle
on May 29, 2009
in BlackBerry
. 0 Comments

jim_balsillie_hockey

[ED NOTE: If you've registered at makeitseven.ca, you have already seen the message from Jim Balsillie. I thought I'd repost the letter for those who haven't seen it and to encourage more registrations.]

A message from Jim Balsillie:

Yesterday, Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed documents in court confirming his receipt of our offer to purchase the team for US$212.5 million, that the offer expires June 30, 2009 and that it is conditional upon moving the team to southern Ontario. We learned that the court has moved up its date to hear arguments on the question of relocation to June 9th and Judge Baum has said he will rule on this issue shortly after. If he rules the team can be relocated, the Judge has also indicated he will move the date of the auction we have asked for up to June 22nd.

We have maintained from the beginning that we need to be in control of the team by then to know if we can move it this year, or if we have to keep it in Glendale for another year and then move it to its new home, Copps Coliseum, where we have secured the rights to a long-term lease.

We are moving ahead. In the days ahead, I will have more exciting details to share with you about bringing this team to Canada.

In the meantime, we need our voices to be heard. Currently, we have over 130,000 people signed up www.makeitseven.ca and we need to reach out to hockey lovers throughout Canada and the world to expand our movement. If each of you were able to get one friend to sign up, we could mobilize over a quarter of a million people in an online movement.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

New BlackBerry theme from HedoneDesign

Published
by
Kyle
on May 29, 2009
in BlackBerry
. 0 Comments

hedone_design_bussfast

HedoneDesign make some very decent BlackBerry themes and they’ve just released their BussFast theme. The theme is a clean setup with a very orange-centric color scheme. The icons are simple and make for an efficient and streamlined BlackBerry experience.

The wallpaper is customizable, as with all versions of this theme. All versions (except 83xx and 88xx) have a todayPlus Preview feature included so you’ll see future events, new messages, etc on HomeScreen.

Main features include:

  • Sharp icons
  • Clean and fresh design
  • TodayPlus feature included
  • User customizable icons
  • User customizable backgrounds (wallpapers)

Purchase the BussFast theme from HedoneDesign for $7.00.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

Skyfire Browser for Windows Mobile Hits 1.0!

Published
by
Bambi.Blue
on May 29, 2009
in Windows Mobile
. 0 Comments

pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/skyfire_phones.jpg” alt=”skyfire_phones” title=”skyfire_phones” width=”583″ height=”181″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-2838″ /br /
The totally incredible Skyfire web browser for Windows Mobile has just been officially launched as version 1.0!/p
pIf you#8217;re not familiar with Skyfire, you should be: Skyfire is probably the best mobile browser out there right now, supporting Flash and Windows Media videos, a snazzy interface and quick load times, Skyfire is what mobile browsing really should be. I#8217;d go so far as to say it even beats out the iPhone browser, thanks to it#8217;s video support./p
pWhether you#8217;re an existing Skyfire user or not, I strongly encourage you to go a href=”http://get.skyfire.com/”download the official Skyfire 1.0 release /aand throw it on your device!/p
© Dave for a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com”WindowsMobile Cool/a, 2009
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Microsoft Launches Windows Marketplace for Mobile Forums

Published
by
Bambi.Blue
on May 29, 2009
in Windows Mobile
. 0 Comments

pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/msdn_windowsmarketplacmobile.jpg” alt=”msdn_windowsmarketplacmobile” title=”msdn_windowsmarketplacmobile” width=”599″ height=”107″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-2841″ /br /
For you developers in the house: Microsoft has launched some forums to answer and discuss all your questions about developing apps for Microsoft#8217;s Windows Marketplace for Mobile. If you#8217;re curious or have questions, a href=”http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/mktplace/”check out the MSDN Windows Marketplace for Mobile site here!/a/p
© Dave for a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com”WindowsMobile Cool/a, 2009
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Spb Updates Mobile Shell to 3.0.1

Published
by
Bambi.Blue
on May 29, 2009
in Windows Mobile
. 0 Comments

pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/spb21.jpg” alt=”spb21″ title=”spb21″ width=”520″ height=”334″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-2845″ /br /
I was a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/2009/05/spb-mobile-shell-major-overhaul-30/”raving about Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 a couple weeks ago /awhen it dropped (and there#8217;s a better review on its way), so I though it worth mentioning that they#8217;ve released a little update to version 3.0.1, with a few little tweaks:/p
ul
liSaving unknown phone numbers from the call log has been added/li
liShowing/hiding SIM contacts has been added/li
li“Show Today” widget has been added/li
li“Remove All” option in call log added Performance of portrait/landscape switching has improved/li
liSome issues with “Edit Profile” dialog box on Treo devices has been fixed/li
liContact matching in call log has improved/li
liPerformance of hardware accelerated carousel has improved/li
/ul
pThis update is for those who have already bought 3.0, so if that#8217;s you go a href=”http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/”download the patch directly from Spb#8217;s website/a. If you still have not given this software a try, go get it now in our a href=”http://store.windowsmobilecool.com/product.asp?id=10499#038;n=Spb%20Mobile%20Shell”software store/a!/p
© Dave for a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com”WindowsMobile Cool/a, 2009
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HTC Touch Pro 2 For Sale on DeviceWire

Published
by
Bambi.Blue
on May 29, 2009
in Windows Mobile
. 0 Comments

pimg src=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com/wp-content/uploads/htctouchpro2.jpg” alt=”htctouchpro2″ title=”htctouchpro2″ width=”479″ height=”411″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-2847″ /br /
The much-anticipated HTC Touch Pro 2 has just gone on sale unlocked at Devicewire.com. This is one hot looking device, even if it is a tad large (.68#8243; thick). Check out these nice specs:/p
ul
li3.6#8243;, 480 X 800 WVGA touch screen/li
liHSDPA/WCDMA, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/li
li3.2mp camera/li
liWiFi b/g/li
liBluetooth/li
liGPS/li
limicroSD/li
lithe HTC ExtUSB (USB, audio jack, and tv-out in one)/li
liand, of course, the slider keyboard/li
/ul
pAdmittedly, pretty run-of-the-mill specs these days, but a real nice phone nonetheless. Check it out at a href=”http://www.devicewire.co.uk/htc-touch-pro2″Devicewire for $479 GBP/a (not too pricey, actually)./p
© Dave for a href=”http://www.windowsmobilecool.com”WindowsMobile Cool/a, 2009
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