BlackBerry App Roundup for November 20th, 2009!

Mid-November greetings to you all. This week I'm mixing things up just a bit. I'm doing away with the 'on sale' portion just for now... and have added another title into the 'new' and 'in case you missed it' sections. Not much of a 'spicing up', but a change is as good as a rest. Covered in this weeks' edition of the roundup are the following apps:

In Case You Missed It: WordPress Mobile Updated... Moving out of Beta Soon, BlackBerry IM Clients Updated, TwitterBerry Becomes OpenBeak, FileScout 1.5.0.0 Released, Berry Wars Renamed and Revamped

New This Week: Revball, Mytopia Texas Holdem Live for the Bold and Storm, e-Mobile GPS FindMe, Android Theme for the Bold 9700, Colorbeat

Cool at BlackBerry App World: Fierce Towers

Freebie of the Week: shaqBerry

Note: Don't forget, you can always search for titles featured in the App Roundup within App World... Some apps mentioned may be available there for your device.

In Case You Missed It...

Just in case you missed these titles, below are some apps that were covered in the CrackBerry Blogs this past week. Check 'em out!

WordPress Mobile Updated... Moving out of Beta Soon

WordPress is moving fast and furious with their updates, and apparently the app is almost out of beta. The latest update brings us up to version 0.9.0.169 and numerous bug fixes and feature updates have been integrated, including:

• Based on all the great feedback, we reworked much of the UI layout for the main view, blog view, and media view
• Ability to upload videos from your media library
• New option to set media file properties (filename, caption, title, and position)
• Created a new file browser that resembles the native BlackBerry file browser
• Big improvements in the speed at which you can view and manage comments
• Lots of optimizations for uploading photos and videos using base64 encoding
• Indonesian language support updated thanks to Kate of Pixel Insert
• Improved French language support thanks to Yann Nave of blog.onbebop.net

Stay tuned to the CrackBerry blogs for more on this one... no doubt you'll hear about it as soon as 1.0 is available!

To download and install pay a visit to http://blackberry.wordpress.org/install

BlackBerry IM Clients Updated

The native BlackBerry IM clients including Gtalk, AIM and MSN have all been updated to version 2.5.30. Of course, no changelog is available, so your guess is as good as mine as to what's new. You can update via the individual download pages, or head on over to mobile.blackberry.com from your device. Happy IM-ing!

TwitterBerry Becomes OpenBeak

The very popular Twitter client for BlackBerry 'TwitterBerry' has undergone some changes. First, the developers at Orangatame have renamed it 'OpenBeak'... I kind of like that :) Second, they've updated the app with a bunch of new features, including a new search, setup wizard, and updated tweet views. If you're already running TwitterBerry you should receive a prompt to upgrade to OpenBeak... If you haven't, or if you're a new user, simply go to m.openbeak.com from your Berry's browser to get started.

FileScout 1.5.0.0 Released

A finalist in the BlackBerry Developers Challenge, FileScout has been updated and includes the following enhancements:

• Display of thumbnails in search result (if thumbnail display is enabled and images are in the 'FileScout Image Cache')
• Thumbnail- Options: New Button to generate all all thumbnails for all images on your device (incl. the SDCard) - this operation can take a while till it's completed - please be patient!
• When resizing images to device resolution size you can now select to keep the aspect ratio of the original image. If this option is selected, then FileScout will cut (left & right or top & bottom) of the image so that it will fit to your device screen resolution.
• User Defined resolution (image resizing) can be now be max 9999 pixel [but it's recommended not use more then 1200px]
• Support for DesktopManager Backup & Restore (FileScout settings)
• A '[W]' in the Screen Title indicating that the background threads (required for Search and other extended features) are still running (after FileScout is started) - once the threads are completed the '[W]'will disappear.
• Integration in the RIMs FileExplorer Application: a 'Explore with FileScout' MenuItem is added

A number of bugs have also been fixed as well... So this is overall just a more solid release. FileScout is donationware, so if you enjoy it be sure to send some coin towards the developers. Check it out for yourself right here.

Berry Wars Renamed and Revamped

One of the more popular games in our store 'Berry Wars' has been updated, and renamed. Now going by the name 'Druglord Wars', the game has a new UI, and many updates including:

• Global online leaderboard to compare your skills to the world
• 17 drugs to buy and sell in 11 beautifully rendered cities
• 18 weapons and storage containers to take down enemies and hold more drugs
• Over 125 custom designed images just for BlackBerry
• Save games and preview progress before resuming
• Unlimited gameplay mode to see how far you can take your drug empire

To grab this version you'll need a Berry with a 480x320 or 480x360 screen, and at least OS 4.6. Give it a look-see in our store right now.

New This Week

Revball

One of the cooler looking games I've spotted in some time, Revball is an exciting new paddle game for the BlackBerry Storm. The object? Simple. Track the ball, keep it in play, and watch out for different obstacles as they grab onto and deflect the path of the ball. The colored ring around the outside lets you know who's turn it is to hit the ball. 3 difficulty levels and 5 bonus challenges are built-in. So, if you're on a Storm or Storm2, this one is worth a look.

Check out Revball in our store >

Mytopia Texas Holdem Live for the Bold and Storm

A little Bold 9000 love here, along with a smattering of Storm goodness. Play live poker games against friends or other players from around the world. Connect via Facebook, MySpace, Friendster and more, all from your BlackBerry. If you happen to be offline, you can also play the game against multiple computer AI opponents, just like most other poker games. For $9.99, you get quite a lot of game, plus, all updates are free of charge once you purchase.

• Pick up Texas Holdem Live for the Storm and Storm2 >
• Pick up Texas Holdem Live for the Bold 9000 >

e-Mobile GPS FindMe

How does turning your Berry into a working tracking device sound? Lame? If so, move on to the next app. If you're excited about this, keep reading. e-Mobile GPS FindMe lets you trace your friends, your kids, a lost phone, track your current location, and a whole lot more. In order to be 'tracked' a user has to opt-in to the service... no 'funny' business here. Plus, you can easily turn the location sharing feature on or off at any time.

e-Mobile GPS works just dandy on any GPS enabled Berry. For more information check it out in our store.

Android Theme for the Bold 9700

Want to give that new Bold 9700 the look and feel of Android without losing the Berry goodness? That's what you can get when you load up the new Android 9700 theme on the new Bold. The theme delivers a true Android look, a sliding dock, customizable icons and a lot more. It's a tad on the expensive side at $6.99, but that said, the theme is very well done indeed.

More info on the Android 9700 Theme >

Colorbeat

Colorbeat is a new entry into our store that combines a pong/arkanoid flavor with  'bust a move' bubble popping action. Make sense? No? Forget it then. If you get it... keep reading :) The object of the game is to clear all of the balls from the playfield. If a ball collides with 2 adjacent balls (or more) of the same color, they disappear. Black balls are bombs, and white balls give you an extra life. Simple, yet kind of fun!

Available for most current BlackBerry devices, Colorbeat is on sale for $1.99 until the end of the month. Check it out right here.

Cool at BlackBerry App World:

Fierce Towers

Fierce Towers is a cool tower defense game from our friends at Nickel Buddy. The object of the game is simple. Stop the waves of attackers before they take you down. Try different strategies to find out what works best... The graphics in the game are fantastic, and overall I simply got a good 'vibe' from this game. It automatically saves your progress on exit... and should work just fine on all current models of BlackBerry.

The cost? $4.99 in App World. Check out Fierce Towers right here. If you give it a spin, be sure to let me know what you think.

Freebie of the Week:

shaqBerry

This one was too strange to pass up. New from Phrehnck, shaqBerry turns your Berry's dialer screen into... well... Into Shaq's head. It's completely silly, partly humorous, and 100% free. shaqBerry is available for the Storm and Storm2, along with the Pearl, Curve, Tour and Bold series. For more information and to download, check it out in our store.

Until Next Week..

Have news on BlackBerry Apps? New BlackBerry Apps, Upgraded BlackBerry Apps, Free BlackBerry Apps... it's all good! If you have any software news tips send them in to me at [email protected]. I can't do it without your help!

Of course, we also have many more New BlackBerry Apps, Updated BlackBerry Apps and Free BlackBerry Apps available at ShopCrackBerry.com. Be sure to visit our software store for more great deals on BlackBerry Applications!