WordPress Releases Beta Version of New BlackBerry Blogging App

Although I own a BlackBerry and I am writing this blog post, I am not writing this blog post on a BlackBerry. I could if I wanted to, though, thanks to the new public beta launch of the WordPress BlackBerry client.

A TypePad blogging client for BlackBerry already exists, but so far there hasn't been anything for WordPress users and, of course, nothing open source. Naturally, I was thrilled to take this new app for a spin and, I must say, it's pretty snazzy for something still in beta.

The WordPress for BlackBerry .jar file has a small 232 KB footprint and installs in a snap.

When I entered my name and password at setup, the app automatically grabbed info on all the WordPress blogs I have linked to that account and I was able to begin posting immediately.

The client allows users to create new posts and pages, as well as moderate comments and tweak a few blog settings.

You can tag and categorize each post, and choose whether to publish or leave it in draft.

You can also edit local drafts and the last 10 live posts. Long posts take a while to load, but that's more likely a symptom of a sluggish EDGE connection than trouble with the app itself.

There's an option to add pictures to blog posts as you write them, however I was unable to access any images on my device's SD card or internal memory. While tinkering with the client's photo settings, I accidentally backed out of the test post I was working on without saving. When I logged back in, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my post had been auto-saved and was right there waiting for me.

The WordPress for BlackBerry client crashed a couple of times and was a little buggy but was still wonderfully useable for a beta app. If you need the full power of a desktop blogging client, then this app isn't for you. If you're looking for a BlackBerry app that will let you blog on the fly, however, then you'll love this nifty WordPress app for the BlackBerry.