+101 - Vote for the best Blackberry Applications

Get fit with CrackBerry during Fitness Month at Mobile Nations!

Fitness month at Mobile Nations and CrackBerry has gotten many into a get fit frenzy. I’m feeling a renewed drive to start my journey back up and reach my weight loss goal. One of my biggest problems is that I tend to forget to keep an eye on my caloric intake. Is what I’m eating healthy enough? Do I really know if I’m taking in enough calories? Can I afford to have the pretzels that I’m thinking about as I’m writing this? Probably not. It isn’t easy for everyone to remember how many calories you need or eat, or know the nutritional values for food from restaurants. A guide is all that some need to stick to the plan and drop the pounds. A guide like TrackNSlim will do just that.

This application is an effective way to set goals yourself and see how well you’re sticking to them. To set up, you enter in your weight, diet and the thresholds (calories, fats, sodium, sugar, etc) you want to work with. Now here’s what I like; TrackNSlim has a huge list of food and their nutritional values. So all you need to do is select and quantify. I’m a visual learner – I need to see how I am doing and view charts, like pie charts, to learn where I can improve (mmmm, pie charts). A daily progress screen will indicate how close you are to reaching your thresholds and will also show you when you are over them (otherwise known as being in the red).

Honestly, I don’t have the diet part completely down. I basically know what’s healthy and what’s not. It’s portion control and balance that I really struggle with. In my opinion, TracknSlim is one of the best ways to get a handle on eating before your eating gets out of hand. Nutritional information, breakdown of your intake and goal management, TrackNSlim is a great application to start to use during fitness month and beyond. You can get TrackNSlim for $2.99 from BlackBerry App World.

More information/download TrackNSlim for BlackBerry smartphones

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. TrackNSlim for BlackBerry smartphones tracks and reports on your eating habits

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No strangers to philanthropy, Mike Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia have a long record of donations to the University of Waterloo in their past and that generosity has one again been shown with Mike and Ophelia having announced their pledge of $21 million to science and mathematics faculties at the University of Waterloo:

“With their unparalleled generosity, the Lazaridis family enriches our capacity to attract exceptional individuals to join Waterloo as researchers and students,” said University of Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur. “The problems of the world will keep getting more complex and interconnected, and we want to be the first port of call for people looking to solve intractable problems.”

“History has shown us that a relatively small investment in fundamental research in physics and in science today can lead to huge innovation tomorrow. Given the current challenges in the world, the need for such innovation is greater now than ever,” said Mike Lazaridis, founder and vice chair of the board of Research in Motion. “I believe that the University of Waterloo, this province and this country can play a leadership role in this regard, and we are pleased to support it.”

In total, the Lazaridis family donations have exceeded $123 million, including $102.5 million to
establish the Institute for Quantum Computing in the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012.

Source: University of Waterloo

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis donate $21 million to the University of Waterloo

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 Enter to win a free copy of Haze by Blitz Creations! Details below!

Hey folks welcome back to the BlackBerry Theme Roundup. I don’t know about you but I’m ecstatic over seeing the new BlackBerry 7 theme category in App World. So without further ado let’s get on with this week’s picks, plus enter to win a free copy of Haze by Blitz Creations. If you developed a theme you want to share or see featured in the contest or discovered a really great one out there by all means shoot it on over to us! Submit your tips and suggestions to themeroundup[at]crackberry.com for consideration.

read more

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry theme roundup – 25 copies of Haze by Blitz Creations up for grabs!

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A third UK network has joined in with the BlackBerry Bold 9790 love. Three UK announced via their Twitter account that the Bold 9790 is now available on their network. The smaller of the Bold series devices is available on Three’s The One Plan for £35 a month on a 24-month contract, which gives you 2000 mins, 5000 texts and All-you-can-eat data. It is also available on Text plans 500 and 500 + all-you-can-eat which cost £28 and £31 respectively, per month. If you want the Bold 9790 on pay as you go, it will cost you £319.99 plus top-up of either £10 or £15.

That now leaves two UK networks left to release the BlackBerry 9790 – Orange and T-Mobile UK. They would probably be released on the networks about the same time since they are merged under Everything Everywhere. Orange still have theirs listed as coming soon with no release, T-Mobile on the other hand have it on their coming soon page listed as due January. Seeing as we’re now in February, there obviously has been some delay. Hopefully, Orange and T-Mobile customers won’t have to wait too long.

More information / Purchase BlackBerry Bold 9790 from Three UK 

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry Bold 9790 now available from Three UK

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When we took our first official tour of the native messaging on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 a month ago at CES 2012, one of the services that was missing from the social messaging integration was Facebook. We *knew* Facebook would soon be joining Twitter and LinkedIn, but it’s good to see Facebook is now there too for when the highly-anticipated PlayBook software update drops later this month. You can hit up the video above to get a quick look of the Facebook addition within the Manage Accounts option screen and integrated into the native messaging client itself.

When he gave his first keynote presentation yesterday, RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins spoke of the BlackBerry "Flow" experience, which allows you to move fluidly from one experience into another vs. the open/close paradigm that you’re seeing (aka like iOS). RIM’s implementation of native messaging, calendar and contacts on PlayBooks OS 2 (and therefore BlackBerry 10 of course) is a prime example of this flow-like experience. The more I use it, the more I’m loving it.

Oh yeah.. random thought… "Flow"… sounds like it could be a good product name for a future BlackBerry 10 phone model. 

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Video: Facebook integration w/ native messaging app on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2

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Checking out the BlackBerry Experience booth at BlackBerry DevCon Europe, we were tipped onto the fact some of the devices in the room were running newer versions of OS 7.1 than we have seen. It turns out that was in fact true, and with OS 7.1.0.258 we’re seeing a new feature introduced to help users get more battery life out of their BlackBerry.

Battery Saving Mode is a new feature in device options, which allows you to trigger the device into high efficiency operation at any remaining level of battery life you choose. You can also choose to Always have Battery Saving Mode running. When Battery Saving Mode is triggered, the phone automatically adjusts device settings to optimize them for longer operation. With the devices at the booth all plugged in and charged we really couldn’t see just what it does, but my *guess* is you’ll see things like the brightness of the screen getting dimmed down and the time out settings get shortened. It’s definitely a well-welcomed feature. You can never have too much battery life!

In the meantime while you wait for this feature to hit your BlackBerry, be sure to check out our 10 Ways to Maximize the Battery Life on your BlackBerry article.

Discuss in the CrackBerry Forums

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Introducing "Battery Saving Mode" – A New Feature coming to BlackBerry OS 7.1

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I’m still in Amsterdam winding down BlackBerry DevCon Europe, but I just couldn’t wait to get home to call my broker to place an order to double up my investment in Research In Motion. Readers of CrackBerry will remember I bought my first "symbolic" share of RIMM stock leading up to the company’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders this past June at a price of $27.75. With that share now trading below $17, I’ve decided as a gesture of my growing faith in RIM it’s time to double up on the original investment and buy TWO more shares of RIM stock (see the execution order above).

There was no specific piece of news or information or technical analysis that prompted me to take this action. More so, I just woke up this morning with a gut feeling and had to roll with my instincts. I’m feeling bullish on BlackBerry. Between the new CEO Thorsten Heins, my experience on the Engadget Mobile Podcast playing BlackBerry defender, the look of that first BB10 phone (which I’m sure will evolve by launch to be even awesomer), the positive vibe at BlackBerry DevCon Europe…. it just all feels like the stars are starting to align. Yes, there are plenty of challenges still and lots of work to be done, but I think RIM employees really are jacked up to Rock & Roll their way through it. I’m feeing good.

So there you have it. Full disclosure. I doubled my investment and tripled my shares in Research In Motion.

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Full Disclosure: I've just doubled my investment (tripled my shares) in Research In Motion stock

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if you missed our coverage of the BlackBerry DevCon Europe General Session Keynote yesterday, not to worry. RIM has posted up a replay of the entire keynote for your viewing pleasure. Some good stuff to be had within as Thorsten Heins, Alec Saunders, Chris Smith and many partners took the stage in Amsterdam to show off some goods. If you have a few hours to kill it’s definitely worth checking out. So grab a cup of coffee (or beer if that’s more your thing) and hit the link below. Be sure to keep following all of our coverage from BlackBerry DevCon Europe.

Check out the BlackBerry DevCon Europe General Session Replay

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. BlackBerry DevCon Europe General Session Keynote replay now available

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CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Deal of the Day: Save 50% on the Seidio Innocase Active Case for the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Tour 9630 – Get it for $14.95

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A while back we took a look at how to customize your results when using Universal Search. The OS gives you the option to pick and choose what you’d like to see when searching, but how about those pesky Bing web suggestions that clutter up your search results? Well you can kill those as well with a simple check box. To disable web suggestions, simply head to Options > Device > Search then uncheck Show Web Suggestions. This will keep your BlackBerry from showing web results (unless you have them checked further down in the list) so you won’t have to see them any longer.

Have any fun tips for using your BlackBerry? Send them along to tips(at)crackberry.com.

CrackBerry.com‘s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. How to hide web suggestions in Universal Search on BlackBerry smartphones

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