RIM Launches Bold 9900 in South Africa

Today RIM has officially announced that the Bold 9900 will be available via Vodacom in South Africa.The 9900 will be Vodacom’s first OS 7 device to reach its customers.Vodacom offers services to over 43 million customers in South Africa.

The Bold 9900 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to offer built in support for NFC ( Near Field Communications),which allows it to pair with NFC-enabled accessories, and read SmartPoster tags. The Bold 9900 comes equipped with a 1.2 GHz processor, a 24-bit high resolution touch screen, and the ability to record HD video.

What do you think of the Bold 9900? Tell in the comments bellow..

Gist for BlackBerry Gets Big Update & Support for More Countries

RIM purchase Gist a bit back as a way to create a social address book for BlackBerrys. Quite a few people were excited about what this could mean but it keeps on getting better. Gist just released a new version of their app (For OS 6.0 only) that first of all expands the app beyond the US and Canada. It is now available in :

• Australia
• India
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Philippines
• Singapore
• South Africa
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom

They have also bulked up the app which now allows you to connect to Twitter, Facebook, and Google Apps (Including Gmail, Google Apps, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts) to bring all of your contacts to one place in one app.

You can pick up this latest version of Gist in App World now[qrcode pix=180]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/Gist[/qrcode]

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

via: bbreview

Drome – a local Canadian search application, world domination soon?

 

The word ‘drome’ is an odd one – it’s one of those words that has many different meanings. It could refer to a place to race or run, or could refer to something that moves together. It’s also a name of an application by Taste My City. Like many Local Search Applications, Drome can handle looking for Movies, Nightlife venues, Coffee shops/Internet Cafes, Hotels, Points of Interest and Restaurants. Depending on the city, you can also receive coupons for many locations via email. Your location is determined by GPS location, cell site or by manual input. Drome offers a few extras, depending on which type of search you are performing. When looking at bars and/or restaurants some locations may have an accessible menu and additionally list forms of payment accepted. For all entries, they at least have a mapped location and a phone number to call. Looking through the movies section, you can check out trailers, show times, galleries, reviews, plot synopsis and more. Extra options include options to add entries to your calendar/address book, various search or filter options and access to a favourites list.

At this point, Drome is only available in specific Canadian cities; Greater Toronto & Southern Ontario, Greater Vancouver Area, Montreal & Laval, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec City, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Halifax. Cities in the UK and US will hopefully be announced soon. According to their website, there are plans to expand to Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and more. Drome still has some promise, but I still prefer Poynt as I can also see weather information, have the option to use Google Maps and have the ability to purchase tickets through the app. Of course, time will tell what Drome will bring to the table. If you want to check out Drome, you can get it for free from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download Drome for BlackBerry smartphones[qrcode pix=150]http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/44125?lang=en[/qrcode]

East Africa-Zandel Set To Launch BlackBerry Solution in Tanzania

Zantel also known as Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS) and Research in Motion (RIM) are set to launch the BlackBerry solution in Tanzania. With their partnership, the BlackBerry solution will bring together smart phones, software and such services to customers as wireless access to email, messaging, phone, calendar, Internet and multimedia applications.

Zantel’s chief commercial Norman Moyo said:

“Zantel is proud to be associated with RIM in launching the BlackBerry solution in Tanzania. The launch of the BlackBerry solution enables us to add an innovative product that offers immense value to our customers. Zantel provides the widest network in Tanzania, our customers can enjoy the mobility offered by the BlackBerry solution across the country.”

Via AllaAfrica

via:bbempire

South Africa honors BlackBerry as the 'Coolest Brand Overall'

In Sunday Times’ Generation Next 2011 Brand Survey Awards, BlackBerry was hailed as the Coolest Brand Overall, with top honors in the Coolest High-Tech Gadget and Coolest Cellphone categories. The outcomes of the 7th yearly Generation Next Brand Survey Awards had been declared in Johannesburg on Wednesday, and one of the prime reasons for declaring BlackBerry the Coolest Brand Overall was BBM just as I thought earlier. BBM was, in fact, awarded with ‘Best Cellphone Application’. Craige Fleischer, Regional Director Southern Africa at RIM, shares his excitement pointing out that the active youth of today is what made everything possible:

“Generation Y’s choice of BlackBerry for the coolest brand overall reflects the importance the smartphone has assumed in the increasingly connected lives of a tech-savvy generation. The BlackBerry smartphone is a social tool and a lifestyle device that keeps them in touch with everything that matters to them.”

As part of Generation Y myself, I can only say that I wholeheartedly agree. My BlackBerry smartphone is definitely a powerful social tool and it helps me keep up with my daily chores, something my BlackBerry does particularly well. But what are your thoughts on this? Is BlackBerry along with BBM the killer combo every teenager has dreamed of – or are there better options available? Voice your opinion in the comments!

Source: Newstime

South African Youth Name BlackBerry As Country’s Leading Smartphone Brand

While BlackBerry the brand has been getting a lot of flack for not being cool in North America, it’s getting a lot of love from the youth in South Africa. BlackBerry was named as the ‘Coolest Brand Overall’ in the Sunday Times Generation Next 2011 Brand Survey Awards. BlackBerry also took top honours in the ‘Coolest Cellphone’, ‘Coolest High-Tech Gadget’ categories and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was named ‘Best Cellphone Application’.

This must be a great boost to company morale considering South Africa has been leading what’s cool in North America recently with music from artists like Jack Parow. Apparently the smartphones of choice are in the lower price range including the 8520.

It’s clear that while the mainstream media is focused on a small sample of North America, journalists would do best to go into other regions to get the full story.

via:bbcool

BlackBerry Travel now available in over 40 countries

Bitten by the travel bug? Well, here is something for you and all the other keen travelers: BlackBerry Travel is now available in 45 different countries! Since its inception BlackBerry Travel has enjoyed a lot of attraction from numerous people worldwide, but to the disappointment of many, it was initially available only in North America, UK and Spain. But that should not matter anymore, as RIM has actively rolled out its application in more countries over time, effectively reaching a broad, worldwide audience.

Countries supported by BlackBerry Travel currently include Argentina, Aruba, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, British Virgin Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands.

No excuses this time not to download the application, so head over to BlackBerry App World for the download. If your country is not listed above, no worry, the application will likely find its way to other countries with time – patience is key.

More information/download of BlackBerry Travel

via:cb

GeeReader Free Google Reader App for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Finally! EPI-USE Africa Pty Ltd has released GeeReader today which is a sweet Google Reader app for the BlackBerry PlayBook. It does not seem to cache articles for offline reading but it offers a sweet interface for Google Reader. It lets you login to your Google Reader account and view all your articles. The only things I found missing were the ability to add a new feed and share the item on Twitter or Facebook.

2011 BlackBerry Developers Challenge announced

The BlackBerry Partners Fund has officially announced this years BlackBerry Developer Challenge. Although the event doesn’t take place until the 2011 BlackBerry Developer Conference gets under way in October, in San Francisco the prizes and timelines have all been outlined.

This year’s Challenge includes the following three competitions:

• Best Adobe Flash®/AIR app
• Most Innovative BlackBerry WebWorks™ app on the BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 6
• Most Addictive social app using the  BBM™ Social Platform

This year, both BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook developers can enter their applications for a chance to win US$3 million in prizes. As always, winners will be chosen across four global regions – North America, Latin America, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific. If you’re a developer and looking to learn more about the prize packs and how to enter, you can check out the BlackBerry Partners Fund website for the full details.

More info available at the BlackBerry Partners Fund website

via:cb

The Future of BlackBerry and Smartphone Display Cases

Stardust has been tapped by BBDO Moscow to create eye-popping holographic video content for client Blackberry MTS that will be shown on a unique, new mixed-reality “presentation station” (RealFiction’s Dreamoc 3D Display). The installation incorporates physical products with free-floating holographic elements. MTS will show the futuristic-looking installation at major public venues across Russia, including all three Moscow international airports, as well as trade events, conferences and MTS retail stores starting in March.

watch

Holographic Worlds for Blackberry