If having accessories working for you is your kind of thing, then you'll want to check out this how to guide. Within BlackBerry 7, RIM has built a feature called 'Smart Accessory'. The Smart Accessory feature allows various manufactures to build an option in to their accessory that will allow it to talk to your BlackBerry smartphone, thus allowing your phone to change the sound profile when it's placed in a dock for example. The options don't stop at sound profiles, you can also make driving safer and disable the network connection. Disabling the network would stop you from messaging people while you're driving down the highway. Continue reading to learn how to enable the Smart Accessory option on your BlackBerry smartphone.

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If your BlackBerry Messenger Contact list seems to be growing out of control, or you just want to keep things a bit more organized, you can create contact categories to help you out. This is a simple feature that just requires a few menu clicks to get up and running. You can use contact categories to organize your contacts by family members, work contacts, friends or whatever suits your fancy. Keep reading to find out how to create your own contact categories in BlackBerry Messenger.

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10 ways to extend and maximize the battery life of your BlackBerry Smartphone like the BlackBerry Bold 9930 / 9900

Looking to maximize your BlackBerry battery life? We've got TEN simple tricks you can use that will help to ensure you are getting the most out of your much needed battery power. While BlackBerry Smartphones have historically been known for their awesome battery life, we've seen the natural battery life take a hit on some of the new BlackBerry 7 Smartphones to hit the market. For example, on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 the battery was reduced from the predecessor Bold 9700 from a 1500mAh battery to 1230mAh. With less juice to work with and a bigger display and faster processor to power, if you're a power user you *could* be finding that your old habits put you into the low or dead battery zone before the day is done.

So if you're finding yourself low on power sooner than you'd like to see and are looking to extend the battery life on your BlackBerry Bold 9900, Bold 9930 or other OS 7 device, there are plenty of settings you can tweak and battery-healthy habits you can form to get the job done. From dimming the backlight to tweaking up some network settings, a little bit goes a long way. These tips work for improving battery life on OS 6 and lower devices as well (although menus may be a bit different) so if you're looking to get the most our of your BlackBerry battery, keep reading for our top ten tricks to improve battery life on your BlackBerry Smartphone.

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[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Don't tell anybody, but I'm a bit of a geek. I frequently make technology perform in ways the average person would never consider. Others may ask why?, and my response is usually, "because I can." The true answer is that whatever supposedly "geeky" thing I'm doing also happens to be the most efficient and effective way of doing something; bonus points if I don't have to get off the couch. Though it may not look like it now, what I'm doing will save me time and headaches in the future. It's just a little difficult to say that without sounding like a snotty jerk.

Ringtones work for me; ever since my first wireless phone, I've used ‘em. I liked knowing who was calling just by listening. It's a fact of modern wireless life that some calls get answered faster than others. Now that I have a BlackBerry, the type of communiqués has increased exponentially. It's only natural that my "ringtones" use expanded as well. Using only an extra email account; message notifiers; and BeBuzz, I know what message is waiting for me without looking at the screen. The notification sounds and notifier LED are all I need to figure out whether that email is really important or not.

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I am always excited to find out how I can improve the functionalities of my 8700 and am constantly on the lookout for new 3rd party software. Last week, I found a couple of new applications I wanted to try. As usual, I downloaded a zip package that included a “.alx” and a “.cod” file. Next step, I launched the Blackberry Desktop Manager and uploaded the application on the device. I remember this last step quite well, it was 10:30am and I was about to waste an entire day.

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Check out this detailed instructional video on how easy it is to add free ringtones to your BlackBerry device!  It's so easy! 

This isn’t exactly BlackBerry specific, but it was so cool I thought it would be interesting to talk about anyway. Google Labs has a new (experimental) service to search for local businesses over the phone. It works from any phone and it’s a free service.

Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) and say the city and state you want a listing from. Then just say what you are looking for. You can be specific, “Paul’s Pizza Palace”, or general, “Pizza”. You pick the one you want from the results that are read to you, and you can be connected, or get the phone number, or have the details text messaged to your mobile device.

Currently it’s only available in English in the US. They also warn that the service is still experimental and may not always be available.

Check it out here: http://labs.google.com/goog411/

## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com  

Each and every day here at CrackBerry.com we hear stories from members and non-members regarding their addiction to BlackBerry devices.

Some of the stories are humerous, (for example, how one of our members places his BlackBerry next to his ear while sleeping so that his alarm will wake him up... apparently he's a deep sleeper.) and other stories shed light on perhaps a more serious problem (i.e. a member that told us he's gone through 5 devices because he brings his BlackBerry into the squash and racquetball courts he plays at...inevitably the BlackBerry gets stomped or crushed, and he has to get a new one.)

The whole point I'm trying to make here is that we never want your BlackBerry use to become a full-out addiction (well, I don't want it to anyway!).

To help curb addiction, we have put together a 13-step plan to fight BlackBerry Addiction.

If you've already read this, GREAT! Spread the word or share the link with anyone you think might need help.

If you haven't checked it out, do so now by clicking here! 

I know a lot of people who own a BlackBerry. And thus I receive a lot of email sent from a BlackBerry. There are some people who can type pretty efficiently on the BlackBerry keyboard, but most of the people I know aren’t among them.

I get emails all the time that are lacking some of the niceties that are usually (or should be) found in emails sent from a PC. I understand why. When you are typing with your thumbs, brevity is a virtue. The problem is that courtesy is often left out. Things like “please” and “thank you” are important in email messages. Necessary because the written word lacks the subtle and polite cues that voice inflection can provide.

Let’s take a look at a hypothetical email sent from a BlackBerry.

Too Direct???

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Google has just released Google Sync, an application that let’s you synchronize your BlackBerry calendar with your Google calendar.

Using your BlackBerry’s native calendar, you can now access your Google calendar even when you don’t have network coverage and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration.

Your Google Calendar stays synchronized whether you access it from your computer or your phone. You can add or edit entries on your BlackBerry or on your Google Calendar on the web.

For more information, check out the google sync page here.

To install it, just visit mobile.google.com on your BlackBerry browser.

## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com  

Recently I’ve heard of some issues popping up with the new BlackBerry Curve. It seems that some versions of the Curve were shipped with a bug in the OS that causes some synchronization issues with the Calendar, including duplicate Calendar entries being created, and entries created on the device not being synchronized with the desktop email software.

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Do you get too much e-mail? Are you overloaded with text messages? Will another cc’d message drive you over the edge? Will one more spam message that snuck by your filter force you to lob your BlackBerry into orbit? Yes, the number e-mails can be overwhelming.

I know it is a problem for me. I have a couple of e-mail addresses forwarded to my CrackBerry and I get way more e-mails than I want. In addition to ‘ringxiety’ and being addicted to my Berry, I also have the anxiety that I will miss an important e-mail while mass deleting a bunch of crap.

And I am not alone. A survey conducted last year found that half of all senior executives said they receive too many e-mails and text messages. It is interesting to note that most of them also felt they sent the just right amount of e-mail. In another survey, 75 percent of Blackberry users said they receive too much e-mail.

Some executives spend a significant amount of their workday dealing with e-mail and many are of the opinion that dealing with it negatively affects their productivity. Some report spending as much as four hours a day reading and responding to e-mails.

Managing e-mail

You can manage the volume of e-mail you receive in a number of ways:

Utilize management tools in e-mail programs such as Microsoft Outlook that can be used to organize e-mails.

Another method of managing e-mail is called the “Triage” approach. In this method you only deal with message once. All messages are read and then either deleted or responded to immediately.  

You can also organize e-mails deadline or subject.

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So you’ve discovered the joy of trying out free demo apps on your BlackBerry, and you went a little nuts. You’ve filled up your BlackBerry with demos galore. But now it’s time to clean things up a little. How do you get all that stuff off of there?

There are two main methods for uninstalling software. The first is to connect your BlackBerry to your PC, and uninstall using the RIM Desktop Manager Application Loader. The second is to just remove the application directly from your device.

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[Editor’s Note]I received an interesting essay from someone who does Customer Support for a BlackBerry software company.

They didn’t want to reveal their identity, or their company identity. But I thought the essay offered an interesting perspective, so I agreed to publish it for the greater good of the BlackBerry software community. The links in the essay below are mine. And so here it goes…

Hi, my name is Cynthia, and I write applications for BlackBerry and answer customer support emails for a BlackBerry software company. I’m here to tell you that despite what many of the people who write in with angry letters think, no software company makes money by intentionally ripping off customers. No one tries to sell incompatible software in order to collect your $5.00 and laugh maniacally at your installation troubles.

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I am always shocked when I see how many BlackBerry devices are being sold on eBay. At any point in time, there are over 2,000 actions taking place around BlackBerries. Last week, I got myself a nice Red BlackBerry Pearl on eBay. A couple of days later, I was opening the FedEx package and popping in the battery. The device turned on and I discovered some things maybe the previous owner wouldn’t have wanted me to see…an address book containing about 80 records, many emails and a long call log list.
BlackBerry Auctions on eBay

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There are a number of tricks to save battery life and adjustments you can make to your BlackBerry that will increase performance and put less stress on your battery.

Here are some easy tips: 

• The Auto On/Off feature is designed to program the device to automatically power off and power on. On the Home screen, click the Options application. Select Auto On/Off to select the time the device will turn off and on.

• When wireless coverage is not needed, “Turn Wireless Off” to avoid unnecessary attempts by the radio to find coverage.

• For Bluetooth enabled BlackBerry devices, “Turn Bluetooth Off”, if it is not in use.

• BlackBerry devices should be kept in their holsters when not in use because this will turn off the LCD screen.

•  Don't use the backlight. This isn’t always an option, but if you have a version of the device that allows you to avoid using the backlight, then avoid it when you can. Your backlight eats up a huge amount of battery life.

•  Recharge often. Unlike some mobile batteries you don’t need to fully discharge the battery packs frequently. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion batteries than one total discharge.

• Use BlackBerry shortcuts to access common system features quickly.

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Geek Sugar brought this up and there is something about this site we just love. Is it all that girly pink or is it that wicked graphic we like so much? Whatever, it seems the girls at Geek Sugar know a bit about their BlackBerries.

Today, they described their joy at finding out you can do threeway conference calling with a BlackBerry. It is quite simple, although not quite as simple as they describe it.

To make a three way or conference call, click on the Phone icon.

• Click the trackwheel and select ‘New Call.’
• Highlight the desired contact, click the trackwheel, and select ‘Call.’
• While the first contact is highlighted, click the trackwheel and select ‘Hold.’
• Click the trackwheel and select New Call.
• Select a second contact, click the trackwheel, and select ‘Call’ again.
• After you are connected to the second call, click the trackwheel and select ‘Join.’ The screen should now show that you are on a conference call with the two recipients.

You can even add additional recipients to the conference by repeating the last three steps.

And while you on a call you can click the space bar which will bring up your recently called numbers and you can either click between the two calls or get them to join. Paris can now yak to Lindsay and Nikki at the same time and say absolutely nothing of consequence to both of them.

Yahoo! Mail is one of the most popular solutions for web based email. It’s easy to see why, it’s got a decent spam filter, lots of storage space, and it’s been around forever. But to get access to POP and forwarding, you need to upgrade to Yahoo Plus, currently about $20 a year.

Fortunately, there’s a way to get your Yahoo email on your BlackBerry without upgrading to Yahoo Plus. And if you’ve upgraded to BlackBerry Internet Service 2.0, it’s extremely easy to set up. Now you can get your Yahoo Mail sent directly to your BlackBerry from your free account.

Once you have upgraded to BIS 2.0, you can link to your free Yahoo Mail account either by using the BlackBerry device or by using the web page for your BIS. You can find a list of websites here for configuring your account directly from your PC.

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From some of the comments I’ve seen, there’s some confusion about encrypting files on the MicroSD Card of your Pearl or 8800. We discussed that it’s possible to encrypt the files on your MicroSD card so that if it should fall into enemy hands, all those late night pictures you took of your pals after a few too many Mai Tais will be protected.

The confusion seems to arise when it’s time to get the files off of the device. To transfer files from your MicroSD card to your computer, you will need to use the Media Manager in the RIM Desktop Manager.
Launching the Media Manager from the Desktop Manager

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I’ve got several email accounts all coming to my BlackBerry, for both personal and business accounts. I love being able to get all my emails in one place. It’s a great way to stay on top of the flow of incoming email.

The only problem I sometimes have is keeping straight which email account I want to use when sending out a message. Replying to a message you have already received is easy, since it automatically uses the correct account for a reply. But when you compose a new message, you have to pick the account from which you want to send. The BlackBerry uses one by default, usually the first account you set up on the device, or you can select a different one on the fly.

I had a hard time figuring out how to change the default email account. I started by looking in the menu options for the messages application. It seemed like a reasonable place to look. But no, it wasn’t there.

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There’s an article over at IndyStar.com that talks about 4 ways to reduce hand strain when typing on your BlackBerry. According to the article, as the number of BlackBerry users is rising, some are experiencing “BlackBerry thumb”…basically carpal tunnel and tendonitis.

To reduce discomfort and potential long-term damage, the article offers some advice:

• Take frequent breaks (that means putting your BlackBerry down, not playing a game on it ;)
• Write fewer and shorter messages - (I’ve found the AutoText feature of the BlackBerry very useful for this.)
• Adopt a neutral grip: Use a grip that allows your wrists to remain upright and straight and refrain from slouching while using a BlackBerry. Place the BlackBerry on a briefcase or use a support in your lap to reduce strain. (Yes mom, no slouching)
• Avoid thumb-typing: When possible, alternate typing between fingers. If your thumbs or hands hurt, pay attention and cut back the typing. If the pain worsens, especially if it’s hard to do other things with your hands or if you have numbness or tingling, see an orthopedic specialist. (Me: It hurts when I do this doctor; Doctor: stop doing that)

Check out the full article here.

## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com  

So you’re holding your old 7100, looking with envy at that guy in the airport lounge chair next to you thumbing away at his 8700. You’ve got device envy. If only you could trade. Well, he’s probably not gonna trade, but you can get a trade-in at the BlackBerry Trade Up program.

So here’s how it works. You go to the website and specify what kind of BlackBerry you have, and what you want to buy. They give you an instant quote on how much of a trade-in you could expect, and they’ll even email you a shipping label. Then go buy your new Berry, fax in the proof of purchase, mail in your old device, and wait for a check.

I haven’t used it myself, but it seems like a decent idea. And it looks like they’ve made it as painless as possible. You might be able to do better on Ebay, but with a trade in you save yourself the trouble of setting up an auction.

## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com  

Just like your desktop and laptop your BlackBerry’s performance can be significantly impacted by too much junk cluttering up the memory. So, you have to occasionally clear things up to help maximize performance.

What Causes Decreased Performance?

BlackBerries based on Java depend on what is called File Free Flash memory for most of the device’s tasks. Cluttering up that File Free Flash memory can lead to delays in many tasks as the device is spending an inordinate amount of time recovering blocks of memory, called “garbage collections.”

These Java “garbage collections” automatically reclaim file space that is no longer in use by the operating system. This process will also move around memory that is in use to combine free memory into larger memory blocks. A laptop, for example, will exchange memory onto the hard drive when it is running out of RAM. In a similar way, when the BlackBerry runs out of SRAM space, it is designed to swap memory out to the Flash memory. But if the Flash memory is also full, then the BlackBerry cannot perform that task effectively, which then causes more frequent and longer garbage collections.

The best solution to this problem is to free up space on your BlackBerry

Freeing-Up Space

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is regularly check the available memory on your BlackBerry. To do this, click on the ‘Options’ application and select “Status’ from the drop down menu. The ‘File Free’ display shows you the current amount of free data storage. The ‘File Total’ section tells you how much storage space remains after loading the Operating System, the phone, and the other basic applications.

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My garage is trashed. Pieces of black fiberboard lie scattered across the floor amid a sea of pink insulation. Wires stretch down from the ceiling like alien tentacles and large burly men in overalls with names like Burt and Gus walk among them. The men pause often, eyeing the assorted cables with suspicion while they mutter to themselves, and then clamor back up a ladder to tame them with screwdrivers, pliers, and little twisty things.

Why has my garage become a construction zone? Because it is being “finished”. Apparently when they built the house for the previous owner, they “started” the garage, put up four walls and a ceiling and then got sorta hungry, left for burgers and never came back. Leaving me, the subsequent home owner who likes to putter in the garage even in the winter, with a really chilly putter zone consisting of thin walls and no insulation. And so now we are “finishing” the garage.
Garage Under Construction

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Congress has changed the dates for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States for this year 2007. So this week-end on March the 11th, we all moved our clocks forward 1 hour to reflect the changes. Now take a minute and have a look at the time displayed on your BlackBerry. Maybe your IT department already took care of the problem and applied a patch. But if the clock is incorrect, you’re going to have to install a patch. And unfortunately, this is not something you can really afford to skip. If you don’t apply this patch, your BlackBerry might not display correct time zone information for certain time periods during the year. In that case, some calendar events will show up one hour late.

Now the good news is that RIM prepared a simple patch for you to install. The best way to apply it is Over The Air. Simply point the Web Browser on your BlackBerry to:
http://www.blackberry.com/dst2007

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If you are tired of accidentally mashing your BlackBerry keys and dialing strange numbers cause your BlackBerry is floating around in your purse or pocket, you’ll need to lock your BlackBerry keyboard. You can do it with or without a password, but either way, then number of accidental calls to complete strangers should go way down.

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Whenever possible, I always try to get rid of cables. I use a wireless 802.11G network and am happy not to have to wire every room. I was curious to find out if there was a way to avoid using my USB cable to connect my BlackBerry to my PC. In fact, if your PC supports Bluetooth, it is possible and not too hard to configure. The BlackBerry Desktop Manager is compatible with Bluetooth and will allow you to accomplish some simple tasks without a cable.
Bluetooth Options Screen

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Come on admit it. You don’t back up as often as you should and if you do, it is only because once you lost everything on a hard drive that caught that nasty virus that was going around. Now losing everything on your BlackBerry would not be as catastrophic as losing everything on your laptop but it would be a royal pain in the arse to have to reenter everything. 

Of course the day you lost everything on your Berry would be the day you are out of town and you need that important address for the multi-million contract you are about to negotiate. Actually, when I think about it, it would be pretty catastrophic.

So here is how you back everything up in the rare case that you’ll need to retrieve data. You should have installed the Desktop Manager onto your regular laptop or tabletop computer.

The Desktop manager should be on the CD that came with your BlackBerry. If you have not already done so, it is a good idea to install the program. Simply double click on ‘Backup and Restore.’ In the pop up window select ‘Backup.’ Then choose a directory where to store your backup file. The Desktop Manager conveniently names the backup file with today’s date.

That’s it. Pretty simple really.

You can also set you desktop manager to back up on a regular basis. Go to the ‘Backup and Restore Options’ screen, press ‘Options.’ Then select Automatically Backup my device every X days. Select the period of time you want the blackberry to backup. Every five or 10 days for example. Then select ‘OK.’

The BlackBerry Messenger feature enables you to text chat with other CrackBerry addicts in real time using your BlackBerry. To use this feature, you must have the BlackBerry Messenger program installed on your BlackBerry.

Getting Started

Using Messenger is easy and is a useful time saving device. It requires a little setting up but once up is easy-to-use. Click on the BlackBerry Messenger icon. The first-time you use Messenger you need to specify a display name that identifies you to other users. You must also create a password. After creating a display name and password, you are logged in automatically when your BlackBerry device is turned on and connected to the wireless network.

Creating Contact Lists

Your contact list displays your individual contacts and contact groups. A contact is an individual BlackBerry Messenger user. You must request contacts to install BlackBerry Messenger on their BlackBerry before you can exchange instant messages with them. Requests contain a link to www.BlackBerry.com/messenger where you can download the program and find out more information about it.

You can send requests to contacts by e-mail or PIN (personal identification number). To find your PIN click on the ‘Options’ icon. Scroll down the menu to Status. Click the Wheel and you will see the PIN listed on this page.

To add a contact, go to the Messenger icon and open Messenger. Click on ‘Contacts.’ From the resulting menu, click on ‘Add a Contact.’ Click ‘Use Once’. You can then ask this contact if they wish to be a contact on your list. Click ‘Request by Email’ or ‘PIN’ and then type either the address or PIN. Press the ‘Enter’ key. To add a message. Click ‘OK.’

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One measure of a true BlackBerry addict is if they sleep with their BlackBerry on their bedside table. I'm guilty of this myself, but it's mostly because I use the alarm program on my Berry. I find it quick and easy to use, much easier than fiddling with those darn buttons on your clock radio. You know what I'm talking about?

Anyways, in the first screenshot you'll see me hovering over the alarm icon. Click it to get into the program (Yes, I know BrickBreaker, Sokoban, CirclePopper and Ka-Glom are on the screen too... Texas Hold'em King 2 is just out of view as well :P... I'll review those later.)

Once in, it's super easy. Here's a breakdown of the options you can set:

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