Hi All,

If anyone is interested in working with geocaching.com Pocket Querys on their BlackBerry device there is a new application currently in beta at: CacheBerrry - GeoCaching with your BlackBerry

The app allows you to keep Pocket Queries (and GPX files from cache listings for non-premium members) on the device and search for caches, view details, logs, hints, inventories and attach memos.

At this stage it requires Windows (for USB transfer) but support for Mac and Linux will be added soon.

Cheers,
Bruce

Hi
what kind of timeframe are looking to add SD Card support? Q2, Q3, Q4?

regs,


PDM

Hi PDM,

I hope to have SD-Card support (and multiple databases) next month sometime.

Cheers,
Bruce

This is really slick - I don't geocache myself but have some buddies who are into it, I know they have cool software like this on their Windows Mobile devices. Kudos!

Hi Bruce,
many thanks for the response. Unfortunately, my trial will probably have expired by then... ;)

ciao for now,


PDM

Hopefully not, it is a 30-day trial.. in any event your 8800 should be able to handle a large number of caches listing in Flash, probably serveral thousand, it's just that the time taken to "merge" updates into a very large database starts to creep up. I have 550 caches on my 8320 device and the app is still very fast.

ooo, nice. will you be integrating GPS into it as well for us built in users.

Hey mrking,

Funny you should mention that

Actually I'm developing a GPS application targeted toward geocaching and hiking etc which will work with inbuilt GPS and Bluetooth GPS and which will integrate with CacheBerry. Also I will be adding basic location based sort and filtering to CacheBerry sometime before this.

Cheers,
Bruce

Why will you later charge for a geocaching service that is actually free?

Anyway, looks like a nice app. Will give it a try!

Hi funkym,

Actually Pocket Queries are not free, you must be a Premium member of Geocaching.com to get them - but anyway I'm not charging for the service, I'm charging for the application which I hope adds a lot of value to the service for BlackBerry users and will add even more with some of the features I have planned for it (and bearing in mind I will never charge for updates).

Having said that I'm always interested in user opinions including opinions on value, the suggested price of $15 is not cast in stone at this point. Let me know what you think after you have had a play with it..

Cheers!
Bruce

It doesn't work.

I clicked on "Find...", entered "Treasure" and clicked on the "Find" button. The program did nothing and immediately returned "No matching items". What did I do wrong?

You're kidding right?!

no, i am not kidding. there is just this dialog box, nothing else.

Hi funkym,

We should probably move this to email, but I assume you have downloaded the "CacheBerry Desktop" program to your Windows PC and used it to transfer a GPX file (for example a pocket query from geocaching.com) to your Pearl via the USB connection as outlined in the "Quick Start" section of the download page?

You should then see a list of geocaches, the "find" function allows you to find a listing by searching for a keyword in the cache title/description and/or owner name.

Regards,
Bruce

PS. there is a contact email link at the bottom of the beta download page.

I installed it via OTA. The installation went fine, nothing to setup at. It just does not show anything when i press 'find' :(

You're halfway there.. you also need to download the small "CacheBerry Desktop" windows app (first link on the download page). This utility transfers geocache listings in GPX format (the format used by geocaching.com) to CacheBerry on the blackberry device. Until you do this CacheBerry will indeed be "empty".

Please read the "Quick Start" section of the download page.

Regards,
Bruce

I think I'll download this one, as soon as GPS support is integrated. I don't wanna waste the 30 day trial without using this feature.

Ahh ... I get it. The desktop application downloads the caches from geocaching.com and I can then transfer them to my bb. So the cacheberry app is "just" a viewer for the gpx file.

I so hope you can keep developing this. Right now I use the Trimble software (which is very good), but a single-pay program rather than a subscription model with certain features could easily compete. The key features: Use of GPS location (both internal GPS and external puck support) and the ability to download my GPX files without the desktop. I could take or leave the maps, but a tracking feature would be ideal. If you're familiar with the Geocaching software in the PPC world, I'd first shoot for a BeeLine GPS-type program rather than a Backcountry Navigator-type program.

For us Mac and Linux users, is it possible to just place the GPX files on the SD card, then move them into place on the device memory using the File Explorer? Or is it that the Windows tool converts the GPX data into another custom format for use?

Hi Rivviepop,

The next update will include the ability to copy GPX files to the SD card and import them from there, the windows utility is simply a USB transfer tool, the BlackBerry app itself parses the GPX (XML) file into an internal CacheBerry format.

I am also looking at implementing direct HTTP transfer where you would submit your GPX to our website and have a URL sent to the device to download it.

My initial design for CacheBerry was going to use email as the transfer mechanism but unfortunately support for mail attachments on the BlackBerry is unworkable (I actually did create a web-service which broke the GPX into x-rimdevice chunks and emailed them to the device where they were reassembled and parsed but it just seemed too clunky).

Bruce

Hi Thunder33cat,

The GPS app I'm working on is not a mapping program, there are plenty of mapping alternatives out there but nothing decent for finding waypoints offroad and creating breadcrumb tracks etc. I have a Freedom 2000 keychain GPS and have not been able to find anything worthwhile.. the only GPS program (which shall remain nameless) that claims to have Geocaching functions crashes constantly when using Bluetooth requiring a battery reset.

My main motivation for writing a GPS app is so I can use my too-cool keychain

For now CacheBerry is intended as a companion to a real GPS unit (we use a Garmin Vista) to allow paperless geocaching.

Cheers,
Bruce

That sounds fine, Bruce. I'll gladly add it to my arsenal alongside my 60CSX and keep my GPS puck waiting patiently...

Cool application, at least I hope. I have an 8830 and I just tried to send a GPX file with 500 (2.88M of data) caches to it. It actually sent pretty fast (about 30 seconds), but I have been on this step for quite a while:

7. Once the transfer is complete and CacheBerry displays "Analyzing GPX file" you can disconnect the USB cable.

I bet it has been Analyzing for about 10 minutes. FYI - It actually says, "Analysing GPX." You might want to correct that typo in an update.

Oops I just read this part too:

"Loading a large GPX file (eg. a 500 cache pocket query) will take several minutes, please be patient."

I just thought it was only refeting to the actual transfer part. I guess it must also mean the whole thing including the analyzing part.

But 10 minutes is definitely too long, on my 8320 it takes about 5 minutes in total to load 500 caches including the analyzing stage (which is just counting waypoint elements in order to display a progress bar during the actual XMl parsing stage).. let me know if it completed ok?

Thanks!
Bruce

FYI: Just in case I am not the only one that has never heard of geocaching before..

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 540,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the sport. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.[

And it's a lot of family fun. Go check it out:

Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

Hi All,

I won't make a habit of announcing every build in this thread but since some members asked I thought I would mention that the Beta version now online has the ability to copy GPX files to the Media card (using Mass Storage Mode for example) and import them directly on the the device.

This means the Desktop utility is not required so it will work for Mac and Linux users.

Cheers,
Bruce

I just figured out I can also import those GPX files into Spot. This app has GPS and map support and overlay the caches on top of a map. Well, it is pretty hard to use - I needed some time to get used to it. Also the network setup was not that easy, but it worked in the end

There is also stated native .loc geocache.com support. Didn't try that yet, but I will do so soon.

Hi Bruce,
my corporate BB Firewall prevented me from using Spot, so I ended up buying a Garmin GPS. I have been trying to figure out how I could go paperless caching, and a friend pointed me towards this app. It is exactly what I needed! It's quite simple to use the same pocket query gpx file, and load all the data onto my BB. I'm not really looking to use my 7290 as my GPS, but it's a great companion to store all the details for the trails. I'll be heading out today to try it out, but so far, SO good!
Cheers!

Let us know what you think. Though I am quite sure you will like it. I used to carry my GPSr, phone, and a PocketPC. Now I can just keep my GPS in my hand, and my phone on my hip. If I need some help, it's right there.

I just wanted to update and say this program is maturing nicely. I especially like the ability to show the geocache entries on Google Maps or Blackberry Maps.

One thing I've found is that if I load a big gpx file I (obviously) lose a ton of memory. This is to be expected, so I don't perceive this as a problem. However, since I'm a relatively infrequent geocacher, I don't want that much memory consumed all of the time.

My workaround: create a very small gpx file with a single entry and use it to overwrite the database. My main gpx files reside on the card and can be reloaded as needed.

I did see in the CacheBerry forums that you said you posted both here and there. I am sure Bruce will get back to you soon in the CacheBerry forums. I know I asked him about this some time ago too. I just wanted to clear them all out and start over. Not really for a space issue, but more for a fresh start. I just can't remember what he told me, sorry .

I can't find the Cachberry Desktop link? What am I missing?

Here are the instructions:

CacheBerry - Download CacheBerry

Here is the link to download the Desktop Software:

http://www.cacheberry.com/download/C...rryDesktop.exe

Hope that helps.

There it is....thank you.