Xobni's BlackBerry App Re-Thinks Contact List, Reorders by Importance, but Can It Save Blackberry?

San Francisco-based startup Xobni today introduced its first mobile product: Xobni for BlackBerry. It takes a different approach to contact lists than traditional systems, and integrates the new system deeply within the BlackBerry OS.

Instead of a traditional alphabetical list (the alphabet is so uncool these days), Xobni for BlackBerry scours through your emails, text messages, phone calls, and other communication to create a new contact list in order of importance. Even better, it can be accessed in a few different ways: either in the expected Xobni app, or through BlackBerry’s native email client.

When sending an email, you can just flick up on the trackball or trackpad (it’s unclear how this would integrate with the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm line) and Xobni’s “fast search” is activated, letting you select the person you’re emailing more swiftly.

Xobni had previously achieved a bit of success with a sorta-similar plugin for Microsoft Outlook that utilized the same kind of fast search and ranked contact information, and this new mobile app also has an option to continue that integration with Outlook, called Xobni One, though users without Outlook can opt for the standard, cheaper version. The Outlook plugin has been generally well-received, though the service stumbled at first–hopefully they’ve ironed out any potential stumbling blocks in the mobile app.

The app comes at a critical time for the BlackBerry platform: while it’s still the number 2 most popular smartphone OS in the world, its rigid focus on business use and inability to successfully market a consumer-oriented handset are taking its toll. This survey found little brand loyalty among BlackBerry users, compared to iPhone or Android users. And it looks like a scary percentage of BlackBerry users are considering a jump to iPhone or Android with their next smartphone, a dangerous stat. Xobni is a continuation of that business focus for BlackBerry, and that market will probably love it–but BlackBerry’s going to need to court consumer users if they want to remain a player in the smartphone world.

Xobni Mobile is compatible with the Bold (9000), Bold 2 (9700), Storm, Tour, and Curve models. It’s available now–the version without Xobni One (Outlook) is a simple $10 purchase, while Xobni One costs $7, with a $4 monthly fee.

[Xobni]

QuickLaunch App For BlackBerry Version 3.0 Released With Lots Of New Features!

It’s been some time since QuickLaunch was updated. NikkiSoft, makers of the app, recently announced the availability of version 3.0. The new version has a bunch of new features including alternate launch methods, background color and transparency, support for streaming radio apps, a new icon design and more. Here’s the official description:

QuickLaunch allows you to setup shortcuts to various functions such as Websites, Email, SMS and PIN addresses, Phone numbers, 3rd Party Apps, Videos, Images, Audio files, Device Info, Bluetooth Configuration, Camera, Video Camera, Delete your Call Logs, Manage Connections, Device Reset, Google and Wikipedia Search and other functions such as Blackberry Options, Calculator, Calendar, Event Log, Tasks, WiFi On/Off Toggle (Bold and Curve Versions) and more! Configure a convenience key to activate QuickLaunch and when pushed a menu will popup showing a scrollable list of your configured actions. The menu can be set to appear on the Right or Left side and can be shown on virtually any screen so you can perform any action without backing up and navigating through your homescreen and folders saving you time. Quick easy access to what you want to do wherever you are!

Calendar Pro for BlackBerry

Do you ever get the feeling that there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to complete everything on your agenda?  Do you often forget important tasks or appointments throughout the day?  If you’re anything like me, then you probably answered yes to both of those questions.

One would think that the native BlackBerry calendar would be the best tool to solve this problem, but unfortunately this is not the case.  Luckily, I found a solution: Calendar Pro for Blackberry, brought to you by SBSH Mobile Software LTD. Full review (of the BlackBerry Storm version) after the jump..

From the very first use, it was clear that this application was developed with simplicity and ease-of-use in mind.  Most importantly, Calendar Pro is feature rich and aesthetically pleasing, unlike the native BlackBerry calendar.  Upon start up, you are faced with a ‘view picker’ that allows you to navigate between the different views in Calendar Pro.

View picker

On this screen you are given 4 view choices:  Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Tasks.

Daily View
The daily view allows you to view all of today’s tasks and appointments at a glance.  A daily timeline display at the top of the screen shows the time frames of when different events are scheduled to occur.  Below the timeline, a list of appointments and tasks are shown.  These events can be color coded by category or database.  Entries can also contain alarm, private, note, and recurring status icons.

Daily View

Weekly View
You may have guessed that the weekly view is set up in a grid view that contains vertical bars that show the week’s agenda.  Each colored box represents an appointment and empty boxes indicate free hours.  This view also has a timeline that shows when certain tasks (red blocks) are scheduled to occur throughout the day.  The weekly view helps you to easily figure out what you have going on and what free time is left over.  The bottom pane is dedicated to show more details of a highlighted appointment box.

Monthly View
This view displays a full month of agenda all on one screen. Daily timelines with status colors show appointments for each day. Red boxes in each day indicate tasks that are due. You can easily navigate and create appointments from this screen. This view also has the designated area along the bottom that shows appointment details whenever you highlight a day. By actually clicking on a day, you are taken to that daily view.

Monthly view

Tasks View
Last but not least, the tasks view allows you to view and manage all of your tasks with advanced tools that were designed for a Pro. You can easily create new or complete/edit existing tasks, view status/category/priority icons for each task, and use the top search bar to easily search for specific tasks in the list.

Task view

Entering Information
One of the things that I like most about this

Weekly view

target=”_blank”>application is the fact that entering information is a breeze.  Instead of using confusing labels/lists/tables you are given tabs for navigation.  In the appointment screen there are 5 tabs:  Details, Notes, Categories, Recurrence, and Attendees (the same is true for the tasks entry, minus the attendees tab).  By using tabs, the developers have effectively created a fluid and intuitive data entry process that makes the act of using Calendar Pro an enjoyable experience.

Appointment editor

Conclusion
When it comes to ease-of-use, Calendar Pro goes well beyond normal expectations.  It does so by making use of visual cues, time blocking, color coded categories, synchronizing with the native BlackBerry databases, and visual timelines.  Calendar Pro makes it easy to see when you are free, when you’re not, and what you have to get accomplished during the day.  I don’t think I will be returning to the native calendar app anytime soon because I can now manage my time like a PRO.

Developer:  SBSH Mobile Software LTD

Price: $14.95 and Free Trial

Devices Supported: OS 4.5 or higher

Calendar Pro Download