BlackBerry Community Post

When I was in junior high school (Warning: dating myself here!) I can recall my mother lamenting over why anyone who wasn't a brain surgeon would need a mobile phone.  Flash forward a few years, that mother - who is not a brain surgeon - bought a mobile phone.  Now I get SMS messages, IMs, random wall notes on social networking sites from my mother, and of course phone calls from my mother...all from her mobile phone.

It is simply amazing how communication has changed in such as short time (honest, junior high school was not THAT long ago!). Here are the top 5 ways (in order of use) I communicate with friends and colleagues on my BlackBerry® smartphone:

1. Instant Messaging 
   Pick your favorite (or use them all) and file on home page or in your Instant Messaging folder on the main page.
2. BlackBerry Messenger
   Get there quickly from the home page by typing "n"
3. Social Networking
   Whether you are into Facebook or one of the microblogging platform you can keep in touch with friends from your device with many social networking applications. I love to post photos and change my status update to keep my friends in the loop. Check out the Inside BlackBerry blog for a look at the BlackBerry Facebook Application.
4. Email
   Get there quickly from the home page by typing "m"
5. Phone
   Yes, I even go "old-school" from time to time and call someone! Of course the quickest way to do this is to click the Green phone button.

What are your top 5 ways to communicate using your BlackBerry smartphone? Are they similar to mine? Or vastly different?

If you use one of Apple's Mac® computers you may be very happy to hear that BlackBerry® Desktop Manager for Mac® users is here.  This software will allow to back-up, restore, and synhcronize data between their Mac and their BlackBerry smartphone. You can check out Inside BlackBerry for a detailed run down of the fantastic features and fabulous functions of BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac.

I got a sneak peek at it so I could write a few quick how-to posts for you!

Setting Up BlackBerry Desktop Manager

1. Download the Desktop Manager disk image (.dmg file)

2. Click to open the file

3. To install click BlackBerry Desktop Manager.mpkg. It will ask you if you are sure you want to continue - you decide - if you intend to sync your BlackBerry smartphone with your Mac.

4.  You will then be guided through the steps to install - simple as that! ( Read and accept the license agreement, select your region, choose where you wish to install the file)

5. After installation you will need to restart your computer.

Voila! Now just plug in your BlackBerry smartphone via USB. The first time you connect your smartphone you will need to identify it by giving it a new name. I changed mine to the very original "Michelle's BlackBerry" - but it will help me differentiate my BlackBerry smartphone from my husbands.

Now that you are all set-up you can back-up and synhcronize your files from you Mac! Watch for the next post on how to back up using BlackBerry Desktop Software.

**Mac and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

About two years ago we were visiting a local park with our son when he met a new little friend.  It was the first time we had seen our son, who was two at the time, play with another child, as opposed to beside another child. We were excited to see how well they played together, as were the other boy's parents. Over the course of a few visits to the park we eventually exchanged phone numbers with the other parents so that we could arrange a future play-date.  Neither us nor the other parents ever got around to calling. However, at the park, later that summer, we were talking about our BlackBerry® smartphones and decided to exchange PINs so we could chat over BlackBerry® Messenger.

From that moment on we began messaging each other about when  we were going to the park; we organized play-dates; and weekend excursions to museums or theme parks all via IM! We could have done this by picking up the telephone but there was something  less obtrusive about Messenger. We could message and reply at any time,  unlike a telephone call where there is the potential to call at an inconvenient time for the other party. Using Messenger made organizing and meeting up simple and easy. Two years later, my son continues to be friends with the other boy and my husband and I are great friends with the parents. I credit Messenger for our friendship!

Messenger is a great way to connect with your friends who have a BlackBerry smartphone. If you are new to BlackBerry devices or have never used Messenger this will get you started:

Using BlackBerry Messenger

• Find BlackBerry Messenger, hint it looks like this (and may reside in your Instant Messaging folder) 

• Your first time using BlackBerry Messenger you will be asked for a display name (this is the name that will show up on your friend's contact list), and a password.
 
To add contacts to Messenger:
•  From the Contact List screen click the Menu button - looks like this:  
• Click "Add a Contact"
• This box will pop up:
 
• Type an email address, name or PIN, press enter key.
 
Note:  You can only add a 'name' if the individual is listed in your address book with a valid email address.

How to find your PIN on your BlackBerry smartphone: Options (wrench), Status
 
Can you credit your BlackBerry with making a new friend?
 
If you don't have IM on your BlackBerry:
 
BlackBerry Messenger for Software Versions 4.0 and 4.1
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/blackberry_messenger.jsp
 
You can download other IM clients here:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/

I went to a BBQ this weekend and I was chatting with a couple of recent converts to the BlackBerry® smartphone. We spent quite some time wondering how we existed B.B. (aka Before BlackBerry). We marveled at how we got along before we could IM, email or check Facebook® from anywhere.  Similarly, my previous BlackBerry was a model without a camera. I didn't mind, as I didn't know what I was missing. 
Now that I have the BlackBerry® Bold^TM  smartphone I've found so many uses for the camera on my BlackBerry device!

• Shopping: Taking pictures of products and sending them to family and friends "Hey, do you like this one?" or "Is this the brand you wanted me to pick up?", or "Add this to my wish list!"
• Just in case pics: We found this handy when we were on vacation and the rental car was in less than perfect shape. As we did the initial walk-around with the rep we took pictures of the damage.
• Line-ups: I will on occasion send my husband pictures of grocery store  line-ups or photos of traffic (I commute - I don't do this while I am driving ) instead of sending him a long explanatory email about why I will be late.
• Weather: I like to brag when we have nice weather so sometimes I will take a picture and send it to my family on the rainy coast.
• Home Improvements: We were recently shopping for hardwood floors and so I took photos of the room with us. It doesn't beat having the actual samples in the room, but it meant we brought home the right samples the first time!
• Quick shots for sharing: Best of all I love being able to take pictures and immediately share them without every having to download them to a desktop.   

How to User Your BlackBerry Camera
(Based on the BlackBerry Bold)
 

Find and choose this Icon on your BlackBerry home page

You will see a screen like this:

 
Get the shot you want in the view finder and press your trackball in to take the picture!
 
What interesting uses have you found for your BlackBerry camera?

Don’t we all love shortcuts? We look for ways to make our route shorter (take the road less traveled, the one with fewer stop lights, or the one with more lanes), ways to cook our food faster (pre-cooked bacon), and ways to type on our BlackBerry® smartphone quicker. Whether you want to beat your friend in a type-off  (whose thumbs are faster?) or just want to get more accomplished - you need to know about a neat BlackBerry feature - AutoText.

If you have ever typed the word "dont", "wouldnt" or "youve" using your BlackBerry smartphone you will notice that they quickly become "don't", "wouldn't' and "you've". Similarly,  "i" becomes "I" and "www" remains status quo even at the beginning of a sentence. There are presets for commonly misspelled words, words with apostrophes, and words that require a particular lower or upper case at all times. If you need to tell a friend your phone number or PIN number simply type "mynumber" or "mypin" and the number will appear in its place.

You can also create your own AutoText settings to shorten frequently used words, or statements. A few I have created:

• Type "wru" and it is replaced with  "where are you?" (a question I ask my husband regularly when we are out at the hardware store and he has gone missing! )
• Type "bb" and it is replaced with "BlackBerry" (obviously this is a well used word in my vocabulary!)
• Type "omw" and it is replaced with "on my way"  (worthwhile when you are leaving work late and you want your spouse to know you have left)

How to use AutoText on your BlackBerry:

Go to Options (wrench) > AutoText

You can scroll through the presets to familiarize yourself with existing AutoText.

To add your own AutoText:

Click the BlackBerry Menu Button > New >

Type the quick text in the first field, and then what it will be replaced with in the following field, as seen below

Click the Menu button  > Save

Ta Da! You have now created your very own shortcut.

Are you already using AutoText? Do you have a favorite shortcut for your BlackBerry smartphone?

Thanks to digital photography I take thousands of pictures a year. I have about 15,000 images stored on my computer, only sortable by date or folder name. So, I have recently started to tag these images with keywords describing the individuals and events in the pictures.  In the future when I want to be able to locate all pictures of my son sleeping in a car or pictures of my husband and I on vacation, I will be able to simply click on a few check boxes or type in a selection of keywords in my photo software.  Of course doing this for 15,000 images is a time consuming job.

Along with tagging the images with the people and activities in them I often use keywords to describe the location the image was taken. As cameras have become more advanced, some are now including GPS capabilities, which means that this will longer be necessary. Cameras with GPS technologies allow location information (longitude and latitude) to be written directly to the file at the moment the image is shot.  This ability is also available on some newer BlackBerry® smartphones and is termed "Geotagging".

What is geotagging?

A digital photo is geotagged when location data (latitude and longitude coordinates) are added to the digital file alongside the photo’s existing EXIF data.

What you need:

BlackBerry with camera and GPS (enabled)

How to turn on Geotagging:

(Note these instructions are specific to BlackBerry® Bold^TM smartphone because that is what I have)

• From camera screen click on the BlackBerry menu button (this is the button with the BlackBerry logo).
• 1. In this menu choose "Options"
• 2. Scroll down to "Geotagging" and set to "Enabled"
• 3. Click on the BlackBerry menu button again and choose "Save"

When you are in the camera screen you should see a small map icon in the right hand corner. This indicates that you have enabled geotagging.  However, in order for it to work you will also have to ensure that you have turned on GPS Services.

To turn on GPS Services on your BlackBerry:

1. Go to "Options"

2. Choose "Advanced Options"

3. Scroll down and click on "GPS"

4. Choose "Location On" for GPS Services

In the camera the geotag icon (the little globe in the right hand corner) needs to be white in order for the geotagging feature to work. If the icon is red it is not picking up your location via the GPS. For the most part this will be an issue when you are indoors or if you have just turned on your phone, as it may not have coordinated your location with the satellite yet.  To be sure that you are connecting with GPS - open BlackBerry Maps®  and "Start GPS navigation".

Now you are ready to shoot photos with geotags!

Watch for a future post on fun with Geotagging!

Continuing on the personalization theme, not only can you change the Wall Paper or Home Image, and move around your Icons - you can change the format or setup of your desktop by changing your "Theme". 

A theme can be a great way to add a bit of fun to your BlackBerry! Depending on the theme you choose it may change the background image, the placement of the icons on the desktop, or the look of the icons. Your BlackBerry comes installed with a couple themes, but you can also find plenty of websites where you can find plenty of free themes and you can also buy themes around your favorite sports team, video game, or if nature or dogs is more your style those can also be found. 

Changing Themes:
1. Choose the Options icon

2. Click "Theme"

3. Select a theme

4. To return to the Main Screen press the Escape Key (the rounded arrow)

Do you have a favorite theme? 

One of the many great things about a BlackBerry® smartphone is that you can set up individual ringtones for the various incoming messages or tasks (email, IM, and other alerts) as well as custom ringtones for individuals as discussed in the previous post on Changing Your Ringtone: The Basics . This can help you to set priorities to your daily tasks by notifying you that you have a new e-mail message rather than a Facebook alert, or a meeting coming up and not an IM.

How to Personalize your Ringtones by Task
(Note: this is based on BlackBerry®  Bold^TM smartphone)

Your BlackBerry comes with some preset Sound Profiles - Vibrate, Quiet, Normal etc. However, you can change the settings within any of these to fit your preferences, or set up a new profile.

• Find the Sound Profile Icon, open and find the "Advanced" option to make changes.
   
• Choose a profile that you would like to edit - for example "Normal"- or click on the BlackBerry menu button and choose "New Profile"
• A page with a list of alerts, types of messages, and application or tasks that use ringtones will be shown on this page. You can make changes to any of these.

Choose one task/alert/message (for example BlackBerry Messenger Message) by clicking on it.

There are a variety of settings that you can adjust, as well as you can have different settings for in and out of your holster (BlackBerry case). To make changes to a particular setting:

• Scroll down to the item you want to change
• Click the BlackBerry Menu button, choose "Change Option"
• Highlight your setting and select.

Note: If you are changing the ringtone or volume you will hear the ringtones as you scroll over the options.

When you have made all the changes you want to make to Ring Tone, Volume, Number of Beeps, Repeat Notification and Number of Vibrations click once more on the BlackBerry Menu and choose "Save". You can do this for any of the items on the profile. In fact. you could  potentially have a different ring tone for each type of message, calendar alert etc. Personally, I have set my IM clients with one ringtone, my personal e-mail with another, and work e-mail with a third variation.

It is one of the first features people change when they get a new phone - the ring tone! For some reason a ring tone says something about you, and it makes the phone "yours". Not only does it reflect your groove, it can also allow you to know who is calling without looking at your BlackBerry® by setting a custom tone for your favourite (or not so favourite) people.

Changing Your Ring Tone

How to change your ring tone?

• Choose Media  on your main page

• Then click on Ring Tones on this menu
• Choose  "All Ring Tones"
• From here you can play any of the pre-loaded ringtones.

• When you have located a ring tone you prefer click the BlackBerry Menu Button and choose "Set as Ring Tone".

• That is it!

How to personalize your ring tones by individual:

• Go to your address book

• Find the person whose ring tone you want to customize
• Click the BlackBerry Menu button, scroll down to Add Custom Ring Tone
• Chose the ring tone and press OK.

What is your favourite ring tone? Have you ever heard a ring tone that annoyed you? Made you laugh?

Among the many factors that make up a great online community I think the most important one is that its members have a high level of engagement with their peers in the community. This past week I discovered that this community has that in spades! Having all the bells and whistles for a community doesn't  necessarily guarantee success. Rather it is the focus on the people - the members - that in the end creates a a vibrant and engaged social community. This was all too clear last Tuesday morning when I met six of our Experts and one of our moderators for the first time in Orlando, Florida for WES 2009.

A community forum, like this one, is guaranteed to have a diverse group of members. Members who lurk, members who post every hour, members young and old (er), the high-tech and the low-tech or no-tech,  people from Australia, Bangladesh, the US and all over the world, members who love hockey, or a punny funny joke, or swimming at mid-night...

...you get the idea.

Our community is no different. We have an amazingly varied group, but we have at least two common shared interests - the love of our BlackBerry and the inclination to connect and help others. You might think that this is not enough to build a friendship, or that you can't find true friendship in an online community...but  you would be wrong - and I have proof: many new friends.

On Tuesday morning last week I waited in a hotel restaurant to meet six of our community members (and one moderator) we had flown in to join us at WES. I wondered what they would be like, and hoped that we would all get along despite having never met and regardless of the fact that we are such an assorted group. I didn't need to worry, by the time we sat down for breakfast everyone was talking as if they had known each other for years! It occured to me then that some of them had known each other through this forum for nearly a year and unlike some of their "real life" friends, they talk to each other nearly everyday (often more then once). While we are from different places or have different interests - their love of their BlackBerry and proclivity to help others is MORE then enough to spark a friendship online- or otherwise!

The week with Bumblepie; Tanzim, JSanders, Knottyrope, Krypto, jmrmb80 and Andy at WES was amazing! We spent all day together at WES - from the early morning (some of us more early then others) into the wee hours of the night. We got to know each other very well: knottyrope's - "knottyisms", jmrmb80's infectious laughter, Krrypto taught us about bugs and made Andy itchy, we discoved Bumblepie is not afraid of asking for Birthday cake (and ruining surprises!), while Jsanders wowed us all with his amazing ability to speak on camera and  Tanzim remained happy, keen and awake despite a LONG journey and jetlag.  Not only were we able to connect with the community members we brought with us, but we met other contributing members (hat tip to bbhorrigan) and lurkers (calling you number 33! - AlanM) at WES and at our Birthday Bash.  Through the real-time "tweets" via Twitter we were able to communicate with members like Bifocals and Xandrex who weren't at WES, as well as some other WES attendees who we can now call friends!

Through the WES experience we were able to bring the community "offline", and find new shared interests amongst us. However, we also discovered that despite our differences, and in spite of the fact that we had never "met" in person that the friendships that were built "virtually" were very real.

If you don't believe me - check out what the other members have said, and for a great daily summary see Krypto's WES Experience.

Well WES 2009 is now over, and so is our Big Birthday Bash! We had a wonderful time in Orlando with the community members that we brought with us, as well as others that were at WES. It was a busy week and I will be posting more details on the events of the last week as soon as I have recovered!

In the meantime, here are just a few pictures from our first breakfast with our amazing new friends:

And, some from our Big Birthday Bash:

Of course, there was also the big WES Party with will-i-am:

Want to hear what is going on at WES 2009? Or connect with community members that are? If so, join us on Twitter.

If you are already on Twitter:

Follow us @BlackBerryForum

If you aren't on Twitter you do one of the following two things:

1) Join Twitter and follow us (you will then be able to communicate with us or other community members!)

2) Follow our tweets by keeping an eye on this URL or subscribing to the RSS feed   (take your RSS subscriptions on the go with Viigo for BlackBerry)

If you want to follow WES conversations from other Community Members  - you can do that too:

Because it isn't all about us! Here is a way that you can follow all community member who are tweeting from and about WES.  We are suggesting a common #hastag . This #hashtag will allow members to easily follow the twitter discussion. If you are tweeting or not you can search for this hashtag and see what any community members are saying when they use the same hashtag (whether you are following them on Twitter or not).

If you are tweeting

Use the hashtag* #bscf (the initials for our community!) within each tweet. Take a look at our first tweet to see what that looks like:

 
To follow a hashtag

You can follow a hashtag by using Twitter Search or by using one of the these applications (TweetDeck for example) from a computer.  You can of course subscribe to the RSS of this Twitter Search. From your BlackBerry - just add the RSS to Viigo  on BlackBerry.  

How to Tweet (a few basics)

If you decide to join Twitter, here are a few things you should know.

1) Follow people, it is more fun! (follow community members, brands, friends and maybe even other BlackBerry sites!)

2) "Talk" to people - use the @reply to send a message to people you follow. For example to send us a message type @BlackBerrySupportForums (keep in mind this message can be seen by all of the people you follow).

3) Tweet often - share links, thoughts, quote interesting people, tweet pictures

4) Retweet -  use RT and copy someone else's tweet -make sure you include @username. To retweet us you might say:

 RT @BlackBerrySupportForums The BlackBerry Community Support Forums are heading to Orlando for WES 2009, are you? #wes2009 #bscf


Have a question about Twitter? Feel free to ask us, or the community. There is bound to be someone who can help.

A week ago I posted an announcement on the Forum that the BlackBerry® Support Community will be attending WES this year.  We are thrilled to announce that not only are a couple of us attending (me included!), we are also bringing some friends!  And having a big party that you are invited to!

As part of the BlackBerry Support Community Forum's birthday celebration we wanted to recognize the work of our members. With that in mind we invited a group of our community Experts to come to WES 2009 with us. We are flying in 6 community members from all around the world to Orlando for four days to attend WES. I am really excited to meet them, and I know they are all looking forward to meeting each other. Since the invite went out, I have received numerous e-mails from our guests wanting to know who else was coming, and who they would get to spend time with at WES. 

The following community members have agreed to take time off from work, for a little BlackBerry vacations:   

- jsanders

- Bumblepie

- knottyrope

- jmrmb80

- tanzim

- krypto

Update: Andy (moderator) will also be joining us at WES!

A few tears because a few of our invitees couldn't make it. However, we are thrilled that 6 of the group could.

The Party: The BlackBerry Support Community Birthday Bash

Are you attending WES? If so visit the BlackBerry Support Community at the BlackBerry booth to get a ticket to our  exclusive BlackBerry Support Community birthday bash party we are hosting on Tuesday, May 5 from 5 - 7 p.m. Consider it a pre-party to the WES 2009 Party on Tuesday night. You must have a ticket to attend, and we have limited tickets - so drop by the booth early on Tuesday! Did I mention there are lots of amazing BlackBerry door prizes? You have to be there to win! 

If you can't make it to WES make sure you bookmark or subscribe to the BlackBerry Community Post to see event posts, photos and videos! We want you to feel as though you were there.

I look forward to meeting many of you at WES 2009!

I got a shock the other day. I logged onto my Google Reader and saw this:  "1000+ unread items". Yikes! With my new job here at RIM, my two kids, and a time-consuming addiction to my BlackBerry and the BlackBerry Support Community Forums I have had little time to devout to reading my 200+ blog feeds, and my 20+ Google Alert I subscribe to. You might say I was suffering from information overload. 

I have organized my feeds in a number of ways, but the problem was I was rarely on my laptop on personal time to read the posts - so being organized and filtering the feeds was doing nothing to limit the influx. However, I had an ah-ha moment,  while at the airport on my way to vacation in sunny Florida. Viigo!

I knew that on the plane my four year old would glue himself to whatever movie or television show he could get on the tiny screen, and that the baby would likely fall asleep in my arms a half an hour into the flight - which meant precious time to myself. Believe me, you don't waste that time if you get it. I had Viigo on my BlackBerry, and wondered if I update my "channels" while at the airport will I be able to access the various feeds from the airplane with no WiFi or Wireless Network! The answer - yes! During our three hour flight I read through or marked "read" at least half of my unread posts. Bonus was that I could also read new posts from the BlackBerry Support Communit Forum!

Yes, that is right!  The exciting news this past week was that BlackBerry Support Community now has our very own channel on Viigo! Which means you can now access the support forums and the BlackBerry Community Post from anywhere with your BlackBerry.

Check it out (picture below):

If all you could get from Viigo was BlackBerry Community Support Forums and The BlackBerry Community Post that would be amazing (we think) - but the fact is Viigo gives you easy access  to do so much more. With Viigo you can subscribe to channels on weather, sports, stocks, flight information entertainment news, and of course RSS feeds!

Visit http://viigo.com/partner/bbsupport from your phone to download.

Now you can customize the channels so that you get the content you want.

Adding BlackBerry Community Support Forums content:

1) Open Viigo

2) Open BlackBerry Channel (first one!)

3) Pick +Add Channel

4) From this screen you can choose the Forum boards you are interested in adding to Viigo just by clicking to add the RSS feed.  As an example you can add our Welcome and Announcement board so that you never miss out launch information, or add the SmartPhone category with the relevant board for your phone. I also insist you add the RSS feed for the BlackBerry Community Post so that you never miss a post. 

Adding News and RSS Feeds (blogs):

If you already read News or Blogs via RSS you can also add these feeds to Viigo. You can do this in two ways:

Add individually by URL or RSS feed:

1) Open Viigo

2) Choose News & RSS

3) Click BlackBerry Menu Button (left of trackball)

4) Then follow this set of choices: Add Channel> add your own channel> Add a web page or Add RSS Channel

5) Type in URL or RSS URL

Sync with an existing Aggregator such as Bloglines or Google Reader:

1) Open Viigo

2) Choose News & RSS

3) Click BlackBerry Menu Button (left of trackball)

4) Then follow this set of choices: Add Channel> add your own channel> Add Aggregator

5) Type in your user name and password in order to sync

Now you should be able to keep on top of your news, blogs and the BlackBerry Support Community Forum wherever you are through Viigo. 

Must go an read some of my favourite blogs now!

Due to new methods of production, and digital technology we have come to expect that we should be able to modify anything and everything. From our computer desktop to web sites, and from T-shirts to M&M's® - we want to be able to customize it, personalize it, and essentially make it reflect our own tastes and individuality. So, it will come to you as no surprise that the first thing most of us want to do when we get a new BlackBerry® is to start personalizing it!

Here are the basics to personalizing your home page.  

* Note these instructions are specific to BlackBerry® Bold™. If you have another BlackBerry check out BlackBerry.com/Support for more documentation.

Wallpaper Picture

Your screen will likely have a nice scenic shot as your "wallpaper" or "home" image. While clouds, mountains and placid waterscapes are lovely - you might prefer a photo of your dog, kid, or your favourite Facebook profile picture. I went with my kids because it is easier to brag about them if I can also show off their picture:

Here is how you do this:

Use your BlackBerry camera to take a picture of your favourite pet, kid, place, etc.

From the picture view press the BlackBerry Menu button (this is the button with the BlackBerry logo on the left side of your trackball) This menu will have a choice "Set as Home Screen Image"  - choose this and your new picture will now appear on your screen when you are at the "Home" page!

If you already have an image you want to use:

View Pictures: Media>Pictures>All Pictures

Open the picture you want as your Wallpaper

Press the BlackBerry Menu button (as above) and choose "Set as Home Screen Image"

If your picture isn't already on your BlackBerry,:

Use e-mail to send the image to an address associated with your BlackBerry.

Open the attachment and save it. View Pictures: Media>Pictures>All Pictures (or choose the folder where you saved your image)

Open the picture you want as your Wall Paper.

Press the BlackBerry Menu button (as above) and choose "Set as Home Screen Image"

Note: Reduce the size of you images before e-mailing them, you don't need a picture that is 12" for a BlackBerry screen! Remember data charges may apply.

 Icons

Chances are the Icons on your main page are not set-up the way you would like them. We are all different - so of course you can customize this as well!

• Think about what tasks you do most frequently, or which applications you use most often. These should be the first icons you see when you turn on your BlackBerry. 
• Move the icon by highlighting the icon and clicking the BlackBerry Menu button, and then choose "Move".
• The Icon will now have a frame with arrows around it, use your trackball to move it up, down, left or right. 
• Do this with any other Icons you wish to move until your page is exactly as you want it! 

Get customizing!  What other things have you done to personalize your BlackBerry?

Stay tuned for a post on customizing ring tones!

As you might know App World launched last Wednesday. This weekend I decided to download some new apps. It was so successful I wrote this entire post using vlingo! Well, not really, but I did send four emails, wrote two memos, updated my Facebook status with random thoughts, and searched Google three times with the application. vlingo allows you to use your voice to direct tasks, and write emails or other text on the BlackBerry.  

The weather was beautiful on Sunday, and a friend invited my family to a last minute BBQ. On the way over we realized our favorite dessert place was closed.  I opened up my newly downloaded Poynt, set it to GPS location and asked it to “poynt” me in the direction of a “grocery” store. Then off we went to buy a tub of Cookies n’ Cream Ice Cream and Apple Pie – our status as “great guests” in tact.

While at the BBQ I played weather-woman, informing them that according to my Weather Network application it was 12 degrees Celcius but that it was going to snow the next day. I think they were beginning to question my status as a “great guest” at this point.

On the way back home I read through some of my 385 unread items in my RSS aggregator that I had added to my new Viigo application. Talk about multi-tasking! I am never going to have 385 unread items again, now that I can read blog posts in line at the grocery store, in the drive-thru, at the doctor’s office, and waiting for the kids to put their shoes/coat/clothes on.

Want to try out these applications or some of the other hundreds of Apps for your BlackBerry this is what you need to do:

How to download BlackBerry App World

1. Visit www.blackberry.com/appworld/download from your BlackBerry device
2. Click Download
3. Click Download again on a page rendering a brief description and application size
4. Click Run to install
5. Read software agreement, and choose “I Accept” (if you do, of course)

 There you go, 5 steps to App Heaven World.  

How to download an application

1. Search for an Application

• The first screen will show you Featured Items, which you can scroll through.
• File folder icon will allow you to browse by category
• File folder icon with star will bring you to the top 25 Downloads on App World
• The magnifying glass allows you to search for a key word or application name.
• My World will show you all the applications you have downloaded.

• A link to Reviews,
• A link to “Recommend” (to send to a friend)
• Screenshots for the application
• A brief description.
• A Download button..

 3. Click Download 

4. Once download completes you can choose OK to continue browsing App World or choose Run to set permissions and any necessary settings for the application. 

5. When finished, close App World and start playing with your new Applications!  

Nothing is perfect, so if you are having any problems or need help trouble-shooting head over to our BlackBerry Community Support Forums where our amazing members and BlackBerry Technical Advisors are there to help.  

Now that you have downloaded some applications, what are your favorites?