05.02.10 Random Musings

Best BlackBerry apps

So I am an awful, slacker blogger–but in my defense I have been absolutely swamped and constantly traveling.  April was a truly frantic month, with trips to Dallas, Atlanta, DC, Boston, Amherst, and now Chicago.  As I type, I’m sitting in my hotel room in Chitown, typing out e-mails and resting my brain after a long day of business development training.  And watching my beloved Phils.  And I’m very glad to be heading home tomorrow for a blissful 6 days at home.  Got my favorite “excuse-to-indulge-in-drinks” holiday Cinco de Mayo, my nephew and my father’s birthdays, and Mother’s Day to look forward to.  And then I’m back on the road–NJ, MA, CT, and NYC the next week, and NC the week after.

Fun fact: Jaime Moyer and I moved from Seattle to Philadelphia the same year.  I’d like to think I have something to do with Moyer’s excellent performance as a Phillie.  Don’t burst my bubble, please.

Back to the post.  It’s no secret that I would die without my BlackBerry.  I would rather BBM than actually talk to people.  Now that we have the BlackBerry server integrated with our Exchange server, my work e-mail has significantly improved.  And I love having a flash with my mobile camera.

And best of all, BlackBerry has definitely upped its app offerings since I last had one.  Here are my go-to apps for productivity/travel help/boredom-prevention:

Worldmate Live: This gem of an app keeps all my travel plans straight–flights, hotel reservations, car rentals.  I can call for a limo, calculate currency conversions, manage different world clocks, and even book hotels from this handy app.  If you travel, you must download it.  They have it for the iPhone too, and I’m sure a Droid version will be available soon.

Mapquest: Google Maps has a tendency to freeze on my BBerry, so when a colleague told me that Mapquest had a really good app, I downloaded it immediately.  While I don’t like the fact that the app doesn’t track your movement via GPS, the directions are spot on.

Amazon Kindle: I love my Kindle.  I love that I can read my Kindle books on my phone.  The addition of this BlackBerry app made transitioning back to the BBerry a lot easier.  The Kindle app is also available on the iPhone, iPad, and PC and Mac desktops.

NYTimes Crossword Daily: I pay the $2.99 a month for this gem, but I’m a crosswords nut.  I enjoy cranking through the daily crossword over my morning cup of caffeine.  I love the Sudoku app as well, and that was free.

Poynt: I would be lost without Poynt.  It tells me what restaurants are around me (and how to get there), gives me gas prices of the nearest gas stations, tells me movie times at nearby theaters…now if it would answer my e-mails for me.  Awesome app.  I give it an A+.

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