Back in February, I showed you how to add multiple Gmail calendars to your BlackBerry PlayBook. I've gotten a few requests since then on how to remove them so I thought I'd share the solution.

The process itself actually only takes a minute or two and is quite easy. If you do not still have the User Agent Switcher Add-On installed on your computer, you'll need to reinstall it to make this work. You'll follow some of the same instructions as in the previous post. The trick comes in once you've unchecked all the calendars you no longer want. Keep reading to see how to remove those unwanted calendars once and for all.

Continue reading article

The release of OS 2.0 for the BlackBerry PlayBook and its integrated calendar is a dream come true for me. It's one of the features I use the most on my BlackBerry Bold 9930 and it was sorely missed on my PlayBook. Now that it's available, a lot of us are trying to figure out how to make it do exactly as we'd like. Over in our CrackBerry forums some helpful users found a way to sync multiple Google calendars on the PlayBook. We thought this was so great that it deserved a post on the front page and a shout out to all the members commenting in that forum. Also a special shout out to forums member tubbycyclist for such detailed and easy to follow instructions and @jcarty for letting us know you can do the same using Google Chrome. Keep reading to see step by step instructions on how to sync your multiple Gmail calendars with your BlackBerry PlayBook! 

Continue reading article

Update: DOH! Well that was quick! It looks like this was just an "experiment" on Google's part, if you go to the page you now get the following message:

Hi there - thanks for your interest in our phone-based login experiment. While we have concluded this particular experiment, we constantly experiment with new and more secure authentication mechanisms. Stay tuned for something even better!

If anything else pops up we'll report back!

I have a great deal invested in my Google account -- between GMail, calendar, address book, Google Docs, Google Voice and Google+, my account has most of my online life attached to it. So I treat my Google password like the valuable Precious that it is.

There have been times where I've needed to login to my Google account from some pretty sketchy computers, like my mom's HP -- which is connected directly into her cable modem with no firewall between the internet and Windows XP. I get sick just thinking about what is living inside that grey box.

Continue reading article

While most people likely just set up their GMail on their BlackBerry directly, Google does offer their own native app for accessing GMail on BlackBerry smartphones. Adam, I know used to use it a lot but as Phil over at Android Central noticed -- Google has now deprecated the GMail app for BlackBerry. Yes, you can still get GMail on your BlackBerry -- this is strictly the app, that you download that will no longer be supported not GMail through your BIS account.

Beginning November 22, 2011, we will end support for the Gmail App for Blackberry (installed native app). Over this past year, we've focused efforts onbuilding a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser and will continue investing in this area.

Users may continue to use the app, if installed, however it will not be supported by Google, or available for download starting November 22. BlackBerry users can continue to access Gmail through the mobile web app at http://www.gmail.com in their BlackBerry web browser. 

Sounds rather harsh right? While it may seem like a shot at BlackBerry, it's more a push for people to use Googles web services considering BlackBerry devices now support HTML5 better through the BlackBerry web browser. The current GMail app for BlackBerry is based off the 'old' look of GMail so there is still room for Google to revamp it.

They've done it with the most recent GMail for iOS -- but that thus far hasn't worked out so well either since it launched on iOS essentially broken. Of course, you can't forget the Android factor either which arguably offers the best GMail app experience on a mobile device so while it may not be a direct shot at RIM, its a clear sign they want you aware of Android.

Source: Google

Before BlackBerry OS 7, advanced Gmail features were only available in individual messages inboxes (not the combined Messages inbox) using the Enhanced Gmail plugin. The plugin added features such as Report Spam, Add Star, Apply Label and Archive. With BlackBerry 7 these features are brought to the combined messages inbox as well. This is a welcome addition to many BlackBerry users (myself included) that stick to using the combined messages inbox. Keep reading for a quick breakdown of all the advanced Gmail features available for messages.

Continue reading article

Last week Google rolled out an update to the Gmail mobile site making it much more friendly for the BlackBerry PlayBook.  The new update now allows for pull down to refresh.

Personally I like to use the Gmail mobile site rather than via BlackBerry Bridge on my PlayBook, so this a welcome improvement to Gmail.  I am still anxiously awaiting the native email client for the PlayBook but for now this is a step in the right direction.  Nice to see there is still some PlayBook love going on in the world.

More information at the official Gmail Blog

I'll admit it. I'm an avid Gmail user, but I don't use the mobile site. There's too much clicking. And waiting. And clicking. It's entirely too much like the WAP sites of yesteryear, you remember. Back when SMS texting was the brand new thing. I don't use the mobile Gmail site. Until today. Today, I discovered the HTML5 version of Gmail on my OS6 BlackBerry.

The new version of the Gmail mobile site is like night and day compared to the old. The experience with the site is much like sitting at your home computer, though slimmed down and optimized for the BlackBerry experience. Buttons appear and disappear as needed. Menus follow you around the page. Emails looks like they belong in the page, no need to zoom in and scroll left and right.

I am impressed with the mobile site, impressed enough to use it much more often now.

Continue reading article

The Gmail app for BlackBerry has been kicking around for quite a while now, yet many users won't give it a second look. I can't really blame them, since having a BlackBerry means having a BIS or BES, so who needs an app for email? Although my BIS email is for my main accounts, I do have some shared email addresses that I don't want being pushed to my device, so this is where the Gmail app comes in handy (I'm sure there are some other good reasons to use it as well). While not totally perfect, its not terrible either. It does have some great features as well as some really bad ones. Hit the jump for a look at what its all about.

Read Full Review

My personal email account is managed through Gmail it works well and it's free. Truthfully I don't stay up at night worrying that Google is going to come crashing down one day and I'm going to lose my data, but if there was a free automated independent service why not put it to work? Enter Backupify; they are powered by Amazon S3 so it's reliable. Backupify offers free automated storage for multiple accounts: Flickr, Twitter, Hotmail, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Address Book and Facebook.

I first learned of this service when I was looking to close my Facebook account and wanted an easy way to get my data out of that privacy nightmare. After a few quick clicks I had a Backupify account and a couple clicks later it was backing up Facebook, every 7 days automatically. When the weekly backups are complete I receive a status update email reporting that the backup was successful.

Continue reading article

We've been over the issue of BIS two-way sync for Gmail more than a few times now, each time closer than the last. Well yesterday I noticed that my messages appeared to finally be syncing up between Gmail on the web and my Bold 9700. The only catch? It took over two hours! Yes you read that correctly ... two hours and two-way sync. I did a few tests to verify (I'm using a Bold 9700 on T-Mobile) and I can say for sure that read/unread emails are syncing for Gmail. Mark an item read in Gmail on the web, and it will be marked as read on your device. Mark an item as unread from the web and it will show as unread on your device. So that leaves the question - is this it? I hope that this is just the start of our true two-way syncing. Two hours is an insane amount of time for this process, but I suppose its good to know that at least its working. The good news is I'm down to about 45 minutes today, so maybe things are getting better. Give it a shot for yourself and leave a comment to let us know if its working for you. You may have to remove and re-add your email to your BIS to get things going.

Over the weekend we had tons of reports that two-way Gmail sync on BIS was finally alive and kicking. The feature should allow for synching of both read/unread messages, as well showing sent messages on your device that were composed in the Gmail web app. While it doesn't seem to be working for everyone (myself included), it looks like a ton of users are up and running. I did manage to get my sent messages to sync up, however anything beyond that is a no go on my end. So we want to know if its working for you. Leave a comment and let us know (yay or nay) and be sure to include your device/carrier information as well. We'll keep you updated as we find out more. Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

* UPDATE- After speaking with several folks, it looks as though the GMail 2 way sync portion is to be a gradual rollout. So no immed. access is available, it should arrive in the near future to users. Taking this approach ensures that all will work fine rather than releasing something then finding out it may cause an issue*

We've been talking about the BIS 3.0 upgrade for a while now. And while nothing really overly exciting was to come from the update, the one thing it had going for it appears to have been ripped out. Users in Europe are among the first to get the newly launched BIS 3.0 but many have been reporting that 2 way GMail sync did not arrive as expected. Say it isn't so? 2 Way GMail sync was one of the key features of this upgrade coming in the form of enhancements to the GMail plugin.

While all other things seem in place, Open Office support and items such as the update to the carrier portals as shown above from the pics sent to us from BB Master. The mystery behind the absence of 2 way GMail sync seems rather odd considering the Official BlackBerry Support forums are even claiming it's supposed to of have been released with this update. However, when you access the Research In Motion knowledgebase you'll see that the documentation there shows nothing regarding 2 Way GMail sync. The line, as shown on the official support forums has been removed from the knowledge base entry.

Since users are reporting the service does not seem to be available to them we're thinking someone, somewhere may have messed up with the documentation. In all actuality, we may not see 2 way GMail sync until BIS 3.1 is rolled out. In the meantime, sit tight while we dig a little bit deeper into this story and try and find out what exactly the real deal is here.

*Update: We got our hands on an official email from RIM, and it looks like BIS 3.0 is set to drop on March 21st. Hit the jump for the details.*

Seems like we won't have to wait much longer for the next BIS rollout. While some will be happy and some will walk away unimpressed BIS 3.0 is coming at some point followed up by BIS 3.1 as well. Details about the two new BIS offerings have been anything less then short as we already have covered the details in previous posts. As expected, the BIS 3.0 rollout was to come in early 2010 and March seems to fit that bill just right provided RIM keeps target.

The good folks over at BerryReview have posted the possibility of a roll out coming as soon as next week that is, if RIM plans on keeping their rumored internal release date. While we can't say with 100% certainty this will happen, it does indeed seem plausible at this point. You excited for the BIS 3.0 options or is it something that will pretty much go unnoticed? I mean, they are great additions but OpenOffice support alongside WMA support coupled with GMail 2 way synch for read/unread status isn't exactly on par with the likes of say the new webkit browser by any means. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Continue reading article

Seems there is no shortage of BlackBerry Internet Service information these days. The BIS 3.0/3.1 documents contain a few long awaited changes. The folks over at BBLeaks were once again tipped off to more BIS 3.0 information. After having looked at the files, some of what we had learned from the last leak was once again confirmed. Check out the run down.

• GMail - The enhanced plugin will get an update which allows for read/unread status of email.
• Open Office- Open Office documents will gain support for presentations, text, speadsheets.
• WMA Support - Long awaited handling of WM Audio will be supported now in attachments.
• Email Setup /Validation - An enhanced email set up application will be added. Increasing security for end user and methods of email validation/revalidation uponPIN changes.
• Carrier Enhancements - Error messages will now be more indicative of who they should be related to. ie: "If you are having a problem please contact <insert carrier>.
• Other -Carrier based tools such as BIS Admin which help with troubleshooting customers.

Nice updates most importantly out of all of it would be the GMail, Open Office and WMA support as I see it. The email validation and settings is something that some users will appreciate especially first time users, those familiar won't even likely notice until it comes time to change a device. Can't say I like having to wait for all these changes to happen but it's good to know they are coming. Now how about a new browser since I didn't really have an issue with the email before?

• Grab The Documents From This Link And Have A Look At The Full Details>>

It wasn't that long ago we heard rumors of BIS 3.0 and 3.1 coming our way soon and bringing with it, a bunch of highly anticipated changes. This time around, we're hearing from BBLeaks that there are a few more additions we can expect as well. 

• Support For OpenOffice Documents - Presentations, Text documents and spreadsheets
• Support for WMA (Windows Media Audio)

Support for OpenOffice is interesting to see. Not quite sure how much market space OpenOffice has for users but I've used it on occassion and can see why RIM would be adding it. As for WMA I have to question as to why this is even still unsupported? I honestly thought this was taken care of when WMV was added to the media player for videos. Granted, I don't get many WMA attachments but it seems like a lot of you all out there do so that will be a big improvement. Of course, these are just rumors at this time but rumors that make sense given what they bring to the platform.