Curve-acious
December 17 2007 11:00:00 AM
Add/Read Comments [12]
I've recently switched from using a Blackberry Pearl, to using a sleek red Blackberry Curve (8310, the one with GPS). While it is slightly wider than the Pearl, I really prefer the larger screen and full keyboard. I've still not memorized where all the alternate keys are, and I don't know all the shortcuts I used to with my Pearl, but I'm getting there. I really like that I can create my own folders on the home page, and move applications around to where I want them.
Here are the applications I have installed, and some comments/questions about them:
- Access to my Lotus Notes mail, calendar, and contacts via Blackberry Enterprise Server.
- Lotus Sametime for Blackberry.
- Gmail, Google Maps (with GPS, this is so cool), and Google Search. I also have installed Google News, Google Talk, Google Reader, and Google Synch, but I don't use them. Google has done a great job by providing the Google Mobile Updater application. Is anyone using Google Synch yet? I like the idea of synching my Google Calendar to my Blackberry, but I am worried it will also push the events from my Notes calendar to the web, which I don't want, as it would publish IBM confidential data. Can I control what synchs?
- Facebook app for Blackberry. I mainly use this for setting my status when not at my computer, reading friend's statuses, and for uploading mobile photos. This is great, but I don't think I have I am using it at full potential. Since I don't have my Facebook account set up to send updates to the same email account used by my BES server, I think this is limiting the information I see in the Facebook app. Also, my status on Facebook for Blackberry always displays the last status I set using this app, not my actual last status. (it does not update when I update my status on the web).
- Viigo for RSS feeds. I really like this application, it is much better than just using the built in RSS feeds via the Blackberry browser. However, I've noticed that some articles are getting duplicated. The only thing missing from this that would make it perfect in my mind, is that the author name for each article is not shown. When reading blog comments, I like to know who wrote it.
- TwitterBerry - this is a BB interface to Twitter, but I will most likely remove this, as I don't see myself getting interested in Twitter. Updating my status on Facebook is enough for me. Yes I know they can synch, but why do I care? My friends are all on Facebook.
What I am missing is small little applications for weather, stocks, and Flickr (see my photos, plus upload mobile photos). I know about full application suites such as Handango InHand (which I have installed), Handmark Pocket Express, Plusmo, and others, but I just want a simple stand alone applications that I can click on and quickly get the information, similar to how the iPhone does it. Does anyone have recommendations for these? (or other programs that you think I should be using)
Overall I really am enjoying my Curve. I think it is a considerable upgrade from the Pearl, and I'm excited about the work going on between RIM and Lotus. Both companies understand the value of mobility, especially as the unified communications and social networking trends are becoming realities in business world. I think you can expect some exciting announcements in the future!
Alan,
I really like the weather app from "The Weather Network". It's a channel push app that we setup on the BES to push weather to the device. The ribbon icon shows the current weather ata glance, rolling over it, give more details like the temperature and short term forecast and clicking it takes you to the full page with long term forecast, etc...
I used to use it directly from the BB Handheld, and I think I installed it by going to the "Do More" option sent down from the carrier, Rogers in my case.
We sell the Impatica Show Mates, now working with anything on the screen, not just PowerPoint, so I have that installed. We also sell VKB laser keyboards, which are awesome for airplanes, works great in the tray and you can't spill anything on it, plus it works with laptops too!
Love the red curve, wish Rogers had one. Seems fitting since it's their corp colour.
--Pete
I just started using Sync a couple days ago. It didn't push any of my Notes calendar entries to the Google calendar and it seems to be syncing 4 weeks (configurable) of Google calendar entries down into my Notes calendar.
My only gripe is that I can't mark the entries as private and that there aren't many configuration settings.
hey alan
try out the viigo app. its a rss reader. pretty cool. { Link }
I have the 8230 with WIFI. my only problem seem that sametime8 client crashes. Now I need to uninstall all my google apps and reinstall sametime and it will work. there seems to be something funny there which am still to figure out. So watch out for that clash
How are you syncing your contacts? We're using RIM's Desktop Manager software and a USB cable to sync to the personal address book. Have you found anything better?
@4 - It's called Blackberry Enterprise Server, and it sadly only runs on Windows.
I have many shops that run Domino on non-windows and have to add a Windows-based Domino server JUST to run BES.
@5 - I have heard that IBM has a BES that is running on Linux, still trying to confirm this and we are looking into our own mods to get that working here.
--Pete
@4 - With DWA you can sync the addr book
@ Alan
I use Opera Mini as a web browser on my 8700. It is a much better graphical browser than what ships with the device. It handles rss feeds and reformats forum and blog websites to a very readable layout.
Hi Alan,
for your "Weather-Problem" just have a look at sourceforge.net. There are some Apps for the "Blackberry" published. One of them are the BB-Tools, which contains BBToday (an alternate Today-Sreen with Weather-Plugin) and BBWeather. BBWeather does not run on my Pearl. BBToday run, but I can´t get an connection for this Weather-Plugin. But I know, and I have to search, that a solution for this problem exist in the German Blackberry-Forum.
Google for "Blackberry and MiniMonitor" and you will find a small Application which shows your traffic in a diagram. Very Cool.
Marc
Hi Alan -
You can use FreeRange WebReader for exactly what you are looking to do - iPhone like instant access to the latest weather, blog posts (and comments), flickr, and stocks. New items are updated in the background, and it works offline so you always have instant access.
You can download it directly from your BB browser from: { Link }
or read more at { Link }
Thanks,
Jon M.
Yahoo's mobile app has Flickr...
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Kathy, the Weather App and Flickr App in Yahoo Go are perfect, I just wish they were stand alone applications, and I did not have to have all the other Yahoo Go stuff.
After using it for a few more days I did notice that it copied my Lotus Notes (Business) calendar entries up to Google Calendar. That's not ideal since most companies like to keep that stuff internally.
Luis, thanks for letting me know. Yes, that would be disasterous for me.