Video: BlackBerry Bold vs. iPhone Web Browser Showdown (It Gets Ugly)

We’ve seen the BlackBerry Bold and iPhone head-to-head before, as well as the Bold’s greatly improved browsing powers over past BlackBerrys, but not side-by-side in a web browser race. It actually gets pretty ugly, uglier than we thought it would.

With both running on Wi-Fi and a cleared cache, in a test using Slashdot, the iPhone is actually able to open an entirely new page before the Bold finishes with the first one. The Bold renders everything correctly, it just takes a looooong time to do it. The Bold’s got some fairly heavy duty hardware though, so an update from RIM should be able to give the browser a much-needed jolt. [Mobile Computing Mag via jkOntheRun]

Popularity: 5% [?]

PocketMac for BlackBerry updated, supports Entourage 2008 and iTunes

Although the iPhone is the mobile platform of choice for many Mac users, some of us actually use something else. Shocking, I know. Whether it is by choice or dictated by work, tons of Mac users are also BlackBerry users. The problem is, native BlackBerry support is non-existent, leading crackberry/Mac addicts to choose between two software solutions: PocketMac and The Missing Sync. PocketMac is free for all BlackBerry users, thanks to a licensing agreement with RIM, and has just been updated to version 4.1.25.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Support for Lotus Notes 7 and Entourage 2008 PIM sync. Entourage users have been waiting for this since Office 2008 was released earlier this year.
• Support for syncing non-protected iTunes playlists (Windows users don’t get all the fun).
• Support for syncing iPhoto photos and albums to the BlackBerry, with options to keep albums intact and scale photos for the device. You can also import BlackBerry photos directly to iPhoto.
• Sync Notes from Leopard’s Mail.app
• Support for all BlackBerry units released as of May 2008

Sadly, if you are one of the lucky BB users with a BlackBerry Bold (which is rolling out in the US in September), early web reports are saying that the Bold is NOT compatible with PocketMac at this time. I will say, in the past, the drivers for new BlackBerry devices have been released pretty quickly, so as soon as the Bold release become a little more widespread, I fully expect a driver update to surface.

I’m not sure if PocketMac 4.1.25 works with devices running BlackBerry OS 4.5 (my carrier hasn’t officially upgraded yet), but if you are running 4.5, let us know in the comments if you can use the latest version of PocketMac. Want to make your BlackBerry look more Mac-like? Try one of the free Leopard themes available here.

PocketMac 4.1.25 requires OS X 10.3.9 or higher and is free for all BlackBerry users. [Blackberry]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Blackberry Flowberry Theme is for Closet Mac Admirers Who Can’t Pull the Trigger

The brand spankin’ new Flowberry theme is full of icons for the Blackberry owner who really wants to own an Apple product, like the iPhone or MacBook Pro, but can’t quite commit. As you’ll see from the video, there’s a pseudo Cover Flow quality to the latest effort from bplay, but that’s about it. And, just like the iTunes Store and other Apple products, the theme’s home screen icons are locked in, giving you that DRM feeling without actually having to deal with DRM.
Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 17% [?]

What to know before switching from Blackberry to iPhone

Thinking of making the switch? No, not Windows to Mac, Blackberry to iPhone! There’s a great list of what you need to know to ensure a smooth transition at Web Worker Daily (WWD). Some of the highlights include the ease of moving applications between home pages and multiple calendar support.

It’s not all wine and roses on the Apple end of things, though, and WWD lists the email experience as the Blackberry’s domain. It’s a very thorough list, and one we’d recommend to the informed consumer looking to ditch the ‘berry. Read the full article here.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Missing Sync for iPhone: Windows Version

The wizards of sync at Mark/Space have announced the availability of The Missing Sync for iPhone (for Windows). This is the Windows edition of the package that takes PIM data from your existing Palm OS, BlackBerry, Symbian OS, or Windows Mobile device and moves it to your sparkly new iPhone.

Like its Mac counterpart, the Windows version of The Missing Sync for iPhone comes with three separate applications that let you pull your SMS text messages, Call Log, and Notes from the iPhone. The app is available from Mark/Space for $39.95 and runs on PCs with Windows XP or Vista. To use the Migration Assistant feature of The Missing Sync for iPhone, you’ll also need to have Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 on your PC.

The Missing Sync for iPhone comes in English, French, and German localized versions.

In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote the User Guide for The Missing Sync for iPhone under contract to Mark/Space.

Popularity: 6% [?]