Believe it or not, I was in the middle of a post about how Google is taking over my BlackBerry when I became aware that Jim Courtney beat me to the punch over on Skype Journal.
I have all 5 Google applications, Search, Maps, Gmail, News, and Google Talk, installed on my BlackBerry 7130e. Three of these apps, Search, Gmail, and Google Talk, I use everyday with the other two, News, and Maps, being used at least once or twice a week. To make a long story short, these Google applications which are all free, are some of the most used applications on my BlackBerry.
Google already offers push email to your BlackBerry when set up your Gmail account through BIS. All Google needs to do is allow my Gmail contacts to sync with my BlackBerry contacts and Google Calendar to synch with the BlackBerry Calendar for the for the total takeover of my BlackBerry to be complete…
If you want to check out a bunch of cool free BlackBerry apps from Google, point your BlackBerry Browser to mobile.google.com.
Robb, I think that you are mistaken about Gmail for BlackBerry. I don’t believe that it is push based. It only downloads new mail when you first open the application or tell it to refresh.
Good post.
I use all of the applications, except Google talk because I have no one to speak to that has a bb and uses G-Mail. I particulary use the G-Mail to view attachments and clean up my conversations, as opoosed to going to my desktop. More importantly, it bypasses the delay that many of us BIS users encounter. The Google search function is my default page.
Amit, I believe Robb was referring to Gmail being pushed through his Verizon BIS setup, not the Google Gmail App.
By the way, I’m using Google Apps for my Domain and there is a seperate version of the BB Gmail app to download. Check out http://m.google.com/a.
I believe Gcal for blackberry should be coming up soon as well. I know of a few google employees who already have their blackberrys hooked up to it, and I think if you have the google enterprise package it works as well.
I have my Gmail account set up through BIS and it really works as a push e-mail, some times I have had my Gmail account opened in my laptop and e-mails arrive first to my Blackberry than my laptop. It really works cool.
By the way, only Google Talk, Maps and Gmail are available to my 7250.
I completely misread what Robb wrote about Gmail and push to the BlackBerry. Thanks for pointing that out Dave.
j.a.,
Assuming I understand you correctly, please double check your access. I have a 7250 and have modules for Google Search and Google News as well.
I don’t mind google on my BB.
I think Google Maps might be the best Blackberry (and free) app I have ever used. Its able to look up nearby restaurants, shops, or whatever you wish, but best of all, for someone that lives in a traffic heavy city like LA, its integrated live traffic map overlays are essential to my drive to and from the office everyday, I don’t know what I would do without this little free app…
I don’t see where google offers “news” as a downloadable application for the BB. I see where it has a news page on their mobile version of there website.
Am I missing something? If so can you please direct me to the actual download for news? thanks!
commenting on a skype page about the blackberry is all well and good but when will skype be available on my 3G blackberry?
i agree, i am really looking forward to someday having over-the-air google / blackberry contacts and calendar sync.
with skype and blackberry, i resorted to creating a simple windows app that allows me to send/receive skype messages through email. works great for now, although a true skype client on the blackberry is probably 2nd on my list to the google sync.
Does anybody know if he gmail application (unlike the BIS approach), provides a two way sync. I set up a yahoo email account via bis, and when an email is read and deleted from the web, it is not deleted from my blackberry 8830. I also did not like having my personal email mixed in with my work email in the main messages folder. I assume gmail set up this way would have the same problems.
I’ve been told the gmail app would sove both these problems. Is this true?
Also, I’ve been told the gmail application has problems with verizon blackberries. Is this true. I have an 8830.
I would prefer not to go through the trouble of loading the sofware if any of these things are an issue. Can anybody help me out?
Thanks
Phil