MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Use Coupon Code MEM12 at checkout to save 15% on ALL BlackBerry accessories this weekend!
Join Our 3 MILLION+ Members Today! Register Here | Login

CrackBerry Podcast

Download Podcast .MP3 Directly | Podcast Feed
Download CB Podcasts BlackBerry App | Subscribe in iTunes

Well, maybe we're not wild, but after recording Episode 052 I'm definitely beginning to think we're crazy. At least Adam, Bla1ze and myself anyways... Craig seems to keep his wits about him a bit better. :)

If you like BlackBerry Smartphones and you love podcasts, you'll want to listen to this CrackBerry.com Podcast. We debrief on WES 2010 (this time with Craig's take on everything) and chat about some of the newer things we have been seeing on the blogs - BlackBerry 6 in action, the slider, some of the thoughts and opinions floating around and everything else. We hope you enjoy the show!

BoxTone WES 2010 Recap Tomorrow - Register Now

Aside from throwing one hell of a party at WES, the good folks from BoxTone did take plenty of time to explain their offerings to every one who attended. Just in case you couldn't be there at WES 2010 but still wanted to catch up on all the BoxTone happenings, there will be a free seminar tomorrow for anyone who wants to attend. Topics to be discussed at the seminar include:

  • The new BlackBerry Expert Support Center (BESC)
  • What’s new in BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express
  • Latest on BlackBerry 0S 6.0
  • Real-world, automated mobile management best practices at use at companies like HP Enterprise Services, Northern Trust and PNC

As a special bonus anyone who sits through till the end will have the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. If you're interested in learning more about BoxTone you'll not want to miss out. The highlight reel begins at 11am EDT.

[ part IV - youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

With WES 2010 now well behind us, I figured we'd wind down our BlackBerry Solution Showcase Partner/Sponsor Spotlight with Parts IV and V together. Watch the videos above and below to see first hand what some of the different enterprise and consumer plays that were on hand at the event.

Part IV includes SteelCloud, CytexOne, HP, Case-Mate and NickelBuddy. Part V includes Dream Theme, Shoot It and My Global Talk. Definitely check out Part V - the guy from Shoot It / My Global Talk was such a character we had to call it quits on the tour after that we were laughing so hard. Totally an awesome guy who loves his job! :)

Continue reading article

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Part III of our five part WES 2010 BlackBerry Solution Showcase spotlight tour had us checking out some interesting companies. You'll recognize Audiovox's Accoustic Research division's Zentral Home Command line of products as they are what has become of the original Unify4Life products that originally surfaced at WES three years ago. RCA was their to show off their AirPower project which leaches the power in WiFi signals to re-charge a battery pack and Xobni walked us through their powerful solution for managing contacts. Lastly, Freeance Mobile showed us how they're using GPS and location to really help enterprises. Click the links in the paragraph above to learn more about each company! 

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

At WES 2010 in Orlando last week I had the opportunity to sit down with the CrackBerry.tv camera rolling and talk shop with Alan Brenner, who is the Senior Vice President of the BlackBerry Platform for Research in Motion. As you can imagine with a title like that, a LOT of stuff in the BlackBerry-realm falls under Alan's management, from RIM's core of "delivering the mail" (BES/BIS) to things like BlackBerry MVS, App World and even RIM-built apps like the new Twitter for BlackBerry.

I tossed a lot of questions at Alan during our time together that were things I figured the CrackBerry community would want to hear. We cover topics like App World and BlackBerry app development, gaming on BlackBerry (I was curious to know how high of a priority games on BlackBerry is for RIM - aka how soon we'll see OpenGL on GSM BBs) and touch on the growing need for increased memory on BlackBerry. HUGE thanks to Alan for taking the time to speak to CrackBerry. Enjoy the show!

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

One of the big highlights at WES 2010 for me personally was the sit-down time I had with senior level management at RIM. Everybody we had the opportunity to speak to had a passion for BlackBerry and knew their areas of expertise inside and out. For a couple of these interviews we were even able to fire up the CrackBerry.tv camera so we could bring you back the highlights in video!

The name BlackBerry is synonymous with security, so it was awesome to sit down with Scott Totzke, VP of the Global Security Group for RIM, and learn more about RIM's holistic approach to security. Scott also took the opportunity in speaking to CrackBerry readers to throw out some security tips that all BlackBerry owners should pay attention to (set a device password!!!!). Apologies in advance for the little bit of radio interference static that shows up towards the end of the interview... as you can imagine, it's hard to avoid that at an event like WES with BlackBerrys everywhere. We hope you enjoy the piece. HUGE thanks go to RIM and Scott for taking the time to talk to CrackBerry.

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Following up Part I of our BlackBerry Solution Showcase Spotlight at WES 2010, in Part II we visit several more of the companies that were on hand in Orlando. 

This time around we have Gwava, NeverFail, iSec7, TouMetis, Wireless Watchdogs and Grabba. You can watch the video above to learn more about what each of these companies offers in the BlackBerry space and click the links to jump over to their websites for more information.

I've been a long-time user of LogMeIn's free remote assist.  As the resident computer help desk in my family I've installed the LogMeIn client on all the not-so-tech family computers.  My mom, mother-in-law & wife all have this installed on their machines.

This way when I get the call as long as their PC has an internet connection I can access their machine and fix it.  It uses NAT traversal, so it doesn't require any router configuration. This is a great product. Now LogMeIn moves to the smartphone world. Their IT helpdesk product LogMeIn Rescue now offers the helpdesk the ability to access a user's BlackBerry handheld and take complete full control of the device.

What makes this product cool is that the user doesn't need any preinstalled software on the BlackBerry.  The helpdesk simply provides the user with a PIN for the session and on the browser the BlackBerry user goes to logmein123.com enters the PIN and POW! full control is handed to the IT helpdesk.

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

This year RIM had over 100 sponsors participating in the Solution Showcase at WES 2010. With the CrackBerry.tv camera out in full force at the event we figured it only made sense to hit the show floor and give those sponsors a chance to get even more bang out of their buck by having the opportunity to talk to CrackBerry Nation.

One of the things I've realized over the years is that even though we tend to put a consumer-focus on the CrackBerry site and day to day editorial, we have a TON of visitors from the business/enterprise space who check in with the site daily to keep on top of the news (they just don't leave comments at quite the same pace!). So for this series of posts (we split the tour up into five parts) the focus is more heavy on enterprise, but with some consumer stuff mixed in too. 

Part I has us talking to the folks from BoxTone, Tether, WorldMate, and Bayalink. Check out the video for a quick overview of each of these companies and their offerings and be sure to visiit their sites to learn more.

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Despite the screenshots that leaked the week prior, I honestly wasn't sure that RIM would even give us a sneak peek of OS 6.0 at WES. Suffice to say, even though it was a video preview vs. a live demo I was pretty darn excited and happy to see BlackBerry 6 get shown off (and I really like that RIM is going to brand it BlackBerry 6). As I said previously here on the blogs, based on the preview video BB6 looks pretty compelling. It keeps the best of BlackBerry and modernizes it with some of the features we have been seeing in other mobile operating systems and adds some new ones of its own. If RIM can execute and deliver an enjoyable and fast user experience, it's going to go a long way in keeping RIM fighting in the smartphone game.

But this is CrackBerry, and you know I LOVE BlackBerry, so we decided to have some CrackBerry.tv fun and see what other mobile bloggers attending WES thought about BlackBerry 6 and another big announcement at WES, the introduction of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G. Be sure to check out the video above... we've got lots of tech personalities chiming in here: Chris Ziegler from Engadget, Eric Zeman from Phone Scoop, Al Sacco of CIO, Andrew Munchbach of BGR and many, many more! Enjoy the show!!

BlackBerry Pearl 3G

With the announcement of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G at WES 2010, the official BlackBerry Blog ran an interview with the Product Manager in charge of RIM's newest candybar (or "powerbar" as RIM refers to it) form factor BlackBerry to hit the scene. Joseph Gordon answered a bunch of questions related to the new device. If you're interested in the new Pearl 3G, it's definitely an article to check out. We'll give you a couple of the questions below and you can jump over to the full interview on the link at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading article

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Following the WES 2010 Keynote (and just before we did our WES 2010 Solution Showcase Speed Tour) we put RIM's Mike Kirkup behind the big CrackBerry.tv camera to hear his quick reactions on the BlackBerry announcements of the show. In his role of Director of Developer Relations, it's easy to see that Mike is clearly excited for what's coming in BlackBerry 6, both for the consumer and what it will mean for developers. Check out the video above for Mike's remarks on BlackBerry 6 as well as BlackBerry MVS, the Pearl 3G and more!

Stay tuned for more... our next CrackBerry.tv video to air is an awesome compilation of Bloggers' reactions to WES 2010. 

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

WES 2010 is now over and the CrackBerry crew is back home recovering from a couple of crazy days. While the big news of the event has been covered on the site already -- BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry MVS, BlackBerry Pearl 3G and BlackBerry 9650 -- we still have a ton of WES posts coming your way over the next week. This year we kicked things up a notch and introduced CrackBerry.tv at the event. When our friend Ewan MacLeod wasn't reporting for his sites (MobileIndustryReview; MobileDeveloper.tv) he put on the official CrackBerry.tv shirt and hat and we put him to work behind the BIG camera. Leaving WES we have literally hours of raw footage that we'll be producing down into some sweet pieces you'll be able to find right here.

First up we have our BlackBerry Solutions Showcase CrackBerry Reality Tour.  I've been to four WES events now, and I've noticed the tradition that every year RIM's Founder and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis makes a tour of the Solutions Showcase, checking out the cool things BlackBerry partners are up to. Playing off that notion and with help from Mike Kirkup, RIM's Director of Developer Relations, we did up our own CrackBerry tour. It's 9m30s of non-stop action that puts you right there at WES.... grab a drink, sit back and hit play above. Enjoy the show!!

CrackBerry Slider Special

Download Podcast .MP3 Directly | Podcast Feed
Download CB Podcasts BlackBerry App | Subscribe in iTunes

Here it is CrackBerry readers, our WES 2010 Special Edition Podcast! We're making podcast history with this one as the CrackBerry team sat down with the Boy Genius, Andrew Munchbach and Michael Bettiol of BGR and Eric Zeman of Phone Scoop to talk all things BlackBerry. This is one podcast you will not want to miss.

In 48 minutes we pretty much touch on all of the news coming out of WES including BlackBerry 6 and the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G. More than that, we spend a lot of time addressing the state of BlackBerry - looking at both the challenges and opportunities RIM faces in the smartphone game. Take a listen and be sure to drop us a comment and let us know what you think. Enjoy the show!