Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones lets users discover songs, artists and albums, then lets them buy and download tracks from Amazon with just a few clicks. The app also offers delivery options to suit all data plans, so tracks can be downloaded over Wi-Fi® or cellular networks. Users are able to easily share their latest musical finds with their friends by sending comments and links for specific tracks through BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), email, SMS, Twitter and Facebook®.

“Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones makes it fun and easy to get new music and we’re thrilled to work with Amazon to bring this service to users,” said Alistair Mitchell, Vice President, BBM Platform and Integrated Services. “Users can directly access Amazon MP3’s massive catalogue to easily find, preview and buy music through the BlackBerry media player, and then share their thoughts with their social circle, giving them a uniquely BlackBerry experience that combines communications with multimedia.”

Other key features of Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones include:

* Music Discoverability – Browse the Amazon catalog by what’s new, top songs, top albums and genres; choose from over a million albums, and 14 million songs – all competitively priced and DRM free
* New Music Deals Everyday – Check back daily for a free song of the day and daily album deals
* Bookmarks – Easily bookmark songs or albums for preview or to download at a later time
* Gift Cards – Redeem promotional or Amazon gift card codes directly from the app
* Preview – Listen to a 30-second sample before buying
* Parental Control – Adjust the explicit content control settings

Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones is also integrated with the universal search feature on handsets running the new BlackBerry® 6 operating system. Users can simply start typing the title or artist from the home screen of their BlackBerry smartphone and Amazon MP3 will appear as a search option.

Availability
Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones is now available in beta for BlackBerry smartphone users in the U.S. on BlackBerry App World™ in the Test Center. For more information please visit www.blackberry.com/amazonmp3.

When we launched the beta just a few weeks ago, we were able to offer new views, and
carrier and credit card billing support. We also integrated BlackBerry ID as a new
way of tying BlackBerry customers with their use for easy device switching and
management.

* Credit Card Payment Option
With the new BlackBerry App World, customers are able to purchase applications using
major credit cards, including Visa and MasterCard. Carrier billing may also be
supported by certain carriers.

* Easier Application Discovery
BlackBerry App World adds new tabbed sections for various applications lists. Users
can horizontally swipe or scroll to quickly view the Top 25 Free Apps, Top 25 Paid
Apps and Top 25 Themes, as well as the Newest Apps and Recently Updated Apps.

QR barcode scanning is also supported, allowing users to scan a QR code associated
with an application from anywhere – the web, print ads, brochures, etc. BlackBerry
App World will quickly find the related application, and automatically open and
download its page.

* BlackBerry ID
BlackBerry ID provides customers with a device-independent user identification (ID)
for BlackBerry App World. It enables credit card payments and allows customers to
seamlessly transfer their personal library of free and purchased apps when they
switch to a new BlackBerry smartphone.

TripIt travelers simply forward their travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and TripIt automatically creates their master travel itineraries. With the TripIt for BlackBerry app, a traveler then just clicks to check flight status on any airline, view a confirmation number from any rental car supplier, or get directions to their hotel, restaurant, meeting or anything that’s part of their free TripIt itinerary. TripIt for BlackBerry also supports features of the TripIt Pro premium service, including mobile flight alerts and alternate flight options.

“We’ve been beta testing our BlackBerry app with a group of international travelers for months and are now ready to give everyone the opportunity to use it,” commented Will Aldrich, TripIt VP of Product. “We’re also excited to include support to sync TripIt travel plans to the built-in BlackBerry calendar, which in turn syncs those plans to a traveler’s Outlook calendar.”

The TripIt for BlackBerry Beta app is available for download now at www.tripit.com/uhp/blackberry and will be live in the BlackBerry App World soon. It supports BlackBerry operating system 4.3 or later, which includes nearly all BlackBerry devices released in the past several years.

Just one of a number of industry ‘firsts’ contained in the new release, native functionality allows Nimbuzz to run constantly in the background, have alert notifications ‘pushed’ to the home screen and integrate notifications with sound profiles, ensuring users never miss another message.

Free to download and free to use, the Nimbuzz app also supports instant messaging through Skype, allowing BlackBerry smartphone users to bring their Skype contacts with them wherever they go. In addition, online chat is available for other communities including MSN, GoogleTalk, Yahoo!, Facebook and MySpace, making Nimbuzz the most comprehensive mobile social messaging application available for the Blackberry.

The application is available free to download now from Nimbuzz.com and BlackBerry App World

“We are excited to bring some of EA Mobile’s most popular franchises to the BlackBerry App World where BlackBerry customers can easily download them from one location,” said Adam Sussman, VP Worldwide Publishing for EA Mobile. “We look for the BlackBerry App World to become an important channel for EA Mobile, providing convenient access of our great games to BlackBerry customers everywhere.”

[via mobilecrunch]

 BlackBerry App World supports both free and for-purchase applications and will have up to 1000 applications available by end of this week.

[via slashgear]

Shazam identifies and provides information to the user about the track, artist and album from its ever-expanding music database; currently consisting of over 8 million tracks, including the largest collection of undiscovered music and pre-release tracks.

“We continue to see increasing demand for multimedia applications and services from our customers and we believe Shazam adds multidimensional value to the mobile music experience for BlackBerry smartphone users,” said Jeff McDowell, Vice President, Global Alliances at Research In Motion. “Shazam’s unique features are perfectly suited to the BlackBerry platform. We are very pleased to prominently feature this innovative application in BlackBerry App World.”

The lite version of Skype delivers core Skype capabilities to BlackBerry smartphones, including:

• Make Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world
• Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups
• Make Skype calls at low rates to people on landline or mobile phones
• Receive calls to your online number on Skype
• See when your Skype contacts are online/available to chat

The lite version of Skype will be available to BlackBerry users worldwide. The ability to make calls will be available in 10 countries: Australia, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, the United States and the UK. English will be supported first, with additional languages to follow. Those who download the beta version will be able to provide feedback on the application via an online survey.

The beta of the lite version of Skype will be available as a free download to BlackBerry smartphone users beginning in May from www.skype.com/m using their BlackBerry® Browser.