Berry Weather

Where I grew up we had four seasons, just like everybody else. In our case, these seasons we called Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Construction. We've become quite dependent upon knowing the forecast; regardless if would affect us or not. We recently had a birthday party for our son. For weeks before we would check daily, sometimes numerous times a day, to see if it was going to rain or not (it did end up raining, but we had fun nonetheless).

Just like the various weather conditions we may experience, we BlackBerry users and abusers have various options when it comes to obtaining weather information. To date, I've tried using the Weather Service on Viigo (worked nicely) and accessed The Weather Network through the BlackBerry push services (not so nice). I heard of the visually stunning application called BerryWeather and wanted to see if it would call for a sunny application day, or rain on my parade (hopefully not causing water damage with my Bold). With options including extended forecasts and the ability to monitor multiple locations, BerryWeather should help you decide if you need to pack an umbrella or not. More after the jump.

About BerryWeather

BerryWeather was made possible by the folks at Bellshare GmbH. You may recognize them as being the brains behind the popular BerryBuzz. BerryWeather is available for any Berry running on OS 4.2.1 or higher (including the Storm). The application will take up 674.2KB of space and, when first opened, will automatically test the best connection to the internet.

The main menu is where you will be able to obtain the forecast for up to 10 different locations simultaneously, although you do have access to over 72,000 locations. They can be easily searched by name or zip code. Each location will be displayed in what appears to be "weather cards". The locations are beautifully displayed and can be scrolled through by moving the trackball to the left or right. Each location has seven different views to choose from, simply by pressing the trackball or selecting a view from the menu. Below is a list of views available;

  • Today
  • Today with a 7 day outlook
  • Today with an hourly outlook
  • Full Daily view (an expanded card with more detailed information)
  • Full Hourly view 
  • Compact Daily view (a slightly less expanded view)
  • Compact Hourly view
Berry Weather
views available to you

Berry Weather
Today w/Daily view

Berry Weather
Full Daily view

The "cards" for the locations can be shuffled and reordered to suit your needs. You are also given the ability to decide which location will be considered your main, "home" location. For each location, an ample amount of information is presented, including a visual representation of sky conditions, temperature (Celsius or Fahrenheit), dew point, wind and what it "Feels like". The application also displays when the weather was last observed and last updated. BerryWeather also helps you personalize your viewing enjoyment, with different themes and the option to change the background image and font.

The home screen icon will display the most recent temperature conditions, so you can have a very quick glance of what's happening outside. The application can be personalized as well, with information positioning and colour choices.

Berry Weather
keep informed using the icon

Get the kids into the cellar, there's a storm comin' !

Hopefully, the need won't arise, but rest assured that BerryWeather will alert you of any weather warnings that have been issued. You can see the start and stop times of the alerts, as well as a description of the conditions and affected areas. BerryWeather also works well with its sibling; BerryBuzz. The application will alert you using the LED and using the options found within BerryBuzz, thus hopefully keeping you on top of any advisories. On top of this, the settings menu helps you dictate which views and notification you prefer to see.

Berry Weather
settings

Scattered thoughts with a 90% chance of a conclusion

BerryWeather sports a visually appealing delivery of weather conditions. Information requests were responded to quickly, as well as easy to read. The application packs a ton of customizable features. I love having the ability to view multiple locations and choose which one I want to call home (there's no place like home). BerryWeather is available with a 3 day trial and can be purchased from the CrackBerry App Store for $9.95. Now the only thing I need to go with this is a BlackBerry Umbrella, the BerryBrella. Hey! I call dibs on the name!! For more information on BerryWeather, click here.

Pros

  • monitor multiple locations (up to 10)
  • information for over 72,000 locations
  • detailed information beautifully presented

Cons

  • none to report so far

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