Category: Random Thoughts

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WES2009 Moments and Highlights From Monday On Twitter

By Susan C on May 05, 2009 in BlackBerry, General, RIM, Random News, Random Thoughts, WES 2009.

attendwes2009

Many of us weren’t able to attend WES2009, but there those who are there who are generous enough to go and share the adventure and information with us as they explore the event. These great BlackBerry Gurus have brought the WES2009 to us through video and Twitter. In case you have missed Monday, I’m going to share some great moments, thanks to Al Sacco, Bla1ze, Crackberry Adam, Crackberry Kevin, Nan Palmero, and Simon Sage. Thank you guys for sharing the information and fun moments with us, we salute you!

Some brief moments shared so far as shared on Twitter. Now besides the news coming through Monday, they had mahi mahi, an open bar. Now for news. There are over 200,000 BlackBerry Servers around the globe. There are over 10 million Facebook downloads to BlackBerry smartphones. BES 5.0 was released today. BlackBerry and HP have joined together to bring HP Cloudprint to let you print to the closest printer, does not require BES, supports printers outside of HP, and is a free app. BlackBerry MVS (Mobile Voice System)is like Google Voice. The 8900 was announced and will be offered by AT&T. The newest BlackBerry, the Gemini was announced. For specific press releases you can click here.

And if you Twitter and would like to stay in the loop with WES 2009, please follow @asacco @azeis @crackberrykevin @nanpalmero @simonsage @videos4bb @kasperapd for great coverage and up to the minute Twitter news and TwitPics.

[via: CrackBerry & Twitter]

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Update Alert: Facebook Steps Up Again

By Susan C on Apr 24, 2009 in BlackBerry, General, Random News, Random Thoughts, Software.

blackberry-mobile

It seems like just yesterday we brought you news of Facebook’s new update, v1.5.0.31. The Previous update did so much. It integrated with the phone, allowing your contacts from your Blackberry Contacts to by synced with those in Facebook. If your contact did not have a picture, they are given their Facebook picture. It not only shows the pic with the F in the bottom right corner, but it also shows their Facebook name as well. It has integrated birthdays with the Blackberry Calendar. It made it so much easier and intergrated that Facebook became a new experience on the Blackberry. But they didn’t stop there.

bbcontactsnfacebook

Well, as with any update, nothing is ever perfect. RIM has been listening to the complaints and two important issues are addressed with the new update RIM releases tonight. One is the Default Calendar. Second a phone number requested when manually linking contacts. Now you can be prompted. Announcing latest version v1.5.0.32. The new update looks just as good as the last one, only difference is that the issues have been addressed and resolved. Please go download it and let us know what you think.

You can download the update here

Source[via: BlackBerryRocks.com]

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Hi, My Name Is….Why and How to Create a VCard

By Susan C on Apr 23, 2009 in BlackBerry, Random Thoughts, Tips n' Tricks.

contacts

One of the questions I get is how to create a virtual business card, also known as a VCard. The politically correct definition of a Vcard is an electronic business card. It is a very important and powerful means of Personal Data Interchange, or PDI. It will help you with your communications in a way you never thought of. You can do a personal card, a business card, whatever card that you need to let your contact have a way to communicate with you.

A Vcard contains important information like your name, address, company name if necessary, pictures, logos, all the relative information that would be beneficial to the recipient of the card.

First and foremost, you would click on your Address Book. Then Options button and choose New Address. In this section you can type in your name, title, business name, address, phone number, pin, emails, add a picture or logo, and whatever other information you would like to share. Save and exit.

You can email this card, or send it though the messenger. The really nice thing about the Vcard is that your recipient can now reach you by any of the information you placed  into the Vcard. It’s convenient, fast, and purely electronical. No need for your recipient to search for a business card, it’’s there on their phone. I keep a business one for customers that is only business information and a personal card that I give to my business affiliates so they can reach me outside of business.

So I’m curious, how many of you already have a Vcard, do you use it or them, and how so? Please leave a comment letting me know if this helped you any, or if you already knew how to create and send a Vcard and how you use it.

21

Happy Earth Day! Recycling Your Phone!

By Susan C on Apr 22, 2009 in BlackBerry, Random News, Random Thoughts, Tips n' Tricks.

blackberry Trade Up

Happy Earth Day to all our readers. So to commemorate the day, I would like to go over how to recycle your phone. So you’ve either decided to get your first BlackBerry or you have a BlackBerry and would like a newer model, this is how you do it. You can either donate your BlackBerry, sell it on eBay, or there’s yet another option. Try the BlackBerry Trade Up Program. Yes, there is a BlackBerry trade up program available through the BlackBerry website, so let me introduce you to it.

Flipswap, Inc manages the BlackBerry Trade Up Program. This organization is independently owned and operated. It is dedicated to being environmentally friendly by being responsible and reusing and recycling cell phones.  So when you’re ready, there are a few things you should know.

First, make sure you give a clear description of the phone or phones. And yes, you can trade in as many as you’d like for a check…or a check for charity. It is your responsibilty to make sure the data is wiped from the BlackBerry, and any non BlackBerry phone. Also make sure there are no locks on the phone and that the password is set to 0000. You must purchase a BlackBerry in order to receive your trade in credit or Promotional Bonus Amount. You must have proof of purchase of a BlackBerry smart phone within thirty days of the trade in online. The phone has to be purchased new from an Authorized BlackBerry dealer. You will need to send in your proof of purchase in order for the trade in to complete, as well as the box, and the phone. They will pay for shipping, and if the phone traded in is too old or does not carry value, the phone will be recycled and a tree planted through the releaf project initiated either in Louisiana or Nicaragua.

The process is in four steps:

1. Get an instant quote for the trade in device or devices.

2. Select and Purchase a new BlackBerry Smart phone.

3. Return your old phone(s) in their box(es) and your proof of purchase from the new BlackBerry phone.

4. Receive your check in the mail in a few weeks.

To find the BlackBerry Trade Up Program, you can find it here.

Source [via: Blackberry.com]

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Why Travelers Should Be Traveling The World By Storm!

By Susan C on Apr 21, 2009 in BlackBerry, Random Thoughts, Storm 9500 Series.

blackberry-storm

According to the Vodafone Blog, they gave forty nine reasons why the Storm should be the device of choice for world travelers. The main features praised were the GPS and the 3G/High Speed Download Packet Access. I thought I’d share this blog with you and even ask for your opinions. I have the Curve myself, but never thought about a BlackBerry Storm from a traveling point of view. So I am going to share the top ten with you and then allow you to finish reading the blog from the site itself if you want more.

Number One was Time-Saving, also noting the 3.2MP camera it sports. The camera takes great pics and has many features that a Storm owner has access to right in the palm of their hands.

Number Two was Great For Business, because of how great the storm is with email, corporate email, and synchronization. It’s the ultimate phone for business and normal use. They forgot the important thing, because it’s a BlackBerry.

Number Three was Making and Receiving calls in Over 220 Countries with the quad band GSM. That is the nice thing about the Storm, the GSM as well as CDMA.

Number Four, Email in Over 90 Countries. Being able to take the Storm and email in that many countries is a privilege indeed. This is important for your family and friends waiting to hear from you.

Number Five, Lost-take your BlackBerry Maps. One thing about the BlackBerry Maps, they do function by GPS Satellite, so they work in the states and outside because of the GPS feature.

Number Six, Find your Nearest since the Storm can find your location and direct you to the nearest facility you seek. That includes nearest hospital, restaurant, etc.

Number Seven, Navigate, with GPS you can navigate by car or by foot. I know everyone thinks of it in the car, but what about if you’re taking a walk or hiking? Yes, the Storm can be your savior as well.

Number Eight was Internet Browsing. With the Internet at your fingertips, and the fast data speeds it can find, you can cruise the streets and the internet. And keep in touch with friends and family as you go.

Number Nine was Take Photos since the camera is 3.2MP and has 2x zoom. It’s pretty much a camera on hand, so why carry a camera when you have the Storm, travel light and carry memories.

Number Ten was Text Messaging using either the Qwerty Keyboard or Sure Type. Depends on whether you type in landscape or portrait mode, but there’s a style for everyone. Text has never been easier.

For Number Eleven clear through to Number Forty Nine, find it here.

Source [via: vodafoneblog]

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Preparing For Earth Day: SAVE THE BLACKBERRY!

By Susan C on Apr 21, 2009 in Accessories, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Sync Store, Random Thoughts.

Blackberry Pain

The Purchase

So you purchased your BlackBerry smart phone, and you have taken it home, but what have you purchased to protect your investment? The BlackBerry deserves to be protected in every way possible, so I am going to go through the various ways of protection and what is in your best interest. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your investment or best friend, which is what our BlackBerry smart phones feel like to us. The most important asset to your phone will be insurance before you even leave the store. It’s like Murphy’s Law, what can go wrong will. And while the BlackBerry phones are built tough, they are not unbreakable or dog proof. So insurance is something you should never leave without. Now for the sake of argument, I have a Curve 8330, but the site does allow you to change the BlackBerry to the current model you have.

Memory

The first item I’ll start with is the microsd card. These are great for many reasons, such as extra memory for the phone so you don’t take space on the phone for pictures, movies, music and ringtones. So this is one I would highly recommend you begin with. You can find them in all sizes from 1GB to 16GB. You can find them here

View To Appeal

The next item you will need is a screen protector, such as Mobi Products Screen Protector (3 pk for $14.95 found here). They’re nice in that you can avoid scratches on your screen and keep it clean and dust free. You can also find privacy screens, such as Case-Mate Large Privacy Screen Pro ($14.95 found here) which are really nice to keep prying eyes off the information you are viewing.

I’ll Never Let You Go

For keeping the phone safe, another great asset is the case. Yes, there are all sorts of cases designed for BlackBerry smart phones these days, but my recommendation is either a soft case like the BlackBerry holster cases ($19.95 found here), one that keeps it clean and free from dust like the Smart Skin from Case-Mate ($19.95 found here), or the exceptional OtterBox cases ($49.95 found here ). Now the BlackBerry holster case is leather, soft interior which keeps the lens and screen protected and it also has a magnet that helps save battery life. I like the Smart Skin because it has a unique feel to it, it’s easy to grip, covers everything except the lens and screen (it does have a screen protector included) and the trackball of course, and with keys being covered it keeps your phone nice and clean. The OtterBox is great for those who are hard on their phone. It protects the screen and lens of the camera, has a hard plastic casing that raises above the lens and screen, and also has a rubber outter covering that fits over the plastic casing which keeps it safe from falls, and has a holster it locks into. I love this because you now have a phone that is liquid resistant, dust proofed, and protected from falls.

BlackBerry Come Back

There are a few programs as well to protect your BlackBerry and should be kept in mind. Anti theft programs such as BAK2u PhoneBak BB ($29.90 found here ). What this program can do is allow you to take your stolen phone and track it, or even wipe the phone from where you are.

The List Goes On

While there are several other ways to protect your phone, these are the accessories and software I would recommend to start. There are several options for the car (various items here), such as holders, sticky pads, and BlueTooth devices, and a car charger is nice to have so you don’t have a dead phone on a trip ($9.95 and up, Smartphone Experts here) but these are the ones you want to make sure you have from the start. If you have any favorite accessories or some stories to share, please share with us.

0

Preparing for Earth Day: SAVE THE BATTERY

By Susan C on Apr 19, 2009 in Accessories, BlackBerry, Random Thoughts, Tips n' Tricks.

BlackBerry Battery

It’s the middle of the day, and suddenly the yellow light starts to blink and then the all too familiar sound of the beep notifying you that your BlackBerry is about to go to sleep because of a dying battery, and your realize you need to charge it fast! Earth Day is officially April 22nd, and in light of this day, I thought contributing with tips on how to save the battery of our most precious companion would be just what we need. I know many of us use our BlackBerry phones to full capacity, resulting in a few charges throughout the day. So I’m going to focus on how to prolong the life of the battery during the day, and some accessories that are a lifesaver when juice is low.

CATNAPS FOR YOUR PHONE:

 The first thing to know is that turning your phone off once every twenty four hours is very important for your phone. Using Auto off/on is a great way to do that. If you set your BlackBerry alarm for a certain time when you go to sleep, have the phone turn off at bedtime, then the phone will turn on to wake you up. You can set it up in Options, Auto On/Off. I recommend turning the phone off at least once a day, or using a software application called Quick Pull to reset the phone.

SAVING THE POWERS THAT AREN’T:

Connections are another area where we can save battery life. Turning off connections that are not being used are very beneficial to your battery. If you’re in an area where you have no reception and are unable to make or receive calls, turning off the radio will stop the battery drain of the phone searching for reception not available. And if you’re not using Wi-Fi and BlueTooth, turn those off as well. These two can drain your battery very quickly. You can find these in Manage Connections, and just uncheck what you don’t want running.

LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE, NOT YOUR PHONE:

Backlight is another factor to our battery. There are two settings you can reduce. The first being the brightness of the backlight and the second being how long it stays on. The brighter the screen and the longer it stays on, the more energy this will take from your battery. To change these, go to Options, Screen/Keyboard and set the Backlight Brightness to the lowest setting you can tolerate and for Backlight Timeout, set it for the lowest time you can accept. Also while you’re in there, make sure you use the setting Holter Smartphone to turn off the LCD, set your Audible Roll to mute, and turn the keytone off.  Placing your phone when not in use in a holster, especially the magnetic ones for BlackBerry will keep the backlight off.

DON’T RUN AND HIDE:

Applications can run in the background as well, using power resources. So the best thing to do for this is to use the options button and end out of each application such as Viigo, Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can also close with the ESC key. Log out of programs you’re not using as well such as your messengers.  That way applications aren’t constantly running and updating, this will also conserve on the memory.

SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN:

Sounds also can be a battery hog. Changing it in Profiles, Advanced, and then to the profile you have it set on, you can change each sound to whatever tone you would like. Setting the audible notification to off and turning off the coverage LED will help too. I recommend using tone instead of vibrate as vibrate depletes battery life. Setting each sound to tone, and the holster the same, and vibrate to one, and using silent instead of vibrate will help your BlackBerry phone’s battery last longer. Another great way concerning sounds to save battery is to set your media by reducing volume and using your headphones. Using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager to load your videos, pictures, music and all to your phone to will avoid resizing and optimize videos and music. Turn off the equalizer settings in Media, Options.

PICTURE THIS:

Camera settings can be changed as well. Turning off the flash, setting the size of the picture to small, the Picture Quality to normal, and the Color Effect to Normal will help battery. You can change these features of course, if you are wanting better pics, but change them back afterwards to keep you battery going strong.

ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR BATTERY:

I already mentioned the cases and holsters($19.95) for your BlackBerry. Also a spare battery($19.95) is always a great idea, or even better is an extended life battery($49.95). The home charger should always be the preferred method of charging. There are “power pod” chargers available that will give a quick charge, and there are charging cradles that are fantastic to have on hand. You can find many of our accessories available for your BlackBerry smart phone here in our BlackBerry Sync Store: [via: here]

Sources: [via: blackberry.com] [via: bbgeeks.com] [via: blackberryproductivity.com]

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Poll: How many Storm Users Have Been Experiencing Problems?

By Adam on Apr 19, 2009 in Random Thoughts, Storm 9500 Series.

blackberry_stormMany BlackBerry Storm users on various forums/websites have complained about their BlackBerry Storm devices either freezing/crashing too often, or problems with the screen.  We know that with OS upgrades, a lot of the bugs and freezing issues have been resolved, as well as a couple tips like loosening the screws under the battery cover and even inserting a business card under the battery have helped with the screen.

But despite all of this, there are still reports of the device not being quite up to snuff.   We’re all looking forward to the new Storm that’s supposed to be released later this year with a better touch screen and WiFi (yay!) among other things, so hopefully that beauty comes sooner than later.

So we’d like to know if you’ve been having recurring problems, multiple device swaps or anything else not mentioned that’s really bugging you to no end about the device.   So if you have had any issues that make you pull your hair out, please post a comment and let us know.  Perhaps we can also use this as an opportunity to help each other out.

4

Canadians will the Storm really be nearly $300 w/ 3YR?

By James on Nov 27, 2008 in Bell, BlackBerry, Canada, Random Thoughts, Storm 9500 Series, Telus.

Rumors have arrived that both TELUS and Bell in Canada will be selling the BlackBerry Storm for around $299 with a three year term. Bell is said to be offering their Storm for $479-200 (data and voice discount) so $279 with three year term. With Verizon’s Storm coming in at $199.99 with two year term. Does anyone think that Canadians will really buy the Storm at nearly $300 with a three year term?

I think we will have to wait and see what they do officially…

3

What about BlackBerry Niagara?

By James on Sep 25, 2008 in BlackBerry, Random Thoughts, Rumors, Un-Released models.

Anyone remember the BlackBerry Niagara? It was suppose to be following “Javelin” as a CDMA verison for Verizon for sometime next year. My question is what ever happened to this device? It seems with all the Storm, Javelin and Pearl Flip news lately this one may have slipped under the radar. Read More

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