In those lonely hours...

Of late, and after moving up in life, we decided to keep a driver. I realised that life was much more lonely and there was more free time at hand. Now on my way to office, I could work, browse and talk with the fear of being caught. These are the days when I got most "pal-ly" with my BB (6 months back got the latest 8520 curve).

Out of sheer ennui (of only boring office mails), also started using the mobile browsers and fiddled around the phone more. Tried a couple of browser (inspired from blogs)... Opera Mini, Mozilla and Blackberry browser. After using Opera mini a couple of times, I stuck to the good old BB browser. The experience was no way near using an iPhone, however good none the less in those lonely hours.

My life changed and for the first time I felt like a geek and i realised i was more social with a mobile than otherwise. Thanks to these applications and sites...

1. UberTwitter: Even after the launch of "Twitter for Blackberry" I have continued using Ubertwitter application, as Uber is very addictive for Twitter freaks.

+ves: Intuitive UI, fast and doesn't eat too much of space. One can clear cache periodically. The photo twit is fantastic. Just shoot with your mobile and tweet

-ves: The location function doesn't work properly (I guess more to do with our chaotic IP management than the application's). Also doesn't let you update the Facebook and other social applications simultaneously.

2. Facebook: I have never been a Facebook addict, till i got hooked on to the mobile application. This application like UberTwitter is fast and addictive.

+ves: Facebook is best left at a free time, when one doesn't have much to do ( so that one doesn't have to waste productive hours at home or in office.) And this application lets you do that. One big positive is that the application is a simplified version of complicated website and yet one doesn't have to compromise on the functions. Very simple UI.

-ves: Takes a long time to update feeds and is very slow. The chat function is missing, which I feel is a great plus with FB. Moreover, if you get hooked, toying around with your phone in the night might send wrong signals to your wife.

3. gTalk: For people like me, who don't have much to say, one/two letter chatting is a great option to catch up with people.

+ves: As simple and as fast as the orginal application. The notification as an email is a great feature.

-ves: Ensure that you log off each session, else you may get messages late in the night and might cause animosity with friends for not chatting. Also, there is no option to check GMAIL through the gTalk application.

4. BlackBerry Messenger: BB Messenger is a super option to save money. Best use is in case of international travel, where you could use the tool to connect with your professional friends (however, please ensure that you don't use the such as twitter/facebook which use huge amount of data.

+ves: Reduces sms charges and is pretty fast.

-ves: Adding people as contact is difficult. Best way to do that is by using PIN (rather than eMail).

5. Hindustan Times mPaper Application:I'm a HindustanTimes reader and therefore the bias for this application and also has section to read blogs of HT columnists- Indrajeet Hazra, Vinod Sharma, Vir Sanghvi among others, which in my opinion is HT's edge over any other news site.

+ves: Reader friendly, simple font and minimalistic design

-ves: Limited content, at times repitatitive between sections

6. Wap Sites: Following are the sites which I visit regularly...

a. Yahoo: I like the UI and is the best in the category. The font size is very decent and page is vibrant. I used it a lot during the IPL. One can also check mails and log into messenger from here. Almost like being on Yahoo. The site is unmatched.

b. Rediff: Very extensive coverage and minimalistic design (unlike Yahoo). Content is limited but updated, but is not as engaging as Yahoo.

c. LiveMint.com: Great site for financial news. Updated content and generally good reading for a non financial folk. I quite like the content under "Life" section. Font however is small and you can't read for long.

d. TimesOf India & Eco Times: Only if you have missed the morning edition of TOI. You will get pretty much what the Newspaper has to offer. Small font and not very reader friendly.

e. Moneycontrol.com, & In.com: The only drawback with this mobile moneycontrol is that the portfolio section may not work at times. On the other hand in.com has very regular content, the only section worth visiting is the IBNLIVE news section.

f. NDTV Mobile: Very rudimentary design, but updated content. Worth checking out the site.

Life has changed and not that bad. It's a new world. I still miss my driving and make up for it on the weekends. (I guess one has to discover "work-life balance" in his/her own way.) I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

Can't wait to read reviews of Iron Man-2! Would love to preview on YouTube, however the speed on mobile sucks, big time.

Cheers!