DigitalFanGirl

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and I really missed it, but I feel refreshed and ready to get back on the blogging train. Today is a great day for one main reason………..I just upgraded from my G1 to the new MyTouch 3G Slide!!! I left the Blackberry world for Android June of 2009 and I haven’t looked it. The G1 and I spent some wonderful times together, but I have given it a run for its money. I could not go another day with the G1. I have killed it, overworked it, put it on the slave train – I had to bury it so it can finally rest in peace.

So now I have the MyTouch 3G Slide and I’m hoping this device can keep up with me. I waited a while to see what was coming on the T-Mobile line and I was hoping and praying it would be an Android with an actual keyboard and then came the MyTouch 3G Slide. I was honestly eyeballing the Droid Incredible and was almost prepared to buy it unlocked, but I am not ready to go exclusive with a screen based keyboard. I email and text way too much. I’m just not ready nor prepared to give up the speed and accuracy of typing on an actual keyboard. I know, call me an old foggie, but hey, a sista likes keys (hehe).

Out the box the MyTouch 3G Slide is shorter than my G1, but has a slightly bigger screen which is really nice. The phone also appears to be slimmer, but I think it’s actually the same width as my G1, but for some reason the way the MyTouch 3G Slide is designed makes it feel thinner (bazaar)… The phone came in some really nice packaging. I think all phones should come in a case like this one. The box is padded on the inside and securely holds the phone, charger and other components. It’s a nice touch.

Setting up the phone was easy as usual, but there are a few new things I noticed in the set up that pleased me. On set up it of course asked for your Gmail account, but it also asked for your Flickr (you know I love Flickr – check out my photostream), Facebook (can’t stay off of it) and Twitter. I use Flickr for ALL of my photos, so I was pleased to see this automatic integration.

Being as though I just set up the phone thirty minutes ago, I will give this phone a 7 day test run and blog about my experience with this MyTouch 3G Slide.I can wait to give it a good spin. I am already impressed with what I’ve seen thus far….

Stay tuned for Hello MyTouch 3G Slide Part Deux!

The Google Calendar has been my calendar of choice for a great deal of time. Although I use a Mac, I have never used iCal as my main calendar; just Google Calendar and I absolutely love it. When I got the G1 I was thrilled about the seamless integration of the Google products and the G1. It really made my calendaring process much easier.

Before getting the G1, I was a BlackBerry user, but there was always a problem with the syncing between the BlackBerry and Google calendars. As much as I love Google Calendar and as great as it functions on the G1; there are a couple of things I wish it did that would greatly improve my level of productivity.

1. Add the ability to add a guest to an event

This is actually a huge inconvenience for me. I do more from my phone in terms of calendaring rather than on my laptop. Because of the inability to add a guest (invite someone) to a calendar event created on the G1, you still have to go to the web version of Google Calendar to add a guest. So, if I’m out and about and I add an event to Google Calendar on my phone and I want to add a guest to it, I have to wait until I get to my laptop so I can log onto Google Calendar on the web and edit the event created on my G1 to add a guest. There have been a number of times where I just flat out forgot to add the person I initially intended to invite to the event. It’s such an annoyance. I’m kind of shocked this feature is missing considering some of the other advanced features in Gmail and Google Maps, but maybe this is something that will be added later.

2. Add additional repeat options

While the Google Calendar on the G1 does have a repeat feature, it is limited. The same set of repeat options on the web version of the Google Calendar are not the same on the Google Calendar on the G1. On the G1, you can set an event to repeat daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. What I’d like is to have the option to set a biweekly recurrence or set an event to occur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday or every other Tuesday and Thursday if I so choose, but those additional repeat options are not available.

The Google Calendar on the G1 is almost perfect in my book, but adding these two features would be like putting a cherry on top of the cake. It would make the calendaring experience that much better.

What are your thoughts about these limitations? Is there anything else outside of these two items I mentioned you’d like the Google Calendar on the G1 to do?

DigitalFanGirl and Her New G1

Well my friends, I have jumped ship. I dumped my BlackBerry for the G1 (gasp).  On May 20, I got home from Tech Cocktail DC and my lovely G1 was waiting for me (thank you UPS delivering my product on time – you done me proud).

I’ve been a BlackBerry user for a little over three years and I honestly enjoyed my first two BlackBerry devices; the 8700 and 8800. When I got the Curve (8320), I started experiencing all sorts of issues, which I talked about at length on Moms Gone Geek  (you know, that fun, zainy technology podcast I co-host with TheMacMommy  [shameless plug] ) when we talked about Mobile Mania. I had been getting JavaScript errors regularly and I’ve had to do a hard reset at least once a day or it would completely lock up. Needless to say, this has been very frustrating.

But the other thing that really bugged me was the fact developers just don’t put a priority on developing for the BlackBerry device.  I don’t know why. All I know is I wanted the apps and they never came.

This was really a big annoyance for me. There are so many different web services I use on a regular basis; Evernote, BaseCamp, HighRise, Whrrl, Delicious, Last.fm and many others I won’t name right now, but majority of these services have an iPhone app and an Android app (or atleast I can view the mobile site and have it look like it does from my laptop), but NO BLACKBERRY APP; or if they do have a BlackBerry app, it looks completely different (less appealing and less functional) than the apps for the other phones. I was starting to think it was a CONspiracy.

So, I decided to try the G1. I’m a T-Mobile customer; have been since 2004, I like their service, I have a great plan and  AT&T can #suckit as far as I’m concerned.  They (AT&T/Cingular or whoever you are this month) did me dirty some years ago and I’M NOT OVER IT! I digress.

So, I am now an android head and I am loving this phone!!! You can now expect a decent amount of my blog to be dedicated to the android community. I still think the BlackBerry is a great device, but my new love/addiction is the G1……

I stumbled upon the Amazon.com app for BlackBerry last week. As much as I order from Amazon.com, I’m not sure how I missed this one. But I am glad I found it.

Some Quick Facts:
* Currently available for BlackBerry smartphones with a trackball.
* Buy millions of products wherever you go.
* Access your existing Amazon account, cart, wish lists, payment and shipping settings, order history, 1-Click, and Prime benefits.
* Snap a photo from your BlackBerry and we’ll search for a similar product available from Amazon.com.
* All orders placed are processed by Amazon’s secure servers.

I used this app the other day for the first time. I accessed the app, logged into my Amazon.com account, went to my wish list and ordered a book from it. The entire process was super easy and extremely user friendly. This pleases and excites me because I no longer have to wait to get to my laptop to order something. It’s a FREE download, so why not download it and give it a shot.

Many of us have muliple twitter accounts. I am managing three. It’s quite complicated to have to login into twitter for each account individually to post a tweet. It’s downright annoying. So I went on the hunt for a tool that would allow me to manage multiple twitter accounts without the headache. I ran across a couple, but the one that really works best for me is Tweet3.

Tweet3 allows you to manage up to three multiple twitter accounts and they are separated by tabs. So, there is no confusion as to which account you’re updating. There was another multiple twitter account manager, but it included all twitter accounts in one stream and they were differentiated by different colored squares. That was not working for me. I find Tweet3 to be the easiest to use and manager.

I was thinking today, it would be cool if they had a mobile app because that would solve my problems with trying to tweet to my multiple accounts from my BlackBerry. Until then, give Tweet3 a try. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed..

What is Whrrl you ask?

Whrrl v2.0 is a storytelling application for the web and mobile that lets people share and remember their real-world experiences as they happen. Everyone – whether physically present or not – can contribute to the experience. Stories can be published to Facebook and Twitter, and the storyteller controls who can view and participate

This is a fun service to use. It’s just another way to chronicle your happenings. I created my first whrrl yesterday and created my second one today. I had a blast just whrrling away. I like how you can easily add comments and photos to your story right from your cell phone and I love the fact people can join in on your story. I can’t wait to whrrl the next NoVA Girl Geek Dinner. That should be a lot of fun. However, I do wish they enabled you to see a public stream of whrrls, but I’m sure they’re working on that.

Check out my whrrl profile and join me in the whrrl of fun – http://whrrl.com/person/17098189

Now, if I could only get those Whrrl guys to send me a Whrrl t-shirt……..

Day 31: Slydial – $FREE (ad supported) – paid plans available

Let’s just start this post by admitting the fact, sometimes we need to call people back, but really don’t want to talk to them. We just need to be able to say “I called you back, but I got your voicemail”. Well, guess what??? We no longer have to lie about that. Now, you can use Slydial. I think out of the 31 apps I’ve featured this month, this is one of my top favorites.

When using Slydial, it connects you directly to the voicemail of the person you’re calling [this is truly genius]. Not quite sure when and how you would use Slydial; here are some scenarios http://www.slydial.com/situations.php.

Once you download and install our BlackBerry app from your MYslydial account, simply select from your address book the person you want to voice message and choose slydial from the full menu. The app will connect you directly to this person’s mobile voicemail.

To install Slydial, you must sign up for a Myslydial account. Please visit http://www.slydial.com/signup.php to get started.

I hope you enjoyed my 31 Days of BlackBerry App Love series. You hear plenty about the iPhone and all of its wonderful apps; I just wanted to give my BlackBerry family some love…

Day 30: Blackbird – $FREE

Blackbird is another Twitter client for BlackBerry devices [and you thought only Twitterberry existed]. Blackbird doesn’t look to have all the fancy bells and whistles like Twitterberry, but I’ve heard some people say they like it better and it gets the job done.

To install Blackbird, visit http://dossy.org/twitter/blackbird/.

Day 29: Slacker Radio – $FREE

If you’ve been looking for a way to listen to streaming music on your BlacBerry; look no further. Slacker Radio has over 100 stations that have been programmed by music experts. They even give you the ability to create your own station right from your BlackBerry. If you have a micro sd card of 500 MB or more, you can listen to Slack Radio even when you are not connected to a wireless network.

To install Slacker Radio, visit http://www.slacker.com/mobile/blackberrydownload/.

Day 28: ReadyWords – $FREE Trial -$14.95 Full Version

ReadyWords seems like the perfect little app to help you send out general text messages without having to type it all out. I can see some use for this. They have over 150 ready to use phrases such as:

• Do you want to meet for lunch?
• I’ll get back to you ASAP. You’ve got to be kidding me!
• I’ll be back later.
• You the man!
• I’m out of here!
• I’m not at my desk right now.

With eight default categories:

* Acknowledge
* Compliment
* Exclaim
* Greet
* Inform
* Location
* Question
* Subject

To install the trial version, visit http://www.virtualviews.com/.

TwitterBerry is a mobile Twitter app for BlackBerry and it is absolutely fa-bu-lous. I’ve talked about TwitterBerry on my blog before, but there are some new BlackBerry owners who are first time visitors on my blog and may not have looked deep enough to find that past blog post. So I am featuring it again because it is such a great app. The initial version of TwitterBerry was good, but not great. It lacked a lot of the features Twitter itself had, but this newest version has really risen to the occasion and I couldn’t be happier.

To install Twitterberry, visit  http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/ from your BlackBerry browser.

Day 26: MediaPOP – $FREE Trial – $19.99 Full Version

MediaPOP sounds pretty awesome. With MediaPOP, you can download audio and video email attachments. This is something I’ve been wanting to do.  I’m definitely going to use the trial to see how well this works [or not].

Here’s a glance at what MediaPOP can do:

MediaPOP can save attachments up to 5MB directly to your SD card or to internal memory.

MediaPOP is pre-configured with the most popular audio and video extensions for your BlackBerry.

You can download MP3, WAV, M4A, WMA, MP4, 3GP, MOV and many others right out of the box.

You can even send a JAD and COD file to install a BlackBerry application via email!

Supported media files can be played back without leaving your email via the built in media player.

You can download your attachments from the mobile network or get them with WiFi if your BlackBerry supports it.

Multiple attachments are supported and you can download them automatically or manually.

Popup notifications and audio alerts can be configured to alert you when a download completes.

MediaPOP connects directly to your POP mail server for your security.

Features:

* Download Audio, Video and BlackBerry Applications
* Save attachments to SD Card or Internal Memory
* Supports multiple attachments
* Receive attachments from another BlackBerry
* Integrates with BlackBerry Messages program
* Download any file type to your BlackBerry
* Playback through the Built in media player
* Download attachments up to 5MB
* Add or Delete file extensions
* Supports SSL & TLS connections
* Auto Download in background
* Audio & Popup Alerts
* Supports WiFi

To install the trial version, visit http://www.virtualviews.com/.

Day 25: Newsgator Go! – $FREE

I use NetNewsWire as my RSS aggregator on my MacBook Pro and it’s a pretty awesome tool. Although I don’t read a lot of blog posts and whatnot on my BlackBerry on a regular basis, I do occasionally partake in reading a post here and there from my BlackBerry while waiting for my commuter bus or while riding the bus (before I take my nap of course). For that, I use NewsGator Go! and it works very well and it makes it easy to read an entire blog post on the BlackBerry screen.

Top Features

• Intelligent Mobile Optimization: Whether you read 5 or 500 feeds, NewsGator Go! effortlessly manages the load to give you the best experience.
• Easy, one-hand operation: Navigate and read with the power of one thumb.
• Formatted for Mobile Devices: The articles and the links are tailored specifically for mobile devices, enhancing the reading experience.
• Offline Reading: Take your feeds and posts/articles with you. You don’t have to be online to read your feeds because NewsGator Go! caches downloaded feeds on the device.
• Synchronization: Read a post in NewsGator Go! and it’s marked as read in any other NewsGator reader you use.
• Clipping Synchronization: Clip and save posts and have them synchronized with NewsGator Online or any other NewsGator reader.
• Mark Feeds as Read: Mark unimportant or irrelevant feeds and articles as read from your mobile device so you can be more efficient when you get back to the office.
• Streaming Media Support: Download podcasts or play streaming audio and video from your feeds directly on your devices media player. (Go! for Windows Mobile only)

Day 24: eBuddy – $FREE

eBuddy is a multi-protocol chat client. It works with MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk, ICQ, MySpace and AIM (AOL) and coming soon – Facebook! This app sounds great! It sure beats having these IM clients loaded separately on your BlackBerry and having to login to each one of them while toggling back and forth to have a IM conversation.

To install eBuddy, visit http://www.ebuddy.com/mobile.php.

Day 23: Vlingo – $FREE

Vlingo looks to be like a great addition to the line-up of BlackBerry apps. I installed it and am currently setting it up for use. It does look promising though.

Vlingo is a voice-powered user interface that unlocks access to mobile phone wireless data services. vlingo for iPhone™ and vlingo for BlackBerry smartphones allows users to speak into their device and have many popular applications carry out their respective functions. This includes dialing your phone, sending an email or SMS, creating and saving a memo or task, opening a web browser and performing a web search, composing a social-networking status message and more.

Taken from the Vlingo Press Release

Vlingo is easy to use. BlackBerry smartphone users can simply press the side “convenience” key on their handset, which lets them speak commands into the phone. Available beginning today, vlingo gives BlackBerry smartphone users voice control over the most commonly used applications, including:

• Voice Dial. Initiate calls to anyone in your address book.
• Text Message. Send text messages without typing.
• Email. Simply speak “Email John Smith” to start an email on-the-go, and you can speak the body of the message as well.
• Applications. Open calendar, maps, etc.
• Address Book. Search for contacts without typing.
• Web Search. Look up anything online in one step. Just say, “Web search: concert tickets in Boston,” and the results are displayed.
• Note2Self. Send yourself a reminder in the form of an email, task or text message.

Vlingo gives BlackBerry smartphone users control over mobile information and tasks with the power of their voice. Users do not need to change how they speak or memorize a list of commands. They can say what they want, how they want, and vlingo captures the results – word for word. Vlingo’s voice-enabling technology provides users with a simple way to access almost anything on their handset. With the most accurate system on the market that gets even better as more users join the community, vlingo gives users the ability to freely mix typing and talking with no limits on what they can say.

To install Vlingo on your BlackBerry Just text the word vlingo to 95495 (for Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon subscribers only)