Blackberry Curve Software Guide - Favorites

Here's my favorite software and accessories for the Blackberry Curve.

Last update:  06.26.08

• Added Blackberry Media Sync to Music Syncing (awesome!)
• Added Mobipocket to eBook Readers
• Added PicoNews to RSS Readers
• Added vlingo to Voice Apps (very cool!)
  

See other Blackberry Guides in Guides.

NOTE:  * means I am trying software, still not sure if it is good

Blackberry  Software

• Latest Desktop Client - do yourself a favor and upgrade your desktop client to v. 4.3 or above.  It's worth it. 
• BB Operating System - Note that some apps won't load, however, unless your OS is also upgraded to 4.2.x or above (here's how to check your OS version)

• Vodaphone Germany has put up OS upgrade 4.5!  Download at your own risk, but this is the first non-beta (production ready) version out there.  NOTE:  Bluetooth stereo does NOT work properly on this, drops about one second out of every 7. 

Browser

• Opera Mini (FREE) - the Opera Mini browser is in some ways better than the BB one (though it could be improved with right click functionality and multi tab browsing - Mozilla, hurry up!). 
  
  • OTA Download: mini.opera.com
• Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin (who knew you might need this?)

eBook Reader

• Daily Lit - download and read public domain books for free.  Decent selection, and breaks up books into readable bites per day.
• Mobipocket - king of free book readers, able to download from many sources.  However, I am not sure if you can add your own sources, or how many available sources are free.

Email

• BBReply - allows you to change the reply-from address (your address when you reply)
• Blackberry Mail Client - Actually, this mail client is the best of the bunch, but you may NOT want to use it for all of your web email accounts (gmail, yahoo, etc.)  I use it for my work email ONLY (via owa, I don't use the enterprise server).  That way, my Message Center only contains work stuff, while the tons of personal mail (mostly spam) doesn't keep buzzing me.  However, you can configure this mail client to receive email from multiple services. Nice.
• Gmail Client (FREE) - you can easily set up GMail to be your main email client on the BB, but you can also have this nice little applet that stands alone.  That way, your bb won't buzz every time you get a mail, nor will it show up in your message center.
  
  • OTA Download: gmail.com/app
• Yahoo Go! (FREE) - this easy to use app has many yahoo features, including email, search, weather, etc. - but no chat.  It's a great way to access your yahoo mail, mostly.  Supports opening attachments, but is a bit of a large app.
  
  • OTA Download: m.yahoo.com

Games

• Ka-Glom - one of the best free games out there, the only one I keep on my bb.

Google Apps

• Google Mobile Updater - you might as well download all the google apps at once (and in truth, there are only three actual apps, the rest are convenient links to your online google stuff)
  • OTA Download: mobile.google.com (then click Download All)

 Headsets

• Motorola HT820 Bluetooth Stereo Headset  (picture at right) -  What I've got.  Great sound, but can't seem to make it hang up from the headset.  I also love this because it charges on a standard USB charger
• Samsung SBH170 Stereo Bluetooth Headset - this seems to be what is most recommended.
• Bendable Headset  (picture at right) - don't know how good this is, but it looks cool.

IM Clients

• jivetalk ($10)- the best - has a free trial, but if you rely on IM on multiple services, this one rocks and is worth purchasing (on pinstack's Five Star Applications for BlackBerry)
  • OTA Download: www.beejive.com/download

Maps / GPS

• telenav ($6/mo) - This full-featured gps service is really a great buy (call your service provider to activate).  For $6/mo., you can get up to 11 routes ($10/mo. gets you unlimited).  If you try to go over that amount, you get a "please upgrade" message, not a huge invisible charge.  It talks you through your route, recalculates if you take a wrong turn, and you can even call in your destination instead of typing it in.
  
  • INSTALLATION NOTE:  You'll have to enter a PIN number to activate the app - it's the last four digits of your phone number.
• Google Maps - too cheap to pay for telenav service?  The 8310 and 8320 have built in GPS, and Google maps can pinpoint your current location and give you driving directions to anywhere,show your progress in real time on the map using GPS, and you can even save favorite locations
  • OTA Download: google.com/gmm
• InfoSpace FindIt! - This nice little app not only serves as a great Yellow-page finder app, it has it's own mapping and directions built in.  It even has spoken directions, but unlike a real GPS product, it does not track where you are - you manually push the button for the next/prev set of spoken directions.

Music Syncing

• Blackberry Media Sync - RIM posted this for a few hours, then took it down, but this awesome app lets you sync to Itunes playlists.  Go to the page I linked to and look for the rapidshare links in the comments.  You CAN download this app.  Do it!

Photos

• * ITookThisOnMyPhone - very cool concept, automatically uploads each new photo you take to your online ITTOMP account.  Not sure yet if it uploads full size or something less, and if it has limits on total size.  Looks promising.

RSS Readers

• Viigo - fka Newsclip, this is now free and cool, probably best of breed, though NONE have collapsible categories, just a flat list of all of your feeds.
  
  • OTA Download: getviigo.com
• Litefeeds - yet another RSS reader - nice on the eyes, but i've had technical trouble with this one
• PicoNews - another decent news reader
• For complete mobile RSS reader reviews, see BBGeeks Feedreader Fridays list

Search

• BOOPSIE - internet search that allows you to search various info sites (e.g. wikipedia) by the first few letters of each word ("multi-prefix" searching)
• Google Mobile Homepage - set google mobile as your browser home page, and you can always start with search - http://igoogle.com
• * MauFait - French for "Do More" this search app has a flight status widget, and much more. 

Social

• Facebook - not great, but it'll do. 

Synchronization

• Google Sync - comes with the entire google apps package (OTA: mobile.google.com) but only syncs the BB Calendar with Google Calendar.

Themes (mostly free)

Instructions on how to install new themes

• bPhone: An awesome free iPhone clone - but I got rid of the background image for a pure black one.  This really is a great theme.
  
  • OTA Download:  rogersmj.com/tech/blackberry/download/?theme=bPhone&mode=ota
• Flamboyant (Today) (from Gemblock) - very nice dark theme, easy on the eyes. My wife uses this one.  My only complaint is that the battery monitor does not use a fill to show status, only color change - so you have to watch for orange and red when low (vs. green or yellow when full).
• L Elemental - nice "L style" zen theme from BlueRoomSolutions.com.  I had a little problem getting the OTA download to work, and you have to register to see the link.  Though clicking on it didn't work, I was able to copy the shortcut and download.  Icons bounce when you scroll to them.
• Vista Themes - there's lots of these out there, these are nice.

Utilities

• Autolock (FREE) - tired of setting the keylock manually?  AutoLock automatically locks the BlackBerry keyboard after the backlight turns off, optionally waiting a configurable delay after the backlight shuts before locking the keys. I love it.
  
  • NOTE: To enable/disable or set the delay, go to Options->AutoLock - but this option won't show until you restart your BB twice)
  • OTA Download: www.geekandproud.net/blackberry/autolock/autolock.jad
• Blackberry Locator - the best $5 you'll ever spend.  Send an email to your BB when it's lost, and, if it still has battery power, will ring loudly, plus send you an email with it's current location (gps). 
• Soft Reset - you know that just powering down does not really power cycle or reset your bb, right?  For that, you have to take out the battery.  OR use this app.  Ahhh.

Voice Apps

• vlingo - Wow!  Voice activate your bb for dialing, email, sms, web search, all with self-learning speech-to-text engine.  Only drawback - can't initiate bluetooth dialing with it (I'm checking).

Wallets and Cases

• Lambskin Leather Case - I love this case, but the leather version is no longer available.  But the stingray version (pleather, which is a little thicker and less pliable) is available.  It has a nice clear plastic to protect the screen, holes in all the right places, and the price is RIGHT! ($4 plus shipping via Amazon).  It also comes with two types of belt clips, one of which locks at 45 degree angles.  Sweet.
• Piel Frama Leather Case - definitely expensive at retail ($60), I just got this for $30 on ebay, we'll see if it can actually function as a wallet.  I have my doubts about it holding any more than one credit card and one twenty dollar bill.
• Leather Horizontal Pouch with Wallet Organizer  - from Wireless Emporium (rated 8.6/10).  I have no tried this, but it does allow you to combine phone protection and a wallet that holds credit cards and cash.

Yellow/White Pages

• InfoSpace FindIt! - Very slick and pretty app, allows you to browse or search, as well as get map directions.
• Beyond 411 (FREE) - not as pretty as InfoSpace, but works well, and has gps support (so you don't have to tell it where you are when you search)

Comments

[avagee]

You should add http://www.booksinmyphone.com they give away hundreds of public domain and creative commons books readable on cell phones (anything that supports java - I think that means blackberry also). You can install over the air and their reader program is clean and simple.

[Lori Feldman]

Try Companionlink Software for synchronizing to Blackberry, Palm and Pocket PC. I sync my ACT Software calendar and address book easily. It's only $49, and there's a wireless option. Use discount coupon code AV9500 to save $5.

[Jon Maroney]

If you are looking for an fast RSS reader with collapsible folders, try FreeRange.

From your blackberry browser, go to http://mwap.at for the download.

[seeker]

That sounds good, but the free version of FreeRange is very limited (10 feeds), and $40 for the full version is steep for handheld software. I don't like to pay more than $10, and paying $20 for jivetalk was a stretch for me, but the software had no real competitors. But thanks for the comment.

[David]

how do you set up an owa account on a curve that is also running with a BES server?

[seeker]

I am not sure if you can get your owa mail AND your BES server push on the same machine, but in theory, it is possible. I don't use the BES server push at all, so i set up owa just like any other mail service - though it took a few tries before it was successful.

[eg]

How about trackball colors for blackberry curve 8310.

[seeker]

Trackball colors are just for the pearl - curve only has one color, white.

[Jason]

Do you know of any program for the BB that will block or password protect just the Browser or a Covenant Eyes sort of program for protection and purity reasons.

Love your blog!
Thank you!

[seeker]

Jason,

First, thanks for saying you LOVE our blog. We so seldom get kudos like that. If you love individual articles, please DIGG them! (or delicious them, etc.)

Covenant eyes is a great program. There is ONE program that gives REPORTS on your handheld communications, but it does not FILTER.

That product is RADAR - right now they have a 30 day free trial, but normal cost is $10 a month. It looks pretty good.

[Movieplanet]

Self-trust is the essence of heroism

[nick]

My friend has a curve and wants to stream xm radio with windows media player. It has to be windows media player for this specific site (musicdock.com) to work. is it possible to download windows media player to a curve?

[AB]

Is there a color coded calendar out there available for the Blackberry Curve?