BlackBerryInsight

I know, it seems I am reviewing just software from one company. Actually in that case it is right but they don’t have so much and I will stop reviewing it soon. Moreover, I just like it and want to tell the world my 2 cents on that topic. As an mapping enthusiast I am one of the first user of “Spot” when it came up for the BlackBerry platform (started with only one device - the 7520). Later they brought the “ContactMapper” to my BlackBerry. A neat tool that converts my contact addresses to a worldwide position. This procedure is called geocoding and describes exact that functionality: Mapping of an address to a position. A position like your GPS receiver delivers.

That sounds such easy but is a quite complex structure if you want to set that up for your own. The following illustration wants to give us an overview of the system.

So ContactMapper has access to your address book and gets your contact’s address once you click on one. It then sends this address to the geocoding service (remember: this service is provided for free) which geocodes the address and delivers the position of your contact. This position is taken by ContactMapper to calculate a request for the web map service (also free) which delivers the map of your contact. The two screenshots below show ContactMapper’s contact browser which is used in the first step to select the contact you want to geocode, and the result of clicking “geocode!” in that browser which brings the map screen up and shows your contact on a map.

There are currently three different types of maps support in the ContactMapper:

• Satellite Maps
• Topographic Maps #1
• Topographic Maps #2

It seems that this program is runnable on nearly all current BlackBerry models. There is also a list of them on the product site but I will post them here too - just for convenience:

• 7100i, 7520, 8703e
• 7100g, 7100r, 7100t, 7100v, 7100x, 7105t, 7130c, 7130g, 7130e, 7130e-v, 7130v
• 7250, 7290
• 7230, 7250, 7280
• 7750, 7780
• 8100
• 8700c, 8700f, 8700g, 8700r, 8700v, 8703e, 8705g, 8707h, 8707v

P.S.: I don’t think we have as much Treo readers but the ContactMapper is also available for your Treo.

More Links:
ContactMapper Entry Page
ContactMapper for BlackBerry
ContactMapper for Palm
Skylab Mobilesystems Ltd. (The vendor)
Other Skylab Mapping & GPS Software

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Actually that is an old story but Bell Mobility has already released the 8703e.

Perhaps you have already regarded my GPS addiction but I do not want to stop writing about that Therefor I am always curious when a BlackBerry with GPS features comes out. Again and again I cannot understand why there are providers out there who deactivate hardware features from such a cool device like the 8703e! However, Bell took the same way like Verizon and deactivated the already built-in and functional GPS receiver.

I (like many others) hope they will activate it someday!

Links:
8703e at Bell Mobility

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The Times Online said at their last article Test bench: Smartphones:

Battery life on all models was about two days (BlackBerry longer, Palm slightly shorter).

I guess everyone of us knew “The BlackBerry’s battery is (currently) unbeatable!”

The next one is from Techtarget and has the topic BlackBerry battles for mobility domination. Uh! What a topic! However, the compatitions are becoming more and more interesting and I am quite curios what the future brings:

Like a championship prize fight, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile are in their corners ready to battle for mobile supremacy. The bout, which will span several rounds, ultimately coming to an end in 2010, could determine which holds the strongest market position and which goes back to the changing room defeated.

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The ArmorPlus is a shell for your BlackBerry (currently 7250, 7270 and 7290 and brings some features to the BlackBerry many users are missing.

OK, the BlackBerry in this shell does not look as fancy but it brings a lot of feature upgrades as well as outdoor compatiblity. I am sure a fireman will be happy to be able to use the BlackBerry in the field. So this ArmorPlus shell can upgrade your BlackBerry with the following features:

• Battery Enhancement
• SD Card Slot
• Touch Screen
• Laser Barcode Scanner
• GPS Receiver

Related Links:
ArmorPlus
Gizmag
BBHub Article

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Just found this interview with George Stelling at forbes.com. So now we know his favorite gadget is the BlackBerry 8700, he seems to be an addict (like many others) and he indeed has some improvement suggestions: First, I’d love to get satellite radio on it. Fox News, Bloomberg and BBC would be great to listen to on demand. Second, I’d want the ability to download and play news clips and videos and perhaps do some interactive gaming with others. With 3G, the world is moving toward mobile devices with high quality video and online games. Having this in the 8700, RIM (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ) would really round out its capabilities. Finally, I wish I had a voice recognition application on it that would let me dictate e-mail in the car and also read aloud e-mail that I’ve received on the speakerphone.

Related Links:
NVidia
Forbes
High Quality BlackBerry Videos

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Just some weeks ago we mentioned “Spot GPS Tool supports BlackBerry 8703e”. Now we have discovered the ’supported devices’ range is growing and the BlackBerry Pearl got its place there. So Attention Pearl users, as most of you think: “I don’t need that - I already have BlackBerry Maps…” That is not the point as “Spot” is not a navigation system like the BlackBerry Maps which allows you to be routed to some address. The Spot tool brings some other features, as it seems not to be designed to give driving directions it features a quite good waypoint management, a weak tracklog integration (vendor says: “will be upgraded soon”), nice mapping features like streetlevel maps and a flexible OGC WMS integration. It also works with all current BlackBerrys that have ether a built-in GPS receiver or Bluetooth support for connecting to a Bluetooth GPS. As the BlackBerry Pearl does not have a built-in one you might need an external Bluetooth GPS receiver. So if you are looking for one you’ll find some recommended ones at their site.

I also like the free demo version which gives you the oportunity to test the program before purchase. OK, the demo time is quite short (about 5 minutes i guess) but you can restart the program as often as you want. It is also quite convenient that “Spot” automatically connects to the GPS (no matter it is built-in or a Bluetooth one) at startup.

Ah, I almost forgot the “Spot-featuring-Pearl-Screenshot”, here it is:

More on this topic:
BlackBerry and GPS
BlackBerry Outdoor Compatibility

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Browsing the Pinstack BlackBerry forums I found a video created by a BlackBerry Video Creator user who was already mentioned in my last article. He allowed me use his video to bring light to the dark of all who are considering whether to use this neet piece of software or not. So feel free to click “Play”:

Thanks to pinstack member sanfrancisco who created that movie.

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I just discovered a quite interesting thread at Pinstack forums concerning the BlackBerry Video Creator which we exclusively reviewed here at BlackBerryInsight. As our review’s conclusion was quite positive the customer opinions there were 1000 times better that ours. So here some quotes from the thread:

So I bought the program [there is no trial version] installed it and gave it a whirl. I have to say I was super surprised at how easy it is to work and the quality of the conversions.

Like I said, I converted the movie Scarface from DVD to AVI using Mobile Clone DVD. I opted to make the settings for highest quality.

That resulted in a 1.1 gigabyte file.

Then converted with BBVC.

That made it into a 380 MB file for the Pearl.

It has played perfectly on the Pearl and all the controls work as they should [volume, pause, stop, fast forward/rewind].

So for me, it was worth $15 for someone to make using mencoder a one-click process.

So you can make up your own mind. Heck, I think I spent over $500 in time in trying to make video conversions, so even if this program was a wash, I was prepared to pay $15 on the gamble that it would work.

Forgot to mention, the converted videos, those made with BB Video Creator did NOT have any lag when using the on screen video controls.

Recall my Super C 3GP conversions suffer lag, e.g., when pressing “stop” it would take 20 seconds for the video to stop.

There are also some screenshots we forgot to post but I guess the Pinstack user sanfrancisco allows us to show them here. They show how to convert a DVD movie (Pulp Fiction) to an AVI file you want to watch on your Pearl. Thanks from my side.

Related Links:
Our Review on the Video Creator
Optimized Classic Videos for the Pearl
Pinstack Forums Thread

Some videos created using the BlackBerry Video Creator:
Cline After Midnight
B52’s Future Generation
Cocaine Eric Claption

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Probably the most useful class I took way back in Junior High was typing with Mrs. Judy Flint. Of course, that was when people still used manual typewriters and hunted wooly mammoths with big spears. But that skill has since served me well (typing, not spear wielding) through the many late nights I’ve spent hacking away at the computer. I’m no speed demon, but thanks to Mrs. Flint, I can still comfortably type 60 words per minute without even glancing at the keyboard.

Unfortunately, my thumbs aren’t as comfortable typing on a BlackBerry as my fingers are on a computer keyboard. I wonder if today’s version of typing class ought to include a session or two on thumb typing on a mobile keyboard. I love reading emails on my BlackBerry, but I loathe typing responses and I end up limiting myself to a few short sentences when I have to reply.

SureType Keyboard

So I went looking for a few typing tips and stumbled on over to BlackBerryForums.com. Mark Rejhon, a super moderator over there, has put together a rather excellent tutorial on thumb touch typing. For those of you looking for some speed tips, I’d recommend checking it out.

And slow as I am on a thumb size QWERTY keyboard, I’m even worse on the SureType style layouts like the 7100 series and the new BlackBerry Pearl. I much prefer a full size keyboard, but I know people who do like the abbreviated layout. Here’s a flash tutorial on using the SureType devices.

And finally, I found the website ChicagoLogic.com. Is there a keyboard layout for mobile devices that’s better than a QWERTY layout? These guys think so. I took their typing challenge and I must say that their layout works very nicely for a small handheld device. Check it out and share your thoughts.

Found via allblackberry.com
This article is licensed under a Creatice Commons License.

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Alcatel [...] and Globacom, Nigeria’s second national operator, today confirmed the successfully commercial launch of BlackBerry® services in Nigeria. In the framework of a contract signed with Globacom, Alcatel provides the end-to-end integration of the BlackBerry® wireless solution from Research In Motion (RIM) within its Glo Mobile network. Globacom was the first to offer BlackBerry® to corporate customers in Nigeria.

Via Euronext News.

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