Don’t be alarmed! I am just testing this WordPress app for BlackBerry. Thanks for clicking though 
I am going to try and add a photo, but don’t know where it is going to show up… Apparently this app is still in beta and not as robust as the iPhone version…
Oh wait… it really did launch. So the question is: Was it worth the wait?
Well Day 1 already provided me with two apps I did not know about and I’ll briefly talk about them.
Shazam
Create and share music moments and stories. With Shazam you can identify music tracks, buy them, and share the tags with friends. You can also learn more about artists; find out what’s hot and grow your music collection.
With the launch of App World, they are offering a 60 day free trial. I have used it already like 7 or 8 times today. I used it with some obscure songs from a random mix cd my friend made me some time ago.
FlyCast
FlyCast delivers music, talk, weather, and traffic to portable devices. Introduced in January 2008, the network has grown very rapidly from 80 channels to well over 1000 in a nine month period, and more channels are added weekly.
The coolest thing I found about it was the local station availability. Also, you can choose to exclusively use WiFi or just ‘prefer’ it. I tested it out with a few stations and the app really runs well on my T-mobile Curve 8900 (over Wi-Fi… I refuse to try it w/out Wi-Fi).
Check it all out for yourself at BB App World here.
So Valentine’s Eve was pretty good to me. I had to work like any normal pre-holiday, but I finally decided to take care of a couple things.
The first would be giving into the marketing over at Capital One and their card Image Lab. I could never really figure out what I wanted on my card, so that’s why I’ve put it off so long. I wanted something no one would get. Something that would make cashiers double take on. The problem with all that is Capital One has a verification to go through. It cannot be too out of control (OOC) and it cannot be copyrighted.
I scrolled through the My Pictures folder on my home PC and as soon as I saw this picture I knew it was perfect. I resized it. Uploaded. Fit it on a test card. It was amazing. I had one of those Ralphie’s dad moments. It was my lamp, only better. Now I just had to wait for it to be approved. I got this email on my way home from work:
…this time it’s for real! I promise. I used to think I was in love with the BlackBerry Storm, but that was just a phase. The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the real deal. Check out the review over at CrackBerry and you’ll see what I mean:
http://crackberry.com/t-mobile-blackberry-curve-8900-smartphone-review
Finally, the ‘suspense’ is over Joshua Topolsky at engadget reports on Robert Gibbs’ press conference this afternoon right here. The quote he has from Gibbs is:
“The President has a BlackBerry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends in a way that use will be limited and the security is enhanced to ensure his ability to communicate, but to do so effectively and to do so in a way that’s protected.”
On that link you can also see the video of the press conference (or just skip ahead to the announcement). The clear winner in this debate today would have to be Sectera Edge and all the free publicity it has received.
JR Raphael at PC World writes:
President Barack Obama may be getting a souped-up, super secure version of the BlackBerry called the Sectera Edge, recent speculation suggests. The NSA-certified device could allow Obama to fulfill his wish of staying connected, some suspect, while also addressing the numerous security concerns that come with the territory.
He goes on to explain how this would address the personal needs a Blackberry can provide:
The Sectera Edge offers one-touch switching between classified and regular “Joe Dialtone” mode, too — so if you ever feel like slumming it with the unsecured masses, you’re just one click away.
So is this thing really a Blackberry or what? The article goes on to say it runs on a Windows platform, so I guess that’s a no. It is compatible with T-Mobile and AT&T, but at a hefty $3350 price tag I doubt i will try to 1up any of my friends with this bad boy.
Joshua Topolsky at engadget has posted the following:
This morning we’ve been barraged with tips alerting us to the news that President Obama has won his struggle to keep his (apparently deeply loved) BlackBerry — a device which has historically been verboten in the White House due to security concerns. Unfortunately for the mainstream media outlets, a little conflation here and a little lack of fact-checking there does not a BlackBerry make. Just about everyone — straight up to CNN and the AP — are sourcing a post by Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic stating that Obama is “going to get his blackberry [sic],” though the actual news may be far different.
and goes on to say
The problem is that Ambinder (and the mainstream media) doesn’t seem to know the difference between some NSA smartphone and an actual RIM BlackBerry… and there’s a big difference. Of course, we won’t tell MSM (or even solo bloggers) how to do their job, but we think there’s some serious air-clearing called for here.
I guess it’s time for my “dear diary, mood: apathetic” moment…. and my blog is so new! I was hoping to hold off the emo a bit longer!
Found on Marc Ambinder’s blog:
“On Monday, a government agency that the Obama administration — but that is probably the National Security Agency — added to a standard blackberry a super-encryption package…. and Obama WILL be able to use it … still for routine and personal messages.”
Awesome. I have had my Curve since Oct 07 and I’m now 100% addicted. If our awesome new President reads this, hit me up with a BB IM PIN request! I’m sure your security can manage to find mine
