BlackBerry Management Center Set to Launch in Mid-August

In case you have not been paying attention RIM has been cooking up their BlackBerry Management Center for a few months now. They have been beta testing their latest small business product and so far people are really liking it. It lets small businesses manage BlackBerrys without a BES server by linking their BIS accounts together along with BlackBerry Protect. That way one central administrator or administrators can manage the business or family BlackBerrys and make sure they are backed up and have the correct settings. You can also centrally control the BlackBerry Protect settings that let you find or wipe lost phones.

 

RIM sent out the email below to beta participants who were kind enough to forward it along. The current tentative date for BlackBerry Management Center to launch is Mid August and hopefully RIM will be able to pull that off.

Photo Translator Version 1.0 for BlackBerry Released!

SHAPE Services has long been known among BlackBerry users for their awesome IM+ and IM+ Talk apps. Now here’s yet another reason to know them, they have just released Photo Translator Version 1.0 for BlackBerry smartphones! After a long round of beta testing, the app is finally officially available for download.

First, what is Photo Translator? Though the name kinda gives it away, Photo Translator lets you take a photo of text in any language and it translates it for you! Pretty cool, right? Check out some more of the features:

• Accurate Text Recognition
• Translated text can be saved to Memo, sent by email, or used in other apps.
• Save results for later reference and quickly search through them.
• Supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Arabic, and many other languages.

 

Check out the images below to see how the app looks:

BlackBerry PlayBook headed to Verizon Wireless?

Earlier this year at CES 2011, RIM announced that Sprint would be getting a 4G BlackBerry PlayBook. However, no mention was made if Big Red would also get the PlayBook. A website called PlayBookWithoutLimits.com has surfaced, which apparently held registration for beta testing the BlackBerry PlayBook on Verizon Wireless. The pilot program has since been closed, but we contacted the creators of the page, who had this to say:

“Thank you for your interest in the program.  Please note this is an exclusive program for Verizon enterprise customers and participation is by invitation only.”

As with most carriers, their premiere enterprise users get to test devices to see if they’d be interested in purchasing stock for their company. This is definitely a good sign that Verizon & Sprint would be getting a 4G BlackBerry PlayBook may potentially sell a 3G or 4G PlayBook in the future, but it is by no means confirmation. If Big Red does offer the PlayBook, would you pick one up?

via SkatterTech

Mobihand Beta Testing AppVerse Social Network for App Discoveries

Mobihand is currently beta testing a new social network that lets people discover their mobile app discoveries called AppVerse. Mobihand has an enormous catalog of apps and accounts of users who purchased apps, and AppVerse adds a social layer to the app discovery process.

This is Mobihand’s second shot at socializing the app discovery process. We wrote about their first attempt, a partnership with Blippy, which lets you connect your Mobihand account and share app discoveries with your friends. AppVerse keeps the process in-house and lets you follow, review and rate your own favorite apps, track expert app reviews, and ask questions about apps that catch your eye. For developers, AppVerse lets you interact with users who buy, rate, and review your products – creating an ongoing, two-way dialog.

To try out AppVerse, head over to this link and give it a try.

Photo Translator: Take a Photo and Instantly Translate Any Text

SHAPE services currently has a really awesome app that they’re beta testing and looking for your feedback on. The app is called Photo Translator and it lets you take a picture of any text in a variety of languages, and the translation will appear on your device. This is a really helpful tool for anyone who travels a lot, as you could use it in airports, train or bus stations, restaurants etc. With the community’s help, SHAPE could make a really effective mobile translator.

To download the beta app for free, head over to the app’s landing page at this link.

Skyfire may return to BlackBerry but do we even need or want it?

Skyfire, the 3rd party web browser that began their alpha and beta testing for BlackBerry only to abandon it a little while later, is once again considering bringing their services back to the BlackBerry Platform. While it’s not exactly an actual confirmation that they will start up testing again, the fact it got mentioned is something to consider.

We do expect to bring Skyfire 2.0 to additional platforms, and have begun discussions with some carriers and OEMs to decide which will be our next OS.   Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 and Nokia’s MeeGo platform are both shaping up as platforms with a lot of potential and the recent launch of the new Blackberry OS 6 with a WebKit browser core makes for interesting potential for a future release of Skyfire 2.0.  We value feedback from our users, so please let us know what platform you would like to see Skyfire on next and just as importantly let your wireless carrier know that you want Skyfire!

Rather funny that Skyfire now wants to rethink their time and effort investment for BlackBerry. It’s pretty much coming at a time that could end up being one of transition for BlackBerry and Research In Motion. If in fact QNX OS ends up making its way to BlackBerry smartphones one has to even wonder if Skyfire would be relevant. They’re version 2.0 offering brings full support for html5, offline browsing, javascript, WebKit, and full-screen video. All of which could be built right into the QNX OS and ultimately the browser anyways. Fool  me once Skyfire, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Besides, Skyfire would need some server upgrades first before taking on an influx of BlackBerry users as we see it.

Source: Skyfire

Rhapsody for BlackBerry beta – Get yourself a free 7 day trial

Honestly, I’m not sure how we missed this for so long but, thanks to Evan sending in the tip to us we can now share it with you folks. Rhapsody, the online music store has been beta testing their BlackBerry application for quite some time now. Seems as though the beta was private for a while but is now accessible via their download page. Right now if you head if you visit the page on your BlackBerry device you can download the app and sign up for a free 7 day, unlimited trial of Rhapsody on your BlackBerry. Check it out and let us know what you think and a big shout out to Evan for letting us know it was now available.

• Download The Rhapsody For BlackBerry Beta OTA Today>>

Blackberry Protect – RIM’s New Project to Enter Closed Beta

The guys over at Crackberry got to do a preview of RIM’s new “My Blackberry Protect”, and it looks really cool. It will be going into a limited beta testing later this week and going into open beta later this year.

The best about this Blackberry Protect is that it appears that it will be free to the user. The idea behind it is that it will allow Blackberry users to remotely backup, restore and locate their Blackberry device right from their PC.

The Key Blackberry Project Features are:

-Remote Device Management: Locate on map; Activate lound ringer; Lock / password change; Lost and Found screen; Device wipe

-OTA Backup and Restore: Contacts and Calendar; Memos and Tasks; Browser bookmarks; Text messages

-Administration: Based on new BlackBerry user account system (BlackBerry ID); Web-based end user portal; operator call center access

Now I’m sure many of you out there are familiar with, or a user of Smrtguard which is a great security app for your Blackberry. However the main difference between it and the Blackberry Protect is that RIM’s version is free to the user!!!

It is about time that RIM developed something along these lines, and I’m sure any of you out there that have misplaced your Blackberry can agree with me! Being able to remotely backup and restore my device saves me so much time as a person that is always on the go.

Now there are almost too many cool features on this to list, but here are my favorites;

– turn your Blackberry off of vibrate or silent when you have misplaced it in a room
– send a message to your lost Blackberry with a phone number, email address, or the reward you are offering
– remote device switcher
– setup automatic device back-ups
– desktop lock and wipe of device

All around I think this is going to be a big step for RIM to gain more market share, as well as preserve what they already have.

Let us know what you think about this new RIM app……..

Source: Crackberry

Warning: It has been brought to our attention from the crew over at Berry Review that if your device is or ever has been attached to a BES service you will have to a full system restore, as the standard device wipe will not get rid of the IT policy.  While this is not the end of the world, it is an annoying step that will have to be taken by quite a few people.  Hopefully by the time Blackberry Protect is officially released they will have made  a work-around, but I wouldn’t hold my breathe.

BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.1.17 Now Available To All Members Of The Beta Zone

RIM has updated their main BlackBerry Beta Zone page to show that the latest beta for BlackBerry Messenger is open to all members. BBM version 5.0.1.17 includes a bunch of general bug fixes as well a specific fixes for chats and groups.

After a limited beta program, we’re pleased to announce the BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 Beta Program is open to all BlackBerry Beta Zone Members! Please fill out the BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 registration form found under “Eligible Programs” as soon as possible to ensure that we have the necessary information to grant you access to the software. Once you have completed the registration form, we will send you an email containing the activation code you’ll need to start beta testing BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 within 48 hours. Looking forward to having you on board the beta program!

The list for user requested features also has a few things I would definitely like to see integrated with BBM. For more info and to become part of the BBM beta be sure to sign up or sign in at blackberry.com/beta.

QuickPull (Ver. 4.0.4) With OTA Mobile DL

From the makers of EDOCRAB (the “barcode” shopping app) and AUTOSTANDBY comes QuickPull Free, a FREE tool that frees memory quickly by simulating a “battery pull” soft reset.

Unlike the red power button on your phone which merely reloads your device, QuickPull will actually refresh the device, freeing up memory and increasing performance!

QuickPull Free has more than 1,000,000 customers to date.

Schedule to run a QuickPull at a certain time each DAY, or multiple times each WEEK with NEW convenient scheduling features to keep your memory and performance running at its best.

You can even set a MEMORY threshold that will allow QuickPull™ to alert you when your available memory drops too low. If the memory drops, memory monitoring will prompt you to run a QuickPull™
QuickPull is extremely easy and convenient to use.

Compatible with all BlackBerry devices with OS 4.5+!
NOTE: QuickPull for OS 5 is in beta testing only.

Features:

• FREE
• Simulates a “battery pull” equivalent reset.
• Integrates with AutoStandby.
• Ability to schedule to run daily.
• Automatically accepts reset dialog.
• Advanced scheduling, run a QuickPull daily or on certain days each week.
• Memory monitoring.
• Set your own memory threshold.
• Prompted automatic reboots if your memory is less than your set threshold, with the ability to cancel a reboot.
• Scheduled QuickPulls will wait until phone calls are complete.
• Receive automatic notifications on missed resets due to a locked or holstered device.
• 5 second warning notice can cancel pending QuickPull runs to keep from interfering with other tasks.
• New and enhanced, user-friendly interface.
• Toggle schedule on or off without losing any settings.
• No technical support
• (for technical support and no ads, please consider QuickPull Pro)

Minimum Requirements:

• for OS 4.5,4.6
  • BlackBerry OS 4.5.0
• for OS 4.7
  • BlackBerry OS 4.7.0
• For OS 5.0+
  • BlackBerry OS 5.0+

for OS 4.5,4.6
Display Dimensions
240×260, 240×320, 320×240, 480×320, 480×360
Operating System
4.5, 4.6

for OS 4.7
Display Dimensions
480×360
Operating System
4.7 Touch Screen

For OS 5.0+
Display Dimensions
240×320, 320×240, 360×480, 480×320, 480×360
Operating System
5.0 Non-Touch, 5.0 Touch Screen