While you maybe working away or enjoying the sun this week, many of you may be looking for a new game to shed away some of that extra time this weekend. One of my more recent finds is Chromasphere for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Chromasphere is a game that utilizes the PlayBook’s accelerometer and gyroscope to have you navigate a glowing ball through a labyrinth of hills and turns. By Redmotion Games, the developer of Chromasphere has said that this game is technically in a beta stage and will be receiving frequent updates to the games levels and features.

Features

• Roll a Chromasphere using tilt controls and full 3d physics engine!
• Get to the end of each 3d level within the bronze, silver and gold times to win medals!
• Pit yourself against your last best time with the "ghost" replay mode: an easy way to improve your skills!
• Complete 18 3d Levels with many more to come!
• Collect 4 colored shards to activate the Chromasphere colors and open colored doors, activate colored switches and cross colored bridges!
• Moving and rotating platforms! Plus more obstacles to come!
• Touch-based Camera Controls: Swipe the screen left and right to move the camera. Pinch the screen in and out to zoom in and out.

Chromasphere has you navigating 13 full 3D levels, moving and rotating platforms and locked passages that will have you playing for hours. While the developer stated that this is still in beta, it feels like a polished game to me. It would be neat to have Scoreloop integration and allow the player to challenged themselves as they race against their previous time. Chromasphere for the BlackBerry PlayBook and is available in BlackBerry App World for .99 cents and is certainly worth the download.

Purchase chromasphere for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Popular cross-platform todo app Wunderlist has finally arrived on the BlackBerry PlayBook. We saw Wunderlist sneak onto BlackBerry a few months back and now on the PlayBook as well. Wunderlist is a todo list app that works across multiple platforms so it's available when and where you need it. It's super easy to use, lets you create multiple lists, share items and best of all is totally free. I've been a big fan for quite a while and I'm pumped that an official client is now on the PlayBook. Head to the link below to download.

More information/Download Wunderlist for BlackBerry PlayBook

"The iGrip windshield mount is the perfect addition to the BlackBerry PlayBook's already ultra-portable design"

Navigating the world and keeping people entertained is hard enough in a moving vehicle, but add a tablet or a cell phone and it becomes a daunting task. As I drive down the road, I'm constantly using my phone or tablet for directions and music, all while thinking that there needs to be a better way to hold my BlackBerry PlayBook to make driving safer. When I had the chance to take a look at the iGRIP car mount for the PlayBook, I jumped at the opportunity. Continue reading to see if the iGRIP car mount for the BlackBerry PlayBook can hold its own.

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It's that time of week again CrackBerry Nation. There have been a few queries come in, so let's crack open the mailbag and clear up your BlackBerry woes. This week we have a question from confused and slightly frustrated PlayBook owner who asks:

How do I change the alert settings on my Blackberry playbook? It has the little beep everytime I get an email and I have no idea how to turn it off??

Thanks,

- Shereen

At first glance this seemed like a pretty simple solution -- go to Sounds & Notifications and slide the Audio notifications all the way to the left. But then Shereen replies with:

The actual settings tab " Sounds & Notifications" tab is not even visible on my playbook. I want to turn off the email sound alerts but have no way of doing so? How do I get this setting back on my playbook??

- Shereen

This of course was mystifying. Follow me after the break to find out the solution I recommend for Shereen.

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Often times you may find yourself wanting to edit some images on your BlackBerry PlayBook. While there is a small seleciton of apps available, as forums member edyb pointed out, there are also plenty of free online editors that work great on the PlayBook. In my experience the best is pixlr.com, but there are others that appeal to different users as well. Keep reading for the full list, then play around a bit with each to see which you like best (let us know in the comments). Be sure to hit up the forums and let us know which one is your favorite.

Discuss more in the forums

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Looking to load up your BlackBerry PlayBook with some games? If so, XIMAD is currently having a massive sale right now on all their greatest hits for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Yup, someone at the XIMAD office went a little nutty and dropped all prices down to the low, low cost of $.99 cents. Go getchoo some while the sale lasts!

View all XIMAD games on sale via BlackBerry App World

“Union is at it again with another hit title as Smash Cops crashes onto the BlackBerry PlayBook”

Another day and another game available for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and this one is for all those cops and robbers fans out there. The team over at Union is no stranger to the PlayBook with hit games like Burn the City, Kona’s Crate, Roboto and many others. So when I heard they had released yet another game onto the platform, my expectations were high. Smash Cops is a high speed, high impact game of cops and robbers that should keep you gaming for hours on end. Continue reading for the full review of Smash Cops for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Read Full Review

* Update:  As was quickly pointed out by the CrackBerry community... it looked like the Windows Phone 7 on PlayBook fun was being done through the web browser. Ding, ding. It was. The original prankster posted an update video above. Lol. Lame... but ya know, still kinda cool while it lasted. *

*Update #2: Looks like he has now made the above video private. Sorry folks! (it's still a fake, hahaha)*

A video demo of Windows Phone 7 running in the PlayBook web browser? That's what it seems to be. We wouldn't doubt that it's doable to run WP on the QNX platform, afterall, we've seen Android running on the PlayBook in an emulator, but somehow this one doesn't come across as the real deal to the CrackBerry community. Whether fake or legit, it's kind of neat to see. Though does anybody care about Windows Phone? BlackBerry 10 FTW! Sound off in the comments on this one...

Gaming has never really been something that BlackBerry was known for. We've had the old-standby Brickbreaker since the start as well as a few good games here and there, but we never had the "latest and greatest". When the BlackBerry PlayBook was released, BlackBerry fans everywhere were overjoyed and gaming on the BlackBerry platform changed forever. With the new hardware, we could now have our share of great games as well. Things have come a long way in the last year, and moving forward to BlackBerry 10, it looks like they won't be slowing down.

At BlackBerry World 2012 this year there was a huge BlackBerry 10 vibe, but more so there was a great buzz about gaming. Plenty of big game companies like Marmalade and Gameloft were showing their support and excitement for the BlackBerry 10 platform, and that itself is truly something to look forward to.

As BlackBerry 10 approaches, more and more game companies are getting on board and either making new games for the platform, or porting existing titles over since RIM has been making it so easy to do so. Keep reading and we'll take a quick look at what we can expect for gaming on BlackBerry 10.

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Research In Motion and MyCityWay have launched MyCityWay on the BlackBerry PlayBook, an application to help you get around and have a little fun at the same time. If you are looking around town for that new hotspot, directions to a hotel, or to get tickets for that new blockbuster movie, you may just want to check out this new app for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Be the urban legend you always wanted to be:

• Have the first app that offers a personalized all-access snapshot of the city, instantly connecting you to all the up-to-the-minute usable information you crave. Know all the city’s hotspots and restaurants
• Keep up-to date with local news and the latest deals
• Stream live traffic cameras and avoid those bottlenecks Find the cheapest gas prices, the hottest sales, or upcoming events and concerts in your neighborhood

MyCityWay on the PlayBook gives you access to local weather, news, dining, and even movie times. There are some current limitations, and the service is only available to those in NYC, L.A., San Francisco, London, and India. Hopefully development will continue to include more cities from around the globe in the near future. MyCityWay is now available and can be downloaded from BlackBerry App World for the PlayBook for free with BlackBerry 10 support coming later this year. You can continue reading for the full press release.

Download MyCityWay for the BlackBerry PlayBook
Learn more about MyCityWay

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Reminder: You can save 15% on All BlackBerry Accessories right now by using coupon code "GrandOpening" during checkout at both ShopCrackBerry and CrackBerry Canada stores!

A week ago I was on location at our US e-commerce facility in Florida to help receive our first batch of long overdue BlackBerry PlayBook Mini Keyboards. If you missed the video we recorded thanking everybody for their patience, be sure to watch it!

The Mini Keyboard is a hot seller with PlayBook owners and we're still catching up on backorders, but we're *almost* caught up. The store team just emailed me the photo above showing we received yet another shipment - another 200 keyboards will be shipping out the door before the end of the day. To all those who have had to wait on this one, thanks again for the patience, and we appreciate your continued support!

Learn More and Buy the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard
Read CrackBerry's BlackBerry Mini Keyboard Review

Having already released their consumer offering for the BlackBerry PlayBook the folks from Splashtop Inc. have now moved onto their latest release into BlackBerry App World. Splashtop Pro is the enterprise offering from the company that will not only appeal to IT Admins, but the employee's whose companies are now making use of the BlackBerry PlayBook within their workforce.

"RIM is focused on winning the enterprise, and Splashtop Pro is the perfect app to support the PlayBook's success there," said Mark Lee, Splashtop CEO and co-founder. "Employees can go anywhere with their PlayBooks and have secure remote access to all their applications and files on their computers."

In order to use Splashtop Pro, you'll need to sign up via the Splashtop website but a free 30 day trial is offered to all IT Admins looking to make use of the services. If you're looking for further information and use case scenarios, you can jump below for the full details.

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Time to rev up your BlackBerry PlayBook Formula 1 fans! The Official F1 2012 Live Timing and Track Positioning app has now arrived for the BlackBerry PlayBook and is available for download from BlackBerry App World. Rather than just a port of the Android or iOS version, BlackBerry PlayBook owners will be getting a native application and it's packed with features:

• Real Time Track Positioning - Displayed on our dynamic and interactive map. You can see the position of every F1 driver on the track at the same time. See the gaps and pit stops as never before!
• Follow Your Favourite Forumla 1 Drivers - Selecting a driver switches the camera to follow that selected driver around the race track. Watch as they battle for position! 
• Live Timing Data - Timing data is streamed direct from Formula One Management's technical centre at the race track to the palm of your hand. With multiple timing screens including sectors, gaps and speeds. Watch the sessions like the engineers on the pitwall!
• Live Leaderboards - Combined with live timing data, scrollable leaderboards display a wealth of data.
• Download Race Packs - Download race packs after the event to watch the sessions again and again. Perfect for tape delayed broadcast! 
• Live Text Commentary - Lap by lap live text commentary keeps you updated while the action unfolds.
• Event Counter & Notifications - A new enhanced Infobase with an event countdown that shows the time to the next session and informs when a session is live. Optional notifications alert you when sessions are approaching. 
• Keep Up To Date - Easily access a wealth of information with latest drivers and teams stats, race information, standings and latest results. 
• Complete Formula One Access - Experience each and every Formula One Grand Prix session via the live timing & track positioning feed in the palm of your hand.

Just like the BlackBerry version, it is a paid app that will set you back $20 but it's a must-have for fans looking to get the most Formula 1 content available on the go. Need to see more before you jump in? Jump below to have a look at some more screenshots from the app on the PlayBook. Now all we need is that Ferrari BlackBerry PlayBook.

Purchase the Official F1 2012 Live Timing and Track Positioning App

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While there are tons and tons of extraordinary paid apps available on the BlackBerry PlayBook, there are also a boatload of incredible free apps and games as well. Run In Crowd for the BlackBerry PlayBook has been around for a few months now, but the latest additions certainly make it more rounded. Since launching Run In Crowd, the developer has added music, smoother gameplay, and integrated the Scoreloop social gaming platform.

Features

• Multiplayer - you race alongside other players
• Level generation - you run in a new world each day
• Simple and addictive gameplay with simple controls
• Cross-platform competition - you run with players from iOS/Android/BlackBerry devices

The premise of the game is actually quite straightforward, run. When you start the level you and a few other gamers are in the same position, but that quickly changes as you are forced to run as the world gets faster and faster. You will want to keep an eye out for obstacles and large voids in the games world.  The longer you run, the higher your score as well as the bigger bragging rights when you see yourself as the number one on the worldwide leader boards.

The developers have dubbed this game as a multiplayer game, and while it technically is, you aren't playing against others in real time. The multiplayer works by remembering previous races of other players from around the world and then pins you up against their old race times. A neat way of doing multiplayer gaming and also a good way to eliminate lag between internet connections. Run In Crowd is available on the BlackBerry PlayBook and is free in BlackBerry App World.

Download Run In Crowd for the BlackBerry PlayBook

BBC Worldwide has developed an application for the hit show Top Gear and it's now available on the BlackBerry platform. Top Gear – News is available on the BlackBerry PlayBook as well as BlackBerry smartphones. The application has been designed to allow fans to keep connected when they missed an episode and between episodes. The application features latest news updates, Top Gear opinions, videos, and a whole lot more.

Features:

• All the latest news, rants and opinions from Top Gear
• Videos and photo galleries
• Behind the scenes exclusives from the team
• Your favorite clips from the Top Gear show
• Previews of upcoming Top Gear stuff
• The latest cars driven and reviewed

From within the application you are able to read the latest articles and share them with your BBM contacts. Of course if they do not have the app they will be prompted to download it to read the post. Along with BBM integration you can also share via FaceBook, Twitter, and email.

Of course, the Playbook doesn’t have BBM connected capabilities, but its version still offers a lot of the same features you would find on the phones. The benefit to using Top Gear on the PlayBook is that you will have a larger screen to watch the video clips. Top Gear on your smartphone is perfect for portability, it isn’t the best for viewing video. If you have both a BlackBerry smartphone and tablet I would highly recommend downloading the application on both. With the app on both you’ll never be out of date on the newest from Audi, BMW, or Porsche.

If you have not watched Top Gear and have a thing for cars I suggest you download the app, and check your local listings for availability.

Download Top Gear for the BlackBerry PlayBook
Download Top Gear for BlackBerry smartphones