Ultimate Blackberry Howto eBook

The Ultimate BlackBerry® HowTo EBook

Version 2009.1

by

BlackBerryInsight

www.blackberryinsight.com

March 2009

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/

Published by:

BlackBerryInsightEmail: [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Disclaimer

This report is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and authors and advisers are not rendering legal, accounting or other professional services.

It is not the purpose of this manual to reprint all the information that is otherwise available to authors, printers and publisher but to complement, amplify and supplement other texts. For more information, see the references throughout the text.

Every effort has been made to make this manual as complete and as accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes both typographical and in content.

Therefore, this text should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of publishing information. Furthermore, this manual contains information only up to the printing date.

The authors, advisers and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this manual.

The RIM, BlackBerry and SureType families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

Copyright © 2009 BlackBerryInsight

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2009/02/20/blackberry-and-gps-2009-edition/



mailto:[email protected]




Table of Contents

Blackberry and GPS..............................................................................................................................5Navigation Software.........................................................................................................................6Mapping Software.........................................................................................................................11GPS Tools........................................................................................................................................15

How to solve: Intellisync unknown error reported............................................................................19BlackBerry not Charging.....................................................................................................................20How to save money making calls from China and Hong Kong with your BlackBerry utilizing VOIP. .21How to get rid of the Virtual Keyboard in 3rd Party Applications on the BlackBerry Storm.............23Developer Howto: Prevent the compatibility mode / virtual keyboard on BlackBerry Storm for your Applications........................................................................................................................................27How to Setup Real “GTD Project Support” with your BlackBerry and Synchronize it with your Desktop or BES....................................................................................................................................29How to survive loss of job and even take advantage with your BlackBerry.......................................31How to Install / Deploy Third Party Applications through BES Push to BlackBerry devices...............32How to use TaskMailer tasks (ICal / ICalendar / VCal) on Windows PCs............................................37How to setup an Apache Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications...................................39How to setup a Microsoft IIS Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications.............................41How to delete 3rd Party Applications from your BlackBerry using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager............................................................................................................................................................42How To Fix An Endless Re-Booting Loop On Your BlackBerry............................................................44How to Use Blackberry Messenger....................................................................................................45Does my BlackBerry GPS use my Data Plan?......................................................................................51WiFi for Data Transfer & Calling Cards for IDD Calls = Save Costs......................................................53BlackBerry How To: Transfer Files Between Devices Using Bluetooth (via CIO)................................54How to get videos onto your BlackBerry............................................................................................55How to get Waypoints into your Spot................................................................................................56How to Zip and Unzip Files on your BlackBerry..................................................................................57How to Remove BlackBerry’s IT Policy...............................................................................................58How to use MobileTracker without SD Card......................................................................................68How to DNS lookup an IP address’ hostname with your BlackBerry.................................................70How to freely choose your “From” Email Address on your BlackBerry.............................................71Crack your BlackBerry.........................................................................................................................72How to transfer files to your BlackBerry (Windows)..........................................................................73How to switch (to) the BlackBerry device..........................................................................................76Howto use BerryDialer to save a lot of money on voice calls (especially IDD calls)..........................80BlackBerry Install Error: No additional applications designed for your device found!......................81How to put a full-blown Windows Desktop Environment on your BlackBerry..................................83BlackBerry Contracts in Hong Kong S.A.R...........................................................................................88Howto use your BlackBerry as an emergency flashlight tool.............................................................91How to use your BlackBerry to transfer your tasks, notes, appointments and contacts from Windows to Mac OS X and vice versa................................................................................................92How to secure your BlackBerry..........................................................................................................93How to transfer ring tones to your BlackBerry using Bluetooth (Mac OS X)......................................96

How to use BlackBerry’s softkeys to become more productive.........................................................97Five Tips for a Healthy BES Environment............................................................................................98How to install 3rd party applications (Mac OS X)...............................................................................99How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Mac OS X)..................................102BlackBerry Shortcut Collection.........................................................................................................110How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball.........................................................................................111How to pair a Bluetooth GPS receiver with your BlackBerry...........................................................114How to upgrade your BlackBerry OS................................................................................................116How to Get BlackBerry Internet Access without Data Plan (example: China Mobile).....................118How to Build your own BlackBerry Themes!....................................................................................120How to Reboot Your BlackBerry.......................................................................................................121The shortcuts we all love..................................................................................................................122How to Synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Microsoft Windows).................123Upgrading to BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0..................................................................................128Easy BlackBerry Backup....................................................................................................................131Installing 3rd Party Applications.......................................................................................................134Defeating BlackBerry Spam..............................................................................................................138

Blackberry and GPS

Blackberry and GPS

GPS is no longer a luxury these days. The high-tech system that we have heard of so much in military movies is now available on your BlackBerry as well. There are many applications on the market that provide services based on the GPS device for your BlackBerry.

Here we shall see some of the software solutions and applications that can be used in combination with the GPS in your BlackBerry to maximum use. The tabular column first shall explain the various applications available and their compatibility with various BlackBerry models. Following which I shall go in depth explaining each application and how it can make your life easier on a daily basis. This way, you can skip applications which will not work with your model and just try out those that work.

The GPS can be used in two ways with your BlackBerry. Most of the newer and higher end models like the Storm, Curve 8900 and 8820 come with a built in internal GPS receiver. Other models without a built in GPS device can opt for a Bluetooth based external GPS receiver. To figure out how you can use your Bluetooth enabled BlackBerry with a Bluetooth GPS receiver read this. If you own one of those Stone Age BlackBerry’s which don’t have Bluetooth, maybe it’s time for an upgrade!

There is software for the antique RIM 857/957 which works with a serial GPS receiver attached via cable. If you are still using one of these devices, you might want to take a look here: map viewer for RIM

In most cases you would have bought your BlackBerry along with a package from your service provider. Read here to know about what kind of data plan you are on and how you may be charged for using GPS.

“Software”There are basically three types of GPS software:

• Navigation Software• Mapping/Field Navigation Software• GPS enabled tools

If we are talking about GPS, navigation is the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind. With a GPS device and software you can get just about anywhere. These features are obviously available for the BlackBerry too. There are many uses for your GPS device. For example, people who tend to go hiking or trekking in dense forests or indulge in other outdoor activities will find the “field navigation” or mapping tools to be a very useful asset. They can give you a satellite picture or even a topographic view in addition to regular street maps. Geo tagging for your pictures and other features add to the activity. For the city, there are many other GPS enabled tools to assist you in

Copyright © 2009 BlackBerryInsight | Web: www.blackberryinsight.com 5



Blackberry and GPS - Navigation Software

your daily mission. Applications can help you locate coffee shops, restaurants and other locations when you are lost in the maze of city streets.

Navigation Software

BlackBerry Device

GPS Type where.com Telenav Garmin GPS

Amaze Navizon NavFunPro

7520 Internal No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

7100i Internal No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

7100g Bluetooth No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

7100r Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes

7100t Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes

7100v Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes

7100x Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes

7105t Bluetooth No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

7130g Bluetooth No No No Yes Yes Yes

7130c Bluetooth No No No Yes Yes Yes

7130e Bluetooth No No Yes Yes Yes Yes

7210 Not Supported

No No Yes No Yes Yes

7230 Not Supported


7350 Bluetooth No No Yes Yes Yes Yes

7280 Not Supported


7290 Bluetooth No No Yes Yes Yes Yes

7730 Not Supported

No No Yes No Yes No

7750 Not Supported


7780 Not Supported


8700c Bluetooth No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

8700g Bluetooth No No Yes Yes Yes Yes


http://www.s4bb.com/

http://www.nav4all.com/site2/www.nav4all.com/eng/index.php

http://www.navizon.com/navizon-blackberry-virtual-GPS.htm

http://www.amazegps.com/

http://www8.garmin.com/mobile/blackberry/

http://www8.garmin.com/mobile/blackberry/

http://www.telenav.com/

http://www.where.com/jin/widgetlist.jin?order=popular&link=pop


BlackBerry Device

GPS Type where.com Telenav Garmin GPS

Amaze Navizon NavFunPro

8700f Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes

8700r Bluetooth No No Yes Yes Yes No


8707h Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes No


8703e** Internal No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

8705g Bluetooth No Yes Yes Yes Yes No

8703e Bluetooth No No Yes No Yes Yes



9000 Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes


8300 Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes




8350i Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

8220 Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No


8110 Internal Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes






* To make use of the GPS capabilities of your 7520 you need the latest BlackBerry OS. Earlier version did not implement the “Location API”. You can get it here.** Check with provider if GPS is available for 3rd party applications on your device.




“ TeleNav ”

TeleNav can convert your BlackBerry into a fully equipped navigation system and currently remains the only fully functional navigation solution for BlackBerry users in North America. With an easy to read and user friendly navigation screen that shows the speed, direction and map, TeleNav offers features like speech recognition and gas pricings. It also gives voice directions so you know which turn to take while driving. With its integrated Point Of Interest (POI) management system, TeleNav can help you quickly find nearby gas stations, restaurants and other buildings. It also helps you locate ATMs, Wi Fi hotspots and other food joints. TeleNav keeps you updated on the traffic scenario and helps you find alternate routes to avoid traffic.

TeleNav is a subscription based application and is available for $10.00/month for unlimited use. To get an idea about the software before buying it you can use the 30 day free trial version.

- “ Garmin GPS ”

Garmin is a modern and sophisticated GPS manufacturer. Their latest edition is a versatile technology which is compatible with both in built and not built in GPS in the BlackBerry phones. For the phones without GPS an external GPS 10X portable device is provided. The software’s special features include a Google search engine to quickly get a hold of online information. You can be posted with valuable information like weather reports, traffic details, fight schedules, fuel prices and many more.

The spoken step by step instruction is simple to follow. They let you have a 3D view of the map. It helps you spot points of interest like nice restaurants and recreation en-route. It even reroutes you if you get lost on your way. You can happily navigate through even when you are talking on the phone. You can also download pictures from Panaramio.com and access Garmin online for its dynamic content services. The entire package comes at an affordable one time price. GPS for in built GPS mobile costs $99.99 and for without in built GPS phones it costs $149.9. The Software for built in GPS mobile is not entirely compatible with 8700 series, 7100 series and model 7520.




“ Amaze GPS ”

This is the only navigation software that is absolutely free. It can jest be downloaded from its website. This makes your travel simple and helps you locate your destination. They have very good quality maps with even the tiniest details of Europe, North America, Australia and parts of Asia and Africa. We can zoom in or out depending on our requisite. It rotates the map in the driving direction. It also offers weather forecast, voice directions, search for hotels and other places. You have an option to save your favorite details. It supports many regional languages making it user friendly. Though the features are quite normal it is great that we get all this absolutely free!!

“ Navizon ”

Navizon is excellent software that suits mobile phones, laptops and even some java phones. It has two softwares namely Navizon Lite and Navizon Premium. They have a Mobifinder which helps to locate another navizon using mobile by just sending it a text message. It has a good search engine, buddy finder, groups and alerts. You can even leave a trail of your usage. They have a very unique offer to reward your GPS usage. Every time you use a wi-fi access or cross a cellular tower you earn points and you get rewarded accordingly. Navizon Lite uses Cell ID Positioning and is free of cost. Navizon premium uses Cellular and Wi-fi triangulation which works even without the use of GPS and it costs $9.99.

“ NavFunPro ”

NavFunPro is a GPS software that connects with both built in GPS and Bluetooth. It is an excellent navigation tool that updates it maps using Google Maps and Google Earth. It acts like a needle compass on your car’s dashboard and even indicates speed and distance to the target. It also allows the NavPro users to chat with each other. This is basically a Java program which is available for a 10 day trial version. The original software costs $29.95.

“ WHERE ”

WHERE has introduced a brand new application to make the best use of your GPS. This location software can be downloaded and you get a free library with many widgets along with it. They help you to trace nearby stops through the widgets. The widgets provides you with Accu Weather, AIM Buddy finder, Beaches, Burger king, Airports and

Flights, Directions, Brewery Finder, Starbucks, Zip care a car rental service, Buddy beacon to keep




in touch with our friends and stub hub to get concert and movie tickets. It also has a gas buddy to lead you to the cheapest fuel nearby and suggest local shopping places. It also helps you with travel advice, emergency pick ups and you can even leave notes about the location on a special Location notes widget. What more?? You can also save your favourite location on Saved Places!!



Blackberry and GPS - Mapping Software

Mapping Software

BlackBerry Device

GPS Type BlackBerry Maps

Google Maps

Mobile

Spot for BlackBerry

Trimble Outdoors

AAA Mobile

Topo Explorer

7520 Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes No No

7100i Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes No No

7100g Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7100r Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7100t Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7100v Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7100x Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7105t Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No


7130c Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7130e Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

7210 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

7230 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

7350 Bluetooth No Yes Yes No No No

7280 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

7290 Bluetooth No Yes Yes No No No

7730 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

7750 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

7780 Not Supported

No Yes No No No No

8700c Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No


8700f Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No




BlackBerry Device

GPS Type BlackBerry Maps

Google Maps

Mobile

Spot for BlackBerry

Trimble Outdoors

AAA Mobile

Topo Explorer

8700r Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No


8707h Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No


8703e** Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes No No


8703e Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No No

9500 Internal Yes Yes Yes No No Yes




8300 Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No No Yes

8310 Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes



8350i Internal Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes




8120 Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes






http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/topoexplorer_blackberry.html

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/topoexplorer_blackberry.html

http://www.aaa.com/AAAMobile

http://www.aaa.com/AAAMobile

http://findme.mapquest.com/includes/home_v2.jsp


http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/spot.html


http://www.google.com/mobile/blackberry/



http://www.greystripe.com/download/fastfoodfinder.htm

http://www.greystripe.com/download/fastfoodfinder.htm



” TopoExplorer ”

TopoExplorer is a handy tool which allows you to explore your surroundings on maps. This is a free software with the current BETA version. What makes it unique is the fact that it displays maps offline i.e. does not need a wireless network connection and works even in rural and remote places. This application is right now available in the beta program and has maps of few regions like London, Chicago, Oslo, Hamburg, Brooklyn and Hong Kong. The customers from other regions should look forward for its complete release.

“ Trimble Outdoors ”

Nextel’s software Trimble Outdoors for BlackBerry is designed as a navigating and journaling tool for outdoor activities. Trimble Outdoors helps BlackBerry users completely research and plan trips,

use the phone as a navigation tool and create multimedia trip journals with video and sound clips that can be viewed on Google Earth. Trimble Outdoors can also wirelessly download maps to your phone. Equipped with a digital compass, this application works with any GPS enabled BlackBerry. Trimble Outdoors can be used for just about any outdoor activity including fishing, backpacking and hiking.

Available for $5.99/month and $39.99 per year, Trimble Outdoors supports the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, and the 8800 series.

“ Spot ”

Spot for Blackberry is a full feature packed application that provides BlackBerry users with Mapping solutions that even integrate with certain GIS features. With a full set of integrated Map-Services, Spot provides users with street level data within the United States as well as topographic and satellite images with worldwide coverage and all this for absolutely no monthly fee or charge of any kind. Featuring extensive waypoint support that includes functions like pseudo routing, Spot can even import LOC and GPX waypoint data in addition to leading you to your target destination. This application also integrates with geocache.com to give you useful geocache data. A few server timeouts, however, occurred while testing this feature. Spot was tested on BlackBerry 7290 and




BlackBerry 8700.

The application worked comparatively faster on the 8700 than on the 7290, which slowed down after a few hours of track log usage. However this software works perfectly well with the new BlackBerry Storm, Curve and even the Pearl Flip model. Spot has an impressive range of Map-Services. It allows you to receive satellite images of your terrain and get environmental maps. This program also supports the OGC WMS standards, commonly used by companies like ESRI, etc and so will work even with the map server of your company.

Overall, Spot ranks as one of the best available GPS mapping software in the market today. Spot is comparable to the TeleNav, another GPS navigation application, though the two do not always offer the same list of functions. Spot’s free demo version is available. Spot can be bought for $49 and is compatible with all GPS enabled BlackBerrys.

“ AAA Mobile ”

This is a mapping software which helps you with routes, directions and even helps you out if you get struck on your way. It displays a map with voice commands. Using this tool you can easily contact any AAA member who will locate you through the mobile’s GPS server. Using your GPS location it lists the nearby banks, Repair locations and many more. This tool has to be downloaded from the internet and it costs $9.99 for a monthly subscription.

“ BlackBerry Maps ”

BlackBerry Maps is free software which can be downloaded from the website. The maps cover a large number of areas and hence add location based services (LBS) to your BlackBerry. The maps in this software are interactive and very comfortable to use. It’s very useful for local searches. All you have to do is enter the word Gym or Hospital or anything you need to locate it within a 30- km radius. This software works with other BlackBerry applications like the contacts book. Like any usual mapping software it allows you to plan your trip and even track it.

“ Google Maps Mobile ”

Google Maps is free software offered by Google. This comes with a Google Mobile application which helps to quicken the search, maps, search and even access to your gmail accounts from your BlackBerry. It allows you to synchronise the contacts and calendar in your Blackberry phone and Google account. It also offers additional features like notepads, News, Blogger, iGoogle, Reader, News, Calendar and Photos.A newly introduced feature of Google Maps Mobile is Google Latitude. It allows



Blackberry and GPS - GPS Tools

you to track your buddies right with the free Google Maps Mobile application. You can view your buddy’s location on a web and even share your own location with your buddies. They can then view their friend’s locations either on their phone (besides BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android phones are supported by now) as well as on the map (e.g. in iGoogle).

GPS Tools

BlackBerry Device

GPS Type MobileTracker MapQuest Find Me Mobile Locator

Allsports GPS

7520 Internal No Yes Yes No

7100i Internal No Yes Yes No

7100g Bluetooth No No No No

7100r Bluetooth No No No No

7100t Bluetooth No No No No

7100v Bluetooth No No No No

7100x Bluetooth No No No No

7105t Bluetooth No No No No


7130c Bluetooth No No No No

7130e Bluetooth No No No No

7210 Not Supported

No No No No

7230 Not Supported

No No No No

7350 Bluetooth No No No No

7280 Not Supported

No No No No

7290 Bluetooth No No No No

7730 Not Supported

No No No No

7750 Not Supported

No No No No

7780 Not Supported

No No No No




BlackBerry Device

GPS Type MobileTracker MapQuest Find Me Mobile Locator

Allsports GPS

8700c Bluetooth No No No No


8700f Bluetooth No No No No

8700r Bluetooth No No No No


8707h Bluetooth No No No No


8703e** Internal No Yes Yes No


8703e Bluetooth No No No No

9500 Internal Yes No No No


9000 Internal Yes Yes No No


8300 Bluetooth Yes Yes No No

8310 Internal Yes Yes No Yes


8330 Internal Yes Yes Yes Yes

8350i Internal Yes No Yes No

8220 Bluetooth Yes No No No









http://www.blackberrysoftwarelist.net/Blackberry/Download-software/blackberry-GPS-software/Allsports_GPS_8310.aspx

http://www.nextel.com/en/services/gps/mobile_locator.shtml

http://www.nextel.com/en/services/gps/mobile_locator.shtml


http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker_blackberry.html



“ Mobile Tracker ”

Mobile Tracker is a GPS tracking tool which is used to create tracklogs. Using this application you can save a tracklog file in your phone memory card and later view it in any map application like Google Earth or NASA World Wind. A tracklog summarizes starting time, Ending time, time travelled, Number of waypoints crossed, Distance covered and the average speed. It is easy to install and use. Read here for a more detailed review.

“ MaqQuest Find Me ”

MapQuest Find Me is an application that allows users to locate those friends, colleagues and family members who are using the same application and allow you to find their locations. This application lets you search for Points of Interest (POI) and proceeds to guide and direct you, turn by turn, to these points. However, it does so without a map. MapQuest Find Me integrates GPS technology with the most up-to-date and robust points of interest database available in the US to help you find anyone or anything no matter where you are.

MapQuest Find Me is available for $5.99 per month with a provision of a 300KB Data Access Service and for $3.99 if the Data Access has been purchased separately.




“ Mobile Locator ”

MobileLocator is more or less similar to the BlackBerry application MapQuest Find Me. This software locates and directs you to people who are currently using the same application. MobileLocator also helps locate Points of Interest (POI) like ATMs, restaurants, banks, gas stations etc.

Services of the MobileLocator are available for $99.9 per month.

“ AllSports GPS ”

The AllSports GPS is a very handy software tool which helps us a lot in monitoring our sports activities like cycling, running, walking and mountain climbing. When this is loaded in your blackberry mobile, the phone can be used to measure the distance and speed of travel, the calories burnt and elevation profiles. It also provides you with maps and routes. It is very useful in training programs. This application is priced at $5.99 per month or $39.99 per annum.



How to solve: Intellisync unknown error reported

How to solve: Intellisync unknown error reportedHere is what to do if you get “Intellisync unknown error reported” after pressing sync:

1. Make sure you have Administrator rights on the Windows system you are using. Otherwise you can not use the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

2. The BlackBerry Desktop Manager installation might be incomplete. Uninstall the Desktop Manager, download the latest version and reinstall it.

3. Make Microsoft Outlook your default email application by selecting it in Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Program -> Email.

4. Check out the following BlackBerry Knowledge Base articles for other possible causes:



BlackBerry not Charging

BlackBerry not Charging

If your BlackBerry won’t charge, check out the following:

• Make sure you have installed the BlackBerry Desktop Manager on you computer (especially the BlackBerry USB driver which is included). Otherwise the BlackBerry will be recognized as an unknown USB device and won’t charge. If you do not want to install the complete Desktop Manager, do the following:

1. Go to the Microsoft Update Catalog (http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Thanks.aspx?id=140)2. Search for “Research in Motion BlackBerry Device”3. Click “Add” and “Got to Download Basket”4. Save the driver and unpack it.5. Connect the BlackBerry and follow the instruction to install the driver from the location where you unpacked it.

• If you are charging via your computer, make sure you have an external-powered USB hub. Otherwise there might not be enough power on the USB port, especially if you are using other USB devices as well.

• Check the 5 Gold Pins where you insert the charger. They might have bent and prevent successful charging.

• Try to replace your USB cable.


http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Thanks.aspx?id=140


How to save money making calls from China and Hong Kong with yourBlackBerry utilizing VOIP

How to save money making calls from China and Hong Kong with your BlackBerry utilizing VOIP

In China and Hong Kong some providers offer to route a phone call through an IP network if you dial a special prefix before the actual phone number. As the routing through an IP network is cheaper, the rates for a call is in most cases way cheaper than a regular call. It is however very inconvenient as you have to initiate each call by typing the prefix and number instead of just selecting a contact from the address book. I figured out that it is possible to use the application BerryDialer, which is originally intended to use callingcards, for this purpose.

• Hong Kong CSL IP Prefix : 1718• China Mobile IP Prefix (domestic long distance calls): 17951

(Note: to use this prefix, phone numbers must be stored without country code as China Mobile does not like a county code in domestic ip calls. The BerryDialer support told me they will add a feature to ommit country codes in a free update version soon.)

• China Mobile IP Prefix (international calls): 12593(You have to register for international calls first)

How to configure BerryDialer for this:

Copyright © 2009 by BlackBerryInsight | Web: www.blackberryinsight.com 21

http://one2free.hkcsl.com/jsp/roaming_and_idd/idd_1718/overview.jsp

http://www.s4bb.com/software/berrydialer/


How to save money making calls from China and Hong Kong with yourBlackBerry utilizing VOIP

Now you can enjoy cheap IP phone rates without losing the comfort of easy dialing through your address book. BerryDialer is available for $19.99 at MobileSoftMarket.Note: This is only an example for China and Hong Kong providers. Such a “cheap call-prefix” will most probably also be available in other countries / with other providers.


http://www.mobilesoftmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=111

http://www.s4bb.com/software/berrydialer/


How to get rid of the Virtual Keyboard in 3rd Party Applications on theBlackBerry Storm

How to get rid of the Virtual Keyboard in 3rd Party Applications on the BlackBerry Storm

Introduction

This was a VERY annoying issue on the Storm for me and for many other users who wanted to get

their 3rd party applications working on the BlackBerry® Storm! While the Storm still has some more or less serious bugs this behavior seems to be forced by RIM. I don’t really get the sense here as it is terribly solved. Anyway, so:

What is the problem?

I just got my new BlackBerry® Storm and installed my old third party application TaskMaster™ on it. If I start the application the Storm’s virtual KEYBOARD comes up and it DOES NOT GO AWAY!

You can see an example below:

Why?

Just to bring some light into the dark here I would like to explain what happens. As the BlackBerry®

Storm is quite different in its user interaction - meaning: it has touch screen - RIM introduced a so called “Compatibility Mode” for 3rd party apps. All applications that have not been built


http://www.s4bb.com/software/taskmaster/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/12/01/blackberry-storm-looks-nice-but-you-should-wait-for-an-os-update/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/12/08/how-to-get-rid-of-the-virtual-keyboard-in-3rd-party-applications-on-the-blackberry-storm/



specifically for the BlackBerry® (more specific for BlackBerry® OS 4.7) will run in this compatibility mode.

This compatibility mode forces the virtual keyboard to appear and never hide itself. The screen size is even smaller in case of our example you see a blue frame around the program which indicates that it is running in compatibility mode.

Solution - Get rid of the keyboard!

Disable the compatibility mode for the application. Here is a guide how you can do this:

• Go to your BlackBerry’s Options » Advanced Options » Applications.

• Select the application you want to disable the compatibility mode at:

• Hit the BlackBerry® Menu Key and select Disable Compatibility Mode:




• Go back to your desktop and start the application again. It will start up without the virtual keyboard and without the blue frame. This means the program is not running in compatibility mode any more. It might then look like this:




Gallery of Screenshots

Virtual Find Your Disable Success! Keyboard Application Compatibility

Mode

I hope this helps you as well. It helped me to solve this issue and get all of my favorite 3rd party apps back running in my BlackBerry.

The official explanation by a RIM Moderator on the BlackBerry® support forums can be found here.


http://supportforums.blackberry.com/rim/board/message?board.id=java_dev&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=10655#M10655

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/blackberryinsight-sw-store/



Developer Howto: Prevent the compatibility mode / virtual keyboard onBlackBerry Storm for your Applications

Developer Howto: Prevent the compatibility mode / virtual keyboard on BlackBerry Storm for your Applications

In the above chapter “How to get rid of the Virtual Keyboard in 3rd Party Applications on the BlackBerry Storm” I described this from the end-user point of view. While that is using for users it is still cumbersome and inconvenient for them. Moreover, as a developer you might not want to get that much negative feedback and support inquiries about your third party application which starts up with a virtual keyboard that cannot be hidden whatsoever.

What is the problem?

Your customer just received his new BlackBerry Storm and installed the old thrid party application from you on it. If I start the application the Storm’s virtual KEYBOARD comes up and it DOES NOT GO AWAY!You can see an example below. The blue frame indicates the application is running in compatibility mode. The keyboard is activated by default and cannot be hidden.

This is bad!

Very bad, because first of all your application has less space due to the blue frame. Then the keyboard takes up a lot of space which also takes lots of space. Especially applications or games which require a lot of space for showing graphics or data (like the used TaskMaster™ task management app) are not usable like this. Obviously this should be fixed to provide your users a high quality application!


http://www.s4bb.com/software/taskmaster/




Developer Howto: Prevent the compatibility mode / virtual keyboard onBlackBerry Storm for your Applications

You need to get rid of the compatibility mode and tell the BlackBerry Storm not to use it. The solution for developers is:

1. Build your application with BlackBerry JDE 4.7. 2. Add the following lines to your applications JAD file for OTA downloads:RIM-TouchCompatibilityMode: falseRIM-TouchCompatibilityMode-UserChangeable: true

Once you have done this you can be 100% sure that your application will never run in “Compatibility Mode” again.

The official explanation by a RIM Moderator on the BlackBerry support forums can be found here.

P.S.: From the developer point of view I cannot understand why RIM introduced this. Yes, Mike wrote about this and also stated some reasons in the support forums article (link above). However, developers should have a more abstract thinging of input devices / methods. For me it just doesn’t matter where the input comes from (keyboard, trackwheel, trackball, touchscreen). RIM’s internal software design just needs to be done good and more abstract to add new input devices easily without (kind of) making already functioning applications useless. Well, it works as described above but to summarize my feelings about this: I am a bit disappointed by RIM for their “solution”.


http://supportforums.blackberry.com/rim/board/message?board.id=java_dev&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=10655#M10655


How to Setup Real “GTD Project Support” with your BlackBerry andSynchronize it with your Desktop or BES

How to Setup Real “GTD Project Support” with your BlackBerry and Synchronize it with your Desktop or BES

Everyone who is implementing GTD (Getting Things Done) no matter on their BlackBerry or “offline” (like on paper, notebooks, whatever) knows what contexts and next actions are. It is actually pretty easy to use any kind of task application on a BlackBerry to do so but most of them including the original BlackBerry Tasks app are very cumbersome to use. So it is not really productive to do so but productivity and being more productive is a major goal for personal self-improvement.

Besides the fact that you want to be productive you might also want to synchronize your tasks with your desktop system like Microsoft Outlook. We have already wrote a complete howto on how to set this up with Windows PC’s as well as with Mac OS X computers. However, the majority of BlackBerry users are business users like you and me. So you might have got your BlackBerry from your employer and you are not allowed to sync’ it with your desktop. But the device came by default with wireless synchronization of your emails, tasks, calendar items, contacts and so on. So if your tasks are synchronized with your let’s say Microsoft Exchange account you will also get the same tasks onto your desktop Outlook client as you have on your BlackBerry. This applies to your contexts too which appear as categories in Outlook. However, if you are using NextAction! on your BlackBerry you might also projects.

Projects in the field of GTDA project is defined in wikipedia like this:

„Projects — Every open loop in one’s life or work which requires more than one physical action to achieve becomes a project. These projects are tracked and periodically reviewed to make sure that every project has a next action associated with it, and thus can be moved forward.

In NextAction! projects and context are internally handled quite similar. Their information is stored in the usual category field. While a context is a normal name / string; a project’s category carries a prefix (default: “p:”). This makes projects appear in your Outlook as categories as well but it will look like this:

p:Company Setup

However, the cool thing is: those project settings are carried over to Outlook as well. Though they appear as normal categories the data is not lost during any kind of synchronization. No matter the sync’ is being done in a wireless or the old school way.


http://www.next-action.com/


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/07/18/how-to-synchronize-my-blackberry-with-my-desktop-computer-mac-os-x/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/01/28/how-to-synchronize-my-blackberry-with-my-desktop-computer/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/05/13/implementing-getting-things-done-with-your-blackberry/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTD


How to Setup Real “GTD Project Support” with your BlackBerry andSynchronize it with your Desktop or BES

So once the synchronization via BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) is running - it should have been set up by your BlackBerry admin - you do not need to set up anything else. This is pretty awesome and very convenient.

As I wrote in previous posts I am using NextAction! to implement GTD with my BlackBerry. It works pretty well with all current BlackBerry models and even comes with a 30 day demo version. The new version 3.0 also features a someday/maybe list which is very useful for many GTD pros. I just use it from time to time … you could say: someday/maybe …



How to survive loss of job and even take advantage with your BlackBerry

How to survive loss of job and even take advantage with your BlackBerry

Unfortunately, many people - even many BlackBerry users - lost their job over the past weeks and months. But what can you do about it? Well, getting a new job or just start your own business might be a solution. Most crucial in all cases are your contacts and your “business network”. I just read in an article on the web the following sentence which actually motivated me to write this article. See here:

„ “If you kept contacts on your Blackberry, make sure you have backup copies at home.”

Source: Arkansasmatters.com

And they are right. Besides the fact that it is always good to have a backup of your device you should have at least one with your contacts before you gave back your BlackBerry to your previous employer. This is not illegal (at least not in my eyes) as they are your personal contacts which you used for business matters. But, keeping the company’s BlackBerry instead of giving it back is illegal.

Contacts make the world running. At most companies you need to have a direct contact to get a competent person to talk to. If not and you send your email to an “info@” email address you will most probably never get a reply.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/01/22/easy-blackberry-backup/

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=146111


How to Install / Deploy Third Party Applications through BES Push toBlackBerry devices

How to Install / Deploy Third Party Applications through BES Push to BlackBerry devices

Most of this article’s content is taken from the original BlackBerry Enterprise Server Administrator Guide provided by RIM. You need to have your enterprise environment running already and your BlackBerry users are set up in your BES already as well.

There are three different ways of making a software available to your users:

• Send BlackBerry Java® Applications, the collaboration client, or the BlackBerry® MDS Runtime to BlackBerry devices over the wireless network.

• Install BlackBerry Device Software on or add applications to a BlackBerry device that is connected to the computer that hosts the BlackBerry Manager.

• Make the BlackBerry Device Software and applications available so that a user can install the software and add applications using the application loader tool.

To make the BlackBerry® Device Software or applications available for users to install on or add to their BlackBerry devices, you must save the BlackBerry Device Software and applications to a network drive and create a software index. You can maintain only one version of software or an application on the network drive at a time. This actually means that in case you update the software your network drive you will also update the software in your BES system.

How to install third party Java software for a BlackBerry Wireless Handheld on a network drive:

This will make the software available for your users to install it. You add a Java application to a network drive so that the application can be made available to users’ BlackBerry devices.

Before you begin: If a third-party developer requires you to add an application to copy the application files, you must complete the instructions that the vendor provides. You can then copy the required application files and module files to a network drive in your organization’s environment.

1. If necessary, on the network drive, create the path [drive]:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared Applications.

2. In the Applications folder, create a subfolder for the application that you want to add. 3. Copy the .alx, .cod, and .dll files to the subfolder.

Now you need to tell your “device force” that this application is existing. To inform the application loader tool and software configurations of the applications that are available to add to BlackBerry® devices, you create a software index for the applications that you add to your organization’s network drive. When you create a software index, the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server creates a


http://na.blackberry.com/eng/deliverables/2755/Admin_X_493311_11.pdf




specification.pkg file and a PkgDBCache.xml index file for each application.

1. At the command prompt, navigate to[drive]:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Apploader.

2. Perform one of the following actions: • To create a software index, type loader.exe /index. • To update a software index, type loader.exe /reindex.

The application loader tool creates or updates the software index structure on the network drive, and it adds any missing index files.

Share a network drive for applications

You share a network drive for applications to make the applications available for users to install on their BlackBerry® devices.

1. Share :\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Applications.

2. Set the permission attributes to Read-only.

Defining software configurations

Software configurations allow you to perform the following actions to manage applications on BlackBerry® devices for specific user accounts or groups:

• Remotely add and remove third-party Java® applications, the collaboration client, and the BlackBerry® MDS Runtime using the application loader tool on BlackBerry devices that are connected to computers running the BlackBerry® Device Manager.

• Define application control policies and add them to software configurations to specify the resources that third-party Java applications, the collaboration client, and the BlackBerry MDS Runtime can access on BlackBerry devices from behind the organization’s firewall.

You must create a separate software configuration for each BlackBerry device series in your organization.

You must either install all of the application files that you want to install on a specific BlackBerry device model on the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or on a computer with a shared network drive before you can set an application control policy on a BlackBerry device. You set up a software configuration to point to the location of the application files.

Create a software configuration

If you have more than one BlackBerry® device series in your organization, you must create a




different software configuration for each series.

1. In the BlackBerry Manager, in the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain. 2. On the Software Configurations tab, click Add New Configuration. 3. Type a configuration name and description in the appropriate fields. 4. Click Change. 5. Type the location of the BlackBerry® Device Software or applications. 6. Click OK. 7. In the Application Name list, select the check box beside the BlackBerry device series that

you want to configure the BlackBerry Device Software or applications for. 8. Perform one of the following actions:

• To permit users to add applications to BlackBerry devices, select the check box beside the application name.

• To prevent users from adding the application to BlackBerry devices, clear the check box beside the application name.

9. Click OK. 10.After you finish: Define an application control policy.

Define an application control policy

For more information about defining application control policy rules, see the Policy Reference Guide.

1. Before you begin: Create a software configuration. 2. In the BlackBerry® Manager, in the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain. 3. Click the Software Configurations tab. 4. Click Manage Application Policies. 5. Click New. 6. Type a new policy name. 7. Customize the application control policy rules. 8. Click OK. 9. After you finish: Assign an application control policy to an application in a software

configuration.

Assign an application control policy to an application

1. Before you begin: To assign an application control policy other than the default application control policy settings, you must first define an application control policy.

2. In the BlackBerry® Manager, in the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain. 3. Click the Software Configurations tab. 4. In the Configuration Name list, click a software configuration. 5. Click Edit Configuration. 6. Expand the Application Software application tree.




7. In the Policy drop-down list, click an option to assign an application control policy to the application:Option Description

Assign the default application control policy.

To assign the application control policy that is assigned at the application software level, click [default]

Assign an application control policy that you have defined.

To assign an application control policy that you have defined to all applications that are not currently assigned to an application control policy, click that application control policy.

Allow the user to set application controls on the BlackBerry device.

To allow the application control settings that are configured onthe BlackBerry device, click [none].

8. Click OK. 9. After you finish: Assign the software configuration to a user group or user account.

Assign a software configuration to a user group

1. In the BlackBerry® Manager, in the left pane, click a user group. 2. In the lower pane, on the Group Configuration tab, click Device Management. 3. Click Assign Software Configuration. 4. Click the software configuration that you want to assign. 5. Click OK.

Assign a software configuration to a user account

1. In the BlackBerry® Manager, in the left pane, click a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. 2. On the Users tab, click the user account that you want to assign the software configuration

to. 3. In the lower pane, click Device Management. 4. Click Assign Software Configuration. 5. Click the software configuration that you want to assign. 6. Click OK.

Send an application to a BlackBerry device over the wireless network

You can send a BlackBerry® Java Application, the collaboration client, and the BlackBerry® MDS Runtime over the wireless network to supported BlackBerry devices that have 16 MB or more of flash memory. The BlackBerry® Enterprise Server can take up to 4 hours to send the application to a BlackBerry device.

1. Before you begin: To send an application over the wireless network, your organization’s IT policy must permit third-party applications on BlackBerry devices.

2. In the BlackBerry Manager, in the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain.




3. On the Software Configurations tab, click a software configuration. 4. In the lower pane, click Edit Configuration. 5. Click the application that you want to send over the wireless network. 6. In the Delivery drop-down list, click Wireless. 7. To make sure that the application remains installed on a BlackBerry device, change the

Disposition application control policy to Required. 8. Click OK.

For more detailed instructions on monitoring the success of the application push please check the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Administrator Guide on page 38 and following. This does also include a complete list of error messages that might occur during wireless application push. Source: BlackBerry Enterprise Server Administrator Guide (see page 33 of 175).





How to use TaskMailer tasks (ICal / ICalendar / VCal) on Windows PCs


Note: All of the following mentioned / recommended programs are free at the moment and can be downloaded on the web.

The TaskMailer application that is currently available as free demo version has some problems right now. It is compatible with industry standards like ICal and VCal but it seems the most famous desktop task management application Microsoft Outlook does not support this format - at least not for tasks. It is easy to import ICal or VCal meeting / calendar requests into your Outlook calendar but tasks / todos are not recognized.

I just found an application called Sunbird which is made by the Mozilla guys (maker of Thunderbird email client and Firefox browser). This task / calendar management application supports ICal and VCal formats by default. Therefor, you can easily import a task into Sunbird which has been sent from your BlackBerry using TaskMailer to your mailbox.

Here is a Sunbird screen shot:


http://www.s4bb.com/the-beta-program/#taskmailer



Sunbird site: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/download.html

Thunderbird Plugin Lightning

If you are using Thunderbird as email client you might want to have a more seamless integration into it. This just makes sense as you get your email into your Thunderbird email client anyway. Lightning is an extension for Thunderbird which provides exactly this. Here is a Lightning screen shot:

Thunderbird site: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/Lightning site: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/Original post from our BlackBerryInsight Productivity Software Forums.Notice 2008-09-24: New version of Lightning and Sunbird available.


http://www.golem.de/0809/62588.html

http://forums.blackberryinsight.com/productivity-software-f2.html

http://forums.blackberryinsight.com/how-to-use-taskmailer-tasks-on-windows-pcs-t49.html

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/download.html


How to setup an Apache Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications


Note: IIS users / administrators might want to check out Howto: Setup a Microsoft IIS Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications.

Setting up OTA downloads for the BlackBerry is pretty easy. Technically this is done by uploading your program’s files to a web server and storing it there in a directory that is accessible from the web.

The most famous free web server that powers the Internet is called Apache from the Apache HTTP Server Project. It is available for many platforms including the most common Windows (all versions), Linux, *BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and even more. All information you need to install the Apache web server you can find over here. Check out the complete documentation for more.

Let’s say your server is called http://www.blackberryinsight.com and you want to place your BlackBerry application called BBCalls directly on that domain you would get an OTA download link like www.yourdomain.com/bbcalls.jad.

Therefor, you first need to upload your OTA program files to your web server. Technically this are two files for each application; in our case this would be:

1. bbcalls.jad: JAD = Java Application Descriptor; a text file that describes your application. 2. bbcalls.cod: the actual program file; in binary format which can only be executed by the

BlackBerry.

Once you uploaded those two files to your web server (e.g. via FTP) you should be able to access them via the following URLs:

• www.yourdomain.com/bbcalls.jad • www.yourdomain.com/bbcalls.cod

You will still not be able to access those URLs from your BlackBerry and install the application. Your web server needs to know more about the content of those files. This is called “Mime Type” and has actually been created for emails many years ago. Anyway, the mime type setting is important as the web server will then understand which content this is, so it knows how to deliver those files to your BlackBerry browser. The web server is also telling the BlackBerry browser which kind of mime type will come in the file you want to download. This helps your BlackBerry browser to determine what to do with the data that will be downloaded. For example: an .html file will be shown in the browser, a .jpg file will be downloaded to your “Pictures” directory, a .avi file will be downloaded to your “Videos” directory, and a .jad file will tell the browser to install a new application.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mime_type

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTP

http://www.yourdomain.com/bbcalls.jad

http://www.s4bb.com/free-software/#bbcalls

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/install.html

http://httpd.apache.org/

http://httpd.apache.org/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/?p=1143




The easiest way to set up the mime type for our two file types (.jad and .cod; see above) can be done in a file called .htaccess. This is basically just a normal text file which can be created or edited in any kind of text editor like Notepad of your desktop Windows. Here is an example of a simple .htaccess file:

AddType text/vnd.sun.j2me.app-descriptor .jadAddType application/vnd.rim.cod .codThis is all you need. Now just upload your .htaccess file to the same directory where you placed your .jad and .cod files at. You should now be able to install your application via the above mentioned OTA download link diretly with your BlackBerry browser.

In case it doesn’t work: It is important that your web server allows directory based overrides. So the Apache must have been set to “Allowoverride All” for example. For more detailed information on how to set up an .htaccess file please refer to Apache Tutorial: .htaccess files.For advanced web server admins: You can also set this up in your web server’s main configuration file. In most cases (if you are on a shared hosting plan for example) you do not have access to this file. In case you have access and want to change the mime type setting for your server globally you need to change the main configuration file (mostly called apache2.conf or httpd.conf). for more on this topic please click here.

Important Note: Do not upload commercial program files from other companies to your server. By doing this, respectively publishing the download link and therefor the program itself will be considered as software piracy by nearly every country’s law.


http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_mime.html

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/howto/htaccess.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad


How to setup a Microsoft IIS Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTAApplications

How to setup a Microsoft IIS Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications

Note: This howto should be considered as extension to the Howto: Setup an Apache Webserver to deliver BlackBerry OTA Applications which describes why you need to set mime types in your web server. Here is what you should do if you are running an IIS.

Microsoft IIS provides a GUI for setting up MIME types. Below lists the steps for setting up MIME types with IIS 5.0 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional:

1. Bring up the Internet Information Services window by selecting Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Internet Service Manager.

2. In the tree on the left-hand side, you should see an item whose caption is your computer’s name. Right-click on it to pop up a menu.

3. Click Properties in the menu to bring up the Properties window. 4. Click the Edit button located in the Computer MIME Map frame to bring up the File Types

window. 5. In the File Types window, you can see a list of MIME mappings. Use the buttons labeled

“New Type…”, “Remove” and “Edit…” to make any changes you want.

The steps for setting up MIME types with other versions of IIS should be similar.If your IIS is of version 3.0 or below, the procedure is less user-friendly. It involves editing the registry at the key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Services\InetInfo\Parameters\MimeMap.

Important Note: Do not upload commercial program files from other companies to your server. By doing this, respectively publishing the download link and therefor the program itself will be considered as software piracy by nearly every country’s law.





How to delete 3rd Party Applications from your BlackBerry using theBlackBerry Desktop Manager

How to delete 3rd Party Applications from your BlackBerry using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager

Sometimes you need to remove an application from your BlackBerry completely. Seems to be an obvious task and pretty to accomplish but there are actually some steps you really need to take care of. This howto is meant for people who want to remove an application from their BlackBerry and also want to delete the program settings and anything a program might have created on the BlackBerry’s internal memory. This will also help you to free some space on your BlackBerry in case you are running out space.

1. Delete the program binary from your BlackBerry

• Connect your BlackBerry to your desktop Computer. • Start the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. • Open the Application Loader. • Click Next. • Find the application you want to remove and uncheck the application’s checkbox. • Click Next. • Click Next. • Wait until the device is initialized again. This might take some minutes if the

program you just uninstalled has put a menu item into an internal BlackBerry application and therefor requires a reboot of the device.

This will actually just delete the program’s .cod file from your BlackBerry. The program’s configuration, most probably registration information and anything the program stored on the internal memory were not deleted.

2. Delete the program’s configuration and RecordStore (respectively PersistentStore) from your BlackBerry

• Connect your BlackBerry to your desktop Computer. • Start the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. • Open the Application Loader. • Click Next. • Find the application you want to remove and select the name of the application. • Click Delete and confirm. • Click Next. • Click Next. • Wait until the device is initialized again.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/04/22/howto-reboot-your-blackberry/


How to delete 3rd Party Applications from your BlackBerry using theBlackBerry Desktop Manager

Now you have deleted everything from your BlackBerry that might have been created by the application.

Your BlackBerry is clean now and you most probably freed some memory

This howto works with all current BlackBerry Desktop Manager versions including the brand new BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.5.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/06/24/balckberry-desktop-manager-45-testet-incl-screenshots/


How To Fix An Endless Re-Booting Loop On Your BlackBerry

How To Fix An Endless Re-Booting Loop On Your BlackBerryYou might have installed a 3rd party application recently or just upgraded your BlackBerry OS and now your BlackBerry says something like:

Error 202: reset

What would you do? Most people run into the next phone shop or call their carrier support. Unfortunately, those support guys do not really know how to fix this issue - mostly. However, this is not as complicated as many might imagine. I did this for several devices already including a BlackBerry 7290, 8700v, Pearl, and others. This howto technically works with all BlackBerry models including the new BlackBerry Bold and Thunder. Here is what you need to do:

1. Get the most recent BlackBerry OS as you would do when you upgrade your BlackBerry OS. 2. Install this on your PC. 3. Connect your BlackBerry to your PC. 4. Make sure the BlackBerry Desktop Manager is NOT running. 5. Open a command line by going to: Start » Run… » enter “cmd” » HIT ENTER 6. Navigate to the Application Loader directory by entering: cd C:\Program Files\Common

Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\ 7. Enter and start: Loader.exe /nojvm

8. The BlackBerry’s Java Loader will pop up. 9. Follow the instructions and install the new OS on your device.

The BlackBerry should automatically reboot at the end of the installation process and your device is back working.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/05/12/howto-upgrade-your-blackberry-os/


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/12/28/installing-3rd-party-applications-2/


How to Use Blackberry Messenger


I came across this article and thought it was important…Why?, well I have found an enormous amount of Blackberry Users that have no idea about Blackberry Messenger and how it works or how you can save a tone of time and money using it in your organization, and personal life. Allot of the users I talk to including wireless sales people don’t realize why they should use it…PUZZLING ISN’T IT.

I'm sure over time RIM will start to incorporate it into other Social Apps their are working on like the Facebook app and integration into other IM programs…but for now it is still the cheapest and easiest way for blackberry users to communicate to other blackberry users…..Take a look….

Introduction to How BlackBerry Messenger Works

Imagine taking part in a Web conference designed to pitch your product to foreign investors. You’re in New York, and your potential investors are in London. Your partner and main presenter is in San Francisco. While you’re listening in, you realize a key point that he should make.

You pull out your BlackBerry, go to BlackBerry Messenger and send your partner an instant message: “Todd, you can tie that really well to return on investment.” The immediate response is: “Got it. Will do.” Message sent and received without the investors being aware, point made, and the conference moves on to your company’s advantage.

Or imagine running into heavy traffic on the way to an out-of-town family gathering. You know you’ll be late, but you don’t know who to call. You use BlackBerry Messenger to contact several relatives at once with an apology and estimated arrival time. “That’s OK,” your sister messages back. “We’re stuck in the same mess. Just keep us posted.” Your dad responds with: “We’ll just wait for you here at the restaurant.”

Pin and Ping Lingo

They’re similar sounding but nothing alike. You need the PIN code that identifies your BlackBerry device to use BlackBerry Messenger. Then you can send PIN-to-PIN instant messages to other users. The ping refers to making someone’s BlackBerry vibrate when a message arrives. So you might say, “Give me your PIN, and I’ll ping you at 3 p.m.”

BlackBerry Messenger gives BlackBerry users a quick, easy way to send instant messages to each other using their PIN codes. It’s free and, unlike with e-mail, users can carry on several conversations at the same time. They also can chat with a group, see contacts’ availability, send files and track message status.

What are the features of BlackBerry Messenger? How does instant messaging with your BlackBerry


http://www.rim.com/



work? And, what are the advantages and disadvantages of BlackBerry Messenger? Go to the next page to find out.

Advantages and Disadvantages of BlackBerry MessengerBlackBerry Messenger can be a definite asset, if you want to exchange messages with other Blackberry users. With it, you can:

• Carry on a real-time conversation with friends and colleagues in several different locations — or carry on several conversations simultaneously.

• Chat with a group.• Send and receive an unlimited number of messages worldwide for free with no per-

message charge.• Get messages without filling up your inbox.• Know whether a buddy is online, available or busy.• Let your contacts know your own availability for instant messaging.• Manage log-in and contacts as you would if you were using an IM program from your PC.• Continue using other programs and send and receive e-mails while BlackBerry Messenger is

running.• Invite someone to join your buddy list and start communicating without setting up a

separate IM account.• Be notified by a specific ringtone or vibration setting each time a message arrives from a

particular person.

[sources: BlackBerry Connection, BlackBerry Messenger User Guide and CrackBerry]

One disadvantage of BlackBerry Messenger is that you can’t send an instant message to someone unless you know his or her PIN code, the eight-digit letter-and-number code assigned to that particular Blackberry device.

However, the biggest disadvantage of BlackBerry Messenger may be that it only allows you to exchange instant messages with other BlackBerry users. Introduced in early 2006 as a feature of BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1, BlackBerry Messenger isn’t compatible with popular IMing programs. That’s because it works differently.

With most instant messaging services, you download software that becomes the client on your computer or smartphone. That client connects to the provider’s server, using a proprietary protocol for communication. Once you’ve logged on, the client sends the server your connection information (IP address), your computer port number and the names of everyone on your contact list.

The server creates a temporary file with connection information for you and your contacts. Then the server determines which contacts are logged on and sends that information to your client, as




well as letting the contacts know you’re available. After that, the server is no longer involved, and all communication is between your client and that of your message recipient.

With BlackBerry Messenger, however, the server stays involved as it would if you were sending e-mails. All communications go through parent-company Research in Motion’s servers as you continue to exchange messages. That also means you can’t use BlackBerry Messenger unless you have a BlackBerry Internet plan, or data plan [source: CrackBerry].

Next, let’s explore what else you’ll need to get started with BlackBerry Messenger and its basic functions.

Getting Started with BlackBerry MessengerBlackBerry Messenger doesn’t require much set-up, particularly as it comes preloaded on newer models. With an older BlackBerry model, you’ll have to do a BlackBerry Messenger download. No matter what, here’s what you’ll need to use BlackBerry Messenger:

• A Java-based BlackBerry• A BlackBerry Internet plan, or data plan, so you can send and receive PIN messages through

Research in Motion’s servers• Your PIN code — to find it, go to “Options,” then “Status” and finally “PIN”• Blackberry Messenger software — if it’s not already on your BlackBerry, use your

BlackBerry browser or Internet Explorer to go to http://www.blackberry.com/messenger and download it. If you plan to install the BlackBerry Messenger program via your computer, you need BlackBerry Device Software v 3.6 or higher. If you’re installing from your BlackBerry, you’ll need BlackBerry Device Software v 3.7 or higher and at least 16 MB of flash memory.

With the software installed, you’re ready to log on. The first time, you’ll be asked to pick a display name to identify yourself while IMing and to create a password. Once you do that, you’ll be logged automatically into BlackBerry Messenger whenever your device is connected to your wireless network. Once you build your contact list, you can send and receive messages.BlackBerry Messenger allows users to communicate with others remotely.

Adding Contacts

BlackBerry Messenger’s contact list shows your individual contacts and contact groups. Before you can IM with someone, you have to invite him to join your contact list and request permission to exchange messages. You can do this with existing contacts in your BlackBerry address book by following these steps:1. Bring up the menu for BlackBerry Messenger.2. Select “Add a Contact,” which’ll take you to your address book.3. Click on the contact name you want to add, and select “Request.”Contacts who aren’t in your BlackBerry address book also need to be added there. Here’s how to send those contacts invitations:




1. Open BlackBerry Messenger and use the trackwheel to go to the Contact List screen.2. Click “Add a Contact,” which takes you to your address book.3. Scroll to the top of the list, and highlight “Use Once.”4. Click “Request by E-mail or PIN.”5. Type an e-mail address or PIN code, and press “Enter.”6. Add a message, and click “OK” twice.

Once the contact accepts your invitation, he’ll be added automatically to your contact list. Invitations that contacts send to you will appear on the Contact List screen. To accept a request, select it, click the trackwheel, and then click “Open” and “Accept.” To deny the request, use the same process but click “Decline” instead of “Accept.”

Sending and Receving MessagesTo send an IM, click a contact’s name on the Contact List. Then click “Start Conversation” and type your message. Finish by clicking the Enter key.

To join an existing conversation, go to the Contact List and click on a contact in the Existing Conversations list. Then click “Open Conversation.”

To add contacts to a conversation or start a conference, click on the trackwheel during a conversation. Then click on “Invite” to invite more contacts to participate.

To end a conversation, click on the trackwheel during the conversation and then click “End Conversation.”

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’re ready to explore more advanced functions of BlackBerry Messenger like managing contacts and groups or setting your availability status and alerts. Let’s look next at some functions that make IMing fast and easy.

BlackBerry Messenger FunctionsWith BlackBerry Messenger, it’s easy to manage contacts, to indicate your availability, to “ping” a contact and to perform other functions. Here’s how some of these work.Getting started with BlackBerry Messenger is easy for BlackBerry users. It simply requires PIN activation.

Managing ContactsPerhaps you’d like to use BlackBerry Messenger to see a contact’s information. All you need to do is go to the Contact List screen, click on the contact’s name, and click “Contact Info.”

Or maybe you’d like to remove an individual contact from your contact list. To do so, go to the Contact List screen, and click on the contact’s name. After that, click on “Delete Contact” and then “Delete.”




Beyond treating your contacts separately, BlackBerry Messenger lets you gather them into groups and then manage those groups. For example:

• To add a group to the contact list, go to the Contact List screen and click “Add Group.” Then type a name and click “OK.”

• To switch a contact from one group to another, click the contact’s name on the Contact List and click “Move.” Then select a group and click on it.

• To remove a group, click the group’s name on your Contact List. Then click “Delete Group” and “Delete.” (Note that you can’t remove the default Contacts group.)

Availability Status

Your availability status shows your contacts whether you want to exchange IMs (Available) or not (Unavailable) at any given time. BlackBerry Messenger will automatically change your status in some cases. It’ll, for example, show a Busy icon if you’re doing something else on your BlackBerry or if you have not responded to a message received in the past two minutes. An Unreachable icon will be shown if you’re using the phone or in an area without enough wireless coverage.But you can also change your own status and leave a message for contacts. To change your status, go to the Contact List screen, and click “Available” or “Unavailable.” Type the message you want contacts to see when they IM you, and click “OK.” If you choose “Unavailable,” you’ll still receive messages but you won’t be notified when they arrive.

Notifications and Pings

You can use notifications to alert you of an incoming instant message by having your BlackBerry vibrate or emit a tone. You can set and change notifications in your BlackBerry Messenger profile. Go to the Profiles list, click on a profile, and click “Edit.” Click on a notification option (like “Messenger — New Message”), and click “Edit.” Set the option you want (like “Vibrate-Tone”) and set the desired volume; click the trackwheel, and click “Save.”

Beyond your own settings, you can “ping” someone who isn’t responding by making their BlackBerry vibrate when you send a message. Just click the trackwheel in BlackBerry Messenger, and click “Ping Contact.” If you want to turn off the ping function on your own device, go to the Contact List screen, click “Options” and click on the box before “Clear the Vibrate When Receiving a Ping.”

More Functions

Here are a few more functions to try:• Press the SYM key twice to see a selection of emoticons that you can use in your instant

messages.• Select “View Calendar” to access your BlackBerry calendar without leaving BlackBerry

Messenger.• Try “Copy History” to save a copy of your conversation. Once you hit “End Conversation,”




your chance to save the conversation is gone.

So beyond all these fun and useful facts and tricks, BB Messenger can also be used withing Organizations with BES server solution to make it more secure and useful for Organizations.



Does my BlackBerry GPS use my Data Plan?


This is a question that is being asked by many BlackBerry users. There is obviously a lot of confusion about this topic. This confusion is mostly caused by the network carriers who bundle BlackBerry devices with their BlackBerry plans (including voice plans, data plans, and so on). Sometimes you can even subscribe to a “GPS plan”.

Now you’re completely confused, right?

So let’s keep it simple:

1. GPS itself is free for use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS 2. GPS itself is just a technology for telling you your position on the world. Which actually

means: you get an “X” (Longitude) and “Y” (Latitude) value in degrees and maybe the height - depends on the signal strength. That’s it.

3. A GPS position is nice, but you cannot that much with it.

Many BlackBerry devices (current ones: 8110, 8310, 8800, 8820, 8830) come with a built-in GPS receiver which can obtain your device’s location on the world. That is for FREE! (”free” as in “free beer”)

So what are those companies like Verizon charge money for?

All of those built-in GPS receivers are so called “A-GPS” receivers. The “A” stands for “Assistet” and means that obtaining the GPS position is assisted by the network carrier’s access points via cell mast triangulation. We could get more detailed here but it is not necessary. Network carriers may charge for this kind of service. Moreover, network carriers have the possibility to disable several functions and features of BlackBerry devices on their network. Verizon for example deactivated the internal GPS receiver on devices like the Verizon BlackBerry 8703e and 8830. If you want to get GPS access (which means you can use the actual free GPS service along with the “Assistence”) you need to subscribe to their GPS plan. This GPS plan also includes the right to use software applications that make more from your GPS position.

Remember: GPS is just the location (X and Y).

This just this location you cannot do that much. Most of the time you want to see your location on a map. So you need a mapping program to view your location on a map. Most mapping applications download the maps from the internet on the fly. This “download from the internet” is quite similar to just browse the web with your BlackBerry browser and it will use your data plan.


http://www.verizonwireless.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS


http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html


Depending on your plan, on the application you are using and on the intensity of your usage this can result in an expensive phone / data plan bill. Now just imagine what it might cost if you are roaming outside your country.

However, most applications are rich in features and I personally like to use them. Some without maps even don’t take usage of the data plan and are therefor free if you have a BlackBerry with a normal unlocked GPS reciever (8110, 8310, 8800, 8820). Here are some of my favorite GPS applications:

• Spot • Google Maps Mobile • MobileTracker (no mapping, just recording where I went - read more…)

So take care of what you are using. Hint: it is very easy to track if your BlackBerry is transferring data by checking the top right corner. It will show two arrows (up and down) when data is transferred. So this always means: it

costs you money or at least takes usage of your data or BlackBerry EMail plan.

Summary:1. GPS does not use your data plan. 2. Maps use your data plan.

Bluetooth GPS receivers: Carousel: BlackBerry Compatible Bluetooth GPS Receivers!


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/04/28/carousel-blackberry-compatible-bluetooth-gps-receivers/

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=014406601618691980581%3Alzdkrljvbhs&q=mobiletracker&sa=Search&cof=FORID%3A0

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker.html

http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html



http://www.mobilesoftmarket.com/index.php?cPath=22_45

WiFi for Data Transfer & Calling Cards for IDD Calls = Save Costs

WiFi for Data Transfer & Calling Cards for IDD Calls = Save Costs

Some time ago Jeff wrote:

T-Mobile, meanwhile, is focusing instead on a 9-month-old service called HotSpot@Home, which uses Wi-Fi to carry cellular phone calls inside a house. The service is cheaper but requires customers to buy a HotSpot Wi-Fi-enabled phone such as a BlackBerry Pearl or Curve.

This is defenitely an alternative to save money on phone calls or internet browsing. I am personally using a BlackBerry Curve 8320 which comes with WiFi support as well. First of all, it is convenient as you can have fast internet access at any WiFi area, which is currently at home and at the office. Especially for trying some really really cool BlackBerry software or browsing BlackBerry blogs. This may end up in high costs for data transfer if you are not using the ‘actually’ free WiFi connection.

Additionally, I am using calling cards for making calls to international numbers. You can use them for inland numbers as well, of course! It is really cheap and I save about 80% on IDD calls. Just to make it convenient: Fortunately, I got a reviewing version of BerryDialer at no cost for evaluation purposes. It works pretty well and I can recommend it. I am using it since quite a while now, and it’s a nice peace of softwarre. (Hint: use the 20% discount coupon ‘bbinsight20 to get it′ discounted!) Anyway, the point is: I save costs with calling cards.

Summary:

1. Use WiFi where you to avoid additional costs. 2. Use calling cards to save costs on phone calls.


http://www.berrydialer.com/



http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/11/20/free-application-blackberryinsight-screensaver/

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/27/help-your-phone-feel-at-home/


BlackBerry How To: Transfer Files Between Devices Using Bluetooth (via CIO)

BlackBerry How To: Transfer Files Between Devices Using Bluetooth (via CIO)

Again CIO published a good article about BlackBerry How To: Transfer Files Between Devices Using Bluetooth. Here is a short excerpt:

If you use your Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry’s Bluetooth wireless connectivity, it’s probably to connect to a hands-free headset or ear piece so you can drive or take notes during conversations, or a set of earphones to beam your latest tunes from your device sans wires. But did you know you can transfer files like photos, voice notes and songs from your BlackBerry to other compatible mobile devices using Bluetooth?

The full article can be read here.

Some time ago BlackBerryInsight already wrote some good howtos on transferring files and ringtones to your BlackBerry using Bluetooth:

• How to: Transfer ring tones to your BlackBerry using Bluetooth (Mac OS X) • How to use your BlackBerry to transfer your tasks, notes, appointments and contacts from

Windows to Mac OS X and vice versa


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/12/07/how-to-use-your-blackberry-to-transfer-your-tasks-notes-appointments-and-contacts-from-windows-to-mac-os-x-and-vice-versa/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/12/07/how-to-use-your-blackberry-to-transfer-your-tasks-notes-appointments-and-contacts-from-windows-to-mac-os-x-and-vice-versa/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/09/18/howto-transfer-ring-tones-to-your-blackberry-using-bluetooth-mac-os-x/

http://www.cio.com/article/334513/BlackBerry_How_To_Transfer_Files_Between_Devices_Using_Bluetooth




How to get videos onto your BlackBerry.

How to get videos onto your BlackBerry.

In case you download an already BlackBerry-compatible video somewhere from the internet, it might be zipped into a .zip file. So how do you get it to your BlackBerry?

Just unzip the video .zip package. This can be done mostly with just a double-click. An AVI file will be extracted. Now please connect your BlackBerry to your computer and a new drive letter will be created automatically (which maps to your BlackBerry’s internal SD-Card). Please copy the video onto this SD Card (subdirectory: blackberry/videos) and you are done.

Open your BlackBerry’s media player, select “videos” and you should find your video listed there.

In case you have a video that is not compatible with your BlackBerry yet, you can use the BlackBerry Video Generator to convert it to a format your BlackBerry understands



http://www.mobilesoftmarket.com/index.php?cPath=22_33


How to get Waypoints into your Spot

How to get Waypoints into your Spot

This howto is about getting your favorite waypoint / point of interest / landmark collection into the Spot GPS & mapping application on your BlackBerry® Wireless Handheld.

A “waypoint” is defined as “a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation.” (source wikipedia.org).

In this howto we will cover the import of GPX files into the Spot mapping application. GPX (GPS eXchange format) is the most famous format for exchanging GPS data. So you will be able to visualize your own waypoint along with your current position on a map on your BlackBerry. A very good example for our demonstration will be the Unesco World Heritage which has a lot of places all over the world that are geo-coded. As there is currently not an official GPX file available I downloaded the most recent version in Google’s KML format and converted it to GPX using the free GPSBabel program*.

Technically it is very easy to import those files as Spot supports on the new BlackBerry devices (Pearl, Curve and 8800) file system access. So we can just copy the file to our device. As I am using a BlackBerry Pearl with a 1 GB micro SD-Card I just connect the Pearl to my desktop computer. A “drive” will be created automatically and I copy the .gpx file onto the SD-Card of my Pearl.

Once the .gpx file is copied to the BlackBerry just start Spot and go to “Waypoints - Import GPX (file)”. A file browser will pop up and you can navigate to the directory you copied your .gpx file to. Just select the mentioned GPX file and all containing waypoints will automatically be imported into your Spot’s waypoint database. They will also automatically assigned to a new category which has the same name like your GPX file.

You can now do all operations on these new waypoints (route, show on map, edit, delete, export, etc.). Spot is available for all current BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds and works well with the internal GPS receiver as well as with external Bluetooth GPS receivers. You can get a free demo version here:

Spot for BlackBerry - Free Demo: http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/spot.htmlHave fun!* … That also works with tracklogs created by Skylab’s MobileTracker (which produces KML files as well) by converting them to GPX and importing them into Spot.





http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/03/08/recommended-bluetooth-gps-receivers-for-blackberry-wireless-handhelds/

http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20/002-8509535-5696038?_encoding=UTF8&node=11

http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20/detail/B000NK0ABQ/002-8509535-5696038

http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20/detail/B000R94J6U/002-8509535-5696038

http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20/detail/B000ID10JE/002-8509535-5696038

http://www.gpsbabel.org/

http://whc.unesco.org/p_dynamic/sites/sites_kml.cfm?l=en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPX

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waypoint


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage

How to Zip and Unzip Files on your BlackBerry

How to Zip and Unzip Files on your BlackBerryZipping and unzipping; packing and unpacking files directly on your BlackBerry is not available by default.

There is a quite new application called Ziplorer which fills this gap and brings real zip compatiblity to the BlackBerry. This means:

• Pack several files into one single .zip file. • Unpack any .zip file no matter it has one file, more files or

even a directory structure in it.

Simply install Ziplorer on your BlackBerry and start it. It is easy to use if you figured out that you need to press the Berry-Button (Menu) and select “Enter Dir” to go into a directory.

So how would you proceed if someone sends you a zip file via email? Here it is:

1. Take a look at the email you received and save the zip file to your BlackBerry. 2. Open Ziplorer. 3. Navigate to the directory you saved the zip file to. 4. Select the zip file (so it is marked). 5. Open the menu with the “Berry-Button” and select “Unzip”. 6. Now select the location (only version 2.0) and confirm. Before version 2.0 the file was

automatically saved to your user’s home directory. Now you got the files from the zip file in the directory you upacked them to. This is pretty easy, huh? Get Ziplorer at: MobileSoftMarket



http://www.s4bb.com/software/ziplorer/


How to Remove BlackBerry’s IT Policy


WARNING!Follow these instructions only if you know what you are doing.These instructions can actually downgrade certain BlackBerry’s abilities (i.e. permanent loss of support for Bluetooth keyboards) if your BlackBerry actually does not already have an IT policy installed. These instructions are meant as a last resort to regain BlackBerry capabilities, in the event your BlackBerry is encumbered by a restrictive leftover IT policy after removal from a BES. (i.e. eBay purchased BlackBerry)

This is a How-To for removing IT policy from your BB. In essence, what this does is apply a blank IT policy to the device. The blank IT policy does, unfortunatly, leave some IT policy firewalls in place, however. For instance “keystroke injection” is set by default to “deny” on most IT policies. This blank policy won’t give back “allow” for this feature. This becomes a problem if you desire to use a Bluetooth keyboard. You’ll be unable to use the keyboard. If a way is found to get this back then I’ll edit this post accordingly. A quick check to see if your BB is under IT policy can be done by going to Options/Security on your Device. If you see any references to IT Policy whatsoever, then you have a potentially restrictive IT Policy that can be removed.

The Disclaimer/Intended Use.

This guide is intended for use by people that own their own Blackberry, and for whatever reason, have inherited a company’s IT policy on their device. Really, there are two scenarios where this guide is useful. You bought a Blackberry on eBay and are unable to make changes to the settings or install Third Party Applications. You have a Blackberry that was previously connected to a company’s BES and, for whatever reason, you no longer intend to connect to that BES.

Procedure: • Step 1

Ensure the Blackberry Desktop Manager is installed using Blackberry Internet Service, and not Blackberry Enterprise Server. If you are unsure, it would probably be a good idea to




uninstall the Desktop Manager and start again.If you don’t have the CD that came with your Blackberry, the Software can be downloaded here.

• Step 2Download the file policy.bin and save it in your Blackberry installation directory (C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry).

• Step 3Wipe your Blackberry, creating a backup if necessary. Select Options/Security/Wipe on the Device.If this option is unavailable, you may have to install the latest software on your Blackberry. You need to Download and install the latest OS for your device. Connect your device, open the Desktop Manager, select Application Loader, and follow the prompts.

• Step 4Close the Desktop Manager if it is open.

• Step 5From the Windows XP Start Menu select Run…, and at the prompt type regedit. In the tree on the left hand side, navigate to: HKEY_Current_Users\Software\Research In Motion\BlackBerry\PolicyManager Right-Click the Policy Manager Folder and select New/String Value. Name the value Path. Now, Double-Click the Path Subkey and set Value Data to:C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry\policy.bin

• Step 6Open the Desktop Manager.

• Step 7Connect the Device.Verification Once complete, the Options/Security screen on your Blackberry should not contain references to an IT Policy, you should now be able to change all settings (including password prompts), and install Third Party Applications.

Someone personally wrote this policy so that there would be no question as to what it does to your device. Here is the code included in the Policy.bin above: (If you have comments or questions or you see something that should be changed, please contact me in this thread or via PM.)

Note: After finishing placing this blank policy to the restricted BlackBerry I recommend removing the policy.bin and the registry entry you added. Basically go back and undo what you did. If you don’t then you risk plugging in a BB with NO policy and adding this blank policy to it as well.

; This setting controls whether or not Desktop add-ins are permitted.; When set to false, no desktop add-in code will be executed.AllowDesktopAddIns {policy} = true

; Indicates whether or not the desktop software will allow the user to switch devices.




AllowDeviceSwitch {policy} = true;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Synchronization;; Synchronize for PIM,Email and Folder Management defaults.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like PIM; information to be synchronized when the user selects the Synchronize Now; button from the Intellisync dialog.SynchronizeNowPIM = true

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like Email; information to be synchronized when the user selects the Synchronize Now; button from the Intellisync dialog.SynchronizeNowEmail = true

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like the date and; time to be synchronized when the user selects the Synchronize Now button from; the Intellisync dialog.SynchronizeNowDateTime = true

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like PIM; information to be to be automatically synchronized when the handheld; is connected to the PC.AutoSynchronizePIM = false

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like Email; information to be to be automatically synchronized when the handheld; is connected to the PC.AutoSynchronizeEmail = false

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like Date and Time; information to be to be automatically synchronized when the handheld; is connected to the PC.AutoSynchronizeDateTime = false

; This setting allows you to specify whether or not you would like to synchronize; folders instead of performing an import.SyncFoldersInsteadOfImport = true

; This setting allows you to specify how information conflicts between the handheld; and the PC encountered during synchronization are handled. If set to true, desktop; information is used. If set to false, handheld information is used.FolderConflictDesktopWins = true




; This setting allows the enabling or disabling of wireless email reconcilation.AllowWirelessEmailSynchronization = true

; This setting allows the wireless calendar synchronization functionality to be disabled.DisableWirelessCalendar = false

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Redirector Settings;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

; Append signature on out going messagesAutoSignature = —————–\Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.

; Forwards messages to the handheldForwardMessagesToHandheld = true

; Allows user’s to receive mail when handheld is connected to cradleForwardMessagesInCradle = true

; Setup filter rules for email redirectionFilterRuleFile = c:\myfilters.rfi; When filter rules don’t apply, forward or don’t send messagesForwardWhenRulesDontApply = true

; When sending a message from handheld, don’t save a copy in my ‘Sent Items’ folderDontSaveSentMessages = false

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Backup/Restore Configuration;;;; These value control the setting in “Backup and Restore Options” dialog;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

; This value control the value of the “Automatically backup my handheld” setting; in the options dialog, which is enables or disables prompted Automatic Backups.AutoBackupEnabled = true




; This value indicates how often an AutoBackup is performed in days.AutoBackupFrequency = 7

; This setting controls the exclusion of Email and synchronized data from the; automatic backup. If set to true, the “Backup all handheld application data”; radio button is selected.AutoBackupIncludeAll = true

; This setting allows control over whether email is excluded from automatic backups; (when AutoBackupIncludeAll is false).AutoBackupExcludeEmail = false

; This setting allows control over whether synchronized application data is excluded; from automatic backups (when AutoBackupIncludeAll is false). “Synchronized data” is; that data which is configured for synchronization with Intellisync; this varies; according to the user’s preferences.AutoBackupExcludeSync = false

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; WebLink Configuration;;;; These values control the appearance and behaviour of the WebLink extension.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

; Setting this value to false prevents the WebLink icon from being displayed.ShowWebLink = true

; This setting specifies the URL that will be used when the WebLink; icon is activated.WebLinkURL = www.your_network_here.com/go/downloads

; This setting controls the label that is displayed for the WebLink icon.WebLinkLabel = Downloads;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Device Security Settings;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Determine if the password is required on devicePasswordRequired {policy} = false

; Determine if the user can disable the passwordUserCanDisablePassword {policy} = true




; Minimum length of the password.; Valid range is 1 to 12 characters, inclusive.;; This value indicates the minimum length of an acceptable device; security password.MinPasswordLength {policy} = 1

; Password Pattern Checks; Valid range is 0 or 1 at this time; 0 -> no checks; 1 -> ensure password has at least on letter and one digitPasswordPatternChecks {policy} = 0

; Suppress Password Echo;; Option to disable password echo after x numbers of fail attempts to unlock handheld.; false -> Disable; true -> Enable;SuppressPasswordEcho {policy} = false; Maximum device security timeout.; Valid range is 1 to 60 minutes, inclusive.;; The handheld user is permitted to select any security timeout value; less than this value.MaxSecurityTimeout {policy} = 60; Password Timeout; Valid range is 0 to 60 minutes, inclusive.;; Set the effective password timeout on handheld. This value must be; less than that of the MaxSecurityTimeout.SetPasswordTimeout {policy} = 0;; If set, forces the device to the lock screen when it is holsteredForceLockWhenHolstered {policy} = false; Determine if the user can change the timeoutUserCanChangeTimeout {policy} = TRUE; Password aging.; Valid range is 0 to 365.;; Specifying a value of 0 indicates password aging is disabled. Other; values specify the maximum age of the password before the handheld




; user is prompted to change it.MaxPasswordAgeInDays {policy} = 0; Password History; Valid range is 0 to 15;; Specify the number of passwords to retain for checking. Passwords in password history cannot be used when; setting a new handheld password.;MaximumPasswordHistory {policy} = 0; Maximum Password Attempts; Valid range is 3 to 10;; Set the maximum number of password attempts on handheld.;SetMaximumPasswordAttempts {policy} = 10; Indicate if Long Term Security Timeout is enabled/disabled;; If true, handheld long term timeout is enabled; If false, handheld long term timeout is disabled.LongTermTimeoutEnable {policy} = false; Attachment Viewing;; Controls the ability to view email attachments on the handheld.; If set to true then users can view attachments on the handheldAllowAttachmentViewing {policy} = true; Policies that control the behaviour of third party applications; on Java-based handhelds.AllowThirdPartyUseSerialPort {policy} = trueAllowExternalConnections {policy} = trueAllowInternalConnections {policy} = trueAllowSplitPipeConnections {policy} = trueDisallowThirdPartyAppDownloads {policy} = false

; Policies that control the behaviour of the handheld Browser application;; DefaultBrowserConfigUID {default} = “BlackBerry Browser”; MDSBrowserTitle {default} = “YourCompany Intranet”; HomepageAddress {default} = www.your_network_here.com; HomepageAddressReadOnly {policy} = true; EnableWAPConfig {policy} = false;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Policies that apply to the TLS protocol.




;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; TLS Disable Invalid Connection; Disallow users to connect to a server with an invalid certificate (i.e revoked, expired, etc ).; Value: 0=true,1=false,2=prompt on deviceTLSDisableInvalidConnection {policy} = 1

; TLS Disable Untrusted Connection; Prevent TLS connections to untrusted servers.; Values: 0=true,1=false,2=prompt on deviceTLSDisableUntrustedConnection {policy} = 2

; TLS Disable Weak Ciphers; Disable use of weak ciphers during a TLS connection.; Values: 0=true,1=false,2=prompt on deviceTLSDisableWeakCiphers {policy} = 2

; TLS Minimum Strong DH Key Length,; Valid range 512 to 4096TLSMinimumStrongDHKeyLength {policy} = 1024

; TLS Minimum Strong ECC Key Length; Valid range 160 to 571TLSMinimumStrongECCKeyLength {policy} = 163; TLS Minimum Strong RSA Key Length; Valid range 512 to 4096TLSMinimumStrongRSAKeyLength {policy} = 1024; Disable the use of any cipher that is not FIPS compliant.TLSRestrictFIPSCiphers {policy} = false; TLS Minimum Strong DSA Key Length;; Set the minimum DSA key size allowed for use during a TLS connection.; Range: 512 - 1024 bits in 64 bit incrementsTLSMinimumStrongDSAKeyLength {policy} = 1024;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Messaging Settings.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Indicate if PIN to PIN messaging is permitted.;; If true, handheld users are permitted to use the PIN to PIN messaging; feature. If false, this capability is hidden from the handheld user.AllowPINtoPIN {policy} = true




; Indicate if the specification of BCC recipients is permitted.;; If true, handheld users can specify BCC recipients when composing messages.; If false, this capability is unavailable to handheld users.AllowBCCRecipients {policy} = true; Indicate if SMS messaging is permitted.;; If true, handheld users are permitted to send SMS messages.; If false, this capability is unavailable to handheld users.AllowSMS {policy} = true; Indicate if the RIM phone application can be used on the handheld.;; If true, handheld users are permitted to use the handheld’s phone.; If false, users are not permitted to use the handheld’s phone.AllowPhone {policy} = true; Indicate if the RIM web browser can be used on the handheld.;; If true, handheld users are permitted to use the handheld’s web browser.; If false, users are not permitted to use the handheld’s web browser.AllowBrowser {policy} = true; Indicate if other email services are permitted on the handheld.;; If false, no other email service books (other than the Enterprise; edition one) are permitted on the handheld. Any other existing email; service books are removed when the policy is installed; while the; policy is in effect, other email service books will be rejected by the; device. This forces all outbound email to be routed through the; organization’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server.;; If true, no restrictions are applied to email service books.AllowOtherEmailServices {policy} = true; Indicate if other browser transport services are permitted on the handheld.;; If false, no other browser transport service books (other than the; Enterprise edition one) are permitted on the handheld. In this case,; any other existing browser transport service books are removed when the; policy is installed; while the policy is in effect, other browser transport; service books will be rejected by the device. This forces all browser; traffic to be routed through the organization’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server.;; If true, no restrictions are applied to browser transport service books.AllowOtherBrowserServices {policy} = true;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;




;; Owner Information;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Owner Name - if value = ‘*’ use the registry settingOwnerName {default} = Research In Motion Ltd.; Owner Info - if value = ‘*’ use the registry settingOwnerInfo {default} = This BB has Blank IT policy on it written by k from www.blackberryinsight.com;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Other Info;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;



How to use MobileTracker without SD Card

How to use MobileTracker without SD Card

Some time ago we were the first site that reported about the - at this time - revolutionary application MobileTracker from Skylab Mobilesystems Ltd. for recording GPS tracklogs in the famous KML/KMZ and GPX format. Since then the application has experienced several updates including photo tagging and kmz tracklog generation. It is now also available for Windows Mobile PocketPC and Smartphone mobile devices.

The last version 1.4.0 of MobileTracker for BlackBerry added a small and inconspicuous feature which no one would really mention. You can adjust the directory where you want to put the tracked tracklog file to. This seems to be quite normal to all of us, but it basically opens the application to a lot of older BlackBerry devices like the BlackBerry 8700 and 7130 series! If those device are running BlackBerry OS 4.2 (if not: check out the howto upgrade your BlackBerry OS) you can use MobileTracker as well. But the MobileTracker for BlackBerry site just states: “Designed for: 8100, 8120, 8130, 8300, 8320, 8310, 8800, 8820, 8830.”

Finally, here is how it works: As you do not have an installed SD-Card in your BlackBerry 8700 or 7130 (those device do not come with a SD-Card slot) you need to store the tracklog file in your BlackBerry’s internal memory. This memory is quite limited, so please be careful and do not store too big files. It might slow down your system if you do. Anyway, to do so please proceed as followed.

• Open MobileTracker. • Open the menu. • Select Options. • Go to the Directory field. • You should find the “/SDCard/blackberry/” in there. • Replace it with “/store/home/user/”. • Select Save & Close and start tracking.

Now, all further tracked tracklogs will be stored in tracklog files within the “/store/home/user/” directory. You can of course select another directory here, but you must make sure that the directory already exists!

You can get a license of MobileTracker for BlackBerry at: MobileTracker for BlackBerry ($24)The Windows Mobile version is available at: MobileTracker for Windows Mobile ($24)More BlackBerry software can be found in our BlackBerryInsight Software Store.



http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker_windows_mobile.html#download

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker_blackberry.html#download



http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker_windows_mobile.html

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker_windows_mobile.html

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/10/16/mobiletracker-140-coming-this-week/

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/

http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/mobiletracker.html

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/05/18/software-review-mobiletracker-for-blackberry-8800-and-blackberry-8830/


How to DNS lookup an IP address’ hostname with your BlackBerry

How to DNS lookup an IP address’ hostname with your BlackBerry

Especially if you are using Wi-Fi powered BlackBerry devices this is very useful. Sometimes one just wants to check out which IP address is behind a hostname. The basic method of “looking up” an hostname is one of the first steps you would do on your desktop computer. All WiFi powere BlackBerry devices like the 8320 Curve, 8820 and 8120 Pearl come with such a feature directly built-in into your BlackBerry OS! That is really convenient!

So here is the step-by-step howto:• Go to your Home Screen. • Select Options. • Go to Wi-Fi Connections. • Open the menu. • Select Wi-Fi Diagnostics. • Open the menu. • Select DNS Lookup. • Scroll down. • Enter an ip address. • Open the menu. • Select Lookup Host.

You will see the results below. Have fun!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS_lookup


How to freely choose your “From” Email Address on your BlackBerry

How to freely choose your “From” Email Address on your BlackBerryThis works for users of the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS).

Ever wanted to change your mail address from [email protected] to [email protected] ?

Most providers will give you an ugly blackberry.net subdomain email address with your BIS account which is not intended to be changed.

Here is a workaround hack to change this into your favorite mail address or even a fake address:

1. As a BIS allows you to collect mail from a POP-Account, you first create a dummy pop-account with your provider or any freemail provider that provides it.

2. Add this pop-account to your BIS user admin panel, so it will be collected from the BIS. 3. In the advanced POP-Settings you can change the email-address associated with the POP-

account. This email-address will appear in the FROM-Field of an outgoing mail, but is never checked to be actually related to the POP-account. So any address will do. However, you probably want to make sure that you can receive mail with this address which might get forwarded to your BlackBerry.



Crack your BlackBerry

Crack your BlackBerryOr should it be called CrackBerry?On CNet just came a nice photo tour on how to cracking open the BlackBerry. Here just the first and last image of this tour:


http://www.news.com/2300-1040_3-6230493-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg


How to transfer files to your BlackBerry (Windows)

How to transfer files to your BlackBerry (Windows)Transferring files to your BlackBerry is pretty easy.

There are currently several ways of doing this conveniently:

1. Copy files using the Windows Explorer 2. Copy files using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager / Roxio Media Manager 3. Copy files to your Micro-SD-Card 4. Receive files by EMail

1. Copy files using the Windows ExplorerThis is my favorite method. It is easy, very fast to setup and you get a direct feedback. The disadvantage is: You can copy a file just to the Micro-SD-Card that has been already installed on your BlackBerry. To do so, please proceed as followed:

• Connect your BlackBerry to your computer via USB. • A new drive will appear. • Navigate to the BlackBerry directory at the new device. • Copy your file to that directory.

• If you have a special file you want to copy please select the appropriate subdirectory:

• Music: MP3 music files. • Pictures: PNG or JPG picture files. • Ringtones: MP3 ring tone files to be used within BlackBerry applications e.g. for

Alarm. • System: Not to be used by user (which would be you). • Videos: Video files for the BlackBerry’s video player.

• Perform a right click on the device and select Eject.

2. Copy files using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager / Roxio Media ManagerActually, I don’t like the Roxio Media Manager at all. The program comes with too much overhead and is not that easy to handle. Anyway, it is rich in features and you can nearly everything with it (except making a good coffee).


http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/mediamanager.jsp

http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=11




The media manager automatically recognizes a BlackBerry that is connected to your computer. You can pretty easy just drag and drop a file from your local desktop computer (upper area) to the BlackBerry (lower area).

3. Copy files to your Micro-SD-CardCopying files to the SD-Card directly is the most complecated and slowest way to get files onto your BlackBerry. Anyway, just to give you an imagination on how that works please proceed as followed:

• Switch off your BlackBerry. • Remove your battery. • Pull off your microSD card. • Put your microSD card into a microSD-to-SD card adapter. • Put the SD card adapter (with the microSD card in it) into your SD card reader of your

computer. • A new drive should be created automatically. • Copy files to the SD card (like described in option 1). • Eject and remove the SD card from your computer. • Put the card back to your BlackBerry as well as the battery. • Wait for the BlackBerry to be booted.

4. Receive files by EMailYou can easily receive files that are attached to an email. Of course, you will need a BlackBerry plan for this and it will deduct traffic allowance from your plan. However, the procedure is really easy:

• Open Compose EMail in your favorite EMail client on your desktop computer. • Attach the file you want to send to your email. • Click Send and take a look at your BlackBerry. • Select the received EMail and open it for reading. Click the Attachment button and select

Save Attachment. • Select a directory and a file name, and you’re done.

These are all methods I know about where a BlackBerry user can achieve all steps. There might be







other methods like uploading a file to a webserver and downloading the file to your BlackBerry. However, this is kind of complicated and you need to have access to the web server where you want to upload and later download your file. Therefore, I skipped this.



How to switch (to) the BlackBerry device


I recently upgraded my old BlackBerry Pearl to a new BlackBerry Curve 8320. The problem you are always encountering is: how do I transfer my data from my old BlackBerry to my new one? Well, you could technically just do create a backup and then restore it on your new device.

However, as the new BlackBerry Desktop Manager that came along with the Curve, has is a new option called “Switch Device Wizard”. So I thought it might be an good idea to use it. I mean, that thing seems to be built exactly for the above mentioned reason. I guess, it internally does exactly the same like the “backup & restore” procedure you could do “manually” as well.

The “Switch Device Wizard” is easy to find. Please make sure, your old device is connected to the computer and the BlackBerry Device Manager recognized it already.

After you have started the wizard, you can now select whether to switch from an old to a new BlackBerry device (what I did) or from another mobile device (e.g. iPAQ, Palm, etc.) to a BlackBerry.

Now you can select all data that should be transferred. Of course, this screen looks different if you are switching from a Palm for example (applications cannot be transferred due to the fact that Palm is running Palm OS or Windows Mobile on their devices; and BlackBerry is running BlackBerry OS which are kind of incompatible for applications). Anyway, I selected everything, because it is good to get all my old stuff (contacts, tasks, calendar events, applications, emails, SMS, pin


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/01/22/easy-blackberry-backup/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/01/16/hong-kong-csl-dropped-prices-for-new-blackberry-8120-8310-8320-and-8820/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/01/22/first-blackberry-pearl-crash-after-a-year/



messages, photos, etc.) to my new BlackBerry. It seems it is not possible to copy MP3 and video files with this wizard.

After confirming this you might need to wait a while. Depending on the amount of data you have on your device, this might take quite a long time. Please ensure you do not disconnect your BlackBerry from your computer or switch the computer off. You will have to restart the process if you perform one of those actions

After some time, all data has been copied from your old BlackBerry to your desktop computer.

Now it is save to disconnect your old BlackBerry from your computer and connect the new one. By the way: the most reliable and fast connection would be USB in this case.

You can now also select to automatically activate/register your BlackBerry at your BES server or not. If you are not on a BES (e.g. you are on BIS) the second option would be the better choice.

It looks like system recognized all application I have had installed on my old device before. That’s nice.




Reloading the data onto the new device might take a while as well. Patience is needed here.

It looks like this went pretty well. No errors, no nothing, just easy going!

But stop! It wasn’t that easy as it looked. I began using my BlackBerry and encountered that my BIS setup was gone. I mean the new setup on my new device (which came with a new contract, new telefone number, new PIN, new email address, etc.). I used the new BlackBerry Curve before I decided to transfer the data from my old. So the problem was, that the device switch procedure deleted some stuff on my new Curve that was working already. I have listed it below:

• BIS email settings • BIS email service book entries • All SMS • All EMails

This was not good! It should not happen! I discovered it when I tried to write an email as the following message poped up:

“No message services configured. You will only be able to Save Draft.”

I was a bit confused as it was working one day before. After google-ing a bit, I figured out that my service book entries were gone - as well as all the stuff mentioned above. However, the service book entries could be restored. I looged in to the web access of the BIS where my new BlackBerry is registered.




There found this small but helpful button called “Send Service Books”:

That did the trick. After I sent the service book entries again, the BlackBerry got a message for registering my device at the system. Everything is back working fine.



Howto use BerryDialer to save a lot of money on voice calls (especially IDDcalls)

Howto use BerryDialer to save a lot of money on voice calls (especially IDD calls)

To use BerryDialer you need to install the device on your device.

Here is a good howto on how to install applications on your BlackBerry:http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/12/28/installing-3rd-party-applications-2/

After you installed the application successfully, please perform a reboot of your device.

There is a quite good howto online: http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/04/22/howto-reboot-your-blackberry/

Now you need to setup a calling card within BerryDialer. Therefor, click onto the Icon of BerryDialer, select “Add” and enter your calling card there. Confirm everything and exit this screen.

For calling a contact using a calling please select the contact in your address book and click “BerryDialer Call” in the address book’s menu. You can now select one of the calling cards you have set up in BerryDialer’s administration screen (described above). Your contact will then be called using the calling card you selected, and you are going to save a lot of money on voice calls

More interesting BlackBerry software can be found at our BlackBerryInsight Software Store!







BlackBerry Install Error: No additional applications designed for your devicefound!

BlackBerry Install Error: No additional applications designed for your device found!

The screen shot above might be familiar to you if you have a new device (e.g. a new Curve, Pearl or 88xx) and want to install a third party application. Well, I know the application works on my device because I saw it on the same model already. An OTA download URL would work to install this application but I don’t want OTA as I got the BlackBerry Desktop Software here. That’s what the software is for: installing application (and other stuff as well of course).The version of the desktop software seems to be quite new:

Anyway, I figured out that there is a new version available from my provider (HK CSL) already. So I


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/01/16/hong-kong-csl-dropped-prices-for-new-blackberry-8120-8310-8320-and-8820/



BlackBerry Install Error: No additional applications designed for your devicefound!

downloaded the most recent version of the BlackBerry Desktop Software (which has version 4.3 now) and the installation works fine. A list of a lot of providers that have customized BlackBerry software can be found here: The BlackBerry provider software download list.

So this is how to solve this issue. It has been mentioned alread at the complete howto for installing third party applications to a BlackBerry device: Install Applications (Windows).





How to put a full-blown Windows Desktop Environment on your BlackBerry


All recent BlackBerry models feature a MicroSD Card Slot which appears as a normal “USB Mass Storage Device” when connected to a desktop computer via USB. Most people use this only for some MP3 files and nothing else. But there are a lot more useful options! I will show you how to use it to have a customized full-blown Windows Desktop Environment in your pocket. Secure and free!

I first recommenced to create an encrypted container on your BlackBerry MicroSD card. Using the free software TrueCrypt you can create a secure container which can be used as a standard drive on windows (and other OS’s) which even the CIA can’t hack. The BlackBerry already features SD-Card encryption but there are several advantages using TryeCrypt anyway:

• An additional layer of security • Fast and easy backup - as you only have to copy the encrypted container (which is one file)

to make a backup instead of copying individual files • You can choose the drive-letter of your encrypted volume via TrueCrypt - while the assigned

driveletter of your BlackBerry might vary on different machines. •

With the availability of 8GB MicroSD cards and 16GB cards to come you get a lot of storage space on your BlackBerry. The free Windows application MojoPac features a fast and easy user/application-based virtualization solution for Windows XP (a Vista version is on the way). You can now install MojoPac on your virtual encrypted volume. It will generate a virtual windows user-environment for you without changing anything on your original windows installation. All applications / customization you do within this virtual environment can be used on any other Windows system. So you can install applications like Mircosoft Office etc. on it. Instead of having to carry your Notebook everywhere, you just have to plug-in your BlackBerry to any computer, mount your encrypted volume, start MojoPac and you can use your personalized computing environment. Even if you do not use this permanently it is a good way to have an emergency computing environment at hand.

Step by Step Guide:

1. Get a big MicroSD card if you do not have on already. 2. Connect your BlackBerry to your Desktop Computer via USB (enable mass-storage mode). 3. Download and install TrueCrypt


http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads.php

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSandisk-MicroSDHC-MobileMate-SDSDQR-8192-E11M-Package%2Fdp%2FB000WH6H1M%2F&tag=s4bbltd-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

http://www.mojopac.com/portal/content/hellomojo.jsp

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/natelanxon/0,139102300,49294953,00.htm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSandisk-MicroSDHC-MobileMate-SDSDQR-8192-E11M-Package%2Fdp%2FB000WH6H1M%2F&tag=s4bbltd-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

http://www.truecrypt.org/



4. Create a TrueCrypt Volume on your MiroSD Card:

Select a file location and name on your MicroSD Card.




We recommence to use the default AES encryption. You can however adapt it to your needs - see TrueCrypt doc for details.

If you plan to install big applications like MS Office on your virtual environment I would recommence to make the virtual container as big as possible. e.g. 6GB if you have a 8GB card - then there is still 2GB for MP3 files and other stuff.




Choose a good and long password as the best encryption cant help you if somebody (or a computer) can guess your password.

I would recommence to change the default Filesystem from FAT to NTFS.




After you have created your secured container you can now “mount” it and assign any free drive letter for the virtual drive.

5. Download MojoPac and install it on the new virtual drive. 6. Configure your “Mojo” as you like. That’s it - you have now your own personal Windows

Environment secure on your BlackBerry!


http://www.mojopac.com/portal/content/products/index.jsp


BlackBerry Contracts in Hong Kong S.A.R.


Introduction

I just did some research on BlackBerry contracts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong S.A.R.). I guess there might be some of you who would like to know more about this topic. Even if you are not from Hong Kong you might be interested in contracts for BlackBerry devices and plans somewhere else. It often gives you an overview of the prices out there. Anyway, as I was personally interested in this topic, I thought it might be a nice step to share this information with you.

First of all, my preferences:

It would be great to have one the recent BlackBerry devices with the newest technologies. Therefor, a BlackBerry should:

• have a built-in GPS receiver • support Wi-Fi • support GSM (as Hong Kong’s networks are GSM powered) • have a camera • have a microSD slot

Devices

Unfortunately, there is no BlackBerry with all those features available by now. The most interesting ones in Hong Kong are:

Name Features Price

BlackBerry 8820 GPS, Wi-Fi, GSM, microSD HK$ 4288 (~ US$ 549)

BlackBerry 8310 GPS, GSM, microSD, camera HK$ 4188 (~ US$ 536)

The great thing in Hong Kong is: If you are signing a contract at a provider like 1010 HK CSL you will get the price of the device credited to your monthly bill. E.g. you buy an 8820 for HK$ 4288. You just pay this sum at the day of purchase. Every month you get a bill (according to your contract) and you will get 1/10 of the purchase price credited to it. This would be HK$ 428.80 every month.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/05/18/blackberry-and-gps/



You will get this for ten months which result in a free device after all.

Contracts and Charges

1010 HK CSL has two essential plans for individuals:• 1010 + BlackBerry for Individuals: Monthly Plan • 1010 + BlackBerry for Individuals: Traveller Monthly Plan

The traveller plan is a bit more expensive than the normal monthly plan but includes free roaming in an area of your choice. So for example, if you are travelling a lot in Asia, you can enjoy free BlackBerry service roaming in Australia, China (PRC), India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. There is also a special China Traveller Plan which provides only free roaming in China Mainland.

Both (normal and traveller) plans are available as 5 MB and 50 MB packages. You can find an overview on this below:

PlanBlackBerry Local EMail Usage

World Roaming

Thereafter Charges

Price

Normal Monthly Plan

2 MB - HK$ 0.03 / KBHK$ 198 / Month (~ US$ 25)

Normal Monthly Plan


Normal Monthly Plan


Traveller Monthly Plan

5 MB 2 MB HK$ 0.03 / KBHK$ 498 / Month (~ US$ 64)

Traveller Monthly Plan


China Traveller Plan


If you are on any of those plans and you are travelling out of your “free roaming area” (e.g. you don’t have the traveller plan or you are not in the area your traveller plan uses the world roaming includes) you have to pay charges depending on the provider you are roamed into. in Germany for example you would pay something between HK$ 0.12 (O2 Germany) and HK$ 0.30 (Vodafone) with different minimum charge units. However, it seems to be still quite cheap.

Data Plans

While all mentioned rates above are just for the BlackBerry email service you can also get normal data usage plans. If you want to surf the web or use third party applications that connect to





internet services, you might need one of those plans. An overview on this can be found below:Plan Included Usage Price

No Plan - HK$ 0.03 / KB

68/10 10 MB HK$ 68 / Month (~ US$ 8.72)

138/60 60 MB HK$ 138 / Month (~ US$ 17.69)

Unlimited Unlimited HK$ 538 / Month (~ US$ 68.97)There is also a traveller package for data usage which would cost HK$ 338 per month including 15 MB of traffic if you decide to travel into a certain region (e.g. Asia like mentioned above). All charges thereafter - no matter which data usage plan you are on - cost the usual HK$ 0.03 per KB.We hope you are now a bit more informed in what is available for individual BlackBerry users in Hong Kong. Please keep in mind that all of those charges, plans, devices, fees, and information are just from one provider (1010 HK CSL). There are more providers available like SmartoneVodafone and Hutchison.

Links: • 1010 HK CSL • 1010 HK CSL BlackBerry Site • Smartone Vodafone • Hutchison / 3 • A BlackBerry Guide for Hong Kong


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/07/14/a-blackberry-guide-for-hong-kong/

http://www.three.com.hk/website/pagelet/homepage/index.jsp

http://www.smartone-vodafone.com/jsp/business/mobile_email/blackberry/english/index.jsp

http://1010.hkcsl.com/jsp/mobile_email_and_messaging/blackberry_service/overview.jsp

http://www.csl1010.com/


Howto use your BlackBerry as an emergency flashlight tool

Howto use your BlackBerry as an emergency flashlight toolTechnically this is pretty easy. As the BlackBerry Pearl (this example) comes with a bright screen - like all BlackBerry devices - you can also use it as a flash light.

There are a bunch of flashlight / torch applications out there and you can choose one of them. I guess there is no big difference. The really cool thing is, you can use your BlackBerry’s convenience key to link a key directly to your flashlight application. Lern more on your convenience / soft key setting HERE.

I am using for this:• BlackBerry Pearl 8100 • Flashlight Pro •

So if I am in the dark and am looking for the lock to put my key in - I just click the softkey on my BlackBerry, the flashlight switches on, and I can see what I am doing! Easy, huh?


http://www.mobilesoftmarket.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=104

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/09/03/how-to-use-blackberrys-softkeys-to-become-more-productive/



How to use your BlackBerry to transfer your tasks, notes, appointments andcontacts from Windows to Mac OS X and vice versa

How to use your BlackBerry to transfer your tasks, notes, appointments and contacts from Windows to Mac OS X and vice versa

You can use your BlackBerry for everything!We already wrote a lot articles about the BlackBerry and the internal task database, contacts and notes. Those are very useful abilities the BlackBerry is offering and they help us to keep our life organized (in some way). It is also possible to synchronize our data with our desktop computer or enterprise environment (Microsoft Ecxhange, Novell Groupwise, Lotus Notes, etc.) to get access to our items on our computer as well. Or even to share them. Anyway, today we will show you how to use your BlackBerry to transfer your data from e.g. a PC to a Mac. (For proofing that I know what I am talking about: In July I switched over from my Windows XP desktop PC to a Mac OS X powered MacBook. The BlackBerry was a huge help!)

As the BlackBerry is able to synchronize those data with a Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista PC and a Mac OS X computer transferring data is pretty easy.

1. Get all your data to your BlackBerry

Remember, we are talking about Microsoft to Mac OS synchronization. Therefor, just connect your BlackBerry (e.g. via USB) to your Windows machine and setup the synchronization like described in the article How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Microsoft Windows). After this is done, all of your confidential data should be on your BlackBerry.

2. Import the data from your BlackBerry

Importing the data to your Mac is also easy going. Just connect your BlackBerry to your Mac and setup the data configuration like described at the article How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Mac OS X).Please make sure all data will be synchronized. If there appears any conflict during the synchronization you can manually solve it. Please do also keep in mind that some Mac applications do not come with all features like Microsoft Outlook for example. E.g. iCal does not support recurring tasks. (I didn’t check Leopard yet, but it was not available in Tiger)

After you finished those two tasks you should be done. This also works vice versa for transferring data from a Mac to a Windows PC. Easy, huh?





http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/05/13/implementing-getting-things-done-with-your-blackberry/


How to secure your BlackBerry


The BlackBerry is mostly a device that carries a lot of confidential information. So we do not anyone else to get access to that information. If I imagine that my BlackBerry is lost or stolen and everyone can just access my address book and grab Mike’s private phone number… You know what I mean.

It is crutial to our business to protect our data!Below we will mention some procedures and methods to take care of your data and protect it from unauthorized access.

1. Device Password

The first and most easiest way is to protect your BlackBerry is to enter a password for switching the BlackBerry on. Most of the time you will not need to enter this password as your BlackBerry is supposed to be “always on, always connected”. You can see a screenshot below on how to to so. You can set this up at “Options » Security Options » General Settings”.

2. Wipe Confidential Information In CaseThis, of course, requires that you are doing backups of your BlackBerry regularily!So if you come into a situation where your BlackBerry might go into hands you don’t want to get access to your confidential data you can just wipe out confidential information like tasks, contacts and calendar events. EmergencyWipe offer an easy and fast way to do so. It is always recommended

to have this ability.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lazaridis




3. Content Encryption

The BlackBerry has advanced features to protect your confidential data. They are just deactivated by default. You enable the BlackBerry’s internal content encryption and so assure that your data is not saved in raw text on a device. Saving raw data on the device’s memory makes it very easy for crackers to read it once they obtained possession of your BlackBerry. You can set this up at “Options » Security Options » General Settings”:

4. Password Encryption

There is an already built-in password encryption / storage on your BlackBerry’s desktop called “Password Keeper”. It is a safe way to store passwords on your BlackBerry. You can only access this password store using a password you have set before. This is more secure way to store passwords than using MemoPad or EMails in your mailbox.

This is secure enough to store some passwords may be coded to a credit / atm card on the device. I would not write complete login data in there as it is always a good idea to be prepared if someone finally cracks the store.

5. SD-Card / Media Card Encryption

If you have installed a media card in your BlackBerry you might have also stored some data on it. In most cases your data is not that confidential as on the BlackBerry’s internal memory. Anyway, I don’t want other people to get access to the photos I took or the tracklogs I recorded (remember: those carry the locations where you went to). Alternatively, you can enable the encryption mode for your BlackBerry’s internal SD card to protect your data. This activation can be done at: “Options » Advanced Options » Media Card”. A screenshot of that settings screen can be found on the next page.






How to transfer ring tones to your BlackBerry using Bluetooth (Mac OS X)

How to transfer ring tones to your BlackBerry using Bluetooth (Mac OS X)

1. Open “Media” Application on your Blackberry. 2. Select “Ring Tones”. 3. Select either “All Ring Tones”, “My Ring Tones” or “Preloaded Ring Tones”. 4. Press the Blackberry button directly to the right of the green phone button (the button that

looks like a dialpad - actually it looks like a BlackBerry). 5. Select “Receive Using Bluetooth” (You will see a “File Transfer - Waiting for connection”

message). 6. Go to your MAC and open Bluetooth File Exchange. 7. Select “Send File”. 8. Select the device you want to transfer your file to (in this case, a Blackberry 8100 Pearl). 9. Click “Send”. 10. Go to your Blackberry and notice a window asking you to “Please choose the location

where you wish to save file”. 11. Select “Save” located at the bottom left of the window. 12. SUCCESS! The ringtone is on your BlackBerry now

This howto is compatible with the following BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds:

• BlackBerry Curve: 8300, 8310. • BlackBerry Pearl: 8100, 8130. • BlackBerry 8800, 8820, 8830. • Technically all BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds running BlackBerry OS

4.2 and newer.




How to use BlackBerry’s softkeys to become more productive

How to use BlackBerry’s softkeys to become more productive

Wouldn’t it be very convenient to have your most useful applications always at hand?The BlackBerry comes with a lot of smart enhancements that allow you to customize your BlackBerry and improve your productivity. The BlackBerry’s “Convenience key” can be used to access your most important applications with just one click. My BlackBerry Pearl comes with two convenience keys which I configured to meet my needs. You can find the quote of my BlackBerry’s user manual on how to configure those keys:

Your BlackBerry® device has one Convenience key one on the left side and one on the right side. Depending on the configured theme, you might not be able to change the application that is assigned to a Convenience key.

1. In the device options, click Screen/Keyboard. 2. Set the Convenience Key Opens fields. 3. Press the Menu key. 4. Click Save.

The Pearl has its digital camera placed on the right key by default, but I don’t need it. So for me it is very important that I have two applications always accessible. Therefor, I assigned NextAction! to the right convenience key and MobileTracker to the left convenience key of my BlackBerry Pearl. The setup is very easy (like described above)


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/06/14/mobiletracker-120-has-been-released/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/08/20/nextaction-20-the-falcon-has-landed/


Five Tips for a Healthy BES Environment

Five Tips for a Healthy BES EnvironmentThose who manage BlackBerry in the enterprise might be interested in some best practices on how to help prevent BlackBerry Enterprise Server downtime from Ahmed Datoo of Zenprise, maybe for your how-to section.

Here they are:

1. Ensure You Have Enough Exchange Server Capacity: Every BlackBerry user added to your environment can generate a significant load on your Exchange server. An Exchange server that is overburdened with users and doesn’t have enough capacity will cause availability problems for BES.

2. Co-Locate Your BES and Exchange Servers: There is a fair amount of network traffic between your BES and Exchange servers. Co-locating your servers in the same geographic location reduces risk of outages attributed to slow/unavailable network connections.

3. Consistently Monitor and Audit Your Active Directory Infrastructure: Changes made to permissions within Active Directory can cause users to no longer be able to send/receive e-mails.

4. Apply Patches on Exchange Server Judiciously as Such Patches Can Break BES: BES server requires the same version of files that can be found on the Exchange server. Patches applied to Exchange that update file versions will cause problems with BlackBerrys.

5. Monitor Your End-to-End BlackBerry Infrastructure: Set up a monitoring system to detect carrier-related outages or outages with the Research In Motion (RIM) network. This allows you to quickly identify whether the problem is external or within your infrastructure.


http://www.zenprise.com/


How to install 3rd party applications (Mac OS X)


Note: If you have a Microsoft Windows PC please refer to Installing 3rd Party Applications (Microsoft Windows).

To install a 3rd party application on your BlackBerry you can choose different ways.1. Get an OTA-Download link for the [APPLICATION].jad file and point your BlackBerry browser

to it. The installation will start. 2. Use your desktop computer; connect your BlackBerry device to it and install the application

to your BlackBerry

1. OTA Installation

This procedure of installing software on your BlackBerry is very easy. The only thing you need is a so called OTA link. This link points to a .JAD file (which actually is a description file for your BlackBerry application). As of an example we will use the free application from BerryQuery.com to demonstrate this procedure. You just need to use the link below and point your BlackBerry browser to it. The installation process will start automatically. The program will be installed to your BlackBerry if you follow the instructions.

OTA Download for BerryQuery: http://www.berryquery.com/berryquery.jadUnfortunately, a lot of vendors do not provide OTA download links for their applications. If this is the case you should try the following.

2. Installation via desktop computer (Mac OS X)

To install a 3rd party application using your Mac OS X desktop you need to have a BlackBerry desktop application installed. The “official” application is called PocketMac for BlackBerry. You can download that one directly at RIM: http://www.discoverblackberry.com/discover/mac_solutions.jsp.

Once you have installed it you will see an icon on your desktop. Before clicking this icon please connect your BlackBerry to your Mac. After starting the PocketMac application you will see the main coming up:


http://www.discoverblackberry.com/discover/mac_solutions.jsp

http://www.berryquery.com/berryquery.jad

http://www.BerryQuery.com/





If you are installing BlackBerry applications using your desktop computer you mostly get a .zip file (e.g. “nextaction.zip“) from the software vendor. On Mac OS X you just double click onto that .zip file and its contents will be extracted to a subdirectory (e.g. “nextaction unpacked”) of your current directory.

Now you choose “Utilities Â» Install Software to Device” and select the appropriate .alx (e.g. “nextaction.alx”) file that has been extracted.





The program will be installed to your BlackBerry automatically. After the process is finished you will find a new icon and name below on your BlackBerry’s desktop. By clicking the icon you start the newly installed application. That’s it. Easy right?



How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Mac OS X)


Note: If you have a Microsoft Windows (XP / Vista / whatever) machine you should take a look to How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Microsoft Windows).

Synchronizing your BlackBerry with your desktop computer is a must! It just works incredibly fine and is easy going to set up. This article is meant to help you to get this working. If you have already set it up and you think it is fine you can just skip this article. But if you are not sure your setting is correct - but it is working actually - you should keep reading and check whether you have set it up right.

We will cover the following parts of your BlackBerry and desktop application for synchronization:• Address Book • Calendar • MemoPad • Tasks

Please keep in mind that we are not covering the synchronization of E-Mails in this article. We will do so later I guess. The setup that is used for this presention is as followed:

• BlackBerry Pearl (BlackBerry OS 4.2 from HKCSL) • PocketMac • Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger powered MacBook • iCal , Address Book, StickiesNotes

You can use this procedure for your setup as well. E.g. you are using another BlackBerry model (71xx, 72xx, 75xx, 77xx, 87xx, 88xx or Curve) the setup is the nearly the same. To get your Mac’s data synchronized with your BlackBerry and vice versa proceed as followed:

1. Be sure you have PocketMac installed on your Mac already. If not you can get it for free here.

1. Connect your BlackBerry to your Mac (PocketMac currently only supports USB and serial port).


http://www.discoverblackberry.com/discover/mac_solutions.jsp

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/dashboard/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/addressbook/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ical/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/overview/

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/mac.jsp




2. Start PocketMac by clicking the icon.3. Click on BlackBerry.

You should see your device name an PIN on that page. If not, make sure you connected your BlackBerry to your Mac already and restart PocketMac. Unlike the “BlackBerry Desktop Manager” for Windows PocketMac does not recognize devices that are attached during its runtime.

4. Click on the Contacts button to open the contacts tab.




Activate the “Sync Contacts [...]“ checkbox to enable contact data synchronization in general. Below you find a list of supported contact management programs. As I am using Apple’s Address Book, I checked that one. You should check the appropriate checkbox according to the program you are using. You can also tweak the setting for the specific program you want to synchronize with at “Advanced Preferences…”. That’s it, we are done for contacts.

5. Click on the Calendar button to open the calendar tab.




In here we also check the “Sync Calendar [...]“ checkbox to enable calendar item synchronization. As my configuration uses iCal for calendar items I selected “iCalCalendar”. That’s it, we are done for calendar items.

6. Click on the Tasks button to open the tasks tab.




In here we also check the “Sync Tasks [...]“ checkbox to enable task synchronization. As my configuration uses iCal for task items as well I selected “iCalCalendar”. That’s it, we are done for tasks. (Hint: The program on the right - NextAction! - is compatible with PocketMac and therefor with all applications PocketMac can synchronize your BlackBerry with. It is world’s best GTD application for BlackBerry® Wireless Handhelds!)

7. Click on the Notes button to open the notes tab.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTD





In here we also check the “Sync Notes [...]“ checkbox to enable notes synchronization. As my configuration uses StickiesNotes for notes on my Mac I selected “StickiesNotes”. That’s it, we are done for notes.

8. Click on the Bookmarks button to open the bookmarks tab.




As I am not using Safari for desktop browsing I don’t synchronize that. But those of you who like to use Safari can synchronize your Safari’s bookmarks to your BlackBerry. To do that, just activate the “Push Bookmarks [...]“ checkbox. That’s it, we are done for bookmarks.

9. Now you can press the “Sync” button in the top right corner of PocketMac to synchronize your BlackBerry with your Mac and its programs.

Follow the instructions. If there are any conflicts between your device’s and desktop’s




databases you will be notified. You should check all notification carefully as they might contain important information.

PocketMac for BlackBerry supports the following devices: BlackBerry 6210, BlackBerry 6230, BlackBerry 6280, BlackBerry 6510, BlackBerry 7100 Series, BlackBerry 7105t, BlackBerry 7130c, BlackBerry 7130e, BlackBerry 7130g, BlackBerry 7130v, BlackBerry 7210, BlackBerry 7230, BlackBerry 7250, BlackBerry 7270, BlackBerry 7280, BlackBerry 7290, BlackBerry 7510, BlackBerry 7520, BlackBerry 7730, BlackBerry 7750, BlackBerry 7780, BlackBerry 8100 Pearl, BlackBerry 8300 Curve, BlackBerry 8703e, BlackBerry 8700c, BlackBerry 8700f, BlackBerry 8700g, BlackBerry 8700v, BlackBerry 8700r, BlackBerry 8705g, BlackBerry 8707g, BlackBerry 8707h, BlackBerry 8700v, BlackBerry 8707, BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry 8830



BlackBerry Shortcut Collection

BlackBerry Shortcut Collection

Soft Reset:

Press (not Pearl).

Hard Reset:

Press wait a second and press again (not Pearl).

Show Log:Press ALT + L G L G.

Show Information (Platform, OS Version, PIN, IMEI, Uptime):Press ALT + R A C E (SureType) or ALT + CAP + H (on QWERTY|Z).

Switch Between SureType & MultiTap:Hold »/SYM/* while in a text field.

Switch Input Method:Press ALT + Enter.

Switch Tasks:Press ALT + Escape.

Switch Signal Strength Display (bars to numbers):Press ALT + N M L L.

More useful shortcuts are welcome.



How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball


I read a lot of articles where BlackBerry users complained about their BlackBerry’s trackball (aka pearl - which gave the Pearl its name) doesn’t want to move to a direction anymore.To be honest, this is something I was afraid of when I first heard RIM will replace the BlackBerry’s trackwheel with a trackball. You won’t believe what happened to me two days ago … My trackball didn’t want to move to right. Well, that’s not good, I thought. After two days of drying everything from moving the ball as fast I could to shaking the Pearl until it got sick. Nothing helped. The ball didn’t want to move right anymore. That’s really bad because there is no way to select an application (address book, options, anything that is not in the left column) and therefor the phone is useless!

Today it was enough! The problem is, I cannot afford to loose that phone for maybe several weeks while it will be repaired. So I searched forums, googled (even yahooed) and found a lot of stuff which had not really an answer to my question. I remembered an article some months ago which mentioned the coloring the of the Pearl’s trackball by coloring the LED beneath the trackball. Finally I realized that removing the pearl’s cover would the best way to get access to its sensor and clean it. By the way, this should work for all BlackBerry devices that carry a trackball around like BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, 8800, 8820 and 8830.

The silver ring which covers the trackball can easily be removed if you use a small screwdriver to lift it at the outer side of the ring. Be careful here! Like you should be during the whole process as all parts have very small plastic nipple which can break very easy. When the silver plastic ring is removed you will see the inner trackball component which can be removed completely. Before doing this you should carefully remove the silver metal ring that holds the trackball component in its position. The trackball component itself can also be carved. For every direction the ball can roll to you’ll find a sensor wheel. Those wheels are mostly carrying some gunk you should clean them from. Once this is done put everything back together to the place the pieces came from and secure the trackball with the silver plastic ring you removed in the first step. Your BlackBerry’s trackball should be back working now.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/02/27/pimp-up-my-pearl/



BlackBerry Pearl Trackball Cleaning Screen Shot

BlackBerry Bold Trackball Cleaning Screen Shots This is a bit more complicated because you need to disassemble all parts starting with pulling out the battery, unscrewing the cover, and popping out the circuit board. It is pretty though. You just

need the right tools


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D5ML62?ie=UTF8&tag=blackberryinsight-mp3-ringtone-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B001D5ML62




That are lots of parts I know. But that’s it. Here is a high definition image of the BlackBerry Bold’s Trackball:

The trackball itself is the same as in the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and 88xx Series. Just the metal cover is a bit different. So if you cannot fix this you might want to get one of the replacements

below. They should work with the Bold as well.

If even this cleaning does not help you should consider to buy a new trackball for your BlackBerry. It is pretty cheap and you even know how to assemble it already BlackBerryInsight searched the web and found the best offers for you! You can get a brand new trackball replacement below via the famous Amazon webshop for just 5-8 bucks.



How to pair a Bluetooth GPS receiver with your BlackBerry


Some applications may need another external Bluetooth device to work. Most of you will use a Bluetooth headset for making a call in a convenient way. (I prefer the default cable-based headset that was packed with my Pearl as it does not need to be recharged and never runs out of power) For getting GPS positioning capabilities onto a BlackBerry that does not have a built-in GPS receiver you need an external Bluetooth GPS receiver. There are a lot of GPS applications out there and we tested them all: BlackBerry Maps, TeleNav, Spot, BerryVine, MobileTracker, Naggie, etc… Since I have posted the “MobileTracker on your Pearl and Curve” article (which is not officially supported yet) I received a lot of emails from you asking me how the heck ‘to pair a Bluetooth GPS’. Well, technically it is quite easy.

The BlackBerry manual tells us about Bluetooth:

„Bluetooth® technology is designed to enable you to establish a wireless connection between your BlackBerry® device and a Bluetooth enabled device, such as handsfree car kit or wireless headset. After you pair your BlackBerry device with a Bluetooth enabled device, you can connect to that Bluetooth enabled device when the device is in range or your BlackBerry device (a typical range is approximately 10 meters).

To be able to pair your BlackBerry with a Bluetooth device you need to have Bluetooth activated on your BlackBerry. That can be done in the following easy steps (example BlackBerry Pearl):

1. In the device options, click Bluetooth.

2. Press the key. 3. Click Enable Bluetooth.

To turn off Bluetooth® technology, press the key. Click Disable Bluetooth

So we have Bluetooth activated which means our BlackBerry is now able to communicate with other Bluetooth devices. We still have to do one thing: Find the Bluetooth device we want to pair and finally pair it.

Some Bluetooth® enabled devices have passkeys that you must type before you can pair with them. That passkey is mentioned on the device itself or in its manual. E.g. a Holux GR-231 Bluetooth GPS receiver has “6268 as pa″ sskey. Make sure your device is turned on.

1. Go to “Options Â» Bluetooth”. 2. Click Add Device in the screen’s menu. 3. A search will be performed and all Bluetooth devices in range will appear in that list.



http://astore.amazon.com/s4bbltd-20/detail/B000ID10JE/104-3140447-5107139

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/06/04/mobiletracker-on-your-pearl-and-curve/


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/05/18/software-review-mobiletracker-for-blackberry-8800-and-blackberry-8830/









4. Select the device you want to pair and if prompted, enter the passkey for that device. 5. By confirming that dialog the Bluetooth device you will see it appearing in the list.

That’s it. Easy, right?

Please keep in mind that a lot of GPS applications (e.g. Spot) need the Bluetooth GPS receiver to be the first device in your BlackBerry’s Bluetooth device list.




How to upgrade your BlackBerry OS


1. To upgrade your BlackBerry to the latest OS version, you have to go to the provider-specific download page:

Asia Pacific

• Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited

• Celcom Malaysia • Dialog Sri Lanka • Globe Telecom, Inc. • Hong Kong CSL Limited • Hutchison • M1 • Optus Mobile Pty

Limited

• Singapore Telecom Mobile Pte Ltd • SMART Communications Inc. • SmarTone-Vodafone • StarHub Ltd. • Telstra • Vodafone Australia and Fiji • Vodafone New Zealand • XL Indonesia

Europe• Orange UK • Telefonica Spain • T-Mobile Austria • T-Mobile Croatia • T-Mobile Czech

Republic • T-Mobile Germany • T-Mobile Hungary • T-Mobile Netherlands

• T-Mobile Poland • T-Mobile Slovak Republic • T-Mobile United Kingdom • Vodafone D2 • Vodafone Ireland • Vodafone Netherlands •

North America

• Bell Mobilité Inc. • Bell Mobility Inc. • Cincinnati Bell Inc. • Cingular, the new AT&T • Dobson

Cellular/Cellular One • Nextel Communications

Inc. • Nextel Partners

• Rogers Wireless Inc. • SouthernLINC Wireless • Sprint Spectrum L.P. • SunCom Wireless • Telus Mobility • T-Mobile USA • Verizon Wireless


http://vzw.smithmicro.com/blackberry/

http://www.t-mobile.com/bbupgrade

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=dB5bZddMq

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=E1E32E235EEE1F970470A3A6658DFDD5

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=URNZcPHMm

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=596DEDF4498E258E4BDC9FD70DF9A859

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=biERdLcdT

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=biTZdMddN



https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=F340F1B1F65B6DF5B5E3F94D95B11DAF

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=F340F1B1F65B6DF5B5E3F94D95B11DAF

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=577BCC914F9E55D5E4E4F82F9F00E7D4

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=CAF1A3DFB505FFED0D024130F58C5CFA

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=aMlbMFchE

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=aP42hJHMm

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=ehna2gcRj

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=bBJRBidRg

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=ePFa2PUdJ

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMUK

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMSK

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=PTC

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMNL

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMH

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMD

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMCZ

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMCZ

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMCR

http://updateservice.t-mobile.net/blackberry/login.do?servcoid=TMA

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=07563A3FE3BBE7E3BA84431AD9D055AF

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=dcNdMSUiq

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=88A199611AC2B85BD3F76E8EE7E55650

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=F9A40A4780F5E1306C46F1C8DAECEE3B

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=B86E8D03FE992D1B0E19656875EE557C

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=eiKaMQ2dL

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=HRgU2iehn

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=9461CCE28EBE3E76FB4B931C35A169B0

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=2BldB5Rdg

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=3DD48AB31D016FFCBF3314DF2B3CB9CE

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=ddmcRMRPk

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=ddmcRMRPk

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=0353AB4CBED5BEAE847A7FF6E220B5CF

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=UhncPmcPJ

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=cB5RB4aRB

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=HhneRNUhQ

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=10C272D06794D3E5785D5E7C5356E9FF

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=B710915795B9E9C02CF10D6D2BDB688C

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=BD4C9AB730F5513206B999EC0D90D1FB

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=BD4C9AB730F5513206B999EC0D90D1FB



South America

• Cable and Wireless Ltd • Claro Brasil • Claro Peru • Comcel • Comunicaciones Nextel

de Mexico • CTI • Entel PCS • Iusacell • Nextel Comunications

Argentina S.A.

• Nextel del Peru S.A. • Personal Argentina • Porta • Telcel • Telecomunicaciones Movilnet C.A. • Telefonica • Telefonica Venezuela • TIM Brazil

2. The most recent BlackBerry Desktop software is available here: http://www.blackberry.com/support/index.shtml

In most cases it is also possible to install an update from a different carrier (if they have the same BlackBerry model). This might be useful if your carrier does not provide the most recent version you need or you want to have a special foreign charset support. For example, you can install the “Hong Kong CSL” version to have Chinese character and input support (the Operation System will still be English).

To install a OS update from a different carrier you have to delete C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\VENDOR.XML first.


http://www.blackberry.com/support/index.shtml

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=68D13CF26C4B4F4F932E3EFF990093BA

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=D010396CA8ABF6EAD8CACC2C2F2F26C7

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=1373B284BC381890049E92D324F56DE0

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=95151403B0DB4F75BFD8DA0B393AF853

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=2AC2406E835BD49C70469ACAE337D292

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=471C75EE6643A10934502BDAFEE198FB

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=43CCA4B3DE2097B9558EFEFD0ECC3588

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=F50A6C02A3FC5A3A5D4D9391F05F3EFC

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=E8DFFF4676A47048D6F0C4EF899593DD

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=E8DFFF4676A47048D6F0C4EF899593DD

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=414E773D5B7E5C06D564F594BF6384D0

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=3A029F04D76D32E79367C4B3255DDA4D

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https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=6A81681A7AF700C6385D36577EBEC359

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https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=253F7B5D921338AF34DA817C00F42753

https://www.blackberry.com/SoftwareDownload/index.jsp?client=bMTePnHPk


How to Get BlackBerry Internet Access without Data Plan (example: ChinaMobile)

How to Get BlackBerry Internet Access without Data Plan (example: China Mobile)

I read may be a dozen articles about BlackBerry Internet access in China and all suggested to get a BlackBerry data plan in Hong Kong SAR and use the free roaming to get Internet access in China mainland. This guide does not need such a plan. You just need a GPRS enabled SIM card for your BlackBerry.

Finally I figured out how to get access to the Internet on my BlackBerry without a data plan. This howto is based on the following configuration:

• Device: BlackBerry Pearl (T-Mobile UK branded) • BlackBerry OS: 4.2.0.67 • Provider: China Mobile

The problem with the BlackBerry is that you always have a browser available. Even though this browser might not be accessible directly (no icon on your BlackBerry’s desktop) you can get to it by using the “task switcher”. So press “Alt+Esc” and a window appears that might be some kind of familiar when you are a Windows desktop user. By pressing “Esc” again while still holding “Alt” you can switch between applications. One of them should be the so called “BlackBerry Browser”. If I switch to that browser I get the following message:

Your device does not currently have any Browser Configuration Service Book Entries.Please contact your service provider to enable the Browser on your device.

So it is not possible to use this browser. But who cares? I downloaded the Opera Mini to my PC and installed it on my BlackBerry. The installation is really really easy going! When the installation was finished I could see the red “O” on my BlackBerry’s desktop.

By pressing this “O” Opera Mini starts and tries several ways to establish a connection to the Internet. The first attempt failed like expected. But there came up an error message referring me to an help site of Opera Mini which I should visit using my desktop browser. So I did and found the provider search of them. Just some seconds later I got the results for China Mobile:

China Mobile: Manual Setup*Address cmnetProxy Address 10.0.0.172Port 80

Now I adde cmnet to my BlackBerry’s “Options Â» Adv. Options Â» TCP Â» APN”. Proxy addess and port cannot be entered at my BlackBerry. But that is not so important I thought and went back to the Opera “O”, clicked on it and it tried to establish a connection to the Internet again. And finally, it worked! I couldn’t believe that! It’s not that I didn’t try that before but I never tried another


http://www.operamini.com/help/connect/?provider=China+Mobile&region=China

http://www.operamini.com/help/faq/#settings


http://www.operamini.com/download/pc/

http://www.operamini.com/

http://www.chinamobile.com/ENGLISH/index.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MUP62A?ie=UTF8&tag=s4bbltd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000MUP62A


How to Get BlackBerry Internet Access without Data Plan (example: ChinaMobile)

browser than the BlackBerry’s. Well, I tried Minuet Browser (BlackBerry Edition) some months ago but it didn’t work.


http://www.triprince.com/


How to Build your own BlackBerry Themes!

How to Build your own BlackBerry Themes!I am pretty sure most of you already know. But for those who doesn’t know how to create your own theme for your BlackBerry you can take a look to the article Just theme it! from the guys at RIM

„What can you do with Theme Builder? Some of its main features allow you to:

• What can you do with Theme Builder? Some of its main features allow you to:• Customize the BlackBerry application icons • Change the Home screen banner image and icon/indicator colors • Create your own buttons • Customize the look of dialog and pop up screens • Customize an idle screen • Customize the look of menus and lists • Customize the phone application screens • Customize fonts used on the BlackBerry device

And the result may look like this:


http://www.rim.com/

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/resources/journals/sep_2006/theme.jsp


How to Reboot Your BlackBerry

How to Reboot Your BlackBerry

Well, this is short task but sometimes you might need it. Some programs out there like the free VoIP application BBCalls, BerryDialer or the vCardMaster still need a reboot after installation. Why? Because they are plugging functionality into the BlackBerry OS. You can for example set up the BerryDialer for using calling cards by entering your calling card numbers. Then you just go to your address book because you want to call somebody. In the address book’s menu you can find a command that directly calls your contact using the calling card. So getting this command shown you need to reboot your BlackBerry.

But how to reboot the BlackBerry?

There are currently two ways I know of:

1. Press on your BlackBerry and a so called “soft reboot” will be initiated. I saw this key combination not working on my Pearl but on all other BlackBerry devices I tried.

2. Remove and replace the battery of your BlackBerry and the BlackBerry will reboot. Removing the BlackBerry for just a second is absolutely enough. This does also work on the Pearl, of course.

Some newer BlackBerry OS might not need that reboot anymore. However, if the described functionality of a program does not appear, a reboot might fix that.Users of a BlackBerry Pearl should use the soft reset application as the shortcut does not work on those devices.

I hope this HowTo helped a bit. You can find more in our HowTo section.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/category/howtos/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/10/27/colorpearl-softreset-and-autolock/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2006/07/06/how-to-upgrade-your-blackberry-to-os-41/


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/04/08/use-vcard-vcalendar-icalendar-attachments-with-your-blackberry/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/04/08/new-berrydialer-version-13-available/

http://www.bbcalls.com/


The shortcuts we all love

The shortcuts we all loveI’m going to keep it simple today and give all our viewers the shortcuts we all love to use to make our lives simpler. Navigating screens shortcutsTo move the cursor, roll the trackwheel.To move the cursor in a different direction, hold the Alt key and roll the trackwheel.To exit a screen or dialog box, press the Escape button.To click an icon or menu item, roll the trackwheel to select the item. Click the trackwheel.To select multiple items or characters, hold the Shift key and roll the trackwheel.To page up or down in a list, hold the Alt key and roll the trackwheel.To move to the top of a screen, press T.To move to the bottom of a screen, press B.To move down a screen, press the Space key.To move up a screen, press the Shift key + the Space key.To move to the next item, press N.To move to the previous item, press P.To delete a selected item, press the Backspace/Delete key.These shortcuts are easy to find on the home screen in the help icon. They make using your blackberry so much more convenient especially when you are a multi-tasker like myself. Just a little how-to for our viewers that did not know what these shortcuts are. Use them in good health



How to Synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (MicrosoftWindows)

How to Synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Microsoft Windows)

Note: If you have a Mac OS X / Macintosh machine you should take a look to How to synchronize my BlackBerry with my Desktop Computer (Mac OS X).

Synchronizing your BlackBerry with your desktop computer is a must! It just works incredibly fine and is easy going to set up. This article is meant to help you to get this working. If you have already set it up and you think it is fine you can just skip this article. But if you are not sure your setting is correct - but it is working actually - you should keep reading and check whether you have set it up right.

We will cover the following parts of your BlackBerry and desktop application for synchronization:• Address Book • Calendar • MemoPad • Tasks

Please keep in mind that we are not covering the synchronization of E-Mails in this article. We will do so later I guess. The setup that is used for this presentation is as followed:

• BlackBerry Pearl (BlackBerry OS 4.2 from HKCSL) • BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.2.0.14 • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Desktop Computer • Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 Enterprise Edition

You can use this procedure for your setup as well. E.g. you are using another BlackBerry model (72xx, 87xx or 71xx) the setup is the nearly the same. To get your computer’s data synchronized with your BlackBerry and vice versa proceed as followed:

Be sure you have the BlackBerry Desktop Software installed on your desktop computer already.• Start the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.• Connect your BlackBerry with your computer via USB.• Click on Synchronize.






• Activate the Synchronize organizer data checkbox.

• Click on the Configuration tab and click on the Configure synch… button.




• Select all data checkboxes you want your BlackBerry being synchronized to.

• By selecting the data you have to select the program that stores your data on your desktop computer. As I am using Outlook from Microsoft I have selected this program. But you can




select another one as well. It just depends on the program you are running.• That’s it. Now go back and you can select the Synchronize now button at the synchronize

dialog.

• If you want your BlackBerry being synchronized every time you connect it to your desktop computer you better select Synchronize the items selected above… checkbox.






Upgrading to BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0

Upgrading to BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0 has been available since last June. I recently upgraded from 1.8, and I’m very impressed.

BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) allows you to integrate your BlackBerry with up to 10 email accounts, send and receive instant messages, and browse web content from your BlackBerry. You get “push” delivery of messages, and mobile access to email attachments and images in popular formats.

With BIS 2.0 you get some very nice new features that really improve the BlackBerry experience. Here are the highlights:Multiple “Sent-From” Addresses

When composing an email on the device, you can set which integrated email account you want the “Sent From” field to display.

Send From Multiple Accounts

One-way Reconciliation

Perform these functions on your device and the action (send, delete or read/unread status) will also appear in the integrated Internet email account.

Individual Email Account Icons

If you have a 7130c, an 8700c, or any other BlackBerry device upgraded with BlackBerry Device Software v4.1, new icons will appear on the Home screen for each integrated email account. Click on each icon to easily view incoming/outgoing mail from that account. NOTE: You may still view all of your messages by clicking on the Message Inbox icon.




Multiple Accounts Configured in BIS

Improved Attachment Viewing

Continue to view popular formats like JPEG, BMP, TIFF, Microsoft® Word, Excel, PowerPoint®, Adobe® PDF. And with BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0, you can now view PowerPoint presentations in slideshow format.

Unlimited email storage

Because BlackBerry Internet Service v2.0 offers direct access to integrated accounts, a Web version of your BlackBerry Internet Service inbox is no longer needed. Therefore, you will not have to manage your email storage. With the upgrade, all messages automatically age after 30 days.

BlackBerry Mail Connector Delegation

If you use BlackBerry Mail Connector to access Microsoft Exchange or IBM® Lotus® Domino® email, you can now delegate the required email server network connection.

There are some people who may not want to upgrade.

You may not want to upgrade if you:- Require HTML web access to your BlackBerry inbox (for instance, if you retrieve mail sent to your @mycingular.blackberry.net account via a computer web browser). BlackBerry Internet Service v2.0 does not support an HTML view.- Depend on personal folders. New version 2.0 does not support folders. After a migration to BlackBerry Internet Service v2.0, folders will exist on the device for 30 days only.- Prefer to manage email storage limits using web access instead of the new auto-aging feature of version 2.0.- Use BlackBerry Internet Service to access Domino iNotes or Domino Web Access. With version 2.0, Domino iNotes and Web Access is supported only if you download and use BlackBerry Mail




Connector which requires a continual desktop connection to your company’s email server using your computer or a delegate.

This is all very cool stuff! OK, so how do you know what version of the BIS you have? You can tell by bringing up the BlackBerry help screen. Type ALT CAP H (Suretype users do this: Hold ALT. Press 1/E/R then ?/A/S then 7/C/V then 1/E/R and let go of ALT ). The second entry down called “Platform” will tell you what version of BIS you are using. If it starts with “2.0 , then you are″ already running BIS 2.0.

Help Screen showing BIS 2.0

To upgrade, you will have to do it through your carrier. This option should be available to you from the website where you manage your BIS account. Here is a list of all the sites for the various carriers.


http://www.discoverblackberry.com/personalize/blackberry101/internet.jsp

http://www.discoverblackberry.com/personalize/blackberry101/internet.jsp

http://allblackberry.com/news/2006/12/20/tips/finding-your-pin-imei-free-memory-os-version-on-a-blackberry/


Easy BlackBerry Backup


Losing all the data on my BlackBerry would not be as bad as having my hard drive die on my laptop but I would hate to input all the information again. And since this is an easy process, we have no excuses not to backup our BlackBerries on a regular basis.

And it takes less than a minute:

1. Start the RIM application “Desktop Manager“. If this is not installed on your PC, find the CD that came with your BlackBerry and install the software2. Double click on the “Backup and Restore” button.3. A new window will pop up. Select the “Backup” button.4. Simply choose a directory where to store your backup file. The Desktop Manager conveniently names the backup file with today’s date.

Refer to the screenshots on the next page.







That’s it! Your data is now safe and you can lose you BlackBerry without fear.

The Backup process features an interesting option we recommend you use. You can decide when the backup takes place. With this simple scheduling process, you automatically backup your device data every “n” days. Every 7 days look like a good setting.

Automatic Backup Scheduling Options

To access the “Backup and Restore Options” screen, press “Options” button.



Installing 3rd Party Applications


Note: If you have a Mac OS X / Macintosh machine you should take a look to How to install 3rd party applications (Mac OS X).

There’s a whole exciting world of applications for your BlackBerry out there. Installing those applications is a pretty straightforward process, though there are occasional issues that crop up. If you do encounter problem, there’s usually an easy solution. This article will talk about the steps to install a new application, and then discuss the most common problems that people encounter.

There are two ways of installing applications to your BlackBerry. You can download the software over the air (OTA) using the web browser on your device, or you can install an application from your PC using the RIM Desktop Manager.

To install OTA, you must have a URL for the software you want to install. The URL will point to a JAD file somewhere on the Internet. After entering the URL into the browser on your BlackBerry, it will prompt you to verify that you want to install the application. Say yes, and if all goes well it will install on your BlackBerry.

Downloading Google Maps


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/07/25/how-to-install-3rd-party-applications-mac-os-x/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/07/25/how-to-install-3rd-party-applications-mac-os-x/



Success!

The second method of installation uses the RIM Desktop Manager. Applications meant to be installed from the Desktop Manager come with two files: an ALX file and a COD file. First, connect your BlackBerry to your PC using a data cable. Once the device is attached, launch the RIM Desktop Manager. Then launch the Application Loader from inside the Desktop Manager.

BlackBerry Desktop Manager

Click the “Add…” button in the Application Loader and specify an Application Loader File(.alx). The application should now appear in the list of items to install. Follow the instructions from there to finish the installation and it should appear on your Blackberry.

Piece o cake. Unless it didn’t work. If you hit a problem fear not. There are things you can do.




“No System Software was found for your handheld.”

No System Software Found

Lucky you. You’ve either upgraded your handheld OS, or gotten a new BlackBerry for your birthday. Either way, your Desktop Manager doesn’t know how to talk to your BlackBerry. It is lacking the device software for your model of BlackBerry.

You’ll have to download and install the latest device software and service packs from your carrier. To see which device software you have installed on your computer, go to the Desktop Manager Help–>About and click the Device Software tab. “No additional applications for your handheld were found”

No Additional Applications

First, make sure the .alx file and the .cod file are in the same directory. The Application Loader uses both files to install to your BlackBerry. If that isn’t the problem, then upgrading the Desktop




Manager might help. You can download the latest version from your carrier or directly from RIM: http://www.blackberry.com/support. More detailed information on this can be found at: BlackBerry Install Error: No additional applications designed for your device found! Invalid Digital Signature

If you are running a BES BlackBerry, there is a setting in the BES that doesn’t allow the installation of 3rd party applications unless they have been signed. You will have to contact your BES administrator to change this setting. A fatal error has occurred while updating your handheld’s software. Please try again. Unspecified error encountered [J:0×0000000A]

That (most helpful) error message appears because the application you are loading requires a more recent version of the handheld operating system than you have. You will need to go to your carrier’s website and download a more recent version of the OS.


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2008/01/21/blackberry-install-error-no-additional-applications-designed-for-your-device-found/

http://www.blackberry.com/support


Defeating BlackBerry Spam

Defeating BlackBerry Spam

I hate Spam. In the last few years, as the volume of unwanted messages has increased, Spam has mutated from a minor annoyance to a real impediment to productivity. Spam is particularly annoying on a BlackBerry because it is a much more intimate device than a PC. We carry our BlackBerries with us, inviting that intrusive little buzz of a new email into our lives as we venture away from the office.

If you are using the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for your email, then you probably already have some Spam filters set up by your administrator. There are a number of software packages that will filter out Spam before it gets sent to your BlackBerry.

If you aren’t a BES user, you are probably forwarding your email from your other accounts. Rather than forward all the email from those account directly to your BlackBerry, consider forwarding those emails to a Gmail account instead. Then configure that Gmail account to forward to your BlackBerry. This way you can take advantage of Gmail’s Spam filters, and you have a 2GB archive of all emails sent to your BlackBerry.

In addition to server side solutions, you can also use email filtering on your BlackBerry to get rid of some Spam. To create a filter, start up the Messages application. From the thumbwheel menu select Options->Email Filters.

Then select “New” to create a new filter. You can enter search strings for To, From, Subject, and Message.

You could create a filter to search for terms in the Subject or Body fields of an email and automatically restrict those messages. This can eliminate a good bit of Spam, although you may be continually updating the filters to keep up with the creative spelling that Spammers use. V1aGrA anyone?

You can also create a filter to only let in email from certain domains. You can search for a string in the From field such as “@domain.com”. You might use this to only let in emails from your Gmail account, insuring that you only receive emails that have passed through a Spam filter.


http://allblackberry.com/news/2006/04/22/services/easy-gmail-setup-for-your-blackberry/

http://allblackberry.com/news/2006/04/22/services/easy-gmail-setup-for-your-blackberry/


More Information for your BlackBerry

More Information for your BlackBerryIf you are looking for more information about the BlackBerry, or products and accessories for it, you should come around at: http://www.blackberryinsight.com/

Howtos that help you keep your BlackBerry running or revive it from the death:http://www.blackberryinsight.com/category/howtos/

Free program downloads are published monthly:http://www.blackberryinsight.com/category/discounts-deals/free-downloads/


http://www.blackberryinsight.com/category/discounts-deals/free-downloads/

http://www.blackberryinsight.com/category/howtos/



Documents

Ultimate Blackberry Howto eBook