I've always been looking for a bigger and better way to lock my device. I'm not always a fan of typing in a password, and I really just never got into using the lock button for some reason. I've tried many pattern and key locking apps over the years, but one I found last week I totally fell in love with. Easy Lock (available in both pro and lite versions) is a simple "slide up" lock screen for your BlackBerry. You can assign it to lock on the hardware lock button or specify a timeout of up to 15 minutes and your device will lock automatically. A full screen covers your device -- complete with time, date and notifications -- and you just slide it up to unlock your device (much like Windows Phone). It feels so fluid that it's like it was meant to be there all along. Check out my video above to see it in action, then head to BlackBerry App World to try it out for yourself. 

More information/download of Easy Lock Pro
More information/download of Easy Lock Lite 

Hi, I’m a chronic screen capturing fiend. It’s true! If there’s an application review to do, I snap a pic. If I happen to stumble upon a funny image, I snap a pic. If I find a glitch or error, I snap a pic. If I see someone saying something not so nice on some social network, perhaps about our beloved smartphones, you bet your sweet bippy I snap a pic. There’s no question that you’ll always have a need for a screen capture. The question is which screen capture application should you go with?

When I switched over to a BlackBerry 7 smartphone, my long time capturing app was unable to make the journey with me; it wasn’t supported. I was then on a quest for something new. I remember looking at ZonaSnap a few months ago and decided to give it a shot. Though I had it for less than a year, it quickly became one of my most-used apps of 2011. Read on to see why.

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These days, taking images isn’t enough anymore, you want to add some style to them. Before there were BlackBerry applications that could handle those requests, I would upload the images to my computer and use Photoshop to make changes. LensBoost has quickly become an incredibly popular image filtering application amongst BlackBerry 7 users. The application won 2nd place at the DevCon WebWorks Hackathon. In fact, I’ve occasionally read, or overheard someone calling it the BlackBerry Instagram. While those sentiments are complimentary, LensBoost is its own entity. Originally, I was going to include it in my latest head to head to head review of image editing applications, but decided against it until it was out of beta. I did decide, however, to stick to LensBoost for my image filtering needs. Why? Because it applies filters quickly, cleanly and most importantly, beautifully! Once you’re done, the application lets you share your creations with friends on Facebook, BBM and Twitter.

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A few months back, Facebook Messenger hit prime time for BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices. Unlike the Facebook app itself, Facebook Messenger is a trimmed down version that simply allows you to send and receive Facebook messages no matter where you are. This ties in to having one spot to get your messages -- be it on the go or at your PC, since you can tweak Facebook to your liking fairly easily. I've had constant trouble receiving Facebook messages on my BlackBerry through the Facebook app, so using Facebook Messenger is a great alternative. It does go above and beyond as it gives you a central place to receive messages regardless of what platform you may be using, and it also syncs up nicely when you're in front of your PC so you don't have to worry about double notifications. Keep reading for more on using Facebook Messenger for BlackBerry.

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Arguably the first video game I ever played was Asteroids – I could be wrong, but I think it was on an Atari 2600. Regardless, It was one of those games that I could play for a long time (that and Clowns on our Commodore 64). For those who have little knowledge of gaming whatsoever, first I’ll say “Shame on you” and second I’ll touch on the game play for a moment. You are manning a triangular spaceship in a pocket of wrap-around space. Within this confined space are (of course) asteroids that will break apart into smaller chunks as you blast them. The smaller the asteroid, the faster they will move. On top of a low budget version of Armageddon, a flying saucer is out to get you and will occasionally appear. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, you can use hyperspace to reappear in a random place.

Over the years, there have been many, many different copies and adaptations to choose from. Yes, we have one for the BlackBerry PlayBook too, and it’s aptly named Asteroid Blast HD. Rather than giving us a flashy version, like the Xbox Live Arcade port, Asteroid Blast HD gives us more of the original (and kick ass) version. The game play took a little time to get used to, as you tap the screen to fire and tap and hold to move; causing you to fire even if you don’t want to. That being said, I’m not exactly sure on the pricing, currently at $3.99, but if you’re craving some Asteroids madness, you can pick up Asteroid Blast HD from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download Asteroid Blast HD for the BlackBerry PlayBook

If you’ve read any of my articles regarding the BlackBerry PIN, you may have noticed that my views on privacy are slowly being swayed towards being more open with sharing my PIN. The other day, Kevin introduced you to a new application/social network known as PinShare; where, as you would probably guess, share your PIN with potential connections. Before doing so, you can view their image, read their brief bio and finally connect with them via BlackBerry Messenger. You send off a message, up to 100 characters, and it shows up in the recipient’s message inbox. A home screen notification icon is also generated. You can then choose to connect with them over BBM or not.

Essentially, it’s another database of BlackBerry smartphone users looking to share their PIN, yet, at the same time, it’s not. It’s a smooth rolodex of social users looking for a variety of things, but most importantly a decent conversation. Now I did notice that my BlackBerry Bold 9900 would start to lag from time to time while running PinShare; perhaps an indication that it was retrieving a large amount profiles that were just created? Just keep in mind that you’ll be receiving messages from people that may not want to, be the same can be said if you were to post your PIN in a forum. Once you trudge through the unwanted messages (which in reality come in rather infrequently) you may find a select few worthy of your BBM. Check out the video for a quick walkthrough as well as how to set up your own profile. You can grab PinShare for free from BlackBerry App World. Screenshots can be found after the jump.

More information/download PinShare for BlackBerry smartphones

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With a touch screen, we tend to look for more free flowing applications to help us in our daily tasks. While having a list we can look at is helpful, there’s something about a touch screen that has us looking for a more attractive way to visualize and manage projects, tasks, ideas and even goals. The BlackBerry PlayBook, to me, is the perfect sized tablet for making my To-Dos easy to read and easier on the eyes. Take away a physical keyboard (BlackBerry smartphone or computer keyboard that is) and it almost feels like I’m looking directly at what’s inside my brain (yeesh, I thought my bedroom when I was a kid was messy!). It’s just me and my noggin, trying to hash out ideas, making sense of the process. What a lot of people do is tap into the power of a mind map, whether it’s created on a black or white board, a notepad or a napkin.

Mindmaps allows you to do the same thing, except on your BlackBerry PlayBook and not on a mustard stained napkin. Not only does it help you keep track of the thoughts in your brain, but it also lets you manage the layout, colours and more. What was once a great idea may have to be put on the backburner. Mindmaps can help you move the idea around without having to scribble it out. There other mind mapping BlackBerry PlayBook applications out there, so let’s see how this one handles your crazy ideas.

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What do you do if you miss a call on your BlackBerry smartphone? Do you click “View” on the native missed call popup, or do you click close? If I’m busy, I’ll ignore it for the moment and wait to see if a voicemail is left. Besides, I could always check by pressing on the green call button. There is quite a few times where I do forget to check, until hours later. By that time, it’s too late. I do have friends that, annoyingly, do not leave a voicemail, as they expect me to call back out of curiosity (*cough*Isaac*cough). Believe me when I say it’s not because I don’t want to talk to you. Unless it’s you, no not you…you! Yes, I’m probably ignoring you.

HomeScreen Missed Calls takes an interesting approach in telling you who you have just ignored/missed. Those callers you failed to connect with are displayed on your home screen; a constant reminder of how disconnected you actually are. Missed calls are actually represented by pictures/icons, so even if you clear the missed call popup, you can be reminded each time you check your BlackBerry smartphone; which you do almost every 10 minutes or so anyway!

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Madden is an American institution. We've played it on consoles, fear the worst with the Madden curse and look forward to it each and every year. Well now you can have some of that Madden greatness with you wherever you go with Madden 12 for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Madden 12 brings all your favorite teams to the line and does not disappoint, even in this smaller package. While it does take some getting used to, once you master the controls you should be able to knock off a full season on your way to a Superbowl victory. I'll admit that it was a rough start trying to adjust to the game control setup, but I actually find it to be extremely useful and a welcome addition (especially the drawing of hot routes) from the console versions. Overall I highly recommend Madden 12 and think any football fan should definitely give it a go. Check out my review in the video above, then head to BlackBerry App World to grab it for yourself!

More information/download of Madden 12 for the BlackBerry PlayBook

My wife can attest to the fact that the snooze button on my alarm and I have a love/hate relationship. It hates to see me sleep in and I love smacking the crap out of it. I guess you can say my alarm clock and I have mutually abusive relationship, as well. It’s gotten to the point that I had to place my alarm on the other side of the room, so that I’m forced to get up in order to hit snooze – in the hopes that I just decide to give up and wake up. That also doesn’t seem to work every time, as I now shuffle from my bed to the alarm and back to bed like a zombie. Perhaps I need to get to bed earlier, or perhaps I need a more insistent alarm to make sure I am up.

I’ve never been one for alarm applications on my BlackBerry smartphone – I’ve had the same old alarm clock for almost a decade. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to hit snooze or turn off. I know it so well, I can use it in my sleep (honestly!). I need more of a challenge to help me wake up. When I first heard of the puZZed application, I didn’t take it too seriously. Now after using it, it may replace a decade old toxic relationship with my old alarm.

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I love to have music wherever I go; you never know when it will come in handy. Does this mean that I load up every single song that I have in my library onto my BlackBerry smartphone? No. Depending on how many songs you have, you could be eating into precious memory that your videos, images and other files already struggle for. Now true, there are slough of radio streaming applications you can tap into, but they too have their limitations. No matter how many settings and preferences you are given, you are still not in full control of what you are listening to. Using BlackBerry Desktop Software and WiFi Music sync puts the power of streaming your own music in your hands…until you disconnect from your wireless network. In order for WiFi Music Sync to work, your computer and your BlackBerry smartphone must be connected to the same network. On top of that, WiFi Music Sync doesn’t even work with your BlackBerry PlayBook. So what happens when you want to stream music wherever you happen to find yourself? Enter: MyMusicCloud.

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It’s funny, there’s one thing that sticks with me when I think back to the finalists for the BlackBerry Super Fanboy contest. Besides the creativity, I think about the content; applications to be more specific. How fitting that the winners also included developers. We’ve heard about Marco van Hylckama Vlieg’s ever useful Screamager application, which was out and about at DevCon 2011, and also came in handy during our Halloween Trick or Treat trek. There’s another one that was shown off in a fanboy video that isn’t quite as well known, but is definitely awesome. Another Fanboy contest winner, Alexander Perri, could be seen cooking with his PlayBook next to him- check out his My Everlasting Light video at the 3 min, 45 sec mark to see the app in question. That application is actually his own creation; it’s called Allergen Free Cooking.

When his video was posted in the blogs, I immediately reached out to him, wanting to know which app it was. At DevCon, I finally met up with Alexander and we discussed the application, its creation and its future. Since day one, it hasn’t left my BlackBerry PlayBook, though it does cause me to salivate which in turn creates the danger of potentially causing water damage to my tablet. Read on for more.

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Yes it's pattern lock .. but no, not that pattern lock. Pattern Lock Pro is a locking app of the same name (add the pro of course) that simply lets you use a pattern of your choosing to unlock your device. The settings screen is simple, letting you choose your pattern, lock timeout and apps to override. I'm a big fan of pattern locking on touchscreen devices, as it gives a quick one-handed simplicity to things. Pattern Lock Pro comes in handy for just that, however I do wish it was a bit more responsive. It seems to hang a bit as you map out your pattern, but hopefully something that can be fixed down the line. Check out the video above for my review, then head to BlackBerry App World for more.

More information/download of Pattern Lock Pro

When the review for the BlackBird Twitter app for the BlackBerry PlayBook went up, someone made a comment that they wanted to see a Blaq review. Up until that point, I had only seen Blaq on BlackBerry smartphones, and thought it was a decent Twitter application. To be honest, I was already bouncing back and forth between Twitter for BlackBerry and another Twitter client and didn’t feel the need to pick up a third. Had I actually done so, I think that Blaq would have been installed on my BlackBerry PlayBook the moment the app was made available. As I had mentioned in the BlackBird review, accessing Twitter from the PlayBook was (at the time) limited to a basic mobile view – making it painful to use. Even with a new beefed up mobile site, I’ve quickly taken to Blaq to help me keep connected to Twitter. Kisai labs has recently updated Blaq with a slew of new features and fixes, making in (in my opinion) the most functional (and sexy) PlayBook Twitter client yet.

With Notifications, paused timelines and multiple account access, Blaq may have you saying “Holy Tweet!” As lame as that just sounded, let’s hope you keep reading.

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Hey, how many convenience keys do you have on your BlackBerry smartphone? One… that’s too bad. I have four- that’s right; I’m using the Bold 9900 and I have four convenience keys. See, they’re all lined up on the right hand side. Okay, Okay, I know they’re media keys but, to me, they’re also convenience keys. This added functionality is brought to you by MediaKeyBooster, which lets you configure up to four apps, commands or shortcuts to each of your media keys. Volume up, volume down, even play/pause; they can all be made to do more than they were originally designed for. 

For things like opening the Calendar, Brickbreaker, or your Browser, I didn’t have to look at my screen anymore; I could just click a button a few times and away I go. Now is this really added convenience or do I now have to remember which app was on which button and how many clicks I need? Let’s take a look.

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