Category Archives: BlackBerry

First update for Starbeams

Level21The strategy game Starbeams now sits at version 1.1 after its first update. The update (available for both BlackBerry 10 and Windows 8) adds ten new levels as well as better support for the app in its minimized state.

About Starbeams

The object of the game is to assign colors to each star in order to ensure that none of the stars are connected to another star of the same color. The game starts off easy, but quickly gets more complex, adding more colors and seven pointed stars that can not be changed.

New in Version 1.1

IMG_00000001In addition to the ten new levels that this version brings, most of the other new features revolve around how the app handles itself when it is minimized. On Windows 8 the app now uses a live tile in both the wide and square versions of the icon that shows the number of levels that have been beaten so far. The BlackBerry 10 version of the game does the same thing with an Active Frame when it is minimized, showing an icon, and an update on your game progress rather than just a shrunken view of the current screen.

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Starbeams, Windows

10 days with The Old Reader

For the past few years Google Reader has been my homepage, and my most used website. So when the news came out that Google was shutting it down, it obviously came as a bit of a blow to me. So for a bit over a week, I have instead been using The Old Reader.

The Old Reader has some disadvantages (and also some advantages) over Google Reader, but despite the differences I now plan on continuing to use the site full time as my primary RSS application.

oldReader

For the most part The Old Reader works the same as Google Reader did (at least for my use cases). I have a centralized listing of all my RSS feeds at theoldreader.com/posts/all (which is set as my homepage). I can then freely scroll through the expanded feeds with each one automatically getting marked as read.

There is one neat features that Google Reader did not have. You can opt to view your feeds in a “Reverse” view which instead shows the earliest feeds first, instead of the most recent. I find this useful especially when blogs post a reaction to another blog in my feed, so that the order in which I read the news actually makes logical sense.

There are also some downsides to The Old Reader as well. For one there is no way to minimize the menu on the left side. I almost never adjust anything here, and would rather devote more screen space to the actual content of the feeds. The persistence of this menu also makes using this site less then ideal on phones (although tablets are fine). Currently there is not an API available, but should that change there is a high probability of me writing apps for BlackBerry 10 and Windows 8.

The other issue that I have run into is that the feeds don’t always seem to refresh as quickly as they did with Google Reader.

Still, the team is continuing to work on this site, and improving it all the time. The site has seen tremendous growth the past few months, and is likely to see even more this summer when Reader gets shut down for good. Seeing as the team is actually dedicated to improving the project, there is hope that these issues will be addressed in the future. Meanwhile the future for Google Reader has already been written.

BlackBerry

Twinkle is now available on BlackBerry 10

IMG_00000017The date count down app Twinkle is now available for BlackBerry 10, with support for both the Z10 and the Q10.

About Twinkle

Twinkle is an app that allows you to set and keep track of upcoming and past events. Twinkle will tell you how far away an event is, and share it with a friends through social networks. The app includes an number of options for sorting or filtering your views in order to allow you to easily be able to manage a large number of different events.

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Twinkle

Simple Dice app now supports the Q10

IMG_00000001The Simple Dice app has been updated in BlackBerry World to support the Q10 which is launching within the next week in Canada and the UK. This free app is exactly what it sounds like, just a virtual die that you can roll to get a random number between one and six.

The app can also be downloaded from BlackBerry AppWorld for older touchscreen BlackBerry phones. These versions have also been updated, now giving the option of removing the ads from the application through the use of a $1 in-app purchase.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Simple Dice

Liar’s Dice updated for BlackBerry 10

Q10Liar’s Dice has been updated in BlackBerry World to version 2.1 in order to add support for the BlackBerry Q10 which is launching this weekend.

About Liar’s Dice

This is a classic dice game of strategy and deception in which seeing only your own dice you must bet on the combined dice in play without getting caught in a lie.

The object of the game is to catch your opponent (the computer) betting too high. Bets are placed on both your own dice which you can see, and your opponent’s dice which are hidden from you. You begin each round by making a bet. The computer then has an opportunity to either call your bet a lie, or to bet higher then you. Then it is once again your turn to call your opponent’s bet or to bet even higher. This continues until eventually a bet is called. Then if the bet is too high the caller wins, or if the bet is not a lie, the bettor wins the round.

The game has two main game modes. The “High Score” mode is the default mode, points are awarded for each round, and the first to gain a given number of points wins. The number of points required to win a game can be configured on the options page in order to allow for shorter or longer games.

IMG_00000017The other option is for an “Elimination” mode in which the loser of each round loses one dice for the following rounds, and the last player with any dice left is the winner. This game is more dynamic as there are a different number of dice in play each round. Additionally games in this mode typically play faster than high score games.

 

Links & Information

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Liar's Dice

Pixelated Plus version 3.4 released

IMG_00000035Pixelated and Pixelated Plus have been updated to version 3.4 for all BlackBerry 10 phones. This version adds support for the BlackBerry Q10, adds a second leaderboard for scores posted in the past 24 hours, integrates with BBM profile boxes, and improves the options for sharing your best scores in the app to social networks.

About Pixelated

IMG_00000029Pixelated is an addictive puzzle based strategy game that requires a mixture of skill and luck in order to accomplish. The object of the game is to change the colour of the squares until the entire screen is a single solid colour. Starting with the square in the upper left corner you can change the colour of the blocks in order to match that of the surrounding squares. This is done repeatedly until the entire screen is a single colour. The object of the game is to clear the screen in as few moves as possible. Under the default settings you must do so in under 22 moves in order to win. The game is controlled by the large colored blocks on the side of the screen.

New in Version 3.4

IMG_00000032This update to Pixelated adds support for showing a leaderboard (powered by Scoreloop) for not only the top scores of all time, but also the best scores over the past 24 hours. Also new in this version is the ability to see a preview of each color scheme inside the color changer on the options page. Additionally there have been improvements made to the sharing options for the app. The app now lists the actual new score when sharing a new high score message, or the number of earned achievements when using a generic share, while the BlackBerry 10 version of the app now also updates BBM profile boxes just like you get on previous BlackBerry OS versions.

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Pixelated

10,000 Farkle updated for the Q10

Q10-device10,000 Farkle has been updated in BlackBerry AppWorld to version 2.2 in order to support the soon to be launched BlackBerry Q10. This update also includes a few tweaks to the code in order to make it more efficient for both Q10 and Z10 owners.

How to Play Farkle

Farkle gives you six dice to roll and awards points for a straight, three pairs or three or more of the same number. Fewer points ares also awarded for each individual 1 and 5. Any dice that do not score can be re-rolled for additional points. If all 6 dice can be scored, then all of the dice can be re-rolled on the same turn.

The skill in this game comes from knowing how far to push your luck, and which scoring combinations to take, and when to re-roll.

The default game mode gives you 10 turns to score as many points as you can. The 10,000 point mode gives you unlimited turns to reach 10,000 points. The two competitive game modes both use the traditional format of racing to 10,000 points.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Farkle

Script for deploying most recently created .bar file

The following batch script is what I use to automatically deploy the most recently created .bar file in a folder to either a PlayBook or BlackBerry 10 phone.

@echo off
for /f "delims=" %%x in ('dir /od /a-d /b *.bar') do set recent=%%x
@echo on
call blackberry-deploy -installApp -launchApp -device <device-ip-address> -package %recent% -password <device-password>

Just replace <device-ip-address> and <device-password> with your actual ip address and password.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, code

Xploding Boxes gets even more levels

IMG_00000064Xploding Boxes has been updated to version 4.4 in BlackBerry World, Google Play, the Amazon AppStore, the Nook Bookstore, and the Windows 8 store. This new version adds an additional 10 levels to the game, as well as improving the sharing options on BlackBerry 10, and improving the in-app payment system for the Google Play store.

About Xploding Boxes

Xploding Boxes is a strategy game for BlackBerry, Android, Nook, Windows 8, and BlackBerry 10 where the goal of the game is to start a chain reaction that will explode all of the boxes on the screen. Each level gives you a different number of touches, and requires a different strategy to solve.

The game itself, and the first 25 levels are available for free, while an in-app purchase can be used to access the rest of the levels for just $2.99 while maintaining your progress from the free levels.

Links & Information
Android, BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Nook, PlayBook, Windows, Xploding Boxes

Posting elsewhere

8350iThis past week I have had two posts over at the Gadget Masters with an explanation on Why the Facebook Phone is Doomed, as well as a look how PlayBook upgrade rates may help predict How quickly Z10 owners will update to OS 10.1 on their new phones.

Yesterday I also posted on BerryReview about The Amazing Resiliency of the 8350i. A Nextel branded phone from 2008 on the iDEN network, that stubbornly continues to persist in the monthly download logs for my games.

Android, BlackBerry

PlayBook users still on newest OS

PlayBookStatsMar2013

BlackBerry has not launched an OS update for the PlayBook since last October, and given that pretty much all users were already on the newest OS for the past three months now, it isn’t much of a surprise for almost all users to also be on the newest version of the OS in the month of March either.

This data was collected by BlackBerry World at the time of download, for the popular PlayBook strategy game Pixelated. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of March 2012 through the end of March 2013.

BlackBerry, PlayBook, Statistics

BBOS users shifting towards newer OS versions

StatsMar2013

After being flat for two straight months, February say a 3.65% increase in the the percentage of users running OS 6.0 or higher. The percentage of users on the newest version of the OS is also up slightly to 35.1% of BlackBerry OS users.

This data was taken from downloads of the free BlackBerry strategy game Pixelated. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of March 2012 through the end of March 2013, and does not include BlackBerry 10 or PlayBook devices.

BlackBerry, Statistics

Nationality of PlayBook users

In the first three months of 2013, the strategy game Xploding Boxes was downloaded by BlackBerry PlayBook users in 142 different countries. As in the past most users are from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

XplodingBoxesPlayBookUsersByCountry2013Q1

The biggest change from three months ago, is the increase in UK users, which is now up to 27.7% of PlayBook users. However, for the most part the distribution of countries being represented is very consistent with what it previously has been.

These statistics are generated from PlayBook downloads of the popular strategy game Xploding Boxes, from January 1st, through March 31st. Data was collected by BlackBerry World at the time of download.

BlackBerry, PlayBook, Statistics