Mobile Phones, Technology, Internet, Music, PC, Softwares Tips

Top 5 Features I’d Love To See In BlackBerry 10

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:46:40 +0000

With the Samsung Galaxy SIII set to hit to market before this month runs out, I’m dying to hear a release date for the new BlackBerry 10 devices. At the moment, RIM seems to be wooing developers to create apps for the new operating system and I really hope they come up with pretty interesting stuff.

Meanwhile, I’ve had quite a good run with the BlackBerry Curve 3G and I’m now using a Bold Touch 9900 but still I must say there are quite a number of features a part of me wishes the folks at RIM would just pay attention to immediately.

To the guys at RIM, if you’re reading this, here are the top 5 features I wish the new BlackBerry 10 phones would come with.

Fully Functional Download Manager: till date the BlackBerry default browser lacks pause and resume downloads functions and that’s pretty annoying. Most times, the network has bailed on me in the middle of a large file download and I’d had to start all over again from the beginning wasting my precious data allowance for the month’s BIS subscription.

Opera Mini As Default Browser: for those living in areas with excellent network reception and 3.5G internet access, surfing the web with the default browser is a breeze but for those of us on unstable networks with access to only EDGE, it’s pretty frustrating waiting for pages to load and Opera Mini always comes to the rescue saving us our sanity as it’s pretty faster than the default browser. We just wish RIM would give us the ability to configure all links to open with Opera Mini by default. (Tall request right? I know)

Hard Reset Without Battery Removal: removing and replacing batteries frequently can be quite a frustrating experience and I wish you guys would just give us a button on the device for that already.

Backup Internet Access: in this part of the world, internet services tend to go down at will especially when you need them most. What’s more frustrating is that sometimes the internet is up but BIS just crashes leaving one stranded. It would really be nice if the new blackberry devices had like a backup connection using TCP/IP. For now TCP only works when there’s an active BIS connection and the reverse would be a welcome development

Skype Communication: since you guys are planning to target regular consumers with the new BlackBerry devices now is the time to throw in Skype even if it will only work via Wi-Fi.

Well these are just the few features that I wish you guys would implement as they would boost my blackberry experience tremendously.

To my readers who own blackberry phones, what features do you wish your devices possessed?

Speak your mind in the comment section

All Rights Reserved. This content feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this content feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, or is on any site other than PatchworkOfTips.com, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of this copyright and the owner of the site a thief.

My Top 10 Must Have BlackBerry Apps

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:02:00 +0000

BlackBerry Appworld unlike every other mobile application market out there today is poorly stocked with just over 60,000 applications to date but for folks like me, 99% of the apps we need are readily available there or via developer websites.

I’m always on the look out for new apps that could help boost productivity or enhance the features of my Bold 9900. Some have found their way into my heart while others have fallen by the way side after a few days or weeks of use.

Of all the apps on my BlackBerry phone, here are the top 10 without which my blackberry experience would be so DULL!

Socialscope For BlackBerry: still in private beta phase thus only accessible by invitation, this social networking app supports Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare. In my opinion, it’s like Ubersocial on steroids and now replaces two apps on my phone (Twitter and Facebook for BlackBerry)

Whatsapp: one of the features the blackberry phone is most popular for is the BlackBerry Messenger which allows for messaging, exchange of files, pictures, music and what have you with other blackberry mobile users over a secure connection. Whatsapp steps in sealing the communication gap so you can stay in touch with those friends of yours who don’t have a BlackBerry. You can do pretty much the same things the BlackBerry Messenger allows you to do using your iPhone, Android, Nokia Symbian S60 & S40 and Windows Phone.

NOTE: I wouldn’t transmit confidential info via whatsapp if I were you ’cause I don’t think it as secure as the BlackBerry Messenger.

Opera Mini and UC Browser For BlackBerry: with the launch of BlackBerry OS 6, the default browser has undergone a tremendous change in a bid to make it faster and more user reliable. Unfortunately the page load speed still sucks for many of us probably due to the poor speed of our internet connections. Also the download manager just doesn’t cut it either and it’s yet to be revamped in OS 7.1. On my phone, I make use of Opera Mini for all my browsing needs as it still remains the fastest mobile browser out there in the market. Given that it’s download manager also sucks as well, I make use of UC Browser for all my blackberry downloads.

BlackBerry News: I keep abreast of the daily news around the world via my Firefox browser addon, Newsfox. Unfortunately I don’t access the internet on my laptop frequently thus I sometimes miss out on important news updates and what have you. With my discovery of BlackBerry News app, I’m always up to date even on what’s going on my fave *gossip* blog, Linda Ikeji. Lol

WordPress for Blackberry: I run two wordpress blogs and sometimes don’t have the time to turn on my laptop to do simple things such as approve and reply to comments. Well, this official wordpress app for blackberry comes in handy for that and what’s more, I’ve started writing the articles for this blog on my Bold 9900 instead of my laptop and it’s so much fun

Capture Nux: when it comes to creating screenshots of my blackberry, nothing gets the job done like Capture Nux. It integrates flawlessly into the menu of the BlackBerry OS allowing me to take pictures of practically every screen on my phone. These screenshots help in the writing of most of the articles here and in diagnosing problems with my BB friends online. My only problem with it is the lack of an image resize function which hopefully will be included in future releases.

BBSSH: sometimes I do need to download files whose links are set to expire either to due to frequent file updates, server bandwidth issues or what have you. Using BBSSH, I’m able to create copies of these downloads on my own server so that in my leisure time and when my internet connection is strong enough, I can download them at ease.

Instant Reboot: by default when you have problems with your blackberry, removing the battery and inserting it back again always solves such issues. Now the problem is that after a while it gets pretty exhausting having to open the battery compartment from time to time. Enter Instant Reboot app. Instant reboot is a tiny app which blends into the blackberry menu offering you a one click solution to reboot your blackberry device without removing your battery at all. So many apps found in BlackBerry Appworld claim to have this function but so far so good Instant Reboot seems to be the only that actually works without buts

Fancy Tran: last but not the least is Fancy Tran my trusted dictionary and translator. Sometimes I do forget the spelling of certain words or I need to corroborate the meaning of word in either English or Spanish and dear ol’ Fancy Tran never fails at all It does come with ads which really don’t bug me anyway. With my top 10 blackberry apps out of the way, here’s the list of other apps, I do use from time to time depending on which situation I find myself in.

Battery Saver Pro by MMMOOO: helps to keep my battery running for a longer time.
BlackBerry Podcasts and Podtrapper for BlackBerry: for queuing downloads
FlashLight: 2 FOR 1 Free: when the power goes out as has become a custom here in Nigeria, this app quickly provides the much needed light to make my way around the house.
mChat – Facebook Chat app: for those times when I’m bored and free to chat away on facebook.
Rock File Manager: unzipping files and installing COD application files has never been easy.
Silent Camera: for those occasions when I want to take pictures discreetly without those around me or the subject being aware. It mutes that sound the camera makes when taking a shot.
Traffic Monitor: not all telecom companies offer unlimited data on Blackberry plans like Etisalat Nigeria does. This app helps to keep tag of your monthly data consumption so I don’t end up having to renew my BIS plan before the month is up.
XE Currency: quick current foreign exchange rates at the tip of my finger

Well, folks that’s just about all the apps on my BlackBerry Bold 9900. What indispensable apps do you use on your BlackBerry device?

Do please share with us.

How to Hide / Reveal Display Panel on BlackBerry Touchscreens

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:33:02 +0000

For quite sometime now, my blackberry’s home screen has playing tricks on me. Sometimes the home screen display panel disappears or rather just goes blank like in the picture above and ignorant of how to fix this, I keep resetting the damn thing sacrificing my customization and what have you.

As far as I know, on my blackBerry Curve 3, this is easily fixed through the Home Screen Grid Layout section of the Options area but unfortunately, it ain’t so on the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900.

Well I just discovered that this option was turned off for blackberry phones with touchscreen as by merely dragging the panel up and down, you can change the number of icons that appear on your home screen.

You see that little arrow where the icons are meant to appear? Simply press it and pull up or down to reveal or hide as many icons as you want.

Enjoy.

NOTE: this only affects the horizontal layout of icons on the home screen. You can have a maximum of 3 horizontal line of icons on your screen.

Top Three Facts You Ought To Know Before Purchasing A BlackBerry Phone

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:14:41 +0000

With each passing day, more and more folks here in Nigeria are being drawn into the BlackBerry circle which in my opinion is a good thing ’cause I’m on #TeamBlackBerry all the way and would love to see RIM rise above its recents financial losses.

Despite being a fan, I do have to admit that Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphone has its’ shortcomings just like the mighty Apple iPhone does. If the BlackBerry is going to be your first smartphone, you can go ahead and purchase one without much hesitation but if you’ve been a proud owner of one of those hi-end smartphones like the Nokia N8, N900 and E7, there are a few things you must take into consideration before doling out cash for a BlackBerry device.

BLACKBERRY DATA SUBSCRIPTION IS COMPULSORY

Without a BlackBerry Internet Plan or Wi-Fi access, your blackberry device is just a texting and voice call device with mediocre camera. Internet traffic on BlackBerry phones is routed through RIMs servers in different strategic locations across the globe. Access to these servers is limited to those with an active BIS plan. I think Nigeria uses the servers in the UK. Your regular smartphone data plan will not work on the BlackBerry Platform. Even the Wi-Fi itself requires an active blackberry data plan.

There’s nothing as annoying as having BIS connection go awol while regular internet is still working just fine especially when you have important stuff to do online. It makes you want to slam the device across the nearest wall.

LACK OF PLETHORA OF APPS

Mobile application guzzlers and those of you who have experienced the richness of the Android Marketplace and Nokia Ovi store, will have a hard time adapting to BlackBerry’s Appworld as it practically has
just a little over a mere 60, 000 applications only.

You can imagine something as simple as an effective download manager is still missing from the BlackBerry Appworld.

CAMERA SUCKS

If you’re addicted to taking clean hi-resolution pictures with your Nokia N8 or Samsung Galaxy S II, I strongly advice you not to make the BlackBerry device your primary carry-everywhere-you-go device as you’ll be disappointed. In my experience the quality of pics on the BlackBerry Bold 9900′s 5MP camera is almost the same as those obtainable from the 2MP camera on the budget feature phone, Nokia Asha 200.

Let’s just say quality cellphone cameras are not one of the BlackBerry’s strengths.

If you can overlook these setbacks of the BlackBerry phone, then I say go for it.

In my opinion, I’ve been able to adapt to the BlackBerry’s shortcomings quite well as 99% of the apps I truly need are available via BlackBerry Appworld for free and I’m never keen on taking pictures with my Bold’s camera.

The compulsory BIS thing still pisses me off though and I wish RIM Canada would just offer some form of alternative in the BlackBerry Operating System that allows us use of the internet when the BlackBerry Internet Service temporarily goes down.

As always feel free to ask any question and I’d be glad to help out. Don’t forget to share on twitter and facebook.

Dropbox Adds File and Folder Link Sharing Functionality

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:45:02 +0000

My first foray into the world of cloud storage was with DropBox. That was over 1 year ago but for the past 2 months now, I’ve switched allegiance to its new competitor SugarSync.

Using the Send to Dropbox app, my use of DropBox was tailored towards aggregating all my email attachments in one secure location for mass downloading later on. Unfortunately this email to dropbox application developed issues and stopped working and also downloading my files with the DropBox desktop software became kind of a chore ’cause of the somewhat slow internet speeds.

With SugarSync I was able to send my email attachments to my account using a sugarsync generated email address and I was also able to download my attachments in one zip file and share the download link with my friends as well.

Well looks like Dropbox has decided to do something about the competition as they’ve now added the ability to share a link to your files or folders with friends and family.

Unfortunately using these public links, you can’t download the files directly. You can only view them online via a nifty public interface. The integrity of your documents are in no way affected as public users can’t edit them.

This new Dropbox feature should work for some of you but for me, it still doesn’t change anything and I’m sticking with my SugarSync account which offers close to 6GB of online storage space.

Maybe when they add email to account storage and direct download link functionality, I’ll go back to them (Dropbox)

Motorola XT390 Dual SIM Android Heads For China

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:37:27 +0000

Somewhere along the line I think I missed the memo that said Africa was no longer a hotspot for dual SIM mobile phones ’cause I sincerely can’t understand the moves of the likes of Motorola launching their flagship dual-sim handsets in far away Brazil and now China.

With the price pegged at $160 = N25,000, this 3.5″ HVGA all-touchscreen display phone will run on Android Gingerbread OS with an 800MHz processor and 512MB RAM.

Other features include a 3.2MP camera, internet connectivity via GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA/Wi-Fi, GPS and of course MicroSD support of up to 32GB.

In the past Motorola has been quite active in the Nigerian mobile market but over the years, other brands have taken over leaving them behind. If reports are anything to go by, RIM’s BlackBerry seems poised to be the most successful smartphone in the market and they haven’t even started running *aggresive* adverts yet!

If this device ever hits our shores, we’d be sure to let you know ASAP!

How To Fix WordPress For BlackBerry XML-RPC Endpoint Not Found Error

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:05:39 +0000

Over the weekend, I upgraded my stellar BlackBerry Curve 3 to the *cheap* version of the BlackBerry Porsche, that is the uber sexy BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900. Moving my data from one device to the other was a breeze using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager’s switch devices function but as it has always been in the past with things such as BlackBerry OS upgrades, I lost the settings of my wordpress for BlackBerry app and so I had to re-enter my blog details from scratch.

I was able to configure the first blog without issues but the second blog (precisely this patchworkoftips.com) kept giving me problems with the error:

“We could not find the xmlrpc end point of your blog. Please insert the complete URL below”

A quick search of the BlackBerry forums yielded no results but I did learn one thing. The xmlrpc.php file of my wordpress installation probably got corrupted during the last wordpress upgrade. I uploaded a fresh xml-rpc file to the server but still faced the damn error then someone’s comment on the site caught my eye.

By default when you access the xmlrpc.php file via your browser (http://www.yoursite.com/xmlrpc.php), you are supposed to get this message:

XML-RPC server accepts POST requests only

Unfortunately mine was showing this

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 30720 bytes) in /home/xxxxxxx/public_html/xxxxxxxxxxx.com/wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php on line 659

It was pretty clear that my wordpress installation had breached its memory limit so I increased it by downloading my wp-config.php file and adding this line define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’64M’); as shown in the screenshot below

That pretty much solved the XML-RPC end point error I was experiencing and I hope it does for you too. Now I’m back to managing my wordpress sites on the go via my BlackBerry phone.

Do have a great week ahead guys

P.S: I shall be publishing my very own review of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 soon. Do stay tuned!

Mark ZuckerBerg Wants President Goodluck Jonathan To Get Off Facebook STAT!

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:40:07 +0000

Just got this animated parody video via BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

In the video President Goodluck Jonathan is amassing quite a number of curses on his Facebook profile and now Mark ZuckerBerg wants him off Facebook ‘cause the curses seem to be melting FB servers already.

The funniest part is when Mark ZuckerBerg switches to the Yoruba dialect to pass his message across clearly. lol

Video was brought to you by OurOwnArea.

Click here to download it in mp4 version to your mobile phone.

RIM BlackBerry Needs To Pay More Attention To Africa

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:19:20 +0000

With a $125 million loss in sales for the 4^th quarter of 2011 and Apple’s iPhone beating it hands down in its home country of Canada, Research In Motion is undeniably facing tough times.

Unfortunately they are slow in waking up from their slumber and focusing on markets where the demand for blackberry devices is peaking gradually

One of such places is the African continent.

I live in Nigeria and I must admit that like so many BlackBerry users here, I got my BlackBerry device ’cause a friend of mine recommended it as the new way to stay connected with most of our classmates.

This connection is via BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) of course.

Weeks later, I was hooked on it ‘cause I could do so much online with it for a fraction of what it would have cost me on another phone or on my PC.

Yep! If you’re looking for the best internet deal in Nigeria, go get a BlackBerry now!

The BlackBerry fever in Nigeria has continued to wax strong and last year it birthed one helluva of a funny though kinda tacky straight to DVD and YouTube movie, BlackBerry Babes starring the likes of Mary Remy (Kesha) and Eniola Badmus (Apollonia – Gbogbo Big Gals).

*Watch BlackBerry Babes Part 1 and BlackBerry Babes Part 2 online*

Even the expensive Blackberry Porsche seems to be have found its select fans amongst Nigerians.

If the guys at RIM are looking for reasons why they need to pay attention to the African market, here’s one that stands out like a sore thumb:

Mobile internet ain’t so cheap in these parts of the world with the average monthly data plan set at 100MB for $6 in country where the average folk lives below a $1 daily. With the recently introduced blackberry complete data plans, BB users now have access to over 3GB of data for just $10 a month.

With BlackBerry’s data compression which is known to alleviate the stress of mobile data transmission on the networks, the likes of Globacom Nigeria and Etisalat Nigeria are plugging BlackBerry services like never before and have even gone ahead to create a special customer care line for BlackBerry users only.

Truth be told these networks are cashing in via BIS ’cause the average blackberry user over here just emails, pings, tweets, does facebook with some browsing and ends up using just around 200mb monthly leaving a whopping 2.8gb to float free.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 (Curve 2) being the cheapest available in the market is selling pretty well and even those who can’t afford a brand new device, go for the US/UK refurbished BlackBerry phones that cost around half the asking price of the new ones.

This calls for RIM to release a cheaper yet quality version of the BlackBerry just like my boss at Mobility Nigeria says. Please read RIM Needs A Low-cost Blackberry For Africa. Keep the cost below N20,000 with a good wap browser, GPRS/EDGE/Bluetooth connectivity, basic 1MP camera, nifty multitasking and you have a winner.

Business folks have adopted BlackBerry as their cornerstone communication and promotional device. Using BBM they can quickly advertise their goods and services via broadcasts, their status updates and DP. These broadcasts in turn have the potential to go viral creating more business for them without extra costs.

Some have said R.I.M needs to adopt the android OS platform to kick start their resurrection but some of us beg to differ. They just need to focus more on improving on what they know best and coming out with innovations that can’t be found on any other mobile platforms.

With RIM’s blackberry devices you get high quality email and messaging services with good social networking abilities via a secure communication channel as well as great app integration all packaged in one solidly built hardware.

I use a BlackBerry Curve 3G and plan on upgrading soon to Curve 4. Do you own a BlackBerry device? What has your experience being like? Feel free to share with us in the comment section

Four Must Have Mobile Gadgets For The Year 2012

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:55:23 +0000

With the recent release of the Apple iPad 3 and the retina display endowed Apple iPhone 5 already on the way, 2012 is shaping up to be yet another exciting year most especially for mobile gadget geeks out there.

Here are four hi-end mobile gadgets we feel every geek out there must take for a test drive.

1. Apple iPhone 5

Till date, the iPhone remains one of the most sought after mobile phones since 2007 when Apple Inc, the Cupertino based technology giant released the first version of it.

The iPhone 5 is the upcoming model of the iPhone family, and it promises to be way hotter than the iPhone 4S considering the fact that according to the folks at 9toMac.com, it is going to feature a retina all touchscreen display with the latest version of the Apple’s operating system, iOS 5.

2. Nokia Lumia 900

Worldwide, Nokia is considered as one of the best companies in the mobile phone business, but the company has lost most of its market shares to Apple’s iPhone and iPad due to the high quality and charming display of all Apple devices. But that doesn’t mean Nokia has lost everything. The company’s new Lumia 900 is what could be considered as one of the best of gadgets of this year 2012.

Everywhere, just as the iPhone, people are talking about the Nokia Lumia 900 all because of its great design with cool features spotted in it. According to a report from BHT, Nokia Lumia is said to have come with a 4.3 inch AMOLED screen which shows that it has more benefits than the iPhone 4S unless when the iPhone 5 is finally out (presently, it is still rumored that the iPhone will come with those specs).

Lumia 900 is sleek in sight and it is the world first Windows based mobile phone that comes with an 8MP camera and 4G LTE connection capability. Isn’t that great?

3. Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung is a big player in the industry with great phones. Samsung, for the whole of last year was the best company after Apple with great releases. The company recorded great sales with its Galaxy phones. The Galaxy family were the rocking smartphones of 2011 with cool design coupled with nice display.

Among the Galaxy family is the Samsung Galaxy Note. It is a features-packed gadget with cool design. It comes with a 5.3 inch Super AMOLED screen display unlike the Nokia Lumia 900 which comes with 4.3 inch display and this makes it a smartphone with tablet like qualities

Not only that, the phone comes with a stylus that adds up to its claim of being refers to as a tablet. The stylus is designed with a latest technological capacity such as an ability to trace very well and also to be helpful in drawing images and others on the device.

It does not end there, the Samsung Galaxy Note has other awesome features which includes a 16GB storage capacity, 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and 8MP rear-facing shooting camera etc.

4. HTC Titan II

If the Nokia Lumia 900 and iPhone 5 should threaten to break your budget, The HTC titan 2 is another great gadget for you this year. It is the sequel version of the HTC Titan and it arrives with lot of great and coolest features such as 16MP shooter, 4.7 inch Super LCD display, internal memory of 16GB and many more.

With its launch, the phone will become the first 4G LTE Windows mobile OS based phone to be launched in the United States of America, that is a great feat for HTC.

Strangely, it has the same display pattern as the Nokia Lumia 900.

These gadgets are considered some of the best gadgets for any tech savvy person to have this year and it would be great if you can buy one of these for your special person – I mean YOU .

Do you have any other gadgets in mind that you think we can add to the list? Please share them with us in the comment section below and I will try as much as possible to respond to them one after the other.

Images courtesy of http://www.gsmarena.com

Olawale Daniel has advised several start-ups for years, including Techndustries LCC, a mother company for Techatlast.com. He’s currently working as the Head of SEO Promotion Team for Techatlast, a technology blog that centres on Blogging, SEO, Computers, Gadgets, Android apps, and iPhone Developer and others. You can follow him on Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter via @coolcash4live