I have exciting news for BlackBerry® smartphone users crazy about apps! BlackBerry App World™ 2.0 is now available in BlackBerry Beta Zone as an invite-based beta – make sure to sign up for a Beta Zone account so you can receive a beta invite! If you’re interested in learning more about what’s new in BlackBerry App World 2.0 – including new Top 25’s, barcode scanning, new billing options and more – check out my BlackBerry App World 2.0 preview.
Also, check out my video above and tell us about the top five apps you’ve downloaded with BlackBerry App World. BlackBerry App World is now in 65 countries worldwide (in six languages!) with over one million apps being downloaded each day, so we’re really excited to hear what you have to tell us about your favorite apps!
Hey my fellow Canadian BlackBerry® peeps! While attending your favorite music festivals this summer across Canada, you might notice images like the one above scattered across the venue. You will likely also notice a tent filled with BlackBerry representatives demonstrating the latest BlackBerry® smartphones and generally spreading good cheer.
If you see a barcode like the one in the lower-right of the above image, make sure to scan it using BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM®)! Your new BBM friends will let you know how to skip the long show lines, access exclusive content for your favorite bands, and maybe even how to get free tickets, VIP passes or a Nissan Cube. Isn’t making friends fun?
Click the link below to find out even more places where you can make friends with BlackBerry this summer while checking out cool tunes. Those looking for more info can also check out http://www.bbmefordeets.mobi/NBB.rbml – and be sure to visit the official BlackBerry Flickr account to see photos from the shows.
As you may have already seen in the sneak peek video, the Home Screen in BlackBerry® 6 has undergone a makeover. To get the inside scoop on some of these changes, I reached out to Joey Benedek, Director of UX Research at Research In Motion® (RIM). Check out the interview below.
First, can you tell us a bit about what you and your group do at RIM?
I am a Director in the User Experience (UX) group, and I run the UX Research team. The UX organization is responsible for understanding user needs and desires and translating those into interface designs. We then work with the various software development teams to iterate those designs – with end-user feedback as our guide – prior to releasing to market. Bottom line, our team is responsible for defining the on-device experience that our customers interact with and making sure those experiences are not only usable but also desirable.
If there was one thing you want our readers to know about the Home Screen redesign, what would it be?
I’d say that the redesign of the Home Screen in BlackBerry 6 is fresh, but familiar. When you look at it, it still looks like a BlackBerry Home Screen (for example, wallpaper selection continues to be a key attribute of the visual design), but it’s been updated – much like a home renovation still ‘feels’ like home, but is actually new.
With BlackBerry 6, we are introducing a host of new features in the design, evolving the look and feel and enabling the user to really customize the Home Screen. Overall, the visuals are cleaner and sleeker, and movement between and within the applications is more fluid, allowing users to navigate their BlackBerry smartphone in a much more intuitive and interactive way.
Today I am very happy to share some exciting news about the upcoming BlackBerry® Desktop Software v6.0 release this summer. We did some major changes to the product inside and out, all to make it a true part of the overall BlackBerry® 6 experience. The first invitations to join our BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 Limited Beta will start going out today to some of you who have already joined BlackBerry® Beta Zone. If you haven’t joined BlackBerry Beta Zone yet, sign up at www.blackberry.com/beta.
Stay tuned for more posts here at Inside BlackBerry from myself and Vikram, where we will dive into the detailed feature sets and user interface walkthroughs for all the new goodness we added in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. For now, here are a few screenshots to give you an idea of the new look and feel of the software – let us know what you think!
Our team has been working hard to enhance the overall multimedia experience in BlackBerry® 6, and we’ve packed a lot of changes into the upcoming release. I’m very excited to be able to provide some more details about this aspect of BlackBerry 6 today.
In pulling together this update, the multimedia team focused on delivering an intuitive multimedia experience right out of the box – so whether you are a power user or new to mobile multimedia on BlackBerry smartphones, you can easily find and use the enhanced multimedia features.
There’s too much to talk about in just one post, so with that in mind, I picked some of my favorite new BlackBerry 6 multimedia features. Look for the Inside BlackBerry team to dive deeper into some of these features in future blog posts.
Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage.
One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry® smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.
Recently, I was at a friend’s house when they handed me their BlackBerry® smartphone and asked why they had received a message from blackberry.com stating that their email account required re-confirmation. The message they received stated the following in the opening paragraph:
“You must confirm your email account password on your BlackBerry device by July 1st, 2010 to continue sending or receiving email messages for this account. Microsoft Corporation requires Windows Live email account users who use mobile devices to validate their accounts every 360 days. Other email accounts on your BlackBerry device will not be affected.”
My friend wondered what this message meant exactly, and why they had received it. Here’s what I told them, to help clear up any confusion:
