I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to rely on my BlackBerrys memo pad application. Well maybe I could, but that’s beside the point. It’s always there to help you jot quick, yet important, information down and offers easy accessibility. It sure beats scrounging for scraps of paper, or even an actual memo pad to write on. I also pity the person who has to decipher my handwriting (I’m sure my signature has been mistaken for a prescription on many occasions). Despite it’s usefulness for capturing info on the go, its functionality is somewhat limited. As much as we love our BlackBerrys, we may find ourselves saying “Wouldn’t it be great if *insert application name* could do…” at times.

ActionPad is a beefier, meatier version of your native MemoPad. In other words, it serves up the functionality of MemoPad, with a side dish of features. These features include: hot keys, categories, desktop synchronization and memo encryption. Let’s see you do that with a pad of yellow sticky paper. Read on for more.

After writing the review for GPSed, I had the urge to go on another trip. During the summer, we took an amazing family trip to Gibsons, British Columbia. I did promise not to touch my BlackBerry during that week, and I did surprisingly well (I only twitched a little). A promise is a promise, but I didn’t even think to argue its usefulness; even on vacation! It only makes sense to do anything possible to make your trip (business or personal) productive, stress-free and exciting…or relaxing. The last thing you want to do is become stressed with planning your vacation and even more stressed during it.

So, without jumping off the travel train, I’ve compiled a list of applications you may want to look at before your next trip. Have to check your flight? Need to choose a hotel?
Where are you going to eat? How do I say this? With so many applications available to you, it’s hard to decide which ones you actually need. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to juggle through applications that aren’t required, and miss enjoying your trip. Before you pack your bags, pack your BlackBerry with much needed travel apps!

Oh look, another postcard. It’s a cheesy, yet thoughtful way to share your global adventure with your friends or family. I don’t see them that often anymore, but they are fun to receive, aren’t they? There’s always a friend or relative out there, exploring the globe and discovering new places. These postcards are a window into their world, but they don’t truly capture it. The picture rarely gives a personal vision of their adventure. It’s one thing to read their stories and imagine. It’s another thing to see it. Perhaps you want to follow in their foot steps. Perhaps you want to strike out on your own voyage. Whether it be across the ocean or across town, why not blaze a trail for everyone to see?

Though it’s been out for a while, I turned to GPSed to mark my path. GPSed helps you record and archive your potentially world spanning treks with your BlackBerry smartphone. Along the way, you can capture and share images you’ve taken to enhance your tales of travel (I told you the fish was that big!). You’ll spend less time picking and filling out postcards and more time making tracks. Is GPSed your next travel companion? Read on to decide.

Though my wife and I have only been in the game for just over two and a half years, parenting is a wonderful, amazing (sometimes stressful) time. He’s had plenty of milestones already; he can differentiate a cellphone from a BlackBerry and can even tell you some of the BlackBerry models. Okay, okay so there are obviously more important milestones that have been reached, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree (or is it BlackBerry doesn’t fall far from the bush?). They say that BlackBerry is a lifestyle. So since you can incorporate your BlackBerry into everything that you do, why not incorporate applications too?

I’m not saying to use it to look up a baby sitter. There are quite a few applications out there that may help you boost your already powerful parenting prowess. How many times have you quickly scribbled down the dates your child said his or her first words or took their first walk? How often do you try to get your child interested in studying? How frequently do you juggle children with a shopping cart and a missing grocery list? If they haven’t bugged you for a snack, or got into anything yet, why not take a few minutes to check out some useful apps?

Ah, Friday night…okay so it’s not actually Friday night, but work with me. You’ve had a tiring week, you’ve put in long hours and your diligence has paid off. You leave work quickly before you’re dragged back in. The city is hustling and bustling with newly freed life, desperate to get home. You finally flop on your couch and put your feet up, when your BlackBerry rings. Your best friend is calling, wanting to shake off the week with you; they ask the all important question you’ve been waiting to hear: “What do you want to do?” The elation from your face quickly disappears, as your puzzled sounding response is delivered.

“I dunno, what do you want to do?”

It’s funny that, with all of the numerous bars, restaurants and other events happening around you, you seem to draw a blank. In the midst of the erupting city life, you wonder if you actually do have a life. As buzzd promises to be your social city guide, I thought it was worth a look at. If your new in town, newly on the scene or just looking for something new to do, check out the buzzd mobile app. Your City. Real Time.

On October 7th, 1952, the first patent for a “Classifying Apparatus and Method” was issued. This eventually developed into the barcodes we know today. I mostly associated barcodes with the UPC barcodes found typically on price tags. I never thought too much about what was beyond those boops and beeps. I was surprised to learn the large number of Linear and 2D barcodes that are used for various reasons. Beyond sales, inventory tracking and shipping/receiving, you can utilize codes to encode URLs, characters, images, emails and more.

A few weeks ago, while reading the Metro News (yes I still read actual newspapers), I came across the 2D barcode called EZcode, found within one of their sections. The EZcode links readers to their mobile site and updated editorials. This review isn’t about them, it’s about the free barcode reader I picked up from the BlackBerry App World. It’s about ScanLife. This application is able to read an EZcode, QR Code and Datamatrix / Semacode. ScanLife may not be the life you want to live, so have a read and see if it’s for you.

It may be an exaggeration, but sometimes it feels like my wallet won’t stay folded. It’s not only because of membership, credit and debit cards; it’s all of the business cards I seem to accumulate. I’m not sure how they all get there. Maybe it’s a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. In this case, the hand is nabbing every card in sight. I also know that I’ve lost access to some extremely important contacts, all because of a misplaced card. Besides your wallet, your corkboard or cubicle wall could contain enough business cards to make it look like a shingled roof. A cleaner, greener approach is to use your address book (duh!), but this can be time consuming. For some, vCards could also be an issue. “Here’s your card?” Here’s MY card, compliments of DUB.

By using DUB, you can easily send and receive detailed contact information right from your BlackBerry smartphone. Your risk of outdated contact information is greatly reduced thanks to DUB’s ability to automatically maintain an up to date contact list. So, leave your George Constanza sized wallet at the door and check out DUB.

You could win a Plantronics Discovery 975 BT Headset. Details @ end of this post!

More and more, we hear about talking on cellphones (and smartphones) while driving becoming a big no no. I have to say that I agree with that decision. I’ve had more than enough near misses that I would have liked to experience. Mostly because someone is on their phone, rather than having two hands on the wheel. There are obviously two decisions to consider; don’t use your cellphone/smartphone or use a headset. There are more Bluetooth headsets around than you can shake a smartphone at. Some look sleek and elegant, but have poor audio quality, while others look clunky, but sound great. A few lucky headsets benefit from the best of both worlds. I’ve had my fair share of Bluetooth headsets over the years. Perhaps I’m being picky, but a small part of me always wonders if there is a better sounding device out there. I want crisp clean sound! I want an ear drum delicacy! I want power and pizzazz without being pretentious!

Ingeniously Simple. That’s what Plantronics is calling their new Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset. Within its elegantly minimal design, sound is mastered using Audio IQ and WindSmart Technologies. Like the sound of it so far?

I think somebody needs a hobby. Just as I was getting used to the last update of LaterDude Pro, I get an email from Fabian. He let me know that he’s added a doozie of an update to this callback reminder solution. The LaterDude Pro name has been seen in the blogs in recent months; in both a review and in update notifications. I’ve said before, that LaterDude Pro enables you to create reminders to Email, call or send a text message to contacts that are important to you. These reminders are found in the BlackBerry Calendar or Task application. Check out what Fabian has added:

Update to version 2.2.51?

• English, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian and French Translation
  
• Option if the Menu should be displayed in the whole system or only in the specific apps
  
• Free Trial available
  
• Select if you want to save the new event as Calendar, Task or be prompted
• Option to set as what you want to preselect the new entry (Call, Contact, Meet, SMS or eMail)
  
• Time and Date can be set from the pre-set buttons and also manually
  
• Free upgrade for previous users
  
• Many bugs fixed
  

He’s also added an icon (yay) for easier access to the options menu. For previous users, this is a warm welcome. If these updates aren’t reason enough for you to buy, how about a 50% discount?! Until October 1st, pick up LaterDude Pro for only $1.47 (for the math wiz in you, that’s actually 50.17% off).

Oh precious notepad, what would I ever do without you? Well, I’d probably forget a substantial amount more than I already do. Some people are blessed with a sponge for a brain; they’re able to absorb and retain information quickly and easily. Then there are others like myself, who wish they could wring out those gifted sponges in order to mop up the knowledge and keep it in a bucket for future reference. This method is not only inefficient, but it’s also gruesome. Your BlackBerry smartphone, as you already know, has a note pad and task application under its hood. Keeping this in mind, there are also a number of applications you can download to help keep you on top of important dates, projects or whatever you struggle with. One of these applications you can turn to is BugMe!

BugMe! is part notepad, part task manager, part alarm and part nag. Together, these many parts make up an application that allows you to create reminder notes in a cinch. With BugMe!, you will find that you will be creating note and reminders more quickly and easily. Now instead of making a note to check out the review, why not just read it now?

How often do you make notes throughout the day? Quite a bit, I would imagine. There’s always something that catches our eyes, even for a second or two. Those that are note-worthy, must be written down before you forget. I know I would. Can you count how many times you said “Where did we find those…” or “What was the name of that place again?” My BlackBerry's note pad has dozens upon dozens of notes that I’ve quickly typed out. I would typically capture the name and basic details, sometimes leaving out location and such. This isn’t a big deal for places you’re familiar with, but what about that small exotic restaurant or boutique you happened to stumble across? Sometimes you drive by a sign that grabs your attention. Even though you try to remember to check it out, you forget where it was…or what it was.

By jogging your memory, DulyNoted will be a string on your finger. Well, a string as in an application…and finger as in your BlackBerry. With DulyNoted, you can create notes that are geotagged. Now you can see where you were when an important note/reminder was made. Travel back there with certainty! Let’s have a closer gander at DulyNoted.

Contest details at the end of this article.... keep reading, and good luck!

Your beautiful BlackBerry; is there a sexier smartphone out there? I think not, nor would my eyes ever dare to wander. Okay, so my BlackBerry addiction isn't that bad, or else I'd have a whole new set of issues to deal with. You do have to admit that RIM's line up (past, current and future) is quite stunning. Over time and through wear and tear, your device goes from functional and fabulous to functional and frumpy. The trick to slow the aging process? Handle with care and keep it covered. There may be a problem with this. Do you want to sacrifice sexy style for security? Some skins offer great protection, but are damn ugly. Not only that, but you may experience interference when using the keypad or touch screen. The iSkin may offer the best of both worlds.

There’s been quite some buzz lately online about the iSkin. I’ve been lucky enough to try them out for a while now; about a month or so before they hit the CrackBerry store. Their lineup is colorful, and very eye catching. There’s only a handful of BlackBerrys in my office, but mine still stands out with the iSkin. Want to know how well they work after a few months? Read on fashion lover! Warning- there may be a giveaway involved!!

Have you ever actually sat down and looked at your Address Book on your BlackBerry smartphone? I mean “really” sort through it. I bet that there are a good number of contacts that you don’t even need. When was the last time that you talked to so – and – so? You may have some of those contacts; the type that you quickly throw into your address book. They are saved, but forgotten for many reasons; it may be because you think you may need to reach them at some point in time, or you make brief contact and want to talk at a more convenient time. Whatever the reason is, these lost souls occupy your address book and continue to grow. At this point you either keep them or delete them. I try to keep my address book trimmed down, but I always find a stray contact or two that have snuck in.

A while ago, Bla1ze turned my attention to an impressive Address Book alternative that helps you to see who you have talked to, what you’ve said, how often you want to talk and more. This application is called Sensobi Contacts. Rather than trying to remember when you’ve talked to this person last, let Sensobi Contacts fill you in. Lets see Sensobi Contacts in action!

Back in August, we had a look at an amazing callback reminder application that came in two flavours; LaterDude, which was free and the premium version LaterDude Pro. With the Pro version, you can also create Email and SMS reminders. Now you’ll never forget to respond to the people who are the most important to you. If you find that you are continuously multi-tasking, or are quite forgetful, you should definitely have a look at either version. Fabian, the man behind the solution, let us know that he has made some important updates to LaterDude Pro. “So what’s new?” I’m glad you asked.

What's new in Version 2.1.06?

• Set Events not only to the Calendar App, but also to the Task App
• Set the due-date of the Task Event as well
• You are now able to set the standard length of an Event
• Option to show the whole Email body or just the subject in the Notes field
• Free Trial Version, where you can start the app 10 times
• Help Text included in the Application
• More pre-set reminder times added to select from
• Menu now only visible in the following Menus: Call Log, Messages, Text Messages, Contacts
• Many bugs fixed

LaterDude Pro is still available for only $2.95 at the CrackBerry App Store!

This may not be the case for everybody but for me, I used to rarely use SMS to communicate. There has only been a slight increase of SMS activity on my BlackBerry smartphone. What’s the reason? There isn’t actually any real reason that I can think of. Most of my wireless communication typically happens via email, phone calls, BlackBerry Messenger or through third party apps. After thinking about it, I may not use SMS that often due to the fact that once it’s deleted, it’s gone. Unless I choose to delete an email from my mailbox and handheld, I will still have the message backed up somewhere. If I’m at work, I’m usually managing my email and such from my desktop. Some departments in my company are actually banning cellphones, due to SMS abuse. Tsk tsk fellow employees - even without your BlackBerry on your desks, you can still use txtForward.

Actually, txtForward, if used with good intentions, could be very beneficial. The application lets you forward received and/or sent messages to an email address of your choice. With txtForward on my BlackBerry, I should text those who may have thought I died a long time ago. If you’re still curious what this application could do for you, read on.