We'd love your comments and suggestions..just email me at asjbiotek (at) gmail.com

We created a way for Blackberry users (e.g. commuters on train, at work, etc) to subscribe and LISTEN to their favorite blogs or news. The system translates text to voice and can be accessed via a Blackberry.

Website:
Voizpod.com

The link to download mobile application via your cell browser is:
voizpod.com/m75/

* sorry for the link, but I still cannot post full links...

Thanks...

A-roy San Juan

Wirelessly posted

Has anyone ever heard of, or tried this app?

Hi,

This is a new mobile and web app that is just launching. We started the project last year.

I think it's pretty cool because you can download and save audio files of web pages and blogs and news to your blackberry and listen to them at any time. I use it on my new JUICY COOL dark red blackberry curve....

Btw, thanks for those who tried it so far, you actually strained the system

Does it save to Media Card?? I imagine a lot of those files will be large for the device memory...

Any website with more details?

Hi,

Actually, when I use it on my Blackberry Curve I have to save it on a 2 GB mini SD Card because it won't allow you to download to the store/ root folder (we don't have a signed version of the app yet, probably)

The website is here (I still cannot post URLs, sorry), just copy it to your Firefox or IE browser...

Voizpod.com

There are FAQs and all other stuff on it...

There are two ways to listen on your mobile:

1. Just choose and play - this downloads and then plays multiple articles. You do NOT need any storage media for this because no files are stored in the mobile. It plays immediately and is then gone from memory. This mode will work even for cellphones with no storage to speak of, like Motorola Razrs. The negative to this is that there is a waiting period while downloading occurs and then play starts.

2. Download and save - this will allow one touch downloading of all articles from your favorite news or blog to file storage in your Blackberry. With a 2 GB SD card I can download and store many many many audio files. With this mode, you can download earlier, then later play all your articles with no time lag.

The mobile download link for blackberry curves (and other mobiles which have a file system) is:

voizpod.com/m75

But you should read the website first from your desktop at:

voizpod.com

I get errors parsing Channel List, and it says I don't have an active internet connection (I'm on UMA at the moment), even though my APN settings are correct.

Hi,

Sorry for the problem!

Can you try it again?...from 440 pm to around 5 pm Eastern Time we had multiple people registering and transforming quite a lot of websites (blogs) which created an out of memory error in the server. That might have caused your mobile app to be unable to reach the server.

be sure to go to Other Stuff --> User Settings, and put in your user information to login.

You can contact me directly at asjbiotek (at) gmail.com if you still have problems...please be sure you allow Java mobile apps (such as Google Mail Mobile, Yahoo Go, Opera Mini, etc) to be able to access the internet

And I do apologize for any problems and hassles...i posted this here just for that purpose, to see whether other users in other carriers (other than verizon, which i believe cannot run mobile apps based on java) using other blackberry curves/pearl can also run it ok....

thanks!

I still get the same error.

Opera Mini, Google Maps, etc., all work fine.

Hi Spanky poo,

I'll just post 2 extraneous posts so I can post URLs to try to help...

One thing to try btw is to uninstall and install it again...

If uninstalling and installing again does not work, we can create a modified app for you that can spit out a log so you it'll be easier to debug on your end...

Hi,

Sorry about that.

I'm home, but what I did was go through the set-up steps and took pics of my Blackberry so I can tell what is going on in your case...sorry for the picture quality but i'm just using a cameraphone...

I would uninstall the current app, then reinstall it again to start fresh...

1. After creating an account on the web at voizpod.com, I download the mobile at voizpod.com/m75

2. The Voizpod icon shows in my blackberry curve desktop:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/1.jpg


3. I go to the advanvced options and give permission for app to access internet. After clicking on the icon, it shows this:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/2.jpg

I say YES

4. The voizpod app now tells me that i need to create acct, which i did, so I go past this screen.

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/3.jpg

5. I then immediately see this screen which allows me to place my account info and other user preferences. I set the Download folder to my SDCard.

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/4.jpg

6. It then takes me to the Main menu:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/5.jpg

7. I pick PLAY and i get to a screen where i can Choose and Play (no storage of files), Play downloads, or Play bookmarked articles. I'll chose Chhose and Play:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/6.jpg

8. It then should show you all the channels you subscribed to in the website:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/7.jpg

We've taken down the service temporarily in order to increase the heap size of the dedicated server. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Well, we've switched it back on again. Please try it on for size as usual...

Thanks to all the Curvy and other people who've tested it so far.

Oh, and thanks for the encouraging emails (and suggestions) as well...

PS. It was down awhile because we thought we could easily increase the heap, but run into troubles. We'll try again later....

We uploaded a newer beta version of the mobile application.

use your mobile browser to go to -
voizpod.com/m75/

If you have already downloaded the older version, just replace it....

This version fixes some problems encountered by a couple of people who could not connect to the network the first time (but was ok after shutting then restarting the mobile app).

Thank you for the suggestions!

PS. please note that cron updating of all recently accessed channels occurs around this time every night (around 1 am Eastern Time) so you may experience slowdowns late nights...

Hi all,

Thanks again for those who have tested it.

Two things:

1. I still got an email about a user who could not connect to the vozpod network at first, but then restarted the app and it was then fine.

So we again uploaded an incremental new version that hopefully addresses that. Please replace your old versions if possible.

Create an acct if first time:
Voizpod.com

On your mobile web browser, download the newest version:
voizpod.com/m75


2. A user got confused by the difference between Downloading and playing versus just playing (Called "choose and play")

(A) Choose and Play - the app downloads then immediately plays all articles you select. It never saves anything to storage. You can bookmark these articles, but the app will need to redownload it again. This is for devices with no storage.

accessible via Main menu --> Play --> Choose and Play

(B) Download - this saves into your SDCard all new articles from favorite channels that you select. I tried saving into my root folder but it did not allow me to, so you can choose to save it to your SDCard as a preference in user settings.

To illustrate, I just did it on my blackberry:

1. From main Menu go to Downloads. Select your Favorite Channels (the ones that will automatically download)

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/8.jpg

2. After selecting favorites (which is saved so you don't need to do it again), go to Download Favorite Channels. The app will start downloading all the new articles you have not downloaded.

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/9.jpg

3. Because this is not signed, before the app can save it to your local drive, it will ask you. say yes...

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/10.jpg

4. At the end of the downloading process, you will see all the files downloaded:

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/11.jpg

5. To play the downloads, go to Play --> Play Downloads

It will show a list of all your downloaded articles.

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/12.jpg

6. Select all that you want to play (they will play sequentially)

http://www.blueboard.com/temp5/voizpod/13.jpg

Thanks to BerryReview for their rather embarrassing post

» Voizpod Beta - Lets You Listen To RSS Feeds Like Podcasts Free | BerryReview.com

And thanks to BB World as well...the screenshots seem to show they did get it to work! Yay!!!!!

BB World » Ascolta il web da BlackBerry con VoizPod

Please continue to send us emails if you have problems, including which type of Blackberry curve/pearl you have, and what the nature of the problem was.

asjbiotek (at) gmail.com

i uninstalled it and reinstalled it. changed permissions (in fact, it was already set to allow for internet use)...created an account, input userid and pwd...

i clicked on choose and play, it say connecting to voizpod network and then i keep getting an error saying that there was a problem with connection (java.io.IOException: Connection not writeable)..." but i do have internet connection. after a flash of that screen it goes to another screen saying warning and says that there is a problem with my username and pwd and to try again. i use the same username and pwd to login to your website and i can get in fine. not sure wats going on. also on my phone it says user name and pwd...while on the website it says "Name" and pwd. are they both the same? or is my username on my phone my email add?

thanks!

Hi,

I got your email as well...thanks for the feedback...

The actual problem is the connection...when the app first tries to connect to the internet it is actually sending any login info you may have. If the connection is never realized, then the second error screen also displays.

Can you try the following?

1. make sure you have the latest build.
voizpod.com/m75

2. Make sure you give the mobile app PERMISSION to access the internet.
this will be under options, advanced options, apps, then to the voizpod app....

3. Try it...

If it does not connect the first time, do NOT uninstall then reinstall (as you said above).

Simply exit the app, then start it again.

This error that we are seeing in Blackbberys (Network connection error) seems to happen sporadically, and is not systemic. We also don't seem to see the same problem when using other cells such as high end Nokias and Motorolas, not sure why.

We'll keep at it though, thanks....

In the meantime, like i said, if the connection does not happen the first time you start it, simply exit the app, then restart it again.

PS. Yes, the "name" and "username" are the same...that's just a miscommunication between webmaster and developer...i'll see it fixed...thanks...

thanks for your reply...i do have the latest version which is 1.0 from the link u posted above. i did try exiting the app and restarting it, but still to no avail. i still get the same error. after the network connection error screen flashes...it actually goes to the next screen in which it says that there is a prob with my username and pwd and then at the bottom it says "warning! there was an error parsing the channel list". i did add 2 channels on the web site to try them. wat did i do wrong?

Hi,

We'll have to fix that two screens...if it cannot connect, it will go to the next screen and still have that error about username and password. The channel parsing did not work because it's trying to parse nothing (it never picked up the channels because there was no connection). Again, I think it all comes down to the fact the app could not gain access to the data network.

Btw, do you have the latest build? Did you check the permissions for that app?

I'll pass that error you mentioned to our developer (java.io.connection error) and he'll email you back as well or post here....

Thanks!

i had 1.0 and i just downloaded it again this afternoon from the link you posted above. but it still says 1.0, so is that the latest build? and the permissions are set to allow for all connections for voizpod.

i wud like to get this to work...

Hi,

Yeah, it's the latest. We're not incrementing the build version upwards because this is just the testing phase.

So, the latest build is always available to users with devices with file systems at:
voizpod.com/m75

The other thing is you're using Blackberry 8300, not sure whether that makes a difference...we've tested using 8310, and we know others like you have tested it and it worked using the same, but it looks like we'll have to ask people for their model in the registration form so we can figure out which models may be having difficulties.

ASJ

Hi all!

We started a new blog for the Voizpod Team. Please feel free to visit us and say hello! Btw, we've garnered more than 100 users so far and got lots of suggestions, comments, and complaints, so please keep those coming!

To read our blog:
The Voiz!


ENJOY!

Sorry, the link to the audio file is different:
To listen to the first entry via voizpod:
Listen via Voizpod

As requested by one of the users, we are starting to create a series of video tutorials on how to use the Voizpod mobile. If I sound kinda dorky and nasal in the video, it's because I am kinda dorky

Here's the first one. It shows you how to download and store articles from websites into your Blackberry.

The zipped version (only 26 MB) if you want to save it on your hard drive first:

http://www.voizpod.com/tutorials/voi...ownloading.zip

The non-zipped version (it's 40 MB, so only click if you are on a fast DSL, cable or T1 line):

http://www.voizpod.com/tutorials/voi...ownloading.mov

I removed the audio link because the way voizpod works it changes every midnight anyways....

After a week or so of testing with users in this forum (thanks!), please note the following that have caused problems with users:

Verizon:

Verizon does not support Java (J2ME) apps so you will not be able to run the Voizpod Mobile on verzon. You can use the Voizpod mobile site using your browser though.

T-mobile

T-mobile users have not been able to access the internet through Voizpod Mobile. This is because T-mobile has the following restrictions:

You can only acccess internet via this app if:

1) The application was signed with a T-Mobile certificate, or
2) The user has a $20 "total internet" plan instead of the regular $6 T-Zones one, or
3) The handset was not bought through T-Mobile.

We will work with T-mobile to sign the application (option #1) so this problem should be fixed later....

Thanks again to all those testing it!!!!

Here's more on T-mobile's restriction on all third party apps:
T-Mobile Disses Opera, Says "Get Less!" - Gearlog

We will see whether we can get a cert from T-mobile, but I do not know how long this will take. I apologize to all T-mobile users....

In meantime, you can use the mobile website at voizpod.com/w until we can find a way around t-mobile's, well...i don't know what to call it....

We will upgrade that mobile site to accomodate people...

A few people have emailed about why some of their channels were not updated after an absence of several days (in one case, a week or so), and so I updated the FAQ and would like to post this here, since it is kinda essential info.

The answer is pretty simple: The more you use Voizpod to view your channels, the more updated they will be. The reason for this is that the Voizpod server only updates channels which are being used. So, if you don't log into your account for several weeks, and none of your channels are also opened by another person, then they will be outdated when you log into your account. However, check back the next day and they should have the most current articles because you checked it the day before.

So the best idea is to log into your account frequently so your personal channels will be updated all the time! If you log in daily, then all your channels get updated daily too!

PS. We'll be adding "Updated: DD/MM/YYYY" info to the channels as well so when you open one you'll know when was the last time it was updated.

A new FAQ that explains the occurence of a 413 error when using the mobile app has been posted.

Voizpod - The Voiz of the Web

Please note that if you or your IT dept cannot fix this error, you can still use the voizpod mobile website at Untitled to listen to your channels....

Thanks...

Just bumping this for any new members who may want to try it. Thanks to all the other beta testers who have given us some good feedback!

ASJ

Have you solvedthe problem with T-Mobile yet?

Hi,

It's not actually a problem per se, as noted in this notice we put out. It'll take time to get a certificate from t-mobile though...I'll email you when that is done....

Notice to T-Mobile Users

We'll be improving the mobile website by this weekend, so people who can't use the mobile app can use that instead....

Btw, we added a new page with many of the channel listings so it's easier for people to subscribe to a channel that they may like without needing to search for it.

Recent Channel Listings by Category

Regards,
ASJ