BlackBerry Storm Paid Applications

In my previous posts, Must Have Free BlackBerry Storm Applications and More BlackBerry Storm Free Applications, I experimented with few of the free applications available for my phone. In this post, I would like to tell you about some paid applications that I Installed and some that I am reviewing.

I always wanted to store and organize all my passwords and sensitive data into one place that was secure and easily accessible. On my Treo I had installed SplashID. I used it to store all my credit card information, user names and passwords for different web site logins, and account numbers and passwords for various membership organizations and financial institutions.  Although SplashID is available for the blackberry, it is not available for the Storm yet.

The alternative for me was Ascendo DataVault.

DataVault  is the most complete Critical Data Manager for the BlackBerry Storm. It has easily surpassed my previous applications I used on my Treo. It protects all private and personal data using a strong encryption algorithm and complex security features. You can organize the data by categories or types for easy access. You can customize the fonts, templates and data fields to your liking. The best part is that you can enter all your data on the PC with the included Desktop software and then transfer it to your device. You can download a trial copy and decide whether you like it or not. For me this  definitely ranks top in my must have blackberry storm paid applications list.

 

My second discovery in the paid blackberry Storm applications category is QuickLaunch by Nikkisoft. It  will create shortcuts to your most used applications on your device, so you can open and switch between them easily. QuickLaunch is designed exclusively for the BlackBerry Storm and it allows you to set shortcuts for a wide range of functions and applications.  You can assign one of the convenience keys to launch the application. When you press the assigned convenience key, a menu will pop up showing all the shortcuts you have created. You will never need to navigate through the folders and menus anymore to lunch a specific application or function; every single application will be available in one scrollable screen. You can create shortcuts for Favorite websites, frequently used Email addresses, music files, various applications and device information. I changed my camera convenience key to activate QuickLaunch, and let me tell you it enhanced the user interface 10 fold. It supercharged my device. In my opinion this should have been part of the BlackBerry’s OS, but I cannot complain because it is only $4.99, and now it is in position number 2 of the must have blackberry storm paid applications list.

Top 5 BlackBerry Storm Phone Tips

Here is another 5 quick tips on using some of the phone features on your BlackBerry Storm smartphone.

1) You can block your phone number from being displayed on other people phone without using the *67.

Phone>Menu>Options>General Options>
Change Restrict My Identity to “Always”
Menu>Save

From now on, your calls will show as “Private”.


2) Are you annoyed of all the missed calls showing up in your Massage Folder? Then Lets get rid of them once and for all.

Phone>Menu>Options>Call Logging
Select None
Menu>Save


3) How about a conference call with your new BlackBerry Storm. To add more people to your call in progress, do the following:

Menu>Add Participant>
You can either enter a phone number or choose a contact from your list
Send.

To add more people just repeat the above steps.


4) What is the Airplane Mode? If you are on a plane, you can turn off anything that transmits a signal. And still be able to use other functions of the phone such as games or music.

From the home screen, choose “Manage Connections”
Then choose “Turn All Connections Off”.
To turn it back on choose “Restore Connections”.


5) The small flashing green LED light on the front BlacBerry Storm, indicates that your are connected to the cellular network. I was getting annoyed with this light, especially at night. Here is how you can turn it off or on.

From your home screen choose “Options”
Then Screen/Keyboard
And choose your desired mode in the “LED Coverage indicator”


Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for the BlackBerry Storm Phone.

The Storm Has Arrived.

It’s finally here. The much anticipated world’s first touch screen BlackBerry Storm is now available through Vodafone in the UK, Ireland and Australia, Verizon Wireless in the United States, Telus and Bell in Canada..



The BlackBerry Storm, or BlackBerry Thunder, is a smartphone developed by Research In Motion (RIM). It is part of the 9500 series of phones. It is RIM's first touchscreen device and first device without a physical keyboard and will feature a touchscreen which reacts physically like a button via SurePress, a Research In Motion patented technology of providing haptic feedback. That is when you strike a key or icon on the Storm's screen, you feel a physical sensation, as if you were pressing a real key or button. That's because you are pressing a real button. The entire glass display is one large button, mounted on a mechanical substructure that allows it to move upon pressure. The idea behind this feature is to make typing on glass feel much more like typing on a real keyboard, and thus to make the virtual keyboard, and the touch interface, more acceptable to people used to physical keyboards and buttons. This push-down screen also replaces the side-mounted scroll wheel or track ball on other BlackBerrys for activating menu choices and icons.

It is intended to be a direct competitor to Apple iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 by HTC, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch HD. The shape and dimensions are very close to that of the iPhone, but thicker by 7 millimeters and heavier, weighing 20 grams (0.71 oz) more.
The Blackberry Storm is a world-phone, featuring CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A data, UMTS with HSDPA, and quad-band GSM with EDGE data access speed.

The BlackBerry Storm offers a surprising amount of innovation and usability for a touchscreen business phone. The clickscreen navigation setup works very well, and deftly solves the problem of dealing with RIM's long menus on a touchscreen phone. Typing on the BlackBerry Storm's keyboard is better than typing on any other touchscreen. Productivity apps are also top-notch, especially thanks to the included DataViz Documents To Go suite—good for opening and editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. And of course, hundreds of third-party BlackBerry—ranging from games and RSS readers to Facebook and MySpace apps—are available online.
Multimedia options are plentiful, including easy-to-use music and video players. You can listen to your tunes over stereo Bluetooth headsets or using the 3.5mm earphone jack, and the phones comes with 1GB of internal storage and an 8GB microSD card.

Also making an appearance is a very capable 3.2-MP camera. While it lacks the fancypants lenses found in better camera phones, it does have a flash and snaps off some pretty decent, noiseless pics. Also included is a video recorder.

Web surfing on the device is good, not great. The fully realized browser pulls up pages quickly but also suffers from a lack of flash support. Cut-and-paste functionality works almost perfectly, as does text editing. All of RIM’s e-mail goodness and top-shelf messaging are also effortlessly integrated into the device. For better or for worse, you never forget that you are using a BlackBerry.

As I use the phone I will add more reviews and tips to this blog.