I have 3 children (one under 5), work in a daycare and use the BlackBerry 9670 & BlackBerry PlayBook daily. As most of you can imagine, that combination leads to a whole lot of fingerprints and who knows what else on my devices. Just the other day I had a kid get sick all over me while my 9670 was sitting in my lap. Needless to say, I didn't want to touch that device again until it had been cleaned. When glancing through ShopCrackBerry.com a few weeks ago, I happened upon the iKlenz Cleaner Solution by iKlenz and decided now was the perfect time to give it a test run.
Before when I needed to clean a device I would just use my shirt or a coffee filter and some windex. Not the best way but hey it worked. With the iKlenz Cleaner Solution you can restore shine, remove fingerprints, repel dust and leave your device streak-free. iKlenz also works as a disinfectant to destroy harmful bacteria and kill contagious germs (in all honesty I was sold on it right here), while addressing the safety and care of the BlackBerry display. This cleansing solution is so easy to use. Just spray up to five times directly on the microfiber cloth, which is included (not directly on the device) in one specific spot until noticeably damp then wipe the screen with moderate to light pressure. You'll notice the solution evaporating rather quickly. Once clean, flip the cloth over to the dry side and wipe gently to polish. The microfiber cloth is hand washable and can be reused numerous times. Just clean with warm water and use a mild bleach-free detergent, rinse throughly and air dry. The kit also includes a soft microfiber bag to keep your BlackBerry clean and scratch free. This solution is a great way to keep your devices looking brand new.
As you can see in the video above, I tested the cleaning solution with some pretty common and hard to remove products (although the lipstick and garage door lubricant may have been a bit extreme). The iKlenz Cleaner Solution had no dificulty removing most with only a second application needed when removing extremely greasy products (mechanics, stock up on this stuff!).
If you've ever been out at a long all-night party, BBQ, frat part or whatever - you know that there are times you want to rock out some new drinking games but just aren't sure what to play. You have some comitted to memory, but playing them over and over gets a bit dry. Enter The Ultimate Drinking App for BlackBerry. This free app will leave you wondering no more. Enter the number of people playing and some other info and the app will throw back some suggested games complete with easy to understand rules. With over 100 games this app is certainly going to be the hit of your next party. Remember kids - you must be of legal drinking age to consume alcohol.
May has come and gone so that means it's time to crown the winner of our BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 IOU contest. We had nearly 10,000 comments on the post in the last 30 days and it looks like everyone is as exicted as I am to get their hands on one of these hot little numbers. So without further delay ... the winner of a BlackBerry Bold 9900 or 9930 is....
Congrats!!! I'll be sending you an email with the details and when the Bold Touch hits the market we'll have one with your name on it. Thanks to everyone that participated!!
LastPass should be easier to use on the BlackBerry PlayBook. LastPass, if you haven't read before, is an online password management service. More than that, LastPass has taught me to make better passwords. Each of my websites has a different, randomly-generated password. About the only thing I do know is my LastPass master password (incidently, one that would take 54 quadrillion years to crack using a brute-force attack).
So when I visit my various websites, I need LastPass to tell me what my password is. On the PlayBook, the only way to do this is through the LastPass website; and I must say, it's a cumbersome process.
Begin by opening the PlayBook's web browser and navigating to www.LastPass.com. Enter your login credentials. Find the site you are planning to visit and touch edit. Make sure you select the Edit button for your site. You may need to zoom in to make sure you select the site you want. Hmmm... the design of the site makes that difficult. Well, good luck anyway.
Clicking edit will open the site information window. Next to the password box, touch [show]. Now that the password is visible, touch and hold to select the text for copying. Move the selecting bars around so that the entire password is highlighted. This may take several tries. Once selected, touch Copy. Now open the website you would like to visit in another tab. In the password field for that website, touch and then hold until the paste option appears. Repeat as necessary to copy the username.
There needs to be a better way.
I, and many like me, depend on LastPass to keep up with the multitude of my online identities. LastPass is so integral to my online life, that I upgraded my account from free to premium just so I could get the BlackBerry application for my Torch. We need a LastPass app for the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Of course, others have asked for an app; and LastPass has responded that they don't have concrete plans to build one. As a workaround, they suggest using the Bookmarklets feature. For browsers that don't support the LastPass plugin, bookmarklets allow for that same one-click-to-login experience you'd get with a plugin. Problem is, bookmarklets aren't supported on the PlayBook. The absolute closest I got (and I spent half an hour searching for a solution) to using a bookmarklet produced the error you see above.
I have heard second-hand from someone who loves LastPass as much as I do that the folks in charge are wary of devoting significant resources to developing a PlayBook app. Did they miss the WebWorks demo at BlackBerry World? You know, the one where they built an app in less than three minutes. Seems to me that LastPass is a perfect candidate for a WebWorks app. It doesn't have to be gorgeous; it doesn't have to integrate into the stock browser. It just has to work.
I've warned others against the dangers of password reuse. I've promoted LastPass to my friends, family, and readers; touting its virtues and ease of use. I've praised LastPass for its fast response to a recent possibility of an intrusion. Rather than hide, LastPass did exactly what it should have in overreacting and alerting its users immediately.
And now I ask something in return. LastPass, I and the rest your loyal following asks - no begs - of you to make us a PlayBook application. We who use your website daily on our PlayBooks wish we didn't have to. It's far too cumbersome a process. We don't need a fancy app (though that would be nice); just something simple so we don't have to go through the rigamarole of copy and pasting from the website.
Having music in my pocket with me while on the go is definitely something that I find to be a necessity, and while I don't like to load my SD card up with tons of music, I do like to have a variety with me in case I am in the mood for something different at that time. Some local radio stations play quite a nice mix of music around me so at times I find myself wanting to listen to the radio, but while not near a car or a desk it can be a bit hard -- that is until TuneIn Radio. We have previously talked about TuneIn Radio, but they now have a Pro version which allows users to record the radio content or to pause the live radio if they wish, which are pretty handy features for users on the go. Whether a casual radio listener, or a music lover, this is a must have for all BlackBerry devices!
Contest: We have 50 copies of TuneIn Radio Pro to give away courtesy of TuneIn! To enter, leave a comment below. One entry per person please, contest ends this Sunday at Midnight. Good luck!
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac has been waiting on some BlackBerry PlayBook funcitonality for a while now, so we were glad to see the latest beta release show up in the BlackBerry Beta Zone. The new version is at 2.1.0 (build 19) and includes some support for the BlackBerry PlayBook (yes only some). When connecting the PlayBook you now have options for both importing and syncing media from your Mac. This includes music, movies and photos but that's it. Sadly no sign of backup/restore or any other new features, but I suppose it's a step in the right direction. We're not sure if this is a wide rollout or only certain users are seeing it, so if you're a Beta Zone member login and let us know if it's popping up for you. Also no word on an official public release but we'll keep you posted. Thanks James!
For anyone out there keeping track, builds of OS 6.0.0.576 have made their way out for the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, Curve 3G and even the Bold 9700 but nothing for the BlackBerry Torch 9800. That is, until now. Yup, OS 6.0.0.576 is now available for your downloading pleasure. So if you're down with running a leaked OS, have at the source links below
*OS Disclaimer - Please Read: Keep in mind this is NOT an official release and as such is not supported by RIM or your Carrier. If you choose to install, do so at your own risk and only if you're comfortable in the process of upgrading and downgrading your device software. It is quite normal during operating system development for certain features to be crippled or disabled while others are tested, and these beta builds often reflect that. They are not always better. Depending on your BlackBerry comfort level, it may be best for you to wait for community feedback on a build before deciding to download and install for yourself or simply wait for the next official release. If you require support, you will find it in our CrackBerry forums via our extremely knowledgeable community base - do not contact your carrier or RIM for Beta OS technical support (their first course of action will be to advise you to downgrade to a supported OS). *
Test your cow rolling abilities with Mooo,a new BlackBerry PlayBook game by Richard Hoddinott, with 30 unique and challenging levels of trying to get your cow to the milk bottle. A game of both skill and strategy, you must work out the best way to roll your cow over the obstacles to the milk bottle and fill it up with fresh milk. Tapping on the haystacks will remove them which allows you to make strategic alterations to the layout of the levels. The more advanced levels introduce new challenges like bubbles and bombs. The game also includes super challenging unlockable bonus levels for even more fun.
It works flawlessly on the BlackBerry PlayBook without any lag or glitches that I've seen and at a price tag of only $0.99, it's sure to be a hit among many. It would have been nice if tilting the PlayBook from side to side would roll the cow utilizing more of the device's capabilities but aside from that, the game is so much fun that I couldn't put it down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that more levels are released soon! Roll that cow folks!
Ederra is the latest creation from AG Designs and is now available. This great theme brings some updating to the look of the stock BlackBerry theme with the new OS 7 icons that will be seen in upcoming devices. Ederra lets you show off any wallpaper on the homescreen and with its stylish, updated design you'll give your BlackBerry a breath of fresh air.
For non-touch devices there is a hidden dock lying below the screen that is easily revealed by scrolling down. The user will notice that the icons pop-up "on-demand" when scrolling down - there are two rows and a total of 12 icons. The icons will then disappear when scrolling back up and the wallpaper will become fully visible. The theme is also equipped with our "Smart Banner". This banner has shortcuts built-in to each piece of information displayed, the time will take you to the Clock app, date to Calendar, notifications to Messages and the signal meter will take you to Manage Connections. Along with the shortcuts - the banner also incorporates a weather slot that also stays there on the lock screen.
Ederra is available for most devices and is on sale for $3.99 in the CrackBerry App Store.
Contest: We have 50 copies of Ederra to give away. Just leave a single comment on this post to enter. Contest ends this Sunday at midnight ET.
Back in May, ComScore released some numbers regarding smartphone marketshare statistics in the U.S. At that time, they were showing that RIM was fighting the good fight against Google and Apple but, was losing out to Google. Flip the markets around and look at it from the Canadian perspective just one month earlier and the results show a different landscape. In fact, the Canadian consumer market for RIM is looking just fine these days.
In March 2011, 6.6 million people in Canada owned smartphones, representing one-third of the total mobile audience. RIM was the leading mobile smartphone operating system with 42.0 percent share of Canadian smartphone subscribers. Apple ranked second with 31.0 percent share, followed by Google with 12.2 percent, Symbian with 6.4 percent share and Microsoft with 5.1 percent share.
I'm sure there is a direct relation to loyalty in the brand there when it comes to Canadian users but this is good news for RIM. Aside from the U.S. market the Canadian market is one the largest markets for BlackBerry smartphones and the new numbers released today how the Canadian market is not slowing down in terms of growth.
Sometimes having too many sound profiles on your BlackBerry can be annoying. Normal, Loud, Quiet, Silent, Vibrate ... do you really need them all? Personally I really just stick with Silent, Medium and Vibrate for most uses. I've actually migrated my Medium profile to Normal seeing as the Normal profile I rarely touched. I've eliminated all the profiles that never got used, making switching between them easier and slimming down in the process. If you're like me and don't go crazy with profile switching you can knock out a few as well. Keep reading for a few quick steps on how to delete those unused sound profiles on your BlackBerry.
Start by clicking the Profiles icon in the homescreen banner (or the Sound Profiles icon). Then click Change Sounds and Alerts.
The next screen allows you to edit sound profiles, phone ringtone and contact profiles. We want to delete a profile, so choose Profile Management.
Highlight the profile you'd like to remove. Press the menu key and choose Delete. That's it!! Keep in mind both the Normal and Vibrate Only profiles cannot be removed.
Now you're one step closer to a slimmer BlackBerry. Having fewer profiles lets you keep things straight so you know what's what. If you don't use the additional profiles there's really no use in having them around, right?
Let's face it - we've all "butt dialed" at some point in time. It's a fact of life and it just happens. I suppose with a BlackBerry it's more of a "butt email" or "butt Tweet" or what have you, but you know how it goes. If you don't remember to lock your device with either the lock button or a password, this can be a major issue for some. I've found many apps that automatically lock my device, but AutoLock seems to work the best for my needs. AutoLock is a simple tool that lets you set a timeout on your device at which point it will lock automatically. You can unlock with the * Send combo or by pressing the lock button itself. You can choose an lock interval from 10 seconds up to 10 minutes and also choose native and third party apps to not allow locking. Overall very cool stuff and a handy tool to have. AutoLock is available for $2.99 in the CrackBerry App Store.
Some nice info was just dropped on us today for all you Sprint users looking to get ahold of a new BlackBerry in the next little while. The above list, clearly shows the BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry monaco 9850 will be launched on Sprint soon but possibly more importantly -- it also gives us the go-to-market name for the monaco. If all is correct here, the BlackBerry monaco 9850 will be placed under the BlackBerry Torch branding when released.
So when exactly are these devices expected to arrive? Well, if you jump on past the break you'll see the release date for the BlackBerry Bold 9930 is tentatively set for August 21 while the BlackBerry Torch 9850 is still stuck in that to-be-determined area.
Following up on the Sprint news, I'm sure a lot of Verizon folks were wondering if the BlackBerry Bold 9930 would be hitting their network as well. While it's not exactly the same kind of confirmation we got from Sprint, it's as solid as we're going to get for now and that answer is -- yes. Verizon customers will be getting the BlackBerry Bold 9930 as well. When, remains a mystery but -- we're fine with just knowing it's coming soon for now.
I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone out there but the still unofficial, unannounced BlackBerry Torch 2 has one again received some hands-on love. At this point, there is very little information remaining to be said about the BlackBerry Torch 2.
Aside from a release date and official announcement of carriers we're baffled as to why RIM isn't just shipping this device already -- they've had plenty of time to be working on it and they're well aware they need a new in-market device so, what exactly is the hold up? Specs call for AT&T on this one, we're wondering if it's carrier approval or if BlackBerry 7 is still being optimized for the new hardware we're seeing here.
If you're looking for more photos, you can jump on past the break or hit up the source link for the full details.
Welcome to this week's BlackBerry App Roundup! This week we have 50 copies of Talking Kitty by Almoko to give away this week! We have searched high and low and found some neat apps to share with you this week, so head on past the break to check them out and enter the contest! If you have an app you want to see featured in the roundup be sure to check the end of the post for information on submitting it to us.
Force Close by Ottafone Inc. This app allows you to force close (kill) some programs that never exit otherwise. Many such programs don't have to run all the time. Closing them (not just pushing them to background) would release precious resources (CPU, memory) on your BlackBerry. Due to API limitations and security reason, some third-party programs can't be force-closed by this app. However, this app provides a convenient way to delete a stubborn program that doesn't provide an elegant way to exit. Force Close is FREE in BlackBerry App World.
ScorePad by InHandHeld Score your games with ease and concentrate on the game instead of being distracted by score-keeping. Score games with 2 to 8 players, up to 100 turns! Modeled after a paper score-sheet, just put the players' names at the top of the screen and enter scores in columns below. They're totaled automatically. Take the chore out of scoring, put ScorePad on your phone! ScorePad is available for $1.99 in BlackBerry App World and is compatible with BlackBerry 85xx, 89xx, 91xx, 93xx, 95xx, 96xx, 97xx, and 9800.
FrameMee for BlackBerry by Rese-Solution FrameMee for BlackBerry lets you decorate your camera shots using different frames. There are quite a few to choose from, each offering a different effect. You can even choose a frame that allows for multiple images. Save the image and you can share it using your usual methods. There is a free trial available so you can get an idea of what frames are included. The full version is on sale now for $1.99 (regularly $5.99) and the app is compatible with BlackBerry 89xx, 9000, 93xx, 95xx, 96xx, 97xx, and 9800.
PhoneMate by Toysoft Development Do you always forget your friends birthday or their anniversary? Wouldn't it be nice to display a note on the call screen as a reminder when they call you? Now you can with PhoneMate. You can setup PhoneMate to display the caller's birthday and/or anniversary dates. Optionally display the custom or Notes field from the Contacts. You can select icons for birthday and anniversary dates. Note that you must have entered the caller's birthday, anniversary, custom or notes fields in the Contacts application. PhoneMate costs just $.99 and currently is currently available for the Torch 9800.
Wedding Organizer for BlackBerry Smartphones; keeping couples sane one task at a time
It should come as no surprise to anyone, there is a whole lot of stuff that goes into the planning of a wedding, and it can be rather easy to overlook something that needs to be done if you are not meticulous and extremely organized. No one wants to carry around a notepad with them everywhere they go so they know what has been done, and what needs to be done, so why not just keep all the information in your beloved BlackBerry since it is always with you anyways.
Inside the Wedding Organizer application you will find 172 tasks (told you there was a lot) organized into 17 categories such as attire, beauty, honeymoon and more, which allow you to focus on a single section if you want, or just complete the tasks randomly. Each task is given a timeframe for the completion, which is based on how far before the wedding it should be done, like 2 to 3 months or the day before, allowing you to know where you stand at all times. If the 172 tasks included aren't enough you are able to add your own to the list so you can ensure that you don't miss anything for your big day. So if you are in the planning stages, or plan to be popping the big question soon pick up your very own copy of Wedding Organizer for only $2.99 from the CrackBerry Store while it is on sale.
Think you have fast reflexes and even faster fingers? Put them to the test with Blockheads by Critter Creative for the BlackBerry PlayBook! The game will feel familiar to most of you as it's in the bubble popping category, but it's also got a bit of a Tetris feel, as rows of blocks drop from above while you eliminate groups of same-colored blocks from below. Blockheads is fast-paced, entertaining, and challenging as the ever shifting rows and columns of blocks stack up. Work fast to eliminate blocks before the stacks reach the red line, or it's game over. This is a game you'll return to again and again for a quick game or to entertain the kids. The graphics are bright and colorful and the game plays smoothly and without lag. You can pick Blockheads up for just $.99 in BlackBerry App World.
Talking Kitty by Almoko You've seen similar apps for Android and iOS, now you can have it on your BlackBerry too! Talking Kitty records what you say to it, then repeats it back to you in a silly voice. It's a simple app to use. Click or tap on the cute, hand-drawn kitty picture and you'll see the microphone turn red to indicate you're recording. Speak, and when you're done click the kitty again. He will repeat back to you what you said, but in a goofy voice. My daughter loved this app, and enjoyed recording herself over and over. The only thing really missing is the ability to save your recordings and forward them. Hopefully this will be added in a future update. Overall Talking Kitty is cute and easy to use, and will keep your kids (and maybe even you!) entertained for some time. The app is available for $.99 and is compatible with BlackBerry 8220, 8520, 89xx, 9000, 91xx, 9300, 95xx, 9700 and 9800 (GSM only, CDMA devices are not supported).
Contest: Almoko has provided us with 50 copies of Talking Kitty to pass out among our readers. To enter, leave a comment below. One entry per person please, contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST.
Well there you have it folks! Be sure to check out New BlackBerry Apps, Updated BlackBerry Apps and Free BlackBerry Apps available at ShopCrackBerry.com. If you are a developer and want to have your app shown in the roundup or you're interested in having us host a contest for you, drop me an email at cbmichelle[@]crackberry.com. See you all next week!
A while back we posted on Epic Applications' new game, Humans vs Aliens. It is a very fun game, that seems to take full advantage of the current BlackBerry capabilities. The gameplay is very smooth, and I seem to find myself playing it for hours on end. In this update, they have made the following changes:
You can pick up Humans vs Aliens on sale at the CrackBerry App Store. Normally $5.99, they have cut the price to $.0.99 for a limited time. It is available for the Bold 9650, Bold 9700, Bold 9780, Curve 8330, Curve 8350i, Curve 8520, Curve 8530, Curve 8900, Curve 8910, Curve 8930, Curve 8980, Curve 9300 3G, Curve 9330 3G, Storm 9500, Storm 9530/9530T, Storm2 9550/9520, Torch 9800, Tour 9630.
Are you sitting down? Well...yes, you probably are; but that's beside the point! I've finally found it. I've finally found a Flashlight app! "Um...Joseph?" you might be saying to yourself, "there are lots of Flashlight apps on App World and at the CrackBerry App Store." And you'd be right. This flashlight app is different, this one actually works.
To be fair to those other apps, they work too. They just work differently. In every single flashlight app I've downloaded, they just start the video camera. First though, the video light must be set to turn on when the video camera starts. You see, many of these apps are a mere shortcut to the video camera.
e-office flashlight is different (thank goodness). This flashlight app still uses the bright LED in front; but without starting the video camera. The light turns on much more quickly, and Torch owners can finally rejoice: the light doesn't go out when you tilt your hand slightly. If you've ever been searching for the remote under the couch with the video light, you'll know what I mean. The light turns off every time the screen orientation changes.
e-office flashlight is the flashlight app I've been searching for. The light turns on quickly, doesn't use the video camera (just the light), and doesn't need to be a Trusted Application or require a load of permissions to run. It does need the Files permissions (otherwise you get the "Unable to create player" error), but that's one I can feel safe in allowing. Why is this important? Some app developers are less scrupulous than others. No worries about that here.
Verizon has been super quiet about their upcoming BlackBerry smartphones but John, a reader and fan of BBRocks.com, let me know they may have slipped up with a Google ad. If you go to Google and search for “bold touch 9930″ the ad at the top should be for a “Bold Touchscreen” which everyone by now knows can only be one device, in this case, the BlackBerry Bold “Touch” 9930. When RIM first announced the Bold 9900 series they didn’t specifically mention which carriers would offer it but it looks like Google isn’t good at keeping secrets, which is nothing new.
Clicking on the ad takes you to a page that says “The selection you made is unavailable at this time” but it does take you to the official Verizon site which can only tell us one thing…they’re getting ready. When they’ll actually launch the Bold 9930 is still not known but RIM said it’s “expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer” and since summer is already upon is, it’s definitely around the corner.
Anyone on Verizon (or any other carrier) excited for the Bold 9900 series?
Everyone loves a good check-in app but the majority of them let you check-in to locations, specific activities, music, food, etc. What about an app/service that let’s you check-in to an app? That’s exactly what Pretzil is. Where users are checking in to a location using Foursquare (as an example) the same users can check-in to the Foursquare application with Pretzil and earn points for level of activity, socialize with others, discover new content and get rewarded. The Pretzil team announced they’ve passed 850,000 users and 10 million app checkins! From their announcement:
Pretzil is announcing that it has passed 850,000 users and 10 million app checkins on its platform. Pretzil is the first truly cross-platform social network that allows users to checkin to the apps they love whether it be on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and others.
Pretzil is also an entirely gamified platform where users get rewarded for participating. Checking in to an app earns you points that can be redeemed for virtual goods. This feature is very popular among Pretzil users and growing rapidly in what it offers as rewards.
Of the 10 million app checkins, over 40% of Pretzil users are sharing their location. This enables Pretzil to feed the real-time web with trending data across the 214 countries represented in Pretzil’s user base. It also allows Pretzil to answer the question: “what apps are popular around me?”.
Pretzil will be expanding its database of apps that users can checkin to, as well as a mobile suite to allow for more immediate checkins and app recommendations. Currently, Pretzil has raised $300,000 in angel funding and is entering a Series A round of investment.
Congrats to Pretzil! This startup began in October 2010 and so far it looks like they’re off to a great start. For interested developers, they also offer an API that you can use to integrate Pretzil within your app. For more info or to sign up and see which apps are available to check-in to, head on over to pretzil.com.
The team over at Engadget got their hands on a BlackBerry Torch 2 courtesy of Negri Electronics and put together a great, extensive hands-on preview complete with photos and video. The Torch 2 has yet to be made official by RIM but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the many leaks including OS releases, possible launch date details, and a few live photos. Although we’ve seen and heard a bunch about this device already, Engadget does a great job of breaking everything down and offering many different views of the device in the photos and video. You can check out their full preview here (video included) or check out the photos below!
If you have not heard BerryReview turns 4 this month and throughout the month we will be doing some giveaways with the help of our BlackBerry community friends. Todays giveaway comes from the folks over at www.ShapeServices.com. If you are not familiar with their name you may have heard of their popular Apps such as IM+ which is a cross platform messaging available for BlackBerry and will soon come to the BlackBerry PlayBook. ShapeServices app’s simply work and provide a nice friendly UI design. Check out their website for more information as well as free trials of their products at this link.
We have some great apps to give to you our readers thanks to the guys over at shapesevices. To start we are giving 15 of you to win a prize. 10 will win a copy of IM+ and five lucky winners will win IM+ Talk .
Not familiar with this app?
IM+ Features include:
IM+ All in One is available for purchase one time fee $39.95 at through their website or through app world.
Giveaway: For a chance to win a copy for your BlackBerry device simply leave a comment, (no double commenting allowed). The winners will be announced later this month, comments must be left before Tuesday June 7.
For those of you who don’t know what a bookmarklet is here is a brief description. A bookmarklet is a small bit of JavaScript code stored in the URL of a bookmark in your browser that is designed to add functionality by clicking on it. I was thinking about this concept when I was at BlackBerry World and found it actually works in the new BlackBerry WebKit browser. While I would rather have more robust Browser addons like I mentioned yesterday this has spurred my interest for now.
Here are some of the bookmarklets I created so far with more to come soon. You simply hit the BlackBerry menu button while hovering on top of the link below and select “Add Links to Bookmarks.”
There are limitations though that annoy me like not being able to save a bookmarklet to the homescreen but I plan on creating many more. The possibilities are endless from a “Subscribe in Google Reader” bookmarklet to a “highlight specific text or searching Wikipedia inline.
There are billions of bookmarklets our there online from Evernote to everything else you can think of. Share the ones you find or need help with in the comments!
The rumor mill is spinning at full speed with the BlackBerry Bold 9930 and now the BlackBerry 9850. First we had the BGR mentioning the rumor that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 will not be shipping globally until September. That seems to go against RIM’s original announcement saying:
Availability – The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer.
It could be that the BGR got things right that the device might not ship Globally until September since signs are pointing to an August launch. CrackBerry scored some pictures of a Sprint inventory system showing the BlackBerry Bold 9930 launching on Sprint for a tentative August 21st ship date and the 9850 with no tentative date.
Next we have some Google ads already advertising the BlackBerry Bold Touchscreen on Verizon when they have not even announced the device spotted by BBRocks. I guess that confirms it will be coming to Verizon but if the device was going to launch in September would they really be advertising it now? Just doesn’t add up. Something makes me feel we will see it in a July-ish time frame.
The team at Engadget managed to get their hands on a BlackBerry Torch 2 9810. We have seen quite a bit of this device but this latest review really goes into some nice details. You can tell the reviewer is not a regular BlackBerry user which makes it even more impressive when you hear them saying good things about it even with prerelease software and hardware. Engadget has put up tons of pictures of the device at this link and even more of the OS at this link.
They have only good things to say about the processor bump to 1.2Ghz along with the new high resolution screen that they compare as “night and day” to the original Torch. I am not a bit iPhone user but they claim it is comparable now. Maybe that is what RIM means by Liquid Graphics? They also took a pretty sweet video with the device in 720p HD which actually looks good.
Check out the review at this link and let us know what you think! Hopefully RIM will get around to releasing it or even announcing it soon…
Over the years there have been a few solutions that allow you to stream music to your BlackBerry from your PC. I am not sure what happened to the biggest player Music With Me but now there is a new solution called MusicRoom. This app lets you stream music from your music folder to your BlackBerry while you are at home. That means you can tap into your large music collection on your PC from your BlackBerry. Its a cool idea and something I am hoping gets refined to work over wireless networks too. I simply like the fact that you don’t have to use iTunes or Windows Media Player.
There have been quite a few rotation locking apps over the years for the Storm and now Torch devices. They have come and gone but S4BB let us know they are offering their own Rotation Lock app in App World for free for one month though they don’t mention when that month ends. I am not sure what other solutions are out there since I simply lock the rotation of my Torch by opening up the keyboard but to each his own. Still it cannot hurt to mention a useful free (for now) app.
Those of you who have been using RIM’s Facebook for BlackBerry 2.0 beta in the Beta Zone got a nice update today. RIM let us know that the beta zone program has been updated to v2.0 beta 3 release which includes updates that users were requesting. There is nothing terribly huge in this update like staying signed into Facebook chat consistently but they have added:
Wi-Fi support
The ability to delete comments and posts
New delete prompts
Here is the direct link to the Facebook for BlackBerry v2.0 beta program:
Carrier Billing is a convenient, and easy way to purchase applications from BlackBerry AppWorld without needing to enter PayPal or Credit Card information. Since RIM first introduced this option last summer the option has continued to grow in popularity, and more carriers have come on board. The percent of sales made via carrier billing has increased every single month, and as of April 2011 accounted for 25.1% of app sales for our apps. Given that the option of carrier billing increases app sales, continued growth in this area will only result in a more robust app economy for BlackBerry AppWorld.
This data is generated from the dollar amount of purchases of all Ebscer applications over the given month.
This scientific argument back and forth between scientists on the connection between cell phones and cancer baffles me. It has been years going back and forth and the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have come to the conclusion that cell phone radiation are now classified as “possibly carcinogenic.” Seriously! A parrot could have simply repeated the exact studies this working group went over to come to the same inconclusive conclusion. They are using this “Possibly carcinogenic” classification to call for more research.
It reminds me about what my dad used to say about scientists and researchers. Their goal is not to find a solution because then they wouldn’t have any work or grant money left. Instead they come up with a possibly stimulating hypothesis and ask for more research (aka money). Rinse and repeat.
On the other hand with footnotes like the two below I wonder why they even bother:
(2) ‘Limited evidence of carcinogenicity’: A positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent and cancer for which a causal interpretation is considered by the Working Group to be credible, but chance, bias or confounding could not be ruled out with reasonable confidence. (3) ‘Inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity’: The available studies are of insufficient quality, consistency or statistical power to permit a conclusion regarding the presence or absence of a causal association between exposure and cancer, or no data on cancer in humans are available.
This all makes me wonder when we will finally get a study that will put this matter to rest one way or another. The thing is what would you do if they found a link? Throw your BlackBerry in the ocean?
BlackBerry Java developers got a nice boost today with the release of the BlackBerry Java SDK 7 beta release. Alongside the release RIM has also updated the BlackBerry Java plugin for Eclipse and the BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE). They have also thrown in simulators for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 so you can now start to both develop and test BlackBerry OS 7 applications. That is nice since BlackBerry OS 7 adds quite a few new API’s and hardware features including OpenGL which are listed here.
The good:The HTC HD7S offers a sharper Super LCD touch screen with a built-in kickstand. The Windows Phone device ships with the NoDo update, which brings copy-and-paste and performance improvements.
The bad: There was a constant background hiss during phone calls. Camera quality could be better.
The bottom line:The HTC HD7S offers the benefit of a large touch screen with a sharp picture and fast performance, but it falls short of the smartphone competition in terms of camera and call quality.
Editors' note:Portions of this review were taken from our evaluation of the HTC HD7.
Introduced at CTIA 2011, the HTC HD7S is AT&T's fourth Windows Phone 7 device, joining the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround, and LG Quantum. Like the rest, the HD7S has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a 5-megapixel camera, but it most resembles a smartphone from another carrier: the HTC HD7 for T-Mobile. In fact, the two are exactly the same except that the HD7S features a sharper 4.3-inch Super LCD, which was much needed. It certainly adds
Editors' note:Portions of this review were taken from our evaluation of the HTC HD7.
Introduced at CTIA 2011, the HTC HD7S is AT&T's fourth Windows Phone 7 device, joining the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround, and LG Quantum. Like the rest, the HD7S has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a 5-megapixel camera, but it most resembles a smartphone from another carrier: the HTC HD7 for T-Mobile. In fact, the two are exactly the same except that the HD7S features a sharper 4.3-inch Super LCD, which was much needed. It certainly adds to the choice of Windows Phone handsets, but is it the best option out there? That depends on what you're looking for.
Design When we reviewed the HTC HD7, one of our only complaints about it was the outdated hardware, so it's nice to see that HTC addressed at least one aspect of that problem in the HD7S. Switching out the old TFT screen for a WVGA Super LCD brings a sharper and more vibrant picture. The pixels aren't as visible as before and colors look richer. Plus, the 4.3 inches of screen real estate is great when you're viewing Web sites and video.
The HD7S' Super LCD touch screen provides a sharper picture and richer colors.
The touch screen also felt responsive, as we easily navigated through the various screens and menus. It is a fingerprint magnet though--more than most--and if we're comparing screens, the Samsung Focus' Super AMOLED display is still better, as it offers even more saturated colors, finer detail, and better outdoor visibility. That said, you're not going to have problems seeing what's on the HD7S' screen and we very much appreciate the improved display.
The rest of the smartphone's design is pretty much the same as the HD7's. You still get a built-in kickstand on the back, this time with some metallic gold accents. The handset is on the larger and heavier side, with HTC's solid build quality. One thing we noticed, however, is there is a slim gap between the bottom of the battery door and the rest of the phone, leaving room for dust, dirt, and other debris to get in there. We wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker, but it's definitely not something we were expecting from a company that pays so much attention to detail.
The built-in kickstand is sturdy and comes in quite handy for watching videos on the phone or when using it as a picture viewer.
For more on the smartphone's design, please check out our review of the HTC HD7. AT&T ships the HD7S with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired stereo headset, and reference material.
Features The HTC HD7S ships running the Windows Phone 7 operating system with the latest NoDo update, which includes copy-and-paste support and performance improvements. As a phone, the HD7S offers quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calling, voice dialing, and text and multimedia messaging. The smartphone is 3G-capable and has Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS, but Windows Phone currently doesn't support tethering capabilities.
Though customization is limited in Windows Phone 7, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and carrier partners can still put their own spin on the devices, and AT&T and HTC have done so. HTC has added its own HTC Hub (also available as a live tile) where you will find some old HTC favorites like applications and its animated clock and weather widget.
Meanwhile, AT&T has preloaded the smartphone with a number of its services, including AT&T U-verse Mobile, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio, and AT&T Family Map. Unlike on the carrier's other smartphones, you can actually uninstall any of the unwanted carrier apps--not just remove them from the Start menu but actually uninstall them. To do so, just select the app with a long press and choose the uninstall option. This is great news if you don't like all that bloatware tying up precious resources. Just note that if you hard-reset the phone, the apps will reinstall after the reboot.
Of course, you can download more apps from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. There are currently more than 18,000 apps in the catalog. Just be aware that the HTC HD7 has 16GB of internal memory but no expansion slot. This should be enough for most people, but if you've got a huge multimedia library or like to load up your phone with apps and games, keep an eye on your available memory.
The minimum camera requirement for Windows Phone 7 is 5 megapixels, and that's exactly what you get with the HTC HD7S. The camera settings include six different resolutions, effects, scenes, and flicker adjustment. HTC also offers a Photo Enhancer app--available as a free download from the HTC Hub or Windows Phone 7 Marketplace--with which you can touch up photos and add effects.
The smartphone's 5-megapixel camera didn't exactly knock our socks off.
HTC does a lot of things well, but one area where it really needs to improve is camera software. As we've seen on a number of the company's other smartphones, the HD7S' picture quality left much to be desired. Though we could make out the objects in the photos, the images looked flat with washed-out colors and a grayish overtone. The camera did slightly better with outdoor scenes, but also struggled in camcorder mode, as our 720p HD video clips looked discolored and murky.
Performance We tested the quad-band HTC HD7S in New York using AT&T service, and call quality was an issue. Though our callers reported good results, we could hear a constant hissing in the background on our end. It wasn't bad enough that we couldn't hear voices, but it was noticeable and at times distracting.
HTC HD7S call quality sampleListen now:
Speakerphone quality was OK. The hissing was gone once we activated the speakerphone, and though slightly tinny the sound was clear. When volume was set to the highest level, it was just enough so we could hear our callers in a noisier environment. We had no problems pairing the smartphone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset and the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.
Using AT&T's 3G network, CNET's full site loaded in 40 seconds, while the mobile sites for CNN and ESPN came up in 5 seconds and 12 seconds. YouTube videos took a few seconds to load, but played back continuously after buffering.
With its 1GHz Snapdragon processor and NoDo performance improvements, the HTC HD7S proved to be a very capable performer during our test period. There was very little delay when launching apps and navigating through the menus. The load time for games was much faster than we saw on the first batch of Windows Phone devices, and gameplay was smooth.
The HTC HD7S ships with a 1,230mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 4.5 hours and up to 11 days of standby time. As we stated in our HD7 review, it's disappointing to see such a small battery in a larger device, but so far battery life hasn't been an issue. With moderate usage (checking e-mail and Facebook, few calls, and occasional browsing), we were able to get through a full work day before needing to recharge. We are still conducting our battery drain tests, and will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the HD7S has a digital SAR rating of 0.956W/kg and a Hearing Aid Compatibility Rating of M3.
Conclusions The HTC HD7S delivers on many fronts, including a large, crisp display and fast performance. Unfortunately, the subpar camera and call quality prevent us from giving it a higher score. Unless you absolutely crave the larger screen, the Samsung Focus is still our top pick of AT&T's Windows Phone devices. The HTC HD7S will be available starting June 5 for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
The good:The LG Remarq has a petite and playful ergonomic design along with a great QWERTY keyboard. It is also built with environmentally friendly materials and offers a carbon footprint calculator.
The bad: The LG Remarq doesn't have good photo quality.
The bottom line:The LG Remarq is an adorable eco-friendly messaging phone at an affordable price.
Many handset companies are keen on showing their eco-friendly side these days, and LG is all too happy to join the movement with the LG Remarq. We first saw the Remarq at CTIA 2010, and it's a slider messenger that's made out of 19 percent recycled plastic. In addition, 87 percent of its parts are recyclable once you decide to get rid of it. It also apparently has low levels of both polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame retardants. We're impressed that LG took the time to make the packaging cardboard eco-friendly as well. Even the LG Remarq ... Expand full review
Many handset companies are keen on showing their eco-friendly side these days, and LG is all too happy to join the movement with the LG Remarq. We first saw the Remarq at CTIA 2010, and it's a slider messenger that's made out of 19 percent recycled plastic. In addition, 87 percent of its parts are recyclable once you decide to get rid of it. It also apparently has low levels of both polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame retardants. We're impressed that LG took the time to make the packaging cardboard eco-friendly as well. Even the LG Remarq charger is energy-efficient with an Energy Star certification.
Aside from its eco-conscious features, the Remarq is a decent messaging phone. You won't get high-speed EV-DO here, but you do get a 1.3-megapixel camera, a music player, a microSD card slot, a speakerphone, and quick access to social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. We also like its square design and the QWERTY keyboard feels great too. The LG Remarq is quite a steal, as it's available for free after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new two-year agreement with Sprint.
Design The LG Remarq's short and squat design follows in the footsteps of many square slider phones before it, like the Samsung Reclaim and the Verizon Wireless Blitz. Some might not like this style of phone, but we have taken quite a shine to the cute and chubby form factor. Measuring 3.5 inches long by 2.5 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick, the Remarq has rounded corners, curved sides, and is decidedly compact. Wrapped in glossy hard plastic, the Remarq weighs around 3.8 ounces and feels surprising solid and sturdy in the hand despite its recycled ingredients.
The LG Remarq has a rounded square design.
On the front of it is a very attractive 2.2-inch display. It fits 220x176 pixels and has 262,000-color support, which result in crisp and colorful images and text. You can adjust the brightness, the backlight time, the appearance of the clock, calendar, and greeting text, the font size, and the screensaver. The Remarq supports animated wallpaper as well.
Underneath the display is the navigation array, which consists of two soft keys, a four-way square toggle with a middle Menu/OK key, a dedicated speakerphone key, a back key, a Talk key, and the End/Power key. The toggle also doubles as shortcuts to the message inbox, the browser, the My Stuff folder, and the My Photos album.
On the left is a 2.5mm headset jack, a volume rocker, and a microSD card slot, while the charger jack and camera key are on the right. On the back is the camera lens next to a leaf-shaped external speaker.
The LG Remarq has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Slide the display up and you'll reveal a full four-row QWERTY keyboard. For such a petite phone, the keyboard is actually quite roomy. The keys are well-spaced apart and are raised above the surface for easy typing. The keyboard has the usual symbol and function keys, and we like that the spacebar and enter keys are larger than the rest. It also has a backlight.
Features The LG Remarq has a 600-entry phone book, with room in each entry for six numbers, three e-mail addresses, a memo, a web URL, an instant messenger handle, a street address, a birthday, a job title, and a company name. You can also add a picture for photo caller ID, assign the entry to a caller group, or customize it with one of 23 ringtones or one of four vibration types. Other basic features include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, an alarm clock, a calendar, a calculator, a unit converter, a tip calculator, a notepad, a world clock, and a stopwatch. The Remarq also has GPS with Sprint Navigation and Family Locator services, USB Mass Storage, voice command capabilities, a mobile Web browser, and stereo Bluetooth.
To further boost the Remarq's eco-friendly status, buried within the calculator submenu is a tool called the Eco Calculator. The tool helps you measure your carbon footprint by letting you know how many pounds of CO2 you would be decreasing depending on how many hours/miles you walked or cycled instead of driving. You can also measure it by how many plants that could be planted. It's a little gimmicky, but it might be of interest if you're especially conscious of your carbon usage.
Of course, you also get text and multimedia messaging along with a threaded view so you can see your conversation as a back-and-forth chat. You're able to get e-mail on here as well. You can set it up with a variety of Web mail providers like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, as well as your own POP or IMAP server. In fact, you can access your work e-mail on here as well, provided your employer uses Microsoft Exchange and Outlook Web Access (OWA). Instant messaging is available as well.
In addition to the Web browser, the Remarq has a few social networking applications installed by default. They include Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Sprint's own Social Zone, which provides access to forums like Asian Avenue. Sprint did a decent job with these Java-based apps, but we did find that they took a little too long to launch for our liking. You can easily update your status and upload pictures with these apps, just like you can on the regular Web site versions.
The Remarq has a music player we've seen on other Sprint phones before. You can organize songs by artists, albums, and genres, and you can also create and edit playlists on the fly. Of course there are the usual player controls as well as repeat and shuffle modes. You can send the player to the background while fiddling with other parts of the phone. There's no EV-DO on here, so you won't be able to download music from the Sprint Music Store. However you can upload your own music--the Remarq has an internal memory of 22MB, but you can fit up to 16GB microSD cards in it.
The LG Remarq has a 1.3-megapixel camera on the back.
The 1.3-megapixel camera can take pictures in three resolutions and three quality settings. Other settings include four color tones, brightness, five white balance presets plus a manual option, nine fun frames, zoom (not available in highest resolution), and a self-timer. Photo quality was pretty bad. Images looked blurry and washed out, even under good lighting conditions. The Remarq does not have a camcorder.
The LG Remarq doesn't take the greatest pictures.
You can customize the Remarq with graphics and ringtones from the Sprint web store, or you can use your own images and sound files for wallpaper and ringtones. The phone doesn't come with any games, but you can easily purchase and download those as well.
Performance We tested the LG Remarq (CDMA 800/1900) in San Francisco using the Sprint network. Call quality was decent on the whole, but not great. We heard our callers clearly without a problem, though we did notice the occasional static blip. Their voices sounded natural as well.
On their end, callers had a few more hiccups. Though they heard us fine for the most part, they complained about a faint but persistent background hum. When we turned on the speakerphone, the hum was much more apparent. Overall though, we could still carry on a conversation, so it was merely an annoyance, and not a deal breaker.
Audio quality from the phone's speakers was predictably tinny and mediocre. We would suggest a wired or stereo Bluetooth headset for the best audio experience.
The LG Remarq has a rated battery life of 5.5 hours talk time. It has an average tested talk time of 5 hours and 39 minutes. According to the FCC, it has a digital SAR of 1.22 watts per kilogram.
The good:The Puma Phone offers a user-friendly interface, an attractive design, and a nice selection of sports-themed apps. Call quality is decent, and the solar panel can deliver an emergency charge.
The bad: The Puma Phone's GSM and 3G bands are optimized for the North American market. Call volume was rather low, and the touch screen is small and occasionally inaccurate.
The bottom line:We'd change a few things about the Puma Phone, but it delivers a fun user experience that no phone can match. Just make your area has the proper coverage and enough sun.
Editors' note: We updated this review on April 26, 2011, to reflect additional testing.
Last year at Mobile World Congress, one of the most-talked-about cell phones at the show occupied a small red pavilion plastered with Puma's logo. Yes, you heard us correctly; a company otherwise known for shoes and sportswear competed with the likes of HTC and Sony Ericsson to offer a device that everyone wanted to see.
Corporate-themed phones are nothing new, so it wasn't the Puma name that gave the handset such novelty. Instead, the Puma phone's appeal stemmed
Editors' note: We updated this review on April 26, 2011, to reflect additional testing.
Last year at Mobile World Congress, one of the most-talked-about cell phones at the show occupied a small red pavilion plastered with Puma's logo. Yes, you heard us correctly; a company otherwise known for shoes and sportswear competed with the likes of HTC and Sony Ericsson to offer a device that everyone wanted to see.
Corporate-themed phones are nothing new, so it wasn't the Puma name that gave the handset such novelty. Instead, the Puma phone's appeal stemmed from its solar panel, a fun design, and a quirky selection of sports-themed apps. Though it remains unlikely that the handset will ever make it to a U.S. carrier, we tracked down an unlocked model to see if the finished product lived up to the hype. Now, after a few days of testing, we can report that it does. The Puma Phone isn't a powerful, feature-laden smartphone by any means, but it offers a unique and enjoyable user experience not many handsets can match. We have a couple of complaints about the small display, but call quality is satisfying, and the solar panel lets you top off the handset's battery.
Design From the start, you'll notice that the Puma phone is a bit different. A silver Puma logo sits just above the screen, and red stripes and an angled line below the calling controls give it a bit of style. The handset measures 4.01 inches long by 2.25 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and weighs 4.1 ounces. Its construction feels solid, even if the polished skin is a tad slippery.
The 2.8-inch display TFT display supports 262,000 colors and 240x320 pixels. Though it's not as vibrant as most current touch-screen phones, it's bright enough and it fits the Puma Phone's sporty and functional image. You can switch between red and black backgrounds, adjust the brightness, and change the screen lock time.
The Puma Phone certainly has a unique design.
The handset offers three home screens. At the far left is a menu for the sports apps, and the far right contains the remaining productivity and media features. Both home screens use an intuitive grid design with icons. The Settings menu is a little harder to find, but you'll soon notice a tab at the bottom-right corner that takes you there.
Between the two menus is a Favorites home screen that you can populate with your top apps. To place them there, just press and hold the icon until it floats over. You'll also find a pull-down bar at the top that offers instant access to your message and voice mail notifications, the phone's available memory, and the battery level. You also can activate the flight and silent modes, the Bluetooth and GPS features, and the alarm clock. It all feels very Android-like, even though Google's OS does not power the Puma Phone.
Below the display are the Talk and End buttons; the latter also functions as the Back key and the power control. Though they're flush with the surface of the handset, these controls give an audible click when pressed. Between them is a Home button that will take you back to the favorites menu when pressed once. Press it twice, however, and you'll call up the "Dylan," the animated puma that serves as the phone's mascot. His only role is to keep you entertained, and he succeeds at that. If you keep tapping the display, for example, he will change positions and move around. But if you leave him alone, he will disappear. Yes, it is a bit gimmicky, but we think it's cheeky and cool.
The display is responsive even if you can't change the sensitivity. It wasn't always accurate, however, particularly when we were tapping at smaller onscreen controls. Swiping through long menus was a bit better, though the phone had a slight lag.
The virtual keyboard is tiny.
The phone dialer has a standard design with large numbers, though it's odd that the keys aren't alphanumeric. As a result, you may need to glance at another phone when dialing 800 numbers that use letters. For typing the Puma Phone has two virtual keyboards. In portrait mode it's alphanumeric, but when you tip the handset to the left it will switch to full alphabetic. Both keyboards are pretty small, though, so we wouldn't recommend long diatribes. The Puma Phone does not have a proximity sensor.
The solar panel takes up almost all of the phone's rear side. Just above are the camera lens, flash, and self-portrait mirror.
On the Puma Phone's left side you'll find the Micro-USB port for the syncing cable and the standard wall charger. Unfortunately, it also accommodates the wired headset that comes in the eco-friendly cardboard box. On the left side are the volume rocker and camera shutter. Both are large and user-friendly. The rear side is dominated by the solar panel, but there's room up top for the camera lens and flash (a second camera lens is around front for video calling). You have to remove the battery cover to access the microSD card slot.
Features The Echo's phone book size is limited by the available memory (64MB), which is shared with other applications. Each entry holds just two phone numbers, but you can add fields for an e-mail, a birthday, a nickname, and notes. For caller ID you can pair contacts with a photo and one of seven ringtones. The selection is pretty unusual; there's just one melody, with the rest being animal sounds like a cat's meow, an eagle's screech, a puma's roar, and a tiger's growl.
Essential features include a calendar, an alarm clock, a calculator, Bluetooth, GPS, PC syncing, and USB mass storage. When using the latter two features, our PC instantly recognized the Puma Phone when we connected the two using a USB cable. You'll also be able to access an electronic user guide and quick start manual and transfer files aback and forth. For security purposes, you can lock the Puma Phone with a PIN lock or an onscreen pattern.
For written communication, the handset supports text and multimedia messaging and most POP3 IMPA4 e-mail accounts (like Yahoo and Gmail) through a Web-based interface. You also get video calling, though we weren't able to try it, and three games. Bubble Tap, for example, lets you pop virtual bubble wrap, and Spin the Bottle shows an onscreen bottle that you can spin with your finger.
As mentioned, the Puma Phone offers several apps that focus on sports and recreation. Onboard are a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a compass, an RSS feed for sites like BBC Sports, and a run and bike tracker that uses the handset's GPS capabilities. An "egg timer" is one of the most unusual features we've seen on a phone, but we like the hourglass interface. The camera flash also doubles as a bright flashlight if you hold down the shutter key.
The camera takes pictures in four resolutions, from 3.1 megapixels down to QVGA. Other features include a self-timer, three quality settings, four exposure modes, and four color effects. The flash will help brighten dim places, and you can switch to the front camera for self-portraits. The camcorder records clips with sound. Editing options are limited to just the four color effects, but you can record for as long as the available memory permits.
The Puma Phone has acceptable photo quality.
Photo quality is pretty decent for a 3-megapixel shooter. There was a bit of image noise and the edges of photos looked a little blurry, but colors were bright, and we had enough light even when indoors. All your shots are stored in a media gallery in which you can view them as a slideshow.
The music player comes with mostly standard features like shuffle, loop, and 3D sound. It was easy to load music on the phone via a USB cable or memory card, and you can also send media via Bluetooth, e-mail, or a multimedia message. Aspiring DJs can use the "record" scratch feature that let you play songs while swiping a virtual record. It's fun for about 5 minutes. The Puma Phone also has an FM radio, though you'll need to use the wired headset as an antenna.
The WAP 2.0 browser is nothing special, so we wouldn't recommend the Puma Phone for the always-online set. You will have to use mobile sites, and the experience just felt a little clunky. You can access the Puma World portal for more Web content.
Performance We tested the tri-band (GSM 900/1800/1900; EDGE) Puma Phone using AT&T service. Keep in mind that since the Puma Phone lacks one of the GSM bands used in North America (850), you'll have to depend solely on the 1900 frequency when calling in the United States and Canada. As a result, your reception will vary according to you location and the carrier that you're using (the handset will work on T-Mobile as well). As a general rule, the 850 band is used only as a backup in urban areas (where 1900 is more prevalent), but it is the primary band in rural areas, especially for AT&T. If you stick mainly to the city you shouldn't have a problem, but coverage will vary as you travel outside populated areas.
That's why call quality was decent when we used the Puma Phone in San Francisco. Voices sounded slightly metallic at times, but on the whole our friends sounded natural. Volume could have been louder, though it was sufficient for most places. Only when we were calling from a crowded room was it difficult to hear. The signal also remained strong with only a slight hint of static.
Puma Phone call quality sampleListen now:
Reports from the other end were mostly positive. Our friends could tell that we were using a cell phone, but the audio was clear and natural. They also mentioned a trace of static and said the volume was low. In fact, it does appear that the Puma Phone's microphone is a tad sensitive. Our callers could hear us when we held the phone close, but our friends said the volume level dropped significantly if we moved the phone even slightly away. It was the same story with automated calling systems: no serious issues as long as we called from a quiet room. The speakerphone is adequately clear, but it could be louder as well.
Data coverage also is subject to restrictions. Since it supports only the 3G bands used in Europe (HSDPA 900/2100), you will be stuck on EDGE at home. Five years ago, EDGE would have been fine, but it's pretty unbearable these days.
Unfortunately, it was cloudy and occasionally rainy during the two days we used to review the phone so we never made it outside to give it a natural charge. Unlike the Samsung Blue Earth, the Puma Phone's solar panels don't kick in under a desk lamp or interior lighting. Also, it barely registered a charge when we placed it in a sunny window.
To really test the solar panel, we took the Puma Phone on a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Naturally, abundant sun greeted us in the desert, including during an afternoon at the pool. When we started the test, the Puma Phone's battery level was at 48 percent. After about an hour and a couple phone calls, it climbed to about 57 percent. Granted, that's not a lot, but the solar panel does deliver a steady power source while the phone is in standby mode.
On that note, keep in mind that the solar panel is really meant for topping off the phone rather than delivering a full charge. As we said in our Blue Earth review, the panels don't work when the phone is completely dead, so you can't abandon the wall charger completely. Instead, use an electrical outlet for delivering your daily juice and use the sun for an extra zap when you're on the go. Lastly, remember that leaving a gadget in the hot sun is never a good idea.
In other battery quirks, the Puma Phone replaces the normal battery meter with words like "Full" (completely charged), "Happy (mostly charged), "Hungry" (no charge), and "Feeding" (charging) to describe the power level. You also can click through to a separate screen to see the number of messages sent, calling minutes used, and music played as powered by the sun.
The Puma Phone has a rated battery life of up to 5 hours talk time on 3G and 3.5 hours on EDGE. The promised standby time is 16.6 days, and music time should take you to 25 hours. According to FCC radiation tests, the Puma Phone has a digital SAR of 1.24 watts per kilogram.
Conclusion You may call the phone gimmicky, but we think it succeeds since it pretends to be nothing else than what it really is. From the start, the Puma has sold the phone as a fun device that offers a unique and sporty user experience. And when you evaluate the handset on those claims alone, there is a lot to like.
It's true, however, that the Puma Phone is a study in contrasts. It's not long on features, but it offers enough quirky apps beyond the basics to keep you occupied. The small display can be frustrating at times, but a simple interface and an eye-catching design give it appeal. And finally, though the volume could be louder, audio clarity was good, and the solar panel should deliver extra juice. The unlocked Puma Phone isn't available with a carrier in the United States, but you can get from third-party retailers like Expansys.com for an affordable $129.
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