The TechBlogger

RIM has announced the availability of the BlackBerry App World 3.1, which supports features such as Request a Gift, Wi-Fi only support, Content Rating based on the CTIA Wireless Association’s, and support for new languages.

According to information that came into my mailbox, some highlights of BlackBerry App World 3.1 include:

• Request a Gift: BlackBerry users can send their BBM friends a request to buy an app, theme, or game from the BlackBerry App World catalog
• Wi-Fi only Support: BlackBerry App World has always worked over Wi-Fi – but required a cellular connection to be present. With BlackBerry App World 3.1, no cellular connection is required!
• Content Rating and Filtering: BlackBerry users are now presented with a content rating to alert them to the content contained in an application
• New Language Support: BlackBerry App World is now available in additional languages including Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

BlackBerry App World 3.1 is free and can be downloaded from BlackBerry.com/appworld/

Note: You should see the option to upgrade if you already have an earlier version of App World installed

Meraki is a privately held company backed in part by Google and Sequoia Capital

The Meraki MR16 Wi-Fi access point arrived yesterday, and I was able to spend about 30 minutes for a brief preliminary take of its capabilities.

Now, I have had the opportunity to explore many different business-grade Wi-Fi access point (AP) in the past.  Nevertheless, the sheer level of design excellence and usability that Meraki successfully imbued into its product really got my attention.  This ranges from the placement of the Ethernet and DC port, placements of LED, include back plates and screws etc, to the design of the Meraki Dashboard.

Anyway, I’ll elaborate on them when I do a more complete review of the MR16 AP later this month.

Meraki’s unique cloud-hosted controller architecture means that installation of the MR16 AP is performed from Meraki’s Web Dashboard.  This can be done via a few simple steps without referencing any documentation.

Installation process:

• Plug the Meraki MR16 AP into HP 2915 Switch (PoE enabled)
• Create a new account on Meraki Dashboard
• Click on “Add AP” and key in Order Number (or Serial Number)
• Done. Start configuring your Meraki AP from the Dashboard

I must admit I hit an initial snag when the Meraki Dashboard complained that the AP have not checked in. It turned out that the problem was my own as I have port security enabled on my HP 2915 Switch.  I did a quick configuration change on the HP 2915, and the Meraki MR16 AP was able to connect via DHCP on my network and sync to the Meraki Dashboard - all automatically.

No wonder Gartner pegged them under the “Visionaries” category in its Magic Quadrant for wireless LAN infrastructure.

Meraki MR16 Access Point

Continue reading