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Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • King James Version

    • 4 out of 10
    • Harvey Danger
    • The sophomore effort from Harvey Danger, I was really looking forward to this followup to "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?" Unfortunately, "King James Version" failed to deliver any of the bri

  • Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years

    • 8 out of 10
    • Joe Williams
    • Joe Williams was Figure Two in my three-man education in singing. A brilliant vocalist, scatter, and interpreter of jazz and blues, Williams produces music that's totally unique, yet sounds so effortl
  • The Printz

    • 8 out of 10
    • Bumblebeez 81
    • Part white rap, part alternative, part pop, and part rock, the Bumblebeez grabbed a hold of me with "Pony Ride," and didn't let go.

      This group does a marvelous job of moving seamlessly be

  • Guero

    • 10 out of 10
    • Beck
    • Beck is the modern master of the groove, and Guero is merely the latest example of this. From the opening power chords of "E-Pro," to the Pac-Man cuteness of "Girl," to the dirge-like lullab

  • 2112

    • 10 out of 10
    • Rush
    • We all know it, right? Well, ya just gotta have it. 2112 finally showed Rush out on their own, doing their own thing, and doing it well, IMHO.

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News

RIM Takes on iPhone with New BlackBerry

RIM’s new BlackBerry 8820 is the company’s first smartphone with Wi-FI built in -- a feature that’s also found on Apple’s iPhone. But the BlackBerry goes one step further by including the ability to switch voice calls between the standard cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

The 8820 also sports a GPS, which is missing from the iPhone, as is the BlackBerry’s voice dialing feature. While it appears that Apple won’t be able to add GPS functionality to the current model iPhone, it can add in other features like voice dialing through software updates.

Like the iPhone, the BlackBerry includes email support, text messaging, and Web browsing.


The BlackBerry 8820

RIM’s latest BlackBerry, although designed to entice new users into the smartphone market, underscores consumer desire for more sophisticated portable communication devices. The real problem for companies like RIM, however, may be in offering buyers products that satisfy business users and average consumers as well.

Frenzied interest in the iPhone both before and after the product was launched showed that consumers not only want all-in-one communication devices, but they also want user friendly interfaces for accessing those features. By and large, consumers have found cell phone interfaces to be cumbersome and confusing, and as a result many leave most phone features untouched.

Apple’s combination iPod and smartphone has been seen by many as the first real user-friendly product for this market, and now sets the standard for other manufacturers to hit. How well the 8820 is received by consumers has yet to be seen, but if the initial response to the iPhone is any indication, RIM has its work cut out for it.

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