Blackberry Mobile Applications

The Blackberry handset range is gaining popularity amongst a wider, non-professional user base more to the fact that people want easy access to email on the move, than it is to the styling of the devices. Large, wide, and chunky handsets, cumbersome and sometimes awkward to use (just try sending a file via Bluetooth!), but now with a more sleek design and interface the Blackberry is gaining a name for dependability and reliability.

Following on from our previous articles on popular software for smartphones, for the iPhone and S60, here we pick 5 applications which offer excellent value, and will enhance the functionality of your Blackberry device.

Bloomberg Mobile, despite the rising popularity amongst the general mobile phone consumer user, the Blackberry device is still largely a business handset. And when you are in business, being up to date with the latest happenings in the business world can be the difference between success and failure. With that in mind, our first recommended application for a Blackberry device is Bloomberg Mobile. Once successfully loaded into the handset, Bloomberg Mobile offers access to a wide range of Bloomberg services. In an instant you can keep up to date with the latest news headlines, take a snapshot view of the current market conditions, and view through your own share portfolio. With the world economy going through many changes, access to information during the unpredictable climate is almost essential for anyone in business. The Bloomberg Mobile app sits well within the Blackberry device, and is an excellent resource for business users.

HRS Hotel Organiser, this is an excellent little application that will prove invaluable to the business user who is regularly on the move. The free application allows you to access a huge database of over 230,000 hotels worldwide. You can search through availability and check the current prices for each hotel. Also available is information on the location, and the facilities offered by the hotel. Then, highlight the contact information and get in touch with your chosen hotel, either via email or phone. It is applications such as this that really do take the stress out of travelling.

Ticketmaster, it’s not all work, work, work. At least, it shouldn’t be. If you find you run your life around your job, then you really need to take some time out. Even the top executives who are constantly on the ‘Berry running the company need time for some fun and relaxation. Book a show, go to the theatre, catch up with your favourite band, go to the opera, and see the ballet. Whatever your taste is in entertainment, you can be sure that Ticketmaster have tickets for the event. If you load the Ticketmaster application to your Blackberry, you will be able to browse through thousands of live entertainment events, and purchase tickets directly from your device.

TwitterBerry, as we noted earlier, the Blackberry device is no longer the sole preserve of the corporate road warrior. More and more the Blackberry is coming to be a favourite with people who see it is an excellent means for keeping in touch via email and messaging on the move, thanks to the convenience of the QWERTY keyboard. Another popular way of keeping in touch is via the new social media sites. Twitter is the latest fad, with many people liking its simple, clean user interface, and the fact ‘tweets’ are restricted to 140 characters. Twitterberry is a well laid out application for accessing Twitter on the move. With a clean, tidy user interface, Twitterberry allows you to Tweet on the move simply and easily. You can update your own status, view friend’s timelines, update timelines and direct message your Twitter buddies. Twitterberry is probably the default Twitter app for all ’Berry users.

GIST (Global Internet Speed Test) is one of those apps that will appeal to the geeks of this world. Using GIST, you can perform a network speed test directly from your handset. Three grades of speed are available, Web, Music and Video. Web means you will get a solid performance for web browsing, whilst music is good for downloading tunes and other applications. The top speed, video, means anything you want to do, from downloading applications to streaming video is go, and performance is excellent. As well as checking for network performance, you can also check the speed of the local WiFi Hotspot, too.

And that is five of our favourite Blackberry applications. Let us know what your favourite applications are, in the comments below.