Five ways to pay tribute to Jose Rizal using your BlackBerry

As the country commemorates Dr. Jose Rizal’s 150^th birthday on June 19, BlackBerry smartphone users can take advantage of free and paid apps available from BlackBerry App World to celebrate his life and contribution to our freedom and national identity. 

Here are five ideas on how you can personalize your BlackBerry to show some Philippine pride and pay tribute to our national hero.  Simply visit the links or scan the QR codes below.

Enliven your BlackBerry with a Philippine theme

This distinctly Filipino theme puts the flag’s colors into one’s BlackBerry smartphone.  The battery and signal bar are replaced with stars, while the volume and the message indicator were changed to the Philippine sun.  Instead of the usual hourglass, BlackBerry users will see the waving Philippine flag as a waiting indicator. 

To get this theme, please visit http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/reviews/18936?lang=en

Get reacquainted with Rizal’s classics

When was the last time you picked up a copy of one of Rizal’s works?  BlackBerry users can rediscover his La Solidaridad essay La Indolencia delos Filipinos (http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/20250?la) or Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer) (http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/39492?lang=en), available on selected devices, by downloading these from BlackBerry App World and reading them using their smartphones at their leisure time.

Learn from the past

In 1890, Rizal republished Spanish lawyer Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (History of the Philippine Islands to call attention to the richness of pre-colonial Filipino culture. BlackBerry users don’t need to go far and can download an English version of de Morga’s works available on selected devices by visiting http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/20099?lang=en

Connect with your loved ones through BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)

Whether he’s in Barcelona, Spain finishing Amor Patrio (Love of Country) for home newspaper Diariong Tagalog, or in Tokyo, Japan, sending post cards to his brother Paciano, Rizal did not let the distance get in the way of his connection to his home country and family.  Filipinos today have the advantage of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), the unique messaging application that enables BlackBerry users to write with unlimited characters and reach out to loved ones even when overseas, at no extra cost to their data plan.  Unlike SMS, BBM travel as data so regardless of the number of BBM messages sent back and forth, it won’t result in outrageous phone bills.  

For more information, visit http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/3729?lang=en

Discover a new local destination

Take advantage of the three day weekend to rediscover just why Rizal felt so intensely about his Patria Adorada (beloved country).  Whether you want to find flights to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, where Rizal was exiled for four years, or to any other local destination,   BlackBerry Travel makes it easy to plan, book, manage, and share travel activities.  Find great hotel and flight options, and get all travel updates in one place. For more information please visit http://www.blackberry.com/ph/travel