BlackBerry Forums Support Community

yann · 12-21-2005, 11:38 AM

Hi everybody!

I've just noticed the release of a new version of Piconews (previously BBnews) : see http://www.piconews.com

Piconews is a news reader for different platforms, including Blackberry. News items are pushed to your device in realtime, and you can read them when you want.

This software is free and really nice

, and far better than newsclip (which costs $30/year!!!)

Download link

CanuckMakem · 12-21-2005, 11:26 PM

Loaded and it won't connect. Sent a support email...

torifile · 12-22-2005, 05:51 AM

Very nice! I've notice a graphical glitch on my 8700c. When scrolling down to the next page, the text gets all messed up (like it didn't refresh). Scrolling back up fixes it. But I'm impressed anyway. It's fast and has been easy to figure out so far.

KonTiki · 12-22-2005, 09:53 AM

Installed and it works as good as ever.

CanuckMakem · 12-22-2005, 12:34 PM

Wonder if I'm unable to use this due to my network restrictions? Still not heard back from Piconews.

finch · 12-22-2005, 12:37 PM

I think Bell and Telus have blocked the ports that allow third party apps to communicate via their netwoks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanuckMakem

Loaded and it won't connect. Sent a support email...

wuberry · 12-22-2005, 02:18 PM

I just installed this and it's working great. However, I bet there's a lot of data being transferred.

Just to doublecheck ... I'm n ot going to need a second mortgage to pay my next bill ... right? I have a truly unlimited (Cingular) data plan.

Many thanks.

CanuckMakem · 12-22-2005, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by finch

I think Bell and Telus have blocked the ports that allow third party apps to communicate via their netwoks.

Yes they have... my own little BB nightmare!! It sucks... royally.

koleary19067 · 12-22-2005, 06:02 PM

I downloaded it and it is great. Love it so far.

KonTiki · 12-22-2005, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanuckMakem

Yes they have... my own little BB nightmare!! It sucks... royally.

You could try to find out if Telus has any ports open and find out from the tech support at Piconews if they have an alternate port some software will have alternates or allow you to change it to one that you can use, so if Telus lets you know if there are any ports that are open you may have a shot. A good example I believe is Ramble.

yann · 12-22-2005, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuberry

I just installed this and it's working great. However, I bet there's a lot of data being transferred.

Just to doublecheck ... I'm n ot going to need a second mortgage to pay my next bill ... right? I have a truly unlimited (Cingular) data plan.

Many thanks.

It depends on the number of feeds you subscribed to, and if they broadcast a lot of news or not... As for me, my operator charges me with around one buck per month. This is totally acceptable when you see how addictive this software is!

Jase88 · 12-24-2005, 12:59 AM

Installed it over the air and it works great on my 7250 on Bell Mobility (with BES).

This software is better than many subscription services, IMO. The interface is clean and intuitive, and includes battery and signal meter views at the top. This looks like a keeper...

garymcm · 12-24-2005, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yann

Hi everybody!

This software is free and really nice

, and far better than newsclip (which costs $30/year!!!)

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You say it is better than Newsclip. I am evaluating both at the minute and I love the Piconews interface; however, Newsclip has rich text and images. Piconews renders that as raw html. This is a deal breaker for me (yeah free but I mean in terms of usability).

So far Newsclip is the best RSS reader I have tried.

KonTiki · 12-24-2005, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garymcm

You say it is better than Newsclip. I am evaluating both at the minute and I love the Piconews interface; however, Newsclip has rich text and images. Piconews renders that as raw html. This is a deal breaker for me (yeah free but I mean in terms of usability).

So far Newsclip is the best RSS reader I have tried.

I use an news reader on my BB for news on the fly when I have no access to my computer or television. Rich text and images are not essential at that time, to pay money to see glitz its fine if that is what you like but to say it is the best because it has them is not. Pico news is extremely user friendly, sets up nicely and easy, allows you to add your own, and it is free. The people that put it out ought to be commended after all this world sees enough commercialism, Thank You BlackTouch, I appreciate your efforts and cudos for a job well done.

SMorganPhoto · 12-24-2005, 11:45 AM

I'm getting a connection refused error

koleary19067 · 12-24-2005, 12:58 PM

I have been getting that error on and off. No problems today but yesterday i was getting that error message

garymcm · 12-24-2005, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KonTiki

I use an news reader on my BB for news on the fly when I have no access to my computer or television. Rich text and images are not essential at that time, to pay money to see glitz its fine if that is what you like but to say it is the best because it has them is not. Pico news is extremely user friendly, sets up nicely and easy, allows you to add your own, and it is free. The people that put it out ought to be commended after all this world sees enough commercialism, Thank You BlackTouch, I appreciate your efforts and cudos for a job well done.

The problem is that the common feeds like NYT, Google News, Engadget, BlackberryCool all provide rich text and so the output is foobar in Pico. Unless I am missing some preference in the App. I don't care for Rich Text it myself, so I'm not trying to change your opinion, but if this is the way RSS is going I would have thought any reader worthy of consideration would need to support it.

The reason I like it and i have tried litenews and freenews too -- so that's my basis of comparison here -- is that it is reliable (freenews locked my system after using it for a couple of days), has helpful keyboard shortcuts and has user friendly menus (like you can delete all articles whether read or not -- this is a 2 step process in Pico) and special views.

yann · 12-27-2005, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garymcm

You say it is better than Newsclip. I am evaluating both at the minute and I love the Piconews interface; however, Newsclip has rich text and images. Piconews renders that as raw html. This is a deal breaker for me (yeah free but I mean in terms of usability).

So far Newsclip is the best RSS reader I have tried.

I had the same problem with one of my favorite feeds. I wrote an email to [email address]

and they improved their HTML filter. The software team said me a new version was being prepared: it should include rich text and images support. However, none of my feeds include images for now, so that's not a problem for me at the moment...!

yann

yann · 12-27-2005, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMorganPhoto

I'm getting a connection refused error

Did you use the "email support" integrated function? A friend of mine had the same problem because his BB wasn't Internet-aware. A little setting given by the support allowed him to go ahead and to enjoy pico.

Ganksta187 · 12-29-2005, 02:40 PM

I installed it and subscribed to a few feeds. But i cant connect, to accept the terms and conditions. My APN is set up correctly. Gives me a connection refused error. Anyone have any suggestions?

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Release of Piconews 2.0