Weather.com really frustrated me tonight while checking the weather on my BlackBerry. I was using the WAP site and saw an ad to download the weather.com application for BlackBerry. “Sweet!” I’m thinking to myself, I use it all the time on my iPod Touch how handy to have it when I’m away from WiFi. Then I realized it would be a big fat fee to use it, $12.99 per quarter! Whaaaat??? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to paying for applications and software. I usually upgrade versions for pretty much everything within the first 1-2 months of availability. But when I get the same service for free on the iPod (and by extension iPhone) it really rubs me the wrong way. Either charge me for the iPod Touch app or find another way to subsidize your income.

Weather.com App Download Screenshots

Last week I was traveling on the east coast and staying with a friend while working from the road. About 4 days into my trip, my Blackberry went haywire. If someone called me, the call history would immediately delete the entry. When I received an email, if I didn’t do something about it within 6 hours, the message would disappear – and horrifically end up in the trash folder, ready for deletion, on the IMAP server. The last and most tragic piece was appointments I added to the calendar just vanished when I sync’d back up with my laptop.

As panic set in about lost appointments, messages and calls – I discovered the culprit – applications. As a social media junkie, I’ve installed a number of applications, many I use almost daily, but some far less often. Applications like Yahoo! Go have been replaced with a native Flickr app which better provides the functionality I was using. A test run of tinyTwitter to replace TwitterBerry that failed and a host of other applications left the system with very little available memory. On top of that, I’d been using the native BlackBerry version of Google Maps extensively to figure out where I was and where I was going throughout the trip building a huge cache of local map data that I could review while in subways. What finally tipped me off that the system was out of memory, was when I attempted to install the MySpace application and was told there was insufficient space. I deleted a few applications and all was well with the world.

Two come to mind after this experience. First, I wish I could install apps on the 2Gb media card I have in the phone, like I do with photos. Second, some sort of notice about low main memory would have been a nice! I’m chalking this one up to a learning experience and if I’ve missed a call or appointment – you might want to call me again.

I’m an Apple fan boy. I switched with at dawn of OS X and haven’t looked back. I love the iPhone for it’s style and functionality – but when it comes right down to it – I’m not compelled to buy a new phone that’s really only moderately better than the last version. Sure GPS is great (I’ve got that now) and the touch screen is amazing – but I’m going to be sticking with my Blackberry for a while longer. I might go out and get that iPod Touch I’ve been thinking about instead because it doesn’t look like true improvements in the device are happening anytime soon. Information week has a few other reasons not to upgrade. If I do need a new phone (let’s hope not this one’s hardy 2 months old) I may venture over to the Nokia store and see what they have to offer.

Last night I downloaded the full release of Opera Mini 4.1 and so far I have to say I am impressed. The new URL location bar works like a typical browser which is great! The new integrated download is fantastic too. The application feels faster, but I’m lacking in any data to support that claim. I was able to upload a small image to Flickr so it all seems as advertised.

There are some things that still don’t work though. You still can’t select a page URL within the application and say mail it to a friend. Also, WordPress 2.5.1 doesn’t seem to work fully because of AJAX issues. Generally, if the site/app your accessing is AJAX based, it won’t work. The input fields in forms still require clicking on them to bring up the input interface. JQuery library doesn’t seem to work correctly either, in fact support under 4.0 seemed better.

I also found the constant permissions nagging about accessing the local device content frustrating. That’s no fault of the software, but rather the applications permissions. However, the dialog from the phone often was unreadable due to a UI glitch. Blindly selecting “Yes” seemed to power through it. Opera should provide a guide to users installing the application so they can get assistance navigating the sea of permissions when installing. If you’re like me, still without a full browser bundled with your phone, I strongly recommend taking a look at Opera Mini.

I’ve been experimenting with twitter a lot lately. Generally, I find it’s something I use more away from my computer than while I’m at it. However, I’ve been frustrated by my mobile experience more than a few times and I’m not sure where to head next. I have a BlackBerry Curve with service via AT&T. I’m reasonably happy with the phone. If you think of twitter as SMS² you’ll start to understand how I’ve been using it. When I’m at my computer, I reach out to individuals, I connect with co-workers via IM, Skype, Email, Facebook, MySpace etc. When I’m away from the full glory of my machine, I do lighter communication – SMS and twitter. Keep in mind, this is a generalization.

Currently as a BlackBerry user, you’ve got a few options for accessing twitter (options are good right?), each of which I’ll get into more detail about below:

1. m.twitter.com – the mobile phone optimized version
2. twitter.com – the full blown site
3. TinyTwitter
4. TwitterBerry
5. GTalk

This chart summarizes my experience using the different methods of accessing twitter, but keep reading for more detail.

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GPSed is a great new GPS tool for tracking your location via your GPS enabled BlackBerry. More importantly, it scratches an itch I’ve had lately of helping me to geo-tag my photos. Flickr and Picassa are supported so that covers the majority of photo sharing apps. A little freaky perhaps is the ability to track exactly where the phone was when it last checked in. I’ll be using this when snapping photos on assorted walks around Rochester, MN providing better information for everyone to use.

I read about it first at Berry Review. This is MUCH better than the FindMe application for Facebook which uses cell towers (as best as I was able to tell) instead of the built in GPS unit to triangulate location. I could see this having huge utility for tracking down friends when your at a large venue (like a sports arena) and trying to locate your friends – although the mobile site has varied degrees of detail from the very slick Google maps interface on the full blown website.

I’m onto my third Blackberry in the last 12 months (my second in 30 days) and I’ve put this together as a list of the applications that I constantly need to re-install as I’m getting the device back up and running. If anyone has some that should be on the radar, please let me know.

• Google Maps – The built in GPS + Google Maps = navigation!!!
• Twitterberry – Twitter on the go
• OperaMini – While the built in browser works, this gets the sites that aren’t so handheld friendly.
• Y! Go – I’m a huge fan of Flickr and use this to title, tag and upload photos.
• AT&T Blackberry Start – AT&T’s website for changing the device (without redoing all your email setup)

For anyone using their device as hard as I do, I recommend picking up a microSD card for photos and ring-tones (if your into that sort of thing.) It’s always easier to swap the card out than fight with buying and downloading them again.