Howdy folks. Hope you all had a great week. Was a busy one here at CrackBerry, with news of the Verizon  and Telus BlackBerry Tour available for pre-order being among the more notable posts of the week... and of course, we can't forget that Craig's 'My BlackBerry Curve' book is now available for pre-order as well. Way to go Craig!

In Case You Missed It: Phone Assistant Version 1.4.2, Facebook Version 1.6.0.21, Wordpress Beta for BlackBerry, BlackBerry App World Expanding, BBFileScout Updated

New This Week: Mars Lander for the BlackBerry Storm, Kyranda, SpongeBob StormPants, mailTalk, Sim Detective

Apps on Sale: StopTilt, PatternLock, BerryLabyrinth, BB:Robot Scheduler, WiFi File Transfer

Cool at BlackBerry App World: Pageonce Personal Assistant for BlackBerry

Freebies of the Week: Taxi Magic

Note: Don't forget, you can always search for titles featured in the App Roundup within App World... Some apps mentioned may be available there for your device.

In Case You Missed It...

Just in case you missed these titles, below are some apps that were covered in the CrackBerry Blogs this past week. Check 'em out!

Phone Assistant Version 1.4.2

Tired of how the BlackBerry OS defaults to 'work' when adding new contact information? Thankfully, Phone Assistant is here to save our bacon. The app gives you the ability to add contact information, and you will also be prompted with the option of where to add the contact info to: work, mobile... or home. Super.

The app isn't free at $3.99, but if this is a nagging problem for you, it might be worth a few bucks to spare any future frustration.

Facebook Version 1.6.0.21

Facebook was updated to version 1.6.0.21 this past week. Many bug fixes were included in this build, including better calendar integration and how your friends list refreshes... If you're a regular user of Facebook on your BlackBerry, you should probably pick up this update.

For more information hit up the Facebook for BlackBerry page over at FB.

Wordpress Beta for BlackBerry

The team at Automattic have released their Wordpress app for BlackBerry devices. I can hear a smattering of applause from the BlackBerry wielding bloggers out there!

For now, the app is in Beta, but as far as I can tell so far the thing is working beautifully. No doubt many bugs and tweaks will be addressed in the coming weeks, but if you have a Wordpress blog and want easy access to it while on the go... This would be a worthwhile install.

You can learn more and download the Wordpress Beta App right here.

BlackBerry App World Expanding

I had wondered for awhile when this was going to happen. Sure enough, just a few days ago news came out that RIM will be expanding App World to hit Italy, France, Germany and Spain later this month... with other countries including Brazil and India coming in the months ahead. Hopefully App World expansion will help foster and encourage more app development worldwide... we'll see!

BBFileScout Updated

Bla1ze posted a quick note about one of his favorite apps this past week. BBFileScout was updated to include some new and groovy features. The most important feature update is most probably the image resize feature. You can now resize images right from within the app. Choose a target resolution of 1200, 1024, 800 or 640 pixels... Or, choose your device resolution or define your own size. You can select if the source image should be deleted after resize, and PNG and JPG outputs are supported.

BBFileScout works great on all Berry devices running 4.3 or higher. You can download it OTA right here.

New This Week

Mars Lander for the BlackBerry Storm 

Mars Lander is a new BlackBerry Storm game from the folks at MobiMadness. I tried the game out a few days ago, and honestly... it's kinda fun. Reminds me a lot of the old 'Lunar Lander' games of the past. Basically it's the same idea. You start off with the most basic spaceship and 60k in the bank. From there, should you successfully land your first mission you'll make more money and progress to the next level. As you continue to deliver cargo and make more money, you can upgrade to a more powerful ship if you wish. The more expensive the ship, the more cargo and fuel it can hold. Controls are self-explanitory and will take you all of 3 seconds to figure out. 25 missions are included (including 18 day and 7 night missions), and it plays great on the touchscreen of my Storm.

If you'd like to try it out, Mars Lander is on sale for $3.99 (until August 2nd) at ShopCrackBerry.com.

Thanks Daniel!

Kyranda

Kyranda places you in the shoes of 'Nancy', a secret agent in charge of Kyranda Industries, a powerful military concern. As you make your way through the game you'll undertake various missions which you will get to by driving your super car loaded with awesome weapons. Arrest and 'eliminate' criminals, find and retrieve important objects, and dish out wonderful justice as you go along.

Kyranda is available for the Pearl, 8700 and 8800 series at ShopCrackBerry.com. Current pricing is set at $9.95.

SpongeBob StormPants

I had to include this one.... if only because the name of it made me laugh. SpongeBob StormPants is a theme for the BlackBerry Storm (of course) for the SpongeBob Square Pants fan. The theme turns your homescreen into a nice image of SpongeBob, with 5 bubbles on-screen as your first five apps. To activate your main app menu just click on SpongeBob, and you're on your way.

You can pick up SpongeBob StormPants at ShopCrackBerry.com.

mailTalk - Email to Voice

mailTalk from Maildover converts text emails into vocal audio, providing you with a convenient way to take in your email. Sit back, and relax as your email is read to you :) This app is also a great one for anyone out there that might be visually impaired. Many modes are built-in, including a 'listen' mode where incoming emails are read as they come into your inbox.

Key features include:

• Select to read your emails on demand
• Select to read each new email as it hits your Blackberry
• Select either male or female voice
• Limit the number of emails mailTalk reads, when on demand selected
• Pre-select read out volume at your convenience
• Pre-select either speaker or bluetooth for the readout voice

mailTalk should work just fine on the Storm, Bold, Pearl, Curve 8900 and 8330. For more information or to purchase for $19.99, hit up ShopCrackBerry.com.

Sim Detective

You may have read about this awesome little app earlier this week in the blogs...Sim Detective is an awesome app that checks to see if the correct SIM is inserted in your device. If the incorrect SIM is inserted, a text or email goes out to a pre-selected friend with all of the details you'll need to contact authorities and get your beloved device back.

Sim Detective will set you back $5.99 at ShopCrackBerry.com. Much cheaper than picking up a new device.

BlackBerry Apps on Sale:

StopTilt

Disable automatic rotation of screen on Storm! Use your Storm from the comfort of your bed without worrying about orientation!
On sale for $4.99
until July 13th

PatternLock

way to lock your BlackBerry Storm using patterns you draw with your finger.
On sale for $1.99
until July 12th

Berry Labyrinth

Classic wooden labyrinth game where you control a steel ball to find a way to finish hole.
On sale for $4.99
until July 15th

BB:Robot Scheduler

With BB:Robot Scheduler you can schedule execution of BlackBerry tasks (Email, SMS, memory clean, fake call, popup message...)
On sale for $3.00
until July 17th

WiFi File Transfer

Transfer files between BlackBerry and PC or Mac over a Wifi network - no cables or PC software needed.
On sale for $4.99
until July 13th

Cool at BlackBerry App World:

Pageonce Personal Assistant for BlackBerry

New from the folks at Pageonce, Personal Assistant allows you to 'manage your life' on your BlackBerry. Monitor your bank, investment and credit card accounts. Check transactions, itineraries, cell minutes... even manage your air miles. You can access thousands of providers via Pageonce, some of the more notable include Citibank, Wells Fargo, United, Delta, Amazon, eBay, BlockBuster, Chase... and the list goes on, and on, and on, trust me. All data is secured with 256 bit encryption. In fact, if you're concerned about security (as you should be), check out the BlackBerry Security page at Pageonce. Very much worth the read to give you peace of mind.

You can download a free trial of Paceonce Personal Assistant via App World, or by visiting m.pageonce.com on our Berry. If you love it and want to upgrade, the premium version will run you $9.99... This will get you unlimited accounts, and real time flight information.

For more general info on the app, hit up Pageonce Personal Assistant for BlackBerry.

Freebie of the Week:

Taxi Magic

Another travel utility to wrap up this weeks' roundup. Taxi Magic by RideCharge lets you book taxis, sedans or shuttles direct from your BlackBerry. You can even get price comparisons, provided you're in a major US city that is supported within the app. Store your credit card info online and the app can charge your next lift to your card, eliminating the need to carry cash. Receipts for your rides are emailed to you, for easy printing for your records down the road.

You can pick up Taxi Magic at ShopCrackBerry.com for FREE!

Until Next Week..

Have news on BlackBerry Apps? New BlackBerry Apps, Upgraded
BlackBerry Apps, Free BlackBerry Apps... it's all good! If you have any
software news tips send them in to me at softwareroundup@crackberry.com. I can't do it without your help!

Of course, we also have many more New BlackBerry Apps, Updated BlackBerry Apps and Free BlackBerry Apps available at ShopCrackBerry.com. Be sure to visit our software store for more great deals on BlackBerry Applications!