Users in supported countries can download the BlackBerry App World application to their BlackBerry by visiting www.blackberry.com/appworld from their handset.

The store has been designed to automatically present the relevant catalog of applications available for a user’s specific BlackBerry smartphone model.

“The BlackBerry platform provides a truly unparalleled mobile experience for millions of people and we are thrilled today to enhance that experience with a new app store that helps connect consumers with developers and carriers,” said Mike Lazaridis, president of Research in Motion that develops the BlackBerry platform and devices.

“BlackBerry App World aggregates a wide variety of personal and business apps in a way that makes it very easy for consumers to discover and download the apps that suit them while preserving the appropriate IT architecture and controls required by our enterprise customers.”

Pricing of applications is expected to be inline with what iPhone customers are currently paying in Apple’s App Store.

The service, which has been launched in 12 other territories over the past year has according to the company has seen healthy uptake, with roughly 10-million of the 5800 ExpressMusic handsets which are designed to work with the store being sold during that period.

Apart from being an astute media playing device, the 5800 is Nokia’s answer to the iPhone featuring refinements like an accelerometer for landscape/portrait display shifting; a touch screen for easy navigation; a full screen web-browser for convenient surfing and built-in Flash playback capability, which allows for a ‘more complete’ on-line experience.

While the handset is capable of playing a large variety of media, the music being sold on the store will be encoded in WMA, complete with DRM that prevents illegal copying.Nokia has however said it is committed to going DRM-free by the end of 2009.

Currently, the software that accompanies the device and store is only available for Windows, but a Mac version is in development and available for download as a Beta version.

The cost associated with content is something that Nokia has not yet confirmed, however it has said the price points are likely to be in the same region as the UK store which sells music at 80p a track and 8 pounds sterling an album.

We are expecting a review unit of the 5800 to arrive in the coming weeks – keep an eye out for a full and thorough review of the device and the store soon.

Andrew McHenry, head of mobile and content for Avnic Trading, official South African distributor of Garmin and Garmap, says the product ships with the latest mapping data in the form of Garmap Africa Series 2008, and offers superior functionality to what most phone providers bundle with their devices.

Garmap Africa Series 2008 Second Edition now includes over 750000 kilometers of routable map data for 1700 cities, towns and villages, as well as 55 nature reserves, in nine countries.  To date, the map set also includes over 190000 points of interest (POIs) and the list is growing on a regular basis.

“Garmin Mobile XT transforms GPS-enabled mobile phones or PDAs into full-featured navigation devices, with all the functionality of conventional GPS devices, plus a whole lot more,” says McHenry. “Garmin Mobile XT gives users the ability to check weather forecasts for their destinations, access flight details for many major airlines, and call a point of interest such as a restaurant or coffee shop, using the phone.”

“There are a number of community-focussed features in Garmin Mobile XT that aim to add even more benefit to having a GPS in your pocket,” he adds.

Garmin Mobile XT users can send a location message to another mobile phone – detailing their exact location in GPS coordinates. If the receiving mobile phone also has Mobile XT installed, the message translates into a destination point and allows the receiver to easily and quickly navigate to that point.

“This brings a whole new dimension to the way we interact with each other,” explains McHenry. “It can save you a lot of time and frustration in finding a destination, whether you’re on your way to an important client meeting or having drinks with your friends after work. And it’s particularly useful when you’re navigating in areas where there aren’t any road names or sign posts.”

Being able to find someone also plays a huge role in safety and security.  Mobile XT includes a “panic button”, which automatically fires off an urgent location message to three emergency contacts whenever the ‘#’ key is depressed for more than 3 seconds in certain Samsung and Nokia handsets.

For tourists and pedestrians in South Africa, Garmin Mobile XT also includes a useful social feature called “Panoramio”, a tool that allows consumers to access user-generated content that has been uploaded to the Web.

“Utilising Panoramio, users can download a list of photos that were taken by other users who had visited the same area before and uploaded these geo-tagged photos to the Panoramio website,” says McHenry.

“In Garmin Mobile XT, users see a list of photos, a short description of the photo and the distance to the place where the photo was taken.  Users then simply select the attraction that they want to see and Garmin Mobile XT shows them how to get there.”

“This makes it easy to navigate cities and tourist destinations, using landmarks and tourist attractions without having to know the exact address,” McHenry adds.  “It’s a great new way of discovering attractions in foreign cities, or maybe even in your backyard.”

“There is so much more to the GPS feature on mobile devices than the glorified map book,” McHenry opines.  “It’s not just about navigating from point A to point B anymore.  There’s so much to discover out there, and you may just be carrying the very tool in your pocket to help you find it.”

Garmin Mobile XT version 5 will go on sale at retail outlets from the beginning of 2009, for a recommended retail price of R990.

Compatible handsets include:

• HTC: Touch Diamond, Touch Cruise, Touch Pro, P3300, X7500, TyTNII, P3470, X7500
• Sony Ericsson: Xperia X1
• Nokia: E90, E71, E66, N96, N95 8GB, N95, N85, N82, N79, N78, 6220 Classic, 6210 Navigator, 6110 Navigator
• Samsung: i560, G810, i8510, i780, i900

The Finnish phone maker has also announced that from now on all of its smart phones will include wireless networking and HSDPA connectivity.

“These multimedia computers are made for storytelling,” says Henri Mattila, Nokia’s head of go to market for N-series sales, Middle East and Africa. “The devices capture people’s journeys and discoveries. With the built-in A-GPS, users can find new places by pairing ‘contextual’ information with a wide array of connectivity features such as Wi-Fi and HSDPA. We make it easy for consumers to quickly share those moments as they happen.”

A-GPS stands for assisted GPS. This is misleading however; the N-series phones have fully-capable GPS chips, but also use the phone’s Internet connection to speed up the rate of location and enhance search in the devices. A-GPS mode can be disabled, in which case the device will rely exclusively on the built-in GPS.

The value phone
The new Nokia N78 is an entry level N-series device, but offers good value and a wide range of features. These include HSDPA data connectivity, assisted GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera and FM transmitter.

The latter is a welcome addition for music and podcast enthusiasts who can now transmit audio from the device to any FM radio without any additional accessories.

The combination of GPS and camera also allows users to geotag their photographs and upload media to popular file sharing communities straight from the phone. Supported services at launch include Youtube and Zoopy.

In terms of storage the N78 ships with an included two gigabyte micro-SD card. It should be free on most Vodacom and MTN contracts in South Africa.

All in one
The N96 is Nokia’s successor to the N95 and the new flagship of the N-series. It has a five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSDPA, wireless networking, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, a micro SD card slot, A-GPS, Bluetooth, FM transitter and virtually every other feature available to mobile platforms today.

Unfortunately the N96′s camera uses an LED flash that also serves as a video light – it would have been nice to see a real flash included, as is the case with the N82.

The N96 also includes DVB-H; the terrestrial broadcasting standard that DSTV has been promising for some time, allowing the device to receive live television. It also supports a wide range of video formats for playback and online streaming, and includes a nifty kickstand that allows you to prop the N96 up on a flat surface for hands-free viewing. Nokia is also bundling a copy of the movie Transformers with the phone to show off its video capabilities.

Having 16 gigabytes of internal memory and the ability to expand this with the card slot means that the N96 can carry around a massive total memory of 32 gigabytes making it the perfect travel companion, not only for communication, but for media too.

The trademark dual-slide that was introduced in the N95 has been carried over into the N96 too; slide the screen one way to reveal the keypad and the other for multimedia controls. The multimedia controls have also been designed with gaming in mind for Nokia’s N-Gage experience.

On the battery front Nokia claims that the N96 will provide five hours of video playback, 14 hours of music, 200 hours of standby or almost two and a half hours of talk on GSM. We’ll confirm these numbers once we actually have one to play with. All Nokia could show us at time of writing was an early prototype of the device.

The N96 is set to retail for around 700 Euros in Europe, which would suggest that it will carry a similar price in South Africa to that of the N95 at launch – expect to pay around R2000 for the phone, on contract and around R7500 retail.

The camera phone
The N82 is Nokia’s new photography-focused device. It has a five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a real Xenon flash, unlike the N96. The device also has other features usually reserved for dedicated cameras, such as autofocus with a dedicated assist-lamp and fast reloading between shots.

Besides for the promise of a full-function digital camera, the N82 is also a feature-packed phone with wireless networking, HSDPA, GPS, Bluetooth and more.

Free World Maps
Nokia’s Maps service is also being refreshed with the coming release of Maps 2.0, which is currently in beta. The new software will be available on all N-series devices, using the built in A-GPS feature in the phones. The service allows for drive and walk navigation with 3D mapping and satellite overlays. Best of all, Nokia are providing the entire world’s maps for free.

Voice navigation, however, is not free and must be subscribed too, but Nokia will include a free one-year subscription of the service with purchases of the N96 and demo periods with other phones. Nokia will also move to the Nokia Maps software in its other ranges, replacing third-party software currently in use.

The new N-series phones are slated for a third-quarter 2008 release and as soon as we have received units for review we will bring you the full lowdown.