Great BlackBerry Apps For Business, Productivity and Travel

 BlackBerry Apps keep coming out and here’s a roundup of some great apps (some new) I’ve come across in the past month or so. Two of them are Mumbai-specific, but are not meant for Mumbaikars alone, and in fact may be very helpful for people who don’t know Mumbai well or travel to Mumbai.

CamCard (Business Card Reader): I attend lots of business events and meetings and storing and categorising cards is a perennial headache. I’ve used desktop card readers but since it doesn’t make sense to lug one around, I looked around for apps and found CamCard. This brilliant app turns your BlackBerry into a scanner and does just what the creator claims—transforms piles of business cards into your phone contacts in several clicks. You need to snap clear card photos either using your BlackBerry’s built-in camera or by downloading pictures to your BlackBerry picture folder.

I found the app worked well on most business cards and the scanning was accurate for clear pictures. In cases where I did not take a clear picture or in the rare instance where the app failed to read some information, I could always add or change fields at the result verification stage. My cards were automatically recognised and categorised and the app also provides a ‘Card Holder’ to save all business card images. After the card is recognised and saved in the ‘Card Holder’, I could call, send SMS or e-mail, and do more right from the ‘Card Holder’. You can capture 1-100 cards and scan them all at one time using the batch processing feature. The app auto-detects 16 languages, which includes many European and East Asian languages. And once done, I could immediately add or merge contacts with my BlackBerry contacts.

A finalist in BlackBerry Super App Challenge in 2010, CamCard comes in a paid as well as a free version. Unfortunately, the creators don’t seem to specify the features not available in the free version. The paid version costs Rs 466.45 in BlackBerry App World. If you exchange a lot of business cards with other people, this app will be well worth the money you spend on it.

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Download from BlackBerry App World

Wakeful (beta): This one’s in beta, but works great for me, because it makes my most dreaded part of the day (waking up in the morning!) a bit tolerable. Wakeful aims to help you kick off your day productively by providing you with your life’s most important information when waking up. So, you wake up to a talking alarm clock that reads you the latest news, stock information and weather. Wakeful can be configured to wake you in a professional male voice, or a soft feminine voice. The app downloads the latest news from the Net just before you wake up. The news and stock information on offer is international and perhaps later versions might offer location specific news, but for information junkies like me, it still works great. Also, since my location was India, I didn’t get any weather updates.

Sign up for the beta at http://www.wakeful.com/

m-Indicator: After card readers and alarm clocks that wake you up with news, time for some Mumbai-specific apps. First up is m-Indicator, a free but ad-supported app. Now, others have created separate apps that give you Mumbai’s BEST bus routes and taxi and auto fares. But this app does it all and even adds Mumbai’s lifeline–the local trains–to the mix. And the interface is pleasing and professional. The app offers local train timetables for all of Mumbai’s railway systems: Western Railway, the Central Railway, Harbour Line, the Thane-Vashi line, Diva-Roha line and the Dahanu-Panvel line. Once you choose the line, you select direction and then the Railway Station you are at and the app immediately throws up a list of trains heading in that particular direction, with final destination and type of train too (Fast or Slow). The app also supports PNR Status for Indian Railways, which means you can check ticket status for all long-distance trains. However, this feature uses SMS. And that’s not all when it comes to Indian Railways in Mumbai. The app also has a link that takes you to the latest Mega Block information. The railways implement Mega Blocks on some lines on Sundays and holidays in order to undertake maintenance and it’s good to have this information in advance so you can take alternative routes if necessary.

BEST bus routes are also mapped and you can search either by Source & Destination or by Bus Number or even by Bus Stop to find which buses halt at that particular bus stop. AC bus timings are also available. The lightning-fast interface and quick results means you can use this app on the road. And autorickshaw fares and taxi fares are also available instantly. One nice touch is that in case you’re travelling between 12 AM to 5 AM when there’s a 25 percent night surcharge, the app automatically provides you the exact figure based on the time you query it. Listings of movies playing in Mumbai and Maps are also available, both through Google.

Download for free using your mobile browser from http://m.mobond.com

Mumbai Airport Mobile App: With the busy Mumbai Airport being completely renovated and modernised even as it is fully operational, things can get confusing and the forex counter you used last time may have moved by the time you fly again a few months later. The Mumbai Airport Mobile App helps you get information about Mumbai Airport quickly and easily from your BlackBerry. Find out about your flight status, locate ATMs or Forex outlets, find a restaurant to eat at and more. The Transportation section gives you information on getting to and leaving the airport and you can dial directly from the app. For instance, since I travel a fair bit, I use Fleet Taxis to get home from the airport and the app is very useful in dialing taxi companies directly or even the pre-paid taxi counter. Plus, the app also offers a list of useful phone numbers for the airport, airlines and embassies. You can also provide feedback to the airport authorities using the app. Earlier versions of this app were quite buggy and despite multiple attempts, the version I got didn’t function well on the BlackBerry 9780 that I am using. However, the Mumbai Airport operator, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) was quite helpful when I provided feedback and the download link errors were soon corrected.

Download for free from http://www.csia.in/ OR http://demo.moveo.in/download/