One of the first videos I ever did up for CrackBerry.com was a BlackBerry 101 on How to Install the MicroSD Card into your BlackBerry Smartphone. To this day it is still one of the most popular articles viewed on CrackBerry.com though back in October 2007 there were only a few BlackBerry device models on the market that actually accepted a MicroSD card. We're into 2010 now so I figured it was time to do a little update covering both MicroSD card installation and SIM card installation.

Warning: I did this video one take, no excuses. It's a bit long and tedious (I like vids to be 3 or 4 mins tops but dang there are a lot of BlackBerrys on the market these days), but seriously...I did a few extra takes and they weren't any better. But at least this way you can follow the trials and triumphs as I walk through the BlackBerry lineup starting with the Bold 9700 and going down the line to earlier devices. Since this topic of video has helped sooo many people over the years, I'll be sure to follow up in the months ahead with some shorter / concise by device model clips. In the meantime, enjoy the show. :) 

 

A few weeks back I was playing around with my Bold 9700, and I saw an error pop up telling me my media card needed to be repaired. I had never seen this before, and wasn't sure what to do. I don't have much stored on my memory card, so I figured it was worth a shot. I clicked Ok and a few seconds later I received a confirmation message that my media card was good to go. I was happily on my way with a working card and that was that. It did leave me wondering a few things however, such as how exactly did I "damage" my media card and what exactly goes on when it gets "repaired"? This seems to be another feature that many users don't even realize exists. Drop a comment and let us know what you think.

This is what I call an environmentally friendly blog post, as it has been made from recycled material :-)

Back in October we posted a BlackBerry 101 Lecture on How to Install a Media Card into a BlackBerry, specifically one that does not have an externally accessible media card slot (at that time no BlackBerry smartphones on the market did). With the Pearl "2" and BlackBerry Bold having external media card access (we'll forgive RIM for the 8330 not having this) I was certain the days of having to pull the battery out of the device to access the media card were long gone.

If the latest rumors on the BlackBerry Thunder prove to be true, then it looks like I'm wrong as the Thunder's MicroSD card slot will be tucked away under the battery. It's annoying, but it does make for a "better looking" device. And if these MicroSDHC cards up their way to 16 gigs, you at least won't have to swap it out that often.

This being the case, and with many new BlackBerry Curve 8330 users finding their way to CrackBerry.com, it seems an appropriate time to re-run the How To Install a Media Card Into a BlackBerry video above. The video has nearly 30,000 views on YouTube and I still receive one to two Thank You emails a week for putting it up there, so I know there are at least a few new-to-BlackBerry users out there who will appreciate this.

Happy Tuesday Class! And Welcome to Lecture 6 in CrackBerry.com's BlackBerry 101 Series. Today we're going to take a look at something that's simple if you know the process but can be a complete pain-in-the-butt if you are trying to figure it out for the first time (trust me, I learned the hard way), and that is installing a microSD / microSDHC media card into your BlackBerry. This past week I actually ran into three new-to-BlackBerry users who were having a heck of a time getting their media cards installed, so I figured this would be a good lecture topic to cover asap!

* Update: March 18th, 2010 - Check out the video below for an updated walk through of how to install your MicroSD Memory Card and SIM card into a whole bunch of BlackBerry Smartphone device models, including the Bold 9700, Tour 9630, Storm2, Storm 9530, 8830, 8530, 8520, Curve 8320, 8310, 8300, Pearl Flip 8230, 8220 and Pearl 8100, 8130, and 8120 *

Memory/Media cards have become a top-selling accessory for mobile phones, especially now that the capacity of microSDHC cards has hit and surpassed the 4 gig mark. To turn your BlackBerry into a Media device a microSDHC card is a must have, and is likely to be one of the first accessories you buy for your BlackBerry.

Breaking away from BlackBerry 101 tradition, and in keeping with the Media theme, this lecture is less about reading and more about looking and listening (lots of pictures and even a movie!). Let's get started!

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