AV Shadow- Using a Blackberry as a Remote Control
Our Blackberry devices can be used for many things. For me, it serves as my email client, a GPS and mapping tool, a phone, a game console, a camera, and a video camera to name a few. As technology and innovation improve, more functions are being developed for turning these phones into all in one machines! One of the latest ideas I read about that has been in the works for a while now is turning the Blackberry into a universal remote control that can work on TV’s and other audio equipment.
Can you already picture yourself channel surfing on your couch using your Blackberry curve? Here are some details on the AV Shadow unit from Unify4Life. According to their website, the AV Shadow has three main functions:
1 – The AV|Shadow software application that installs on your BlackBerry smartphone and allows you to control up to 16 infrared devices and use the important buttons that you would normally use on your devices’ original remotes.
2 – The AV|Shadow unit that is placed with your devices and allows your smartphone to ‘talk’ with them
3 – The UnifyGuide™ that allows you to search TV listings, get information about your favorite shows, add reminders and immediately jump to the shows you want to watch.
Which Blackberry models are compatible right now?
- BlackBerry Pearl | 8100 / 8110 / 8120 / 8130 / 8220 Flip
- BlackBerry Curve | 8300 / 8310 / 8320 / 8330 / 8900
- BlackBerry 8800 Series | 8800 / 8820 / 8830 World Edition
- BlackBerry Bold 9000
- Blackberry Storm
What equipment can the AV Shadow control?
- TV
- Set top Box
- Satellite Box
- DVD
- PVR
- VCR
- TiVo
- Apple TV
- Home Theater
So, how much does something like this cost?
$99.99
This unit is available online and should be available in more stores in 2010.
Sounds cool to me, the only concern I would have is how much battery power this would take. Better get that backup extended battery, especially if you channel surf as much as some of my friends!
What do you think about this product? Would you use it or buy it?
Blackberry Gift, Wireless Gifts, Cell Phone Gifts
A Blackberry gift or other wireless gifts and cell phone gifts = personalized gifts that can be purchased for family, friends, and co-workers. If you haven’t looked at a calendar recently let me serve this friendly reminder that the holidays are not months away but just weeks away! Phone gifts can be great stocking stuffers for Christmas, and fantastic for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, birthdays, graduations, and more.
If you are like me, the dreaded gift idea question will enter your thoughts soon if it hasn’t already: “What should I get him/her this year?” Finding a unique and thoughtful gift is always the goal but often we settle on the typical gift card, small gadget from Brookstone or Sharper Image, or another item that we have likely already given to someone over the years. If you would like to provide something different this year that you know will be used and appreciated, consider a Blackberry gift this year!
Here are 5 gifts and unique gift ideas for your friends and family that use Blackberry devices. This can also be applied to find wireless gifts and cell phone gifts for those who use other brands of handsets.
5 Personalized Blackberry Gift Ideas
- A new phone- Who wouldn’t love to unwrap a brand new Storm 2 or Blackberry Tour 9550? The gift of a new cell phone to a loved one can provide a huge smile and a practical and useful gift that can last the year. If you plan on buying a cell phone gift for someone, keep a few things in mind to avoid potential issues. Be sure to purchase a phone that will work with the service provider that they use. For example, do not buy a Verizon Blackberry or other cell phone for someone who uses T-Mobile service. These companies use different technologies so the phone would not work in this case. Also, if you aren’t sure what model he/she is most interested in, ask their friends or family for advice.
- Blackberry accessories- Blackberry accessories are always a welcomed gift. They can help personalize a device and even provide safety and security. For example, purchasing even a cheap bluetooth accessory can help someone pay attention to the road while they are driving. This can even prevent a fine or ticket in some states where hands free driving is the law. Other popular blackberry accessories for gifts are cases, batteries, and car or travel chargers. Take a look at a past post of mine that lists my 5 favorite must have Blackberry accessories, Top Blackberry Accessories. Find out the model of phone your recipient uses, purchase one or two accessories, and throw them in a stocking or wrap them up and cross them off of the list!
- Blackberry themes- Want an inexpensive blackberry gift that doesn’t even require wrapping? Offering someone the gift of purchasing them a few Blackberry themes is unique and easy. How do you go about doing this? Last year, I gave a co-worker a Christmas card with hand-made gift card. On that card I wrote: “Gift Certificate good for 5 themes from Bplay.com.” I then purchased the themes for him from his phone when he knew what he wanted. Another easy way to do this is to include a gift card or cash.
- Blackberry games- Everyone loves a good game right at their fingertips. Unfortunately, many people don’t download them because they cost money (at least most of the good ones do). Follow the ideas above for Blackberry themes and you can get a game lover a few downloads for his/her cell phone for under $10 or $20. This can keep them occupied at the airport, on the bus, at the beach, at school, and even at home.
- Blackberry ringtones- Blackberry ringtones, or any ringtones for that matter, are always popular especially among teens and younger cell phone users. Purchasing a gift card or actually purchasing ringtones from the recipients phone is again a simple Blackberry gift. And remember, the next time his/her phone rings and that customized ringtone starts blaring, you’ll know that you were responsible it!
These are just a few ideas for Blackberry gifts, wireless gifts, and other cell phone related gifts. As we all know, almost everyone has one so finding a gift for them can be done quickly and efficiently!
To purchase a Bplay gift certificate, click here or click on the picture above.
Another place that I find the best prices and the biggest selections is on Amazon.com. Click on the banner below to start browsing gift ideas and to cross off another one from your list!
How to Get Quick Cash For Old Cell Phones
For whatever reason, many of us love holding on to old items that we no longer use. This is also the case for cell phones, as many of them either don’t work or possibly look like a big Zack Morris dinosaur phone. Instead of trying to sell these old cell phones online through eBay or Craigslist, there is an alternate way to get quick cash by recycling it. While working in the wireless industry, I became aware of a service called Flipswap. There motto is “More Cash and Less Trash.” In short, they accept cell phones and either recycle them or their parts, keeping them out of land fills. Here is how you can empty that junk drawer of old phones, help the environment, and get paid a bit for it using their services.
Here are the instructions for sending in your old phone(s) for cash:
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Step 1
Log in to Flipswap.com and enter your phone model into the search bar. Be as specific as possible with this so it can locate the correct handset. For example, if you have an old Blackberry, specify the model by entering Blackberry Curve or Blackberry Curve 8900.
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Step 2
Fill out your email and information in the form provide and select “Confirm Trade” at the bottom. Make sure you read and agree to the terms and conditions first.
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Step 3
Answer the questions specific to the condition of the phone. Make sure you are honest and accurate with the condition to get an accurate value of your trade in. Follow any remaining directions that are required before getting your shipping label.
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Step 4
Print out your free shipping label that Flipswap provides and package your phone in a bubble wrap envelope or small box. Finally, wait a few weeks and you will receive your money for the device.
Other notes:
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As long as there is just normal wear and tear on your phone, you can get a pretty good dollar amount for each phone.
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Dig around your house or apartment, you can send in as many old phones as you would like.
Verizon Early Termination Fees Doubling!?
Ever felt that you were held prisoner by your cell phone carrier and their cancellation fees? As of November 15, 2009, customers that sign a contract with Verizon wireless need to ask questions and read the fine print. It was released that Verizon will be charging twice the amount for their early termination fee (or ETF). As of now, the ETF is $175 for Verizon and it looks like this will soon jump to $350!? Wow. Wasn’t it not too long ago that rumors were being spread that some of the wireless dealers were going to lower or eliminate these fees? Talk about being locked down!
Here is a quick breakdown of the early termination fees (ETF’s) by national U.S. carrier:
Verizon $175
* Fee decreases by $5 for each month of service
AT&T $175
* Fee decreases by $5 for each month of service
T-Mobile $200
* Drops to $100 with between 3-6 months remaining and $50 with 3 or less months of service left in the contract
Sprint $200
* Fee decreases by $10 for each month of service after the first 4 months, down to a minimum ETF of $50
It has also been rumored that this higher ETF will apply to only certain phones but this is still unclear. Also, Verizon and other major carriers prorate your ETF depending on how long you have been with them as mentioned above. For example, if you signed a two year contract and only have 5 months remaining, your ETF will be reduced.
Lastly, other sources have stated that this increased ETF fee may not just happen with Verizon wireless, but others as well. If this happens, I wonder how many wireless customers will choose a prepaid or no contract service instead. As Bob Marley said, time will tell.
What are your thoughts on this? Should these carriers be able to lock a customer in and charge this much?
Top 10 App World Free Apps October
Blackberry App World lists both their top free apps and top paid apps based on downloads. Each month the Top 10 Free Apps according to them will be listed here. Here are the results for the end of October:
Top 10 Blackberry App World Free Apps
- Drive Safely- Reads your text messages and emails out loud for safer driving
- Ka-Glom- Free game for a limited time.
- Blackberry Messenger- Aka “BBM”
- Blackberry App World- Store front for Blackberry apps
- Pandora- Internet radio
- ScoreMobile- Sports
- GT Connect Four- Classic strategy game with the ability to play against real people
- Facebook- Social networking app
- The Weather Channel- Weather
- Personal Assistant- Manage banking, credit cards, cell phone minutes, and more
To learn more about any free app and to read reviews, go to your Blackberry App World and search for the app.
TuneWiki Song Lyrics for Blackberry Phones
Have you ever wished that you can see song lyrics on your Blackberry cell phone as the song plays? Wish you could translate lyrics to a song?
There are some free applications, or apps, that can provide these and other services to certain phones including Blackberry, iPhone, G1, and others. The app copies the music from your phone and shows lyrics to the songs as they play! One such service that I have tested is TuneWiki. So, what is TuneWiki? TuneWiki is a next generation social mobile media player that:
- Displays lyrics as subtitles (karaoke style)
- Translates lyrics to up to 40 languages (although I don’t need this I can see huge potential for it’s use)
- Maps music being played according to location
- Lists Top 50 songs by country
- Displays album art
Here are the steps to getting and using TuneWiki on your Blackberry device.
Things You’ll Need:
- Compatible cell phone
- TuneWiki music app
- Music already on your phone (device memory, micro SD card)
Steps to use TuneWiki:
- Check the TuneWiki website to ensure your phone is compatible with the service. At the time of this article most Blackberry devices were compatible. If you use a different type of phone or one that isn’t available, they will likely add new phones and models at a later date.
- Store music to your phone. This can be done by transferring the music files to your device and by using a micro SD card that is made for your phone model. It can also be done using the desktop manager and transferring your files to the phone.
- Download TuneWiki Free to your Blackberry, iPhone, G1 or other compatible cell phone. For Blackberry users, this can be easily located and downloaded in the Blackberry App World. There is also a TuneWiki Pro app that is $4.99, this comes without the advertisements.
- Run your newly installed TuneWiki. It will then ask to browse your music on your phone and SD card if you have one. This process then creates a library of your music.
- Use the categories to select and play a song or to shuffle your music. Once the song begins to play you will see the album work in the background and the lyrics in a bubble.
Just keep in mind, the availability of the lyrics really depends on what song, artist, or group you are listening to. If they aren’t available, you will see “No lyrics available” while the song is playing. I mostly listen to music that isn’t played too often on the radio and saw “No lyrics available” a number of times which to me was understandable. I’m sure the number of songs with available lyrics will continuously grow.
Tips & Warnings
- There are a few minor bugs that TuneWiki will constantly work on improving. For the most part, it runs well and offers lyrics to many popular songs.
- You can skip songs and even go back to previous songs.
Have you used this app? Feel free to share your experiences and reviews in the comments below.
Micro SD Cards for Blackberry
What size micro SD card can I use with my Blackberry? What is a micro SD card? Here are some common answers and information to help clarify these cards and their expandable memory functions.
A microSD media card is a removable flash memory data storage device. When inserted into a BlackBerry smartphone, it can extend the memory available for storing media files such as videos, ring tones, pictures, or songs. Some models have a memory card in the box while others require you to buy them separately. Luckily the prices have dropped considerably over the past year or two and you can pick one relatively cheap.
So, which micro SD card can I use with my Blackberry? The following table lists BlackBerry Device Software versions and the supported media card size. As you can see, it depends on which device software you are using. Make sure you always check to see if you are using the latest version available for your model.
BlackBerry Device Software Media Card Size Limit
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.0- Up to 2 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.1- Up to 4 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.2- Up to 4 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.2.196- Up to 8 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.3.0- Up to 8 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.5.0- Up to 8 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.5.0.81 and later- Up to 16 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.6.0 and later- Up to 32 GB
How many songs will a 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB micro SD card hold? How many photos and video can it hold? It really depends on the length and file sizes but here is a rough guide taken from Amazon’s product descriptions:
512 MB — Music: about 60 songs
Photos : over 300 shots
Videos and movies — up to 1 hour
1 GB — Music: about 125 songs
Photos : over 600 shots
Videos and movies — up to 2 hours
2 GB — Music: about 250 songs
Photos : over 1,200 shots
Videos and movies — up to 3.5 hours
4 GB — Music: about 500 songs
Photos : over 1,200 shots
Videos and movies — up to 9.5 hours
8 GB — Music: about 1000 songs
Photos : over 1,200 shots
Videos and movies — up to 21 hours
16 GB — Music: about 2000 songs
Photos : over 3,000 shots
Videos and movies — up to 40 hours
32 GB — Music: about 4000 songs
Photos : over 5,000 shots
Videos and movies — up to 80 hours
So, how much do Micro SD cards for Blackberry phones cost? Luckily as technology improves the prices continually drop and they have become much more affordable. Here are the latest prices from Amazon, where I found the best prices along with great return/exchange policies. Use the arrows to scroll to different sizes and click the image to verify the price, to purchase, or to learn more about the card. And although there are different companies that produce these cards, I have personally always used SanDisk but feel free to shop around.
Top 10 App World Free Apps September
Blackberry App World lists both their top free apps and top paid apps based on downloads. Each month the Top 10 Free Apps according to them will be listed here. Here are the results for the end of September:
Top 10 Blackberry App World Free Apps
- Blackberry App World- Blackberry app storefront.
- Snaptu- Suite of social networking and lifestyle services including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, news, weather, and more.
- BigTinCan BuzzMe- Custom LED and ring settings.
- WeatherEye- Weather
- Pandora- Internet radio
- Interlecta Translator- Translate language text that you enter on the screen and incoming text/email. Free for a limited time.
- Color ID- Assign LED colors for SMS, emails, calls, etc.
- ScoreMobile- Sports
- Ka-Glom- Game, free for a limited time.
- QuickPull Lite- Free your Blackberry memory by simulating a “battery pull” soft reset.
To learn more about any free app and to read reviews, go to your Blackberry App World and search for the app.
Top 10 App World Free Apps August
Blackberry App World lists both their top free apps and top paid apps based on downloads. Each month the Top 10 Free Apps according to them will be listed here. Here are the results for August:
Top 10 Blackberry App World Free Apps
- ScoreMobile- Sports
- Bloomberg Mobile- Financial News
- Pandora- Music
- Color ID- Assign LED colors for SMS, emails, calls, etc.
- WeatherEye- Weather
- iheartradio- Music
- U2 Mobile Album- Music
- BigTinCan BuzzMe- Custom LED and ring settings
- Personal Assistant- Organizer tool
- Poynt - Find people, businesses, and more
To learn more about any free app and to read reviews, go to your Blackberry App World and search for the app.
How To Get Free Music Apps on a Cell Phone
How To Get Free Music Apps on a Cell Phone
How do I get free music on my cell phone? Have you ever wondered if this was possible? Have you ever wanted to have music on your phone so you didn’t need to carry an Ipod? Follow the below steps and you will quickly have free streaming internet radio that you can customize on your wireless phone (Blackberry, iPhone, other data phones)!
Things You’ll Need:
- Cell phone with data connection and/or data plan
- Choose a free internet radio provider that works with your cell phone. Examples include Pandora, Slacker, and Iheartradio. For the sake of the article, I will use Pandora Radio.
- From your cell phone’s web browser, type in the following address: www.pandora.com.
- On the main screen, you will see the “Download Pandora Now” button. Click on this and confirm the download to your handset.
- Reboot your handset if requested. Go to your main menu and search for the recently downloaded Pandora Radio Icon.
- Complete the free registration and begin exploring the different channels/stations and options!
Reminders:
- Not every phone is capable of downloading and/or streaming internet radio.
- If you have any issues with one particular provider, try another one. Some work better with different wireless carriers and/or phones.
- Data usage costs money! Be sure to understand your plan in detail.
- Some of these internet radio programs allow you to create and customize your own stations, read their instructions for details.
