Review of BerryPopup for BlackBerry Smartphones
First off, BellShare does a great job at the applications that we all love, doesn't matter if we want the weather, a colored LED to notify us of a SMS, MMS or email account; BellShare has developed an application for that. They also have come up with some improvements with the Berry Popup application. While some don't feel the need for this app, others like myself have really enjoyed it and then are annoyed by little things that the app does. As with anything in life, nothing is ever perfect, just as maybe getting a newer OS seems cool doesn't mean that it necessarily going to be better, there is always something that people will complain about. Some of us are lazy and don't want to push the blackberry button to see which email we just received from which account and thanks to the kind people at Bellshare, they have an app for that. (sorry for the pun) I really do love using the Berry Popup for a quick glance to see if the email is spam or a call from that chick you just met. (could be the same thing)
One thing that is nice about any app is if you can personalize it. The font, for example the "marked open", "delete", etc on the top bottom, left, right or no icons at all. Personally I like mine on top, just for looks, makes no difference.
One option in the General Settings is "Auto-Dismiss" feature. Here you can select how long the pop up stays on the homescreen or if it remains on there until you dismiss it. One drawback is when you happen to have your phone locked and you get a message it unlocks the phone and doesn't lock itself again. (hello pocket dialing) You can have large font or default depend on what you prefer. There is even an option that if you don't want the whole message, you will just be notified of the person who just sent you the message.
It's nice, but if it's going to show you something, I would like to have the whole thing, not just a teaser. The popup screen is almost like your own email account, but a smaller screen, you can even open a link off of Berry Popup, whether it's an address on an email or phone number from a SMS message. I never got it to open to an address location, but there is the option. You can select it just like they were in their original email screens.
Also they say that you can have the profile picture on the home screen, but this is false. Berry Popup doesn't show the name or profile picture of the contact, but rather just the phone number and who honestly remembers phone numbers these days? If you do, give your self a pat on the back that you remember your mom's phone number. If you happen to get a SMS message, the way that I check out who it's from is to use the reply button. It directs you right to your threaded SMS conversation with that contact.
Another con is that normally when you want to delete a message you have the option to delete both in the email mailbox, on hand held or just cancel, while deleting the email in Berry Popup you do not get this option.
I have also noticed that before the phone actually receives the message the back light will turn on show the message even before the sound that you have selected to notify your messages goes off, almost 2-4 seconds difference.
All in all, I really do like this app, glad that I have it. Sure there are some drawbacks, but just like a free car it works and it does the job it's supposed to. When you purchase an app you hope to make life easier. Same thing why we all have Blackberries, it makes our lives easier. I like it and use it everyday and won't stop using it. If you want to pick a great app for not a lot of money that makes life easier, follow this link.
** This review was written as part of the CrackBerry Idol 2010 competition. Click for details. **
