Loopt let me know that they have just released a major update for their BlackBerry client that adds a bunch of new features. Loopt mobile updates your location in real-time while it runs in the background so you can meet up with nearby friends, explore new places to grab food, and find local events wherever you are.

Here are some of the features:

• Discover the best places and events, including those rated highly by your friends on Pulse
• See where your friends are on maps – view their latest updates listed in real-time and comment on them
• Check-in to instantly share your updates with friends – easily update Facebook and Twitter with your photos and places in one Loopt check-in
• Browse and rate local places and events – peruse detailed information from Zagat, Citysearch, and the Loopt community
• Save money through special offers from nearby retailers with local coupons

I’m not sure how this application will affect battery life since it constantly updates in the background so if you try it out be sure to let me know how it worked for you in the comments.

Loopt is currently available in the BlackBerry App World as a free download for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile, AT&T), BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Sprint, Verizon) and BlackBerry Bold 9000 (AT&T). For more info about this update check out the press release after the jump.

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Thanks to @themes4bb I’ve got some great news for developers working with the BlackBerry platform!

At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Converence in San Francisco (currently in session), RIM has announced a new services platform for developers that will enable them to streamline business processes and build highly responsive, location-away, revenue-generating apps. Among the new services will be a BlackBerry Advertising Service, Payment Service and new Location Services.

BlackBerry Payment Service to Enable In-Application Transactions and Streamlined Payment Processes

A new BlackBerry® Payment Service from RIM will present BlackBerry developers with new opportunities to monetize applications by selling digital content such as premium content, monthly or annual subscriptions, and additional levels or upgrades for games and other entertainment applications from within their applications. The BlackBerry Payment Service will also incorporate merchant services, including customer billing.

…

BlackBerry Push Service for Delivering Content and Alerts to Applications to Become Generally Available

BlackBerry® Push Service, which was first made exclusively available to BlackBerry® Alliance Program members earlier this year, will be made generally available to registered developers in the first half of 2010. BlackBerry Push Service allows developers and content providers to deliver time-sensitive alerts and up to 8 KB of data to applications.

…

New Location Services to Advance Location-Aware BlackBerry Applications

Adding to the GPS capabilities already supported on the BlackBerry Application Platform today, RIM will introduce three new location-based services for developers to build highly responsive, location-aware applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The three new location-based services include cell site geolocation, reverse geocoding and travel time.

I’m glad RIM is opening up more opportunities for better integration and development of the BlackBerry platform. This is only one of the announcements made at the Developer Conference so far, I’m sure we’ll be hearing some more great news soon!

For more info visit blackberry.com/developers or check out the press release after the jump.

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Bellshare has released a free version of their best-selling BlackBerry app known as BerryBuzz. Available only in the BlackBerry App World, BeBuzz is a lightweight version of BerryBuzz that allows you to customize your LED colors with different alert types along with a few other features.

Features:

• Customizable LED color and set an individual repeating alert for
  • Missed phone calls
• Customizable LED color for
  • Incoming Call
• When multiple alerts are active at the same time, every color will flash in a repeating pattern.
• Customizable rapid flashing LED for incoming phone calls
• Customizable vibrate for incoming calls. Vibrates while ringing.
• Disco LED color, will flash all colors in sequence
• Optimized for minimum battery and memory usage
• Automatically runs when your BlackBerry is started

Keep in mind that BeBuzz is a free alternative and therefore does not have all the features that BerryBuzz offers. Regardless, this app is definitely worth checking out if you don’t need all the extra features that BerryBuzz has. Check it out in the BlackBerry App World and let me know what you think in the comments!

RIM’s BlackBerry Developer Conference is just around the corner and according to @BlackBerryForum, today is the last day to register online!

The 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference features more than 110 sessions that will appeal to commercial developers for both enterprise and consumer markets, corporate developers, business decision makers and application architects and designers. There are a range of sessions designed to accommodate both beginner and advanced application developers, including web developers, .NET developers and Java® developers. In addition to General Sessions and Breakout Sessions, the conference features Hands-on Labs, onsite BlackBerry Developer Certification testing, a Mobility Pavilion and Talk With The Experts areas.

The BlackBerry Developer Conference is being held in San Francisco, CA from November 9-12th. If you’ve already registered you can check out the BlackBerry Developer Conference Mobile Guide available in the BlackBerry App World. The mobile guide allows attendees to schedule sessions, look up speaker and sponsor information, get the latest news from the show, access conference maps and offer feedback. App screenshot below…

For more info visit blackberrydeveloperconference.com or check out the press release after the jump.

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RIM has announced that the new BlackBerry Widget Software Development Kit (SDK) is now available for download. This SDK would allow developers to build web-based apps that take advantage of BlackBerry’s advanced features and functionality.

A BlackBerry Widget uses the BlackBerry® Browser engine torender an application’s user interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.Developers are able to use existing web content to create BlackBerry Widgetsand extend the capabilities of their web applications using BlackBerry WidgetAPIs.

Using the new BlackBerry Widget APIs, developers can, forexample, create seamless interaction between a widget and the BlackBerry emailand calendar applications, create widgets with the ability to view or editfiles and documents stored on the smartphone, access location-based services orthe media player, and more. Developers can also take advantage of RIM’s uniquepush technology, enabling dynamic widgets that can run in the background andprovide proactive alerts to users in a timely manner.

“BlackBerry Widgets open up a world of opportunities fordevelopers to build and bring to market web applications for BlackBerrysmartphones that offer advanced, integrated functionality and an always-on userexperience,” said Alan Brenner, senior vice president, BlackBerry platforms atRIM. “We are very excited by the prospects of this new widget developmentplatform which combines the ease of development of standard web languages withthe rich functionality of Java development.”

One thing about this announcement that stuck out to me is that in order for the BlackBerry Widgets to work the device must be running OS 5.0. Yesterday I mentioned that BBM 5.0 is rumored to be launching tomorrow, this too has features that require a BlackBerry to be running OS 5.0 in order for them to work. Does anyone else see where this is going?

For more info and to download the BlackBerry Widgets SDK visit blackberry.com/developers/widget or check out the press release after the jump.

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Stitcher has updated their streaming radio BlackBerry application to version 1.2 with new features like improved navigation, increased stability and Bluetooth integration.

In addition to now being able to listen through wireless headsets, car kits, and other Bluetooth devices, version v1.2 is Stitcher’s next step to improving “Smart Radio”.

Smart Radio is a rapidly emerging media category that combines the mobility of radio with the content availability and choice of Internet technology. With Smart Radio, anyone with an Internet connection can stream on-demand audio to their mobile devices, customizing their programming to fit their individual preferences and interests – from music to talk to information.

This app is available for the BlackBerry Curve 8300/8310/8320/8900, Bold 9000, Storm 9500/9530, 8800/8820 and will soon also be available for the 8830, Curve 8330 and Tour 9630.

To download this app visit stitcher.com/dl from your BlackBerry Browser, or go to stitcher.com for more info. Full press release after the jump.

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Mobile by Citysearch has been updated to include access to over 15M business listings and trusted Citysearch editorial recommendations which list more than 75,000 US neighborhoods, along with the following key features:

• Instantly submit user reviews from a BlackBerry smartphone
• Search and sort in the following ways:
  • Auto-identify your location through GPS-driven search
  • Search by keyword or category and narrow results within a city or neighborhood
  • Browse nearby destinations to eat, drink, shop, and relax
  • Sort results by key listing attributes including distance, cost and Citysearch rating
• Browse Citysearch editorial picks to help your weekdays and weekends
• View editorial, user reviews and advice from business owners and bookmark your favorite listings
• Calendar Integration: Send immediate Outlook calendar invites to multiple friends and coordinate party planning, meals, or impromptu get-togethers from your BlackBerry Contacts list
• Twitter: Post to your followers by tweeting reviews, tips, and more to friends, directly from any listing page
• Share: Use Text, Email, or BlackBerry PIN-to-PIN messaging to share business listings from anywhere
• Tip Calculator and Split the Bill: Avoid awkward calculations by determining your ideal tip and easily splitting the bill among friends when dining

For those that don’t know, Citysearch is a leading online lifestyle guide with up to date info on businesses, from restaurants and spas, to hotels and retail.

For more info and to download this app visit mobile.iac.com/Citysearch, or check out the full press release after the jump.

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Fuze Box has just released a cool new app called Fuze Meeting, currently available for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, Bold and Storm.

Fuze Meeting for BlackBerry smartphones enables users to launch or participate in a web meeting from their mobile device – a must-have for salespeople, business owners, service providers and all mobile professionals. Fuze Meeting leverages the unique capabilities of the latest generation of BlackBerry smartphones, including 3G, Wi-Fi®, faster processors and elegant displays to allow users to view video content, images and documents. Fuze Meeting also lets users chat securely with co-workers and friends, send meeting invites, and even “fetch” participants from their BlackBerry contacts directly into a conference.

Features:

• Full-featured conference call management – start meetings, invite participants, fetch them into the session, mute and un-mute lines – all from a single interface.
• View meeting participants’ desktops, files and presentations on-the-go, in real-time, while synced with the meeting presenter.
• Watch and listen to high-quality video and audio – start, stop and pause as if you were in the room with the presenter.
• Consolidate multiple IM platforms into one application – login simultaneously to Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Jabber, Google Talk and others

Fuze Meeting is free with usage by up to 3 web users and/or 7 audio users. Just to clarify that, if 3 web users are in the meeting they also count as 3 audio users, leaving 4 audio spaces open, or just 7 audio users but the host has to be logged in through the web. For larger meetings you can check out Fuze Meeting’s pricing options, which include pay-as-you-go, monthly and annual plans.

I can see how this app would be useful with group projects and having small meetings. Even though the Fuze Meetings are limited to a certain number of attendees for the free version, the available features are great.

You can find this app in the BlackBerry App World or get it directly from FuzeMeeting.com. More info in the full press release after the jump.

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A few months ago I posted about the BrightBerry open source, unofficial Brightkite BlackBerry app. BrightBerry is now known as myKite and is available in the BlackBerry App World.

myKite is the Brightkite app for BlackBerry®. Brightkite makes it easy to meet people based on the places you go. In real-time, you can browse profiles of people around you, see what your friends are up to, post photos and notes to places, all while maintaining comprehensive control over your privacy. myKite was previously known as BrightBerry.

New features in version 1.0:

• Adding a battery and signal indicator to each screen.
• Redesigned the comment stream, friend stream, mention stream, nearby stream, universe stream.
• Improved caching we now cache the photo that was posted. This is used by the feed and object its the same image.
• Now displays how many images and avatars are in the cache.
• You can now resend Notes and Photos you post if they have failed.
• You are now able to clear the whole notification list
• The stream screen now has buttons for previous and next entries.
• You are now able to resend failed posts (notes/photos)
• You are now able to view user detail
• You can now send friend requests
• You can now modify friendships
• You can now revoke friendships
• Added a data usage warning, requirement for Blackberry App World
• You can now search for posts.
• You can now search for people.
• You can now see when a user was last active.
• Friends list now has a new UI
• Added setting to display tiny map in search results and friends list
• Social links can now be viewed and accessed in the user details
• Displays a configurable tiny map in your friends list
• Native support for 4.7 now! (Seperate download will be available) (No more comp mode or unable to hide keyboard.)
• Renamed to myKite
• Replace next and previous to a more button to load more posts in a stream.

The full changelog with all previous updates (features and bug fixes) can be viewed at the myKite Google Code page. myKite is compatible with all BlackBerry devices and can be downloaded for free from the BlackBerry App World.

Important: Uninstall any previous version of BrightBerry/mykite and reboot before installing myKite v1.0.

It’s been a few months since we first heard about the it but RIM has finally launched the free U2 Mobile Album for BlackBerry in the App World.

Features:

• Get inside the album with access to songs from No Line On The Horizon with images, lyrics, interviews and videos
• View the original, origami-style photo displays inspired by the music
• Access dynamic news feeds from U2.com and receive alerts when new content is available
• View exclusive images of the band in the recording studio and on the road
• Mark your place in the crowd with geocoding, chat and share images with other fans, and view postings from the band (coming soon!)
• Tap into the Who’s Listening section and see when and where other users are listening to the album (coming soon!)
• Track the tour as the band moves across the globe – see where they’re going and where they’ve been (coming soon!)

The U2 Mobile Album is available for all BlackBerry devices (OS 4.5 and higher) and all countries, except for China. For more info check it out in the BlackBerry App World.

As a U2 fan, does the U2 Mobile Album meet your expectations and satisfy your needs when it comes to keeping up with the band and other fans?