Maintaining your trackball

A while ago I found my BlackBerry Bold’s trackball starting to become quite unresponsive when scrolling down (all other actions were normal).

A few of my fellow CrackBerry users suggested replacing the trackball, canned air & one suggested a phone cleaning spray.

I can say I didn’t want to operate on my Bold, so tried the canned air, which after a number of goes, did succeed in restoring full functionality to my Bold’s trackball.

But maintaining/servicing the trackball… this is where the phone cleaning spray has come into its own. For approximately $20AUD I purchased the spray, which came complete with a polishing cloth.

Do your own research first, but I find spraying/misting the front of my Bold, and then immediately polishing the spray off with the cloth, at least once a week, keeps not only the face of my BlackBerry really clean & shiny, but I am certain, ensures the trackball continues to perform its required functions.

Maintenance which doesn’t take much time, nor cost a lot.

Give it a try, especially if your trackball is unresponsive.

TferThomas

Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry… overcoming the digital deluge

One of the biggest concerns which is raised with me when someone is considering using a BlackBerry, is will the BlackBerry take over my life? And without the proper groundwork, training and implementation of that training, any device accessing email, internet and the like, can try to take your life over.

Priority Management (whom I work for in their Brisbane & Melbourne offices in Australia) have a very effective half day training program for BlackBerry devices, & it’s called Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry.

In their words…

“If you have a BlackBerry, and have learnt the basics, we have the process for increasing your productivity.

We created this workshop in conjunction with Research In Motion when the world’s largest distributor of BlackBerry devices wanted to train their employees to use this tool more effectively.

Graduates of this class maintain increased productivity and enhanced on the job performance by knowing how to match the right process and skill set when using their BlackBerry.”

This half day training program is delivered either in a training room environment (for a group of individuals or a group from a specific company), or across the internet wherever in the world you are, via WebEx (as long as you have a computer accessing the internet and you have a landline…. you need to “play” with BlackBerry during the training).

For more information, check out Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry at Priority Management http://prioritymanagment.com.au/ or email me thomas.s@prioritybrisbane.com

Get your life back! Use the BlackBerry for what it is intended for…. a tool to assist your productivity.

Thomas

SnapMyLife

Picked this application up the other day (it is free download from BlackBerry Application World) and it is quite an interesting application that relies on the BlackBerry (or any camera phone) and its user’s mobility.

SnapMyLife in their words:
“Instantly share and view photos on your mobile phone.
SNAP a picture with your camera phone.
SEND to friends, family or the world.
VIEW everyone’s photos from your phone.”

It’s free to join and I as I said before, the application for BlackBerry is also free. In fact, as the screen shot shows, there are two applications for twitter, and three ways to upload photos:
1. SnapMyLife application for BlackBerry: upload your photo as soon as you take directly to your SnapMyLife account. The SnapMyLife application runs in the background & pops up as soon as you have taken a photo.
2. Email the photo to your SnapMyLife account directly with the use of an email address specific to your account (attach the photo as a file, and type the comments for the photo in the subject field of the email)
3. Snap2twitter application for BlackBerry: take a photo and the Snap2twitter application for BlackBerry pops up (runs in the background), refer second screen shot) and prompts you with either save or save and send to twitter & allows you to add some commentary. It also then sends the photo and comments to your SnapMyLife account.

SnapMyLife suggest you may have to disable one of the SnapMyLife applications for BlackBerry to avoid potential conflict, so I guess there may be some developmental work underway here.

Two main disadvantages to these useful & extremely easy to use BlackBerry applications:
1. Applications are only available to be downloaded from the BlackBerry Application World (although to their credit, the developer emailed me the applications (here in Australia, RIM have not provided us with access to the BlackBerry Application World) with great descriptive instructions on how to load)
2. At this stage, the applications only run via your phone carrier’s data plan, and don’t have BIS support (at the time of writing, I am still awaiting the developer’s thoughts of when BIS support will become available), so ensure you have a good data plan.

My SnapMyLife account can be found http://snapmylife.com/users/tferthomas

For more info contact Mobicious Inc’s site http://snapmylife.com/

Enjoy,

TferThomas

twittering from the BlackBerry Bold

Most of my tweets come via my BlackBerry Bold, and as of today I have most of the popular BlackBerry twitter clients installed and in use. So starting from left to right:

Socialscope (@SocialScope):
• This is still my favourite twitter application
• Really effective twitter and facebook integration
• Good search and follow functionality
• Easily move from Replies, Direct Messages, Timeline, and Facebook via top menu tabs
• Quite quick with updates & low battery life usage
• Post photos into your twitter timeline
• The rarest of all twitter applications (alpha testing)

Ubertwitter (@Ubertwiter):
• The newcomer for me, given they both have BIS support
• Location notification
• A little slower in responsiveness compared to Socialscope
• Includes separate timeline of your own tweets
• Locational search function

Viigo (@Viigo http://getviigo.com/alpha):
• Basically one of the most useful applications available for a BlackBerry
• Tweet interesting stuff directly from your RSS feeds (afterall Viigo is first and foremost a RSS reader)
• It is also a twitter client as well, though more responsive than twitterberry, but less than SocialScope and Ubertwitter

Pinwall (we shall leave this one for another time)

twitterberry (http://www.orangatame.com/twitterberry/):
• I guess from my perspective, the original twitter client for my BlackBerry devices, and ever dependable
• Slow compared to SocialScope and Ubertwitter
• Has a separate screen for your own timeline

yatca (yet another twitter client application: yatca.wordpress.com/):
• I cannot get this one to work well for me due to the integration of it into the native BlackBerry Messages folder (when you have 4,000 + followers tweeting, your Messages folder gets a little out of control). So for me, updates have been switched off
• Good simple application for posting a photo (whether taking a photo and posting at the same time, or extracting a saved photo) into your twitter timeline, and can be done from the menu function of any application you are working in at the time
• The above also applies to tweeting.

So overall, SocialScope remains my favourite, with Ubertwitter keeping it honest. Note, I have not tried tweetgenius yet, as at the time of writing, it does not have BIS support (update… now it does, but it is a pay for application).

Hope this helps someone out there.

Enjoy,
TferThomas

Viigo on BlackBerry … how I get my information on the fly

One thing I really enjoy about owning a BlackBerry, is I can do most things on the fly. As long as I have phone signal, I am a happy camper.

I also enjoy simply staying up to date, whether it’s emails, twitter, or the like, but how do I stay up to date with news, social events or get my dose of my favourite subject… BlackBerry devices and applications?

Simple, I use Viigo. Viigo is probably, now the most widely used and recognised BlackBerry rss reader, and awesomely, it’s free.

What I use Viigo for:

• Getting my current affairs, BlackBerry news, technology updates and more

• Getting my blog subscriptions right to my BlackBerry Bold

• Getting interesting, sometimes quirky commentary

• Keeping abreast of the weather in four different places

If I find any of my rss feeds interesting, I will post them to twitter (I am @TferThomas)… but how do I do that?

Within the Viigo alpha version I use, there is a twitter client, enabling me to tweet any of the rss feeds I receive. Viigo shortens the feed’s url (similar to tinyurl.com or bit.lify) and places it ready to tweet. All you have to do is add your comments, if you want to, and then tweet! Simple.

I would be quite lost without Viigo or my BlackBerry Bold.

To get the latest Viigo application for BlackBerry, point your BlackBerry browser to http://GetViigo.com/alpha and enjoy.

Enjoy,

TferThomas

The BlackBerry email itch… it’s contagious

In your current group of friends and/or colleagues, how many are BlackBerry users? In my group, at really any given time, there is at least three BlackBerry users, and sometimes up to eight.

One of the BlackBerry claims to fame is the ability to remain in contact with your friends and colleagues, wherever you are (providing you have phone range of course). But it has a darker side… BlackBerry users are some of the most vigilant handset watchers out there!

Here’s the test…

Next time you are with a group of BlackBerry users, have someone send you an email (or perhaps you get then constantly anyway), or tweet from twitter. When you receive the email (and for me, the only way you would know is the flashing LED light, as my emails and twitter applications do not have an alert), pull out your BlackBerry, open the email, read it and reply (or read the tweet, and then tweet a reply).

Now see what the others are doing…

Yep, that’s right. Guaranteed, they all will have their own BlackBerry devices out, checking and/or reading the latest email/tweet… they could not simply help themselves, but to look at their own BlackBerry devices… the BlackBerry itch has struck again!

I have never seen a group of Nokia or iPhone users do a similar thing… it seems to be BlackBerry centric, and we just can’t help ourselves.

The BlackBerry itch… it’s contagious!

Until later,

TferThomas

Who uses BlackBerry Messenger?

Most BlackBerry users I come across don’t use it, nor understand this brilliant little application, which comes standard with every BlackBerry device, and quite seriously, should be embraced by all BlackBerry users.

So allow me to expand on the BlackBerry Messenger…

Each BlackBerry comes with its own unique PIN (for yours go Options>Status>PIN) and the PIN is your identity for BlackBerry Messenger.

Like instant messaging, the BlackBerry Messenger relies on you sending an invitation to someone (you need their PIN or at least their email address initially) and they accepting it. Once “contacts” you can PIN Message each other, and again, like instant messaging, your conversation is shown, line by line, emoticon by emoticon. And yes, you can invite others to the conversation.

What does it cost? Absolutely nothing… free… nada… nothing! And it doesn’t access your beloved data plan either.

But wait, there’s more… there is even a social website set up primarily for BlackBerry PIN users … http://pinswap.me . Check it out and say hi to Keston.

And for the record, my current BlackBerry Bold’s PIN is 255B98A9 so feel free to add me.

Enjoy,

TferThomas

Customising your BlackBerry’s home screen: the icons

One of the many overlooked features of a BlackBerry, is the ability to customise the home screen.

Previously I explained how to change your home screen’s wallpaper or picture. Now, let’s talk about the icons, more specifically, moving them around to suit you!

Included in any new or newish BlackBerry are many icons, covering a wide range of applications. Some of these are already on your home screen, and you may not want access to these. Others, are stored/filed in a number of folders found on the home screen (eg. Applications, Instant Messaging, Games & Set Up), and you may want access to some of these. Any new applications you download on your BlackBerry (eg. SocialScope Lite , twitterberry, Viigo, yatca, SplashID, ActionPad, etc) will be initially placed into your Downloads folder, and no doubt, you will definitely want most of these on your home screen.

So how do you go about moving your icons to customise your home screen?

The pictures here (taken directly from my BlackBerry Bold using an application called SnapScreen) outline the full way of moving an icon, in this case SocialScope Lite.

A similar method is used to move an icon from a folder to the home screen, but instead of selecting “move”, you simply select “move to folder”, then select “home”.

To hide an icon, highlight the icon, from the menu select “hide”. To retrieve a hidden icon, from the home screen, using the menu option, select “show all”, highlight the icon, using the menu option, uncheck ‘hide”, using the menu, uncheck “show all”.

Now you have the ability to:

• Move an icon

• Move an icon from a folder to the home screen (and vice versa)

• Hide an icon (or retrieve a hidden icon)

Have fun.

TferThomas

Customising your BlackBerry’s home screen simply

So you have a have a BlackBerry, and so do your mates, and the home screens all sort of look the same. What can you do to make yours different / stand out?

Here's what you can do to make your BlackBerry "yours"…

• Go to Media

• Go into Pictures

• Find the picture you want to use

• Open the picture

• To make the picture correct for your home screen, use your BlackBerry Options key (left hand side of trackball) and go to Zoom

• Use Zoom to enlarge or make smaller the picture, as well move the picture around the screen

• Once satisfied, click BlackBerry Options key and scroll to Make Picture Home Screen Image

And then you are set.

Mine is here to show you it is a really simple and easy way to customise your BlackBerry.

Until later,

TferThomas

Universal Keyboard (Blue Tooth)

The BlackBerry’s qwerty keyboard is a big favourite of mine, and one feature that I really do enjoy (and whilst I have a BlackBerry Pearl with suretype, it’s just not quite the same). I have mastered the art of BlackBerry thumbing (not typing), using my two thumbs to good effect. I can easily bash out an email, or tweet on twitter, but using the BlackBerry’s keyboard, but when it comes time for ereally long emails, blogs etc, then the Universal Keyboard is a must have, in my books.

Connected to the BlackBerry via Blue tooth, just like any handsfree device, or external speakers can be, this keyboard gives you in short a larger keyboard from which a higher wpm rate can be achieved. It runs on 2 AAA batteries, and has a handy cradle in which to sit your BlackBerry in, using the BlackBerry’s screen as you would normally.

An absolute boon to have blogging, over a cup of coffee anywhere. For more information, go along to http://www.freedominput.com/

Enjoy,

Thomas