GeekSugar

How-To: Safely Clean Your Cell Phone

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:10:22 PST

Think about how many surfaces you touch throughout the day - door handles, hand rails, elevator buttons, ATM screens - and then consider how many times you touch your cell phone before washing your hands. Gross, right? So it should come as no surprise (or maybe it will) that a recent study shows 16 percent of cell phones have poop on them. Not only that, but our keyboards are home to 60 times more germs than a toilet seat, which is 150 times over the acceptable limit for bacteria. Dis-gus-ting.

If that doesn't make you want to immediately clean your entire workstation, I don't know what will. While using some disinfectant wipes on your keyboard and desk often will do the trick for keeping your space grime-free, the same cannot be said for cell phones. Get the lowdown on how to clean your sensitive smartphones here.

Porsche BlackBerry: Love It or Leave It?

Kelly Schwarze — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:07:38 PDT

This week RIM announced their latest phone, the Porsche Design P’9981 BlackBerry, an unexpected partnership with the luxury carmaker. Accompanying the phone's $2,000 price tag is a stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back, and touch display. A new Porsche user interface, the Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app, built-in NFC support, and an exclusive PIN that identifies the BBM user as a P'9981 owner make up the inside mechanics of the device to entice luxury gadget enthusiasts.

Though it's expected to be available later this year, no specific launch date has been announced or details on which wireless carriers will offer the Porsche BlackBerry. Will you be lining up to get the newest BlackBerry?

What's the Difference Between the Three New BlackBerry Curve Models?

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:22:36 PDT

RIM announced three new BlackBerry Curve models today - the 9350, 9360, and 9370. All come with sleek and slim bodies, but they are virtually identical (save a few small tweaks in battery life and storage capacity). Check out the differences of the new trio of BlackBerry Curves below!

Specs They Share in Common
All three Curve models are super slim, coming in at just .43 inches thick and just a hair under 3.5 ounces with a 2.44-inch display and 800mhz processor. Just as a comparison, most of the Android phones you know and love these days are being stocked with 1Ghz processors and above. (Some of which are dual core, like the Droid X2), which make them lightning fast so you can expect these Curves to be a little on the slower side. Good news is that they all come with with the new BlackBerry 7 OS, a 5MP camera with flash and some other cool camera features like face detection, image stabilization, and geo-tagging. Video isn't going to be all that great, though, since it records at VGA standards (640x480). Additionally, all three of the 9300 series phones will come with NFC technology for mobile payments on the go.

Where They're Different
All of the new BlackBerry Curve models come with up to 5.5 hours of talk time, but the Curve 9350 has the most standby time (14.5 days) and media playback time - 45 hours of music and 9 hours of video. It seems that the 9360 has the least battery life of all three models, so if you're planning on playing a lot of music and videos, you might want to go with the 9350. Additionally, (not that I think this will be a dealbreaker) all three models are compatible with a number of music, video, and photo formats, but the 9350 and 9370 can also play .qpc audio formats, which are generally used for unique ring tones and voice recording. Finally, the 9370 has the most storage, coming with 1GB of on-board and expandable up to 32GB MicroSD. The 9350 and 9360 trail slightly behind at 512MB of on-board, expandable up to 32GB MicroSD. All three phones have 512MB of RAM.

Now that you know the (very minor) differences, get a closer look at the devices in the slideshow!

A Berry (Low-Cal) Happy Hour: Tequila Bramble

Michele Foley — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:21:50 PDT

One of my favorite Summer cocktails is the bramble, a mix of gin, lemon, fresh blackberries, and blackberry liqueur. It's also a recipe that's easy to play around with, which makes for a fun day of improvising - something I did this past weekend. Instead of gin, I chose tequila as the base spirit; to me, tequila is the perfect complement to warm weather and fresh fruit.

For anyone craving a fruity cocktail minus the calories, this variation of a classic bramble is a good choice. Like most brambles, it avoids store-bought mixers or fruit juice, but relies on fresh, seasonal blackberries and a hint of agave syrup for its sweetness. In the end, you'll have made a cocktail that is less than 200 calories.

See the recipe after the break!

RIM Announces New Phones, Facebook Apps, and More at BlackBerry World

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:19:51 PDT

The BlackBerry World conference is kicking off this week in Orlando, but the news is already flowing out of the expo. New devices, operating systems, and apps, oh my! Check out all the latest BlackBerry news below!

New devices - RIM unveiled BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9300 models, which both feature keyboards and touchscreens and are the thinnest BlackBerry devices yet at 10.5mm thick.

See the rest of the OS and PlayBook announcements after the break.

Barack Obama's New Tech Toy: An iPad

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:06:17 PDT

Don't let the headline fool you - our gadget-loving president, Barack Obama, hasn't tossed his beloved BlackBerry aside for Apple products, but he is dabbling in iOS.

In a recent interview, the POTUS admitted that he was still (literally) attached at the hip with his BlackBerry, but he's also got his own iPad. It's not clear if the president was able to score a sold-out iPad 2 or if he's rocking a first-gen tablet, but he did say that he's able to tether it to his BlackBerry. Maybe Steve Jobs gave him a new one during their recent meet and greet in Silicon Valley?

Either way, the president is fully operational with a BlackBerry, an iPad, and his own computer.

Download of the Day: GroupMe

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:02:13 PDT

Perhaps the biggest trend to come out of this year's SXSW Interactive: group messaging services. One such option, Beluga was recently snapped up by Facebook. Another, GroupMe, was the clear favorite during the Austin event.

GroupMe allows you to talk to multiple friends or contacts at once, share photos, or conference call across a group of people. You can even use the app to geo-locate yourself and share your location with friends. To get started, download the appropriate app or use the GroupMe website to enter your name and number. Then, enter names and numbers of friends or contacts - search using your phone's contacts, Twitter, or Facebook.

Download GroupMe free for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. It also works on any phone with text messaging capabilities.

BlackBerry Messenger May Be Heading to Android and iOS

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:06:28 PST

Anyone who's had a BlackBerry will likely tell you that BlackBerry Messenger is one of the coolest features on the device. It allows free and fast messaging to any other BlackBerry user by using a special PIN without worry of text messaging fees. Plus, it allowed you to see when your message was read - a helpful if slightly stalkerish feature. After switching to an iPhone from a BlackBerry, I certainly missed the service, even feeling slightly out of touch with friends still on BBM. Now, if a new rumor is correct, BBM is soon coming to Android and iOS devices.

Find out more after the break.

Download of the Day: Twitter For BlackBerry

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:15:35 PST

I've been mulling a switch from my iPhone to a white BlackBerry Torch, but one of my top concerns was apps. If nothing else, at least I can count on a full-featured Twitter app. The newly-updated beta Twitter for BlackBerry app is available for downloading now and comes with lots of the features you already enjoy on other devices.

New features include geotagging, mention push notifications, direct messages (threaded in the style of BBM conversations), hashtag assistance (so you know which ones are popular now), RT updates, and integration with your BlackBerry Social Feed so you can tweet without actually opening the Twitter app. Get your beta version of the Twitter for BlackBerry app now, and share your thoughts about switching from an iPhone to a BlackBerry in the comments - I need your advice!

Testing Out the Starbucks Card Mobile App, New Today

Susannah Chen — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:12:47 PST

It was only a matter of time: this morning, Starbucks launched a new mobile app that enables customers to pay for any food or beverage using the technology of a smartphone.

The Starbucks Card Mobile App is designed for iPhones, the iPod Touch, and the BlackBerry and should work at 7,500 locations in the US, including the stores inside Target. The app allows users to view and reload their Starbucks card balance, find participating locations, and check on card rewards. This morning, I tested it out. To see my thoughts, keep reading.