The following is a guest post.
The BlackBerry is the ultimate organizational tool. Right out of the box it can take care of all of your communications needs, including email, text messaging, calendar, notes, tasks, and even instant messaging. And yet there is so much more you can add to it. The BlackBerry has thousands of apps that can make your party planning experience go even smoother. The new BlackBerry 7 smartphones, including the all-touch BlackBerry Monaco (a/k/a the Torch 9850), are powerful devices that can meet all of your party planning needs. Here are five essentials you should have on your Blackberry right now.
1. Facebook
How many event invites have you gotten through Facebook in the past year? It seems that people have stopped sending invitations via snail mail, and even email invites have been on the decline (at least in my experience). It’s easier, it seems, to keep track of an event through Facebook. BlackBerry has a wonderful Facebook app that covers almost every aspect of it. Sure, you might find it easier to create an event on your computer, but having the Facebook for BlackBerry app makes it easy to track your event from wherever you might be at the moment.
Download Facebook for BlackBerry.
2. miBudget
If you’re planning an event, chances are you have a budget. Scratch that: you definitely have a budget. It’s easy to lose track of what you’ve spent and how much you have left. That’s why keeping your budget on your BlackBerry — which, we presume, is with you at all times — can help you keep everything in check. With miBudget you can set your budget for the event and then record your purchases. An even better use: entering in your planned purchases to see where you stand. After all, it’s easier to change plans before you buy things than to return them and start over.
Download miBudget: $4.99.
3. Superpages Mobile
In the course of your event planning you’re probably going to make a phone call or two. You might even make dozens. The best time to make them is during down times — when you’re waiting for service, or even when you’re driving (if you have a hands-free unit). An app such as Superpages Mobile can put you in contact with the businesses you need to contact. You just enter the search terms and Superpages will return local businesses. It will make your event planning run just a little smoother. And best of all, it’s free.
Download Superpages Mobile.
4. 12,000 Recipes
Are you cooking for a crowd? While you might have a box full of recipes, many of them just don’t translate to a party atmosphere. Apps such as 12,000 Recipes Party Planner On-The-Go can give you plenty of ideas that can fill many mouths. They have recipes from all ranges, allowing you to pick the perfect recipe for your party type. (And yes, it has plenty of desserts.) Best of all, since it’s on your BlackBerry it can help out while you’re making the dishes. It’s a lot less bulky than a cookbook, so you can save valuable counter space.
Download 12,000 Recipes: $1.99
5. Viira
If you’ve planned an event before, you know that staying organized is a big key. As mentioned earlier, your BlackBerry has a lot of functions already on it that can help you with dates, tasks lists, notes, and reminders. But there isn’t much of a smooth integration among them. Thankfully, organization apps are among the most plentiful for the BlackBerry. Viira might be the best among them. It uses David Allen’s Getting Things Done system to help you keep organized. You can set your event as a project, and then set each planning step, and even sub-steps of those. It makes sure you know what needs doing now, and what can wait until later. You can probably take advantage of this in the other facets of your life, too. That would help justify the steep, but worthy, price.
Download Viira: $29.99
Joe Pawlikowski is the editor of BBGeeks.com, a site that helps BlackBerry users get the most out of their devices offering tips and reviews on everything from games to BlackBerry car mounts.
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