Android tablets

If you own an Android tablet and want to tether using your BlackBerry smartphone, you might be out of luck. After extensive searching I’ve found nothing but questions that have no answers. Tether, which makes an excellent app that allows you to tether your BlackBerry to your laptop, claims to have a solution in the works, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. They’ve been saying that for most of the year, so it might not be anywhere near complete. If anyone has a solution I’d love a link. But so far I haven’t seen anything.

iPad

Yes, you can tether your BlackBerry to an iPad. The only catch is that you have to jailbreak your iPad. That is, you have to break down a level of security on the device, so that you can install apps that are not allowed in the App Store. Many users are wary of such hacks, since they can void warranties — or worse, turn your device into an expensive paperweight. But if you have the technical skills you can get it done.

If you want to go ahead and jailbreak your iPad, check out the excellent tutorial from ReadWriteWeb. If you’re on the fence I recommend reading that, too, since it lays out the many benefits of jailbreaking. It’s a fairly simple process, which involves downloading an app called Spirit — which you can get for Mac or PC. Once you run that, the process pretty much takes care of itself. You’ll have a new app source called Cydia. That will be your beacon.

For your BlackBerry you’ll need an app called PDAnet, which is free. To get it, visit http://www.junefabrics.com/bb/ from your BlackBerry browser and click on Install PdaNet 2.30. You shouldn’t need the drivers for BlackBerry Desktop Manager, since we’re not doing this through your computer. All you’ll have to do after that is make sure your Bluetooth is turned on and discoverable. Then you’ll fire up PDAnet and select Enable Bluetooth DUN. Then it’s to your iPad.

From Cydia you’ll download iBluever. Once you run this app it should find your BlackBerry. You’ll have to change your settings to match your carrier — there’s an excellent spreadsheet for that. Keep authentication ON, sniff mode OFF, and wait for sdp ON. That should work. Once you’re in the main iBluever screen you should see your BlackBerry ready to connect.

Thanks to Robert Lendvai, despite his newfound iPhone allegiance, for the tutorial.

Laptops

While tethering to a tablet might be a pain, it’s still easy as ever to tether to a laptop. Back in the day we went over how to tether your BlackBerry on your Mac. Windows users will have an easier time, since they can tether via Desktop Manager. For those looking for an even easier method, you can get Tether for BlackBerry for $30 at the Store. Soon enough it might be easy enough to use this on your non-PlayBook tablet.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Tethering your BlackBerry to your non-PlayBook tablet

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Tethering your BlackBerry to your non-PlayBook tablet

Today we’re going to look at one small aspect of personal finance that can seriously change the way you spend, and ultimately view, your money. It’s the one reason why my savings account has ballooned this year.

While the name might turn away half of the population, the blog The Art of Manliness provides many lessons that benefit men and women alike. Recently they published an article outlining four personal finance principles. While they’re all worth a read, one is particularly relevant to our BlackBerry interests.

“When John D. Rockefeller got his first job as a young man, he bought a small red ledger book for 10 cents. He called it Ledger A and took it with him everywhere. Within its pages, he kept track of every single penny he spent or donated. Once Ledger A was filled up, he bought another and called it Ledger B, and continued this habit throughout his life as he rose from assistant bookkeeper to corporate titan. He considered his ledgers to be among his most prized possessions, and he taught all his children to keep track of their expenditures just as he had done.”

The principle at play: you won’t save money unless you’re aware of the money you’re already spending. This isn’t Rockefeller’s day, where nearly every transaction involved cash. Even with checks we had a convenient balance sheet that allowed us to keep track of expenditures and balances. But in the day of credit cards you have no instant feedback to help put your financial situation in perspective. There’s the statement at the end of the month, but how many people actually look at that?

Why is awareness of expenditures important? In the July issue of Wired, Thomas Goetz wrote about the power of feedback loops. The idea is that when we receive direct and immediate feedback, we can more capably make changes and adapt. He invokes a powerful story about roadside speed signs. We all have the same thing right in front of us as we drive — the speedometer, of course — but people took more notice of these radar-powered signs. And they slowed down. It was all thanks to feedback loops. A personal finance ledger is another example of a feedback loop.

In today’s smartphone-driven world, we no longer need the small notebook. We already carry around a device that is capable of recording those very items. So every time you bust out your credit card or fork over cash, open up your BlackBerry Memo app. Write down the date, what you purchased, and how much it cost. Each time you make a purchase you’ll see that list, and you’ll gain instant awareness of how much you’ve spent in recent days. At the end of the week you can create a tally, and then at the end of the month make a more thorough review. I guarantee that if you stick with this, you’ll spend less and see your savings account balloon.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

One simple way your BlackBerry can save you money

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

One simple way your BlackBerry can save you money

Changing your theme and options

We went over this yesterday when we discussed how to change your BlackBerry theme and homescreen options. We’ll be pulling a bit from that post throughout here.

To change your theme, you can either go to Options – Theme, or you can go to the applications list, click menu, and select Options. From there you can change your theme to anyone currently installed on your device, or you can edit the options for the theme.

Most custom themes don’t allow for chances in the layout. If you use a pre-installed theme, though, you can often change from Zen, which leaves you with icons on the home screen and nothing else, and Today, which previews your calendar and emails.

Change your wallpaper

If you like your theme but don’t like the image it puts in the background, you can easily change the wallpaper image to any image you have on your BlackBerry. You can even set it to a photo you take on the spot. You do this from the same screen as changing your theme — that is, Options – Theme, or applications list, Options. Click on Wallpaper, and you’ll get a prompt like the one you see in the screenshot. From there you can browser your device for the right image. If you want to take a new picture to act as your wallpaper, click Camera and you can do it through there.

Rearranging icons

Chances are you’d like to change the order in which your icons appear. If you have icons on your home screen, chances are those icons are in the order they’re listed in the applications list. Thankfully, moving around these icons is easy. In the applications list scroll to the icon you want to move and click menu. Then select Move. You can slide it around to anywhere on the list. If you want to move it into a folder, select Move to Folder and you’ll get a list of available folders. If you want to move an icon out of a folder, do the same thing. There is an option on top to move the icon to the main applications list.

Condensing icons for a cleaner home screen

There are some icons you just won’t use. There are others that become superfluous with some themes. For instance, the them I use has a few apps ready to run right on the home screen. If I scroll to the time, I can view the clock. If I scroll to the date I can open the calendar. The signal meter brings up Manage Connections, and the battery meter brings up Options. I therefore have no need for these apps. Additionally, I hide most of my individual email icons and use the consolidated messaging app. Hiding all these icons makes the apps I do use easier to access.

To hide an icon, scroll to it on the applications list and click menu. Then click hide. If you ever need to access that icon again, just go back to the applications list, click menu, and then click Show All. That will show all hidden icons in gray. These will not show up on your home screen, even if you leave Show All checked.

Change the layout of the applications list

By default, my theme has six icons per row in the applications menu. Different themes might have different different layouts, but I’ve usually seen six as the default. If you’d like larger icons, you can change up the grid. Just go to Options, Advanced Options, Accessibility. Click the box for Grid Layout, and you can choose 4×4, 3×3, 2×2, or 1×1. I’m not sure why anyone would want an icon the size of a screen, but hey, to each his own.

With these tips in mind, you can easily make your BlackBerry look exactly how you want it to. All it takes is the right theme and a few quick tweaks. Let us know how it goes for you.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Take full control of your BlackBerry’s looks

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Take full control of your BlackBerry’s looks

Music player

Any device I bring to the gym simply must play music. For a month last summer I tried to work out sans headphones and it just didn’t work. I ended up thinking about the movements too much and it became excruciating. Music allows me to focus my attention elsewhere. I’m still paying attention so that I use proper form, but I’m not thinking about my burning muscles or the constant repetitive motions. I’m blissing out as Zeppelin blares through my headphones.

The first thing you’ll need to turn your BlackBerry into a music player is a microSD card. Most new BlackBerry models come with one preinstalled, but these are usually on the smaller side — the one with my Tour was just 2GB. That will last for a few gym trips, sure, but I’ve learned that I’m terrible at predicting what I’ll want to hear once I start my workout. I recommend checking out a larger memory card . If your BlackBerry runs OS 4.5 you can get one as large as 16GB, which will store plenty. If you just want to keep the bulk of your music library on your BlackBerry and you have OS 4.6 or above, you can get a 32GB card.

Also, I’ve started to use DoubleTwist to manage my BlackBerry music. Windows users will get by fine with Desktop Manager, but I’m a Mac user and I’m not quite loving the media feature on DM. I find DoubleTwist a bit more intuitive, mainly because it mimics the iTunes style of loading songs onto my device. Though I think I use it because I also use DoubleTwist for my Android device, meaning I have one app to load music onto both, rather than one each.

Streaming music

While I have a large and wonderful music library that I can transfer to my BlackBerry, some times I really can’t decide what I want to play. The decision process then takes way too much time and it cuts into my workout. Because of this I’ve started taking advantage of Pandora for BlackBerry. I have a dozen or so channels set up, and three or four of them are filled with adrenaline-producing music that is just perfect for the gym. Pandora is not the only streaming music app, of course. You can check out our BlackBerry steaming music app showdown for a few alternatives.

This isn’t always an option, of course. For starters, some users have limited data plans and can’t access streaming music apps. Then there’s the further issue of many gyms being in the basements of buildings. Three of the last four gyms I’ve joined have been basement-based, which can cause trouble for streaming apps. From my experience T-Mobile doesn’t work well, or at all, in basements, while Verizon gets by. It’s not blazing speed, but I can usually listen to my high-def Pandora stream with few issues. Your ability to stream, then, is going to depend on your phone and your gym location.

Fitness tracking

I started working out when I was 18, and it makes me cringe to think what I looked like back then. No, not my physique, but how I appeared to others at the gym. I used to wear tank tops, and I’d bring a big notebook in which I’d record my weight for each set. Both looked ridiculous. Eventually I ditched the tank and started leaving the notebook in the car. But now that I have my BlackBerry I can go back to recording my weight as I lift it.

I’ve really taken to Gym Technik as my fitness tracking app. Well, not app, per se, but I do use the mobile interface to keep track of what I’ve done. You can set up and save your workouts ahead of time, and then record them once you complete a set. The issue, of course, is that you can’t do any of this offline, since you’re using the mobile site, m.gymtechnik.com. They do have a premium product, though, that not only provides more services, but also provides you with a Blackberry app that you can use offline. You can check out the the differences between basic and premium here. You can get a free trial of the BlackBerry app at App World.

There are a few different fitness trackers in App World and the BBGeeks Store, but they’re mostly premium apps and don’t come with the best ratings. Honestly, what I suggest is creating a spreadsheet on your computer and then sending it to your BlackBerry. Download it before you get to the gym and just track your workouts there. It’s free and it’s easily the best method for tracking your workouts if you don’t want to pay.

Distractions and productivity

When I’m lifting I usually have a minute and a half to two minute between sets. The less time the better. Still, this is a minute and a half that I just kind of pace around and look at the clock. It always feels lIke could be spending that small slice of time doing something. With my BlackBerry I can.

The time between sets gives me a chance to catch up on any emails I’ve neglected during the day. Even offline users can compose responses and send them when they once again have reception. Usually it takes a few sets to complete a reply, but if I’m doing 15 to 20 sets per gym trip that’s a few emails I can answer during my downtime. If I’m on the elliptical machine forget it. I can type emails the entire time.

I’ll admit it, Twitter is another favorite of mine at the gym. It actually works well between sets, since it gives you a short burst of time just as Twitter gives you a short burst of messages. This applies to Facebook as well. If you want to be more productive, you can use your BlackBerry between sets in other ways. You can balance your checkbook, write down some idle thoughts, plan the rest of your day, make a shopping list, plan dinner…the list goes on and on.

We want your input

When we do lists like this we normally ask for comments on how you use this specific function. I’m really making a push on this one. I don’t want the apps you use at the gym per se. What I want is the list of things you do on your BlackBerry at the gym. So have at it. Leave us your comments and we’ll print a list in a couple of weeks listing all the things you can do with your BlackBerry at the gym.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry as your workout companion

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry as your workout companion

If you’re one of those other smartphone users, then the term “Bitbop” may not mean much to you. However, if you’re a proud user of a Blackberry Bold, Curve, or Tour, then you may already know that Bitbop is a premier streaming service for your device. And this is one just for the Blackberry owners – as of this writing you can only find Bitbop on a Blackberry.

More about Bitbop

First thing to note, Bitbop is not a struggling upstart trying to grab your subscription dollars. Bitbop is owned by Fox, who just happens to co-own another streaming service called Hulu (you probably have heard of them). Bitbop is not a free service, and a monthly subscription will set you back $9.99 a month. There is also a trial offer, which allows you to watch three shows for free.

Bitbop offers you three ways of watching a show. You can stream it over 3G for those times the urge hits you and you are on the go. You can also stream it over Wifi, perfect for at home or in the office (or the local coffee shop). Finally, you can download a title straight to the device for playback later. This last option makes it extremely handy for those times you are not around a connection or travel in a spotty coverage area (the train comes to mind). In fact, with this capable combination, your Blackberry just might replace your set top box as the go to place for entertainment.

Users are reporting that playback is fluid with only minor hiccups, and downloaded movies played without issue. No doubt the service has used the recent beta to iron out the bulk of the issues, but naturally 3G playback quality is going to be to dependent on connection quality.

What’s on Bitbop?

As of this writing, I can find 105 TV shows that are on the service. This includes everything from Lifetime Movies to Billy the Exterminator (a personal guilty pleasure). You can also find shows to keep the kids entertained including such popular favorites like Spongebob Squarepants and iCarly.

Movies are slated to launch on the service as well in the near future. Soon you will be able to rent your favorites and new titles with prices ranging from $0.99 to $4.99. The site is claiming to soon offer hot new movies, so you should expect some fresh titles for your viewing pleasure.

The Bitbop Future

What does the future hold for Bitbop? Well, it look’s to be a shiny one, and Fox is planning to bring it to Android and the iPhone later this year. By then the Blackberry community should be enjoying a wide selection of TV shows and a la carte movie choices.

Hulu vs Bitbop

When it comes to comparing streaming services, the most obvious place to look is at Bitbop’s cousin, Hulu. Hulu currently offers a fairly deep library of titles that are free. However, in the past couple days Hulu has started its paid service, which sells for the same price as BitBop ($9.99). On some devices (iPad, for example), your only choice is to use the premium Hulu service or none at all.

One should probably expect the Hulu paid service to expand, and magically the most popular titles will probably start to appear only on the premium side of things,s for at least a given time. That is, if you really want to check out your favorite shows with Hulu on a regular basis, you should start to accept the fact that it is going to cost you in the future.

So, where does that leave Bitbop? Well, if current media structures stay the same, Bitbop has a definite advantage – the lack of ads. Even with the paid version of Hulu, beta users are reporting that there are still ads present in the shows. With Bitbop, the presentations are commercial free. Let me state that again – it looks like Bitbop and Hulu is going to cost the same, but Bitbop is commercial free.

While the dust is still settling, and some details are not fixed in stone as it were, so far it appears that Bitbop is a very serious competitor to Hulu as the paid streaming service of choice. And since it has already launched first and only (for now) on a Blackberry, it can mean only good things for the Blackberry community.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Better Than Hulu? – A look at the Bitbop TV Service For Blackberry

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Better Than Hulu? – A look at the Bitbop TV Service For Blackberry

Why register?

This is probably the first question on everyone’s mind, so we might as well get it out of the way right off. From the beginning, we have striven to be a site that helps BlackBerry users get the most out of their devices. Whether that comes in the form of quick tips, software and hardware guides, or software reviews and recommendations, everything is with the singular purpose of helping you make your investment a worthy one. After all, a BlackBerry is nothing if not an investment. If you’re going to pay $200 for a device and then $30 per month for data you should see a return from that.

The forums, we feel, provide an intuitive outlet for users who want to learn more about their device. The first part of that is obviously troubleshooting. As an imperfect device, the BlackBerry will malfunction at times — sometimes the absolute worst times. We did a post on what do do if your BlackBerry gets wet, and we’ve seen 450 comments, mostly people with questions about the issue. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about the power of a battery pull and it has generated 452 mostly troubleshooting-related questions. Two and a half years ago Cooper highlighted four common BlackBerry problems and even the fixes. Still, we’ve received 950 comments to date on that one, the most recent one coming yesterday (and I’m sure there’s one from today in the moderation queue).

We love helping BlackBerry users, but we do think that sometimes the post comments aren’t the best place to do that. Yes, they’re easy to reach, as many people find them after performing web searches, but it’s easy to lose track of the places you comment. I often wonder how many of the hundreds of commenters on that thread thought to check back for the answer to their questions. Cooper has answered most of them, but I can’t help but think that many times the user never came back to find the answer. The forum, however, provides us with a much easier outlet for that. People are more likely to come back and check a forum post, since they took the time to register for the forum. Also, there is an apparatus in place that lets you know when someone replies. All in all, it seems like a better venue for expressing your BlackBerry problems.

Beyond troubleshooting

When you own a BlackBerry you have something in common with almost 50 million other people worldwide. RIM has provided a unique platform for its BlackBerry users, but even more importantly it has kept that platform consistent across models. That is, if you have a Tour 9630, even though your default OS is 4.7 you still share plenty in common with the user of a Bold 9000, which has a default OS version 4.6. In other words, while you have a different device, the answer to many of your questions will be the same.

This also allows you to better relate to fellow BlackBerry users. Not only can you share your problems, but you can share your experiences, your feelings towards the platform, the tips you have picked up along the way. Want to let people know the inherent reasons why you don’t like this device? You can easily find out not only what other users of that device think, but also whether people using different devices come across the same issues. It can lead to greater insight on the BlackBerry platform and BlackBerry users.

I also sometimes wonder how many real, face-to-face connections BlackBerry has inspired. Online dating sites like to boast about how many marriages they’ve inspired. I’d be interested to know how many people met because of their BlackBerrys and eventually got married.

Forum features

Right now we have the site set up into a number of what we think are sensible categories. There are sections for each device type, at which you can ask questions and share experiences. Those are the bread and butter, the place where we think people will get the most help. But as you can see, we’ve also added a few other sections.

We frequently go over BlackBerry accessories and other fun stuff you can hook up to your device, so there are sections on that. Also games. I mean, how could the site that brought you 250 free BlackBerry games not have a games section? And, since it seems there are dozens of different OS versions and builds out there, we’ve added a section for operating system discussion.

We’re always looking for feedback and suggestions, too. Your advice and comments have helped us bring this site to where it is today. We figure that the same thing could help propel the forums into a place where users can find questions on BlackBerry issues and relate their stories to likeminded users.

Register today

Because it’s a forum, it does require registration. That means it’s one more step than leaving a comment, since we to this day do not require registration for comments. We ask only for precious little information, so signup takes just a moment. Sign up for the BBGeeks forum here. We promise to help make it the best possible BlackBerry experience.

People photo via Luc Legay under a Creative Commons license.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BBGeeks forums are open for business

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BBGeeks forums are open for business

Setting up BlackBerry Messenger

BlackBerry Messenger comes pre-installed on all BlackBerry devices, so once you get yours you’ll already have access to the popular messaging client. Just find the BBM icon and click into it. If it is your first time accessing BBM you’ll enter a display name and a password before entering the application. Then you’re ready to proceed.

If you don’t have BBM on your BlackBerry for some reason, you can install from Desktop Manager. Just plug your BlackBerry into your computer and connect it to BlackBerry Desktop Manager. From there run Application Loader. Check the box for BBM, then hit Next and eventually Finish. The application will then be available for your BlackBerry.

The difference between this guide and our previous version is the upgrade to BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. If you don’t have BBM 5.0, the upgrade is easy. To find out which version you have, go to Options, then Advanced Options, then Applications. The applications list will tell you which version you have. For users running OS 5.0, cut out the Advanced Options step. Once in the applications list, select Add-on or Core from the top menu. One of them will contain BBM.

If your BBM version is lower than 5.0, head to the BlackBerry website to download a copy of the latest version.

Adding contacts to BBM

The ways in which you can add contacts to your BBM has expanded with the new version. You can still add them through email address or PIN, which is nice for those of us who don’t handle change well. For the rest, you have the option of adding contacts via a scannable 2D barcode. You can even add non-BlackBerry users to your list. To start, click the menu button and select Invite Contact. That will bring up a screen containing three options.

The first one is the basic add contact form. Click on that and you can add a contact via PIN or email address. You can add a personalized message, or just leave the default one in tact. As you type you’ll see people on your contacts list appear. This can make it easier to add someone via email, since the address will come right from your contact listing. Otherwise just keep typing and hit OK when you’re done. If you entered a valid BlackBerry PIN or email address, the other party will receive the invitation. Once accepted, you’ll see him or her on your contacts list.

The addition of a scannable barcode has made it easy to add a BBM contact when you see someone in the flesh. This seems great for meetings and conferences. Instead of fumbling for your PIN, you can just ask the person for their barcode. To find your barcode, click the menu button on the main BBM screen and select My Profile. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll see a button that reads Display My Barcode. Clicking on that will bring up yours. Someone can then scan it and add you to their contacts. On the flip side, if you want to scan someone else’s barcode you can do that from the Invite screen. Once you select the barcode option you’ll see a primer screen that explains the barcode. Then it will launch your camera app. Scan the barcode, and BBM will add your new contact.

Finally, you can add non-BlackBerry users to your BBM list. This probably comes as a relief to both BlackBerry users and non-BlackBerry users alike. Users can finally use BBM to communicate with non-Berry users, and non-users can finally stop hearing BlackBerry users crow about the superiority of BBM. The advantage for BlackBerry users is that it places the contact in your BBM contacts list, which many prefer. The SMS conversations are still managed the same way.

You can send BBM contacts to other BBM users, and they can send them to you. Just hit menu and select Send to Messenger Contact. You can then select the appropriate contact, and you’ll send the contact information his or her way. He or she can do the same thing for you.

And, of course, you can remove a contact by highlighting his name and selecting Delete Contact.

Managing your contacts list

Once you have added contacts to your BlackBerry Messenger, chances are you’ll want to keep them all in a neat order, so it’s easier to find them when you want to send a message. BBM offers you a few options that allow you to easily manage your contacts in a comfortable manner.

Each BlackBerry user gets to set his or her own display name. When you send an invite to a potential BBM contact, he or she will see your chosen display name. After acceptance, however, the control goes to the user. For example, if my imaginary friend Katie Smith adds me to her contact list, and I have another Katie Smith on there, I can change her display name to KT. That doesn’t affect any user except me, but that’s all that matters.

To change a contact’s display name, highlight the contact, press the menu button, and select Contact Profile. The next page will display said profile. It’s here that you can change the display name.

On this screen you can also link BBM contacts to your BlackBerry contacts. When in the profile page, click menu and select Link to BlackBerry Contact. If the email address for the BBM contact matches one in your address book, Messenger will prompt you for that link. Otherwise it will let you choose an existing contact, or else create a new entry.

Once you have everyone’s name set up to your liking, you might want to divide your contact list into groups. To do this click menu and select Add Category. You then name the category and select the contacts to place into it. If you want to later add a contact to an already existing category, select the contact, press menu, and choose Move Contact.

Your profile

There isn’t much to your BBM profile, so it’s worth a few seconds to check out once you’re up and running. Atop the screen is your display name, which you can change at any time. Your friends and co-workers might get annoyed, though, if you change yours on, say, a weekly basis.

Next, you can set your status, either available or busy, and add a status message. The status message should be familiar to anyone who used AOL Instant Messenger or ICQ back in the day. It’s basically a little sentence that all of your contacts can see. There’s also a box that lets you broadcast the song you’re currently listening to, in case you want to show your cultured musical tastes to everyone. You can also check a box that makes your location and timezone available to contacts.

For your status message and display name, here’s a way to insert symbols. You can also use the Fancy Characters app, which is very popular in the BBGeeks Store.

This is also the screen where you can find your PIN and your scannable barcode. You can find your PIN a bit easier, though, by typing mypin and then pressing space in any message screen.

Conversing with contacts

Geeze, so finally we’re to the good part, where you actually type messages to the people on your contacts list. This is pretty straight forward, though there are a few advanced features we’ll cover in just a minute. But first, the basics of a conversation.

To initiate a conversation, just click on the contact’s name. You can then type a message, which the contact will eventually receive. Next to your sent message you’ll see a checkmark. When there is a little D next to it, it means that the message was delivered to the recipient. When you see an R next to it, it means the contact has read the message.

If, for some reason, you want to set a subject to the chat — perhaps to help you remember later what it was all about — click menu and select Set Chat Subject. Then enter the text and click OK.

If you want to add a smiley face or other emoticon to your chat, hit menu and select Add Smiley. It’s one way to add emotion to the mostly emotionless text medium.

Your conversations will remain open until you close them. To close a conversation, click menu on the conversation and select End Chat. The advantage of having an open chat is that you can switch from one open conversation to another within the chat. Just hit menu while you’re in a conversation and select Switch Chat. You’ll then see a list of open conversations.

You can also copy or email your chats for safe keeping. If you want to email yourself or someone else a copy of your BBM conversation, hit menu and select Email Chat. You can also copy to the clipboard, perhaps to paste into a document, by selecting Copy Chat.

If you’d like to ping a contact, which will send a PING message and make their device vibrate, select Ping Contact from the contact menu.

That’s easy enough. But you can do so much more with BBM.

Broadcast message and conferencing

Sometimes you need to get in contact with more than one person. Whether you need to send a mass message or have a brief conversation with multiple people, BBM has a solution.

If you want to send a message to multiple contacts, click menu and select Broadcast Message. You’ll then see a screen where you can type the message and select the recipients. By default you’ll see all of your contacts, and if you want to send the message to everyone check the Select All option. You can also choose to check individual contacts. If you want to send a message to all members of one group, select that group from the Category heading. Once you’ve selected the proper contacts and have typed your message, just hit Send and you’re done.

If you want to have a chat with more than one contact, BBM provides a conference option. If you want to start a new conference, highlight one of the members you want to invite, hit menu, and select Invite To Conference. You’ll then see a list of your contacts pop up, with the highlighted contact already checked. Check off anyone else you want to invite, and then scroll to the bottom and press OK to continue. All of the checked contacts will receive the invite to the conference.

You can also add contacts to currently open conversations. When you’re in the conversation, click menu and, as before, select Invite To Conference. You’ll then see a list of your contacts, minus the one in the current conversation. Check the ones you’d like to add and then click OK.

Move contacts to the home screen

Some messenger contacts you’ll contact more than others. That’s the nature of these things. You might want easier access to some of these contacts. BBM provides a vehicle for this, allowing you to add contacts to the home screen. Just scroll over the contact’s name, press menu, and select Show On Home Screen. That will add the contact’s avatar to your instant messaging folder. From there you can click on the contact and BBM will bring up either an open conversation, if you have one, or otherwise a new chat.

You can move the icon around just like any other icon, so you can place it in an easier to find place. You can also remove the icon from your home screen by going back to the contact, hitting menu, and selecting Remove From Home Screen.

Sending pictures, voice notes, files, and location

As with other instant messaging platforms, you can send media via BBM. It’s actually quite simple, and you can create new media to send as well as choosing files from your BlackBerry device memory or external media card. You can do this by clicking menu in a conversation and selecting one of the send options: Send Picture, Send Voice Note, Send File, or Send Location.

After selecting Send Picture you’ll see a dialog box that opens up the picture folders on your device memory and your media card, along with all subfolders therein. You can select from among those, or you can choose the Camera option. That allows you to snap a new picture, which you will then send to the contact. Make sure you have selected the right one, though, since there is no confirmation dialog.

To send a voice note, just click the option. A dialog will pop up prompting you to record the note. Hit Start when you’re ready and Stop when you’re done. That will let you know the file size, and give you the option to play it back, send it, or cancel. I always recommend playing back your voice notes now that you have the option. You never know just how you’ll sound. This is a big upgrade over the previous BBM. Back in the day you had to be prepared to start talking as soon as you hit record. Now you can start and stop at will.

When you select Send File, you’ll get a prompt for various file types. You can select picture or voice note, which will bring up the above described screens. You can also choose to send a BlackBerry Contact or Messenger contact. If you select Messenger contacts you’ll get the familiar contacts dialog box. Check off the ones you want to send and select OK. If you select BlackBerry Contact you’ll see your address book. Click on the contact you want to send and there it goes.

If you choose File you’ll see a dialog box that allows you to explore your media card or device memory for files. Click the appropriate folders to dive deeper, and use the escape button to move back up a level. Once you select the appropriate file you’ll see a dialog box asking if you’d like to add a description. Select Yes and you can type a little note. Select No and the file will just send.

Finally, if you have a GPS-enabled BlackBerry you can send your location by selecting Send Location. There is no prompt here. Once you choose to send it, the process starts.

Creating and managing groups

One distinction to make in BBM is the difference between groups and categories. Categories are local folders that allow you to better organize your contacts. Groups are part of BBM. You have to invite people to groups, and there are administrators and everything. In other words, it’s not just some local organizational designation.

To create a new group select, simply, Create New Group from the menu. You’ll then get a screen that allows you to name the group and add a description. You can add an icon, too. Below that you’ll see the option to allow non-administrators add new members to the group. Select Yes if this is an open group, No if you want tight control over it. Finally, you can show the group icon on the home screen, just as you can do with individual contacts. Once you’re done, scroll to the bottom and OK it.

You’ll then see your group’s home page. To add new members, hit menu and select Invite New Member. That will bring up the regular add contact screen. It works in the same manner. The last option, however, is to add a contact from BBM. That’s probably the easiest method. That will send them an invite, which they can accept and then join the group.

The advantage of having a group is the communal media and chats. You can chat with all members of the group at once, or leave a message for everyone to read later. By default chat messages stay for three days. By clicking menu and selecting Chat Options you can change that to anywhere from one day to forever.

You can also share pictures by clicking on Pictures and selecting Share Picture. That entails the same method as sending a file, except instead of sending to one contact it will upload for the whole group. You can choose to notify the whole group when you tag a picture as favorite. Pictures stay on the server for 28 days, but you can save them to your device if you’d like to keep them.

Lists might be the most productive aspect of a group. To create a new group, click into the category and click on Start New List. You can name the list, and then add new items to it. You can name the item, assign it to a category, and assign it to a group member. There are also controls to set the priority level, create a due date, and change the status (pending/complete). The list even comes with a small message board of its own, which you can access by clicking Discuss List from the main list screen.

You can also create calendar events for your group. On the main group screen select calendar and then select New Shared Appointment. There you can create a calendar entry just like you normally would. You have the choice to send it to the group via the BlackBerry Group itself, or from one of your email addresses. You can then view the group’s calendar, or even view all calendars from this screen.

Finally, there are some bookkeeping aspects you can customize. Going to the Group Details section reveals the option to save group message history, send notifications upon tagging of pictures as favorite, destination for saved pictures, and turning on and off notifications. It also allows you to decide whether you allow group notifications to appear in your main messages list. You can also set an administrator password, which you can give out to group members. That will allow them to act as administrators as well. Under Administration select Set Administrator password. Enter it twice, and then you can hand it out as you wish.

BBM Options

As you can see, there’s plenty to do with BBM already. Yet we haven’t touched on anything in the options menu. Before we close out, let’s take a look at these.

The first section consists of chat options. You can choose to use enter to send your chats, to show chats in your messages app, to group sequential messages in chat, and to show display names in chat. You can also choose the conversation style (bubbles is default, but you can also use standard or stripes), and how to sort your chats (alphabetical by default).

Below that, you can choose to replace caller ID photos with BBM avatars. In the next section you can backup and restore your contacts list. Then it’s onto recent updates, which lets you choose what and what not to display. Then it’s down to the miscellaneous section, where you can turn off the vibration option when you receive a Ping, save your message history, or auto-accept voice notes.

And at last, there’s the security question on invitation option. This allows you to send along a question with your contact invitation. You’ll also set an answer when you send the invitation. The contact must then answer the question in order to accept the invitation.

That’s all, folks?

I think we covered even more ground than we did in our first run-through. As always, use the comments to point out things we missed, add your own tips, and ask any questions you might have. Happy BBMing.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The definitive guide to BlackBerry Messenger revisited

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The definitive guide to BlackBerry Messenger revisited

Your BlackBerry can help you out in a number of ways before and during your trip.

Booking your trip

If you haven’t yet made your vacation plans, your BlackBerry can help you right from the start. A number of applications allow you to make flight and hotel reservations right from the device. These applications often do even more than the booking end. You can store itinerary, create a schedule, and more. We went over a number of these apps in our top free BlackBerry apps post, so they might seem familiar.

If you’re looking for the lowest price on airfare, hotel, or car rental, you might want to check out KAYAK. It’s a simple service that allows you to search among hundreds of travel sites to find which has the best price for the trip you’re booking. Once you find your price you can choose to book online, or you can make a one-touch phone call and book it with a human. KAYAK is available at App World. As an alternative, you can also check out HRS Hotelportal, though that won’t help with your flight.

Once you book your trip, you might want an application that can manage your itinerary. For that we’d recommend World Mate Live. It has a free membership program which provides many benefits, like storing and managing your itinerary right on your device. You can also find worldwide weather conditions, a world clock, currency converter, and map. The Gold membership, $100 per year, adds a number of premium services. These include lives updates for your flight schedule and status, plus a travel directory. You can get WorldMate Live for free, or for the $99.95 subscription fee.

Navigating

Once you reach your destination, you might need a map to find your way around. These were pretty common for tourists in the past, but now that we have GPS-enabled smartphones the physical map becomes moot. Who needs a unchanging piece of paper when we have an arrow that shows us where we are?

In the past we’ve reviewed BlackBerry map applications, though that came very early in the history of BBGeeks. Since then the BlackBerry Maps app has gotten marginally better. One app that has gotten considerably better, though, is Google Maps. Honestly, I couldn’t recommend this one more. It just keeps getting better. You can get it at Google’s mobile site.

If you happen to prefer the nostalgia of a paper map, you’ll at least need a compass to help navigate the terrain. In that case, you can check out a number of BlackBerry compass apps. If you have a non-Storm BlackBerry, check out Compass Lite. It uses your built-in GPS to handle your North-South orientation. You can get Compass Lite for 99 cents. It is also available for the Storm.

No matter the case, you probably won’t be familiar with the parking situation at your destination. For that purpose, check out VQ CarFinder. It remembers where you parked your car, and then gives you directions back to it. That can come in pretty handy when you’re on vacation. Get VQ CarFinder at the BBGeeks store.

Finally, if you’re headed abroad you might want to have the power of a translator. In our free apps post we featured Navita Translator. It’s a free application that can translate to and from 52 languages. It might not allow you to converse fluently with the natives, but it can at least keep you out of trouble. You can get it at App World.

Finding attractions

Now that you can find your away around your vacation spot, you’ll want to find the best attractions. You can do this ahead of time, or you can do it on a whim. Either way, your BlackBerry can help.

Never again will I go on a vacation without Poynt. It’s a social application that allows you to find local businesses, restaurants, hot spots, and more. For a bit more complete look, check out our Poynt for BlackBerry post. It’s free, and it’s stellar. Get it at App World.

Also to this point, depending on your destination, you can check out Urbanspoon. This application finds restaurants near you and puts them into a slot machine. Once the application decides for you, you can check out ratings and reviews. Don’t see what you like? Spin again. It’s available at App World.

Another alternative is Superpages, which you can get here.

Memorializing the trip

Forget your digital camera at home? That’s a shame. Now you won’t have pictures of your kids in funny hats that you can show them years later. You can, though, use your BlackBerry camera to capture a few memories. True, it’s not as good as a traditional digital camera. Those run high in megaplxels these days, while the highest megapixel count on a current BlackBerry is 3.2. Still, you can play with your camera settings to take the best possible pictures with such limited hardware. Check out our BlackBerry camera tips to find the optimal settings for your pictures.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Using your BlackBerry to help with travel plans

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Using your BlackBerry to help with travel plans

Connect to Desktop Manager on a PC

As far as I can tell, the device switch wizard does not exist on Desktop Manager for Mac. This is a shame, but it’s one of the many limitations of the Mac platform. Hopefully if you have a Mac you can find a kind friend with a PC who will let you take care of advanced BlackBerry operations. Otherwise, you can use the method described below.

Once you’ve connected your device to the PC, select Device Switch Wizard, and then Switch BlackBerry devices. This should get you started on the process. You’ll see three columns. In the first, current device, you’ll want to make sure that that the PIN matches. In the third column, options, you’ll select what data you want to transfer. This can include device data, options, and third-party applications.

A note on third-party applications

The most convenient aspect of using the device switch wizard, rather than a backup and restore, is that it can transfer your third party applications. Unfortunately, this will not work with all applications. Certain applications only work with a particular operating system, so if you’re transferring applications from a device running OS 4.6 to a device running OS 5.0, you might find a few incompatible apps. Also, many newer applications are PIN-based, meaning they’ll only run on one device. Once you change PINs they will no longer work. You’ll have to download fresh copies of these apps.

Transferring to the new device

Once you’re all set in the device wizard, click next and Desktop Manager will copy all the appropriate information from your old device. Once that process is complete DM will prompt you to connect the new device. Do that and select the PIN from the drop-down menu. Hit OK and the process will begin. Your new device will be up and running in no time.

For Mac users

The best you can do, for right now, is a backup and restore. This will transfer your data, including messages and contacts, from one BlackBerry to another, but it will not move your third party applications. The process is easy, at least. Just click Backup, located in the top right corner of Desktop Manager. Then disconnect the old device, connect the new one, hit Restore, and select the backup file you just created.

You’ll have to download all of your third party applications again, which can be a pain if they were paid. But you also won’t get re-registering prompts and errors, as can be the case when you transfer applications.

Transferring your SD card files

If you want to continue using the same memory card as before, just pop it out of your old device and install it in your new one. Perhaps, though, your new device came with a bigger SD card than your old one. If you want to use the new one, you can easily transfer the files. I recommend connecting your BlackBerry to a computer and using it as a portable drive. This will create a new drive icon, and you can copy the data using your computer.

You can also do a transfer using Bluetooth. Go to Manage Connections and scroll down to Bluetooth Options. In that screen click the menu button and then select Options. You’ll need to change the first setting, Discoverable, to Yes and save it up. You’ll have to set your new device to Discoverable as well, of course. Then back out to the previous screen, click menu, and select Add Device. You should see your new device on the list. Select it, and you’ll pair the devices.

Now you’ll have to set the devices to trust each other. Select the paired BlackBerry from the list, hit the menu key, and make sure that Trusted is set to Yes. You’ll need to do this for both devices, and might want to switch back to the old setting once you’re done. You can now go into the media player and send files. Well, first you’ll go into the media player on your new device and select Receive Using Bluetooth. On the old device you’ll find files to send, click menu, and select Send Using Bluetooth.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How to transfer your BlackBerry data to a new device

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How to transfer your BlackBerry data to a new device

Even as RIM has upgraded their operating system, we still haven’t seen support for multiple alarms — at least within the clock application. By navigating over to your calendar, though, you can create as many alarms as you need.

Daily alarms

If you need to set multiple alarms, head to your calendar and scroll to the necessary time. Click the menu button and then select New Alarm. You’ll see a screen where you can create an alarm and name it. You can even change the time to any one you need, down to the minute. As you can see on the right, I created an alarm to wake me from my post-lunch nap at 3:40. Scroll down to the recurrence field and select Daily.

From there you can select from even more options. For instance, if you only want that alarm to ring every other day, you can select 2. If this is an event that only goes on for a certain period of time — say you’re on a different schedule because you’re at a business convention — you can select an end date as well. Once you have that all set up, press menu, save it, and you’re set.

Weekday only alarms

The main drawback of the above method, as you might have thought by now, is the lack of a weekday-only option. There’s no reason for a post-lunch nap on the weekends, for instance, because I can sleep in. I only want that alarm to sound on weekdays. Thankfully, the calendar system takes care of this as well.

Instead of selecting daily from the recurrence menu, select weekly. You’ll see the same fields for every and end, and in addition you’ll see the a place to mark which days of week you want the alarm to sound. As you can see in the screenshot, I selected Monday through Friday, leaving my weekends afternoon alarm free. It works just as well as the Weekdays option in the clock application.

Other alarm options

You can also select monthly from the drop-down menu, and can even set an alarm to go off every 15 months if you ever needed such an alarm. The best part about the monthly alarm is the relative date feature. By checking the box you can set an alarm to go off on the X Xday of every month. For instance, if I set one for today to recur monthly, I could choose for it to go off on the third Monday of every month. You’ll have to scroll to the proper date, obviously, in order for this alarm option to work properly.

There is also a yearly option, including relative date (third Monday of every March, e.g.). I’m not sure how useful it is, but at least it’s there.

Finally, you can edit your daily alarm through your calendar app as well as your clock app.

Just to be clear, you don’t see options for snooze or for alarm sound. The calendar alarm defaults to your clock settings. Also, you’ll notice on your clock that your active alarms are all displayed along with your default alarm.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How to set multiple alarms on your BlackBerry

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How to set multiple alarms on your BlackBerry