BerryStore - One-Stop-Shop for Cool Blackberry Applications

As RIM prepares to open its Blackberry Application Center to answer the iPhone’s App Store, an unaffiliated startup called the BerryStore has already launched a competing app store for Blackberry Apps. What makes it better than the official BlackBerry App Center (besides the name), is that apps in the BerryStore work across both old and new BlackBerries alike and across carriers. The BlackBerry Apps center, in contrast, is designed to be a carrier-specific store, with different apps for different carriers.

You can download the BerryStore as an app itself by visiting www.berrystore.com on your BlackBerry. (The App Center will require users to download apps through their Blackberry browsers, which is not the best experience). Already there are about 40 apps in the store, ranging from Loopt, 3Jam, and TwitterBerry to Obopay, Citysense, and Google Mobile. All of them are currently free, although the company plans on offering paid apps in the future. Here is a short list of Apps that I found interesting:

Books & Reference
NeoReader: Turns your Blackberry into a barcode scanner.
Blackberry Wiki: Wikipedia reader.
Beyond411: Yellow pages, maps, and directions.
MobipocketReader: Mobile e-reader.

Business & Finance
Obopay: P2P payments.
Bank of America: Manage your dwindling bank account.
NyTimes DealBook: A bookmark icon to the popular blog.
E-Trade Mobile Pro: Manage your dwindling stock portfolio.

Lifestyle
Google Mobile: Search, Maps, Gmail.
Opera: Opera Mini Web browser.
Zumobi:Mobile widgets.
Google Mail: As in Gmail.
Poynt: Local search.
Maufait InstaFind: Al-in-one 411, flight tracker, movie showtimes, stock quotes, weather, news.
Puretracks:Mobile music store.
Tellme: Voice-enabled GPS info.
reQall: Voice-to-text recorder, to-do list, and idea manager.
Nobex Radio Companion: Shows you the name of the songs playing on the radio.

News & Weather
Viigo: News, sports, entertainment, weather, stock and traffic alerts.
New York Times: Bookmark icon.
ABC News: Bookmark icon.
The Washington Post: Bookmark icon.
CNBC Mobile: Bookmark icon.
USA Today: Bookmark icon.
Slate: Bookmark icon.
PinStack.com: Forums

Social Networking
TwitterBerry: Mobile Twitter client that avoids SMS charges.
3jam: Group text messages.
eBuddy: Instant messaging app
Dexrex: Archives your text messages.
Pinger: Voice IM.

Sports
Sports Illustrated: Bookmark icon.
ESPN Mobile: Bookmark icon.

Travel & Navigation
Google Maps: What it sounds like.
GPSed: Map your GPS tracks, save them, and share them. Also geotags your photos.
Citysense: Live hotspot tracking.
WorldMate Live: A personal digital assistant for travelers

So all those Blackberry users out there, who've been tired and jealous of all the cool iPhone apps, here's your chance to show you off what your new blackberry device can do! Check out the BerryStore, and get ready for a wave of cool Blackberry Applications coming your way!

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How Safe is Your Internet Experience?

It is perhaps a little late to be asking this question, as Internet has become the lifeline for all of us. However, as more and more data keeps being added to the web space, and as we turn to the Internet for almost all of our needs, it becomes imperative to spend an honest thought on how safe the Internet really is! Hence the idea about a Trusted Internet has been floating around for some time now. We go online accepting the fact that not all sites are equally trustworthy or that we probably shouldn’t trust most online sites with our identities. But if Trusted Internet becomes a reality, every online interaction will include a new layer of security and trust enabled by an entire infrastructure designed to help us create mutual and real time trust, and make the web surfing a more stress-free and safe experience.

What exactly is Trusted Internet? And does something like this even exist? The anti-fraud signs that you see on some web-pages, especially e-commerce websites is a step towards achieving trust. It basically means that every digital interaction is safe and hack-proof. You no longer will be pestered with fraudulent sellers or identity thefts, and online search and shopping can become a universal standard, eliminating the shred of doubt about identity thefts.

With a Trusted Internet, we will be able to do things we can’t even try to do today - our PCs will automatically be able to find products or information we want from reputable, authenticated merchants and experts. Our computers will be able to proactively defend our identities ensuring, in real time, that our information is safe and has not been compromised. But most fundamentally it means that we will all able to connect with each other with full confidence that we can create trust online when and where we need it.

Today, Internet has become the go-to destination for most of the answers to our queries. I for one, spend almost 10-12 hours surfing the net, and that means a lot of time and data; it is advisable to not give out your personal information for anything and everything over the net. be careful while divulging important information, and don't go signing up for each application and newsletter unless you trust the source. Credit Card theft is a very small fraud, people have lost way more than money due to security issues on the net.

It is imperative to understand the need for a Safe Internet, and take steps to achieve it. Have a standard PC software at the minimum on your desktop or laptop; there are several browser applications available too. Choose something that comes with recommendation, and which safeguards your data. Don't forget a backup utility too, if you store data online!

Try installing some free software like Comodo’s award-winning firewall, anti-virus software & secure email software. Perform transactions only on known websites which use digital certificates to protect your personal data. It seems like a small thing until you actually face a fraud - so prevention is better than cure. Do your part in preserving your online data, and share the message about helping to develop a Trusted Internet!

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