Yale Locks and Hardware was on hand at CES to talk about their new series of Real Living Locks. They are available as deadbolts or lever locks, and use Z-Wave or ZigBee technology. Now this is nothing new to me, as I have been using a Schlage LiNK system for several years now. What did impress me quite a bit is that these locks are available with a standard keypad, or a new sleek capacitive touchscreen. They also incorporate a motorized deadbolt, so you can remotely lock or unlock you door. Now just the touchscreen and the motorized deadbolt were impressing me, but what really peaked my interested was how Yale has built in NFC technology into each lock.

What does this mean for BlackBerry users? It means that soon you will be able to take advantage of your NFC capable BlackBerry device and be able to use it to unlock your front door just by holding it near the lock. Now that is cool! Yale is still working on a few details before releasing the NFC capable lock, but we should be seeing it this year.

I have long been a fan of Slacker Radio, and today they announced a new deal with ESPN that locks me in even more. Starting tonight with the BCS Championship Game between LSU and Alabama, Slacker will begin live streaming professional and collegiate sporting events on their ESPN channel.

Initially this will be done via their web channel, but mobile offerings are anticipated to become available in the future.  Future live programming will be available to all Slacker Radio Plus and Slacker Premium Radio subscribers.

Slacker is at CES this week, and I'm sure we'll have some more things to show you from Slacker later in the week. 

Happy Monday to our CrackBerry Nation! We know not everyone likes Monday's, but what a better way to help relieve your case of the Monday's than by giving away not one, but two T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9900's! Once again we have teamed up with our good friends at TeleNav to offer you this great contest. For your chance to win, you just have to do the following things:

• Like CrackBerry, TeleNav, and BlackBerry on Facebook
• Leave a comment below on this post with the reason why you want to win

That's all it takes! So get busy clicking those Like buttons and leaving us a comment below. Big thanks to TeleNav and BlackBerry for this great contest! Good luck to everyone!

Contest details: Contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST. The contest shall be open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada who have reached the age of majority in their state or province of residence at the time of entry. TeleNav will provide the Prize(s) as follows: Two (2) T-Mobile BlackBerry 9900 devices (Approximate Retail Valued (ARV) = $300 each with T-Mobile 2 year contract) and Two (2) one-year subscriptions to TeleNav GPS Navigator or an equivalent partner branded version (ARV = $120 each)

Our friends over at TeleNav have just announced that TeleNav GPS Plus is now available on select Verizon BlackBerry smartphones at a great low price of $9.99/year for a limited time. That's 50% off the regular price!

This is a full-service version of TeleNav that offers the following great features:

• Turn by turn voice guided directions with automatic rerouting
• Multi-Route: Suggests up to three different routes to your destination
• Lane Assist: Shows which lane you should be in prior to your next traffic manuever
• Local search from over 22 million local business listings, restaurants, stores, and more
• Plus much more

This is available now for the following devices in BlackBerry App World:

• Bold 9930 and Torch 9850 running OS7
• Curve 9330 and Bold 9650 running OS6
• Curve 8530 and Bold 9650 running OS5

Labor Day is almost upon us, and that means it's time to run another great contest! We have teamed up with the good folks over at TeleNav to bring you another CrackBerry TeleNav Giveaway! For your chance to win you'll have to do the following things:

• Follow both @CrackBerry and @TeleNav on Twitter
• Like both CrackBerry and TeleNav on FaceBook
• Leave a comment below with what you'd do if you won 

That's all it takes, so get busy planning your Labor Day travel plans with what you would do if you won. For those who need a little refresher on what TeleNav is and offers, check out this TeleNav review.

Contest Details: Contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST. The contest shall be open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada who have reached the age of majority in their state or province of residence at the time of entry. TeleNav will provide the Prize(s) as follows: One (1) one-year subscriptions to TeleNav GPS Navigator or an equivalent partner branded version (“Approximate Retail Valued (ARV) =$69.99) and one (1) $100 gas card.

Independence Day weekend is here for all of our US readers, and Slacker Radio has followed in their holiday tradition and created a station with "4th of July" inspired music.

The station features an eclectic mix of tunes that celebrate the holiday and our independence from Louie Louie by The Kingsmen, Footloose by Kenny Loggins to Elton John's Crocodile Rock, Firework by Katy Perry, Holiday by Madonna and Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days... and it of course includes real classics like Battle Hymn of the Republic by Leonard Bernstein, The Stars and Stripes Forever and the Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton.

You can check out the 4th of July channel on this Slacker station, and you can download the Slacker BlackBerry app direct from Slacker. 

While you're in the mood for Slacker, don't forget to take advantage of the free one-month of Slacker Radio Premium. 

The Vulkano Flow is the latest and greatest from Monsoon Multimedia in the Vulkano product line. The Flow allows the user to watch and control television programming they receive at home on their BlackBerry Smartphone, PC, Mac, and soon to their BlackBerry PlayBook.

Summary of Vulkano Flow features:

• Mark channels as favorite for quick access on your mobile phone
• Watch and control your live TV on the go via Wi-Fi or 3G
• Change channels just like at home
• Browse EPG for shows and episode descriptions
• Connect to all major TV sources - cable, DVD, satellite, DVR, TiVo
• Stream high-quality video at H.264 standards at 150kbps
• Connects to set-top box analog output and wirelessly to home router (802.11n)

The Vulkano Flow is similar to the Slingbox, but it is avaiable at a fraction of the cost. Continue reading to see what it has to offer.

Read Full Review

Are you looking for a better way to charge your BlackBerry? The charging cable it comes with does the job, but it's not very exciting, and you have to keep up with that cable and manually plug in your device. I wanted something simple, and yet fun and cool at the same time. Is it even possible to have something be fun and cool when charging your BlackBerry? Absolutely! Continue reading and let me introduce you to the PowerMat Wireless Charging System.

Read Full Review

I'm a die hard case user on my BlackBerry. I know there are several of you that prefer to keep your device naked, but I'm always worried about drops and scratches. Therefore, I keep a case on my BlackBerry at all times, and my preferred case is the Seidio Innocase II.

Since I always have my Seidio case on my BlackBerry, I have been missing out on using a desktop charger for quite some time. Well that problem has now been solved with the Seidio Desktop Charging Cradle.

Read Full Review

Attention all sports fans! Coming soon to a BlackBerry near you will be ESPN Audio on Slacker Radio.

"Slacker listeners will have access to an interactive dedicated station covering all facets of sports entertainment, with the option to include ESPN SportsCenter headlines for hourly updates on any Slacker music station, and the ability to create custom sports stations with ESPN Radio programming.

ESPN on Slacker Radio will feature up-to-the-minute coverage of all major sporting events and top news stories on both a national and regional level. The interactive ESPN Radio station will also offer access to content from multiple ESPN programs and platforms, including Mike & Mike in the Morning, SportsCenter, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and more."

The ESPN Station will be avaiable to all Slacker listeners for free, and Slacker Plus subscribers will have access to the full ESPN experience. No word yet on when exactly this will be available, but I'm guessing it will be sooner than later. Keep reading for the full press release.

More information/download of Slacker Radio

Continue reading article

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching and what a better way to get you into the mood than by listening to some sweet sweet love tunes on Slacker Radio. So when you're ready to get your groove thing on, fire up the Slacker Radio app on your BlackBerry and check out these stations:

• Rock Ballads Radio
• Country Love Radio
• Metropolitian Mood Radio
• Broken Heart Radio
• Slow Jamz Radio
• Love Songs Radio 

If you're not sure what Slacker Radio is, or if you'd just like a refresher on what it has to offer and how it works, check out this Slacker Radio review.

It's the day of the week known as hump day. What a better way to help you get through the rest of the week than run a contest for some free subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus? Up for grabs we have 5 one-year subscriptions, 5 three-month subscriptions and 5 one-month subscriptions. Just leave a single comment on this post telling us why you want to win. Contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST. 

In case you haven't heard of Slacker Radio, check out this CrackBerry Idol Review of Slacker Radio to get all the details. Good luck to everyone!!!

More information/download of Slacker Radio

We all love our BlackBerry smartphones, but what happens when the unthinkable occurs? What if you drop your prized possession and it breaks into a million pieces? What if you go to set your BlackBerry down in the cupholder in your car, but you realize all too late that there is a cup of coffee there? What do you do when these unfortunate events happen?

Well, you have a few options, but I want to tell you about a new option I just recently learned about at CES. 

Continue reading article

It's once again that time of year where the weather gets cooler, the leaves turn colors and the holiday music hits the airwaves. Our friends at Slacker Radio have informed us that they have launched their Holiday Station lineup and to celebrate it, we have teamed with Slacker to give away some Slacker Radio Plus subscriptions! Their holiday station lineup includes:

• Holiday Hits
• Classic Holidays
• Jazz Holidays
• Holiday Party
• Contemporary Holiday
• Country Holiday
• R&B and Soul Holiday
• Rock/Alternative Holiday
• Dysfunctional Holiday
• Classical Holiday

Contest: We have five 1-year subscriptions and five 3-month subscriptions up for grabs. The contest is open to all US and Canadian residents where Slacker Radio service is available. To enter, just leave us a comment below. While you're at it, make sure to visit Slacker's website and check out all these great holiday stations!

PrimeTime2Go from QuickPlay Media has long been a favorite app on mine on my BlackBerry. I was happy to see that it is available for download for all AT&T BlackBerry Torch users. I have previously reviewed it with a Bold 9000, Curve 8900, and on the T-Mobile Bold 9700. The service on the Torch in general is just as I have experienced it on previous devices, so check out those reviews for more detail. For those who haven't heard of PrimeTime2Go, let me give you a quick synopsis of what it is.

PrimeTime2Go provides you with a mobile TV viewing experience. The service is only available on certain BlackBerry smartphones with Wi-Fi, and it costs $9.99 per month. If you are out of the house and on the road frequently, I have found this to be a great way to stay on top of your favorite TV shows. 

If you have a new AT&T BlackBerry Torch and are looking for a new entertainment app, I suggest you go to the media folder on your Torch and click on the PrimeTime2Go icon and start the download. Happy channel surfing!