Author: Joe

I sometimes feel like the BlackBerry Storm doesn’t get enough love around these parts. Maybe if RIM would send us one (wink wink, nudge nudge) we’d write more about it, but for the most part we have to rely on friends and family members for most of our Storm content. So, when someone posts a Storm tip, we’ll be quick to point their way. In the past we’ve gone over how to assign a speed dial key on your BlackBerry, as well as reassigning the A, W, and Q speed dial keys. That’s fine and good for the QWERTY models, but what about the Storm? Robb at RIMarkable has the tip.

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Exactly one month ago, UberTwitter pre-released their Beta-6 version. That’s something we don’t often see, especially with BlackBerry software. Beta already denotes a premature build, so a pre-released beta means the potential for even more bugs. No worries, though. UberTwitter Beta-6 is now officially released, so you only have to deal with the normal beta bugs. Details after the jump, though they closely resemble those of the pre-release.

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No matter how many albums in your personal music library, no matter how many Pandora channels you set up, there’s going to be a time when you want to listen to just one track and have no way of accessing it. Sure, you could pay the 99 cents to iTunes, but what if you just want to listen to it once? Happens to me all the time, especially when I want to play along with the song on guitar. Two excellent services for me have been Imeem, which recently became part of MySpace Music, and Grooveshark. Just type the song name and grooveshark.com into Google, and you can probably find the track you’re seeking. They now have a BlackBerry app which can do just that and more.

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Thanks to everyone who read and supported us in 2009. Everyone will tell you that they have big plans for 2010, so we’ll spare you the platitude. But we will promise more useful BlackBerry information this year, and the year after, and the year after that. Happy New Year everyone.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Happy New Year from BBGeeks

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Happy New Year from BBGeeks

It’s the last show of 2009! It was a good year for RIM, as they released a number of high-quality devices — the Curve 8900, the Tour, the Curve 2, the Storm 2, and the Bold 9700. They’ll surely gear up for a similar year in 2010. But we don’t quite talk about that. Instead, it’s all about RIM’s big promise: security.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (11 min, 24 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
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Over this past week, I’ve answered more BlackBerry questions than ever before. Plenty of friends and family members got BlackBerry devices for the holidays, and many of them need help with basic functions. Thankfully, those who ask by email get a link to one of our many useful articles. Those who ask in person get the universal sign for “give it to me.” Over at Pocket-lint, Stuart Miles goes over another important aspect of your new BlackBerry: what applications do you get first? Stuart has some good ideas, but I’d like to add my own take. The major difference is that he’s in the UK, while I’m in the States, so there might be a nuanced change here or there. Anyway, here’s my list vs. Stuart’s.

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In an attempt to expand the theme developers we feature in this bi-weekly space, I’ve started to search out new ones on my own. This has yielded positive results this week — though we do feature one of our regulars. I’ll continue noting any new themes I cross in my BlackBerry travels, but this works better when crowd sourced. If you are a theme developer looking to have your themes featured, or if you’re just a regular BlackBerry user who has found an excellent theme, email me, jpawlikowski at bbgeeks, and I’ll take a look. Hopefully my efforts mesh well with yours, and we can put together some killer theme features. Now, onto this week’s crop.

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Sometimes we can get so used to a routine that any slight alteration throws us for a loop. Our daily commutes represent perhaps our most embedded routine. Drive to work, drive from work. Every day. Over and over again. So when something disrupts that routine, it’s easy to get flustered. A car accident is nothing but pure agony for commuters. Not only does it mean the potential for serious injury, it also means the pain of dealing with the fallout. Whose fault was it? How bad is the damage? Who do we have to contact? Thankfully, there’s a new BlackBerry application that helps out with these unexpected occurrences.

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The more you use your BlackBerry, the more storage space you’ll need. While most basic information can reside in the on-board memory, more advanced features require a memory card. Not only does a memory card allow you more space to store your pictures, video, music, backups, and documents, but it also allows you to move them from device to device, whether that be to a new BlackBerry device or to your computer. It also makes managing your data easier, since you can open up an Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window and access the card’s files. How much data can your memory card store? That depends on the card size, which is limited by OS. In this post, we’ll run down the latest official OS for each BlackBerry device and thereby determine the highest capacity memory card.

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Cell phone, wallet, keys. That’s the standard pocket check when leaving the house. BlackBerry in the front right pocket, wallet and keys in the front left. While this layout makes for easy access, it does become quite bulky. Even with relatively loose jeans, you can still see the outlines of a BlackBerry and my wallet in each pocket. It’s not a big deal, really, but I like to avoid it when possible. For instance, I switched from a wallet to a money clip (with card holders) a year ago. Case-Mate now has a way for me to further combine. Their ID line of cases now comes with a card holder, so you can eliminate the need for a wallet. You can use an even thinner money clip and still have everything you need when leaving the house.

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Ever wonder how much time you spend sending messages on your BlackBerry? How about the amount of time you play Word Mole? A handful of applications will provide you with a rough breakdown, but none I’ve seen are quite as elegant as SmrtMonitor. It’s from the makers of SmrtGuard, a wireless backup and remote tracking service for BIS users. The application tracks how much time you spend on each BlackBerry application and then presents it in a number of formats.

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Surprise! The BBGeekcast is a day early this week because of tomorrow’s holiday. Come celebrate with us as we run down the big news from the past week, including the two outages which have outraged the BlackBerry world.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (7 min, 48 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
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I don’t think I’d be alone in listing Paperboy as one of my favorite childhood games. I was a bit young to enjoy it during its arcade run, but I certainly had the Nintendo version, and even dust off my old copy once in a while (when my NES actually works). It was also one of the first games I downloaded in college when I realized the brilliance of NES emulators. Now you can get that same experience on your BlackBerry. Elite Systems Group has released an officially licensed version for your BlackBerry.

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The BlackBerry has become a multimedia machine over the past few years, especially now that new models boast a high-res screen. Yet one of the most frequent complaints we get is how difficult (or convoluted) it is to transfer regular video files to the BlackBerry. The video on your computer sometimes isn’t optimized for viewing on your handheld. In order to view files, you’ll have to reduce the resolution to fit your BlackBerry screen. Thankfully, we’ve seen a number of applications over the years which can do just that. In this post we’ll run down a few of our favorites. If we don’t cover what you use, let us know in the comments or send an email (jpawlikowski at bbgeeks) and we’ll add it to the post.

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You should save your receipts. I have a great system. I stuff them all into my back pocket. Then, before I wash my pants, I pull them out and let them gather in a pile on my desk. Then, as the pile spills over onto my keyboard, I throw them in the garbage. It’s not quite when I had in mind when I drew up the system. As with most tasks, getting organized is easier when you do it all digitally. It’s one reason why I’m starting to use ProOnGo Expense. It’s an application that makes it easy to save receipts while still throwing them away.

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One major advantage of the @BBGeeks Twitter feed is that we hear so much feedback. My favorites are content suggestions. We try to provide as much useful BlackBerry information as possible, and what better way to gauge usefulness than by listening to our audience? One request we received frequently was of various options for Bible viewing and study on your BlackBerry. So, with Christmas just a few days away, what more appropriate time than to share some of our favorite links? There are dozens of options, but we’ve gone through our own store, App World, and some choice third-party sites to deliver some of the best Bible content available for your BlackBerry.

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Remember when movie tickets used to be $5? Maybe I’m dating myself here, but I remember paying that much for a prime-time movie with my friends on any random Friday night in middle school. Now, though, movies cost north of $10 per ticket, and that’s if you buy them at the theater. If you use an online service to get your tickets in advance, you have to pay a service charge on top of that, moving tickets into a once unfathomable price range. Sometimes, however, the extra price is worth the convenience. I can absolutely see the value in a Fandango application for BlackBerry. It’s out now, so you can get tickets to a movie no matter where you are.

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BlackBerry AutoText can make your typing life easier. You can turn uncommon text strings into useful, longer strings with just a few keystrokes. Thanks to a tip from BlackBerry Bold 9700 Made Simple, courtesy of BlackBerry Cool, we can also combine some AutoText features to create even longer strings. Your BlackBerry comes with a number of macros, triggered by the percentage sign (%). You can use AutoText to combine these, allowing you to replace two characters of text with strings like time stamps, your name, or even your PIN.

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Every consumer dreams of a white knight cell phone carrier that makes service cheaper for everyone. That doesn’t usually happen, though. A new carrier in Canada, however, could be changing the mobile landscape. Will WIND Mobile’s cheaper, more comprehensive plans and lack of restrictions force change among the Big Three in Canada? That’s our main topic on today’s program.

So click on over here to hear the BBGeekcast (10 min, 30 sec)

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss future episodes!

You can also subscribe to the BBGeekcast in iTunes.

Highlights include:
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How do you search the Internet? Most use Google, but there are alternatives, especially now that Microsoft has launched Bing. Both search engines have their ups and downs, but that’s fine. Both exist, so if you don’t like one you can use the other. Unless you’re a Verizon BlackBerry user, though. Or, should I say, a certain Verizon BlackBerry user. It’s come to light that some users no longer see Google search options in their Go To screen. Instead, their searches are limited to Bing. This comes as an odd development, especially because it doesn’t apply to everyone. Both James Kendrick (of jkOnTheRun) and I still have normal search options. It appears that others, though, aren’t as lucky any more.

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