by Julie Gawain

Created on: December 23, 2009

There are literally thousands of great apps for BlackBerrys, many of them free, however weeding out the good ones from the bad can be a tedious and time-consuming process.   There are numerous categories of apps, everything from utilities for your smartphone, to internet radios, to social networking apps. 

Utilities for your BlackBerry are plentiful.  By far, the most useful is the Quickpull app, which is made by Steelthorn Software.  The app performs a virtual battery pull, saving you from having to open up the back of your phone, and leaving you with more memory for other apps.  It is a very flexible app, as well.  You can set it to do a battery pull every day, at a time that is convenient for you.  It can also be set to alert you once your memory falls below a set limit. 

Another very useful and popular app is the Google Maps app.  Using your BlackBerry’s GPS, (providing your ‘Berry has one) it can pinpoint your location and show you where the nearest restaurant, Starbucks, or bus station is.  It also provides directions and public transportation information, however, there are no spoken turn-by-turn directions, so relying on this as a car GPS is inadvisable. 

Can’t find a window?  Forget to check the news?  The WeatherBug app might be a lifesaver, (or an outfit-saver).  WeatherBug uses the internet connection on your phone to let you know what the weather is, what it will be, and if there are any watches or warnings for your area.  It can be set to update the weather conditions every fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, hour, two hours, or four hours, and it has a nifty icon that instantly lets you know what the current conditions are by showing a sun, clouds, moon, or snow, as well as the high and low temperatures for the day.

But, ah, you want to be entertained!  Fear not, Pandora is a free internet radio service that will turn any bus trips or boring moments into something musical.  Once it is loaded on your phone, it will ask for a band or musician that you enjoy.  Based on that choice, it will construct a ‘station’ featuring music by that band or musician, as well as others in that genre.  It is a useful little app, the best of its kind, but it can be a battery killer, so you may want to use it sparingly if you are running low on juice.

If you need to keep in touch with your buddies, Facebook has a great app to help.  It

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