Did you ever ask yourself whether or not you will be informed early enough when an earthquake took place in the pacific? Just imagine you are living in LA or San Francisco and that earthquake is causing a Tsunami… I would want to know that – right now! Finally, there is a solution for this called DisasterAlert for BlackBerry!

DisasterAlert is a brand new application which has just been published by Skylab Mobilesystems. They are well known for mobile GPS and mapping applications (see BlackBerry and GPS for more).

DisasterAlert is available as a subscription based BlackBerry app which somehow shows a global disaster report of disasters that take place right now. It lists these disasters by date and time their information was last updated. By utilizing the BlackBerry’s internal GPS receiver (or an external Bluetooth GPS dongle if your device does not have a built-in GPS) DisasterAlert also shows the distance to each disaster! This allows us to quickly figure whether or not we might be affected by it.

Disaster Types Supported: Floods, Earthquakes, Tropical Cyclones and more.

Like you can see in the screen shot below, DisasterAlert can also show these disasters on a map which give a visual feedback on the location. An image is so much better than just plain numbers, right

      

When you are in the map view DisasterAlert actually uses BlackBerry Maps. However, if you open the menu and click on “Details”, while the disaster is in focus, you will see further details about it. For example, it will tell you the type of disaster, name, category, country and even the count of people that might be affected by it. I got to get this! DisasterAlert is definitely in the app category: “It is better to have it and not need it, than to need and not have it!”

Compatibility: DisasterAlert is compatible with all current BlackBerry devices no matter with or w/o GPS. This includes the brand new Storm2 and Storm, Bold, Curve, Tour and so on.

The application and service is available for $29.99 per 6 months (which makes just $4.99 per month) and it comes with free lifetime updates. The 12-month plan lets you even save 17% compared to the 6-month plan. So it might be worth looking into that out too.

Check it out: DisasterAlert Website

Quite a while after reviewing the incredible X-Mini II speakers for BlackBerry we just received another nice and brand new gadget: the Stylophone Beatbox!

Though this piece is not purely for the BlackBerry, it works fine with it. I am actually a bit addicted right now and am playin’ all day long with this thing. My BlackBerry Curve 8900 plays the original tunes and I am hacking some ubersounds onto the betabox organ! Did you know that the original Stylophone was invented in 1967? Crazy, huh? Even David Bowie used it back then! Man – he must be old! The current license holder dübreq is still selling that one, but with the brand new Beatbox they kind of re-invented the Stylophone and made it compatible with the music world we know today!

When you open up the Stylophone Beatbox box it might look like this:

Including a manual, of course. The Beatbox is battery operated with 3 AA batteries and a silly battery cap for which you need a screwdriver to open it. Who had that stupid idea? Anyway, the rest of the piece is fine and the manufacturing quality seems to be quite good. Connecting to the BlackBerry is very easy, just plug the 3.5 mm headphone cable into the headphone jack of the BlackBerry and the other end into the “MP3″ jack at the Beatbox. When you know play music on the BlackBerry, it will come out of the Stylophone

Here is the official detail listing:

Stylophone Beatbox Features

• Three new sounds: Beatbox, Percussion and Steel Drums
• Record Loop and Playback function
• Tempo Adjust
• Volume control
• MP3 function – play along to any music – includes two way adapter

Product Details

• For ages 7+
• Requires 3x AA batteries – not supplied
• Original features
• Packaging (approx) 27cm(W) x 15cm(D) x 6cm(H)
• Product (approx) 15.5cm(W) x 10cm(D) x 4cm(H)
• Headphone socket

The BlackBerry Curve is the perfect bro for the Stylophone Beatbox. I got some help from my better half which is a bit more music savvy than me, but still not a professional musician. An official demo video can be found here. Here in action with Michael Jackson and the some free style performed Beatbox beats:

The Stylophone Beatbox also works alone and can record and play tunes:

The Stylophone Beatbox is available for only $25.50 plus shipping. Lucky me – reviewers get a free one; isn’t that great?

Website: Stylophone Beatbox!

Previous Featured Hardware Reviews:

• X-mini 2 – Speaker for your BlackBerry with Incredible Sound
• Solar Charger for BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Edited 2009-10-21: new and awesome video online! Check it out!

We have just seen that there are some brand new trackball versions available on Amazon! This includes the new ball versions of the Curve 8900 which is black. I our article How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball we described very detailed how you get your broken / stuck BlackBerry trackball out and clean the rollers inside. Basically you can use the same instructions for replacing your trackball in your BlackBerry. So if you want to get your broken trackball working like a brand new one or you just want to be cool with a black trackball – just check them out below!

All trackballs are provided by Amazon and its affiliates. This ensures high quality in the product and service you receive.

Finally, a portable speaker for my BlackBerry that’s truly portable, yet as powerful as a boom box that fits in the palm of my hand! I’m talking about the X-mini, which is probably the world’s smallest yet loudest speaker around.

What I have in my possession, though, is a second generation X-mini, which is the new and improved version. The X-mini II comes with the actual speaker, a USB cable / mini-USB / headphone cable and a nice black bag. For connecting the X-mini to any headphone jack for audio playback, just plug the mini-USB end of the cable into the X-mini and the headphone plug into your BlackBerry. Additionally you can plug the normal USB plug into any USB port (like on my Macbook) and the X-mini will be juiced up.

It has even more ‘umph’ in terms of look (it’s sleek and black), battery life (expect up to 12 hours of playback), sound (it has a 40mm driver) and bass (thanks to its mind-blowing Bass Expansion System). In fact, its built-in ‘woofer’ is so ‘boomtastic’, you’d have to be careful it doesn’t fall over the edge of the table while it moves to the beat of the music. And the best thing about this nifty gadget is its sheer size and weight – it’s as compact and light as a squash ball when collapsed, and not much bigger when expanded to reveal the accordion-like body, from which you can hear the bass system at work. This is the difference between the collapsed and expanded X-mini II:

What I’m really looking forward to is buying more of these babies, and hooking them up together with their built-in 3.5mm audio cable to form a ‘chain’ of X-minis for even bigger sound. Man, my mates are going to be so jealous the next time we’re at a beach party!

BlackBerry Device Compatibility

Basically all BlackBerry devices with a 3.5 mm headphone jack are supported which includes: BlackBerry Pearl 8110, 8120, 8130, 8210, 8220; BlackBerry Curve 8300, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i, 8900; BlackBerry Bold 9000; BlackBerry Storm 9500, 9530; BlackBerry Tour 9630.

I took the following videos to show you how the X-mini II works. In the first video, I played some music and the SpeedRacer trailer which was in my Bold by default. Unfortunately, my cheap digital camera could not capture the awesome audio bass that comes out of the speaker – but I think you get the idea

The second video shows just how much bass is in the X-mini II. It bounced so much that I had to keep adjusting the camera to prevent it from moving off screen.

Good things really do come in small packages! Get it for just $34.50 (plus shipping): X-mini II – BlackBerry Compatible Speaker

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 has been released on T-Mobile USA. It is available for the following prices:

• $199.99 with a 2 year agreement
• $499 without contract

Source: Phones Review.

Check out our BlackBerryInsight Hardware Store for more BlackBerry devices!

At least that is what quite some reviews say about this device. For example Slash Gear says:

With the arguments over the BlackBerry Storm still raging, it’s going to take a solid, dependable smartphone from RIM to settle some users down.

Not enough, C|Net says:

The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 offers a sleeker and more solidly constructed design as well as a brilliant display. The smartphone features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS and brings new productivity tools, a full HTML Web browser, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

However, the most missed feature is 3G. No-one knows why the Curve does not come with 3G support. Even the BlackBerry Bold (which was released earlier) and the Storm come with 3G support.

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Javelin

It had to happen. If a device is as popular as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, it will get the Colorware treatment sooner or later. Usually sooner. Just like the iPhone 3G, and your DS. So, if you want to beat your precious gadget upside the face with an ugly stick, the folks at Colorware will gladly help.

Source SlipperyBrick

Rogers Wireless in collaboration with RIM ( Research In Motion) has launched the new BlackBerry Curve 8900. This new smartphone delivers a new, sleek twist when compared to the old classic style. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is undoubtedly the thinnest smartphone in the BlackBerry series to have entered the market that has a full- QWERTY keypad. It combines inbuilt GPS and Wi-Fi with a quad-band EDGE, a next-generation 512 MHz processor and a high-resolution 480X360 display. The Curve 8900 is easy to use and offers reliable results through expanded functionality.

The Curve 8900 offers an expansive set of features including a 3.2 megapixel camera and a high power media player, along with advanced email, phone, organizer, web browser and messaging applications. The vast range of options available on the Curve 8900 make it perfect to stay connected with co-workers, family and friends while on the go. The 8900 ingeniously combines a leading edge messaging system with a stunning display and a winning design to give its users what they need to strike a balance between business and pleasure. This beautifully compact device packs in an entire range of features making this BlackBerry Curve replacement far superior to the original Curve.

The Curve 8900 memory card slot supports MicroSD and supports an array of playback formats including WAV, MIDI, 3gp, DivX, Pro audio, WMV3 video, MP3, PCM among others. This 110g hand held device has a single 3.5mm audio out port and supports networks 802.11g, 802.11b, GPRS etc.

Some of the key features of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 are:

• The thinnest smartphone with a full-feature QWERTY and chrome finish.
• Both Wi-Fi and GPS support
• High resolution 2.3 inch display to offer crisp text and images
• 3.2 MP camera with auto focus, flash, image stabilization, video capture and digital zoom
• 256 MB flash memory accessible without removal of battery
• Editing and download capability for MS PowerPoint, MS Excel and MS word files
• Bluetooth enabled

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available for purchase from Rogers at a price of $179.99 with an activation of any voice and data plan combination for three years. Rogers also offers a monthly service for $45 per month. The Blackberry Curve package comes with accessories including a Micro USB cable, Stereo Headset, SIM card package, a carrying pouch, Travel charger, Battery and a RIM documentation kit.

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