Lost my Cell Phone AGAIN today...

So for the second time in a week, I lost my phone.  It wasn't REALLY lost, but it was misplaced.  Apparently I'm turning into an old senile lady because I keep putting my phone down somewhere in the house, going into another room, and within 5 minutes I've forgotten where it was.  Both times the phone was on silent.  I thought to myself "there should be an app for that."  So I got home today and finally found my phone.  I had actually given up on looking, but thanks to my handy dandy peripheral vision, I was able to see the reflection of my LED blinking.  I was excited, I had found my baby!  But this seems to be happening a lot to me lately, and I figure it probably happens to other people, so I decided to go to Google and see what was available.

I should have known there would be an app for that.  I found Where's My Phone.  There is a free and paid edition.  I downloaded it from App World and set it up immediately.  You have to set up a code word, and whenever you lose your phone you can have someone text/email you (or do it yourself).  The email has to have your codeword, a space, and START.  When the phone receives the email, an alarm sounds, even if the phone is on silent or vibrate.  There are free and paid options.  I think the paid version would be useful, but I am planning to probably switch to an Android phone in the next few months so I probably won't be getting anymore paid apps.  With the paid version you get many more customization options, including changing the alert, the number of tries require to turn off the alert (5 is default, and you have to enter the code word you chose at set up to stop the alarm), and more.  Another paid option that might come in handy if you actually lose your phone (instead of just forgetting what table you put it on like I do) is auto-deletion of all emails.

And if you have an iPhone orAndroid , there are similar apps for you.  With all of the clutter of apps out there that are useless, it's nice to have one that is practical and most likely worth the money for the paid version.

Press Pause...

I just wanted to take a quick moment to talk about PauseApp for Blackberry.  Someone retweeted the article from Pocket Berry talking about this the other day.  I made the tweet a favorite so I could read it later.  As I read it, I felt like this app might be worth the try so I downloaded it to my precious TootsBerry.  It’s a simple app, with a simple concept.  Most of us are addicted to our Blackberry (or other smart phones).  Turning it off Is hard for me.   I can’t really recall when I turned it off last.  I’ve had it on silent for about 4 or 5 weeks straight, but with Berry Buzz installed, the various colored blinking LED that notifies me of texts (lime green), emails (turquoise), and other incoming messages or calls draws my attention.  I rarely forget to look down to see if I’m blinking.  I figured with an addiction such as mine this new app wouldn’t help.

I was wrong.  I tried it out for a while last night while I studied.  The app does just what it says it does-puts your phone on pause.  You don’t have to hit ignore to send your mom to voicemail, or try hard to ignore that blinking light that says “hey, text message here, looooook at me!” Pause sends your calls to voicemail and “hides” your messages.  No notifications, no ringing, vibrating, or blinking lights.  Now it only takes a simple click to put your phone back into “play” mode, but for me, the lack of blinking made me forget about it.  If you find yourself spending way too much time tweeting, texting, etc, then try this app.  It may work for you.  Head over to Pocket Berry for the OTA link.  

My Blackberry App Review

When the great phone swap of 2010 went down (I got a new Blackberry Bold 9700, Mama got a Blackberry Curve 8520 and Daddy took my Blackberry Curve 8900), one of my first thoughts was which programs did I HAVE to have on this new BB and which ones could be left behind.  Here's a little review on some of my favorite apps.  (And let me add, I am no expert, just an addicted BB user, saying what I think about my favorites!)

Social Networking
1) Ubertwitter: In my opinion this is the BEST Twitter app available for Blackberry. I've tried Tiny Tweeter, Seesmic, Twitter for Blackberry, Social Scope, Twitter Berry (which now has a new name), etc.  Uber is about the best it gets!  One of my favorite features which is surprisingly lacking in all the other apps is the fact that Uber highlights @ replies and direct messages within your timeline.  And the "Friend Picker" tool is awesome.  It's hard trying to remember user names.  People change them often and spell them weirdly.  I type in that @ symbol and get a drop down list of all my twitter friends.  It's great for my occasional Follow Friday tweets.


2) Facebook: It's a RIM application. It gets the job done as far as responding to wall posts, uploading pics, changing your status- the FB basics.  If I am on the go and want to update something it's nice to have.  I look forward to some major changes when OS 6.0 comes around.

3) Social Scope: You can only get this app by invitation.  You can go to the website to request one.  I only used it one day.  It integrates facebook, Twitter and other social networking apps like Flicr, etc.  You can choose which ones to add and you can see everything in one screen.  So far it's blah to me.

4) Blackberry Messenger: Of course this is a native BlackBerry app but I love it and just wanted to say that.  I only have a few BBM contacts, and i like it that way. There are some that I talk to pretty often and some I don't talk to often at all but it's a nice option to have.

Media
1) Pandora:  Let's face it.  Pandora is pretty awesome.  Music stations created by you that play music similar to a certain artist, song, or genre that you pick.  Sometimes they throw in a song that makes me do this O_o, but all in all it's pretty awesome.  With this app you don't have to be at your computer to hear your favorite Pandora stations, you can take it with you.

2) iheart radio: I don't have it on my 9700 right now but it is a great app to have.  I don't listen to radio that much, but if I am in the mood, I can listen to my stations from home, or in another town on my phone.  I don't have a radio at all in the house so it is good to have.

3) Shazam: I have needed this app my entire life.  You can use it to "listen" to a song and it tells you artist and title.  That way you can go add them to your iPod or other mp3 player

Other:
1) Weather bug: I tried The Weather Channel app, but what I liked most that's different from TWC's app is that if you roll over the icon, you get some quick weather info.  Current temp, high, and low.  That way I don't have to even open the app to see what current conditions are.  When you open the app, the "home" screen shows current temperature, low and high so far that day, and general weather info like wind and rain.  You can choose to see the forecast, alerts in your area, and even see a radar map.  There are plenty of weather apps out there but Weather bug is what I have used and I like it.

2) Quick Pull:  Let's face it, all technology fails. Blackberries, iPhones, computers.  The battery pull is like the "Ctrl + Alt + Del" on a PC.  It's also good to do a battery pull after installing some 3rd party themes.  When I first got my Bold I swear it took me about 10 minutes to get the battery cover off.  Add to that having to remove my case to get to the battery door, and it's a pain in the ass.  That's where Quick Pull comes in. It's like doing a battery pull-- without doing a battery pull.  Pretty convenient.  There is a free and a paid version, and the paid works just fine for me.

3) Google and Google Maps:  I use Google a lot.  No need to call 411.  just type in what I'm looking for and I can get the number.  Now it even searches your phone too.  Google maps can use my current location to find directions to where I need to go or I can use an address as a starting point.  Now if only they'd start using land marks to give directions.  Take a left at Burger King, drive two blocks and take a right at Walgreens.  Those are MY kind of directions.

4) Capture It : This app takes screen shots of your phone.  I like to show off what different theme I'm using.  (One could also use it to share funny texts, tweets, etc with the world)  I set the app to my left convenience key so that one button click takes a screen shot of whatever is up at the moment.

5) Berry annoying:  A MAJOR berry design flaw is the fact that you cannot turn of the camera's shutter sound.  Some believe it has to do with privacy rights.  People take pcitures of others without their consent, sometimes the person doesn't even now their picture is being taken.  but the idea behind the shutter sound of the berry is that someone can't ignore a picture being taken if they hear that sound.  One might also consider the fact that many people carrying Berries are business men and women who might be trying to take pictures of documents from the workplace- and this sound may make that less likely.  So here comes BerryAnnoying to save the day.  It isn't free, but it's worth it. If I want to take a picture in a quiet setting I can do so.  If I see someone looking a hot mess and want to twitpic it, I can.  Again, just like with Capture it, I set Berry Annoying as a convenience key application.  Press the same button that is default for the camera and the application comes up.  It looks no different than the native camera application.  It merely turns the sound down so low that you can't hear it.  It's an app I'll always have until the design flaw is fixed.

6) Berry Buzz: Prior to OS 5 you couldn't set a Blackberry to vibrate and ring at the same time.  The most you could get was a vibrate before the ringtone.  Now that isn't an issue, but for people with devices still running a 4.6 or 4.7 OS it is nice to have.  My favorite features about Berry Buzz is the LED settings.  That one red blinking light drives me CRAZY!  I love Berry Buzz because I can change my LED to different colors for different reasons.  SMS/MMS: Green.  Email: turquoise.  BBM: Purple.  Calls get a disco light.

Other apps I use regularly:
1) Google and google maps- self explanatory
2) Mobile Banking
3) Youversion's Bible app
4) Sheets to go- I use documents to go all the time on my phone.  With sheets to go I can be more productive on the.  The main excel sheet I have on my phone is a grocery list.  I have it set up to calculate the total I'm spending, including tax. that say if I am starting to go over my limit I can put things back that I don't really need.

What are some of your favorite apps?