With summer just peeking around the corner, what better way to prepare than to download some of our favorite BlackBerry® apps for summer? The BlackBerry App World™ storefront has got you covered for the long-awaited season. Grab your shorts, sunglasses and of course your BlackBerry® smartphone or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, and check out these apps:

Wikitude 7.0: This week, Wikitude issued a major update to their popular and super useful augmented reality app. I’ve been using the new version and the new Panorama UI brings the experience to a new level. It simplifies everything into three main views: Favorites, Featured and Categories. It’s definitely a fun way to discover new people, places and things around you using your BlackBerry smartphone. So when you’re out and about exploring this summer, be sure to use the Wikitude World Browser to see your surroundings in an entirely new way. Download Wikitude now.

BlackBerry® Travel: Planning to get away for a little rest and relaxation this summer? BlackBerry Travel is a must-try app. It stores all of your essential trip information in one handy spot, plus it automatically scans your inbox for travel itineraries so you don’t have to search for things like confirmation numbers, flights, and addresses. It also provides flight status updates, weather information, local search functions and easy booking tools. Take the stress out of travelling – use BlackBerry Travel to keep you organized and informed. Download BlackBerry® Travel here.

Cooklet: Summer wouldn’t be summer without fresh food! The smell of the BBQ, picnics in the park, seasonal flavors… Even if you’re a newbie in the kitchen, Cooklet has all you need to get cooking this summer. It includes community-reviewed recipes, timers, tips and meal suggestions. If you’re as excited as I am about summer cooking, check out Cooklet for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

June is right around the corner, so there’s no time to waste – download the BlackBerry apps above from BlackBerry App World today and get ready to have a great summer!

Is there a BlackBerry app for BlackBerry smartphones or BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that you’ll be using a lot this summer? Let us know in the comments.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Wikitude has launched a brand new feature for their BlackBerry® smartphone augmented reality browser called Wikitude myWorld. This exciting addition to the feature set is designed to allow you to create your own locations within the augmented reality world of Wikitude and share them with your friends. You’ll also be able to access a network of locations generated by friends, colleagues, and family members that includes photos, comments and recommendations. Wikitude myWorld also integrates with Evernote geotagging, as well as Facebook®. Check out the video above for the full scoop from Andy Gstoll, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Wikitude. To download the app for BlackBerry® 6 or BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones, head over to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.

You can also check out the Wikitude app on Facebook, and find out more about Wikitude on Facebook and by following @wikitude on Twitter®.

What location will you create first with the new myWorld feature? Share in the comments!

When BlackBerry® 7 OS was released in August 2011, one of the pre-installed apps is the Wikitude app, which allows you to discover your surroundings in a completely new way. For example, you’ll be able to see places, points of interests and even your BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) contacts (if they have allowed you to be able to view them) through your camera’s field of vision – a truly engaging and immersive experience.

Recently Wikitude has been updated to support select BlackBerry® 6 smartphones, so today I’ll be providing a brief overview of how to install Wikitude as well as some of the features it offers.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »

I’m happy to tell you about two new BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones announced today, the all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones. #TeamBlackBerry members in North America will be able to purchase the BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone from AT&T, Rogers, Telus and Bell, and the BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone from Sprint and U.S. Cellular. For more details on pricing and international availability, make sure to check out our BlackBerry Torch product page or contact your local carrier.

To ensure you have our patented Inside BlackBerry insight into these sweet all-touch BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, I tapped Product Managers Sangita and Troy to list the 5 things you need to know about the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860. Take it away, Sangita and Troy!

1. The all-touch BlackBerry Torch has a screen built for everything

With a 3.7” inch touch screen at a WVGA (800×480) resolution with 253 DPI (“dots per inch”), the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 have the biggest BlackBerry® smartphone screens ever. These all-touch screens provide a sharp and crisp viewing experience to combine everything BlackBerry devices are known for – performance, security and reliability – with new user features like augmented reality apps and improved web browsing and multimedia experiences.

Personally, I love the BlackBerry Torch smartphone screen most for browsing the web with the next generation BlackBerry 7 browser. My news sites, shopping sites and my daily obsession, tech and lifestyle blogs, all render fast and look great on that big, beautiful screen. Of course using BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone touch screens to pan, zoom and scroll through my favorite websites is easy as well.

One design element to note with the all-touch BlackBerry Torch screen: we designed the face of the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones to ‘fall over’ the device edge (something we call ‘The Waterfall’ internally), which lengthens the screen to provide a visual experience that works in landscape or portrait orientation.

2. The new BlackBerry Torch smartphone design is sculpted for touch

Our design goal with the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones was to create a stylish look that sets the product apart in a field filled with boxy devices. The seamless front lens with ‘Waterfall’ ends offers a great visual experience and the sculpted back provides a perfect ergonomic fit, regardless of whether it’s used as a traditional phone (in portrait orientation) or like a gaming console or web browser (in landscape orientation).

Though there are many layers to the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones design, they are integrated and flow one into the other. For example, the buttons on the side of the smartphone are simple to find with your fingers and provide quick access volume, mute and camera functionality, but are understated, so as not to interrupt the design. Another example would be the back housing of the BlackBerry Torch smartphone, which dips down to fit in the camera lens and flash, without impacting its form and feel in the palm of your hand.

Engineering the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones to meet this vision wasn’t easy, and there were a number of occasions where it appeared that we might have to trade-off form for function. But our development teams rose to the challenge, and in the end, have delivered a product that is both aesthetically pleasing and incredibly functional for both personal and professional use.

3. The new BlackBerry Torch smartphone evolves the all-touch experience

We knew when designing the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones that the touch screen user interface (“UI”) would have to be both refined and robust enough to support an all-touch device (it would be pretty hard to write an email otherwise, Ed.). Many improvements and enhancements have been made to the touch screen UI in the BlackBerry 7 OS that the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones take full advantage of. These improvements vary from minor adjustments of touch sensitivity based upon screen location to redesigning the layout of the virtual keyboard for easier texting (I personally love the fact that symbols and numbers are now combined under one key). In addition, the predictive text algorithms have also been optimized to provide fewer, more targeted word choices for faster communications.

All these improvements combine holistically to ensure an efficient and intuitive experience when using the BlackBerry Torch smartphone, whether you’re BBM™ chatting with a friend or playing the latest game.

(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

4. The all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone is packed to the gills with new features, including an HD camera and Magnetometer

In addition to the large and crisp screen, the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones have many hardware features new to BlackBerry smartphones, including an HD camera and magnetometer (also known as a “digital compass”). These features aren’t just for show, but allow BlackBerry smartphone users to create, consume and share great content on their device. Here are a few examples:

Camera – The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone cameras supports HD recording at 720p to capture stunning videos to view on your BlackBerry smartphone, computer or HDTV. But my favorite feature has to be the 5MP, zero-shutter lag photo camera. I have a five-month-old son and my BlackBerry Torch smartphone (which is always with me) has been the perfect tool for me to capture those special moments. The ability to upload these photos from within the Camera app with a few clicks to Facebook® so I can virtually instantly share these moments with friends and family turns the BlackBerry Torch into something more than a smartphone for me.

Magnetometer – Combined with the Camera app and GPS, the magnetometer or digital compass on the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones has enabled a new class of “augmented reality” applications on the BlackBerry platform. One example is the Wikitude augmented reality browser, which will be available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront at launch. The Wikitude browser combines real and virtual worlds via the Camera viewfinder to provide immediate and relevant data about one’s surroundings. One great feature of the Wikitude browser is its integration with BBM 6. This (opt-in) feature allows you to see the location of your BBM 6 contacts in real-time and spontaneously arrange to meet for coffee if you happen to be in the same ‘hood. See the video above for an example.

5. The new BlackBerry 7 OS powers the all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone

Together with the powerful hardware found in the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone, the new BlackBerry 7 OS offers a variety of performance and usability enhancements resulting in a truly wonderful user experience. Annu plans to talk about BlackBerry 7 in more detail in an upcoming post, so we will highlight one specific aspect of BlackBerry 7: something we call ‘Liquid Graphics’.

From the ground up, the software architecture of BlackBerry 7 has been redesigned to maximize the use of hardware acceleration and graphical fidelity. This optimization allows for rich graphics, smooth animations and a fluid touch experience. Liquid Graphics touches much of the features discussed above, from the new BlackBerry browser to the all-touch UI to 3rd party applications like the Wikitude browser or 3D games. Combined with the large screen, Liquid Graphics provides a responsive and striking graphical experience for BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone users.

Please post a comment and let Troy and Sangita know what you think of the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones, and don’t hesitate to ask questions about each device!

(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

If you’ve been reading up on the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930 smartphones, then you’ll know they feature a built-in compass (magnetometer) designed to support location-based services and augmented reality. With BlackBerry® 7, new APIs will allow you to take advantage of this new functionality within your applications.

At the BlackBerry World™ conference, we featured a new application created by Mobilizy: Wikitude. The above Wikitude demo video showcases the power of BlackBerry 7 and the exciting opportunity augmented reality can bring to your apps. You can learn more and get started with BlackBerry 7 today.

Have you been thinking about augmented reality? Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re working on!