Tips
Emergency Cell Phone Charger
If you've ever been involved in building out a large scale network, you've undoubtedly heard about single points of failure. The BlackBerry network itself is a single point of failure as we saw last week: if it goes down, every single person that relies on BlackBerry email is hosed (pun intended: it is a Canadian device!). But for you personally, the biggest single point of failure is probably your battery: if you run out of juice and you don't have your travel charger, you are, well... hosed.
Which is where the latest BlackBerry accessory I found comes into play: an
Emergency Cell Phone Charger that runs off of a couple (four to be exact) double AA batteries. This gadget can be used anywhere: it generates an extra 20-30 minutes of talk time, when your battery is drained out and fits in your pocket or purse. Pick one up now before your battery runs out!
February 18, 2008 in Accessories, Hardware, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
DVD Converter for your BlackBerry
If you've got a young kid, you've probably got a video camera for capturing all the seemingly normal stuff that we can do as adults but that is just plain amazing when a one year old does it. Thing is, most people don't carry about portable DVD players to show off all the new stuff that the kid... but you have a BlackBerry. If you've ever wanted to show a movie on your BlackBerry that you've got on a DVD (or more likely: you want to show off some internal presentation to a client or you're a real estate agent and you want to show a potential buyer a video), then I've got some software you should check out.
Wondershare BlackBerry Converter Suite includes Wondershare DVD to BlackBerry Converter and Wondershare Video Converter for BlackBerry. With this software, you can convert DVD or video to AVI, 3GP, MP4,WMV,MP3,AAC and WMA for playback on BlackBerry with with high output quality and fast conversion speed.
You can convert your DVD by selecting the subtitle and audio track you prefer, convert multiple video files at a time, trim your DVD and video files to capture your favorite video clips, crop movie video, set movie effects, and capture pictures from your movies and so on.
The software converts your videos to AVI, 3GP, MP4,WMV,MP3,AAC and WMA (all of which are supported on the BlackBerry) and you can merge DVD titles/chapters into one file and merge multiple video files into one file. It also supports video cropping and trimming.
You can buy it now for $39 or take it for a test drive.
February 18, 2008 in Reviews, Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
vCardMaster from S4BB
The guys over at S4BB have released yet another program for your BlackBerry. This one is called vCardMaster and it is a program to attach vCard, vCalendar and iCalendar files to a mail.
You can purchase it from their website for $19.99.
May 22, 2007 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Radio Cognos
The guys over at Cognos (business intelligence and performance management software) have started a podcast channel called Radio Cognos where they been discussing some really cool mobility related topics with some big hitters (Jim Balsillie anyone?). You can can subscribe to the show using iTunes or using your own podcatcher software. If you're not an audio kind of person, they also make the transcripts available for each episode (1, 2 and 3 so far).
May 22, 2007 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
NewsGator Go! for BlackBerry v2.1.8
The guys at NewsGator released version 2.1.8 of the NewsGator Go! for Blackberry product, which is an RSS reader for your BlackBerry. Since I'm a giant feed fan, I though I'd point out two things about this product that are especially important for the enterprise:
- synchronization: If you read a post in NewsGator Go!, it's automatically marked as read in any other NewsGator client you use. I'm subscribed to over 200 feeds and while I'm not on the go that often, the ability to read a feed on your mobile device and then not have to see it again is a really big thing.
- access to internal feeds: if the company you work for uses any sort of Web 2.0ish applications that tend to produce RSS feeds like bunnies make babies then you'll appreciate the combination of NewsGator Go!, NewsGator Enterprise Server and your BlackBerry because you'll be able to subscribe feeds that live inside your firewall, something that most feed reading applications won't be able to do. Big.
NewsGator Go! for BlackBerry is available for $29.95, you can download a free trial as well.
March 16, 2007 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Product of the Week: BlackBerry GPS Receiver
If you've got a BlackBerry with Bluetooth version 2.0, you need to check out the USGlobalSat GPS Receiver, available on ShopBlackBerry.com for $129.99 and Amazon.com for $117.45 (prices as of 4/4/2007). The GPS receiver will get you the ability to super charge the BlackBerry Maps application, instead of having to type in an address, your BlackBerry will know your address, which will way impress your friends and could possibly score you a date at a bar. Well, it'll impress your friends.
March 05, 2007 in Accessories, Hardware, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry Trade Up program
If you're stuck with an old BlackBerry but don't want to spend a wad of cash on a new one, you should hop on over here to run through the BlackBerry Trade Up program. The BlackBerry Trade Up program makes upgrading to a new BlackBerry easy by turning your old 7xxx series into cold, hard cash that you can use to persuade your wife to let you buy the new one. Because really, it always comes down the boss making the decision for you.
If you do go through the program, shoot me an email, I'd love to know how much you get for your old hunk'o'junk.
March 05, 2007 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Squirting with your BlackBerry
You guys have all heard about that other MP3 player right? The one that squirts? Well, it turns out you can 'squirt' using your BlackBerry as long as you have a Pearl or an 8800. You can read the feature length story here or the BlackBerry Blog short and sweet version here:
- Turn on Bluetooth on both devices, set the trusted field to 'yes'.
- From the sender: Home screen --gt; Media. Select the file and then click 'Menu --> Send Using Bluetooth'.
- On the recipient: Home screen --> Media. Select the appropriate media type and then click 'Menu --> Receive using Bluetooth. Click save.
March 05, 2007 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry and Daylight Savings Time 2007
Tune out now if you're not a sys-admin in the US or Canada. All you sys-admin suckers still here? Good. I'm sure you've all read about the changes in Daylight Savings Time in 2007 brought on by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but if you haven't, read all about it here. Bottom line: usually Daylight Savings Time happes on the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October, but starting this year, we'll spring forward on the second Sunday in March and roll our clocks back on the first Sunday in November. Why is this important? Because you'll want to head on over to read the February 2007 edition of the BlackBerry Connection, which has an article detailing how you'll need to patch your BlackBerry enterprise server before March 11th, 2007. Do it now, you know... for the children.
March 05, 2007 in News, Platform, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Talk-Now: No more 'I not available. Please leave me a voice mail.'
Talk-Now: No more 'I not available. Please leave me a voice mail.'
How lame is voice mail? Can we all agree to get rid of it and just go with sms or at least make some improvements to it (like the iPhone voice mail UI) so that I don't have to dial 1... wait... you have 3 new messages... wait.. to listen to your voice messages, press 1... 1... wait.. argh..
To that end, Sue (representing Iotum) sent me an email a couple weeks back about a product called Talk-Now, which is in technology preview stage (fancy term for beta?) that basically takes the presence information that you're used to in IM and moves it to your phone so you never have to make a call without knowing whether or not someone is available on the other end, thereby totally eliminating voice mail! Wheee!!!
Check it out (it's an OTA download) at iotum.com/blackberry.
February 20, 2007 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
YouTube.com to Your BlackBerry
This is a pretty cool product for all you proud dads that take way too much video of your kids but can't show anyone. The guys at S4BB created an application they're calling BlackBerry Web Video Generator that lets you paste in a Youtube.com URL and then spits out a video optimized for your BlackBerry Pearl or BlackBerry 8800. It only costs $15.99 to have the ability to annoy anyone within earshot with videos of your screaming kid.
Editors Note: I have a kid. He's pretty cool so I say this all in jest as a proud dad who blogs way too much about his own kid.
February 20, 2007 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Splash ID: should you store your bank, credit card and password information on a BlackBerry?
One of the featured items in the October 2006 IT BlackBerry newsletter is a piece of software from the same company that makes SplashPhoto (which I just blogged about) called Splash ID. The article describes Splash ID as software that allows you to store information
"... including user names, passwords and credit card, calling card and bank account numbers -- in a secure Blowfish encrypted format that you can access quickly on your BlackBerry device or desktop computer."Now I'm all for the secure storage of this stuff, but what happens if you lose your BlackBerry? Can anyone else access your most personal information 'easily'? I don't mean to pull a Bruce Schneier on these guys, but can someone who has actually used the product explain how your data is protected if you misplace or lose your BlackBerry? Looks to me like a single password controls access to all of your information.
November 07, 2006 in Reviews, Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Planet.blackberryblog.com
It's getting pretty easy to follow sites websites these days with bloglines, google reader, etc.. but if you're one of those people who don't use an aggregator yet, but you want to keep up to date with all the BlackBerry related blogs, you should check out the website I just put up:
http://planet.blackberryblog.com/
It's an aggregator of the various BlackBerry related blogs I follow.
If you've got a BlackBerry blog not listed on the site, shoot me an email and I'll add it to the subscription list.
September 09, 2006 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry Metro Maps for NYC and Madrid
If you happen to be one of the thousands of BlackBerry blog reads that also lives in New York City or Madrid (that would be in Spain for those of you who failed geography), head on over to the CrucialSoft website and download the Metro Network (subway system) map for your area. It's freeware and the maps live on the BlackBerry so you don't have to have data coverage for the map to work (which is important since you'll be using it UNDERGROUND). Here's the links to the appropriate versions:
August 24, 2006 in News, Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Good BlackBerry Developer Forums / Mailing Lists?
Someone recently dropped me an email asking where the best place to discuss BlackBerry development issues might be: more specifically where he might be able to find people who are deep into development on the BlackBerry platform. If you're a reader and you spend time in forums or on a good mailing list, please send me an email. I'll update this post with all the submissions.
June 23, 2006 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Excerpt from BlackBerry Hacks on Oreilly.com
Dave Mabe, author of the soon to be released BlackBerry Hacks book, posted an excerpt from the book over on oreilly.com. The article is divided into eight sections:
1. Email: BlackBerry's Bread and Butter
2. Keyboard Design and Usability
3. The BlackBerry Web Browser
4. Key Corporate Features
5. Developers, Developers, Developers
6. Games and Third-Party Apps
7. Quick Tips for New Users
8. So, What Is a BlackBerry?
Check it out here.
Update 10/7/2005: It's actually not an excerpt from the book, you can get the chapter list and the cover image over on Dave's blog.
October 02, 2005 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry Pizza
Sounds like an interesting combination right? Well unfortunately it's not a pizza offer, it's a free BlackBerry 7100G if you buy a pizza, two drinks and a side from Papa John's. Oh, and you have to commit to a two year deal with Cingular at $75 per month (so that pizza is going to end up costing you $1800 over two years, no wonder they're giving the phone away for 'free').
July 16, 2005 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerrry Enterprise Server Email List
If you manage a BlackBerry Enterprise Server and you feel like the there's no web-based resources specifically for you, head on over to the newly formed BlackBerry Enterprise Server mailing list on Yahoo! Groups. It's described as a:
...worldwide mailing list for users of Blackberry Enterpriser Server. The subject is the Blackberry Enterprise Server installation, configuration, interfacing, compatibility, upgrading, administration, etc.
June 10, 2005 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Mass Delete / Open Email on BlackBerry
I use my BlackBerry on a daily basis to manage a bunch of servers and web-based software applications; one of the byproducts of the management is that I sometimes get thousands (literally) of emails in a single burst, which means that my BlackBerry inbox is a pain in the you know what to manage. Today someone posted a little tip to the BlackBerry Users email list that will make my job (and hopefully your job) easier. If you want to delete all emails prior to a certain date or mark emails as 'opened' prior to a certain date, scroll through your email until you come to that date... and then select the date and click on it using the scroll wheel. You'll see two options: one that says "Mark Prior Opened" and one that says "Delete Prior", both of which I'm sure are self explanatory.
I just hope the reference to Mark Prior doesn't end up making this a baseball blog.
[source: pinstack.com]
April 11, 2005 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Virtual Inboxes On Your BlackBerry
The kids over at MobileWhack posted a short snippet on how you can setup what they call a 'virtual inbox', which is basically a saved search with a hotkey. Read more about it here. [via bogle]
February 24, 2005 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Free BlackBerry From Orbitz.com
Feels like 1999 again with all this 'free' stuff. Orbitz announced Tuesday that they too would be giving away BlackBerry 6710's for users who book a flight, rental car, vacation package or hotel on Orbitz.com. You can read more about this offer on orbtiz.com/blackberryoffer.
January 06, 2005 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry Instant Messenging using Webmessenger
I started using a BlackBerry a couple months ago, initially I was excited by the thought of having a full keyboard and anywhere anytime access to online activities like IM, IRC or SSH. My enthusiasm was quickly snuffed out when I found that the BlackBerry 7280 I had was handcuffed; no socket connections which means no IM (unless you want to use the lame mMode WAP IM that comes with AT&T phones), no SSH, no J2ME applications that make network connections (unless you have access to MDS, which I don't yet). Things are looking up now though with the release of BlackBerry version 4.0, which gives you direct TCP/IP access to sockets!
So last night I downloaded and installed Webmessenger, the de facto instant messenging client for the BlackBerry. Even though they say that MDS is required, I was able to install and get it working with 2 different instant messenging servers (AIM & Yahoo!) in about 5 minutes. Once I got beyond the "wow I'm instant messenging using Yahoo! and AIM on a device no bigger than my palm!", I was impressed by the ton of configuration options:
· Buddylist view (which allows you to toggle the display of groups, the display of offline buddies, group / buddy sorting order, show online buddies on top, etc..)
· Logstore (which allows you to log your IM conversations much like Trillian)
· User preferences (automatic login, can be configured to remember your username / password, etc..)
and the integration with the BlackBerry, specifically the ability to "Switch To Ribbon" which in effect minimizes the application but keeps it running the background, which is handy if you want to get some actual work done on your BlackBerry.
The price is pretty steep ($48) and recurring (per year, the traffic for each IM client passes first to their servers and then on to the respective IM implementation so the recurring fee does make sense) but if you've got to have IM, this is the application you want to have.
January 04, 2005 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Using Your BlackBerry As A Modem
On Wednesdays the guys in my group and I go up to Boston to work, the drive usually takes about an hour. The two of us with a BlackBerry were sitting in the back seat on the way home yesterday pecking away, him on his BlackBerry, me on my laptop. At one point he turned to me and said; "Wouldn't it be cool if you could use your BlackBerry as a modem for your laptop?", which of course it would be. A couple months ago I remember reading on BlackberryForums.com that the 7100 could be used a modem so I looked that up this morning... surprise surprise! It looks like not only the 7100, but the 7290 AND the 7520 also work! Check out the directions on BlackberryForums.com.
December 09, 2004 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Sprint Does BlackBerry (but only if you're a 'business user')
Brighthand and Engadget mentioned this a couple weeks ago (the turkey slowed me down), but Sprint is offering a BlackBerry for the first time: the 7750 specifically. For whatever reason though, they're not showing it on the consumer site (http://sprintpcs.com/), you have to cruise on over to their business site (where they presumably charge you more per phone and don't offer tasty rebates) to get bent over for five and one half hundies. If I was you (and I'm not just so you know), I'd head over to Verizon where they sell it for $100 less (question: in this day and age of instant information, why would Sprint choose to offer the phone for $100 more than Verizon? they have to know that Verizon is offering it for $100 less don't they? Is it some kind of marketing / promotion ninja thing that I slept through in college?)
December 02, 2004 in News, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
BlackBerry on Wikipedia
If the last time you looked at an encyclopedia was in college, you should check out Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia when you have chance. It's absurdly easy to add your .02$ (I added this blog to the list of external links), but more importantly information about a variety of subjects is available to anyone, anywhere. Start with the BlackBerry entry (noting that the BlackBerry is different from the Blackberry), although there isn't much content there now.
November 20, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Black-gmail-berry
The Black-gmail-berries are ripe this time of year in New England. To harvest them you'll need a Gmail account with the new POP feature (you did know that Gmail comes with free POP access now right?), a Blackberry web client (I'm using the AT&T Wireless Blackberry Web Click at attwireless.com/blackberrystart/) and a Blackberry. Setup is simple. Login to your Gmail account. Click Settings --> Forwarding and POP --> Enable POP and then click 'Save Changes'. Then login to your Blackberry Web Client, click on 'Profile' in the upper navigation and then click the 'other email accounts' link under the Email Accounts header. Click the 'Add Account' button and then enter your enter Gmail email address for both the 'Email Address' field and the 'User Name' field. Pop in your password, click the submit button and you should be eating Black-gmail-berries in no time.
In all seriousness, I'm even more impressed with Gmail after this experience. They roll out 1GB email. For free. And then people say they all really want POP access to their email. For free. Which really cuts into the Adwords revenue I'm sure. So not only does Google roll out POP access *for free*, but they do it so that if something is automatically labeled as spam by Gmail, it doesn't get put in the POP queue. It sits nicely in the web-based console waiting for me to come and delete it when I want to. And they didn't do by making forcing all the emails to be bulky HTML beasts full of their own ads. No, they realize that people don't want to see ads on handhelds and in Eudora or whatever they're email client of choice is, so they don't put it there. Bravo Google! Bravo Gmail!
November 18, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wiping your Blackberry Clean
Hang around the Blackberry support forums long enough and someone, somewhere will ask how you can wipe all the data from a Blackberry so that you can sell it on eBay (presumably because your company is buying you a new one or some such). Although I've heard rumors that this is going to be fixed in version 4.0 of their client operating system, you can completely wipe all the data by completing a few easy steps. From the ribbon, select the 'Options' menu, proceed to the 'Security' option and then make sure that the 'Password' option is enabled. Choose 'Save' using the scroll wheel. When your Blackberry locks, enter the incorrect password ten times in a row. After doing so all the data on the handheld will be deleted.
Inevitably (and comically) you'll also see someone complaining that they lost all their data on their Blackberry because they punched the wrong password in ten times, which is only funny if it's not your Blackberry that just lost all it's data. I'm sure there are lots of people out there who've lost all their contacts, email, calendars items, etc. who would agree that this easter egg is one they'd like to see retired. Again, from what I've read, this 'feature' (deleting all the data from a handheld) is something that's going to be wrapped into the Blackberry Enterprise Server Administrator, where it belongs.
November 01, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Keeping track of time on your Blackberry
Couple users on the Blackberry Users list wanted to know how you could configure your Blackberry to automatically update itself with the correct time zone when you travel. As far as I know there isn't an 'Update time automatically flag', but it's pretty easy to manually do it. From the ribbon, scroll to the 'Options' menu and then select the 'Date/Time' option. using the scroll wheel, select 'Copy Network Time' and then again, using the scroll wheel, select 'Save'. According to the Blackberry Quick Reference Booklet, this copies "... the current date and time from the wireless network to your handheld.."
October 19, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Using Ant To Build Blackberry Projects
Enrique Ortiz of J2MEDeveloper.com wrote an excellent article that shows how you can use Ant (a Java based build tool) to build your J2ME applications for the Blackberry platform (and simultaneously frees you from having to use the Blackberry JDE instead of your own preferred IDE like Eclipse or NetBeans). He truly goes above and beyond the call of duty with numerous illustrations (a suggested project directory structure, build task flowcharts showing Ant, etc..) and a full Ant build file using the Antenna Ant tasks that help you create create Jad files, and run the Blackberry rapc compiler. Grab yourself a copy now.
Enrique also has his own website (j2medeveloper.com) and runs a blog.
October 15, 2004 in Code, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Blackberry, Google, SMS and J2ME
If you read my post about the new Google SMS service and you're not sure that you can remember all the flags for searching AND you can download J2ME applications on your Blackberry (you should have no problems downloading applications if you have an account on a Blackberry Enterprise Server that has the Mobile Data Service installed and configured for your account), then you should point your browser over to http://www.thauvin.net/erik/j2me/beta/GooglME.jad to download a J2ME application that Erik Thauvin wrote. It takes care of all the flags and syntax of the SMS, let's you choose which service you want to use (ie: Google Local, Froogle, Google Search, Definitions), and it keeps a nice tidy history of your searches. It looks like it's been tested on the Blackberry 7210 so far, so it you download it and use it on a different Blackberry, let him know.
October 13, 2004 in Software, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Blackberry Service Plans
Last week after I wrote about the SMS service that Google offers and how you can use it with your Blackberry, I told a couple of the guys at work about it who have a Blackberry. Unfortunately, after explaining what SMS was and showing them how to do it on my Blackberry 7280 with AT&T Wireless, none of them had an 'SMS' option in their address book or compose message applications. That got me thinking that not all service plans are equal and here's the proof (as of 10/12/2004):
| Carrier | Plan | Cost | Notes |
| AT&T Wireless(1) | Basic (4MB included data) | $39.99 | n/a |
| AT&T Wireless(1) | Premium (Unlimited data) | $49.99 | Unlimited usage applies to BlackBerry email, Internet browsing, and qualified applications that use the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service. Other, non-qualified data usage is charged at $0.0048 per KB. |
| Cingular(2) | Xpress mail (3MB) | $34.99 | Send, receive, forward, and reply to messages while on the go! No mention of web browsing, SMS, or J2ME applications. |
| Cingular(2) | Xpress mail (Unlimited) | $49.99 | Send, receive, forward, and reply to messages while on the go! No mention of web browsing, SMS, or J2ME applications. |
| Nextel(3) | Basic Email (3MB) | $39.99 | Email and Java Apps: 3MB, Text & Numeric Messaging @ .15$ per message, Web browsing: unlimited |
| Nextel(3) | Unlimited Email | $49.99 | Unlimited Email, Java Apps and Web Access; 200 inbound Text and Numeric Messages |
| T Mobile(4) | Unlimited Email | $39.98 | Unlimited Web browsing & BlackBerry Web Client e-mail & BlackBerry Enterprise Server access. 300 inbound/outbound messages; $0.05 each additional message |
| Verizon Wireless(5) | 5 MB for NationalAccess | $39.99 | n/a |
| Verizon Wireless(5) | Unlimited NationalAccess | $49.99 | n/a |
So here's the thing that gets my goat, on my latest AT&T Wireless bill (I have the unlimited data plan) I have a charge for Additional data @ .02$ per KB. How? According to Carlos (an AT&T Wireless Customer Support rep), the unlimited data plan ONLY includes WAP browsing, not HTML browsing, which is misleading because the plan states (as I pasted above) that unlimited usage "... applies to .. Internet browsing...". Since when is the internet limited to WAP?
(1) ATTWireless.com
(2) Cingular.com
(3) Nextel.com
(4) Tmobile.com
(5) Verizon Wireless.com
updated 10/13/2004: added Verizon Wireless
October 12, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Google, SMS and the Blackberry
Today Google introduced a new service: Google SMS which according to the Google site "... enables you to easily get precise answers to specialized queries from your mobile phone or device." The Blackberry makes it easy to punch out short messages and it's great for reading email / SMS so it's only natural that they mention it by name on the announcement on the Google blog.
For those of you who don't live in Europe or Asia, SMS might be a new concept so here's a short tutorial for you SMS newbies that want to use the Google SMS service:
a) add Google to your address book. From the ribbon, select your address book using the scroll wheel, click the scroll wheel to use the menu to choose 'New Address'. Enter 'Google SMS' as the Company and then enter '46645' as the Mobile number.
b) From either the Messages screen or the Compose Message screen, use the scroll wheel to select 'Compose SMS' and then choose 'Google SMS' as the recipient. Now the fun starts:
c) Let's say that you're with some friends in my hometown of Mattapoisett on a Friday night and you want to find a local pizza place. Enter 'pizza 02739' and then click the 'Send' button using the scroll wheel. About 10 seconds later you'll get an SMS back (in this case you'll get two messages) that not only has the names of the three pizza joints in Mattapoisett, but also has the address and the phone number. And because of the great UI that Blackberry built for us (mentioned in my last post), the phone number is already hot-linked, ready for you to call and get a table or order a pizza.
Pizza is an easy option though, how about something a little harder? My wife and I need to find a veterinarian in the area for our new dog. So I enter 'Veterinarian 02739' and ten seconds later I get a message from Google SMS:
Did you mean 'VETERINARY 02739'?
Google Local
Mattapoisett Animal Hospital
91 County Rd
Mattapoisett, MA 02739
508-758-6400
A second message lists two more animal hospitals in the area.
That's boring though. What if you're at Best Buy and you have a sudden urge to buy the 140-Hour Tivo that they're selling for $399.99. Don't want buyer's remorse? SMS Google. Send an SMS with 'Price tivo 140' as the message body and in 10 seconds you'll get back a message (like I did) that $399 is a pretty good deal (Dell, Buy.com and Target all apparently have the same price according to Froogle).
For you readers out there that always have a dictionary nearby, how about this: send a message to Google SMS using the keyword 'define' or the letter 'd' and you'll get a definition back in a jiffy. Just the other day I was reading a book and came across the word 'smarmy' (a $20 word if I say so myself) and didn't know what it meant.
d smarmyand ten seconds later I learn that smarmy means "unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech."
If you've read this far, be sure to check out the PDF document that you can print out and save in your wallet. Don't leave home without it.
October 07, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Blackberry UI Treats
If you've used a Blackberry for any length of time you probably noticed that email addresses and phone number are automatically underlined for you, almost like a link in a web page (click the image to the left to see a an example). As you scroll through an email or a web page you'll notice that those email addresses and phone numbers are selected for you; if you haven't figured it out yet, that's a cue. Clicking the scroll wheel gives you the option of adding the user to your address book, emailing the user (if it's an email address) or calling / SMS'ing the phone number, which is another one of those brain dead obvious features that every smart phone should have, but not all do.
October 06, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
JavaScript and the Blackberry Browser
Someone on the Blackberry Users group asked if / when RIM plans to offer a web-browser that supports JavaScript. A bit of poking around their site led to a page that detailed their plans for Blackberry Enterprise Server v4.0, which says, among other interesting things, that:
Users can view more web sites from the device than ever before with support for JavaScript and displaying animated GIFs, as well as partial support for cascading style sheets.
According to this Blackberry users forum post, the 4.0 software was supposed to be released in September, no news yet on the release although rumors are that some ISP's already have it and are preparing to perform the upgrade.
If the rumors are true about the JavaScript enabled browser, we'll have to see if the Blackberry could then access Gmail using a web-browser.
October 04, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Blackberry Tips: Moving icons around
Today's Blackberry tip brought to you by the guys at FeedBurner: don't like the default order (or did the order change on you?) of the icons on your home screen? You can easily change where an icon lives (or hide it) by clicking on the 'ALT' key and then pushing the scroll wheel in. You should see options for 'Move Icon' and 'Hide Icon'. Selecting the 'Move Icon' option allows you to then click and drag the icon through the home screen until you find an appropriate home for your favorite icon. Selecting 'Hide Icon' will make the icon disappear. To show a hidden icon, click the 'ALT' button and then press in the scroll wheel and select 'Show All'.
September 27, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Blackberry Keyboard Shortcuts
Need to quickly view a list of calls? outgoing emails? voicemails? sms messages? Use any of the following:
- ALT-I -- incoming messages
- ALT-P -- phone calls
- ALT-S -- sms messages
- ALT-O -- outgoing messages
- ALT-V -- voicemail messages
Click the escape button to return to the unfiltered list. [Source: bbusers]
That turns out to be a short list, if you're super hyper efficient, check out this list on blackberry.com.
September 20, 2004 in Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Converting a J2ME MIDlet to a Blackberry cod file
Great post over on the PDA Street Forums that shows how you can convert a J2ME MIDlet (technically just the JAD file) into a cod file and then goes on to illustrate how you can transfer the MIDlet / cod combination from your local PC to your Blackberry while connected using the USB cable. It's not for the faint of heart and really only necessary if you can't deploy / download the application using OTA:
a) Download and install the RIM Java Development Environment
b) Download and install Java 1.4.2 SDK
c) Copy the jad & jar files in question to the /bin/ directory of your RIM JDE installation.
d) From the command line (make sure you are in the RIM JDE installation directory, on my system it is "C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry JDE 3.7\bin") type:
rapc import="c:\program files\research in motion\blackberry JDE 3.7\lib\net_rim_api.jar" codename=$your_app -midlet jad=$your_app.jad $your_app.jar
where $your_app is the name of the MIDlet you're trying to convert, $your_app.jad is the name of the MIDlet descriptor and $your_app.jar is the name of the MIDlet jar file. If all goes well you'll see a couple files produced: $your_app.debug (which you can discard) and $your_app.cod, which is the whole point of this operation. Once you have that, move to:
e) With your Blackberry connected to your computer via USB and from the command line (again make sure you're in the RIM JDE installation directory) type:
javaloader -usb load $your_app.cod
f) At this point you should see the J2ME application in your home screen.
You can also use the directions on Blackberry.com, but they aren't as straightforward and they require the use of the Blackberry JDE.
August 18, 2004 in Code, Tips by ajohnson | link | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)