Developer Stories: My experience thus far in porting Tank Recon 3D to the BlackBerry PlayBook

This article comes to us via Leigh McRae. A veteran game developer working with the PlayBook NDK, it gives an honest look at both some of the pleasant surprises and frustrations experienced while porting a game to the PlayBook for the first time....

Today I found myself with some extra time on my hands so I decided to send Kevin a small email letting him know my initial experience with developing for the Playbook using the NDK. After receiving the email Kevin asked if I would be willing to expand on it. So I opened up my Open Office and wrote a little piece.

Just a little background about myself. I have been in the 3D industry for about 20 years, 15 of which have been in the game industry directly. I worked on PlayStation 2 and Xbox titles such as Oni, Max Payne and The Warriors. I left the big budget console industry to start Lone Dwarf Games Inc and ended up making BlackBerry games in early 2009. The first game I released was Wrath, a retro shooter.

Currently I'm in the process of finishing up porting my first game to the Playbook. Tank Recon 3D initially came out on BackBerry OS6 almost a year ago and the game was written purely in Java. Tank Recon 3D was my fifth game on the BlackBerry platform and I had accumulated enough to put together a suite of tools (game engine) which I called Odin. Odin uses Java to target BlackBerry, Android, PC, Mac and Linux. Since the Playbook was going to be dropping Java and moving on to native development (NDK), I decided to port my game engine Odin to include C/C++. This would open my game development to just about every platform. The initial port took about one month before the game was playable on a PC running Windows. Once the Playbook NDK came out in the summer of 2011 I would be ready to do the port.

Summer came and went. Honestly, I was almost done with BlackBerry at this point. While I waited I decided to improve the game and add more content to it. Later I decided to port the game to iOS. The port to iOS was actually pretty painful as there is so much to learn. The last Apple I did any programming on was the Apple IIe, so I was pretty much out of touch. I had to learn the Mac OS and the development tools and Objective C to boot. It wasn't that any of these things were hard to learn, it's just that there was so much you had to learn at once it could be frustrating.

October rolls around and I get an invite to beta the NDK on the Playbook. On top of that I can get a Playbook for $299! A quick trip to BestBuy and the port is back on. I get home with my new Playbook and check it out. I was shocked as to how good it was. I actually showed my wife how how good it was. I loved just about everything about it except the power button. Seriously, someone needs to be fired over the power button...

Enough of the story. Here is what I found. I had the game loading to the menu in the first day. That is incredible. The game was playable in the first 2 days. I doesn't get any better than that. On top of it, the game looked great and ran so fast without any modifications. I'm considering increasing the quality of the terrain in Tank Recon 3D because I know the Playbook can handle it. Overall I am very happy with the how the port to the Playbook has gone and how well it has performed. Great job RIM.

Here are some of the highlights as to why the port went so well. The tools installed without any problems at all. I was able to get a sample project up an running pretty much right away. The NDK allows you to use a wifi connection instead of a usb. This might not sound like a big deal but most mobile developers will agree that using a usb cable is a real pain. They are never long enough. Since the tools are based on Eclipse, I didn't have to learn a new tool set either. That was huge. There are some bugs with the IDE but all in all it's a very good first release of the tools.

RIM is providing support for C/C++, OpenGL ES, OpenAL and POSIX. Right there you have covered what I would say is close to 80% of the work needed to port a game. It is pretty common practise to develop your game on a PC where the environment is very mature and the work flow is much faster. Then you port it to your different platforms. The amount of code needed to support the Playbook platform was the smallest, even smaller than it was for Windows. Really there wasn't much that needed to be changed to get the PC version to work on the Playbook. The biggest changes I did were with supporting a touch screen and showing a dialog for the user to enter a high score.

RIM has embraced such open source goodies as Lua and Boost. My Lua fu is pretty good and Odin uses it all over. I love that RIM has made no attempts to block me from using Lua and on top of it all has actually done the work to make sure it runs on their platform. Boost also worked without a problem. Great job RIM.

On the down side. The docs are really lacking from what I have seen. Honestly most of the docs I see are QNX bragging about it's OS or low level stuff that most programmer aren't going to be worried about. I keep trying to figure out how it all fits together. Yesterday I tried force myself to read through as much of the docs as I could. Surely all will become clear but eventually I just wanted to throw myself on a butter knife. Seriously. They need to get some better docs with a good high level overview of the platform.

I have had people tell me that they picked up a Playbook and took it back not because they didn't like it but because there were no apps for it. RIM really needs to make sure that developers are taken care of and finally here we come to why I have the time to write about my experience today.

Yes RIM has done a great job getting 80% of my port done for me. It's that last 5% that nailed me. Right now I am having a problem and have spent 2 days working on the problem. I have posted on the Native SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS and as of writing this I still have no response. I find this shocking. I thought for sure there would be someone from RIM posting within a couple hours with an attempt to lend some level of help. It's not like there is much activity on the forums, there are only two pages of topics! At some point I'm going to put this port aside and finish the iOS port.

I know I am not Electronic Arts or Blizzard and this might sound like a small dev just being bitter. The thing is that if you list all the top games on the mobile platforms, you will have a list of Indie Developers. Yes I know RIM isn't a gaming platform but either was iOS when it came out and now look at all that revenue.

- Leigh McRae, Lone Dwarf Games, Inc.

Keep up with your favorite news in style with Beam Reader for the BlackBerry PlayBook

 

Are you a fan of keeping up with various news streams from all over the web and find yourself bored looking at only text headlines while scrolling through them all? Well, meet Beam Reader, a visual RSS reader for the BlackBerry PlayBook which not only shows the feeds in a nice grid pattern, but also adds images to the headline. Gone are the days of flicking through all the headline text and here are the days of checking out the article image as well as the title, and if you want to read the article simply tap the image and it will load.

Beam Reader comes set up with five feeds to get you started, but you can remove them if you wish, or keep them and add yours in addition to them. If you are looking to expand your site collection beyond what you already know you can simply search by category or keyword and find some new material for yourself. If yuo are looking to keep up with your favorite websites in style you will certainly want to hop into AppWorld today and grab Beam Reader for $2.99 today!

More informatoin / download of Beam Reader 

Cooklet - An inspiring culinary organizer for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Calling all non chefs out there. If you've been nervous about spending time near an oven or get home so late you think you can't whip up a good meal, then you want to check out Cooklet for the BlackBerry PlayBook by Cooklet Sp. It's a great application that links you to food lovers from around the world to exchange recipies or to help improve your skills. There's my favorite, the Quick Pick option, that lets you pick the meal type and prepare time, and voila, it brings up all the recipes they have on file that match.

Cooklet comes with an integrated search feature by food type, a built-in shopping list and an amazing interface that lets you flow through recipes with ease. Being in the kitchen was never my domain, I usually eat sandwiches or boil water after a long day at work, but Cooklet is slowly making me not want to reach for my faithful take out menu. 

Features:

Cooklet is available for free at BlackBerry App World and registration is free if you want to upload your culinary concoctions. A WiFi connection is required to view the recipes. So if you're a newbie like me or a cooking whiz this app gives you everything at your fingertips to create the perfect meal.

More information/purchase Cooklet for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Review: Allergen Free Cooking for the BlackBerry PlayBook

It’s funny, there’s one thing that sticks with me when I think back to the finalists for the BlackBerry Super Fanboy contest. Besides the creativity, I think about the content; applications to be more specific. How fitting that the winners also included developers. We’ve heard about Marco van Hylckama Vlieg’s ever useful Screamager application, which was out and about at DevCon 2011, and also came in handy during our Halloween Trick or Treat trek. There’s another one that was shown off in a fanboy video that isn’t quite as well known, but is definitely awesome. Another Fanboy contest winner, Alexander Perri, could be seen cooking with his PlayBook next to him- check out his My Everlasting Light video at the 3 min, 45 sec mark to see the app in question. That application is actually his own creation; it’s called Allergen Free Cooking.

When his video was posted in the blogs, I immediately reached out to him, wanting to know which app it was. At DevCon, I finally met up with Alexander and we discussed the application, its creation and its future. Since day one, it hasn’t left my BlackBerry PlayBook, though it does cause me to salivate which in turn creates the danger of potentially causing water damage to my tablet. Read on for more.

 

Allergen Free Cooking was developed by Alexander Perri under AP Photography and by CR6 Technologies. It’s currently only for the BlackBerry PlayBook, though there are plans to bring to OS 7 BlackBerry smartphones. The application is currently in version 1.0 and has a file size of 32.6 MB.

Cost: $1.99

Rating in BlackBerry App World: Not Yet Rated

In a nutshell, Allergen Free Cooking is a recipe book that caters towards those with intolerances, or allergies towards dairy, egg, gluten or soy by currently providing 19 delicious recipes. According to the about screen, these appear to be provided by stylist and Chef Biance Drennan. There are two ways of accessing the recipes; view all or view by type. You can do either from the main menu, where types are divided into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert.

Below these categories, the navigation menu can be found, which is stationary no matter which screen you are viewing. In this menu, there is a link to the master list of recipes, as well. In either view, each entry includes a thumbnail of the delectable dish. Let’s take a look at one now.

The design and layout of the application is wonderful, it showcases Alexander’s photographer skills quite well. This includes the look of each “recipe card”. Each recipe card includes items such as a description of the dish, storage options, substitutions, information on specific ingredients, serving size and difficulty. The recipe card also lists the ingredients, measurements and directions. The description, ingredients and direction fields may include more information than it can display. You are able to scroll up and down within those fields. That allows for maximum information and minimum use of the screens real-estate. What’s done with the rest of the screen? How about 4 beautiful images capturing the dish from start to finish? My stomach is growling as I write this while looking at the app. Excuse me while I go get a snack…

Of course you need to keep track of the ingredients needs for these recipes. Conveniently, Allergen Free Cooking has a section where you can manage your grocery list. Rather than one massive list to run through, your items are divided into four categories;

Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs

Spices, Seeds & Grains

Meat, Fish & Milk

Baking, Honey, Syrup & Condiments

The ingredients are preset with no option to modify them in any way. Wait, no you can choose the quantity of each item you want to pick up. Each entry has a quantity tracker to the right, allowing you to easily mark off of many of each you need. To the left of each entry, a check mark is displayed. As you drop items into your shopping cart, click on the checkmarks to track what’s left to pick up. It’s simple, to the point and easy to use while pushing a cart or juggling a basket. The only thing I can think of is combining recipe cards with the grocery list. Include a button that will automatically add the ingredients from a recipe card into the grocery list. Streamlining this process will make the app go far.

Otherwise known as the drool den, the gallery displays larger image of all 19 dishes. Scroll through, wipe your mouth and decide which one you want to make next. What you make this section more useful is being able to tap on an image and be redirected to the associated recipe card.

Besides the couple of additions I mentioned earlier, this application is amazing. Each of the features is powerful on their own (photography, layout, recipes and grocery list), but Allergen Free Cooking combines them into one beautiful package. Alexander is looking for more recipes to add to future versions, so if you do decide to pick this up, let him know of your ideas. You can pick up Allergen Free Cooking for $1.99 from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download Allergen Free Cooking for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Keep track of your projects with FabuList for the BlackBerry PlayBook

FabuList by StandAlone Mobile Applications is a unique to-do list and project management application for the PlayBook that utilizes your entire screen to plan and map out projects or tasks. I'm a very visual person when it comes to organization. I need to see everything in front of me or I wind up forgetting, even when using my BlackBerry. One missed alarm and there goes what I need to get done. I guess I'm old fashioned and it's the reason why organizers and apps have come and gone.

I like to think of FabuList as my own digital flow chart. Rather than having items listed in a specific order there are presented as blocks of data laid out across the PlayBook's screen. This means no having to scroll or sort through multiple items to find the one you want and no drop down menus needed. This is great because it doesn't require a search feature. I can document, chart my progress, color code, and complete my tasks all from my PlayBook. No having to bridge to my device or use an internet connection.

Just tap on the main projects displayed on the left side of the screen and all items for that project fill the space to the right. Each item is color coded: blue for selected tasks, completed is grey, and active tasks are green. FabuList allows you to filter through projects by using the buttons in the upper left of the screen. You can filter within a specific time frame, view overdue items not completed yet or view ones with no specified date.

Features:

FabuList is a pretty good organizer app for the PlayBook. I admit there should be a way to create projects before entering in a task, a way to back up other than Desktop Manager, and the option of more than just three colors. However, it has potential and I hope future updates will bring added functionality. For those of you who like to group projects and see it all laid out in front of you then this is the app for you. FabuList is currently on sale for $4.99 (regular $9.99) and is available from BlackBerry App World

More information / purchase FabuList 

uTrack for the BlackBerry PlayBook is a unique project management application

Have you checked out uTrack for the BlackBerry PlayBook yet? Those who seek a task/project management tool may find this application will stick with you. I say this because it offers an interestingly familiar way to manage projects and its corresponding details. Memo pads are used many different ways in an office (home offices as well); quick reminders, messages and office pranks (kick me) are just a few applications. Perhaps at your company you have a boardroom with a huge whiteboard that is littered with these, each representing a task for a much larger project. You move them around as you decide on which ones are more of a priority, or as items get processed. It’s a simple representation on project tracking and management that helps everyone see what needs to be done. The white board becomes the go to wall for what needs to be accomplished, until it meets its demise thanks to a careless member of the cleaning staff. uTrack lets you track the same thing, minus the paper cuts.

 

With your PlayBook in hand, open up uTrack application. A wallpaper resembling a lined notepad holds your current project. Tapping on it brings you to a wall filled with virtual post its; the wall is divided into four categories – To Do, In Progress, Verify and Done. Within each of these categories is where you will be posting your notes/tasks. At first glance, you will only see the subject of the task, but by tapping on a task, you can see any additional notes you may have entered. When viewing or creating a note, you can assign a colour which you can set any meaning to, such as urgency or type of task or who is the owner of that task.

Moving the notes between categories, or up and down within the same category, is as simple as pressing and dragging. So as you review your work, this effortless management will require less attention, enabling you to focus on getting the work done. If you are within a wall you’ll also notice three buttons at the bottom, allowing you to clear all tasks off of a wall, change the name of the wall or delete the wall itself.

Now the lite (free) version of uTrack allows you to make use of only 1 virtual wall and manage up to 10 notes at a time. Recently, Tenpearls released a Pro version of uTrack, which brings you support for:

That is a lot of notes to manage! To be honest, I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to manage those in the real world. Oh, wait, yes I do; I’d file them in the trash bin. The notes only support text input, which is a bit unfortunate. I would like to be able to attach images or sketch/jot down quick visual ideas as well. Maybe that’s something to think about for a future update. Both versions of uTrack, Pro for $4.99 and uTrack Lite, can be picked up from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download uTrack Lite for the BlackBerry PlayBook

More information/download uTrack Pro for the BlackBerry PlayBook

 

Haunt your house with Halloween Sounds for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Halloween is fast approaching so there's no time like the present to get your spooky apps in order. Last week we showed you a BlackBerry app for adding color and graphics to your photos, and now I wanted to share Halloween Sounds with you. This app for the BlackBerry PlayBook is super simple, but does a great job at providing all sorts of the creepy sounds you need to set the mood. You can use it in soundtrack mode while greeting trick-or-treaters or during your Halloween party, or randomly choose sounds to startle your co-workers or family. Kids love this app too and will play with it over and over, probably long after the holiday is over. You can see a full list of all 15 included sounds and snag this app for your PlayBook for just a buck in BlackBerry App World.

More information and purchase Halloween Sounds

Virtual Contact for Twitter on your BlackBerry PlayBook

Still looking for a Twitter application on your BlackBerry PlayBook? Need to manage multiple Twitter accounts? Then Virtual Contact for Twitter may be the answer for you! Created by Babin Moisan Solutions Inc., Virtual Contact for Twitter is a FREE Twitter client available only for the BlackBerry PlayBook. I didn't realize how feature packed this app really was until I checked out the creator's videos on his YouTube channel. He takes you step by step through all of the features listed below.

There are very few Twitter applications available for the BlackBerry PlayBook and even fewer ones that I actually like. Virtual Contact is easy to use & has the features most of us desire. The fact that it's a FREE Twitter client makes it so much more appealing to some. One of the things I would change is the dark color scheme. Maybe in future builds they may utilize the vibrant red & yellow colors of the logo to brighten up the UI a bit.

For more information / download of Virtual Contact for Twitter

Popular RSS reader Web Reader makes its way to the BlackBerry PlayBook

If you haven’t been using Web Reader on your computer, you should know that it’s one of the most amazing powerful RSS readers available. Not too long ago, Webreader made its way onto your BlackBerry PlayBook as one of the smoothest RSS readers I’ve seen – in either portrait or landscape mode. It’s not only about reading, it’s about management. You receive notification of new articles being posted, mark articles as read or as a favourite or even share and article through Facebook or Twitter.

Web Reader offers offline support so you can still read your RSS feed when you are not using your BlackBerry Bridge or connected to WiFi. I loved the little things, such as being able to sync with Google Reader, video playback support and being able to get a full screen view when I tap on an article twice. If you’re worried about the security of your Google account, Web Reader uses oAuth protocol; which provides clients with a way to access server resources for an end-user, without the end-user having to provide their login credentials. This RSS reader should have been on the PlayBook since the beginning.

Features

Web Reader for the BlackBerry PlayBook is available for $2.99 from BlackBerry App World

More information/download Web Reader for the BlackBerry PlayBook

GeeReader for the BlackBerry PlayBook updated to v1.0.11

GeeReader is among the favorite RSS clients for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and with the latest update it looks to stay that way. The current version resides at 1.0.11 and updates this time around include various bug fixes and tweaks. Since it's release, GeeReader has also added full potrait mode support, improved feed list scrolling, styling improvements and more. If you're looking to a great free app to cruise your RSS feeds on your PlayBook, then GeeReader is definitely a great option. You can pick it up free from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download of GeeReader

Review: Blaq for the BlackBerry PlayBook

When the review for the BlackBird Twitter app for the BlackBerry PlayBook went up, someone made a comment that they wanted to see a Blaq review. Up until that point, I had only seen Blaq on BlackBerry smartphones, and thought it was a decent Twitter application. To be honest, I was already bouncing back and forth between Twitter for BlackBerry and another Twitter client and didn’t feel the need to pick up a third. Had I actually done so, I think that Blaq would have been installed on my BlackBerry PlayBook the moment the app was made available. As I had mentioned in the BlackBird review, accessing Twitter from the PlayBook was (at the time) limited to a basic mobile view – making it painful to use. Even with a new beefed up mobile site, I’ve quickly taken to Blaq to help me keep connected to Twitter. Kisai labs has recently updated Blaq with a slew of new features and fixes, making in (in my opinion) the most functional (and sexy) PlayBook Twitter client yet.

With Notifications, paused timelines and multiple account access, Blaq may have you saying “Holy Tweet!” As lame as that just sounded, let’s hope you keep reading.

 

Blaq for the BlackBerry PlayBook was developed by Kisai labs, the same grey matter behind the image downloading ‘Show Me the Images’ and the games ‘Photo Quest’ and ‘Mancala’. Like I mentioned earlier, Blaq was recently updated to version 1.5 and has a file size of 2.2 MB.

Cost: $1.99

Rating in BlackBerry App World: 4/5

Blaq for PlayBook expands upon the design of the Blaq app for BlackBerry smartphones. Seeing the menu on a screen this size really shows off the beautiful layout. On the left side, you will see your timeline, mentions and direct messages that can be viewed quite fluidly. No lagging could be seen when scrolling up and down through the Tweet. Just as you would see with Twitter, each entry shows the users avatar, name and when the tweet was posted. Now with Blaq, you can actually see new Tweet getting added to the timeline, with the time showing “moments ago”. Blaq also has a small “Real Time” icon near the bottom right corner of the screen, which has a square that glows green when connected.

On the right side of the screen, you can see your Profile picture and an entry field with which you can tweet away. Added features to this include a convenient “Add photo button”, a character countdown and a quick look at your last tweet. When selecting Add Photo, you can either take a picture or select one from your files. If you want to mention someone in a tweet, all you have to do is type @ to see a popup containing all of your friends. Down the right hand side of the menu are your various views that let you manage your mentions, direct messages, lists and search options (view trends or search through tweets/people). Now you don’t have to stare at Blaq constantly in order to keep on the latest. You can set up native notifications to appear, reminding you to head back to the app. You can set this up to notify you of every single tweet or alert you to new mentions, direct messages or even followers.

Tapping on a tweet generates a popup on the right side of the screen. Now this popup contains a lot of detail; at the top will be the tweet as it appears in the timeline. Below this are five icons/options to choose from; mention/reply, retweet, mark as favourite, direct message and copy/translate tweet. Underneath the icons, you can find the profile of the user; complete with bio, followers and links. What’s cool is you can tap on some of these to see more detail – you can actually see who is following them.

You can also see a larger size profile picture by tapping on it. The same can be seen if the tweet contains an image. This is the part that I love; if a tweet contains a link, you have two different ways to view it. First, you can tap on the tweet itself and view the web page as a mini browser window in the previously mentioned popup. The page is fully functional; you can click on links, videos- you name it. I was able to check out BlackBerry FanBoy Video Contest finalist videos from within Blaq. The second way is to click on the link itself, not the tweet. This will redirect you to the native browser. I preferred to use the mini browser, as I can still check out tweets as I go. Oh speaking of which, when you generate a Tweet popup window, your timeline is paused so you don’t miss anything.

The hidden menu above contains the settings. It’s here that you can manage options like notifications, accounts and font type/size.

Blaq is more than impressive; it’s an absolute necessity if you want to access Twitter on your BlackBerry PlayBook. It has the largest set of features I have seen in an app in a long time. From the mini browser to notifications, this app has it covered. Rather than relying on providing information using multiple windows/applications, everything is practically contained in a beautiful package. If you want to give Blaq a spin, you can grab it for $1.99 from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download Blaq for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Files and Folders for the BlackBerry PlayBook updated to v2.6.2 - now with advanced ZIP file support

Files and Folders by Innovatology is more than just a file explorer for the PlayBook. It allows you to search through folders, copy and paste, rename/delete files, preview images and text files, and open files with their respective application. As the PlayBook lacks a native file explorer app to search and filter through directories this will definitely pick up the slack. The folks over at Innovatology let us know they recently updated their app which now stands at 2.6.2.

New features in v2.6: 

v2.6 

v2.5 

What sets this apart from other apps is the integrated DropBox and Google Docs support feature and that files can be transferred to and from your PlayBook. Users can also store their email account information and mail files to any address from within the app itself. It's easy to use, has a smooth interface, and is a great addition for the PlayBook. 

Files and Folders is available for $2.99 in BlackBerry App World and comes with a three day free trial. 

More information / purchase Files and Folders

Review: BlackBird for the BlackBerry PlayBook

So from day one, BlackBerry PlayBook users wanted a Twitter application for their PlayBook, instead of a quick launch icon to the Twitter mobile site. To be honest, up until recently, I couldn’t stand using the mobile site, as it wasn’t as functional (or attractive) as it is now. This left me with continuing to use a Twitter application on my BlackBerry smartphone. Some developers recognized the need and answered the call; one of which was GENOA Net Works.

Your Twitter account access is quick and seamless through their application called BlackBird. The application gives you almost as much access to your account as you have by accessing Twitter from your computer. Rather than viewing multiple items on the main screen (timeline, trends, followers/ following), everything is listed as tab; waiting to be opened. I was surprised to see BlackBird being able to offer so much, yet providing a minimal layout to it all. Was it enough to stop relying on my smartphone to access Twitter? Curious how BlackBird brings Twitter to the PlayBook nest? Keep reading.

 

As I mentioned before, BlackBird was developed by GENOA Net Works; an Austrian company first established back in 1996. GENOA is also responsible for over one hundred applications, including; ‘Find my Phone’, ‘add2contacts’ and multiple checklists (fishing, travel, etc). The current version of BlackBird is 1.3.2 and has a file size of 1.2 MB.

Cost: $1.99

Rating in BlackBerry App World: 3/5

Before getting started, you have to authorize BlackBird to use your Twitter account. With BlackBird, you can manage multiple accounts; though it’s unclear how many (I only have one). The UI is pretty simplistic and easy to navigate; all options appear on the left side of the timeline/content, rather than all around the timeline. Below the list of options, your current Twitter account will be displayed. It’s all about personal preference – some may feel like BlackBird is too simplistic, while others find that the app is not so overwhelming. My only gripe is I have to view my profile in order to look at my followers or who I follow. I still have access to other functions one would normally use on Twitter, such as viewing which lists I'm on, retweeting and sending/recieving direct message.

When you select “New Tweet”, the entry field shows “What’s up”, which you have to be careful with. I accidently pressed the Tweet button, which resulted in me asking every one what was up. BlackBird included an option to shorten an URL, so you had more characters to dazzle everyone with your wit. All I ask for, in future builds, is a spell check option to make sure I'm spelling everying korektlee.

As far as my timeline goes, I can only view 25 tweets at a time, with no option to look at older tweets - you do have a manual refresh button to bring in new ones. Scrolling up and down through the tweets was quite smooth, with no lagging. I can also set the automatic refresh rate to 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes (this doesn’t seem to save if I close the application). You can also check out what is trending but you're unable to change them to view more trends.

Now while I could appreciate how simple BlackBird is to use, and the basic view it provides. One of the perks missing - being able to view a full sized version of a profile pic.

 

If you want a simple way to access Twitter, then BlackBird is singing your song. Neatly organized, and effortless to master, this application should be considered. There are a few tweaks to look at - an easier way to see followers and how my tweets and profile pic, very sporadically show up when looking at another Twitter profile. If possible I would like to see some sort of notification if I receive a mention or DM as well. You can pick up BlackBird for $1.99 from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download BlackBird from BlackBerry App World

BlackBerry App Roundup - 25 copies of Weather Plus by MMMOOO to give away!

Welcome to this week's BlackBerry App Roundup! This week we have 25 copies of Weather Plus by MMMOOO to give away! 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.

GPS Trackdown for BlackBerry by: Rainium Research

GPS Trackdown is a social networking application that makes it easy to find and share your location.  It's a great tool to have In Case of Emergency. The Remote Trackdown feature can help you locate a lost phone or a missing person.  The Panic Trackdown feature can help you send your location history to a trusted emergency contact.  Share your location on FaceBook, Twitter, by Text or by Email.  The Remember Location feature can be used to help find your car at the mall.  Because GPS Trackdown uses local search you can get Weather, Movies, Maps and more.  Also, because GPS Trackdown can utilize GPS coordinates you can get directions to locations that don’t have a registered street address.

Most importantly, GPS Trackdown fully respects your privacy.  Your personal and location information is never sent to their website.  This application was not designed to replace an in-car GPS System and it does not support voice turn by turn directions. GPS Trackdown is FREE with versions for BlackBerry 7 devices as well as those on OS 5-6.

More information/screenshots and to download GPS Trackdown for BB7 devices

More information/screenshots and to download GPS Trackdown for OS 5-6

 

BlackBerry EMail Remote by MagMedia jSoft

Create tasks and memos and share them with other BlackBerry users that have this app installed. Create the memo or task, and BlackBerry EMail Remote will send it via email to those you specify, automatically creating the same memo or task on the recipients' device. You can even have the email marked as read automatically so your inbox doesn't get cluttered. BlackBerry EMail Remote is available on sale for $1.49 (reg. $2.99) for most BlackBerry smartphones.

More information/screenshots and to purchase BlackBerry EMail Remote

 

3D Draw by Robert McAuley

A unique drawing program for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Draw a picture, then spin it, rotating around the center point. Inertia mode allows you to continue drawing as the picture rotates, and ribbon mode keeps the drawing line a fixed length. A great drawing app that is both easy to use and fun. You can purchase 3D Draw for your BlackBerry PlayBook for $1.99.

More information/screenshots and to purchase 3D Draw

 

Orb It! and Orb It! Lite by Rotten Ogre

Tap and link orbs to destroy them before they collide. Three different endless game modes (Classic, Arcade and Waves) provide variations on the gameplay, including special orbs and power-ups. You'll have to be quick with your fingers to get a high score! The lite version of Orb It! is free and lets you play the Classic game mode and submit high scores of up to 50,000. To play the other game modes and to submit high scores of any amount, please buy the full version for just $.99.

More information/screenshots and to download Orb It! Lite

More information/screenshots and to purchase Orb It!

 

eBuddy XMS now available for BlackBerry and hoping to win you over

We know what you are thinking -- cross platform messaging clients are like a dime a dozen now a days, and with so many options, what makes this one any better? With clients like Kik, LiveProfile and WhatsApp available already, the folks at eBuddy XMS knew they had to step it up a level beyond the others and they feel they have done so very well. Features of eBuddy XMS include:

Knowing that not everyone can be tied to their mobile device at all times, or folks at the computer don't always want to pick up their device to respond to a message, having a web-based companion is a huge help that definitely sets it apart. Unfortunately eBuddy XMS is not available through AppWorld, but it is available through their site for download. More images after the break.

More information / download of eBuddy XMS

 

Weather Plus by MMMOOO

Weather Plus is an advanced weather application which adds push weather info to your BlackBerry's home screen and the app icon. If you don't have a theme with a "weather slot" but you still want to see your current conditions, this is a great app for you. Recently updated to include BlackBerry 7 devices, Weather Plus now features more polished icons, deluxe home screen badges and layout, improved connection and lots more! Weather Plus is available for $6.99 and is compatible with most BlackBerry smartphones running OS 5.0 and greater.

Features:

Contest: MMMOOO has given us 25 free copies of Weather Plus to pass on to you guys this week! To enter, leave a comment below. One entry per person, and the contest ends Sunday at midnight PST.

More information/screenshots and to purchase Weather Plus

 

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!

Power Vacuum for the BlackBerry PlayBook, a simple yet addictive game

If you are like me and constantly look for new games and applications to install on your BlackBerry Playbook, Power Vacuum is a must have. Power Vacuum is a free game that is available in AppWorld, and the concept is quite simple, drag the small yellow dots to a home base, without hitting any of the walls or moving objects. While sure it may sound simple, and you wonder how much fun could it really be, I invite you to download it and see for yourself just how addictive this game can really be. 

More information / download of Power Vacuum

Conqu for the BlackBerry PlayBook now adds ConquSync & desktop version in beta

Back in June, I wrote about a great BlackBerry PlayBook app called Conqu. Now. the great folks over at AsFusion have released both a desktop version of their app as well as a wireless sync option. The app itself is a great task management tool that allows you to organize your to-do list and get things done.

The desktop version has the following options (pretty much the same as the PlayBook app):

The new ConquSync beta is an online backup and management tool for seamless integration with the Conqu family of applications. ConquSync has a 2 month free trial and a price tag of $53 a year. ConquSync offers:

For more information / download Conqu

For more information / download ConquSync & desktop version

NoteSmartly: Create notes with videos, audios & images on your BlackBerry PlayBook

Recently I was introduced to NoteSmartly for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Think to do List & note pad all rolled into one handy little app with some pretty cool extras. With NoteSmartly you have the option to attach pictures, audio/video clips and more. I am so glad I had this app when I recently dropped off my car to be serviced. I made notes of everything needing to be fixed and snapped a couple of pictures to go with them. Sure enough, when I got the car back several items hadn't been fixed correctly (the man super glued the handle back onto my sun roof shade instead of replacing it!). I opened up NoteSmartly and showed the service manager my notes & pictures...needless to say it's all fixed now and I definitely won't be going back to that dealership again.This is definitely an app to have it you create notes on the go. The additional option of attaching pics, video and such are a fantastic idea.

NoteSmartly Features:

Note Smarty also works great for creating multi-task to do lists. You can sort to do lists, set task priorities, mark levels of completion and have different categories.

NoteSmartly is currently available for $3.99 but there is also a NoteSmartly Lite (Free) version available with a few limitations

More information / download NoteSmartly

More information / download NoteSmartly Lite

LyricFind: a searchable database of lyrics for your BlackBerry PlayBook

LyricFind, the world’s leading provider of legal lyrics services, is excited to announce the release of their BlackBerry PlayBook application.

The application provides access to LyricFind’s huge database of lyrics. The database is searchable by artist, album and even the lyrics themselves.

With LyricFind you can also:

One of the major differences between the PlayBook version of this app and the other platforms is the split screen interface, with a list on the left side - search results, or

tracks in an album, for example - and the content on the right. The team at LyricFind kept the interface and navigation consistent and intuitive. This allowed them to use some of the

PlayBook conventions not present on other platforms - such as sliding

down from the top on the search screen to bring down the search "drawer".

This application is available via BlackBerry App World as of today for $2.99

More information / download LyricFind

ePhone Anywhere now allows free video and voice calls between PlayBook, PC and Mac users

So last week, we mentioned an alternative to Video Chat on your PlayBook called ePhone. The service extended calls to nearly 60 countries, with free voice and video calling between ePhone users and monthly allotment of minutes for contacting those without ePhone. Check out more details here. Today, they made an announcement that extended their service even further; allowing people to make and receive calls from their Macs and PCs. This extension is - ePhone Anywhere, which is rather fitting.

Their offering now includes:

ePhone: Allows PC and Mac users to make and receive free local and long distance calls to the world for just $20/year, from any computer in the world. No software to install.

ePhone for PlayBook: The PlayBook App that allows you to make and receive free local and long distance calls to the world. For just $20/year, all from your PlayBook.

ePhone Anywhere: This includes the PlayBook App and PC & Mac combined for $30/year.

Many of you have requested the ability to place and receive calls from your PC & Mac computers. Well… we have listened and done one better, it’s called ePhone Anywhere. With ePhone Anywhere, you can make and receive calls from your ePhone PlayBook App AND from any computer in the world, by simply logging into www.comwave.net/ephone. ePhone Anywhere is just $10 more than our regular ePhone and as always, you get your own phone number and free local and long distance calling to 57 countries for a full year.

And more good news… if you don’t own a PlayBook, now ePhone is for you too. For just $20/year, anyone anywhere in the world can use ePhone to make and receive calls from their computer. So spread the word and tell your friends. Video calling is also supported between all ePhone users for free.

Still being in beta, Comwave has acknowledged a known issue in which phonebook entries which are not being saved as requested. They gave a resolution ETA of 1 to 2 weeks. Remember that they give a 3 day free trial, and 100 minutes, to play with before you decide if ePhone is for you.

More information/download ePhone for thr BlackBerry PlayBook

BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook updated to version 1.1; brings portrait mode and read articles

BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook is actually one of my favorite applications for the BlackBerry tablet. Rather than presenting all of your news items in lists of lists of lists, News shows your RSS feeds laid out like a magazine. Complete with images, headlines, and inspired layouts, BlackBerry News is a beautiful (and efficient) way of viewing your articles.

Version 1.1 brings quite a number of improvements to the application.

Not only that, but the once-laborious update process - for gathering new news - appears to be much more streamlined. The app completes its updates much more quickly than before and continues to gather data even after that "updating" screen disappears. Switching between articles or feeds once required a tap of the back button. No longer; switch between articles by tapping the arrows at the bottom or between feeds by swiping down from the top.  

Version 1.1 of the BlackBerry News App for the PlayBook is a welcome and well-executed update to a wonderful free application. BlackBerry News is available to users in the United States and Canada.

Download / Update BlackBerry News App for PlayBook from BlackBerry App World