The latest commercial from BlackBerry shows not a device this time, but BlackBerry App World. Its good to see the apps getting some love and not just the devices. This ad shows off Pageonce in one of what I'm sure will be many more app commercials. There are tons of apps that would turn into great ads, and with the way RIM has been rolling out commercials, I'm sure we'll see a bunch pop up on the airwaves soon.
If you're like most people, there has been a time in your life when you forgot someone's birthday or anniversary, or an important appointment. Or maybe you've been on the other side and someone forgot to attend an event you had organized. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an easy way to remember these occasions, and to help others remember them too? Look no further, because QuiteSimple has developed an application that will solve those problems.
RemindMe is an all-in-one reminder and notifier that is tightly integrated with your BlackBerry Calendar, Contacts and Maps. When you create a new event in RemindMe you have the option to have an appointment automatically added to your calendar along with a reminder. All you have to do is define the name of the event, when it will happen, who will participate, and specify its location. Then you can set the reminder note and choose to send automatic email notification to all participants on the date of the event. When it is time, the reminder email is sent to the other participants' email addresses as listed in your Contacts. Notification will include the name and date of the event, reminder note (as specified), location and links to BB Maps and Google maps to show the location. The icon for RemindMe even changes as the date of the event nears, and changes again on the day of the event.
RemindMe was chosen as a Regional Selection in the BlackBerry Super App Challenge 2010 in late September. Competition is fierce in this challenge, so to make it even this far says a lot about any app, and you're really going to want to see what RemindMe has to offer you.
- For more information and to purchase RemindMe for $4.99 >>
- To keep up with continuing development on RemindMe in the forums >>
Contest: QuiteSimple has given us 25 licenses for RemindMe to pass on to you guys. To enter, leave your comment below. One comment per person as multiple entries won't count. Winners will be chosen randomly at Midnight PST this Sunday. Good luck!
The other week we posed a question to readers of CrackBerry asking what apps they would like to see come to BlackBerry from other smartphone platforms. The post got a pretty solid response with a wide mix of apps and games suggested, so we combed through the comments to assemble a quick Top 10 list. Hopefully some of these developers out there are paying attention!
Top 10 Apps CrackBerry Readers Would Like to See Come to BlackBerry
- Angry Birds
- ESPN / Sportscenter App
- Mint.com
- Tweetdeck
- Weight Watchers
- Plants v. Zombies
- Dropbox (currently in beta for BlackBerry, so this one is coming soon!)
- a better Facebook app! (technically shouldn't be on the list, but we can't help but agree)
- Netflix (an official one)
- Words with Friends.
And there were a LOT more suggestions than that. If you're curious to see them all, jump over to our original post and browse the comments. As for the #1 pick, while the popular Angry Birds iPhone/iPad game doesn't quite meet RIM's definition of a BlackBerry Super App, there's no denying it's one that the people want to see come to BlackBerry (myself included!).
Reminder: Super Apps Challenge Sept 6th Deadline Approaching: While we're talking what apps we'd like to see come to BlackBerry, it's a good time to remind all the BlackBerry Developers out there that September 6th deadline for the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge is almost here. This year the BlackBerry Partners Fund is looking for anyone who is building super apps. Be it an application which you feel is already a super app or a new app you are currently working on. At stake is over $1.5 Million worth of prizes and includes developer services from leading industry partners, featured placements on BlackBerry App World, marketing programs from Research In Motion and much more. If you are a BlackBerry developer who is delivering super apps, you'll want to take on the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge. The full list of contest prizes, eligibility and requirements are available on the BlackBerry Partners Fund website, just click the link.
Question of the Week: What apps are out there that
you'd like to see come to BlackBerry?
I've been wanting to ask this question to the CrackBerry community for a while now, but somehow it kept slipping my mind to get the post done. Today I remembered so here it is. I want to know what apps you'd like to see come to BlackBerry. I know a lot of BlackBerry users also own a second mobile device, like an iPod or iPad or even an iPhone, and a lot of the CrackBerry enthusiasts out there are familiar with the selection available in Apple's App Store or the Android Marketplace. BlackBerry has a decent apps base and we've seen some growth in the number of BlackBerry apps available (download the CrackBerry App Superstore here) but obviously BlackBerry still has some catch up to do in the app and games space.
So which apps would you like to see come to BlackBerry? We'll go through the list when it's all done and toss up a follow up post. Maybe we can get the word out and we'll see some make their way to BlackBerry sooner than later. I know I'd love to see a KijiJi app for BlackBerry and get some Angry Birds going on my Torch. Make your list in the comments!!
2010 BlackBerry Developer Super Apps Challenge Reminder: While we're talking what apps we'd like to see come to BlackBerry, it's a good time to remind all the BlackBerry Developers out there that September 6th deadline for the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge is fast approaching. This year the BlackBerry Partners Fund is looking for anyone who is building super apps. Be it an application which you feel is already a super app or a new app you are currently working on. At stake is over $1.5 Million worth of prizes and includes developer services from leading industry partners, featured placements on BlackBerry App World, marketing programs from Research In Motion and much more. If you are a BlackBerry developer who is delivering super apps, you'll want to take on the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge. The full list of contest prizes, eligibility and requirements are available on the BlackBerry Partners Fund website, just click the link.
If you've had any thoughts of getting in on the Super Apps Challenge, today at 11am EDT RIM is offering another webcast for developers that can help in your pursuit. This time is all about Super Apps and integrating with native applications. During the 90 minute webcast, learn about API's and how you can go about getting things done. The webcast will be presented by Rajeev Massand, Sr Application Development Consultant at RIM and if you're at all into working on a Super App you definitely won't want to miss this one.
2010 BlackBerry Developer Super Apps Challenge: This year the BlackBerry Partners Fund is looking for anyone who is building super apps. Be it an application which you feel is already a super app or a new app you are currently working on. They want to see it. The challenge is set. The stakes are over $1.5 Million worth of prizes and includes developer services from leading industry partners, featured placements on BlackBerry App World, marketing programs from Research In Motion and much more. So what are you waiting for? If you are a BlackBerry developer who is delivering super apps, you'll want to take on the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge. The full list of contest prizes, eligibility and requirements are available on the BlackBerry Partners Fund website, just click the link.
- Learn More About The 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge >>
- Register now for the Webcast for Developers >>
Super apps. We hear the term being used more and more these days when describing BlackBerry applications and while many out there have made up their own definition of what one may be, Research In Motion are the people to explain it best. As seen in the above video from WES 2010, super apps can be defined as applications which make use of all the BlackBerry resources available. From usage of notification pop ups, context menu integration right down to being able to access any application from within anywhere on the device. Deep integration across the whole device.
2010 BlackBerry Developer Super Apps Challenge: This year the BlackBerry Partners Fund is looking for anyone who is building super apps. Be it an application which you feel is already a super app or a new app you are currently working on. They want to see it. The challenge is set. The stakes are over $1.5 Million worth of prizes and includes developer services from leading industry partners, featured placements on BlackBerry App World, marketing programs from Research In Motion and much more. So what are you waiting for? If you are a BlackBerry developer who is delivering super apps, you'll want to take on the BlackBerry Developer Fund's 2010 Super Apps Developer Challenge. The full list of contest prizes, eligibility and requirements are available on the BlackBerry Partners Fund website, just click the link.
$1.5 Million of Prizes to be won in the BlackBerry Partners Fund Super App Developer Challenge! Click for Challenge Details...
Calling all current and aspiring BlackBerry Developers... tomorrow (May 18th) RIM will be having a webcast for developers to help "Boost Your Super App Experience." Whether you're a current BlackBerry developer or want to get started developing for BlackBerry you'll definitely want to check out this webcast. Here's the pitch:
Overview
The BlackBerry® Application Platform provides a powerful set of APIs and services that provide the framework to create rich, engaging Super App experiences on mobile! There are six categories of Super App characteristics and this month Efficiency and Intelligence is our focus. Learn more about Super App characteristics at www.blackberry.com/developers/superappsJoin us for a webcast which covers efficiency in your app. Learn optimization techniques and best practices that will keep your application size down, optimize resources and decrease your application's memory footprint. And finally, get answers to your most burning performance-related questions. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer period with our panelists providing real-time responses to your questions.
Date: May 18th, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDTPresenters and Panelists:
Sarim Aziz, Sr. Application Development
Brian Zubert, Sr. Application Development Consultant
You can click here to sign up for the webcast. Once you're done with developer webcast, you'll want to jump over to the BlackBerry Partners Fund's Super Apps Challenge page to learn more about this exciting event. This year's focus is on Super Apps and they're giving away a whopping $1.5 Million in prizes!
We're bacccCKKKK! I guess we're getting pretty good with this bi-weekly podcast thiing. In this CrackBerry Radio episode we go through all of the BlackBerry news that was Mobile World Congress 2010 and we catch up on other app announcements and BlackBerry news and rumor. We kick it CrackBerry old school on this one which means we go a bit long and off topic, but hardcore enthusiasts will appreciate it regardless. We even talk Olympic curling and hockey and Bla1ze gets passionate. Enough typing. Hit play above to listen and enjoy the show!!
PS. If you haven't yet, click the link above and Subscribe to use in iTunes!! Even if you don't listen to us there, you can still subscribe. Mucho thanks!
Continuing on with the BlackBerry Developer webinars, Research In Motion has just announced another one for those out there looking to design, build and deploy super apps onto the BlackBerry platform. The last webinar was focused on UI designs and this one will fall along the same vein most certainly, given the definiton of super apps which make use of all the BlackBerry UI aspects. Here is a run down of what will be covered:
- design apps that are stickier, more intuitive, more engaging and more valuable to users
- maximize network efficiency and battery life with “always-on” apps that run in the background, quietly waiting for the right time to spring into action
- add custom menu items and data to the Inbox, Address Book and Calendar so your apps are always one click away
- leverage true push technology to deliver “just-in-time” data with audible notifications and customized messages
The webinar will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 2:00PM EST with Mike Kirkup, Director, Developer Relations at Research In Motion doing the presentation. Registration is now open for all those interested and hopefully, like the other webinars RIM will make this available for rebroadcast.
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week RIM brought forth the notion of "Super Apps" to the smartphone world. It wasn't that RIM introduced any new apps here, but defined what makes a smartphone application great and cited some examples of existing BlackBerry apps that fit that description: Poynt, eBay for BlackBerry, 7Digital Music Store, Facebook, the in-beta Twitter client, etc.. Some of the charateristics that take an app to the level of super app are as follows:
- The Always on Experience
- Tight Integration with the Native BlackBerry Apps
- Proactive and Notification-driven
- Highly Contextualized
- Social and Connected
- Designed for Efficiency
During the BlackBerry Developer Day at App Planet, this idea of building super apps was extended upon and I caught on video Chris Smith walking through the thought process RIM went through in building their new Twitter for BlackBerry Smartphones client. Chris is the Senior Director of the BlackBerry Development Platform for RIM. The key to Chris' presentation here is not here's what we did to build a great twitter app but the message is for developers to approach their own ideas, whatever they may be, with this thought process that will really uncover way to build an app experience that is tightly and fully integrated with the BlackBerry experience, making a super app experience for the end user that is greater than they will find anywhere else.
It's an interesting video and one that all mobile developers should definitely watch. To learn more about BlackBerry Super Apps, you can check out RIM's page on Super Apps. What I'm waiting see next are Super Duper Apps. I'm thinking a Super Duper App takes the definition of Super App and adds to it the ability to save/run the apps from the MicroSD card so they can be HUGE in filesize and therefore extremely pretty with tons of nice graphics and video. The best of both worlds combined.
Following up on RIM's announcement of BES Express, demo of their WebKit browser and discussion on Super Apps yesterday in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2010, I had a chance to get some clarification and answers direct from RIM today. I haven't had a whole bunch of time to catch up on my RSS feeds and forum post reading since these stories broke, but from the little I have seen so far it seems there has been at least some confusion and questions (and even rumors) out there surrounding these topics.
I sat down with Rory O'Neill and Mike Kirkup of Research in Motion and in 18 minutes set the record straight and get some additional details as to what it all means for BlackBerry users. In case you missed our BlackBerry in Europe podcast back in November and don't know them yet, Rory is the Senior Director of Business Marketing in the EMEA region and Mike is the Director of Developer Relations. Huge thanks to them both for taking time out of their crazy schedule to talk to CrackBerry Nation.
Be sure to take a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments. If you have any lingering questions that I missed and they didn't get addressed, let me know and I'll do my best to get the answers. Enjoy the show!
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