StopMail for the BlackBerry platform could save you from being crushed under the weight of emails coming into your inbox. It’s cheap and I am amazed no one has thought of it before now. Available here.

Allows you to disable an email account without having to actually remove the account from the device (Helpful for work accounts).
Keeps emails from playing catch-up when the account is re-enabled.
Allows you to schedule a blocking period for each account.
Keeps the block settings across device reboots as long as it is enabled.
Saves the last 20 emails deleted by the app, since last reboot, so they can be restored.
In app help menu.

BlackBerry gaming is hardly the pinnacle of mobile entertainment, but there are some good titles available if you take the time to look. I admit that finding 10 was not easy and that it took some time, but did eventually come up with a selection to turn your trusty emailer into more than just a business tool.

Addictive Tower Defense 8/10

For graphics alone Addictive Tower Defense stands head and shoulders above many other BlackBerry games. There is no sound, bizarrely, but the game play is immersive and you will find yourself playing for long periods of time in a desperate attempt to beat the enemy which is relentless in its approach. I certainly did.

Druglord Wars 2 7/10

Druglord Wars beings the controversial genre back with a bang to the BlackBerry platform and brings with it entertaining graphics and game play that will keep you coming back time and time again. You can pick it up for 5 minutes and just like the title suggests it is highly addictive, but not in a bad way.

Pinball Deluxe 7/10

Pinball Deluxe is an ambitious title because this is a genre that would seem unlikely to work well on a BlackBerry. However, the animation is smooth and there is a genuine pinball feel to the title. It does what it needs to and is a title worth keeping for when you have a few spare minutes.

Air Traffic Control 8/10

If you own a BlackBerry Storm this is the game to get. If you think of it as the BlackBerry answer to Flight Control that is all you need to know. Excellent.

Labyrinth 7/10

Labyrinth is another game that is for the Storm only. Because it requires an accelerometer it will only work on the Storm, but is a good conversion of the smash iPhone title and provides a more immersive experience than most BlackBerry games.

Astraware Casino 8/10

Astraware has brought its own brand of game development to the BlackBerry and done so much more effectively that could have been hoped for. Casino is a fully features and graphically pleasing title that plays and look much better than most other BlackBerry titles.

Platypus 9/10

There are very few arcade games on the BlackBerry platform, but Platypus shows that it can be done. Astraware has brought this cult classic to the platform and it plays just as well on a BlackBerry as it does on other platforms. An impressive achievement.

Nintaii 9/10

Crazily addictive and a game that will really push your mental prowess. I spent many weeks trying to crack this one and was actually quite sad when I finished it. A superb title.

Yahtzee Adventures 9/10

One of very few titles that looks and plays as well on a BlackBerry as it done on any other platform. It will keep you going for weeks and is surprisingly cheap. With quick bursts of concentration built in to a longer term goal it marries the two main aspects of game play well.

Monopoly 8/10

Still a classic board game that suits the smartphone format perfectly, no matter how small the screen is. The original from Handmark still stands out as being the easiest to view and ultimately the best to play.

As I said at the start, it is not easy choosing multiple BlackBerry games, but there are some gems included in this list. Sadly we are still some time away from seeing genuine arcade classics reach the platform.

The BlackBerry Torch is without doubt the best BlackBerry device available, but as yet not all apps are compatible with OS 6.

If you click the image above you will be taken to a page listing 20 essential apps for the BlackBerry Torch. Definitely the place to start if you have just picked up one of these beauties.

Our recommended list of essentials includes something for everyone, covering security (e.g. SmrtGuard, PatternLock) , social networking (e.g. Twitterberry, FourSquare), navigation/travel (e.g. Google Maps, BerryWeather),  important tools and utilities (e.g. BerryBuzz, BerrySlider, SmartBIndie, Leave It On, Plug It In, Capture It), internet (e.g. Tether, BerryReader, Tag Reader by Microsoft, Google Mobile App), financial (e.g. Mobile Checkbook), telephony (Google Voice), and lifestyle (DailyHoroscope, Wallpaper Changer), and most importantly, our co-branded BlackBerry SuperStore!

Mobilesyrup has posted an image showing that Blackberry OS 6 upgrades will only be available on current phones in 2011. That sounds like a ‘long’ time away and much longer than I initially expected.

WordPress for BlackBerry has been updated to v1.41 which fixes a few of the main bugs. It is a great app, but still not a workable solution for many sites, such as 247, who need excerpt support.

It was a bug squashing release, including:

• Fixed empty title issue for those blogs with “Site Title” field set to empty value.
• Fixed an issue on the comments screen that doesn’t permit editing of comments with weird characters within URL or e-mail field.
• Introduced a better integration with the VideoPress service and the WordPress.com Space-Upgrade option.
• Added support for the blog shortcut icon.
• Minor bug fixing.

I had 20 minutes with the Nokia C5 today and was quite impressed with the build quality and overall design. While it looks and feels like many other Nokia phones, there has definitely been a ramp up in terms of the care given to materials and the form factor. It felt very quick and the screen was ‘just’ large enough to cope with what is a fairly busy OS and the overall experience was much more positive that I have felt over the past year with any Nokia phone. I still can’t see where it will fit in such a crowded market, but it is part of Nokia’s focus on making standard mobile phones smarter rather than trying to push smartphones onto people who just need a phone. My overriding feeling was that it is a bargain for under £150 without contract.

And then I had a full 30 minutes with the BlackBerry Torch. When I first picked it up I must admit to feeling less than impressed by the size and especially the weight. The design does not scream 2010 and is very much in the practical camp, but the levels of practicality available are immense.It was only when I started to really play with the keyboard and touch screen that I got into the experience and OS 6 felt very natural within a few minutes. I won’t go into too many details because I am expecting one for review soon, but I was left feeling that this phone is actually quite special.

You probably know by now that Apple is holding a special event on 1st September. Rumoured announcements include the new Apple TV (still people are calling it iTV), 99 cent TV episode rentals from the likes of Fox and Disney, a new iPod Touch with Retina Display and FaceTime, CDMA iPhone 4 and lots of other silly ideas such as hardware keyboarded iPhones (won’t happen) and that the Beatles back catalogue will make it to iTunes (also won’t happen). The use of a guitar to put an image to the event is a curious one though…

MusicWithMe is a new BlackBerry app which performs a very important task- it allows you to download tracks from iTunes straight to a BlackBerry device. It is currently priced at a one time charge of $14.99 and a 30 day trial is also available. It is also coming soon for Android, Symbian and Maemo. I have looked and cannot see how it handles the DRM tracks, or if it can, but it is ironic that an iPhone needs to connect to iTunes via a wire and a BlackBerry doesn’t.

If there is one thing BlackBerry devices do well it is productivity and mProductive is looking to take this to the next level. It is a highly professional piece of software with a professional price- $29.99.

mProductive™ brings your Calendar, Tasks and Memos all together in one place at last, to help you easily understand the:

With full control over creating and grouping your action items, confidently manage what you need to and in a way that’s helpful, easy and reliable.

Two of the very best BlackBerry apps are currently on sale. Tether is down to $39.96 from $49.95 and BerryWeather is down to $7.96 from $9.95. Both are already excellent value and this sale makes them even more worthwhile.

Have you ever been stuck in an airport, hotel room, coffee shop, or on the road with no Internet? Frustrated paying $9.95 for 30 minutes of internet service? Resorting to your Blackberry but wished you could use your laptop?

Tether is here to provide a solution to all those worries!

Tether is an application that allows your PC to take advantage of your Blackberry’s data plan, allowing you to access the Internet on your laptop anywhere there is cellular coverage from your BlackBerry.

Tether is easy to install, easy to use, works practically anywhere, and is cost effective.

BerryWeather is a visually stunning weather application for your BlackBerry smartphone.

Get instant access to current conditions plus detailed 7-day and 24-hour forecasts for over 72.000 locations worldwide. Get weather advisories and alerts for any location within the U.S.

Keep up to 10 locations at the same time and switch between them with a flick of the trackball (or on the Storm, your finger swipe!)

Available from Clove for £299.62.

Before I received the BlackBerry Curve 9300 for review I had written the following as a quick thought for 247-

The BlackBerry 9300 is seen by many as a device that sits nowhere. It does not have the same quality camera as the Bold 9700 or the ultra clear HVGA display. It also has a lesser battery, but is £75 cheaper than the Bold.

When compared to the Curve 8520 the comparison gets even tighter- for an extra £95 you get 3G and HSDPA, a classier design and that’s about it. All of the other specifications are very similar and so you are left with some choices as to which is right for you.

On the one hand it could be difficult to justify paying £95 for faster internet and a slightly different design. Then again, surely £75 seems a small price to pay to get a battery quality camera, better battery and a much crisper display with arguably better build quality.

The Curve 9300 will sell in huge numbers because it is a Curve. They always sell in huge numbers. I have to say though that the 8520 and 9700 seems like better value to me and maybe to many others as well.

That was my initial impression of the 9300 and is still a view I find hard to dismiss. With so many BlackBerry devices on the market filling the £150-£350 price point it can be hard for the potential purchaser to decide which one is the best value. What I will do, however, is judge the 9300 on merit and see how well it measures up at its current price point.

In the box

The box and accessories are pure RIM. A charger with UK/EU adaptors, stereo headset, data cable and a user guide. The battery is rated at 1150mAh which would normally be a cause for concern, but this is a BlackBerry and my experience is that they go on forever on one charge. However, we do have 3G functionality here so it will be interesting to see how well the 9300 copes when everything is turned on.

First Impressions

My very first impression was that the phone is almost identical to the Curve 8520. It feels plastic, but has a patterned battery cover which aids grip. The silver surround is obviously included to give it a more expensive look, but is again made of plastic. It looks good, but in the hand the 9300 really does feel like the 8520 in almost every way. The good news is that it is almost the perfect form factor for a comfortable experience and it feels better in the hand than any other phone I have held. There is something special about the dimensions which come together with the materials to offer a phone that is almost perfectly balanced. I am not convinced that the silver surround should be there though because this is likely the only area that will be prone to scratches and knocks.

At a mere 104 grams it will not be noticeable in any pocket and the 14mm depth is acceptable. To round out the hardware the screen is clear and sharp, as you would expect from a non-touch, and the keyboard is again almost identical to the 8520 i.e. perfectly quick in daily use. The 9300 is a very well made phone which panders to all of the hardware practicalities BlackBerry users require and has a form that makes you feel at home straight away. I will keep coming back to the 8520 though because besides the silver surround, there is very little difference between the two.

Functionality

The 9300 is fast! It is as quick as the 8520 and 9700 and there is little doubt that OS 5 coupled with 256MB RAM and a relatively low specified processor is still capable of providing speeds that other platforms and phones are not capable of. There is never a blip in performance and in the past 3 days I have left multiple programs running with no impact on performance. It will be interesting to see what happens when OS 6 is released for this phone, but the good news is that it will take it so you will be buying a smartphone that can handle the future of BlackBerry. And this is an important point because it is arguably the main difference between the 8520 and the 9300 with the former not able to receive an update to OS 6.

Call quality and signal are top class, as usual for RIM, and even the speakerphone sounds crisp and deep enough with no distortion even at high volumes. Cranking it all the way to the top will create some distortion, but through the headphones and to the ear this phone is a top quality voice caller. I managed to receive HSDPA quite often with the 9300 which is absent on other phones and a permanent 3G signal at home. I rejoiced for a few minutes until I remembered that having a fast mobile data connection on an OS 5 BlackBerry is of little consequence. The messaging system is so efficient that simple GPRS is more than enough to cope with email and BlackBerry Messenger and the web browsing experience is dire on the low resolution screen. I have to look to the future again and fully expect the 3G capability to come into its own when the WebKit browser arrives in OS 6. At this time, however, the extra speed is not overly noticeable in the tasks you are likely to undertake.

Music is quality is above average, but no way near the level we see from the high-end devices such as the iPhone 4 and Galaxy S. I guess we shouldn’t expect such quality at a lower price point and it is good enough for most people to be happy with the experience. Video playback is smooth, but hampered by the size and resolution of the screen- it does the job for viewing YouTube clips and home video, but I’m not convinced a full movie would be a suitable fit for this phone. The 9300 does the job for entertainment, but falls short in the vital area which is to not make it feel like an add-on rather than an embedded part of the experience.

Battery life has surprised me so far. The low mAh rating coupled with 3G raised alarm bells for me, but once again RIM has proved me wrong. With moderate usage you can expect 2 days of clear usage, but throw in the heavy stuff like Wi-Fi and video streaming and you will be back to a charge a day. The good news is that charging is super quick and 30 minutes each morning should be enough for most power users with a longer charge at the weekend to keep things topped up.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 is a quality phone, of that there is no doubt, and it is one that represents good value for money at just shy of £300. For that you get a phone that copes with messaging and data input as well as any other, a screen you can see in all conditions and the kind of battery life you don’t find on any other platform.

It is a bit of a sleeping giant, however, and difficult to appreciate in its current form. When OS 6 is added, it will become a completely different phone and one that is likely to be much more fun to use. I can only compare the 9300 to other BlackBerry phones because Android, iPhone and webOS smartphones are so completely different BlackBerry phones do what they do extremely well and I am a huge fan, but when I consider the competition made by RIM it puts the 9300 in an awkward position.

It takes me back to the start of this review. If you want a BlackBerry smartphone that does messaging and occasional internet access the Curve 8520 represents much better value for money and offers 95% of what the 9300 can do. Chances are that if these are your needs the arrival of OS 6 will be of little consequence and so the 9300’s main advantage becomes mute.

The real problem for the 9300, however, is the Bold 9700; better keyboard, better screen, better battery, better camera, better materials and a better overall experience. And all for an extra £70. I like the Curve 9300 a lot, but I like the Bold 9700 a lot more and would gladly pay a little more for it.

UPDATE: After a further day I started to think about the 9300 some more and came to the conclusion that it could well become the coolest smartphone on the planet. Younger people may well like the price and the styling and it is without doubt a grower in terms of how I have become attached to it. I still prefer the 9700, but I am 40 years old. The single video included on the 9300 sums up the target audience perfectly and also sums up how to market a phone/brand perfectly. Check it out below-

Another cryptic email has dropped into my inbox with the following sentence- “BlackBerry 6 will be released on 6th September 2010.” Take that with a huge pinch of salt at this stage, but the email address it was sent from has been fairly reliable in the past.

Cody Willard has pronounced RIM as being ‘dead’. The reasoning for having big concerns about the company are completely valid, but the whole ‘dead’ thing is pure link baiting.

From MarketWatch- “In other words, the virtuous cycles that critical mass brings to a tech company, has recently ended for RIMM. RIMM had critical mass for the enterprise email solutionns for a decade, but the technology has been creatively destructed by the very similar and more flexible (though still slightly less reliable) email/message/social-networking capabilities of the iPhone and Android…which, as I wrote yesterday, are just starting to see the virtuous cycles that come from critical mass.”

My second favourite phone in the world, the BlackBerry Bold 9700, has been caught on video running BlackBerry OS 6. Looking quite smooth… More at BerryReview.

Most BlackBerry users should now be able to download version 2.0 of BlackBerry App World. The changes are not groundbreaking, but it’s a start. Just need to see some more great quality apps when OS 6 arrives.

The official Facebook BlackBerry app has been updated to v1.8 which brings with it video uploading, faster performance and BlackBerry push APIs. Small changes, but significant ones. Available now through BlackBerry App World.

The BlackBerry Bold R020, or whatever it will eventually be called, has been uncovered by BGR and is a slightly upgraded Bold 9700; the internal memory is doubled to 512MB and the camera upped to 5 Megapixels. Now, I love the Bold 9700 and consider it to be the best smart mobile phones on the market, but this release will be laughed at by some. RIM cannot improve on the form much, if at all, but a touch screen would satisfy many. The problem is that a touch screen would not improve the experience so that leaves one question. Why?

And BGR has picked up the BlackBerry Oxford as well. Think of it as being like the dreadful Pearl Flip, but with a QWERTY keyboard and even uglier. What is RIM thinking???