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Where you can buy digital music on your BlackBerry

Joe — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:05:57 +0000

By now, most of us are familiar with the various places to buy digital music online. Apple’s iTunes remains the most popular, though they’ve certainly seen competition lately. Amazon has set up a viable competitor, and Microsoft has a music store for its Zune MP3 player. But what about your BlackBerry? Sure, you could just purchase DRM-free tracks from any online music store and load them onto your BlackBerry. That’s easy. But what about when you’re on the go? We’re out to compile the major BlackBerry on-device music stores.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many BlackBerry music store applications yet, though as the platform continues to grow we might see some crop up in 2010. For now, though:

Thumbplay

The folks at Thumbplay were excited over the summer when they released the first digital music store in BlackBerry App World. Competition quickly followed, but Thumbplay came back with a punch, introducing an unlimited music service. Users can choose to pay for tracks or albums individually — with tracks starting at 69 cents — or they can sign up for unlimited downloads for $9.99 per month.

The choice is what makes Thumbplay a strong music store. It doesn’t have the most tracks, even among BlackBerry music stores. But they’re always adding new songs. People who enjoy owning their music can buy tracks and albums as they please, while those who want a wider selection but don’t care about ownership can take advantage of the subscription plan. Either way, Thumbplay can satisfy a large range of music lovers.

You can check out the music store at http://musicstore.thumbplay.com/. They list the Bold, Curve 8900, Curve 8300 series, Storm, Pearl, and Tour as compatible devices.

7digital

While Thumbplay got to the show first, 7digital leads the way in BlackBerry music selection. They boast over 7 million tracks, just 3 million fewer than the enormous iTunes library. If you have the 7digital application, you’re essentially carrying around all of these tracks, as they’re ready to download right from your device.

The 7digital Music Store has a number of advantages that go beyond Thumbplay. First, if you’re downloading from a 3G connection, you’ll get a lower quality version of the song. But, when and if you switch to a WiFi hotspot, 7digital will replace that with a higher quality version, 320Kbps. So you can get your tracks instantaneously off 3G, and eventually get them in high quality via WiFi.

The application also allows you to import your existing music. This might not be a big deal, but the native player with 7digitial seems a bit better than the native BlackBerry media app. The ability to import all of your tracks means you can take advantage of all the app’s features without missing any of your favorite music. You can also access your music from your desktop.

You can check out 7digital at App World.

Napster

People of a certain age remember Napster and its total challenge of the music establishment. It has since been through lawsuits and has turned into an actual business, rather than a place where people can freely download music. They’ve taken the jump to mobile, and you can get it for most BlackBerry models on U.S. carriers.

Napster offers a huge selection of 9 million tracks. They do have an unlimited music service, but it appears this is not available on their Music Everywhere application. Users can search Napster’s catalog, listen to clips, and download songs right to their BlackBerry devices. You can also download a backup copy to your PC or Mac once you’re back in front of the computer.

Again, this works with most newer BlackBerry models from the major U.S. carriers. Check here to see if your specific model is compatible. To get started, head to m.napster.com from your BlackBerry browser.

Rhapsody

No, there isn’t yet a Rhapsody application for all BlackBerry devices. It will be a nice day when it does come, though, since it boasts an enormous selection and flexible pricing. Like Thumbplay, you can buy tracks and albums a la carte, or you can sign up for their unlimited music service. That’s a bit more expensive than Thumbplay, but it also includes playback on home audio, MP3 players, and mobile apps.

Right now, you can access Rhapsody on Verizon, using the Curve 8530, Storm, Storm 2, and Tour 9630. The rest will have to wait. Rhapsody does say that they’ll have a BlackBerry application this year, so there is hope.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Where you can buy digital music on your BlackBerry

Verizon offering slotRadio+ microSD card with 1,000 songs

Joe — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:30:04 +0000

In News From The Wire on Thursday, I made quick mention of the slotRadio+ microSD card, which comes with 1,000 songs and an additional 4GB of storage for $50. I mentioned it to a few friends and acquaintances this weekend, and a few wanted to hear a bit more, so I thought I would expand on it today. On Thursday I mentioned that for $50, each song works out to 5 cents, with the card coming free. But, looking further into the card, it’s not quite that easy. It’s still a good deal, I think, but you’re limited in what you can do with those songs.

The slotRadio+ card comes from SanDisk, and it comes in two varieties, Decades and Hits. Each contains 1,000 songs broken down into eight playlists. The catch, and why the songs cost so little, is that you must play the tracks in playlist order. You can skip songs whenever, and you can change playlists at will, but you can’t put them on shuffle or rearrange them.

The songs reside in a read-only section of the memory card, so no matter what you do with the other 4GB you’ll always have the original 1,000 songs. To play the songs you have to download the slotRadio player, which connects to Verizon’s V CAST Music. Here they’ll try to sell you the ringtones and ringback tones for the songs on the memory card — they even try to sell you the songs themselves, so you can own them.

Clearly this isn’t for everyone, but I can see why some BlackBerry users would enjoy something like this. You can get the slotRadio+ for the Storm, Storm 2, Curves 8530 and 8330, Tour, Pearl 8130, Pearl 8230, and Tour. The HITS and DECADES cards are available at Verizon’s website.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon offering slotRadio+ microSD card with 1,000 songs

Finding videos to play on your BlackBerry

Joe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:00:20 +0000

Your BlackBerry possesses great multimedia capabilities, but where can you get the media to play on it? With music it’s easy enough. Just load up your favorite .mp3 or .aac files and, as long as they’re not DRM-protected, you’ll have instant playback. But what about video? Sure, you can just convert normal video files for BlackBerry compatibility, but some people understandably don’t want to go through that process. Isn’t there some place you can go to find ready-made videos for your BlackBerry? We’ve gotten this question frequently, and I recently scoured the web to find a few quality sites. If you have any better ones, please, add them in the comments. It seems that the available sites are few and far between.

User-created content

Chances are, if you’re looking for BlackBerry-ready videos, you want the real thing. That means popular TV shows and movies. Unfortunately, sites that contain these files aren’t so common, and the ones that are come with certain caveats. Even so, there are user-created video sites which you might find just as amusing. None have quite the library depth of YouTube, but they’re BlackBerry-ready nonetheless.

Qik

I wrote about Qik back in the day, but that was well over a year ago. The service has since improved, and we’re seeing more and more videos added every day. Every minute, even. Many of them — most of them, really — won’t be of interest to you, but if you’re looking to pass the time you can do a lot worse.

To watch all sorts of user-generated content, head to Qik.com and sign up. From there you can search out what you’re looking for. And, if you’re so inclined, add your own brand of content.

Vuclip

I found Vuclip early in my searches, but further along it seemed that many other sites simply redirect to this one. I guess that’s with good reason. They search popular video sites like YouTube and Break.com for videos related to your search. Then it can play back that video in proper BlackBerry format.

I had trouble playing the videos in the BlackBerry web browser. When I a dialog box appeared telling me that I needed to enable JavaScript for this to work, I did. Still nothing. The only way I got the videos to work was to use the send to phone feature, which sits right under where the video is supposed to play. You can also use the send to phone feature from the standard website, vuclip.com.

Free, but with many limitations

You can find some more mainstream content on the web for free as well. Unfortunately, the best outlet for this type of content, Videos4BlackBerry, shut down a while ago. It’s not quite dead, but I wouldn’t expect to see it coming back any time soon.

Seabyrd

We discussed Seabyrd in our video conversions post, as they created the BlackBerry video converter. They’ve taken it a step further, too, offering a number of pre-converted videos for download. These are all licensed through Creative Commons, so you can expect a lot of public domain stuff and not much more. Still, it has the timelessly classic Reefer Madness, the terrifying Nosferatu, and some films from uber-American John Wayne. Add that to some Popeye and some Superman, and it’s a lineup that you might not love, but which will keep you entertained.

Check out their selection at http://www.seabyrdtech.com/bbsamples.

eVeek forums

Every one in a while, you’ll see a TV episode or even movie posted in the eVeek video forums. It’s not dedicated to BlackBerry video files, but rather a discussion of BlackBerry videos that happens to include some files. Two years ago eVeek announced a streaming video service, but that appears no longer operational. But check out the forums. Maybe you’ll find something worth watching there.

Premium videos

Oi. Yes, the best way to get real videos on your BlackBerry is to ante up some cash. Here are a couple of options.

PrimeTime2Go

This service, released last year, only runs on AT&T and T-Mobile, and from there further restricts device usage. As it says on the requirements page, you need a Bold 9700 on T-Mobile, or a Bold 9000 or a Curve 8900 on AT&T. It doesn’t say anything about AT&T Bold 9700 customers nor T-Mobile 8900 users. I’d probably contact them to see if it’s possible. You’ll also need a Wi-Fi connection, as these shows download to your BlackBerry and not the desktop.

Once you’re set up and paying $9.99 per month for service, ti seems wonderful. They have a good selection of shows which you can download and then watch any time. The price might seem steep, but it’s far less than a cable bill, so this might work well for those who eschew at-home TV.

T-Mobile and AT&T subscribers can subscribe here. I’d definitely shoot them a line to make sure you can run the application.

PDAFlix

I debated whether to include this, because I couldn’t find much information on it. I even searched for PDAFlix scam, and nothing really came up other than one endorsement. That could be from anyone, however, so I suggest you proceed with caution if you want to try this service. In fact, the main reason I put it up here was to see if any of you have used or heard of anyone using the service. If legitimate, I’d expand on this.

You can check it out for yourself at http://pdaflix.com/. It runs the same cost, $9.99 per month, as PrimeTime2Go.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Finding videos to play on your BlackBerry

How large a memory card can your BlackBerry support?

Joe — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:00:59 +0000

The more you use your BlackBerry, the more storage space you’ll need. While most basic information can reside in the on-board memory, more advanced features require a memory card. Not only does a memory card allow you more space to store your pictures, video, music, backups, and documents, but it also allows you to move them from device to device, whether that be to a new BlackBerry device or to your computer. It also makes managing your data easier, since you can open up an Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window and access the card’s files. How much data can your memory card store? That depends on the card size, which is limited by OS. In this post, we’ll run down the latest official OS for each BlackBerry device and thereby determine the highest capacity memory card.

Finding the latest OS for your device

Because memory card capacity is determined by the device operating system, we advise you upgrade to at least OS 4.5. If this operating system is available from your carrier, you can usually upgrade by plugging your device into Desktop Manager.

Sometimes, however, the operating system is not available from your specific provider. Other carriers might offer it, however, so we’ll post links to whatever is available. There are certain risks in installing a non-carrier-sanctioned OS, but we’re not linking to leaks here. These are official OS builds, but they just might be from a different carrier than yours.

You can find OS builds from various carriers on the following list. You can choose the latest upgrade as we list the carriers under each model, or you can just choose the latest build from your carrier, which is listed on their device pages.

Sprint
AT&T
T-Mobile
Verizon
Nextel
Rogers
Bell
Telus

BlackBerry 88xx series

I know plenty of people who swear by their 8820 or 8830, declining to upgrade devices. I also know plenty of corporate users whose companies won’t provide an upgrade. The 88xx series is still fairly common, especially the 8820 and 8830 models. OS 4.5 is available on both.

OS 4.5.0.257 for the 8820 from AT&T
OS 4.5.0.295 for the 8830 from Sprint

With OS 4.5 successfully installed on your BlackBerry, you can use memory cards of up to 16GB. Check out our 16GB microSDHC card selection. Buying a reader along with the card allows you to read the card data on your computer, though you can access the data right from Finder or Explorer, so it should be overly necessary.

BlackBerry Curve

Even though the Curve has seen two upgrades — the 8900 and the 85xx models — the original is still popular as ever. It was, in fact, the top selling smartphone of the third quarter. The good news is that at least OS 4.5 is available for these models, so you can use the 16GB memory card. Some Curve models go even higher, allowing for a 32GB capacity.

16GB capacity
OS 4.5.0.306 for the 8310 from AT&T
OS 4.5.0.306 for the 8320 from AT&T
OS 4.5.0.295 for the 8330 and 8330m from Sprint

Of these models, it appears that the 8330 will eventually get an OS 5.0 upgrade.

32GB capacity
OS 4.6.1.465 for the 8520 from AT&T
OS 5.0.0.62 for the 8530 from Sprint
OS 4.6.1.462 for the 8900 from AT&T
OS 4.6.1.459 for the 8350i from Nextel

At this time, 32GB microSDHC aren’t widely available. We have none in the store, and the few we found online look quite expensive. You can check out this Kingston SDHC card, with 32GB capacity, for $74.95.

Bold and Tour

The Bold 9700 and the Tour are very similar devices that will become even more similar when RIM releases the Tour2 in early 2010. Since the Tour and Bold families are relatively small at this point, we’ll combine them and go from there. Yet even though they share many similar qualities, the original Bold, Tour, and Bold 9700 all support different OS builds — not just in the last build number, but in the platform. The Bold was the first BlackBerry to run OS 4.6, and still hasn’t moved to 4.7. The Tour was released with 4.7 but hasn’t yet hit 5.0. The Bold 9700 launched with 5.0.

OS 5.0.0.645 for the 9700 from AT&T
OS 4.7.1.77 for the Tour from Sprint
OS 4.6.0.519 for the Bold from AT&T

These all allow for 32GB microSDHC cards — with the HC standing for High Capacity. Though I do wonder if OS 5.0 will handle 64GB cards. Those will be microSDXC. Word is that they’ll be available this Spring.

Pearl series

Finally, we’ll list off the latest OS builds for the BlackBerry Pearl series. They all run a form of OS 4.5, and since the builds are all higher than 4.5.0.81, they can carry 16GB memory cards. The Pearl 2 should hit shelves at some point in early 2010, and it will certainly run OS 5.0, meaning a 32GB capacity. But, until then, here are the latest builds for the current Pearl line.

OS 4.5.0.306 for the 8110 from AT&T
OS 4.5.0.152 for the 8120 from AT&T
OS 4.5.0.295 for the 8130 from Sprint

It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see the Pearl series go past OS 4.5, so they’re likely maxed out right now at a 16GB capacity. That’s plenty of storage, though. Check the links above (and below) for deals on 16GB microSD cards.

Storm and Storm 2

The BlackBerrys Storm and Storm 2 both run OS 5.0, and therefore can both hold 32GB microSDHC cards.

Note on memory card pricing

Sometimes, our store doesn’t have the best deals on memory cards. While we like it when people purchase software and accessories from there, we ultimately encourage you to make the best deal for you. To that end, here’s an Amazon search for 16GB memory cards. That should yield some decent deals. If you want less capacity and a better deal, check out the 8GB microSD cards on Amazon and compare them to the 8GB SD card selection from our store.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How large a memory card can your BlackBerry support?

Could BlackBerry be getting more satellite radio?

Joe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Why is there no Sirius XM application for BlackBerry? They have it on other platforms, and since BlackBerry represents the largest smartphone market in the US, it would make sense for them to cater to that crowd. It’s been over a year and a half since QuickPlay began offering a limited XM, featuring only 20 channels for $7.99 per month. So what gives? I’m not sure what’s going on, but there is reason to be optimistic. Brandon Matthews of Satwaves found a press release that suggests that Sirius XM could come along with the BlackBerry 9700.

The press release is for the 9700’s release on Bell in Canada. Per the release, “the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone will also deliver great Bell Mobility mobile data services including GPS location, Live TV, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and Unlimited NHL.” The fear, of course, is that this is limited just to Bell and won’t be offered on the 9700 on AT&T and T-Mobile. It could be something like Verizon’s V-Cast, which offers multimedia options that you can’t get on other carriers.

That, of course, would be a major bummer. I think that a Sirius XM application for BlackBerry would go over well with the user base, and could certainly attract even more customers. New subscribers wouldn’t even need a radio unit for their car if they have an auxiliary jack — the BlackBerry could act as the receiver. Plus, it would mean Howard Stern all the time.

The lack of a Siriux XM application is one of the more disappointing aspects of BlackBerry streaming audio. Other streaming audio applications, like Pandora for BlackBerry and Slacker Radio, offer excellent alternatives, but there are still things you can’t get on those that you can on Sirius XM. We can only hope that this service comes to all devices soon, and not just for 9700 customers on Bell.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Could BlackBerry be getting more satellite radio?

OS 5.0 on the BlackBerry Storm

Joe — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:02:39 +0000

As we mentioned earlier this morning, RIM is starting to roll out BlackBerry OS 5.0. If you have a BlackBerry Storm on Verizon, you can plug your device into Desktop Manager, on either the PC or the Mac, and it will prompt you to upgrade. Via Mobile Crunch, here’s a video of what you can expect from the upgrade.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

OS 5.0 on the BlackBerry Storm

RealPlayer SP converts video for your BlackBerry

Joe — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:30:48 +0000

We get a lot of questions here at BBGeeks, and many of them relate to the multimedia functions of the BlackBerry. I’m not sure if it’s the most frequently asked, but it’s certainly among them: how do you convert video for your BlackBerry? We’ve recommended conversion applications before, but this one is easier than all of them. RealPlayer SP converts many file types to your BlackBerry, so you can take any video on your computer, convert it, and load it right onto your BlackBerry. It should make life easy for everyone.

Not only can you convert videos from your computer for your BlackBery, but you can also download Web videos, and then convert them. This includes Flash sites like YouTube. While you can view YouTube videos on your BlackBerry, you have more control over your media by downloading the videos and loading them onto your BlackBerry media card.

If you want to shell out $39.99, you can add advanced features like H.264 conversion and 120-minute DVD burning. Those sound nice, but I’m perfectly content with the free version. You can download RealPlayer SP at Real.com.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

RealPlayer SP converts video for your BlackBerry

Verizon, RIM, Pearl Jam hook up for free music downloads

Joe — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:30:24 +0000

One reason U2’s mobile album didn’t fare well is that it wasn’t really an album. Fans got short clips from the band’s latest album, but not full songs. The mobile album did feature a number of extras, including interviews and graphics, but without the music it was an incomplete product. That doesn’t mean that the mobile music experiment is dead — not by a long shot. RIM has teamed up with Verizon and Pearl Jam to offer fans something they really want: free live tracks. Pearl Jam has always encouraged bootlegging shows, and they released a series of live albums a few years ago. This takes bootlegging to a new, and legal, extreme.

The offer is only available to those with a Verizon BlackBerry Tour, so it is disappointingly limiting. But those fortunate enough to have the device can download three tracks from each of the band’s remaining tour dates. There are 11 in total, running from October 27 through November 29. So it appears that fans can download up to 33 Pearl Jam songs right to their BlackBerry devices.

To get the application which allows the downloads, text messages “PJ” without quotes to short code 5509. You’ll then receive a link for the download. It will be a short wait until the first eligible show, but it should be worth it for Pearl Jam fans.

Speaking of which, I happen to be a Pearl Jam fan. If anyone who has a Tour doesn’t like the band, can you hook a brother up?

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon, RIM, Pearl Jam hook up for free music downloads

BlackBerry Storm 2 browsing on Wi-Fi not so smooth

Joe — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:00:18 +0000

One exciting inclusion on the BlackBerry Storm 2 — and all future CDMA BlackBerry models — is Wi-Fi. Long shunned by Big Red, Wi-Fi proved an unstoppable force. Today’s featured video shows the Storm 2 using the Wi-Fi browser. It’s not quite as cool as you might expect. Robb from RIMarkable wishes for improvement. James at IntoMobile stops short of disappointment. Bla1ze at CrackBerry notes that “it’s not really a great depiction of how the browser may work over WiFi due to the fact n full sites were visited.” Check it out for yourself after the jump.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Storm 2 browsing on Wi-Fi not so smooth