Blackberry - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Phoenix Freeze auto-locks laptops via smartphone

  A new product from Phoenix Technologies, <a href="http://www.phoenixfreeze.com/">called Freeze</a>, lets you use BlackBerry or iPhone Bluetooth to tell a PC that you're leaving the area and want it to lock up. When you return, Phoenix Freeze can also automatically unlock the machine so it's ready for you. However, it only works on Windows PCs, doesn't support 64-bit platforms, disables all other Bluetooth peripherals and seems to be a bit buggy for an official release. Phoenix Freeze for BlackBerry and iPhone

• BlackBerry Tour vs Nokia E72: The battle for business

  Two new business-oriented smart phones are about to the hit store shelves: The latest in Nokia's line of business phones, the E72, and the long-rumoured BlackBerry Tour 9630.

• iPhone vs. BlackBerry: Readers strike back

  In comparing the RIM BlackBerry Bold to the Apple iPhone 3G, after a month-long test of each, I declared that it was time to bury the Blackberry, as it was mediocre in its signature mail functions and pathetic in next-gen mobile capabilities such as Web browsing and applications. I got many heated replies, such as this one from reader Mortys11 (a comments handle, as with the other names cited): "Who is this guy? He must be on the Apple payroll because any tech writer with half a brain would never claim that the BlackBerry is an inferior e-mail device." (Sorry, I do not work, and have never worked, for Apple. I do use a Mac, but until Vista I had used Windows XP.) Smalpre says, "I would have to declare the writer of this article a completely incompetent nontechnical person that obviously has never had a 'real job' in IT."

• One way to build mobile-friendly apps for all devices

  Adam Blum, CEO of startup Rhomobile, says 90% of the programs being written with his company's open source mobile application framework are by ISVs and the other 10% by enterprises, but over time he'd like to see those percentages reversed.

• Best mobile entertainment apps for your smartphone

  You've spent your hard-earned cash on a brand new smartphone. Now it's time to put that money to work and turn your new acquisition into an entertainment powerhouse. The number of mobile entertainment apps out there is incomprehensibly large, and relatively few of them truly shine. Never fear: We've scoured the Web and found the best music, video, and gaming apps for your iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, or Symbian smartphone. Most are free, but for some--as you'd expect with top-notch entertainment--a price tag is attached.

• Palm Pre vs iPhone 3.0 vs Blackberry Storm 2 vs Nokia N97

  In the next few months four smartphones are going to battle it out. The Palm Pre, the iPhone 3.0, the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the Nokia N97 are all going for the crown title this summer. But which one should you choose?

• Palm Pre, other smartphones will still sell despite recession

  Despite monthly costs of $70 or more for voice and data service on new smartphones such as the Palm Pre, consumers and business users have been lining up to buy the devices when they first go on sale as if the recession had never hit.

• Why BlackBerry still beats iPhone for some

  News that the Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve outsold iPhones in Q1 surprised many observers, but for those who follow the smartphone market closely, it makes a certain kind of sense. Push-button BlackBerry models like the Curve play well against the iPhone's most notable weakness: text entry. Among other things, this demonstrates why RIM would be wise to skip the consumer smartphone business and stick to what it does best--business handsets. And, in my opinion, that requires keypads, not touchscreens.

• Smartphones: 14 great things iPhones and BlackBerrys can do

  Control 7 different devices with your iPhone, play Internet radio on your BlackBerry, and more

• Why BlackBerry's lead over the iPhone won't last

  Research In Motion's BlackBerry Curve has moved past Apple's iPhone to become the top-selling consumer smart phone in the US in the first quarter of 2009, according to market researcher The NPD Group.

• Clash of the handsets: Seven smartphones for business

  Apple iPhone, Android G1, AT&T Fuze, HTC Touch Diamond, and three flavors of BlackBerry compete for one pocket. Which should you choose?

• BlackBerry app developers must make key choices

  For nearly a year, Apple's App Store for the iPhone has stood out as the sole example of a smartphone platform that's more than a fancy way to take phone calls and look at headlines. It showed the promise of mobile devices as real computing platforms that could run some of the applications we run on our PCs, as well as a new class of mobile-savvy, location-aware programs that would redefine the mobile experience. And it provides a lot of entertainment, from fart-noise generators to mood lighting.

• Forrester: iPhone corporate users happier, more productive

  While some corporations have worried about the ability to secure and manage iPhones used by their workers, Forrester Research Inc. says three major companies are successfully deploying thousands of the Apple Inc. devices.

• Lawyers move toward iPhones, give up BlackBerrys

  Lawyers are increasingly jumping ship from BlackBerrys to iPhones, thanks in large part to functionality enabled by the iPhone's special screen.

• BlackBerry phone hits the hotspot with VoIP

  RIM has developed a knack for pulling customers into new BlackBerry devices. That's no mean feat. BlackBerry is the most mature, most imitated, and most-targeted brand in the mobile industry. RIM keeps new handsets rolling out, and it keeps racking up new exclusives with wireless operators by finding gaps in its own product line and filling them better than its competitors can. By teaming up with T-Mobile, RIM's latest product helps to fill your budget gaps by providing flat-rate unlimited IP telephony from your home, office, airport, or any locale that hosts a T-Mobile Hotspot.