BlackBerry App World Hits 3 Billion Downloads

By Angela Moscaritolo, PCMag.com

In spite of all its troubles, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has something to celebrate — its app store, the BlackBerry App World, has passed 3 billion downloads.

"BlackBerry smartphone and PlayBook users around the world have downloaded over three billion apps since BlackBerry App World launched!" RIM said in a blog post Friday. "Three billion app downloads averages out to over 2.5 million downloads each day."

It took BlackBerry users just over three years to hit that mark, installing apps for devices such as the BlackBerry Bold 9930, Torch 9860, and the PlayBook tablet. The BlackBerry App World launched in April 2009, and currently has about 90,000 apps available for BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet.

RIM said that the number of daily app downloads continues to increase. BlackBerry users downloaded the first billion apps in just over two years. About seven months later, the App World reached 2 billion downloads. Users downloaded the remaining billion apps in the past six months.

Apple's App Store, in comparison, hit 3 billion downloads in less than 18 months and reached the 25 billion app download mark in March. Google's Android Market reached 3 billion in about 27 months, and Microsoft's Windows Phone marketplace has yet to hit that mark.

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What Really Kills Your BlackBerry Battery? Part II

Full Battery

 

#2 – Searching for the Network

The next thing you really need to watch is when you are out of range of the network.   Here are a few simple examples :

  • You go on an airplane
  • You go into a gym and put your phone in a locker/lock box
  • You're in a building and working under ground level where there is no reception

If you leave your radio on while the phone is out of range it will continuously search for the network and drain the battery almost as bad as surfing.

What you need to do if you think the phone will be out of range for a while (>30 minutes) is turn off the Mobile Network (radio).   I recommend just turning everything off and then when you want to come back online just turn them all back on.

Stay tuned for Part III.

3

How to Assign an Application to the Convenience Button

Most of you know this but for new people to BlackBerry it may help.  

There is an extra button on the side of your BlackBerry that can be assigned to anything you want.  

I have mine hooked up to our Screen Grabber app because I take many screen grabs during the day.  Some people like to assign it the camera, or our free flashlight app.  

Here is a quick video that will show you how to easily assign that button to the function/app of your choice.  

Let me know if you have any problems getting it to work.

13

What Really Kills Your BlackBerry Battery? Part I

Full Battery

Everyone wants to maximize the life of their battery and still use the phone in a normal way.

Most tips talk about changing simple settings like backlight timeout and wifi or bluetooth settings.

I'm here to tell you that those are not the real problem and they are just guesses.

As an engineer I like data to backup what I say. I spent 3 months doing actual tests with a real BlackBerry in all kinds of conditions to see what really hurts the most.

This lead to a better understanding of what can really be done to conserve energy, and I was surprised by what I learned.

This will be the first in a series that explains the big battery killers, what you can do, and some other techniques.

#1 Battery Hog is Surfing the Internet

Sounds obvious but the research shows that surfing will drain your batter around 30% per hour.  

Have you ever sat at an appointment and surfed for an hour?  Noticed how hot the BlackBerry gets?  

At the end of that hour your battery will be down big time.  

Since I know how much this really hurts I need to think about when I'll be able to charge again.

Stay tuned for the Part II where we'll see what the #2 and #3 look like.

36

Free Screen Grabber Update for BlackBerry

We’ve updated Screen Grabber to make it the best screen capture app for the BlackBerry.

  • This version is free and has No Ads, No Watermarks, No Nagging for Upgrades, and No Sounds.Also, you can now Tweet your screenshot (even if you are not online).
  • Screen Grabber is a totally flexible free screen capture app that lets you share your BlackBerry screen shots with anyone. Simple. Easy. Useful. Best part there is no watermark on the screen grab.
  • You can now send your screen shots to your BBM contacts, and Twitter right from the app!
  • If you have the Muncher I hope you will try this app just once.
  • Click on this link from your BlackBerry to install Screen Grabber :

http://bit.ly/free_screengrabber

  • April 10, 2012
  • Apps

Mini Keyboard for the BlackBerry PlayBook

 

I haven’t tried this yet but it looks like a nice addition if you plan on typing documents while on the go.  For emails and instant messaging I don’t think it is necessary because you will want to be holding the unit all the time and tapping on the screen to navigate from message to message.

Does any one have this?  If so do you like it?

 

Powerful Mobile Computing on the Go: Meet the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard for the BlackBerry PlayBook «Inside BlackBerry – The Official BlackBerry Blog.

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TIP: Change Songs Using BlackBerry Volume Keys

This tip is for all Smartphones and the PlayBook.

Move to the next song :  Hold down the Volume Up button.

Repeat current song : Hold Volume Down button for 2 seconds.

Play previous song again :  Hold Volume Down button for 2 seconds, as soon as current song restarts release it and then hold it down again.  Prev song will then start.

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