If you’ve read any of my articles regarding the BlackBerry PIN, you may have noticed that my views on privacy are slowly being swayed towards being more open with sharing my PIN. The other day, Kevin introduced you to a new application/social network known as PinShare; where, as you would probably guess, share your PIN with potential connections. Before doing so, you can view their image, read their brief bio and finally connect with them via BlackBerry Messenger. You send off a message, up to 100 characters, and it shows up in the recipient’s message inbox. A home screen notification icon is also generated. You can then choose to connect with them over BBM or not.

Essentially, it’s another database of BlackBerry smartphone users looking to share their PIN, yet, at the same time, it’s not. It’s a smooth rolodex of social users looking for a variety of things, but most importantly a decent conversation. Now I did notice that my BlackBerry Bold 9900 would start to lag from time to time while running PinShare; perhaps an indication that it was retrieving a large amount profiles that were just created? Just keep in mind that you’ll be receiving messages from people that may not want to, be the same can be said if you were to post your PIN in a forum. Once you trudge through the unwanted messages (which in reality come in rather infrequently) you may find a select few worthy of your BBM. Check out the video for a quick walkthrough as well as how to set up your own profile. You can grab PinShare for free from BlackBerry App World. Screenshots can be found after the jump.

More information/download PinShare for BlackBerry smartphones

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BlackBerry Messenger is a great way to communicate, no matter the subject. With Delivered and Read notifications, you always know where you are in the conversation. By now, you've probably seen the BBM Flirt commercials. Just like in the video, it's easy to add new contacts just by scanning the BlackBerry PIN barcode. One BlackBerry will be the scanner while the other will show a barcode; it doesn't matter which you are. A new contact will be added to both phones.

Show your PIN: Get your BlackBerry ready by showing your PIN barcode. From BlackBerry Messenger, open the menu and select "Show My Profile." It's probably somewhere near the bottom. Under your actual PIN is a button marked "Show." Clicking this will show your barcode. Your phone is ready for scanning.

Scanner: Again, from BlackBerry Messenger, open the menu and select "Invite Contact." Don't be fooled by that "Scan a Group Barcode;" You want "Invite Contact." From the choices, select "Invite by scanning a PIN barcode." You'll most likely get a short animation explaining what you're about to do. Click continue to start. Just position your BlackBerry so you can see the scannee's barcode through your phone's camera. You may need to move the BlackBerry closer and further away until the camera gets a good picture.

Once the scanner has a good shot of the barcode, BlackBerry Messenger takes care of the rest. The camera shuts off and a new contact is added to BBM. The only thing left for you is to start chatting.

If there is one annoying thing about dealing with the BlackBerry is the number of times you’ll be asked for your PIN. Here’s a quick tip to help find a bunch of information about your BlackBerry at the click of a button. Well, three buttons actually.

Type ALT CAP H on your BlackBerry keyboard and a screen will show up showing you your PIN, your IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity), signal strength and battery levels, it will also give you some usage
stats.

You can also see your Application Version. RIM often provides upgrades and you may wish to see where you are in regards to recent upgrades.

Today we are looking at a cool tip that allows you to get a bunch of information about your BlackBerry displayed on the same screen. To bring up the screen, simply type the 3 following keys ALT CAP H on your BlackBerry keyboard.

This screen will show after typing ALT CAP H

In fact, there is a good chance you’ll need some of this information during the life of your BlackBerry. For example, after the trial period of an application you installed expires, you might be required to provide your PIN to unlock the full version. If you are unfortunate enough to have to call the customer support of your wireless carrier, you will have to provide your IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). Not a bad idea to track your App Version either. RIM regularly provides upgrades and you might want to keep your device updated.

## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com on December 20, 2006.