As seen from my earlier status message, I have been searching (again) for any APRS Apps for the Blackberry. I have been searching off and on for awhile but with no success. There was talk about it in the APRS SIGS awhile back but that thread has since died off. Now there is a new thread with talk of wanting to make an app for the Android platform. And this has renewed my interest in searching again for any hint of an app for the Blackberry. The IPhone seems to be getting all of the attention lately and there is a sat tracking app and an APRS app but no such love (yet) for us Blackberry users. I have found one potential that is in development but not yet ready for HAM consumption and that is at:

http://blog.ochrelabs.com/2009/08/beta-testing-aprs-is-for-blackberry.html

And on the OpenAPRS site they have their Direct Client Connection ( http://dcc.openaprs.net/ ) which is providing the data link into the APRS-IS network, just needing someone to develop the mobile side client to access it. I have always been a long time Blackberry user back when I worked for a paging company. Starting back with the RIM 950, (then moved up to the 7250, then the 8830 and now a Storm 9530) I was always curious about learning how to program on the Blackberry platform, and that interest has never really died. Unfortunately with working two jobs (one full time, one part time) and other “challenges” that life keeps throwing in my path to climb over or go around, there has not been many open TDM slots to learn how to program on the BB platform. Though I would be willing to help with ideas and/or beta test an APRS Blackberry App if there is anyone who is developing such an app that has not popped up on my Google search radar. I do have a login onto the Blackberry Developer site and do look around and do some reading from time to time but who knows what 2010 will hold and maybe some more TDM slots will get freed up to allow me to look into this more. It would be nice to able to see and interact with the APRS-IS network from anywhere where it is not convenient to carry around the HT (like I learned very quickly from one of my prior visits to Rio de Janeiro that carrying an HT in public is not a good thing to do) but if I had an APRS App on my Blackberry then I could have been laying on the beach sending messages to my HAM friends back here.
So, if anyone knows of any other Blackberry APRS (or Sat Tracking) apps potentially in development I would be interested in knowing about them.

73s
Arthur
N4TRQ