Zumobi widgets slide on over to BlackBerry
BlackBerry owners will now be able to use Zumobi to have instant access to widgets that provide a wide variety of miniature applications previously available only for Windows Mobile devices.
Zumobi now offers support for the BlackBerry Pearl (series 81xx), Curve (series 83xx), and Series 88xx using OS 4.2 or newer. The service is free for phone owners to download and install.
Users interested in trying out Zumobi only need a supported phone and a phone plan with a data plan, then head to http://get.zumobi.com. The service operates atop the phone's browser, and isn't a dedicated Web browser -- so don't expect a new browsing environment.
After installing Zumobi on my RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330, I was greeted with a screen of 16 "tiles" -- small widget applications users can click on. By default, I had tiles for Twitter, NPR, Associated Press, MTV Movies, weather, and similar news and entertainment tiles. Four squares of tiles are arranged in a "Zone," and each zone can be organized depending on the needs of a user.
| A brief video created by Zumobi demonstrating its widget service on a genericized smartphone. |
A tile loads in the Zumobi browsing screen, and after initial testing of several tiles, I was not impressed with the speed in which tiles loaded. It took more time for me to browse articles on the AP and NPR news tiles than to browse their own mobile Web sites. Furthermore, the main Zumobi screen, with all 16 tiles, is rather cluttered and confusing to look at.
It's possible to arrange the tiles in a specific order, plus download new tiles through the Zumobi service. Users can also create their own Zumobi tiles that can be added into one of their Zones just like any other tile.
The "Add Tile" feature in Zumobi for BlackBerry phones currently is disabled with the following message: "Coming soon! In the meantime, visit gallery.zumobi.com." These feature promises to allow users to add their own tiles from any Web site, while also making it possible to share their tiles with other users in the community.
It's also possible to send a tile to other mobile phone users, even if they aren't Zumobi users. Non-user Zumobi users who don't have the service will be sent a message an invitation to download the service.
If you're a BlackBerry owner with an unlimited data plan, Zumobi is a free downloadable service that shows some promise but has a few bugs that need to be ironed out before becoming a major player in the widget space.