How cool is this? Way cool! If you use Outlook and are not using Xobni, you are really missing out, my friend. My challenge has been that, while I no longer use Outlook, I was under the mistaken impression that I needed Outlook in order to get Xobni for my BlackBerry. I am pleased to note that this is incorrect! Turns out that there are two versions and for a one time fee of only $9.99, you can bring most of the power of Xobni right to your BlackBerry. The Outlook version, Xobni One, requires a one-time fee and monthly subscription but it will then sync with your desktop. Fact is, when I add contacts to my Google account, those already sync to my BlackBerry which, in turn, is syncing to Xobni.
The interface is very nice and setup was a snap. Every contact now has a the usual phone #’s and email addresses in addition to records of calls exchanged, emails, and SMS. There are links provided to view both FaceBook and LinkedIn profiles. What is surprisingly absent is any mention of Twitter and there are also no streams for FaceBook. Perhaps these are available with Xobni One (not sure) but, I’m still a little surprised. Then again, Xobni in Outlook and Xobni in Gmail are not the least bit similar. It is what it is. Still, for $10? Tough to beat!
One of the really nifty things is that, when opening an email to compose, you can “flick” your trackball or pad up and Xobni pops up and allows you to select who you wish to address your email too. Pretty sweet!
SocialScope came out with a major update this week. I have been a huge fan of this app for BlackBerry ever since they first began offering it on a limited beta invite basis. Hands down, and I have tried them all, no other app for Twitter and FaceBook comes even close on a BlackBerry. The bad news is that soon it will be also available for you losers who are on Android and iPhone. LOL. There goes the neighborhood! I have one super cool app that you can’t have and now you will soon be able to have 
The new interface is much slicker and they have added FULL FaceBook integration which means that it can now easily replace the barely adequate FaceBook app that comes with BlackBerries. You can also use it for FourSquare and Flickr. What is still missing, however, is LinkedIn 
However, right now, I still see it as being unopposed for BlackBerry. This may change with the soon to be released HootSuite application and, I must admit, I do love HootSuite!
Another nice feature of the new update for SocialScope is an integration with your inbox that will alert you to (you actually have several options) new direct and @ messages. The message generated is actually a link to that specific Tweet. SocialScope continues to have strong “sharing” features which will allow you to use old style or new style retweets, email a tweet, or even check in with FourSquare from your inbox.
If all of this activity were not enough, last night I received a notification to update my device OS to version 5 (Curve 8900). Seems like that should be simple enough. Right? Wrong! The instructions were abysmal and I am totally convinced that I managed to dodge several potential device killers by pure dumb luck alone. Then, when it is all said and done, I had to reauthorized about every third-party app that I use, go in and reset the preferences on most of those, and even had to reset half the preferences on my BlackBerry period. Stupid things like defaults for volume and where I want to be notified of messages. All of which had been set previously. Lame!
All whining aside, it’s a pretty nice update There are several new features that will allow you to do things like tag messages for follow-up. Contact record lookup is much cleaner as is your call log. There are a couple of new icons with one being for “Visual Voice Mail” which, apparently, I don’t have access to for whatever reason? Overall, I must say that I like the new look and feel.
Well, folks, that will be it for today. Thanks for visiting!
Craig
Related articles by Zemanta
- SocialScope for BlackBerry Updated, Android and iPhone en Route (intomobile.com)
- 5 Plugins for Outlook Users with Gmail Envy (readwriteweb.com)
- Xobni Study: Email Overload Means We’re Never Not Working (techcrunch.com)
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. NetWorks! Boise Valley is a business to business networking organization for the most serious sales and marketing professionals only.
