In This Chapter
SmrtGuard
TetherBerry
VibAndRing
Viigo for BlackBerry
PeeKaWho — E-mail and SMS Alert
Zodiac
Google Talk Mobile and Yahoo! Messenger Mobile
WeatherEye
Nobex Radio Companion
Pandora and Slacker
The availability of BlackBerry software is growing at a dizzying rate. In this chapter, we introduce ten must-have applications that make your BlackBerry Curve experience that much better.
We don’t quotes specific reviews. These choices are the results of our quest to find programs that people use, discerned from discussions with BlackBerry users, postings on message boards, and commentaries in the public domain. The applications featured here are just the tip of the iceberg.
SmrtGuard, Your BlackBerry Guardian
If you lost your BlackBerry, have you wondered what would happen to your data, such as your sensitive e-mails, phone call histories, contacts, and appointments? It’s scary to think of a stranger getting to know you through your e-mails and knowing what you’re going to do next. These same thoughts haunt us as well. Fortunately, there’s SmrtGuard (formerly known as BerryFinder.com), which provides the following tools:
Locate and “LoJack” your BlackBerry: With no GPS signal required, you can track your Curve’s approximate location to determine whether you simply misplaced it or someone stole it.
Wireless data backup: This is another must-have feature that SmrtGuard provides. If you self-destroyed your data and don’t have a backup, the scheduled wireless backup of your PIM data will come in handy. From the SmrtGuard Web site (www.smrtguard.com), you can even see and browse through your backed-up data and export it to a file (a Microsoft Excel file or a text file).
Sound the homing beacon: If you simply misplaced your BlackBerry but can’t find it by calling because you muted it, don’t worry. Just send a homing beacon, and your BlackBerry will emit a loud sound regardless of your Profile setting. We wish our remote controls had this feature!
Self-destroy in five seconds: Okay, perhaps not in five seconds, but you can decide when to destroy all your BlackBerry data. That includes e-mails, contacts, appointments, to-do’s, memos, phone logs, text messages, and even all the files on your microSD card.
Always protect your BlackBerry Curve with a password. That way, if your Curve gets into the wrong hands, your data will be self-erased after ten unsuccessful password entries. However, the files on your microSD card aren’t deleted. This is why SmrtGuard is so helpful.
With SmrtGuard by your side, you can concentrate on your business instead of worrying about your BlackBerry data being stolen. You can get SmrtGuard for $3.99 a month, or $49.99 for a whole year’s subscription. There’s also a 10-day free trial. Check it out at www.smrtguard.com.
TetherBerry
Subscribing to mobile broadband for your laptop is expensive. TetherBerry provides an inexpensive solution for connecting to the Internet from your laptop by using your BlackBerry Curve. You can check the details at www.
tetherberry.com.
On the Web site, you can order the application for a one-time fee of $49.95. That’s spare change considering that you get connectivity to your laptop using your Curve. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
VibAndRing
Don’t like the fact that you can’t get your BlackBerry to alert you the way you want? Do you need custom vibration when a phone call comes in?
Time to get your hands on VibAndRing. With it, you can customize how many vibrate bursts you get before the Curve starts ringing and how long each vibration lasts.
To download a free trial, go to www. mobihand. com, and search for vibandring.
Viigo for BlackBerry
An application that you’ll use on a daily basis is Viigo. Viigo is an RSS reader. The application is really a one-stop shop for almost all information you need, whether you want news, blogs, podcasts, weather info, entertainment, finance, flight info, or more.
Download Viigo for free from your BlackBerry at http://www.viigo.com.
PeeKaWho — E-mail and SMS Alerts
Ever find yourself in the middle of browsing or composing an e-mail, and all of a sudden a new e-mail finds its way to your inbox? Instead of stopping what you’re doing and heading to the inbox, with PeeKaWho you can get a preview of the e-mail or SMS message that has just arrived, and you can dismiss, mark as read, go to your inbox, or delete the message — all from the alert pop-up.
To find out more, go to www.smrtguard.com/peek.jsp.
Zodiac
What’s Zodiac? It’s a simple yet addictive game where you match three or more cute animal figures; you hear a satisfying “bing” that will keep you going. The best part is that your spouse and kids will enjoy Zodiac as well. Try it for free by downloading it from http://www.mobihand.com/ product.asp?id=2 93 58&n=Zodiac.
Google Talk Mobile and Yahoo! Messenger Mobile
If you currently use Google Talk or Yahoo! Messenger on your PC, both mobile versions are must-downloads to keep up with your buddies no matter where you are. To download, point your BlackBerry browser to
Google Talk Mobile: www.blackberry.com/GoogleTalk
Yahoo! Messenger Mobile: www.blackberry.com/YahooDownload
WeatherEye
Numerous weather programs are available, but we like the one from WeatherEye for its simplicity. You set up the weather location you want, and WeatherEye displays an icon on your Home screen to indicate the current weather information, updated daily. This application is free; download it from http://blackberry.theweathernetwork.com.
Nobex Radio Companion
FM radio on your BlackBerry? That’s right. With Nobex, you can get streaming radio on your BlackBerry for free (for now)!
More than a hundred stations are available for streaming. Nobex works best if you have a 3G or EvDo network (the faster the network, the better your experience with Nobex). To find out more, go to www.nobexrc.com.
Online Personal Music Players
Two applications, Pandora and Slacker, stream CD-quality music right to your BlackBerry. After you download and sign up for Pandora, you just search for the music that you like to hear, and Pandora will automatically feed you similar songs. If you indicate to Pandora whether you like or dislike a particular song that it feeds you, future Pandora selections should be more to your liking. Try Pandora for free at http://www.pandora.com/blackberry. To try Slacker for free, download it at http://www.slacker.com.
