Even with recent upgrades to the native BlackBerry browser, and more to come with OS 5.0 on its way (or here if you like unofficial releases and follow the blogs!), I'd still suggest visiting the mobile-optimized version of CrackBerry.com when visiting the site (especially if you want to use the forums) from your handheld. When on your BlackBerry, simply head to http://m.crackberry.com. The main CrackBerry.com website was originally designed for PC viewing and to be used in conjunction with a BlackBerry - for example, you can browse for free ringtones and wallpapers easily on your computer, or buy apps from software.crackberry.com, then shoot the download links to your BlackBerry for easy OTA install.

Planned CrackBerry 2.0 upgrades will make even the full site more BlackBerry browser friendly, but in the meantime just remember to put an m in front of CrackBerry when visiting on your device. Don't worry, you'll only have to type it once. When you visit the mobile site, simply download and install our Desktop Launcher and you'll never be more than a click away from the site. If you're new to BlackBerry, you can follow the step by step instructions below to walk you through the process.

The Call for BlackBerry 101 Article Ideas post we ran last week got a great response - over the weeks / months ahead you'll see a new burst of helpful how tos and guides hit the blogs that'll further build out the knowledge base in our existing lecture series.

One of the areas where readers expressed interest in learning more was in regards to the BlackBerry web browser. For a lot of new-to-BlackBerry owners it isn't readily clear as to how to get the most out of it. Back on New Year's Eve we posted a must-read article called BlackBerry Browsers Explained, which walked through the basics of the native browser (the differences between Internet browser, Hotspot browser, etc.). After knowing when and how to use each browser, the next step in becoming speedy is learning the shortcuts!

The BlackBerry is full of useful shortcuts, and the BlackBerry web browser is no exception. Some browser shortcuts overlap with others on the device as they should -- t for top, b for bottom and spacebar to scroll down the page in steps -- while others are more browser specific and sometimes a little less intuitive: h for the homepage, r to refresh, g to go to an address, s for options, k for bookmarks, u to hide the status banner at the top, i and o to zoom in and out. There are even more shortcuts and tricks for the BlackBerry browser and it just so happens our pal Al Sacco posted an in-depth browser tricks guide earlier this week that really drills into it. If getting the most out of your BlackBerry browser is on the agenda, I suggest you check it out. To learn even more BlackBerry keyboard shortcuts, you'll want to check out this post. 

Good friend and occasional CrackBerry contributor, Al Sacco (Twitter: @ASacco), who calls the CIO Mobile Workhorse blog his home, recently wrote a great article up on tips and tricks regarding the usage of GPS navigation. In the article Al covers some of the applications available, the cost associated with each of them and which ones perform and which ones fall a little short when it comes to overall usefulness. It's a great article for anyone needing to get up to speed on what's out there in the way of GPS navigation utilities for BlackBerry smartphones.

• Check Out The Full Article Over At CIO Mobile WorkHorse Blogs >>

In preparation for some upcoming giveaways in our CrackBerry Mobile App Store, we figured we'd put together a little walkthrough/tutorial so if/when time is of the essence you'll know what to do!

** When we do software coupons, please note they will only work on the mobile app store powered by Mobihand (visiting crackberryappstore.com from your BlackBerry) and will not work on our website app store (software.crackberry.com). *

Step 1, as pictured above, open up your BlackBerry's web browser and head on over to CrackBerryAppStore.com. To save on this step in the future, once you're there you can scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the "Click to Download App Store Launcher" button which will install a shortcut on your homescreen.

A few weeks back I made a late night, excited blog post about a new webservice that had just launched, BBLauncher.com. For $3, BBlauncher.com makes it quick and easy for anyone to create their own custom web launcher by uploading images and filling out fields on a web form, from where the finished launcher is automatically generated and emailed to you for your use and distribution.

That post got a lot of comments. Many people saw the convenience of the service, while others said just make it yourself for free! For a while now, CrackBerry member phikai has been taking BlackBerry launcher requests and creating and hosting them for free. So in the spirit of Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, phikai has put together an awesome tutorial (after the jump) so those of you want to learn how to make your own BlackBerry launchers can do so. This isn't exactly a newbie tutorial, but I have a feeling a lot of CrackBerry Addicts will be doing some tinkering after they read through the lecture. BIG THANKS to phikai for putting this together. Enjoy your Free launchers everyone!

A few weeks ago we dropped word in the blogs of Made Simple Learning's new E-Book for the BlackBerry Storm. A lot of interest was shown from those who prefer books over blogs and forums (crazy people!!), and of those many expressed the desire for a physical guide vs. one in electronic format. That said, it's time for a little update...

You can now purchase Made Simple Learning's BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Pearl Flip guides in paperback from Amazon.com (just click the corresponding image above). Also, just yesterday, MSL released the E-Book version of their BlackBerry 8900 guide (paperback coming to Amazon in a couple weeks). If you just picked up a new Curve 8900 and are new to BlackBerry, you may want to check this out. It'll definitely help you get the most of your BlackBerry fast, meaning you can join the ranks of CrackBerry Addict ASAP!

• Learn More About BlackBerry Help Books from Made Simple Learning >>
• Browse Available Paperback Books @ ShopCrackBerry.com >>
• Browse Available Educational E-Books @ ShopCrackBerry.com >>
  

With many Storm owners being new to BlackBerry, the folks at Made Simple Learning have released their latest book, BlackBerry Storm Made Simple, which at 397 pages is full of useful information to help both beginner and advanced BlackBerry users get the most out of their touch screen Storm. The book is currently available in e-book format, with the print edition soon to be available from Amazon.com. It sells for $20.99. Some of the BlackBerry Storm Made Simple highlights include:

• Dozens of hidden or little-known time-saving tips and tricks.
• Learning all the ins and outs of the new Touch Screen Interface
• Synchronizing your BlackBerry with your Windows or Mac computer.
• How to squeeze every ounce of power from the Address Book, Calendar, Tasks and MemoPad.
• How to become "Master of Your BlackBerry Email"
• How to use Google Sync for true "Wireless Sync" without an Enterprise Server
• Support for both BlackBerry Internet Service and Corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server users.
• Tips and tricks to unlock the rich Media Features of the BlackBerry Storm.
• How turn your Storm into something that could replace a video and audio "iPod"
• How to use your Storm for Mapping (including Google Maps.)
• Learn how to go Online as well as update your Facebook and Myspace pages right from your BlackBerry

Since the launch of the BlackBerry Storm our CrackBerry Forums have been insanely busy, with Storm owners looking to rave, rant, hunt down updated OS's and apps, share their experiences tips and tricks and get help with their device. The knowledge base in our Storm forums (provided by our awesome members!) is HUGE, but if you fall into the "looking for help" category and want an offline learning experience that you can walk through at your own pace, you'll want to check this book out. So you can browse before you buy, Made Simple Learning has made available a sample .pdf that gives you a peek of what you can inspect to find inside.

• More Information at Made Simple Learning >>
• View Book Sample Pages >>
  
• Purchase E-Book from ShopCrackBerry.com >>

Have any of you out there ever found yourself copy and pasting URLs or phone numbers directly from BlackBerry Messenger and either inputting them in your web browser or adding them to your contacts? I know I have for sure and often wondered why they were not converted to hyperlinks and creating menu items for phone functionality.

Well, long time friend of CrackBerry, Stinsonddog has the answer for us on how exactly to get that fixed in 4.6/4.7 OS, so that those items do indeed show the way they should as elsewhere in the BlackBerry OS. This is something that seemingly was overlooked by RIM and hopefully they fully fix it for all us Bold and Storm owners.

Continue reading article >>

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Around Christmas time many people receive a BlackBerry as a present. It is not surprising since it is the fastest selling smartphone these days. The BlackBerry is pretty user friendly and most things are self-explanatory, however I thought that there are at least 10 things you should know about that will make using your BlackBerry so much more enjoyable.

Today we received an email from Mike on the CrackBerry Podcast hotline (podcast @ crackberry.com) in New Jersey asking why there are different web browsers on his new BlackBerry Storm, and why he cannot download files larger than 5 Mb.

I thought that the answer to Mike's question would also benefit everyone else, so read on after the jump for an explanation of the BlackBerry Browser.

Want to run the supposedly new and improved "atomic" trackball in your pre-BlackBerry Curve 8900 trackball-using smartphone? (update: check the comments... sounds more and more like this is just a BLACK trackball and NOT the ATOMIC one.... the 8900 was supposed to ship with it but they didn't get it ready in time. Apparently the atomic trackball will not be backwards compatible to older devices). The video above will show ya how to get it done! If you don't have those fancy tweezers I have always found the edge of a credit card to work well for popping the trackball housing out (likely not an "approved" method, so do so at your own risk).

Now for the big challenge... tracking down an atomic trackball to actually install! I'll let y'all know when we get these little suckers in stock at ShopCrackBerry.com.

The vast majority of people don't own a BlackBerry Curve 8900 yet (nor have held or seen one for that matter!), but the folks at CNN.cn have already put together a video showing you how to rip it apart bit by bit. They did the same for the BlackBerry Storm which you can watch after the jump! These vids of course follow up on their BlackBerry Bold vids, in case you missed those (Bold Take Apart | Bold Rebuild). Don't try this at home folks!

Saving money is close to the number one item on all priority lists within enterprises today and one way to save money is to cut down on the cost of calls.  BlackBerry adoption within enterprises is very high and has now become an essential part of everyday business, so there is no way that you is going to take away an employee’s BlackBerry because it will likely cost more for that employee to perform their job.  However what if you could save a lot of money on their phone calls?

That is where Universal Mobile Access (UMA) comes in.  A UMA-enabled BlackBerry has the ability to save A LOT of money and improve the whole experience as a side effect.

While this article is geared towards businesses, everyone can take advantage of this technology and save the same amount of money.

RIM posted a .pdf file up on their support forums yesterday that contains some basic how-to info and tips for new and soon to be BlackBerry Storm owners.

Click the image above to download the 2 megabyte .pdf. And if you have any tips or tricks of your own to share (all you lucky blokes across the pond with your 9500's!!), be sure to drop them in the comments or Storm forums!

[ BBSync via BBNews ]

Here's a Vodafone Help Center video that'll bring you up to speed on setting up email on your Vodafone BlackBerry Storm.