Cell phone accessories blog

Google Maps for Mobile stars synced maps

Before Wednesday, you could star a map as a favorite on Google Maps online, and you could star one on Google Maps for Mobile, but you could never connect the two.

A small but significant update that Google added to Google Maps for Mobile 3.3 now syncs your starred locations between the map app on your Symbian and Windows phones, and your online account.

To start your syncing, press Menu and then Starred Items. You'll need to log into your account from the Starred Items screen to start syncing favorite maps. If you're upgrading from a previous more

Yelp live in BlackBerry App World

Yelp is no longer a newcomer to BlackBerry smartphones (not since last August, anyway,) but the BlackBerry app has only been available outside RIM's marketplace, BlackBerry App World. Starting on Wednesday, Yelp for BlackBerry (review) will also have a presence in the BlackBerry App World, both in the downloadable storefront on the phone and in the online catalog.

Downloading Yelp via App World takes advantage of App World's My World tab, which tracks the apps you install on your BlackBerry, and which can reinstall applications on a new smartphone if you switch devices.

App World features the latest more

Free Gwabbit for BlackBerry on the horizon

Good news for BlackBerry business users who are pinching pennies: a free version of the Gwabbit contact manager for BlackBerry is expected to surface in the BlackBerry App World--and only in the App World--on Tuesday, December 8. The current version of Gwabbit for BlackBerry costs $9.99 for a yearlong subscription.

Gwabbit (formerly Technicopia) came out with Gwabbit the BlackBerry app back in May 2009, as the mobile version of its Outlook e-mail add-on. Gwabbit scans incoming e-mail for a signature block. If it finds one, the software compares the contents to your address book contacts. If there's no previous match, or if it looks like there's been a change, Gwabbit will prompt you to add or update the contact.

We were impressed with the convenience Gwabbit gives business users who build up their contact lists from their smartphones. Moreover, we noted how effectively and quickly Gwabbit processed the e-mails, but only so long as the sender's contact details are conveniently organized in the signature block. Gwabbit lacks the sensitivity to pull possibly relevant details from elsewhere in the e-mail.

How could Gwabbit's publisher give away its $10-a-year product for free? more

Opera Mini and Mobile betas bestowed with sync

In mid-September, Opera surprised us with a redesigned Opera Mini beta browser for Java phones, including BlackBerry. It had tabbed browsing, a first for Opera Mini, and Speed Dial, a carryover interface from Opera desktop browser (Windows|Mac) that you encounter each time you start the browser or open a new tab. Two things it didn't have: a download manager and Opera Link, the account-based tool that syncs bookmarks, Speed Dial options, and browsing history among your Opera browsers. With it, Web surfers can quickly get to favorite sites on their desktops, laptops, and smartphones.

On Wednesday, both Opera more

eBay opens auction app for BlackBerry

RIM's BlackBerry App World is slowly but surely gaining ground as a storefront for distributing BlackBerry applications. eBay is the latest major company to forge a presence in the storefront, in the form of an eBay app for BlackBerry auctioneers in the U.S. and Canada.

The official eBay for BlackBerry application, which was co-developed by eBay and RIM, includes features to search for, track, and buy an item from the smartphone. Unsurprisingly, the eBay app accepts PayPal payments--PayPal has not only been an eBay company since 2002, it is also currently the only payment system for purchasing BlackBerry more

BlackBerry Media Sync adds photo-syncing for Windows

BlackBerry Media Sync is a straightforward desktop app for Mac and Windows that has historically let you sync music from your BlackBerry smartphone using iTunes and Windows Media Player. On Tuesday, BlackBerry-maker RIM has added new functionality to give the Windows version of the syncing app access to your photo library as well.

RIM leaves the Mac version out of the photo access equation this time around.

Like other media management software, when BlackBerry Media Sync 3.0 detects your smartphone, it will scan for photos, displaying them on a separate tab within the syncing application. You can switch between more

Seize Seesmic Twitter app on BlackBerry, Android

The Twitter service with the cutesy raccoon mascot is making a new home on BlackBerry and Google Android phones. The free Seesmic, like its proliferate rivals, lets you read, manage, and compose Twitter messages much more flexibly than you can do from Twitter's Web site. We crash-tested both mobile versions as soon as we heard the news.

Seesmic on Android
Seesmic 1.0 for Android is available from the Android Market app, which is located on the smartphone. It takes up just over 1MB. The interface spreads four tabs along the top in both landscape and portrait mode, one each for the timeline, replies, direct messages, and your profile. There's also a ribbon on the screen that you can tap to refresh the feed. Click to open a tweet and you can save it as a favorite, retweet, or reply as a public "@" message or as a private posting. From the menu button, you can refresh, compose, or tinker with the settings.

Although Seesmic's Android interface is much more stripped down than its desktop AIR app for Windows and Mac, the app manages to remain flexible by giving you a choice over the kinds of notifications you'd like to receive, and over the partner services you'd prefer to use to send a photo, video, or shorten a URL.

The biggest flaws we've noticed so far? more

FlightCaster predicts flight delays on iPhone, BlackBerry

There are plenty of ways for frequent travelers to check on their flight's status long before they leave the house or hotel, but fewer that alert you when delays occur, and only one we've seen that predicts airline tardiness.

That app is FlightCaster, which costs $7.99 on iPhone and BlackBerry, with Android support next. FlightCaster predicts flight delays 6 hours before airlines post delay data. FlightCaster works by looking at factors like the local weather at the departure and arrival airports, and if the inbound plane is already delayed.

While the concept applies to everyone, not everyone more

Ear Pollution Timbre earbuds: High-end sound at low-end prices

Speakers made for home audio setups are encased in cabinets constructed of a variety of materials, but many high-end models stick to solid-wood enclosures. The argument is that this particular natural material offers superior acoustics, so it comes as no surprise that we're beginning to see more and more earphones incorporating wood into the earpieces. iFrogz provides one example with its Ear Pollution Timbre earbuds, an inexpensive pair that provides very natural-sounding audio and ear-vibrating bass.

Read the Ear Pollution Timbre review.

Opera Mobile 10 beta now browsing Windows phones

Opera impressed us a few months ago with its beta release of a restyled Mini browser for Java phones. Early in November, they did it again with a standalone mobile browser for Symbian Series 60 handsets that adheres to Opera Mini 5 beta's glossy master design. And on Wednesday, Opera repeats what it hopes to be mobile magic with Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows phones.

The free Opera Mobile 10 beta starts off with a customizable Speed Dial screen, composed of nine preview thumbnails that whisk you off to a favorite site. Browser tabs receive a new treatment more