favorite apps for my blackberry storm
I’ve had my Blackberry Storm for about a month now and it’s just what I’ve been waiting for. I been using a Palm for about four years (I need to use it for phone calls too, so I have to have Verizon) but I was in the middle of my contract when the Storm came out so I put it off as long as I could. I got the upgrade free after a generous discount from my mom … (thanks mom).
Within an hour or so after delivery I had just about all the apps I would need installed and talking to each other. None of these apps cost anything and the sweetest thing is … they add to what I was already doing with Google Apps by integrating very tightly with each other and the phone’s contacts, calendar, camera, etc.
Gmail – of course this is hooked into my Google Apps email (dean@gotwww.com). Allows all my email (sent and received no matter where from) to be accessible everywhere … my phone, my desk, your desk, etc. I can search “google fast” to find anything I have ever sent or received. (see 10 reasons I use google mail for more) [http://www.google.com/mobile/products/mail.html#p=blackberry]
Facebook … with a caveat. I use Facebook to keep up with my friends and family, share photos, and we use it @MapleGrove as a communications tool with our “fans”.
I use the Facebook mobile app [http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2254487659] primarily to allow my Storm to sync with the contact information from facebook and upload photos with the ability to tag them while uploading. Another nice feature is that when my phone rings from someone who is my friend on facebook I see their current profile photos attached to their caller ID.
I generally use the facebook mobile web page (m.facebook.com) to browse because it works better and allows more of the facebook features like “liking” someone’s status and seeing and reading “notifications”, and photos. For some reason the app does not allow any of these things to be done from with-in the app, but the syncing doesn’t work without it.
Google sync – this app syncs my contacts with Google Apps email and Google Apps calendar with my phone’s contacts and calendar. Add a new contact on the phone and it’s on my desk immediately. (http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sync.html#p=blackberry). It even alerts me of upcoming appointments with sound and vibration using BlackBerry’s native calendar.
YouVersion – my favorite bible website on my phone. There isn’t a specific app for the storm yet, but with an easy workaround the Tour version will work for many of the features. http://blog.youversion.com/post/289/youversion-for-blackberry-storm-sorta ) I can read or search in any version and there’s a nice daily reading plan too.
Google maps – The blackberry maps are ok, but if you use Google maps on your computer you will probably like it better on your phone too. It works well with the GPS on the storm and another interesting feature is Latitude; an option that allows you to share your current location and see the location of others selectively. If you don’t want to do that, then don’t… but please don’t flame me about it. [http://www.google.com/mobile/products/maps.html#p=blackberry]
WeatherBug – finds my current location by GPS and automatically shows me the local information I need including live weather radar, detailed hourly forcasts and even “Always on” NWS weather alerts such as Tornado warnings even when the WeatherBug app is turned off. [http://weather.weatherbug.com/mobile/blackberrystorm.html]
YouTube – Allows me to find and play and upload YouTube videos. [http://www.google.com/mobile/products/youtube.html#p=blackberry]
Pandora - Free music (only music I love) anywhere I am … [http://www.pandora.com/]
Let me know if you’ve found any other apps for the storm that you would like to share by commenting below.