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BlackBerry App World 1.1 – New Features, More Countries

It seems it was only yesterday that we opened up a world of possibilities with BlackBerry App World™. We’re proud to announce the launch of BlackBerry App World 1.1!;




BlackBerry App World 1.1 New Features



•You can now view the Top 25 Free and Top 25 Paid applications!

•When searching for applications, you can now filter by newest, name, price, vendor, popularity and relevance.
With BlackBerry App World 1.1, you’ll now be able to archive your downloaded and purchased applications on a microSD™ Card. Click the “Continue Reading” link to read a brief FAQ and step-by-step guide on how to archive applications on your BlackBerry® smartphone.

Where do my apps go when I install them?
Any app you install on your BlackBerry smartphone (from BlackBerry App World or anywhere else) is installed in flash memory. Each BlackBerry smartphone has a different amount of flash memory – and this is what determines how many apps each device can have installed. With the new archiving feature, you can store the app on the microSD™ card and restore it when you want to use it.

What will happen to our current applications?
All the apps you’ve downloaded and purchased from BlackBerry App World are currently stored in your “My World” account. After upgrading to BlackBerry App World 1.1, you can still archive the app – it will just be quickly downloaded again and then stored on your microSD™ card.

How to Archive Applications on your BlackBerry:

In “My World”, you now have the new menu option “Archive”.

When clicked, BlackBerry App World will uninstall the application from the device memory and store it on the microSD™ card.

Some apps require a reboot – some don’t – it all depends on the app.

The icon for the app will still appear where ever you have it (default on 4.5 and below is the home screen, on 4.6 it is the Downloads directory).

The icon will have a green arrow in the bottom corner indicating it’s been archived.

You can click on the icon and you’ll be prompted to see if you want to restore the app.

You can also restore from inside BlackBerry App World.

BlackBerry Curve 8520: Ahead of the Curve

Another device launch is just around the corner! This time it’s a new edition to our BlackBerry Curve family: introducing the BlackBerry® Curve 8520™ smartphone! Rather than tell you about the device myself, I followed Becky’s lead and grabbed some face time with the product manager behind it all: Pankaj.


Can you describe your role at RIM?

I’m the Handheld Product Manager for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone. I define the requirements for the product and work with cross functional teams from the product concept phase through to development leading up to the global launch.

What was the vision for the new BlackBerry Curve?
To offer an entry level smartphone and provide an update to the BlackBerry Curve 8310/8320 products. The new smartphone addressed the aspirations of people currently using a mid tier feature phone to step up to a BlackBerry smartphone that’s affordable and meets their lifestyle needs.

You’ve been using the device for a while now. What do you like about it?

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone has some capabilities that I am proud of. It’s easy to carry and use as a phone (just like the original). I like the dedicated media keys, and it has a sleek and simple design that feels really soft and light in the hand. The trackpad touch navigation interface is cool — it makes navigation easy and actually kind of fun. We changed the design of the side keys so they are integrated into the side band, which means again they are much sleeker and still very functional.

Why the new trackpad? How does it work?

We are always looking forward and investigating new technology, trying to meet the needs of our customers. The trackpad was a good fit for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone. It emulates a similar experience to what we all love and use on our laptops today.

Why Wi-Fi?

We looked at the target audience for the product and Wi-Fi® support seemed to be the best choice because it allows for an enhanced broadband experience. Wi-Fi coverage seems to be everywhere now, so you can enjoy blazing fast web browsing on this product.

Black or Frost?

Love both the colors. Frost blue is a unique color on a QWERTY device.

What do you do when you aren’t managing products?

I spend time with my family – go biking, watch movies, play basketball with kids. I love to work in the yard at home too.

And now for our readers: if you want the lowdown on all the product specs, you can get them here.

Post a comment and tell us what you think about the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone.

BlackBerry Desktop Software: Coming Soon to a Mac Near You!

Many of you commented on my “Updating Your BlackBerry Device Software” post back in April saying "…this is great! But what about Mac?” I could not respond to those comments at the time, but I’m happy to say there’s some exciting news we can share with you. We have all been hard at work here for a while now, and you may have noticed some Mac support with the preview version of BlackBerry® Media Sync for Mac released back in December. Read on to get the first inside scoop on BlackBerry® Desktop Software that will be coming to Mac in September, and get a first glimpse at a few product screenshots.


Here are some key features the initial release will include:

•Sync your iTunes® playlists, calendars, contacts, notes and tasks

•Add/Remove applications

•Update your device when new software becomes available

•Backup and restore your device data with such features like automatically scheduled backups and optional encryption (security is #1 as always… )

•Manage multiple devices

And it will support Mac® OS 10.5.5 and above.

Make sure to check out www.blackberry.com/mac and sign up to get notified when the software is available, and stay tuned for more posts from me here on Inside BlackBerry as we get closer to the release date.

As promised, here are some screenshots (click to enlarge) – let me know what you think!

BlackBerry Storm Apps – The 5 Most Popular Downloads

When we first launched the BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone in 2008, there was no one-stop-shop for applications. People were coming together to make their own application lists like the one over at pinstack.com. Recently we launched BlackBerry App World to make it easier to find, download and share BlackBerry Storm apps for your smartphone (or any BlackBerry device for that matter!)


BlackBerry App World has only been live for three months and there are over 1000 BlackBerry Storm apps already and it’s still growing.

This week the 5 most popular application downloads for the BlackBerry Storm are:

•Pandora – Music streaming application, great for discovering new music

•Flashlight – Another flashlight app, but this one seems to have a following!

•ScoreMobile – Makes following sports scores in real-time fast and easy

•Facebook – A new version was just released and it adds even more features

•Viigo – Highly acclaimed content aggregator

Browsing for apps in App World is like window shopping. Because you can read reviews from other people and look at screenshots before deciding what to download, it’s a great way to take the guess work out of picking the right app.

Which are your favourite apps?

Live from WES

Hey! I’m at WES and having a great time. This is the first year we’ve had a BlackBerry® booth dedicated to handheld hardware and I’m one of the lucky people working the stand!


We have all our devices displayed in the booth alongside some great accessories. We also have a battery station here, where people can trade in their dead battery for one that’s fully charged — it’s been a big hit!

I’m meeting lots of people and having some interesting chats about BlackBerry. I even met Kyle from BlackBerryCool — check out his vposts for real-time updates from the WES showroom floor.

There are lots of partners showcasing cool applications and products. I haven’t had time to check them all out yet, but I’m hoping to before the conference ends. You can read all about the participants and highlights from the WES blog.

On Tuesday night, will.i.am put on an awesome show here, and the party went late into the night. Tonight there are some more parties, and since I’m having a tough time deciding which one to attend, I downloaded WAD (WES After Dark) — a great little app with party info. If you’re looking for a copy, just ask around the conference and someone will set you up.

If you are here, drop by, say hi and let me know where you are headed

Updating your BlackBerry Device Software

Throughout last year we regularly released BlackBerry® Device Software (a.k.a. Firmware or OS) updates, including a major one back in the fall. But it seems that actually getting these updates onto your device is still a bit of a mystery to some people. Well, it’s simpler than you think, and well worth it. Here are a couple reasons why:




1.Your smartphone will work even better than it does today (bug fixes)

2.With major updates you get plenty new features – like video recording in version 4.5 software for BlackBerry® Curve™ smartphone (feel free to check out the complete list of new features available in 4.5 software update)



Step 1 – Check for updates: If you’re on a company smartphone, your IT department may already have plans for getting your device software up-to-date. If you’d like to take the initiative into your own hands, make sure to get the nod of approval from your IT department, and skip to Step 3 below. Otherwise, read on.



For those of you who have already downloaded and installed the latest version, checking if there’s a device software update available is as easy as pie.



1.Start BlackBerry Desktop Software

2.Connect your device and you’ll be prompted to update if there’s an update available



If you don’t have the latest version of Desktop Software installed – no worries.



1.Visit http://www.blackberry.com/updates

2.Click on the “Check for Updates” button (you can’t miss it)

3.You’ll be prompted to download and install a small application (click Run twice) and in the end, you should see something that looks like the screenshot on the right

4.Connect your device, enter the password (if you have one) and click OK

5.That’s it. We will now automatically check and let you know if there are any updates available

Step 2 – Updating: You should now see the “Update Summary” screen.





Tip: even though it may seem like an advanced setting, click the “Options” button to tweak your update, and clear any languages you do not plan on using. This can save lots of space you can use later for installing apps, games, etc…



Click “Next” and sign up for notifications. Next time a new update is available we’ll send you an email – you’ll never have to check manually for updates again. After you’re done, it’s just a matter of clicking “Finish” in the summary screen.



A couple notes:



•The overall process may take some time (40-60 minutes – depending on the size of the backup) – no worries, it’s normal

•Do not disconnect your device until the update is complete!

•All your data, settings and applications are backed up, and then restored at the end (unless you explicitly choose not to do so)

Congratulations! You have successfully updated your smartphone and it should now be running the latest available Device Software.



Step 3 – Not really a step



If you skipped here because you’re on a company smartphone or, because in Step 1:



•You got a message stating that your “BlackBerry smartphone is activated on a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or BlackBerry® Professional Software” or;

•It appeared as if no updates were available for your smartphone, but you’re confident there should be one available, here is what you can do:

1.If you haven’t done so already, download and install the latest Desktop Software

2.Check online if there is an update available for your device from your service provider and download the new Device Software installer

3.Run the Device Software installer

4.Make sure you’re connected to your corporate network (to continue receiving work email after the update is complete)

5.Follow Steps 1 and 2

The First 5 Things I do When I Get a New BlackBerry

Working at RIM lets me play work with a lot of BlackBerry® smartphones. Since I’m switching to new ones all the time, I thought I’d share what I do when I migrate.


1. Go through the setup wizard, which will configure the device and my email.

2. Change the font size. I like a small font size so I can see more of a message at once. You can change the font size in Options (the wrench icon)-> Screen/Keyboard.

3. Arrange my apps on the home screen. There are some apps I never use so I hide those. My top row of applications are my most used apps – Work email, personal email, BlackBerry® Messenger, Google Talk™, calendar and browser. To rearrange the applications, I just select the app, hit the menu button, and hide/move the application.

4. Download additional applications. The main ones for me are the Facebook and Google Talk applications.

5. PING!!! my friend Tim on his smartphone to let him know that I’m on a new device. It makes him jealous.

So, what do you do when you first get your device?