“So, do you get to play a lot of video games?”’

That’s the question I recently put to Maria Stipp, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Owned Properties division of Activision Blizzard (the company behind such hits as Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and more).  Her answer? “I wish I could say my thumbs were worn out from playing video games.  But unfortunately my thumbs take far more abuse from my Blackberry.”

She puts the Blackberry to good use out of the office, too.  An active globetrotter, Maria logs nearly 100,000 miles annually meeting with developers all over the world.  Here are a few of her travel tips:

• When you travel, what is the one item you always take with you?
  Aside from my Blackberry, I always bring dress shoes. Once I forgot them and had to wear running shoes with my new suit to a senior customer meeting.  Not a great look.
• What are you listening to your on your iPod these days?
  This assumes I have the time to listen to music.  I have three year-old twins – you do the math!
• What is your favorite dining spot in the world?
  Currently, I’m loving Pizzeria Mozza in LA.  Nancy Silverton’s crust is amazing.  I love the Bacon, salami, fennel sausage, pancetta, tomato and mozzarella pizza.  And their Brussels sprouts, when they’re in season, are phenomenal.
• Where have you been recently that you liked or were surprised by?
  Ojai Valley Inn and Spa in California. I can have a meeting AND get a two hour massage. Brilliant.
• Can you offer an insider travel tip or recommendation?
  Never give up on upgrades…ask at every airport and hotel. You have to A-S-K in order to G-E-T!
• What’s your best travel story?
  I met Michael Jordan at Chicago O’Hare airport two days before he beat the Jazz for the Championship win!

Thanks for the insider tips, Maria!

You asked for it, and we’ve delivered! Boingo Mobile, our Wi-Fi service for mobile devices and smartphones, is now available on the Blackberry® Curve 8900, Blackberry Curve 8320 and BlackBerry® Bold.

For just $7.95 per month, Boingo Mobile gives you a high-speed alternative to cellular data so you surf the Internet, download large files, upload pictures, and stream video — all on your Blackberry. Usage is unlimited and you can connect all over the globe. That’s right, surf to your heart’s content while you travel for business or pleasure and save on international roaming costs.

To get Boingo Mobile, first download our free login software directly to your Blackberry. The software tells you when you’re in a Boingo hotspot and automatically connects you. Next, sign up via the software; or alternatively sign up on a PC.

We’re constantly working to expand our portfolio of smartphone support, which now includes the Android™, iPhone®, Symbian™ Series 60, and Windows Mobile™ platforms. We know how much y’all love those mobile devices of yours!

To download the free Boingo software for Blackberry, click here.

To download Boingo software for other mobile devices, click here.

To sign up for Boingo Mobile Wi-Fi for your Blackberry, click here.

Read the press release here.

Is your smartphone filling up with applications you rarely (never) use? Welcome to the club.

According to various studies, “smartphone users download many more apps than they actually use,” and “consumers stop using the vast majority of iPhone apps almost immediately.”

If you’re looking for applications you will cherish and use daily, check out Fierce Wireless’ list of top ten mobile apps designed to be part of your everyday life:

1. Aha (free): “…connects iPhone users from across major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle and Washington, D.C., to share real-time information on traffic conditions.”
2. MotionX GPS ($2.99): “…premium location app optimized for the iPhone 3GS, complete with accelerometric-assisted GPS for improved accuracy…indicates and tracks the user’s position wherever they go–not just on street maps, but also topographic and satellite maps, which explains why the software is so popular with runners, hikers, skiers and boaters.”
3. Put Things Off ($2.99): ” …expressly targets procrastinators… encourages users to focus on what’s important each day and ‘put off stuff that’s not’–its touch-based filing system incorporates a series of virtual trays that separate tasks according to priority level, with completed chores disappearing in a puff of smoke.” Available for iPhone.
4. Sherpa (free): “..local discovery application optimized for Android…promises a customized user experience that improves each time you use it, recommending retailers, restaurants and attractions as it begins to understand your likes, dislikes and behavioral patterns.”
5. Snac (free): makes ” it easier to get at popular applications like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr while also offering up news, weather, email and related tools in a user-friendly, at-a-glance format.” Available for various smartphones.
6. 3deep: (free): “…offer users new insight into their contacts’ presence, location and availability…users share information on their current status, whereabouts and preferred means of contact, and the app’s Tell Me When feature indicates whether communications are best initiated via voice, text, e-mail or IM. Users also determine when and with whom they want to share deep presence information, and can limit how much personal data they wish to divulge on a case-by-case basis.” Available for various smartphones.
7. Vlingo (free): “speech recognition app–available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices–delivers a single voice interface that works with native and third-party applications, offering one-button access to contact lists, search tools, local listings and social networking status updates.
8. WeatherBug Elite ($0.99): “live updates from a vast global network of professional weather stations…bolsters live local weather conditions and forecasts with the addition of full radar animation as well as supplementary map layers spanning infrared satellite, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and next-day high and low temperatures.” Available for iPhone, Android, Nokia, Windows Mobile and Blackberry.
9. Wertago (free): location-sensitive mobile social networking app… grand prize winner in last year’s Android Developer Challenge…pinpoints where the action is, complete with real-time ratings, tags and reviews…also tells you which of your friends are already there and includes tools to message and coordinate plans with them.” Available for various smartphones.
10. Zagat to Go ‘09 ($9.99): “…includes over 40,000 reviews from the venerable ratings guide, as well as suggestions covering nightclubs, hotels and retailers…the iPhone version incorporates GPS features to guarantee you don’t get lost en route to that out-of-the way place. Other components of the application include search, reservations, top-rated lists organized by locale and sorting by food, décor, service scores or estimated meal cost.” Available for various smartphones.

Check out the entire article here.

My favorite email magazine, Urban Daddy, recently recommended an interesting travel app called FlightCaster, which“uses a radical patent-pending algorithm to tell you (with high probability) whether your flight will be delayed, or if you’ll be sitting on the tarmac for a while.”

The delay prediction is derived from a number of sources, including weather patterns over the last decade, in-bound aircraft tracking data, and FAA monitoring. Simply put, it’s all about the math, science, and history, baby!

You can use FlightCaster on your laptop by visiting their site. For the iPhone and Blackberry, the application is $4.95 and can be purchased via iTunes and ShopCrackberry.com, respectively.

I’ll give the app a go when I’m next on the road. In the meantime, if you have a flight to catch, try it out and let us know how well it works for you!

Here’s an example prediction:

A recent FierceDeveloper article about mobile OS consolidation got me thinking: if I could save only three mobile operating systems from falling off a cliff, which three would I save? Because let’s face it, there are a lot of mobile operating systems out there, and only so much money and developers to build a truly rich ecosystem.

Frankly, I don’t know which ones I’d save. Working at Boingo, I’ve been exposed to the entire gamut of mobile operating systems and like a good unbiased parent, I like them all for different reasons (okay, maybe secretly, I have my favorites). But clearly, the market is at an inflection point and seems to be heading towards some sort of mobile OS consolidation. So who do you think the three winners will be? Here’s an alphabetized list of mobile OS’s as a reminder:

• Android
• Blackberry
• iPhone
• Maemo
• Palm
• Symbian
• Windows Mobile