Clementine, from Quintessentially, was kind enough to alert us to a really interesting FREE app for the traveler, be it work or vacation. You can connect to the insider world of Quintessentially while you’re on the go in the world. It will provide both members and non-members alike exclusive free access to vast travel content and information anytime and anywhere.

This app has been successful with the iPhone and is now available to BlackBerry, via the Pearl, Curve, and Bold. So what is Quintessentially? It is the world’s leading private member’s club and 24 hour concierge service. One click of your BlackBerry will connect you to an array of exclusive city guides, providing you with the most travel knowledge in the most sought after destinations in the world. Many more cities have been added as well, from Buenos Aires to Beirut, and Delhi to Dubai, you’ll have the world at your fingertips. Imagine going to St. Tropez with your BlackBerry as your tour guide! Doesn’t get anymore convenient than that. The guides are updated daily with the latest openings, new venues, and must see locations. You’ll know where to go, where to stay, what to see, what’s on the menu where, what you don’t want  to miss, everything laid out in the palm of your hand.

Each guide also comes with fantastic offers and services that Quintessentially members have come to appreciate, including reservations, VIP treatment, money-saving services, and did I mention directions via GPS? The content is free for everyone, but only members may take advantage of the services, packages, and VIP treatment.

If you travel for business or vacation, you won’t want to be without this app that will be another reason to say your BlackBerry is your best friend. Besides, it’s FREE. You can download the app here at the Quintessentially for BlackBerry site. The site to join Quintessentially is on the site as well, just follow the link. If you download it and take it traveling, please let us know what you think. If I were going to the Bahamas, this would be my app of choice.

I know, I know it sucks! We can’t get our hands on an actual BlackBerry Tour just yet. I guess in a positive mind I would say well at least they announced it, but man I just want this thing to come out. Anyway going along with our none stop Tour coverage today. Here is RIM’s BlackBerry 101 of the new BlackBerry Tour 9630. It’s basically an interactive user manual… Enjoy!

Take a Tour of the BackBerry Tour 9630 Now >

You finally find a theme you like, one you have to have, and you’re ready to install it. I remember when I found the Matrix, I was so thrilled! There are different types of themes out there.  I’m going to go through the ways of installing two types of themes: OTA and as a zip through the BlackBerry Desktop Manager via the PC.  The very first and easiest type of file is one that is called OTA or Over The Air. You can follow a link by text or go to a website that offers themes, or even by email and download the theme. For good measure after it’s downloaded and installed, I do a battery pull and then I go to Options>Theme and from there I scroll to my new theme and I tap the trackball. Start to back up, and it will take some time as the theme starts.

The next type of file you can install is a zip that you download to be loaded and installed through the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. This is a file you saved on your pc. Unzip the file or allow windows to open and extract the files for you. So you have the file you want to install, so now you plug your BlackBerry in by the usb cable and you bring up your BlackBerry Desktop Manager. You will choose the Application Loader. When this comes up you are going to choose Add/Remove Applications. It’s going to read your phone and check your device,  then it’s going to search for software. You can check your file if it appears in the list, if not you are going to choose Browse and find your file. It will be the name of the file.alx. Once you find it, choose it and hit Next and install. Again, after installing and the BlackBerry Desktop Manager is finished, disconnect through the Safely Remove Hardware and unplug your phone. Again, I do a battery pull just to help the phone set. Finding the theme will be the same process.

What themes have you installed and love? What themes have you found used a lot of memory? What sort of themes would you like to see more of?

Part of the beauty of having a BlackBerry, or any smart phone, is that you don’t have to pay for ringtones any more. This is something everyone likes, and it’s true. You’ll never have to pay for ringtones again unless you choose to. So today I’m going to show you where to go, and how to download, install, and set them.

Ringtones can be expensive. I’ve seen parents actually buy a BlackBerry for a teen because of either text or ringtone download and the price. So let’s talk about some of the sites. There is Tune Us In, myxer (this one is actually my favorites and some are paid so sort through them), Fone Zoo , and mytinyphone . There are others out there, but for ringtones you will find a variety from midis to mp3 songs, and comedy voice ringtones too. And for the record, there are some movie websites too if you would like to have wav files from your fave movie. One such place is WavCentral but if you search online for movie wav files, you can find them. On mine, I have songs, and voice clips from movies by Keanu Reeves.

Okay, so now you’ve found a site, what’s next? First, you have to search the ones you want and download. Here’s the trick: to download is one thing, to save is what you want if you want to keep  it. And it’s very easy, that simple. Just make sure that the site is ligit, and if you should download a file that doesn’t work, feel free to delete it. So here’s how it will work. You search the site for ones you specify that you want. You will have three options when you click on the one you decide on: Open; Save; or Cancel. Open to listen, but you’ll have to click again to download and Save. You can find everything from Jeff Dunham’s Ahkmed to Rhianna.

So now you’ve got the ringtones you want, how do you set them? For each individual, you can go to your BlackBerry Address Book (or little Black Book as I tease customers with) and choose your contact> click the options button> choose edit> click options button again> choose Add Custom Ringtone> scroll down to the ringtone on the contact info and click on it and all your ringtones you have downloaded are there> click on your desired ringtone> click option button> click save. That’s it.

So now you want a different sound for each email, each text, etc. Fair enough, let’s head over to the horn, or sound icon. Click on the icon and scroll down, past off, and there’s Advanced. Click on that and choose your profile that has (Active) beside it. Do you see each of the choices? Click on one. The Out of Holster is simply when you have your phone out. In Holster is when it’s in the case. You can choose Tone (music or sound only), None, Vibrate, or Vibrate+Tone. Your preference there, but I never use vibrate for battery life reasons. Click on the Ring Tone and choose the ringtone, Number of Beeps is how many times to play when notifying, Repeat Notification (I always choose None), and Number of Vibrations. Go down the list, save, and continue through each choice. Now when you get an email, text, what have you, it’s going to play your choice. When I get an SMS text my phone does “Whoa” and when I receive an MMS text, my phone does “Excellent!” Just like Bill’s and Ted’s.

So have fun, go forth BlackBerry Nation and get some free ringtones and voicetones. Please share what your faves are, which sites you prefer, we’d love to read what each of us has found.

One of the most beneficial things you can do to keep your BlackBerry happy and running smoothly is to keep everything upgraded. Not only your apps as they come out, but your Desktop Manager and OS as well. There is always a reason why there’s an upgrade available and you should always be sure to take advantage of them. So I am going to go over the steps on how to do this painlessly and headache free. The items that will be required are a pc, the usb cord that connects your phone to the pc, and 45 minutes. Please be aware that there are two things to consider that are very important: First, do know that you will be without service for about 45 minutes at the most, and second whatever you do, DO NOT DISCONNECT your phone until the process is complete. You will see the hourglass several times and the phone will turn on and off, but resist the temptation to unplug. Otherwise, your phone will be fubar or will not complete.  So without any more warnings, let’s begin.

THE DESKTOP MANAGER

First step will be to update your BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The latest is 4.7, but I prefer 4.6. The software is an updated version of what came with your BlackBerry at purchase. You can go here and fill out the information. This download takes a while to download and install and the time for this is not part of the 45 minutes I spoke about earlier.n When it is installed remember BIS or Personal is for most consumer use, BES or Enterprise is for business users, make sure that you are installing the correct Manager.  Next you will plug your phone in and let the drivers install.

PREPARATION

This is a very important step so we’re going to go to the basics and pre-upgrade part. Make sure the phone is set to an official RIM theme prior to upgrade. If you have downloaded and installed other themes, be aware that some may not work on the new OS. Make note of any passwords and third party activation codes, as the codes will not come over. You will have to reenter all the codes and passwords, so make sure your apps are current. As a precaution I usually do a backup of my phone prior to the upgrade.

LET THE UPGRADE BEGIN

The most common recommended way to upgrade is go through your carrier’s software download site, or you can go here. Make sure you choose Enterprise or All Others to upgrade, it will ask for your carrier and handset, and follow the prompts. You may need to allow installation of the installer on your pc, allow the installation, make sure your phone is connected to the pc by the cord, and continue. The installer is going to populate the pin and ask for a password, if you haven’t set up one, leave it blank and click ok or next.

The InstallShield Wizard for BlackBerry will appear, click Next and then choose the country you are located. Accept the terms of service and click Next. It’s going to back up all your programs and phone and then wipe the phone out and then move everything back on. It will search for the upgrades available and let you know if there is one available, and ask you if you want to install the available upgrade. Click Update Now and a summary page will come up showing spefic apps to be included. Be sure to go through and check what you do want and uncheck what you don’t. Some of your apps may not be checked so please go through this before moving on. From this point on, DO NOT UNPLUG your handset. If the InstallShield asked to start the Desktop Manager, be sure to hit the Options tab beneath the Data Preservation and Device Backup and be sure the Backup Device Data Automatically During the Installation Process box is checked. Hit ok. Also click on Advanced tab on the right side of the desktop Manager to add or update apps that weren’t included in the default list. Any apps you may have deleted in the past that you would like back from the BlackBerry apps can be checked and added on in the upgrade process. When you click Next, you should see an Application Loader summary page that explains how your device will be wirelessly activated and registered with your carrier after the new OS, don’t worry, this should happen automatically when the process is done. It will give ou a brief summary of the installation process. Hit Finish, relax and let the new OS be installed. It might even seem like the upgrade is sticking on the “Connecting to the Device” stage-one of the final steps. Choose to backup your application data on the following screen if prompted. Finish will begin.

You’ll know the new OS is installed successfully when the Destop Manager’s Update Complete screen appears and you device’s radio turns back on. To load any programs that didn’t load, go to Application Loader>Add/Remove Applications and click. Check the ones you want and click finish. You should receive a message in your inbox to let you know the device is registered with the carrier. If you don’t receive that message, resend your device’s email service books. You can send using the BlackBerry itself, or through our carrier’s BIS page (BlackBerry Internet Service). To send via BlackBerry, open your E-mail settings/Set-Up Internet E-=Mail icon, log in if prompted, and click Service Books option under the Settings heading. Click Send Service Books again. Click out of your Desktop Manager, unplug your cord through windows, then unplug your phone. To be sure that the upgrade was effective, go to Options/About and make sure the new  upgrade number is visible on the third line. Go through the phone resetting up passwords and codes, and going through the settings.

This is how you upgrade your phone and make sure it works. Any questions or suggestions? Please let me know.