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To make up for yesterday, I’m at the keynote early, and in great position right up front. Compared to yesterday, the general session room is nearly empty, but that’s not going to deter me from live blogging my face off. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates!

1:58pm Now it’s starting to fill up. I guess everyone was trying to squeeze in one more hallway meeting before we get started. At WES, you basically have to do everything on the move, or you will never get anywhere or do anything.

2:02pm BBCool Simon has just arrived, a very tall head in the crowd. Same format as yesterday: I’m on the blog, Simon on the Twitter and the Flckr.

(...)
Read the rest of Wes 2008 Keynote: Jim Balsillie, the Wireless Leadership Awards, Bob Picciano and Ray Kurzweil (Live Blog!) (1,120 words)

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This is fresh off the press folks: a friend at Rove just told me that they’ve given away their first of three $1000 Amazon.com gift certificates to one Jeff Kucaj, who was lucky enough to have the key that fit the magic box. There are still two keys left, so make sure to stop by their booth (#248).

Of course, if your key doesn’t fit, you still have another way to make a quick grand by participating in Chalk’s ‘How much do you love your BlackBerry?’ contest. Head to booth 114 for more info on how you can win.

Not at WES? Don’t worry! You can still win a sweet BlackBerry Cool prize pack. READ THIS POST to find out how easy it is to win.

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8:34am Late to bed, late to rise! But BBCool is here in full effect, along with 12 million other people! Simon’s going to be manning the flickr stream, and you have BBCool Douglas handling the live blogging!

8:38am Last year, Mikey L. toughed through a keynote while sick. If he’s healthy this year, he should be 5x more effective

(...)
Read the rest of WES 2008 Keynote: Mike Lazaridis and Mike De La Cruz and James M. Kilts (Keynote Party) (1,407 words)

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ISEC7 will be bringing out a help desk tool called B*Nator, which allows staff to remotely control BlackBerrys to solve technical problems. This is just their most recent addition to a monitoring suite which also features module-based application support for Mobile Admin and other enterprise utilities. You can check out some screenshots from CeBIT here, and sign up for a live demo here.

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Vox Mobile splits their offerings into three broad categories: Mobile Technology Management, Wireless Expense Management, and Professional Services. The first gets, configures, and deploys mobile devices — including, of course, the BlackBerry. The second fine tunes an existing setup, by managing bandwidth and other areas to reduce costs and increase service. Vox states that many businesses are overpaying in this area by as much 30%. Finally, their Professional Services offers to support and implement server platforms, including BES. Kind of a one-stop shop for enterprises. Their offerings at WES should be well worth checking out.

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If you missed the video on Viigo, you’ll get another chance to see them in May. They offer a full-featured RSS reader with a ton of pre-compiled feeds. If the defaults aren’t enough, you can select from hundreds of feeds in their database (including your truly), or add your own in a variety of different formats. Best of all, it’s free, so go ahead and give it a shot. If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, it’s a fair bet that we’ll finally be able to learn some details on the mysterious Project Tango at WES. Tango will add a new audio feature, with podcasts being the most likely suspect, but who knows what else the new channel will be used for…

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Forms are becoming a bigger and bigger market for BlackBerry, and TrueContext is no slouch in that department. They’ll be showcasing ProntoForms at WES this year. The software allows users to create inspections, timesheets, surveys, and other forms quickly and without the need for programming savvy or special skills. The forms, once completed, can be emailed on-the-fly as PDF documents, or exported as CSV files for quick entry to spreadsheets or databases. They’ll also be announcing some product and customer news, so you can look forward to that in May. If you’re interested, we hosted a Weekly Contest with ProntoForms which showed off some of the things the platform could do, and there’s a free demo, too.

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Interviewed in a recent podcast, the folks at OtterBox offer a wide range of rugged cases for all sorts of devices, including the Pearl 2. Last year was OtterBox’s first run at WES, and this year they’ll be showing off their new Defender Series lineup, which provides three layers of protection for your BlackBerry: a thin plastic cover for your screen and keyboard, a hard polycarbonate case surrounding the frame, and finally a shock-absorbent silicone skin. We’ve had a chance to try these out first-hand, and they offer some great protection.

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Small and medium businesses will get the chance to check out out Mobile Edge from iEnterprises at WES. Mobile Edge Express is a new suite of CRM software that can be downloaded, installed, and set up in under 10 minutes, without the need for any IT staff. It works with SugarCRM, IBM Lotus Notes, NetSuite CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, giving you access to account information, sales, and more. It differs from their regular Mobile Edge software in that it’s easier to set up, offers a web-based interface, it’s subscription-based and requires no large upfront expenditure.

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The folks at SteelCloud let us know that they’ll be demonstrating SteelWorks Mobile, otherwise known as BES in a Box, at this year’s WES. The software offers a plug-and-play solution for setting up BES, and promises to be done in as little as half an hour. It allows small and medium businesses to get set up with Exchange, Domino and GroupWise quickly, and also includes robust backup/restore capabilities. The company has set up a video that walks you through the installation and shows off some features.

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Digby is a completely free mobile commerce service. Using the software, you get access to products from stores like Best Buy, Office Max, Godiva, Z Gallerie, Wine.com, and a lot more. They even recently announced that they’ll be selling books from Barnes & Noble, all without having to browse sites not designed for mobile phones. Plus, features like robust search options, descriptions and images of everything in the catalog, the ability to browse and place orders while offline, and more are all included free of charge. Maybe we can look forward to some new partnership announcements at WES…?

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Stefano just recently launched his own fan page on Facebook, and in the process I noticed he had an Event set up for WES already, which was a great idea. So we stole it. Anyone already on our fan page got a mail-out last night about it, and we’ve already got a few confirmed attendees. The Facebook event should be a great place to share pictures, videos, and posted items for WES, as well as give you an idea of some of the faces you’ll be seeing around Orlando in May.

While polishing off the Event page, I noticed the location field links up to a Google Map of the convention center. Before long, a WES ‘08 Google Map was set up, where anyone can add points of interest that WES-goers would find helpful, like venues for parties, hotels, and anything else that might be good to know in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t gotten around to including saved maps access on mobile, so the big use will be in preparation. In any case, if you’ll be attending, check it out!

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Another recent entry in our Best of WES Awards is DynoPlex, makers of the eOffice suite. Although HTML mail viewing is out of the next BES service pack, the file editing features which eOffice brings to the table will be included. Even the sharing options eOffice provides will quickly be outclassed by BlackBerry Unite!… It seems that WES is a good opportunity to stay a step ahead of RIM’s growing feature list. In the meantime, DynoPlex is offering a pretty nice 3-for-1 package, including Shape’s IM+ and Multiplayer Championship Poker with eOffice for $99.85.

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Next up: Bayalink, creators of the Bayalink Liberty. The neat little gadget is a USB dongle that plugs into your PC or laptop and connects to your BlackBerry. Once it’s all set up, you can then view things like email, calendars, contacts, or pretty much anything else from the BlackBerry on your PC’s screen. You can also create new items or send emails using a full size keyboard, but it’s all routed through the phone and all still right at your fingertips later on. Why, it’s almost like turning your laptop into a smartphone companion.Baixar http://www.qualidade-toques.com Vamos fazer um ensinando a criar um ponto de restaura??o.

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Rove, known in a previous life as Idokorro, will be coming to WES this year, likely showing off their newly-released PCMobilizr. Traditionally geared towards enterprise remote access software for BlackBerry, with apps such as the Mobile Citrix Client, Mobile Admin, and Mobile SSH, PCMobilizr represents a new direction for Rove. Rather than appealing solely to the IT crowd, PCMobilizr gives easy remote desktop access to your average Joe. We talked with them shortly after the launch, if you’re interested in hearing more about it.

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SHAPE Services has a grab-bag of different products, spanning a number of different niches. First up is GPSed, a trip-tracker which stores movement data in an online archive and lets users re-trace their steps with Google Maps, and even lets you attach photos to specific points on the track. There’s also Mobiscope, which hooks up to your surveillance system and can stream video to your BlackBerry in real time, and VR+ Voice Recorder, a tool for recording a short voice message and sending the resulting MP3 via email or storing it on the VR+ Online Storage to be shared with others. Last but not least is IM+ and its Skype companion. The two products together give you access to Skype, AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, Jabber, ICQ, Google Talk, and MySpace IM all in one app.

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A big name in BES monitoring, BoxTone features a great module-based system so admins can pick and choose what will suit their enterprise best. Like most monitoring solutions, BoxTone aims to reduce workload on IT staff by empowering help desk personnel to solve problems quickly and efficiently, as well as providing the tools to solve bigger BES problems. They’ve recently announced their latest version at the Gartner Wireless and Mobile Summit, featuring “advanced BoxTone SmartMP(TM) technology for true user service-level management through real-time transaction flow monitoring; and the first modular platform based on IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) industry standards, creating a comprehensive Mobile User Management solution.” We’ll be talking with BoxTone on this week’s podcast to explain what that actually means, so keep an ear out this Friday.

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If you’ve listened to our podcasts, you’ve probably heard of Zenprise. They create software for monitoring and troubleshooting BlackBerrys on an enterprise scale. Their software monitors BES, carrier availability, Active Directory health, network performance, and a great deal more, as well as alerts the correct staff when a problem is noticed. They just announced Zenprise 3.3, which enhances detection of user-specific errors and more general carrier issues, and also adds flexibility over which system their softwares will monitor.

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WorldMate Live is just about the greatest travel companion you can get for BlackBerry, and best of all, it’s free. Combined with a web client, you can create itineraries, check world clocks, weather, flight status and more. They offer a second-tier Gold membership that unlocks some of WorldMate’s finer features for the regular globetrotter. For a closer look, check out our review. Oh, and we’ll be talking with WorldMate this week on the podcast, so stay tuned!

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Next up in our exhibitor spotlight is Conceivium. They specialize in BlackBerry monitoring and management with tools like MobileAnalyzer and MobileMonitor Agent for BES, which they’ll be demoing at WES. Conceivium will also be showing off a remote management app called MobileControl and a remote terminal emulator called MobileTerm. There will, apparently, be a “major new product” that will be announced at WES, so keep your eyes peeled!

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The exhibitor spotlight continues with Pyxis Mobile. We haven’t heard from these guys in a while, but they continue to offer high-quality applications for users in the financial services industry. Their Application Studio allows users to configure, build, and deploy custom apps without the need for any IT staff. The applications can be configured for investment, insurance, and banking needs, giving end-users immediate access to enterprise data. Check ‘em out if you get the chance, and don’t forget to sign up for the Best of WES Awards if you’re going to be exhibiting.

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For our next Exhibitor Spotlight we have Handmark, makers of the Pocket Express software we reviewed last September. Pocket Express is their flagship product, allowing users to view stocks, weather, general news, sports news, and great deal more from within the application. At WES, they’ll be focusing on that and its companion Pocket Express Travel Edition, which features travel services such as up-to-date flight information from the OAG. They’ll also be showcasing content from the Extras channel of Pocket Express and other tidbits from their online web portal.

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RIM’s latest developer newsletter revealed that developers will be able to get a look at an Eclipse plug-in not only at EclipseCon in March, but also at WES in May. For those not down with the programming side of things, Eclipse is an open-source development framework based on Java. Preliminary looks at the beta have been less than stellar among the traditionally open-source crowd, as RIM’s setting up their app to run on Windows and many Eclipse users stick to Linux and Mac. Eclipse support would really be throwing devs a bone if RIM actually opened up a bit, but we’ll have to see what the final version of the plug-in looks like before passing judgment.

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Next up in our Exhibitor Spotlight series: InterNoded. These guys offer managed services for carriers and large, medium, and small-scale businesses. Their flagship BlackBerry product, which they will be demonstrating at WES, is InterNoded Mobile Device Management. The software attempts to eliminate a lot of the mundane, repetitive work necessary to deploy and manage applications, allowing technical staff to set up rules for deployment, and delegate the rest of the workload to other staff.

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For our third Exhibitor Spotlight — the first two were BlackLine GPS and OtterBox, covered in Episode 18 of our podcast — we’re taking a look at MSC Mobility. The company offers a number of solutions to give company employees access to their email, contacts, calendars, and other data while out of the office, freeing up IT staff and other personnel for more time-consuming or critical tasks. At WES, they’ll be demonstrating Forms2Mobile. Much like GeoAge’s FAST, Forms2Mobile allows companies to push out new forms to employees’ phones and have any submitted data returned to their server almost immediately. Forms2Mobile, however, is designed with non-technical users in mind and is very easy to use even for the complete layman. Check it out, and if you’re going to be exhibiting, be sure to sign up for the Best of WES Awards!

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RIM has let us know that WES is offering $400 off the regular ticket price of $1,899 for those who register before February 29th. Registration gives you access to: a welcome reception on the first day of the conference; the WES party, an exclusive cocktail party with live music by John Mayer; all the keynote sessions; access to presentations onsite and after the conference ends, via DVD or their website; and complimentary breakfast and lunch on the last three days. If you can’t register before the 29th, a slightly-less-attractive special rate of $1,699 runs until April 11th, at which point registration returns to its normal price of $1,899. And if you can’t make it, we’ll have so much coverage that you’ll feel like you were there anyway.

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You might remember us mentioning a Best of WES competition the other day? Well, now the gates are wide open for developers, service providers, and anyone else exhibiting at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium to register for the contest. Not only will this help us take stock of all the great stuff that we’ll be seeing come May, but will also provide those exhibitors a chance to ramp up to the show on the BlackBerry Cool Podcast’s Exhibitor Spotlight segment debuting this week. Head on over to BestOfWES.com to get your company’s name in the running!

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RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium is rapidly approaching, and we’re gearing up for it here at BBCool HQ. Since the official clock is off by about a week, we thought we’d get our own countdown happening on the right-side column. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve got in store for the biggest BlackBerry event for the year.

- The Best of WES Awards: We’ll be working closely with both the BlackBerry community and developers to determine the hottest of the hot at WES. All the bases will be covered, from IT to accessories to software to services.

- Exhibitor Spotlight: Every week counting down to WES, we’ll be talking with exhibitors on our podcast about what they do and what we can look forward to from them when May 13th. rolls around.

- Video: We’ll be on the scene talking with developers, scoping out new products, and interviewing the hotshots of the BlackBerry world.

- Pictures: You’ll get a good feel for the WES show floor with nice clean snaps of new toys, attendees, and if you’re lucky, the ridiculous dude in the giant BlackBerry suit.

- Twitter: We’ll be thumbing out quick, constant updates over the microblogging platform of choice. It’ll feel like you’re right there cruising the booths with us.

- Viigo: If you’re there at WES and you want to stay tuned to everything going on, we’ll have a WES RSS feed registered with Viigo which will show not only our WES blog posts, but also our ongoing Twitter coverage.

- Podcasts: Every day of the conference we’ll be hooking up with the Mobile Computing Authority to get their insights on the big bombs that are bound to drop at this year’s WES. Can you say “BlackBerry 9000″?

- Interviews: We’ll be uploading short and sweet sound bytes right from the convention floor. You’ll be able to get quick snapshots of many of the great exhibitors at WES this year.

- Keynote Speakers: We’ll be taking a microscope to the keynote speakers, and going over exactly what makes what they say such a big deal.

- Posts: Just because we’re busy running around in Florida doesn’t mean the sweet, sweet flow of newsposts needs to stop. Our resident greenhorn Devin Kent will be holding down the fort and keeping up with everything else happening in the wide world of BlackBerry.

It sounds like a lot, but we’ll have three BBCool staffers roaming the halls of the World Center taking care of business. Stay tuned!

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Hrmmm… Viigo’s launched a teaser site for WES, with a very interesting graphic… What’s under that red veil, just beneath the WES 2008 channel… does that say Audio? Audio. For real? Are we talking podcasts, here? Could those clever dudes at Viigo have figured out a way to get files bigger than 5 megs to our BlackBerrys? Or maybe they’ve been in cahoots with RIM and are going to be capitalizing on much-rumored streaming audio support… It’s exciting stuff, but we’ll have to wait until WES to find out. Just below it looks like a stocks/finance channel, and beneath that travel, maybe? If Viigo’s staying free, it’s going to be an more killer app than it already is. It really isn’t just about RSS anymore. If you haven’t check it out, download the latest version for free over here.

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