BlackBerry Storm Keyboard Shortcuts

The BlackBerry Storm is touch-screen-based, and as such, it lacks a physical keyboard; however, three types of on-screen, virtual keyboards are available to users: 1) RIM's SureType keyboard, which is a QWERTY keyboard with more than one letter/number on each key (available only in portrait mode); a multitap keyboard that resembles the keys on a traditional cell phone (portrait mode); and a full QWERTY like the one found on your computer keyboard (landscape mode only).

To switch back and forth between keyboards in portrait mode, simply click the BlackBerry Menu key whenever a keyboard is displayed, and click "Enable Multitap" or "Enable SureType."

-To quickly bring up the Storm's onscreen keyboard, swipe a finger upward from the very bottom of the screen to the middle.

-To quickly hide the Storm's keyboard, swipe a finger downward from the top of the keyboard to the very bottom of the device's screen.

-Accented, or "special," characters can be typed via Storm in both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) views. To enter in a special character while in portrait or landscape mode, such as an ï, bring up the on-screen keyboard, depress the "i" key--but don't click it--and a number of options appear on screen, one of which is ï. To choose that character, simply click it on screen.

--To activate number lock, bring up the onscreen keyboard and then hold down the "123" key for about two seconds until a lock appears on that button. The number pad will then stay on screen until you either hide it or tap the "123" key again to return to the normal keyboard layout.

--To activate capital lock, bring up the onscreen keyboard and then hold down the "Shift/Arrow Up" key for about two seconds until a lock appears on that button. The number pad will then stay on screen until you either hide it or tap the "Shift/Arrow Up" key again to return to the normal keyboard layout.

-To change text input languages, hold the Storm in landscape mode, bring up the virtual keyboard and click the "Globe" key found directly to the left of the Space key. Next, scroll to the desired language, highlight it and click the Storm's screen to select.

BlackBerry Pearl

The BlackBerry Pearl smartphone is one phone which is not to be missed out if you are looking for a multi-functional device. It offers almost everything you'd like to find on a mobile phone and more.

Texting with the Pearl: The Pearl has been often called a 'texting' phone, i.e. a smartphone that offers more convenience when used as a messaging device. This feature is courtesy of the keypads that are easy to glide through, making the entire typing experience very intuitive and you can text long messages without tiring your fingers. It uses the SureType keyboard which is not the latest offered among the BlackBerry range of smartphones, but it is one of the easiest to use. Emphasis has been laid on easy recognition via the keypad and the silver colored ones represent the house numbers. The screen display automatically adjusts itself according to the ambient light, allowing users to read the screen with ease. The standard resolution is 240 x 260 pixels which cannot be described as the best in this segment but then for the price it carries, the Pearl does seem amply capable of displaying web pages with all the necessary details and the images are defined with strong color hues. Further, since the font size is adjustable, more web pages can be viewed when searching through lots of data.

Other Recommendable Features: The BlackBerry Pearl is MMS-friendly and capable of shooting videos and recorded images have minimal fading effect. Another nice add-on is the WiFi and it does not compromise upon speed when downloading heavier web pages. Further, the Pearl supports stereo Bluetooth via A2DP support, enabling users to enjoy stereo sound wirelessly via their Bluetooth headset.5mm audio jack gives users the freedom to use their personal headphones for maximum listening pleasure. Its texting capabilities get another boost in the form of the BlackBerry Messenger which helps communicate among BlackBerry users. It supports both POP3 and IMAP4 and has an impressive talk time of 240 minutes. Memory expansion options are particularly recommendable with the single micro-SD card slot that also supports high-capacity SDHC cards of up to 2GB.

Conclusion: This neatly-packed mobile phone can be your substitute for handling office work on the go, as it is equipped to handle all the basic requirements like handling emailing, scheduling meetings or editing documents (Word/PowerPoint/ Excel/PDF). BlackBerry Pearl may look simple in design, but it serves its purpose well as a function-oriented phone.

Blackberry Bold or Nokia E71 - which one is better?

Released within a month of each other, the Blackberry 9000, better known as the Blackberry Bold (May 2008) and the Nokia E71 (June 2008) are obvious rival smartphones from these perennial rival smartphone makers as they look, feel, and function very much alike.

Both devices are just about equally sized, at 114 mm x 66 mm x 14 mm for the Blackberry and 114 mm x 57 mm x 10 mm for the Nokia. And both weigh just about the same with the Blackberry weighing in at 133 g to a slightly lighter Nokia's 127 g.

Both devices have a QWERTY keypad occupying the bottom half of the face of the device with a small display screen (2.6 in on the Blackberry, 2.36 in on the Nokia) above it. Interestingly, the display screens on each device possess a quality superior to that of their counterpart. The Blackberry has better resolution, at 480 x 320 pixels to its competitor's 320 x 240 pixels; but the Nokia has more colors, at 16 million to its competitors meager 65,000.

Then, for a matter of simple preference, the Blackberry Bold's primary navigation is a trackball whereas the Nokia E71 uses a 5-way scroll key. Also a simple matter of preference, the Blackberry runs on the Blackberry OS, the Nokia on the Symbian OS.

Other similarities amongst these two candybar competitors are their built-in GPS with mapping capabilities (the Bold using Blackberry Maps, the E71 using Nokia Maps - each coming preinstalled), as well as voice dialing, photo calling, video calling, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, and speakerphone. They also both operate on AT&T's EDGE network and support HSDPA and 3G.

Also, both devices sport microSD card slots for expandable memory up to 8 GB, though the Blackberry has more more internal memory, at 1 GB to the Nokia's 110 MB (both devices have 128 MB onboard RAM though). And both devices have a USB v2.0 port, though the Nokia also has a microUSB port.

In terms of multimedia features they each have built in digital cameras, but the Blackberry Bold's is only 2 megapixels while the Nokia E71's is 3 megapixels. Both cameras, however, have LED flash and video recording capabilities. Both devices also have a built-in MP3 player.

Also worth noting, along these same lines, is that unlike the Blackberry (or most smartphones, for that matter) the Nokia does not have a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack but rather a 2.5 mm audio jack, making headphone and speaker compatibility a bigger issue with the Nokia. The Nokia, however, has an infrared port while the Blackberry does not.

You can view Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on both devices, but you can only edit them on the Blackberry.

The battery on the Bold gives up to 5 hours of talk time and 310 hours of standby time. The battery on the Nokia gives up to 10 1/2 hours of talk time in 2G or 4 1/2 hours in 3G, and 410 hours of standby time in 2G or 480 hours in 3G.

Deciding between these two devices is a tough call, and may come down to extraneous features such as the availability of preferred 3rd party apps. Or you may just prefer the Blackberry operating system to Symbian. You may also lean towards the Blackberry Bold if you want to be able to edit Microsoft Office docs, though you might lean towards the Nokia E71 if you'd rather take crisper digital photos. Really these two devices are quite comparable.

How To Delete Application on Your Blackberry

First, go to Options.

Then, go to Advanced Options.

Finally, click on Applications.

You’ll see a notice that your BlackBerry is building an applications list. On the other end you’ll see a big huge list, containing core applications and some things you might not recognize. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: if you do not know what it is, do not delete it.

Scroll down to find the application you’d like to delete. Once it’s highlighted, hit the Menu key. You’ll see a number of options, but all we’re interested in now is the obvious one: Delete. Click it, and you’ll get confirmation. Click Yes, and it will delete the application.

Afterward you’ll be prompted to reset your BlackBerry. If you plan to delete multiple applications, say no. Say yes after the last application you’re going to delete. A reset clears the application out of device memory.

How To Transfer Data Between BlackBerry Devices

All you need to get started are two mini USB sync cables (like the one that came with your BlackBerry,) the Desktop Manager software and the two BlackBerry smartphones. (Note: If you're transferring data to or from a device with a micro USB port, you'll also need a micro USB sync cable.)

Step One: Get BlackBerry Desktop Manager, Launch the Program

First things first: You'll want to download or install RIM's BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, if you haven't already. To do so, either insert the BlackBerry user tools disc that shipped with your device and then install the software, or visit RIM's website and download it manually. The latest version of Desktop Manager is 4.6., though earlier versions should do the trick, as well.

After installing BlackBerry Desktop Manager, launch the program by clicking on the desktop icon created during installation. (If you chose not to create a desktop icon, locate the application in your computer's program files and then launch.)

Step Two: Connect Your Existing BlackBerry, Select Device Switch Wizard

Next, connect your existing BlackBerry smartphone--the one storing your personal data and applications--to your PC using the USB sync cable, and then close any unrelated dialogue boxes that appear. You know your device is connected when your BlackBerry PIN appears in the bottom left corner of the BlackBerry Desktop Manger screen, next to Device connected (PIN).

When the BlackBerry is connected to your PC and Desktop Manager, choose the Device Switch Wizard option. On the following screen, click Switch BlackBerry devices.

Step Three: Configure BlackBerry Device Switch Wizard

The Switch BlackBerry devices screen displays three columns: Current device ; New device ; and Options . The first field below the Current device heading should be labeled PIN and the value within should match the PIN digits in the bottom left corner of the application screen. If not, open the drop down menu beneath Current device and select the PIN associated with the connected BlackBerry. If your device is password protected, you'll also need to enter your passcode.

Because you new device is not yet connected, we'll ignore the middle column for now.

The Options section lists a number of options related to the device data that you wish to transfer to the new device. For example, you can choose to transfer all device data and options, as well as all third-party applications. Or you can pick just device data or only third-party apps. There are also options for updating existing applications--if updates are available--and you can manually select which apps you wish to transfer. (Note: Some applications are OS-specific, so an app that works with BlackBerry handheld OS v4.3 may not function correctly on a device running OS v4.5.)

Step Four: Transfer Data, Apps from One BlackBerry to Another

When you've specified what data and apps you want to transfer, click the Next button in the bottom right corner of Desktop Manager to proceed. A variety of progress bars will appear on screen as Desktop Manager scans your device and copies its contents for backup. This will take a few minutes, so be patient.

When the backup process is complete, another dialogue box appears asking you to select your new device. At this point, connect the new BlackBerry that you wish to transfer data and applications to and select the corresponding PIN from the drop down menu. Again, you'll need to enter in your passcode here if your device is password protected. Then hit OK. Another set of progress bars then appears to scan the application configuration on the new BlackBerry.

If you checked the Options box for Allow me to select applications to add or update option , a list of all the applications on your existing BlackBerry appears. You can then choose which apps you want to transfer from the old device to the new. To remove an app from the list, simply uncheck the box next to that application. When you're finished, click Next.

Patience comes into play again at this point, as it can take anywhere from five minutes to half an hour to complete the process. So sit back, grab a soothing beverage perhaps, and decide what to do next with your new smartphone.

Two factors worth noting: After transferring personal data and apps to a new BlackBerry, you'll likely have to log back into any programs that require a user name and password, so you may want to have your login information handy. Second, it's not uncommon to come across application errors when attempting to transfer apps from one device to another--especially if those devices are running different OS versions. The simplest way to proceed after receiving an app error is to remove the problem application from the list of programs that will be transferred using the instructions above. Then you can simply download a fresh copy of the problem app at a later time.