Blackberry Tips and Tricks

Its been a week with my new Blackberry Curve. Previously, I had a Windows Smartphone (Treo 700WX), and was fairly happy with the functionality, but the stability of the device left much to be desired.

My new Blackberry Curve has been a pleasure. At first I was concerned that it wouldn't have some of the features that I had grown accustomed to with the Treo. That has not only proved false, but there are some excellent applications available that take the smart phone further than the Windows Smartphone platform can currently support. I am sure that there is still untapped functionality in the Blackberry, given that I have only been using it for a week.

Here are some quickly learned tips and tricks (which I'll add to as I learn more)
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Soft Reset: If you would like to reset your Blackberry without popping out the battery, give it a "three fingered salute" using the [alt], [right shift], and [del] keys all at once (don't start with the delete key).

Email Commands
Compose an Email: Roll your cursor so that it is not on an email (on the date for example) and press [enter] to start a new email.
Delete a Message: Use the [del] key followed by [enter] to quickly delete a message
Reply to a Message: Use the [r] key while in a message to reply.
Forward a Message: Use the [f] key while in a message to forward.
To select multiple messages (to file or delete) hold the [shift] key.

MUST HAVE APPLICATIONS
BLACKBERRY APP WORLD: Just recently released, App World is a definite must have ... easy to find, pay for, install (and remove) applications. What more to say? Visit http://www.blackberry.com to download.

VLINGO: Did you know that you can talk to your Blackberry (and it may even talk back to you). VLingo (http://www.vlingo.com) is a great application that uses voice recognition (you talk, it types) to send, reply and forward emails, text (SMS) messages, open applications, search on Google and Yahoo, update your status on Twitter and Facebook, and (of course) dial your phone.

This is a must have application if you spend any time in the car or with your hands busy. You can download VLingo at (http://www.vlingo.com/vlingo/downloadvlingo).

SLACKER: Listen to and customize streaming internet radio stations right to your Blackberry over your 3g network. Slacker Radio (http://www.slacker.com) is pretty cool. You can search for songs and artists or pick from approximately 100 channels of various music genres. There is a free version that has a few limitations, but nothing significant. You can download slacker at (http://www.slacker.com/mobile/blackberrydownload/). (Flycast is another similar application ... I prefer Slacker, but they both seem very functional. )

BLACKBERRY MAPS: While using my Treo, one of my "can't do without" applications was Google Maps. One of the features that I missed was the "My Location" feature, which didn't work on the Treo. So when I loaded up Google Maps on my Blackberry I was very happy to see the "My Location" feature was working as advertised. I was pretty happy ... big step up. Low and behold, I determined after a bit of searching that the Blackberry Maps application actually utilized the internal GPS in the Curve. Now, I have Verizon as a carrier and any googling will indicate that Verizon disables application access to the Internal GPS. Well Blackberry Maps can use the Internal GPS, which makes it my Mapping application of choice. Furthermore, Blackberry Maps utilizes Google Local for its search functionality (note: the search feature is not quite as good as Google Maps). Isn't it great when the built in application does exactly what you need it to.

OTHER TIPS:
YOUR BLACKBERRY as Portable Storage: If you connect your Blackberry to a computer with a USB cable, you can turn on Mass Storage Mode and your Blackberry will be available to uses as a "flash" drive. Pretty handy, especially since the USB cable connection is a standard cable and readily available.

Well that is all for NOW ... I'll update this as I get any more information.

Checkout my Delicious Links that are related to this post at (http://www.delicious.com/tim.alosi/blackberry)