BlackBerry App World Sabotaged by Limited Storage Capacity

BlackBerry's App World debuted in early April to compete with iPhone's App Store and Android's Marketplace. I tested it out briefly on a BlackBerry 8830 recently. Since the App World itself is an application, I had to click a few links from the mobile browser before I was able to get it fully installed. After installation, the App World worked as it was intended. Unlike the iPhone or TMobile G1, not having a touchscreen on the BB 8830 meant a slower navigation for me. Also, with the smaller screen, I find navigating through the App World slightly cumbersome. The overally lay out of the App Store worked okay for me and the top rated apps as well as major applications were all readily available.

My biggest complaint about BlackBerry and Apps in general is the lack of memory space to install them with. I installed three to four applications before I was prompted with a message indicating I did not have enough memory on device to continue. Despite the fact that I had a blank 1GB MicroSD card installed, I was not given the option to install apps onto it (online reference). This is pretty ridiculous considering you can install applications on SD cards on older Windows Mobile and Palm OS from years ago. Ironically, the App World itself is an application which takes up some of the limited storage space.

Conclusion: While I am not overly impressed with BlackBerry's App World, it does function as it should. With a growing library of applications coming ahead, it should provide ample mobile application functionality. However, with the applications limited to device storage, it will limit the usefulness of older devices with smaller onboard storage. When compared to iPhone's 8GB or 16GB capacity or G1's unlimited storage potential in MicroSDHC slot, this can make BlackBerry's App World less attractive if a potential buyer is putting more weight in that department.

PS - According to this FoxNews article, BlackBerry App World is off to a slow start.

Review: BlackBerry 8830 Sprint

As I have mentioned, I recently got a new BlackBerry 8830 World Editon with Sprint. Its been a while since I've upgraded a BlackBerry, the one I've had until now was a BlackBerry 8700c (older, EDGE with Cingular/AT&T). Needless to day, the new unit is much more advanced in terms of 3G connectivity, LCD Display and software/application support.

Hardware: the 8830 looks very sleek looking with a thin candybar profile which fits in my pocket nicely. Laying the device on a table makes you want to take a double look at its beautiful minimalist design. Having full QWERTY keyboard is nice, I miss having this luxury since I am relying on my N95-3 (standard 12-key numeric) now days. The 8830's QWERTY has a nice texture to it; the keys' surface has a bit of a protrution which feels better on the finger tips (unlike the 8700c keypad which has a flat surface). As mentioned, this is a Sprint version so its my first EV-DO 3G handset from a CDMA carrier and I am very impressed by the web speed. This is also the world edition which will allow me to make a roaming phone call when visiting countries running 900/1800 GSM network (which happens to be none US GSM bands). This is the first BlackBerry I've used using the trackball which took me a little to get used to; I am either too fast or too slow for the trackball sensitivity. The way I describe it is the trackball feels more analog whereas the classic scroll wheel is more digital which matches up each click nicely with the next icon across the screen. Other noteworthy hardware feature includes integrated-AGPS, MicroSD slot (next to the GSM Card slot in the battery compartment) and its support for a Media Player. The only complaint here is lack of WiFi and Camera.

Software: The best way to describe BlackBerry OS is "rigid", this OS is reliable as day 1. It didn' take me long to get familiar with BB's system. By contrast, I actually miss Symbian S60 application structure w/ the menu and sub-menu systems keeping things some what organized whereas BB's applications are just all scattered within one screen; which can look clustered after you have over 20+ icons. Some noteworthy improvements including shortcuts to various main functions like "profile", "search", etc... The addition of a media player is a plus; allowing you to playback videos, pictures and music files. Where the application really shines is the Google third party applications, such as the Google Maps (2.2 which supports real time train schedule) and GMAIL. Both applications are so well integrated that it actually feels like BlackBerry folks developed it as a native software; although a new app called BlackBerry Maps is now included, I find myself using Google Maps out of force of habit... largely because of the long history of having it available from my old BB days to WM6 to even Symbian S60.

An area where I was a litle disappointed is the lack of flexibility in the BlackBerry OS when it comes to downloading meda files. When I wanted to test out the music player, I tried several ways to load the music without having to pull the MicroSD card out of the device. When I send a URL for download, the browser says it won't support the file for playback (so downloading is not an option). I emailed the MP3 file as an attachedment, the device prompted me of exceeding BIS server limit. In the end, the only way to put music on device is to pull the MicroSD card out and use a card reader to transfer files. This is a little ironic because with the awesome EV-DO connectivity, I can't actually use it to download mass media file.

Overall, I am pleased with BlackBerry 8830's performance. Its as reliable as ever and with the new functionality supporting media files and adding MicroSD storage solution, its better than ever. I am excited to add another smartphone to my staple and will look forward to testing out new mobile experiences with it!

Travel Channel is Mobile Friendly w/ new App

Travel Channel GO has announced a new mobile application available to selected smartphones. While you can still visit Go.TravelChannel.com on your mobile browser, the application may be better suited for a better and more robust mobile experience. iPhone users can still count on the special web site developed for mobile Safari, the rest of us JAVA enabled handsets (Nokia & BlackBerry) should go through the said application.

Dubbed as the "personal radar" for individuals, Travel Channel GO is intended to provide all of its exclusive content to your finger tips. Its an array of mobile/local search portal for all of your traveling needs (ie. directions, map and recommendations). The application is even suppose to work with devices with integrated GPS to help identify your location. To learn more about this, you can stop by the Travel Channel blog here.

I tested this application with my new BlackBerry 8830. The EV-DO download is amazingly fast and installation was pretty quick. The application design is sharp and pleasing on the eyes. UI is simple and intuitive using the trackball (left/right for menu icons, up/down for sub-menu icons). A lot of effort has been put behind this application and I really appreciate the detail. For example, in the settings, you can use it to turn on/off built-in GPS or when you type in the Zip codes, you don't need to press-alt button for numbers to show up.

Kudos to the Travel Channel GO for making its content absolutely friendly to the mobile community at free of charge; I would recommend anyone traveling trying out this service, its free!

Hands on with BlackBerry 8830 from Sprint

Research in Motion (RIMM) had a rough day today at the market place, stock price dropped by 13% due to a disappointing forecast.

In keeping with the theme on BlackBerry news, I got my hands on a brand new BlackBerry 8830 World Edition from Sprint. Yes, the mobile experience blog will now welcome a new smartphone to its family and will be providing all new BlackBerry updates using this beauty via EV-DO goodness.

Stay tuned for more updates!