RIM Execs on the Best BlackBerry Apps: Eight Downloads
Research in Motion executives, including a VP of global alliances, a product management director and the co-CEO, share their favorite BlackBerry downloads.
Though not as feature-packed as the real Facebook site (you can't access groups, for example,) the mobile application displays your home screen notifications, like status updates, and you can "poke" or message friends and write on their Facebook "walls." Lists of friends and their status updates are also available with a single click from the mobile home screen, and photo uploading and sharing is as simple as snapping an image with your smartphone's camera and uploading it to the site from the application's home screen. The application is free.
Check out our review of Facebook for BlackBerry or watch our video on how to install and use the app for more information on the mobile social networking download.
FlipSide
Let's face it, the media player that comes standard on current BlackBerry devices is less-than-stellar. Especially since all mobile media players are measured against the current market leader, the iPod and its iTunes software, which are famously easy to use.
BlackBerry users who want to get the most MP3-player-punch from their RIM devices are in luck, thanks to FlipSide.
This recommendation came from Mr. BlackBerry himself, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, who has FlipSide installed on his BlackBerry Bold.
The application plays MP3 files stored on your memory card and displays full-color album artwork along with each track, if available. Creating playlists is simple. You can even find out additional information about your tunes by accessing the program's FlipSide Extras option.
A free demo of FlipSide is available on ElectricPocket.com, or you can buy it for $19.95 on MobiHand.com.
Viigo
When it comes to third-party BlackBerry applications, we've got one clear favorite: Viigo. And it seems we're not alone in our love of the mobile RSS feed reader. Jeff McDowell and Mike Lazaridis both have Viigo installed on their current devices and use the app on a regular basis. (It's also worth noting that Viigo is a Gold Sponsor of this year's WES event.)
Viigo Viigo provides instant access to any Internet RSS feed via a simple and good-looking interface. And it supports the popular Google Reader service, so users can import existing collections of RSS feeds from computers to mobile devices.
The application works with any BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device, and its preserves their user interfaces, so there are no new navigation techniques or tricks to learn. The app pushes feed updates to users' handhelds and stores them on the devices so that content can be accessed without cellular connectivity.
Best of all, the standard version of Viigo is free. The company also offers two pay versions, Viigo Publisher, which is meant to help content producers or publishers mobilize and easily present their content, and Viigo Corporate Edition (CE), designed to assist enterprises in providing necessary information to employees via mobile devices. See our video on how to download and use Viigo for more details on this great app.
