I like to jump on stuff when it first comes out, love being one of the first to try something out and then sharing what I’ve learned with others. When Spotify came out in the USA, I had a private invite to use the service before it officially launched, and by time that trial ended I just had to give Spotify my money to continue using it. Since then I’ve put quite a few people on to the service (some right here on the G Style staff lol), and also got some people use to the idea of paying the $9.99 monthly fee. Spotify is really a great service and I’ve use it immensely since I’ve signed up. Spotify is a daily constant in my life, but Spotify isn’t invincible. Spotify just like Pandora before it which I use to use is vulnerable to being bested by another service and this is where Google All Access comes into the picture.

With my current setup I use Spotify daily going to and from work, and I used Google Music when I wanted to listen to music I personally uploaded to the service. I have my stored MP3 there, I also use Google Music when I want to listen to music that may be locally stored on my device. Earlier versions of Spotify app had a tab/area of the app where I could listen to music that was local. In the versions today you can still listen to your local music from within the app, but you will have to do some jumping through hoops to make it happen, as there is no represented local area. So because of this again I would fall back to Google Music. So there are a few area that while I enjoy my current listening experience with Spotify, created a few issues as well (don’t get me started on the no repeat one track option missing! Come on!).

While Spotify is a great service, some of it minor failings has created an opportunity for Google All Access to take its place. I like to think I’m a minimalist , so if I can use one app for everything this is what I want to do. Google All Access gives me the opportunity to use just one app for my music needs. When Google Music first launched it gave me a place to store all the MP3s I had obtained into the cloud so I didn’t have to warn about failing hard drives or laptops. Google Music gave me a place to storage all my uploaded music and then stream it to my any computer with internet access, mobile phone, or tablet. Now with All Access Google is giving me the option to stream music like I do on Spotify in the same place that I have my uploaded music as well. Google is allowing me to search and immediately stream any music I can find, purchase it if I want the actual MP3, and play my already uploaded music all without leaving one app. This is minimal and I for one like it!

And then we must talk price point. Granted both services will cost you $9.99, but paying isn’t an issue. I like to tell people who I’ve put onto Spotify in the past, think of it like one NYC lunch a month you’re not having, and there you’ve got your $9.99 fee for the month. Now I said both services cost $9.99, so what would All Access have any edge there? Because of their promo price! You see as I mentioned earlier I like to jump onto there early when it first comes out and then share it with others. So I’m rewarded for being an early adopter and will get to pay only $7.99 for the service, saving my month from the $9.99 Spotify. And you can too, you just need to sign up before June 30th. So now only will I be getting the convenience of having only one app to use for my streaming and uploaded music, but I get it for a cheaper price than what I’ve been paying now. AND the Google Music app has a repeat one track only option!

But I will mention a reason why you might now want to go All Access and stay with Spotify. While this isn’t as important to me since I just want my music, if you are a social media type person Google All Access is quite there on that level. You can share with Google+ but that is about it. So if you care about sharing you music with Twitter/Facebook/Etc, Google All Access isn’t for you. Again this is not something I really need, so I think I’m 98% sure I’m going to switch by time the weekend is over.

Have you used All Access yet? What do you think, give me some of your pros and cons!

Dating online right now is something everyone at some point is doing it, but sites like Match.com may be getting stale right now. While building an app to go with your existing desktop site helps, the in thing now is to focus on mobile first. Instagram has done it, Vine is doing it, and it seems to be working out. So why not take that and apply to the dating seen.

This is what new dating app Swoon is doing and you might want to check it out. Swoon is debuting a new app for both Android and iOS, and will be celebrating that launch right here in the NYC, giving potential swooners the chance to test out their skills. Check out the app and check the press release below for more information!

New Dating App, Swoon, Debuts iOS App & Celebrates the SwoonLife at Official NYC Launch Party

Swoon, a new dating app that allows users to connect with cool people nearby, has bridged the gap between smartphone platforms and debuted an iOS app, making it the first app of its kind to be available to both Android and iPhone users. In celebration of the iOS launch, its time raise a glass and celebrate the SwoonLife at the Official NYC Launch Party. On Tuesday, May 21st, Swooners will have the chance to test their swooning skills at Haru Gramercy over lite bites and cocktails. Hopefully, Swooners will meet the man or woman of their dreams!

Who: NYC’s 20-somethings now have a reason to celebrate the dating world the SwoonLife way, whether you are looking to meet new people, or are single and ready to mingle. Guests will also have the chance to meet and hang out with the Swoon Men, VIP Guests, and Dating Experts!

Swooners can also enter for exclusive giveaways and prizes, like an Android phone, and many others!

How: Upon arrival, guests are asked to download the app as admission into the happy hours. Swoon is the mobile app for finding cool people nearby. It’s completely anonymous until there’s a mutual match. Swoon is available on Android and iOS. Join the conversation and tweet us at the event using #SwoonUpNYC.

For more information, visit www.swoonapp.com.

When:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Haru Gramercy, 220 Park Ave South (Corner of E 18th St)
6:30pm-8:30pm
Map & Directions

Disclosure:  Thanks SwoonApp for sponsoring this post.  I was selected for this opportunity and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.  #SwoonApp #SwoonUpNYC

Yesterday kicked off Google I / 2013, and the remainder of the week will be Google sessions for developers. For us consumers the keynote gives a peek of announcement of what new stuff will be coming. So while the keynote this year was 3 hours long, I watched every minute of it.

Now there was announcement of a new version of Android, no new hardware to be released. Yes there was the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, but that price point was appealing and it’s still just plastic (not if it was the HTC One then maybe lol). Even it cross platform messaging app which people had codenamed babble, only brought us Hangouts. I’m still on the fence about Hangouts, so use it some more before I pass judgment.

I did however come away from this keynote excited about a few things. First of then being Google All Access. No mind you right now I’m #TeamSpotify and loving it. But here is how my music situation is currently set up. I using Spotify as primary, but then use Google Music for all of my personal music I uploaded myself. I also use it for music Spotify doesn’t have that I purchase. So for a complete music experience I have to use two apps. Google All Access would give me one unified experience of my uploaded music and my streaming music. I’ve been using All Access since last night and I like the UI for it. It also gives me something I’ve wanted from Spotify for forever, which is Repeat One.

So with Google All Access I get streaming music which has a lot of the tracks Spotify, my own personal collection of uploaded music, playlists, offline option (which was the main reason I started paying for the service to begin with), repeat one, and for cheaper than Spotify. I currently pay $9.99 for Spotify service. All Access gives it to me (for signing up before June) $7.99! It is hard not to find a reason not to switch over. I’m a minimalist so this gives me a path to that.

Once we get away from the music, another service I’m was excited about was Google Maps. I use maps regularly, and very excited about the new version. In harmony to this is the new addition to Google search or Google Now. I like that it has added public transit to it. Even though I review cars, my normal isn’t always to drive. Being able to have Google Now show me transit commute is very useful, I love it!

There were a few other things like what they have done with hot wording in Chrome and search there, so looking forward to that as well. Again while there wasn’t anything I would consider major the improvements I did see were exciting. Long Live Google!

Style

Blackberry 10 is a very visual and cool looking OS when compared to the previous versions. And Blaq takes this and does a twitter client for BB10 that is both visually appealing, but also cool when using it. When you launch Blaq you are greeted with your Home timeline tab. Blaq streams in real time so as tweets come in you will see it update. Blaq also takes a different approach to showing the profile picture of people next to their tweets, the image is put into a slim rectangle which you can click on to expand and see more of the image.

Much of the UI is simple and to the point, but it is this simplicity that make it appealing. If you want to see your replies or direct message you can pull the screen to the right and you see a color coded menu of options for this. If you want to retweet or reply to a tweet you would pull the screen to the left revealing those options as well. This is all done with a smooth and fluid motion. Visually Blaq is a well done twitter app and I would easily pick it over the regular Twitter app by Twitter.

Function

Blaq for Blackberry 10 uses a few key gestures to navigate around it and if I were to say it definitely saves you from clicking too much to select items and in doing so helps you to “keep moving” as Blackberry likes to say as their motto.

Want to view your timeline you just simple scroll down to your heart’s delight. Want to return to the top, double click on the top of the screen to be brought back to the top. Want to reply, favorite, or retweet a tweet pull the screen to the left hover over an option and let go. Be careful though as first time users may find themselves just retweeting everything as you get use to the UI. I myself have done that a few times lol. As you move around you may want to check your replies or DMs, cool just pull the screen to the right and select the area you want to visit. You’ll also find this area gives you access to your profile, search, and the ability to mute people. You can also pull down from the top of the screen to toggle between accounts and your Settings area. Yes you can have multiple accounts (at this time it is two Twitter accounts).

The controls on Blaq work well within the app and during my use I haven’t noticed any lag or studders when trying to pull, scroll, slide, or press for anything options.

Experience

Honestly Blaq is a pleasure to use. It looks good, performs well, and honestly one of my favorite apps on the Blackberry 10 platform. If I’m using my Blackberry Z10 this is more than likely what you’ll see me using on it. And there is a lot of little things that I enjoy with it. Like the ability to expand out the rectangle profile picture to see a little more. Or if I want even more I can go to the profile of the person and click on the picture to have a even large image show for it.

I also like that it streams live so it always updates me having to “pull to refresh”, but at the same time if I want to pull it will refresh then as well. Then that easy way to reply or retweet by pulling to the left and just letting go on the option I need is cool. Keeps me moving honest and I don’t have to click on a bunch of buttons to get to the action I want to do. All in all Blaq is a polished app that gives a great visual flair to using Twitter on you Blackberry 10 device. Trust me you want this over the defauly Twitter produced app.

Wrap Up

Blaq for Blackberry 10 launched today and is available in the Blackberry App World. It will run you $2.99 (intro price) for the app. This will only work with Blackberry 10 devices so if you have a Blackberry Playbook, you can’t use this on it at this time I belieev. So check it out, it is definitely a premium twitter app and a good example of hopefully more to come for Blackberry 10! Some of the feature of this app include:

-Fast scrolling
-Interactive gesture engine for quick actions to keep you moving
-REAL-TIME Twitter streaming support
-Power-conscious – When minimized, Blaq goes into low-power mode to save battery
-The most advanced muting system – mute based on multiple criteria
-Sharing – Share from just about any app to Blaq and vice versa
-Active Frame – Know when you get new tweets, mentions or direct messages
-BBM™ integration – share tweets updates with your BBM™ contacts
-Native or editable retweet support (hold down on RT icon in detail screen)
-In-app notifications
-Twitter username auto-completion
-Image previews within Blaq
-View your lists curated from Twitter.com
-Multi-account support
-Search people and tweets
-Photo posting – Twitter
-Q10 support

One of the few things I do on my mobile device now on a daily basis is listen to music. Whether it be my own music I’ve loaded up or streaming over my favorite music service, It’s something I find myself doing more often now than I did before. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that I really dislike a lot of music that is out now that I hear on the radio and would much rather put together a playlist of music I actually want to listen too. Now, with my iPhone, I never really loaded up any music to it because I hated using iTunes to sync my music. I don’t know why, but I just never liked using it. With the BlackBerry Z10, it’s as easy as me just dragging music onto my SDHC card and loading it up like that. I can even use BlackBerry Link, though I prefer just dragging it onto my card. Because of this, I’ve begun using my Z10 as my primary music listening device at home and in my car via Bluetooth speakers or my Bluetooth link in my vehicle.

Usage

Luckily, the music player app on the BlackBerry Z10 is quite good and easy to navigate. On the main app screen, you’ll be greeted with a grid of albums. You usually start off in the “Recent” tab of the app which will show you the most recently albums added as well as the most recently albums played. You can expand this list by tapping on the little drop down arrow at the bottom right hand corner of each section. I find the recent section quite useful for getting to the last played albums quickly and easily. Just tap on the album you want to listen to and it will take you the album with the complete list of songs in the album. Tap on the song you want to play it.

There are two other tabs below as well that you can choose from to view your albums. One is the Library tab which will show you your entire library of albums arranged in alphabetical order. You can choose to display these by artist, albums, or genres. Again, tapping on an album brings up the full list of songs in that album. The other tab is a Playlist tab. This tab allows you to create your own playlists so that you don’t have to go digging through your albums for your favorite songs. It’s quite easy making a playlist. Just tap the the Create icon at the top and you can begin adding individual songs or whole albums. Browse songs based on title, album, or artist. When you find the song you want, just tap the (+) sign to add it. You can also tap the (-) sign after to remove it. After you’ve added all the songs you want, tap Done and name your playlist. That’s it.

To play music, tap any song from your library and it will begin to play. The cover art will be featured at the center with the title up above and play controls below. You can scrub through the song to get to specific point as well as the usual previous, pause, and next buttons. If you want to view the list of songs in the album or playlist, no need to tap back. Instead you can tap on the cover art and it will swipe down revealing all the songs you can choose from. This is actually a neat little trick and keeps the play controls on screen still. Tap the portion of the cover still showing to have it pop back up.

Lastly, you can pause and resume your music using the physical 3rd button that is between the two volume buttons. If you press on one of the volume buttons, a small Music app popup will appear that brings up the music player controls. This makes it easy to control your music from any screen you are on on the BlackBerry.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that needs improving in my opinion is that when on the lock screen and your listening to your music, there seems to be a small glitch where the mini-player will not show up. Instead, using the volume buttons will only adjust volume and you’ll need to swipe the lock screen away to get to the music player app to change tracks. This happens once in a while and I’m not sure why. Sometimes it will work from the lock screen and sometimes it won’t. It’s a minor annoyance and one that I hope gets fixed in a future update.

Overall though, I quite enjoy using the BlackBerry Z10 as a music player. It’s easy for me to load up my music and the user interface is clean and simple to use. If your music is tagged correctly before uploading it to your SDHC card, all your music will be neatly organized and selectable in a variety of ways which makes it simple to find the music you want, quickly. This also makes it really easy to create playlists on the go so you don’t have to fiddle with it while your driving or doing other tasks.

BlackBerry did a great job with the music player app and I’m glad to see they are on the right track when it comes to providing quality apps for leisure as they do for business.

The Hitcase Pro is a waterproof tough case that turns your iPhone 5 into a rugged POV camera. Not only that, it includes a built in lens that converts the iPhone 5 camera into a 170-degree wide angle lens so you don’t miss any of the action. The Hitcase Pro is waterproof up to 33-feet, shockproof, and dustproof.  There’s even the free Vidometer 2.0 app that you can download to accompany the whole package.

The Hitcase Pro is available now for $129.99. For more information, check out the full press release below.

Press Release

Vancouver, BC – April 3, 2013 – Hitcase, maker of rugged sports activity products for iPhone, announces the immediate availability of the Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5. This waterproof, mountable case transforms your iPhone into a POV camera to capture experiences anywhere, even 33 feet underwater. Hitcase Pro features a new 170-degree custom lens that delivers sharper and better-saturated photos and videos, and triples your iPhone camera’s field of view. Made for outdoor and action sports enthusiasts who love sharing their adventures with friends, Hitcase Pro now pairs with the updated Vidometer™ 2.0, a free app that lets you choose custom overlays to record your speed, altitude, G-Force and  other data on top of your videos and upload them to Facebook or YouTube.

Not Just Another Rugged iPhone Case
Along with its built-in wide-angle lens for capturing professional quality photos and videos, Hitcase Pro is designed to be tough enough to handle abuse, while still giving you complete access to your phone’s touchscreen. The new, stronger design is composed of a Gen2 ABS/Polycarbonate blend with a soft-touch rubberized exterior for added grip and comfort. On the inside, Hitcase Pro’s ShockPad now uses Poron® to absorb the shock that other cases would transmit to your phone’s internal components when used in high vibration environments like motocross or auto racing tracks. Even with this added protection, the Hitcase design team was able to slim down the profile of the iPhone 5 model, maintaining durability while taking less room in your pocket.

Adventure with Confidence
Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 has a waterproof rating of IP68, as defined in International Standard IEC 60529, which is the most rigorous classification. It can be used up to a depth of 33 feet or 10 meters, the deepest of any touchscreen capable iPhone case on the market. Whether you are heading out on the kayak, surfboard or wakeboard, the Hitcase Pro’s ShockSeal keeps out water and dust with a patent pending H-seal design that provides an extra barrier over standard single-seal, O-ring cases. Plus Hitcase Pro is still the easiest tough case to use on the market. It takes just a few seconds to insert or remove your device from the case.

Mount Anywhere
Hitcase Pro comes with a GoPro® compatible Railslide™ Mount System that lets you quickly mount the case or remove it with just a finger and thumb. You don’t even need to remove your helmet. Auto-locking functionality and a one-button trigger release make this the easiest mount you’ve ever used. The Tripod TiltR and the StickR mount are packaged with Hitcase Pro, but additional specialty mounts are available including the SuckR suction cup mount for boating and auto use and the ChestR mount, which allows for hands-free use of Hitcase and is also great for checking out videos without fear of dropping your iPhone if you’re on a ski lift.

Full Use of Your Phone
Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 also features better audio channeling for phone calls and audio with no sacrifices. The patent-pending ShockSeal system incorporates a super thin waterproof seal for both the speaker and microphone, allowing you to make or receive calls in all weather conditions. The tough screen cover also gives you full touchscreen use. Plus Hitcase’s machined stainless steel power and volume buttons give reassuring tactile feedback, even through gloves.“We’ve improved Hitcase Pro in every possible way for iPhone 5,” said Hitcase founder Brooks Bergreen. “From the lens and the casing to the even smoother Railslide Mount System and the updated Vidometer app, Hitcase Pro makes it super easy to capture and share crazy and fun experiences on land and in the water.”In the Box
•    Hitcase Pro
•    GoPro® Compatible Railslide™ Mount
•    Tripod TiltR
•    StickR Mount
•    Wrist Strap
•    Additional Port Plug
•    Quick Start Guide

Vidometer 2.0
Vidometer 2.0 is the latest incarnation of Hitcase’s free iPhone app, which is now available on the App Store. The app now comes with two new graphical overlays and 14 different combinations to make each video that you capture unique.The Rally Overlay has a stylized digital-analog speedometer and comes in two different color combinations. It also has options for low speed use (mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing) and high speed use (motorbike, automobile, etc.). The new Minimal Graphical Overlay displays compass, latitude, longitude, speed, altitude, current date and time all in a text only format, plus it comes in five color options. Hitcase also added four new color options to the original graphical overlay, which features the popular shock and tilt/horizon meter.Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 is available at Hitcase.com for $129.99 with free shipping worldwide.About Hitcase
Based in the outdoor sports mecca of Vancouver, British Columbia, Hitcase builds the world’s best sports activity products for iPhone. For more information on Hitcase visit www.hitcase.com or https://www.facebook.com/Hitcase. Download Hitcase’s free iPhone action video app Vidometer.

For starters, Apollo has the same color scheme as Pandora, though it really doesn’t look anything like Pandora. Pandora still to me looks better, but Apollo isn’t bad. It does have a few UI tweaks that are pretty interesting however that the official Pandora app lacks. The UI itself seems a bit cleaner in some places, but that’s mainly do to the fact that there aren’t any banner ads filling up the screen and the bottom of the app doesn’t have any play controls, only the time status of what’s playing. Songs play automatically and you just tap on the album cover of the song to pause and resume playback. There’s even a thumbs up and thumbs down selection next to the album cover that you can click on.

To view any of the menu options and settings, just swipe downwards from the top border. To choose from a list of radio stations you already have saved, just tap the title bar. The app will even allow you to view artist information like the official Pandora app. Now, there are a few things you can do on this app that you can’t do in Pandora. For one, you can view the previous song that played and rate it. Also, to skip to the next track, all you have to do is swipe left on the album cover. Last, there doesn’t seem to be any ads in it or at least I haven’t heard or seen any.

As great as this apps sounds, I think I would still much prefer and official Pandora app. To me, even though it has some nice UI elements, I still prefer the look of the official Pandora app. Also, Apollo takes forever to start. When loading it just shows a black screen and you think it isn’t working, but in actuality, it’s just taking it’s sweet time to get to the main screen. Still, if you need your Pandora fix, download Apollo until an official app is released. It’s free and does import your account details.

App World Link: Apollo
Price: Free
Developer: JMTK Applications
Compatible Devices: BB10 Smartphone: 10.0.0.0 or higher

Songza makes choices based on a variety of factors. For one, it always knows what day it is and what time of the day it is. This allows Songza to offer specific categories based on this. What you do is choose a category based on what you are doing, then from there choose a sub category of genres. Once you do that, they’ll offer you 3 playlists that you can pick. These playlists consists of songs that are hand picked by their music experts and approximate what you most likely want to hear. Since it’s radio, you’ll end up listing to a lot of songs you know and a lot of songs you don’t know. That is one of the things I do love about these radio apps however and that is discovering new music.

Now you don’t have to browse this way if you don’t want to. You can easily hit the explore tab and browse through the usual list of categories and genres to find what you’re looking for. Like others, you’ll be able to rate songs as they play which in turn will make your personalized music selection more accurate in the future. What Songza does do that you can’t do on Pandora unless you pay is have unlimited song skips along with no limits on the amount of time you use it per month. It also seems like it doesn’t interrupt your music with ads, though the app does display banner ads. I don’t mind the banner ads as long as there are no radio ads interrupting my music.

Songza is a great alternative to other radio apps. The fact that it has no listening limits is a huge plus as well as it being free. It even allows you to save favorite playlists that you’ve heard and replay them back without having to go through category selection again. This app is strictly for music playback. It doesn’t offer the extras that Pandora does such as artist info or album info, but for straight up music, Songza is great.

The BlackBerry 10 version of that app is pretty much almost exactly like its iOS counterpart except for a slightly different user interface and doesn’t include the clock app or sleep timer like the iOS version. Other than that, everything else is very similar so if you’re a music lover, I would definitely give Songza a chance on your BlackBerry Z10.

App Store Link: Songza
Price: FREE
Developer: Songza Media
Compatible Devices: BB10 Smartphone: 10.0.0.0 or higher

From the gridiron to the gaming console, professional football players like Matt Forte from the Chicago Bears, want to challenge YOU to Madden. Tampa Bay Rays cannon, David Price, dares you to hit his fastball in MLB 2K13. Are you up for it? New app, OverDog, connects athletes from all sports to their fans through any video game title. Fans who support OverDog on Kickstarter will receive exclusive access during the mobile app’s beta window which will be closed to the general public until Fall.

With only 25 hours to go, can they reach their funding goal? I hope so – check out the most recent Press Release below:

Press Release

NASHVILLE – March 28, 2013 – OverDog, the mobile app that connects pro athletes with fans through any video game title, will launch its exclusive beta version next month before going public this Fall. During its Kickstarter campaign, OverDog successfully signed on dozens of pro athletes, established a large social media following with tweets from EA and Drew Brees, and connected with thousands of fans across the country to talk sports and gaming.

The Kickstarter video, alone, pulled in more than 1500 “Likes,” and OverDog had more than 100,000 article views. Excited tweets from star athletes like David Price, Brian Urlacher, Chris Kluwe and other OverDog contenders reached more than 10,000,000 Twitter followers sparking conversation and hype for this app.

“This experience has been incredible for us,” says Hunter Hillenmeyer, Former Chicago Bear and Founder of OverDog. “Once word got out about the OverDog app, athletes from all sports began reaching out to us to take part in this project. We’re very excited to get the beta version going soon, and to roll out all of our exciting features to make this an unforgettable gaming experience.”

In the past month, OverDog recruited another 75 professional athletes to get in the game including NFL star Randy Moss, USMNT players, NBA stars and NCAA athletes. The NFLPA and NBPA each report that more than 75% of their members are avid gamers. The OverDog mobile app helps streamline the process to better connect fans with athletes in all of their favorite games.

How Does OverDog Work?

Athletes post video challenges which fans can access and accept. OverDog chooses one lucky gamer from a random drawing who will then face off against the challenging athlete. Athletes and fans can interact via the video game, and even trash talk while wearing headsets.

OverDog is expanding its features over the next few months. Some new additions will include live streaming of gaming challenges between athletes, fan v. fan play, leaderboards and game broadcasting.

What’s Next for OverDog?

There’s less than 30 hours left in the OverDog Kickstarter campaign. Although, the project has not reached its funding goal yet- the exclusive Beta window for the mobile app will still launch in April. The app will open to the public this Fall. For early access to OverDog, fans can head to the OverDog site.

About OverDog

OverDog is comprised of a team of technology and mobile application gurus with the insight of professional athletes. Former Chicago Bear, Hunter Hillenmeyer, serves as the President and Co-Founder alongside CEO Steve Berneman. Berneman brings nearly 10 years of experience working in start-ups and sports to the table.

Additionally, an advisory board made up of the sport industry’s elite is on-hand for app input and participation. Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price, Minnesota Vikings’ Chris Kluwe, former NFL Wide Receiver Hank Baskett are just a few of the board’s members. Each athlete is looking to combine his love of sports, fans, and gaming in an efficient, exciting platform.

Today is the day that the BlackBerry Z10 finally hits at&t with other carriers soon to follow. If you’re one of the lucky few to pick on of these up, then you’re most likely tapping away as we speak on BBM chatting it up with your friends and colleagues about how this is the best BlackBerry ever made. In between messages, why not head over to the BlackBerry App World and pick up our top 5 choices for must have apps. These are the apps that I found most useful, though there may be others you find on your own that suit your personal needs more than these do.

OpenTable

This app actually hit the App World not to long ago so it’s great to see some of the more popular apps on other platforms showing up for BlackBerry. OpenTable is a restaurant reservation app that makes it easy to get a table almost anywhere, quickly. Never wait in line again to eat at your favorite restaurants. Not only is this app great for last minute restaurant choices, but OpenTable also lets you discover new places to eat that you may have never though of going to before.

Songza

There is no Pandora on BB 10 yet so a good alternative I’ve found is Songza. Songza is a bit different from Pandora in that you don’t actually create your own radio stations based on preferences. Instead, Songza chooses them from you based on your mood and what you’re doing. For instance, you could be relaxing at home or cooking a meal and Songza will automatically choose what it thinks is appropriate based on those situations. There are of course different genres you can choose for each situation. The great thing about Songza too is that it is 100% ad free with no listening limit.

Waze

iOS and Android have been enjoying Waze for quite some time now as one of the most used navigation apps out there. Waze differs from other GPS navigation apps in that it is open and uses crowd sourced data for real-time road information and conditions. Think of it as the social network of the GPS world. Each user who uses Waze has the ability to contribute to all that data found in it. You can report accidents, traffic, and even where police speed traps are located. What is neat too is that you can see other Waze users as well, though that can seem a bit creepy. Luckily you can turn that off if you don’t want others tracking you.

Angry Birds Star Wars

Yes I’m including a game in my top app round up because not only is this and Angry Birds game, it’s Angry Birds Star Wars! Yes, anything Star Wars in instantaneously awesome and you’ll be picking up what is by far, a game that is part of the most popular series of games ever on any mobile platform. What makes Angry Birds Star Wars special on BB 10 however is that the game is completely free on here. Yes, Android has a free version too of the full game, but their version is littered with ads. On BlackBerry, it is 100% free and ad free as well. You can’t beat that!

USA Today or The Guardian

These are two of the more popular news apps available for BB 10. If you’re like me, it’s hard keeping up with the news at home so most of the time, I’m keeping up with it during my commute or in my spare time at work. The easiest way to do this is on my mobile phone. Both USA Today and The Guardian have received high marks from users for their clean interfaces and speed. You can’t go wrong with either so choice will come down to preference of which delivers more of the news you want.

Honorable Mentions

These apps I didn’t include up in my top 5 because they technically already come preloaded on the BlackBerry Z10 and the fact that they are already apps you would have downloaded without hesitation. I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare. Make sure you update these apps however when you do get your BlackBerry Z10 to make sure you have the latest version of these popular social networking apps.

Slowly but surely Windows Phone has been coming through with apps. Realizing how often people stream music from their phone, they added Spotify recently and today they announced that Pandora is also available at the Windows Phone Store.

With over 140 million registered users Pandora is a leader in media streaming. More than 140 million registered users have accessed Pandora via a smartphone or tablet and more than 75 percent of Pandora’s listening occurs on a mobile or other connected device. Given its popularity, it might be a deal-breaker for some when purchasing a Windows Phone if the Pandora app isn’t available.

Pandora on Windows Phone Features

The great thing about the Windows Phone version is that it is ad-free for the rest of 2013 . There is also no streaming cap, which is usually $3.99 for iOS and Android app users. Thank you Microsoft! It’s been tailored to the Windows Phone UI’s Live Tiles and Kid’s Corner. With Pandora on Windows Phone you can pin your favorite radio stations to your start screen. The Live Tile will refresh in real-time letting you know what track is playing. Not to mention the easy access to your fave radio station without launching the app.

When launching the app in Kid’s Corner, you won’t have to worry about mature content, since it will automatically apply the explicit content filter when activated.

You can download Pandora for Windows Phone HERE

Windows Phone is stepping up their app game. There are very few mainstream apps missing. I have been using the app for about an hour. Seems pretty legit. I actually do like that Live Tiles feature. I love app shortcuts.

So how does SwiftKey work?

It learns the way you type and predicts the next word. The more time you spend using it, the better it learns your writing style and the predictions are more accurate. When one initially starts using the app, SwiftKey can learn a bit about your writing style by going through your Facebook, Twitter,and Gmail.

What’s New About SwiftKey 4?

SwiftKey 4 has a few new features. Out of all of them, the biggest one is the Swype-ish like entry mode called SwiftKey Flow. It’s one of the main reasons users did not switch over from Swype to SwiftKey. No excuse now.

Other features include Flow Through Space; which allows users to type complete sentences without lifting their finger from the screen. All you have to do is glide over to the space bar between words. You can even switch from the SwiftKey flow method back to the tapping method in the middle of a word. Right now it’s at the promo price $1.99 at the Google Play Store

Here’s the official press release:

Press Release

SwiftKey 4 launches today on Google Play with smarter features that make typing on a touchscreen faster, easier and more accurate. Available now at the promo price of $1.99 and as a free upgrade for existing users, the new release features a unique take on gesture typing called SwiftKey Flow.

SwiftKey Flow combines the mind-reading capabilities of SwiftKey’s personalized autocorrect engine with the speed of gliding your fingers across the screen. This revolutionary approach to continuous input begins predicting words from the moment a user touches the screen and goes on to predict their next word when they let go. A unique feature called ‘Flow Through Space’ also makes gesture typing more powerful than ever before by allowing users to enter entire phrases simply by gliding to the space bar between words.

SwiftKey 4 adds to everything that has made the app a bestseller since first launching in 2010. Users can still tap to type, the app constantly learns a user’s style to ease the frustration of entering long words and users can further personalize predictions by granting access to their Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, SMS or blog posts.

“Everyone’s had embarrassing autocorrect moments,” said Ben Medlock, SwiftKey co-founder and CTO. “That’s why we built SwiftKey to understand the context of words, not just their spelling. It works from the word go to adjust to you — from the phrases you write to how you touch the screen. It means you don’t have to worry about typing, it does all the hard work for you.”

The new features in SwiftKey 4 include:

SwiftKey Flow – blending SwiftKey’s mind-reading next-word prediction and autocorrect with the speed of gesture typing

Flow Through Space – lets users write entire sentences in one motion without ever having to lift their finger to add a space

Support for contextual prediction across 60 languages – with new support for Albanian, Bosnian, Javanese, Sundanese, Thai and Vietnamese, all with dynamic auto-correction and next word prediction

Easier corrections – tap on a word and SwiftKey 4 will move the cursor to the end of the word and offer two alternatives

Personalized typing style – whether you write inaccurately with two thumbs or more carefully using a single finger, SwiftKey 4 now automatically adapts to how users type to provide more insightful corrections and predictions

Beta versions of the app have been tested by more than 200,000 SwiftKey fans over the last 11 weeks, with more than 2.4 billion characters flowed. A No.1 best-selling app on Google Play in 38 countries, SwiftKey is available in 60 languages and counting.

For more information about SwiftKey, visit www.swiftkey.net.

First thing you will notice using the Windows Phone 8 of course is the layout. It has a more stylish vibrant UI then the android version. With Android its more of a list layout. With WP8 is more of a cover flow design. As with most WP8 apps its snappy and loads pretty quickly on the Nokia Lumia 810.

A cool feature that defers from the Android version is the option of how you want to view your playlists. There is the traditional way of selecting and going down the list or clicking on the down arrow and swiping thru cover arts one by one.
I’m glad to see Spotify has hit another platform as it is a very good streaming music program if the $9.99 monthly subscription is used. Also there is a Desktop version that syncs with your mobile playlist and vice versa.

Spotify is free now through the Windows Marketplace and also available on other mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. If your a first time user you can try it free for 30 Days. Now if we can just see it on Blackberry…

This isn’t MoviePass’ first go around with this service either. Looks like back in summer 2011, when they had beta tested it they worked with MovieTickets.com and would provide a paper voucher which could be redeemed. Movie exhibitors such as AMC didn’t take lightly to this and MoviePass went back to the drawing board and tweaked the program. Now they created a reloadable debit card that you receive when you sign up. To the movie theaters it looks like a regular debit/credit card since they are working with Discover, if they accept Discover your good to go.

There are some requirements to make this a success. You have to “check-in” into the movie theater by selecting the showtime of the movie you want to see either via the iOS app that is available or if your like me via the mobile web since there isn’t an Android app yet (cmon MoviePass). You have to be within 100 yards of the theater and do so within 30 mins of the film. Hasn’t been a hassle so far on my part but can imagine for those large blockbusters that sell out pretty quick starting in the Spring. Another kicker is it’s a one year subscription, if you cancel before so a fee will be applied. After 1 year you can cancel without penalties.

Update: So a day after I did this review, the Android app was released for MoviePass. Its similar to the web version I been using. It will require you to have GPS on and will take you to those settings if you dont have them enabled.

Is this for you?

Besides the restrictions and the fact you can’t see the same movie more than once you can possibly get some bang out of it. If you live in NYC for instance like me, the average ticket costs anywhere from $10-$14. And I know there are matinees and those cheap “golden ticket” passes but not everyone is either going to a movie at 12 in the afternoon or have access to those passes. I saw two movies in 3 days each at $14 a piece and have already almost covered my monthly fee. But I can imagine they get their money on the people who go here and there which is what they are hoping.

Only gripes I have had with using the card thus far was it not loading up the amount when I was ready to check in. I called customer service which is very nice and loaded the card up for me and I was able to redeem at the kiosk with no problem. Another time the card didn’t work and I had bought my ticket and then they refunded me right after back to my credit card. These are great things that they do but I would definitely want it to be a much smoother process.

If you go to the movies more than 2-3x a movie religiously, its worth it to get the MoviePass. It can help you save money if so. If you’re a here and there movie watcher then it’s not for you.

You can sign-up for MoviePass at MoviePass.com or I can shoot you an invite as I have a couple.

Being a Trekkie – I’m beyond super excited for the upcoming ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ flick. If you ever dreamed like I did to one day enroll in Starfleet Academy now is your chance… kinda. Now available for free download for both the iOS and Android platforms you can no perform missions and countdown (100 days) until the release in theaters. The app uses all the latest available technology from Qualcomm Incorporated. Paramount + Qualcomm + Star Trek = O M G. If you’re still now psyched enough – the app will be releasing a prize during the Super Bowl.

Download the App, try it and tell us what you think:

See Press Release below:

Press Release

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 1, 2013) – “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” first of its kind application, based on J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Paramount Pictures film, is now available to download for free from the App Store and Google Play. Users who have the app will have unprecedented access to all STAR TREK content, as well as the opportunity to participate in missions and win valuable prizes.

Utilizing the latest technologies from Qualcomm Incorporated, such as Qualcomm Labs’ Gimbal™ platform and Qualcomm Vuforia™ augmented reality platform, the app will allow users to delve deeper into the Star Trek universe by interacting directly with materials from the eagerly awaited film to unlock additional content and experiences. The users collect points, see content, and work their way through the Star Trek Academy.

The app was first announced on January 7th, 2013 at the Consumer Electronic Show, during Qualcomm’s Chairman and CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs’ keynote address demonstrating the ability to “harness the power of the smartphone to bridge the digital and physical world, allowing the studio to market the film in the real world and simultaneously bring users into the film’s story and world.”

To download the app, visit www.StarTrekMovie.com/StarTrekApp

Highlights of the “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” app include:

• A geofencing function for location-based experiences such as encouraging viewers to go to the movies;
• An audio scan function that can be turned on to automatically recognize and reward users for watching “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” content on TV and other media;
• An image scan function that enables users to interact with images printed or viewable in the real world;
• New “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” content, such as videos, images and wallpapers delivered directly to users’ mobile devices;
• Exclusive opportunities and special offers only available to app users.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” is written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof and directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams is producing with Bryan Burk through Bad Robot Productions, along with Lindelof, Kurtzman and Orci. Jeffrey Chernov and Skydance Productions’ David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake are the executive producers.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” opens in theaters everywhere May 17th, 2013. See official trailer below: