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Customized folders and colors on your BlackBerry Smartphone 

Sure this isn't exactly earth-shattering news, but I thought it pretty cool. You can customize the colors of folders you create in OS 7 on your BlackBerry. The other day, I was making some folders in the All pane so I could move some of my carrier's...um... value-added apps off of my home screen. OS 7 has such a vivid, colorful style to it that I felt the standard black folder icon was a little boring. Poking around in the Edit Folder options ([Link NSFW] like you do), I found a whole assortment of other color options for my custom folders.

As a bit of a blow to my CrackBerry Street Cred, a little digging around on the internet and a chat with my fellow CrackBerry writers revealed this feature has been around for a number of years and quite a few version numbers. Still, it only goes to prove that no matter how long you've owned a BlackBerry, no matter whom you know, there's probably at least something you didn't know it could do.

Read on to learn about creating and customizing folders on your BlackBerry.

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BlackBerry OS 7 Default Search Engine BlackBerry OS 7 Default Search Engine

If you just picked up a new BlackBerry Bold 9930, you may be upset when you see that Verizon has made Bing the default search engine once again. Well don't fret -- unlike previous OS versions you can now easily make any search you want the default in the BlackBerry browser. To do so, follow these few simple steps.

  1. In the Browser, press the Menu key then choose Options
  2. Select Manage Search Engines
  3. Select New Search Engine
  4. In the Name field enter Google (or your search name of choice)
  5. In the Address field enter http://www.google.com/m/search?q=%s
  6. Save

Now click the new search to set it as the default and you're done. When you enter a search term in the navigation bar it will use Google (or whatever search you specified as the default) and you're all set! Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

 

The secret BlackBerry address books

 
Arnold holding Bold

Ever needed to have a contact's number in your phone but didn't really want their name in your address book 'just in case' you were in a situation where other prying eyes are interested in who is in your BlackBerry address book?  This "feature" I found a few years ago I'm assuming is a bug in the OS, and is so far down the priority list of things for RIM to worry about that is now a permanent feature.

OK, full disclosure, because my wife and her friends read CrackBerry.com - I personally do not use this feature.  I only found it by accident and the way my brain works sometimes is to look several moves down the chessboard and see how this can be implemented.  I do know several people that when I have shown this to have in fact put it into play.

So with that all out of the way let's get down to the good stuff...

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There are six BlackBerry's in this image + the logo 

This is a truly exciting time to be at CrackBery.com! New BlackBerry smartphones are on the way. I may not be conveying the proper level of excitement; let me try again. Faster processors with nearly double the computing speed of any BlackBerry currently on the market. More RAM. Increased storage. Magnetometers, augmented reality. NFC chips. Newawesomekick-butt BlackBerry devices are coming!

I am incredibly excited for all the ‘Berry's coming our way! But it's not just the hardware that's exciting. The BlackBerry OS 6.1 brings with it all new capabilities and improvements. And surprises.

Not everything a BlackBerry can do is written out in the manual; it's just not practical to include every piece of trivia. For me, filling in the gaps is fun. I love that "I didn't know I could do that" moment; I even mentioned it on the last podcast. Some features are buried in a menu or locked behind cryptic keyboard combinations. I remember - and this was before I really started to explore CrackBerry.com - finding out about Copy & Paste.

I had somehow managed to select some text, and I was really wishing I could press Control-C and copy this text to an email. Like many BlackBerry users, my first though was maybe there's an option in the menu. Not only was there an option to copy, but it was already selected. My BlackBerry knew what I was trying to do before I did.

That's probably when it started, my wonderful CrackBerry addiction. I began to look for more hidden tricks to my BlackBerry. Follow me after the break, I'll share a few of them with you.

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[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Love them or hate them, the BlackBerry 6 views are here to stay (until BlackBerry 6.1 at least). If you use them you really are getting the most from your device, but if you're like Kevin and myself, you try to stay clear of them at all costs. If you are a power user that likes to get the most out of all the views, here is a quick tip for navigating BlackBerry 6. You don't have to expand the panes to scroll around - just go to the far right or left icon, do a quick "double flick" and you will scroll to the next view. In the same manner, a "hard flick" down opens the full view for you. A bit confused? Check out the video above and see how it's done. Happy flicking!

CrackBerry BlackBerry Vacation

Ok, so the kids are out of school and the t-ball/soccer/swimming lessons are done, it's vacation time! The question is - Are you taking your BlackBerry with you? If you're a personal BlackBerry user the answer is simple, yes. But if your berry is a work device given to you by "The Man" are you taking that with you? Once upon a time the decision would be easy, leave it at home. But we are now a smartphone society and the BlackBerry just isn't just the work email device anymore. It has our Twitter feed, FaceBook account and out Google Mail. Not to mention our address book - I don't know anybody's phone number anymore and my life is in my calendar, so I need my BlackBerry. Apps like WorldMate in my opinion have made the BlackBerry a must take with you item when travelling.

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BlackBerry Quick Tip: What are these icons?

What is this icon? It's a question that gets asked a lot around the CrackBerry forums. Be it from new BlackBerry users or users that just simply have never run into a circumstance where they would see certain icons.  Out of the list above, I personally have never seen a service book waiting or browser push message icon. To make it easier, many folks in the forums have been helping spread the word by posting the above picture for everyone. So, we figured we'd post it on the frontpage you all as well just in case anyone who may not be reading the forums has a chance to see it. Now we're not positive who first started passing the pic around, other then to say that it's clearly an image from RIM from ifononline over at BBF. That said, thanks to all our awesome forum members for helping out and sharing with everyone!