My Top BlackBerry Pearl Applications
I’m kind of defensive of my Blackberry Pearl 8130. Listening to the most recent episode of TWIT, they bashed the Blackberry, saying that they aren’t really “smartphones” and that there aren’t a lot of good apps for Blackberry phones.
Maybe it’s a Ford (APPLE) vs. Chevy (Blackberry) kind of debate, but I love my Blackberry Pearl more than any phone I’ve ever owned. I wouldn’t own an iPhone because of its screen size. I had a T-mobile Wing (HTC 4350) and I ended up breaking the screen. I’m hard on phones (I end up dropping them a lot) and I don’t need that much visual real estate. With a wide screen portable device like the Wing there isn’t really a good way to protect the device and it still be usable. Besides, I have a MacBook that I can use if I want to watch movies or visit sites while I’m out (I have Verizon Broadband Internet through my Blackberry).
Really the only downside of owning a Blackberry is that there isn’t really a viable Blackberry apps store. But the suggestion that there aren’t good Blackberry apps is just bullshit. Here are my favorites:
Blackberry Media Sync – This is one of the most important applications for me. I listen to a lot of podcasts and music on the go. You can use up to an 8 GB microSD card which will hold 117 hours of music (at 128 Kbps)! That’s more than enough space for me.
Media Sync is a part of the newest update to Blackberry’s Desktop Manager. You simply make a playlist in iTunes and then open up the desktop manager and sync the playlist and the music on it to your phone. It’s just that easy!
Remember The Milk- Remember the milk is a task manager that is adaptable in many ways. You can add it to Gmail, Google Calendar or you can put MilkSync right on your Blackberry.
VZ Navigator- I’ve thought about buying a separate device for my car… but WHY? One less device is a good thing. Some might argue that the cost, $10 dollars a month, is a bit extreme. But I’ve not seen a good GPS system under 150 dollars. That’s 15 months worth of service of VZ Navigator. In 15 months the software will be better and I’ll have a newer phone (my two year contract will be up then). I see it like a lease vs. buy option with cars. The cost of a new device (if I bought a GPS device I’d most likely buy a new one every 2-3 years to keep up with technology) would be close to what I’m paying for having the service and doing it with one device.
Google Suite- Where do I start? Google Suite takes all the good Blackberry products they have and roll them into one. Recently upgraded, Gmail runs fast and light. While I use VZ navigator for trips, I use Google Maps for finding stores or restaurants around me. The voice search function is very useful while on the road. A caveat though, when I tried using it like a GPS, I would get lost. It’s great on showing you the way if you know the area, but otherwise forget it.
Facebook- I LOVE this application! I can keep up with my friends anywhere I go! This is especially good when I’m in line at the store, at the doctor’s office, or any other place where I’m alone and have time to fill. It’s a lot more interesting than reading 20 month old Good Housekeeping articles! I can update my status (although I use twitter and the facebook/Twitter application to post my tweets to facebook as status updates), post pictures to my facebook albums, write on my friends walls, and more. If you like MySpace better, there’s an application for that too.
Twitter(berry)- This is the application I use to post my updates to twitter/facebook. It’s pretty minimilistic, but it does exactly what I need it to do… post tweets.
Opera- If you don’t like Blackberry’s web browser, Opera’s web mobile web browser rocks the house.
My Alarm Blackberry’s default alarm clock is lacking, but this free app does the trick with 6 different alarms, multiple snooze settings, and it supports multiple alarm rings (including midi and mp3s).
Wikipedia this application brings Wikipedia easily to your Blackberry. Any time you are just dying to know about Peaches and Herb, it’s right at your fingertips (hey don’t laugh, there was a debate at work if it was Peaches and Cream or Peaches and Herb).
StopWatch – this application is good if you’re a runner. I use it to time my 2 mile runs. I set it, put on music, and let the road stretch out before me. You can read a full review of it here. Like the Twitterberry application, it simply does one thing and it does it well without a heavy memory footprint.
Orb – You can use Orb to remotely serve content to your phone. A good use for this is steaming content from Sirius (Usirius) or XM (Uxm) with the directions for Sirius here and XM here. You can stream just about any kind of media stored on your home PC. For a full review of what Orb can do, read this review.
These are just a few examples of the useful applications that are out there. Granted you can’t play too many games on a Blackberry, but that’s what an Xbox is for.
The last but most important reason that I prefer my Blackberry phone over an iPhone is the cellular service. I’ve NEVER had a cell phone that would keep a call on an elevator, but my Blackberry on the Verizon network does just that. In fact, I’ve probably could count on one hand the number of dropped calls (in the last year) I’ve had with Verizon.
So to Leo Laporte and crew, you go ahead and pay a shitload of cash to AT&T and Apple. I’ll be rocking the road with my inexpensive but efficient and durable Blackberry Pearl (8130). While you’re upping your nose at Blackberry, I’ll be over here counting my cash.
Tags: Blackberry, gadgets, iPhone, Leo Laporte, TWIT, Verizon
7 Comments
Other Links to this Post
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Marti Abernathey » Marti Abernathey - From The Pages Of My So Called Life — February 9, 2009 @ 3:15 am
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Marti » Blackberry Apps Update — July 19, 2009 @ 12:41 am
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By Mel, January 23, 2009 @ 12:40 am
Christ! You’re a geek.
BTW, Apple is to Aston Martin as Blackberry is to Citroen.
I’m just sayin’.
By didiet, April 4, 2009 @ 12:57 am
I googling around too find any free apps I could load to my pearl, but it seems what you have wrote are the prime things.
I suggest you to try yahoo go (and add more widget inside it) and pocket express.
By admin, April 4, 2009 @ 7:10 am
I’ve already tried using yahoo go and found it to be too obtrusive into places I didn’t want it to be. I am writing a follow up article though. I’m also checking out pocket express. Thanks.
By Peter, April 6, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
I used to use VZ-Navigator when I could buy it for a 24 hour time period (I don’t need directions that often to pay $10.00 monthly). That option is gone on the BlackBerry Storm. I’ve installed Garmin Mobile and it is much better than VZ-Navigator. If you go to Handango and use their 20% discount you get Garmin for $80.00 per the life of the BlackBerry you download it to…vs. $10.00 for 24 months at $240.00.
By admin, April 16, 2009 @ 3:47 am