CrackBerry Holiday Gift Guide - Gifts for the BlackBerry Student

I always enjoy this time of year, getting together with family and friends. I especially love giving perfect gifts. To qualify as a Perfect Gift, it must meet three standards. A) The gift should be something the giftee has little or no knowledge of. B) The gift must be useful to the recipient. C) The gift must be something the receiver probably would not buy for him or herself. The reward is that look of surprise and delight upon their face. Ah, bliss!

Finding the perfect gift for the student in your life does not have to be a difficult chore. We’ve gathered several of the finest applications and accessories sure to please that deserving someone.

Identify that BlackBerry

Before choosing any gift for a BlackBerry user, you need to find out which one it is. To the inexperienced eye, BlackBerry’s can look very similar. Beware. Not all accessories and apps work with every BlackBerry. ShopCrackBerry.com has a device selector to help you find what you need for the right BlackBerry, but first you have to figure out what that smartphone is.

Just casually ask your student, “Is that a BlackBerry Bold 9700?” They’re almost guaranteed to respond, “No, this is a …” Or (and especially if you’re Kevin Michaluk), they’ll respond, “Why yes it is!” Either way, you have your answer.

Accessories

Extended Battery

There’s a reason this is CrackBerry.com. BlackBerry’s are very useful (and addictive!) smart phones. Email, Facebook, the internet, Twitter, BBM, and other apps put quite a strain on the battery that shipped with the device. Extended batteries are here to the rescue! With the convenience of longer battery life added to that of having a spare battery, extended batteries are a great choice for a power BlackBerry user.

Shop Batteries at ShopCrackBerry.com

Charging Pods

Charging pods are a sleek and elegant way for your student to charge his or her BlackBerry. Just place the BlackBerry in the pod and charging ports on the back of the smartphone do the rest. As an added benefit; charging the BlackBerry turns on bedside mode, automatically dimming the screen and serving as a bedside clock.

Shop Charging pods at ShopCrackBerry.com

Cases

A case protects and defends your student’s BlackBerry against the trial and tribulations of everyday life, namely car keys and drops. The OtterBox Commuter series of cases combine the drop-protection and scratch-resistance of a hard case with the silky-smooth feel of a skin case. Always one of our top sellers.

Shop OtterBox cases at ShopCrackBerry.com

Memory Cards

Modern BlackBerry’s are simply amazing. They can play music in a variety of formats (including MP3, WMA, and –in some cases – FLAC and OGG Vorbis). BlackBerry’s support many types of video, including DivX, WMV, MOV, and others. If you’re not familiar with all these letters, don’t worry. Suffice it to say, BlackBerry’s can handle media.

All those video and music and pictures take up a lot of memory. In the last few years, memory cards have gotten smaller and smaller. A decade ago, you’d be lucky to get an 8 gigabyte hard drive on your computer. Now, you can get 8 gigs on a memory card smaller than a fingernail.

Consider getting an 8 or 16 gigabyte memory card for your student this holiday season. Almost all BlackBerry’s use a microSD card, and newer BlackBerry’s will have no trouble using microSDHC cards.

Shop memory cards at ShopCrackBerry.com

Bluetooth Headphones

Along with all the music available on a BlackBerry, every student should have a good pair of Bluetooth headphones. The MOTOROKR S305 is a great pair of headphones that won’t break the bank. Featuring great sound, heavy bass, a comfortable fit, and a decent range; these wireless headphones will make any BlackBerry soundtrack sound awesome.

MOTOROKR S305 at ShopCrackberry.com

Applications

Dictionary

Many people overlook the importance of a good dictionary and thesaurus. Essays and term papers become more polished and interesting as their authors become more familiar with words. While not actually an app you can buy, the Dictionary and Thesaurus by Dictionary.com is an excellent free app

Dictionary and Thesaurus - Dictionary.com at the app store

Organization

StudentDocket is an organizational dream. It keeps track of your classes, including contact information for the instructors. It keeps track of your assignments, like homework and to-do items. Most importantly, it keeps track of your projects. Large and complicated projects often have multiple due-dates. As each deadline passes, StudentDocket keeps up with your overall progress. StudentDocket keeps up with you.

StudentDocket at the app store

Drive Safely

DriveSafely aims to combat that most deadly and dangerous of the driving dark arts: texting while driving. The app can automatically read emails and text messages out loud, keeping the eyes on the road. Even better, DriveSafely can even respond to those messages with voice-to-text technology. Stopping the car to read messages is still the best option; but DriveSafely is the next best thing.

DriveSafe.ly at the app store

Alarm Clock

With such a simple name, you’d think this to be a simple alarm clock program. Quite simply, this is the best alarm clock application I’ve come across. I’m not a morning person. I need a little… help waking up. I have been known to set four separate alarms to make sure I wake up. This app is for me and any other student who has a little trouble getting up in the morning.

The app allows you to set as many alarms as you’d like, with custom sounds and profiles. Alarms can repeat, snooze, flash lights, vibrate the phone, and – basically – wake up you up. Users can adjust the frequency of the alarm (e.g., 3rd Tuesday of the month), how long the alarm will snooze, and back up / restore settings and alarms.

Alarm Clock at the app store

More Holiday Gift Ideas

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Browse BlackBerry Applications
Buy a BlackBerry Smartphone
Stocking Stuffer! Buy CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse!