25 essential BlackBerry tips and tricks

You probably bought a BlackBerry for the keyboard and fantastic battery life but there's more to it than that.

You can just pick a BlackBerry up and start using it, because all you need to do is press the Menu key to get the main options on every screen - but the BlackBerry OS hides a huge number of clever tricks and shortcuts that make it faster and simpler to get things done.

There are some tips you won't need often - like pressing Alt, Del and the right-hand Caps key at the same time to reboot instead of just restarting; others you'll use all the time, like pressing the red 'hang up' key to get back to the home screen and clicking the spanner icon on the home screen to open Options. Here are our top 25 Blackberry tips.

1. Use the keyboard less

BlackBerry has always had a QWERTY keyboard and you can type everything out in full - but you can save time with the built-in shortcuts. Press space twice at the end of a sentence to get the full stop and an automatic capital on the next word.

Don't bother with apostrophes in words like I'm and isn't (type im and the BlackBerry will correct it for you); there are other handy abbreviations like 'wel' to get 'we'll' and 'il' to get 'I'll' and you can add your own with Options > AutoText.

AUTOTEXT: Speed up typing by creating your own abbreviations and corrections

2. Quick capitals
You don't need Shift - press and hold a letter key to type the upper case letter.

3. Skip Symbol
If you're typing an email address into a field that expects an email address, don't bother looking for how to type the @; just hit space and BlackBerry with put the @ in for you. Press space when you need the . in the middle of the email address and it will fill that in, too. Do the same for URLs in the browser; pressing space fills in the periods faster than typing them by hand.

4. Fast select
There's a Select command on the menu for choosing what to copy and paste - but you can make a selection just by holding down the Shift key as you scroll the trackball.

5. Keyboard shortcuts
Save on scrolling by using 't' to get to the top of any email message, web page or other long screen and 'b' to get to the bottom. There are specific shortcuts for all the built-in apps like using the Mute button to pause videos or music or skipping to the next or previous track by pressing and holding the volume up and down keys (which also zoom in and out in the camera - although many apps use I and O to zoom); there's a list in the Help tool.

SAVE TIME:Put the keyboard to work with shortcuts in every built-in app

6. Choose dialling or shortcuts
Under Options > Phone Options > General Options you can set Dial From Home Screen to Yes or No; if you set it to Yes you can start typing a name to dial the number on the home screen, if you set it to No you can type the first letter of apps on the home screen to open them (M for Mail, B for browser, C to compose email - and oddly N for Messenger, L for Calendar and U for Calculator).

7. Web columns
Press Z in the web browser to reflow the page into a column the size of the BlackBerry screen so it's easier to read; press Z again to go back to a normal page view you can scroll around.

EASY READING:Switch between seeing the original layout and a version of the page reformatted as one long BlackBerry-sized column

8. Turn on JavaScript
To save memory and make pages load faster, the BlackBerry browser usually has JavaScript turned off by default; use Options > Browser Configuration > Support JavaScript to turn it back on and make more pages load correctly.

9. Which browser?
There are three different browsers on the BlackBerry; a WAP browser for viewing content from your mobile network, the BlackBerry HTML browser (and a hotspot browser that prioritises the Wi-Fi connection). If you have problems accessing or loading Web pages, choose Options > Browser Configuration and set Browser to BlackBerry Browser and make sure Options > General Properties > Default Browser is also set to BlackBerry Browser.

10. Don't get mobile Web sites
You can also try changing Browser Identification from BlackBerry to Firefox or IE to force the full versions of specific pages to load instead of the cut-down mobile versions - but they might be slow or not load fully.

BROWSER SWAP:The BBC web site always loads the mobile version on BlackBerry; if you want to see the full site, have your BlackBerry pretend to run Firefox or IE

11. Fast search
You can search for contacts, messages and inside files and web pages - press S to search in contacts and messages and F to search in other apps.

12. Colour-code messages
If you get both work and personal email on your BlackBerry, you can change the colour of either set of messages. Choose Options > Security Options >Information> Message Outline Colours and either Enterprise Messages or Other Messages.

COLOUR-CODED:Show work and personal messages in different colours

13. Menu multi-tasking
BlackBerry has had multitasking for years but it's subtly done; apps stay running so you can switch back to them (unless you run out of memory when they're closed automatically). To get back to another app, press and hold the Menu button to get the task switcher.

14. Lock with mute
Some BlackBerrys have both a lock and a mute button on the top edge, others - like the original Bold - only have a mute button. You can always lock the screen by scrolling down to the Lock icon but it's faster to just press and hold mute until the screen locks (do the same to unlock it).

15. Real convenience
There are two 'convenience keys' - one on each side of the BlackBerry; you've probably found one of them by knocking it and hearing that irritating 'say a command' message. If you never use voice command, choose Options > Screen/Keyboard to change the buttons to something more useful - starting the camera, opening the music player or launching your favourite app.

QUICK START:Put two apps or commands you use all the time at your fingertips

16. Tweak your trackball
Use Options > Screen/Keyboard and scroll to the bottom of the page to choose the horizontal and vertical sensitivity (how far it moves across the screen when you move it) and whether you hear a click as it rolls.

17. Turn off speakerphone
The slightly confusing way to put a call on speakerphone is to use Menu > Activate Speakerphone; the even more confusing way to turn it off is Menu > Activate Handset - or you can use the $ key to turn it on and off. (And the $ key produces the $ sign in email, use Options > Screen/Keyboard > Currency key to set it to £ instead).

18. Say a command
Voice command does more than voice dialling; if you want to check your signal and battery strength you can wade through the Options menu or you can hit the voice command button and say 'status' or 'check battery' and 'check signal strength'.

19. Say it again
Voice recognition works quite well, but you can train it by reading a list of numbers and words; choose Options > Voice Dialing> Adapt Voice.

VOICE TRAINING:Choose Adapt Voice and your BlackBerry will ask you to read a list of sample names and numbers

20. Hidden Help
The hidden 'Help Me!' screen shows the signal strength, battery level, device PIN, free space, space in use, IMEI, OS version, how long the BlackBerry has been on and some other info that can be useful for troubleshooting. View it by pressing Alt + Caps + H.

MORE INFO:The Help Me! Screen collects key information together

21. Archive, don't uninstall
Only the very latest BlackBerry models have anything like enough memory for all the apps you want. When you run out of space, pick the ones you use least and archive them to your microSD card (this only works with apps from App World). Select the app in the My World sections of App World and choose Menu > Archive; archived apps have a green arrow on their icons and you can click them to reinstall - but you may have to restart to archive or restore an app.

ARCHIVE APPS:You can't run apps from the SD card but you can archive them to save space

22. Save power overnight
BlackBerry is very frugal on battery life and you can make it last even longer by having yours turn itself off overnight and back on in the morning. Choose Options > Auto On/Off; you can have different on and off times for weekdays and weekends.

23. Master Control Program
Use the free third-party tool MCP (http://mcpfx.com) for tweaking your BlackBerry, doing a factory reset in an emergency - or just installing updates more easily than with the sprawling and inefficient BlackBerry Desktop software.

TWEAK BLACKBERRY:Install a new OS or tweak the modules on your BlackBerry with the excellent Master Control Program

24. Install any app
If you want to run an app that doesn't have an installer - including alternative email clients like Astrasync and NotifySync which RIM won't sign for installation - connect your BlackBerry by USB, switch to mass storage mode so it shows up on your PC as a drive and copy the JAR file to the root folder. On your BlackBerry use the Media app to open the folder and select the JAR file to install it.

25. Save money on texts
If you're sending a message to another BlackBerry user, BlackBerry Messenger is free -but you need to know their BlackBerry PIN.The easiest way to get someone in your contact list is to invite them.

Source from:techradar.com

Hot! 7 free Olympic App on IOS! (Games & Schedules)

2012 London Olympics is coming, here I compile some free Olympics apps for IOS for you.

3D Olympus Archery Pro

Experience the thrill and challenge of olympic style archery in a dynamic mobile experience!

* Refreshing 3D graphics

* Accelerometer driven controls

* Challenging gameplay with dynamic wind

* Olympic rules: 12 arrows, 70m, 90m

* High Score save feature, Game Center support

The game includes 5 different games modes to test even the most advanced players!

* Olympic Style: Play by the olympic rules!

* Time Attack: Hit 12 bullseyes as quickly as possible.

* Endurance: Stay in the game by hitting bullseyes.

* Quick Shot: Push your skill and speed to the limit!

* Arrow Eye: steer the Arrow in realtime by tilting the accelerometer!

Each mode has its own Game Center Leaderboard and Achievements!

More features:

* Is the game too easy for you? Select 90m modes for a greater challenge!

* Multiple environments to play in: Field archery and Oriental themes!

Get it in iTunes 

Pig Sports Challenge

Try to win Bronze, Silver or Gold in Pig Sports Challenge.

Set across 5 sporting events you will need to mash those buttons hard and fast to win big with your pig.

Crackling good sports fun awaits you!

Features:

* Supports both Retina and Non-Retina devices.

* 5 Challenging sports events...

- Dashing Rashers

- Hurdlin Hams

- Pool Racing Porkers

- Piggin Long Jump

- High Jumpin Hogs

* Cute Piggies :)

* Easy to pick up and play.

* Suitable for family and all ages.

* Achievements page.

* In app Gift, Review and social network buttons.

* Superb quality graphics and sound/speech effects.

Get it in iTunes

London 2012 (Summer Games)

London 2012 is very simple and easy to use app providing information about Olympic games.

* List of Olympic games with search functionality

* Intestring facts

* Date, Medals and Venue details

* Notable athletes section

Get it in iTunes

London 2012: Official Results App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Official London 2012 Results app provides all the latest news, schedules and results, allowing users to keep up-to-date with the latest action LIVE across all Olympic sports (25 July to 12 August 2012).

THE MUST-HAVE-ONE APP!

(There are too many schedule & result app about London 2012, these 2 are the most recommended, you need not to install more than 2 apps with the same function.)

Geit it in iTunes.

9 Innings: Pro Baseball 2011

FEATURES

- Play with all 30 Major League teams and 800+ actual Major Leaguers with the new MLB seasons schedule.

- Deal with thousands of Major League cards and manage your own team for the championships.

- Compete in 3 different modes: Season, Exhibition, and Homerun Derby

New roster details include:

- 34 batters and 15 pitchers replaced with new players due to retirements and injuries. 

- Transfers of 32 batters applied. 

- Change of assignment of 44 batters. (more accurate and recent data) 

- Change of assignment of 13 pitchers. (more accurate and recent data) 

- Rotation of all teams and players' batting orders reconstructed 

- Starting pitchers, relays, and final rotations reconstructed of all teams and players 

- Balancing adjustments to apply real-life batters and pitchers gameplay 

Get it in iTunes!

Finger Olympic

Finger Olympic is a Track and Field sports game for IPhone & IPod touch where you can be an Olympic player in many skill levels.

You will play as "DIGIT", the leading character that challenges 4 funny finger opponents Thumby, Pinky, Yubi and Toe, they are the "finger" athletes who compete for the Gold medal in the most demanding Olympic games for your fingers.

Run as fast as you can by tapping rapidly on your device's screen but be wise in your strategy making use of your energy.

FingerOlympic lets you share your best marks with your friends on Twitter & Facebook!

Also GameCenter Support to compete with "fingers" athletes from around the world. 

Experience the thrill of competition your fingers can bring!

Take the challenge and win!

Get it in iTunes!

(Lite) Zoo Olympic

Surprise!!!! 6 GAMES in 1 APP !!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun and Exciting SIX Games are ready !!!!!

__________________________________________

■ 6 Games

- Sea Escape

- Lion Ball

- Enjoy Flying

- Memory Card

- Jumping High

- Eat Meat

__________________________________________

■ Local High Record Support

■ World High Record per game Support

■ Country Ranking (Medal system) Support

< Olympic System >

Each game has 3medals GOLD-SILVER-BRONZE. For your country and your glory, Get a GOLD medal by your high score.

__________________________________________

■ Some Reviews

"What a Fantasy app I've ever seen"

"Each game is worth more than $1."

"This app is really GOOD."

"Time fly fast doing my gorgeous game."

Get it in iTunes(Free Lite Version)

Full Version for $0.99

The complete guide to Pandora for BlackBerry

Remember back in the day when the general thought was that radio rocked…except for the commercials? Then along came MP3 players, and we finally had that. The only problem, of course, was being limited to the music we owned. Without radio, there’s less room for experimentation. Then along came Pandora, the streaming Internet radio service which breaks songs down into their most fundamental attributes and plays songs based on what you like. After a long wait, we finally got the BlackBerry Pandora app about three months ago. I’ve been using it constantly ever since, and it’s high time we posted a walk-through and review of the application.

Once you launch the application you’ll be asked if you’re an existing Pandora user or if you’re new to the service. If you’re new you’ll go to a quick account creation page, where you’ll enter your email, password, birth year, gender, and ZIP code. You can opt into emails, but I’d recommend unchecking that box. Once you fill in all the above information and check the box noting that you agree to the terms of use, you’re ready to get started. If you already have a Pandora, enter in your email address and password (which you might forget — I did, because the website never logs me out).

Creating a station

Once you create your account, Pandora will prompt you to name a band, song, or composer you like. This is used as the base for your station. So just think of your favorite band in the world (mine’s Led Zeppelin). After entering in the name you’ll see a screen with some options for matching artists and songs. Click the one you want and Pandora will take you to your new station. More often than not, this will kick off with a song from the band you selected.
From here you can do a number of things. First, you can rate the song up or down. If you rate it up Pandora makes a note in its database and the computer learns a bit more about your musical likes. It will attempt to play more songs with the attributes of the song you like. Second, you can find out why Pandora picked the song for you. For instance, when Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix came up, Pandora explained:
“We’re playing this track because it features acid rock qualities, extensive vamping, minor key tonality, electric guitar riffs, an electric guitar solo, a gravelly male vocalist, an emotional male lead vocal performance and many other similarities identified in the Music Genome Project.”

Unfortunately, one thing you can’t do is add another artist to your channel. This helps Pandora make even more specific recommendations. You can still log into the Web version and perform that task, since your settings carry over. You can create a new station, though, which can play a different brand of music. Just select the option Create a New Station.

Rating functions

Perhaps the greatest feature of Pandora is the ability to rate the songs it plays. If you like the song, rate it Thumbs Up and you’ll hear more songs from that artist and more songs with similar attributes. Rate it down and Pandora will play fewer songs by that artist and fewer songs with similar attributes. Additionally, if you rate two songs by an artist Thumbs Down, Pandora will cease playing any songs by said artist. The only way to re-add them is to do it manually (using the Web interface).

Rating a song Thumbs Down will skip that song and move onto the next one. You can also choose to skip a song and not rate it by hitting the track forward button. However, as of late May 2009 Pandora has instituted a new policy for skipping songs. All channels under an account count for the same, and users are allowed to skip 12 songs in a 24-hour period. If a song is rated Thumbs Down and the user has skips remaining, a skip is used. You could rate a song Thumbs Down if you have no skips left and don’t want to hear the song, but that can cause some unintended consequences.

You’ll notice as you continue to rate songs that you get a wider variety of music. This is because Pandora will gradually branch out the songs it chooses for you as it accumulates more information about your musical tastes. For instance, I created a Led Zeppelin channel almost two years ago, featuring a bevy of classic rock bands as my selected artists. At first it played mostly classic rock, but as I used the service more I started to see more modern tunes. A few months ago it started playing Nirvana songs. Guess what? I love Nirvana. So not only did Pandora branch out, but it got the selection right. This is the most rewarding benefit of using the service over a long period of time.

Additional features on the Web

As noted above, the BlackBerry Pandora application is limited in ways that the Web version is not. Here are a few features you can access by logging into Pandora.com using the account information you created when you downloaded the app.
Don’t play this song for a month. If you like a particular artist or song, but are just sick of hearing it (Pandora does have a propensity to replay songs), you can choose to not hear the song for a month. This is great because it doesn’t cost you a Thumbs Down rating for the song (though it will cost you a skip). This option can be found in the Menu portion of each song listing.
Add additional artists. Want Pandora to get a real good idea of your musical tastes? Add more artists to your channel. Just select the channel you want to edit, and click “add variety.” You can enter more and more artists you like, which means Pandora has a better sense of what to recommend. They even provide a recommended artists list based on what you’ve already told them.
Move song to another station. You can use this option to expand other stations using the current song. I haven’t ever used it, but it seems neat.
Rename, share, and edit station. The Web version allows you to perform these functions, while they’re still not in the mobile version. Not big things, of course. I can easily live with doing them when at home, rather than on the fly.

Closing the Pandora application
Before wrapping up, I’d like to make one last recommendation. If you’re done using Pandora for a while, make sure to hit Menu and select Shut Down Pandora. This will completely close the application. Selecting Close will just move the application to the background. If you stop it and try to pick up the service later, you’ll be able to finish a song if you stopped in the middle, but after that Pandora will have to log you out, and then you’ll have to log back in. The process takes up time, and it’s quite annoying. Selecting Shut Down Pandora will make your life a bit easier.

From:bbgeeks.com

Must Have Apps for Your BlackBerry Smartphone

There is no smartphone without apps these days. They make our life so easy. RIM has worked hard lately on developing apps on their platform. BlackBerry doesn't have the following as Apple or Android does, but when it comes to business or quality apps they are second to none. For latest BlackBerry devices, check BlackBerry 9900,BlackBerry 9810, BlackBerry 9790, BlackBerry 9850 and BlackBerry 9360. 

For apps for BlackBerry PlayBook check Must have apps for BlackBerry PlayBook. 

To download new Blackberry App World click Blackberry App World from your BlackBerry Browser. The following are my top apps for current BlackBerry devices in 2012. 

BlackBerry Messenger – This is the must have app for your BlackBerry. You can chat and share funny stories, pictures, videos and more with individual contacts or groups of friends or family instantly. Share your pin or unique barcode to connect with friends and family anywhere, anytime in the whole world. Take comfort in knowing that you are only a BlackBerry Messenger message away.

Facebook for BlackBerry – Stay on top of your social life with Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones. This free application makes Facebook services – like sending messages, poking friends, writing wall posts, inviting friends to join and uploading photos – available on the go! Take Facebook wherever life takes you and don’t miss a beat!

Twitter for BlackBerry – Doing the things you love on Twitter are made quick and easy using your BlackBerry smartphone. With Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones, you receive a notification as soon as a Message or @Mention arrives – no matter which application you’re using. And because you’re using a BlackBerry smartphone, you not only receive a notification, the message itself is delivered directly to your inbox making it even easier to stay on top of what’s important to you.

Google+ App Google+ for BlackBerry turns your BlackBerry into the ultimate social networking device for connecting with your Google+ account while on the go. It makes sharing your pictures, thoughts, and whatever else you want to share with your friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances a lot simpler. Features : Circles let you determine who you are going to share information with. Create and view circles and add people to your circles using your BlackBerry. Visit the stream to get updates from your circles or see what people are saying nearby.

BBM Music – BBM Music is a social music service that allows you to share. Build a personal music profile with 50 of your favorite songs. You can refresh your profile by swapping out up to 25 songs each month. 

BlackBerry Protect – BlackBerry Protect is a free application designed to keep your information secure if your BlackBerry smartphone goes missing. You can download BlackBerry Protect and then log into the website where you can lock, locate or wipe your smartphone from wherever you are. You can also choose to have your crucial data backed up wirelessly and automatically, as often as you choose (daily, weekly, or monthly).

BlackBerry News – With the BlackBerry News app, all the content you care about comes right to you, hot off the press and in one convenient place. It also make it easy to share it with your social network like BBM, Facebook and Twitter. Must have app for news. 

WordPress for BlackBerry – The all new WordPress for BlackBerry app allows you to write post, upload photos & videos, edit pages and manage comments. Both WordPress.com and self hosted WordPress (2.9.2 or higher) sites are supported. 

BlackBerry Travel – BlackBerry Travel makes it easy to plan, book, manage and share your travel activities. Looking for flights or places to stay? Find flight schedules and great hotel options, all right from your BlackBerry. The automatic trip scanning feature will automatically recognize itineraries that are emailed to you and push them to your BlackBerry – no matter where you booked. It can even identify gaps – like a hotel stay that ends a night earlier than it should – and make recommendations which you can book right from your BlackBerry.

BeWeather – BeWeather is a visually stunning weather application for your BlackBerry smartphone. Get instant access to current conditions plus a 5-day forecast for locations worldwide. Keep up to 3 locations at the same time and switch between them with a flick of the trackpad. Main features are current conditions including “Feels like” temperature, wind, pressure, dew point, humidity. Easily switch between 2 different views, today with daily forecast and compact daily, customize home screen icon showing current conditions.

Opera Mini – The browser on the latest generation of BlackBerry devices like the Bold and the torch is a big step forward, but you’re still getting the mobile version of Web pages in many cases and when you do load a standard desktop Web page, running the scripts and rendering the page can be slow. Opera Mini is a great way to get better browsing on your BlackBerry.

Navita Translator – Translate and Speak words, phrases from e-mails, Browser, SMS or typing in the software. Navita Translator translates more than 50 languages and is capable to speak languages like English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, German and Russian. Main feature include send your translations to: Twitter, Mail, SMS, PIN, MEMO,supports English, Portuguese, spanish and Chinese interfaces, free online support, compatible with all BlackBerry devices. 

Shazam – Loving that tune? With Shazam you can discover, buy and share music. Main features include Identify what song is playing (5 Tags per month), buy the track, share Tags with friends (by text, email, Twitter and Facebook), read track and album reviews, see what’s hot with Shazam's Tag chart and search for music by artist and track.

Simple Screen Shot – Simple app does the simple job, capture any BlackBerry screen – for record keeping, for debugging, for evidence collection etc. Simple Screen Shot helps you keep the moment of truth or beauty on your BlackBerry. Picture is as clear as the screen itself. You specify the picture type (PNG, GIF, JPG or BMP). Simplest app; yet clearest picture.

Advanced OS and LED – Free alternative to BeeBuzz. Add unrestricted features to your phone such as UNLIMITED CONTACT’S (Email & SMS & Calls)LED ID. Also LED customization for Battery & Network status, apps like BBM, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc and more for free unlike BeeBuzz. No restrictions at all and app is free.

ScoreMobile for BlackBerry – ScoreMobile is a true mobile application built from the ground up for all BlackBerry smartphones. We provide up to the minute sports scores, boxscores, player stats, betting odds, game previews, recaps, top stories, and league standings. In addition we publish exclusive live blogs for key games.

Adidas Micoach – Turn your phone into a personal coach. miCoach uses GPS and real-time voice coaching in your ear to pace you through easy to understand workout zones as you run. Choose a training plan tuned for your sport to build speed and endurance. Track and share your achievements with the app or at miCoach.com. Be Faster with miCoach!

Poynt – Use Poynt to find businesses, retailers, people, restaurants, movies, petrol prices, events and weather information around you. Poynt uses GPS or cell-site location to quickly deliver the information you need, whenever and wherever you need it. 

TXTLater – TXTLater schedules SMS, Email and Calls to be sent /invoked later at a future date directly from your BlackBerry. TXTLater allows you to schedule Email and SMS messages and Phone CALLS to be sent/scheduled at chosen date, time, and recurrence e.g. once, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.Update : TXTLater is no longer free anymore. You have to purchase app for $2.99. 

Foursquare – Foursquare is all about helping you find new ways to explore the city. Earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people. When you check-in someplace, we’ll tell your friends where they can find you and recommend places to go & things to do nearby.

eBay for BlackBerry – Stay connected to everything that's important to you on eBay with the eBay application for BlackBerry smartphones. Search, watch, sell, bid or buy. Get reminders in your BlackBerry calendar when a listing is about to end, enjoy near real-time alerts when there’s another bid or you've won or sold an item, and pay for an item using your BlackBerry smartphone.

For thoses apps, you can download at blackberry app world, there are just tons of apps for you to choose.Don't forget to give a comment after using, which can make the developers make better apps for our blackberry users.

He just forgot his boots with the fur.

A hot news on TechCrunch with an eye-catching photo. I can find any one word to describe it.

Every morning, my lovely girlfriend walks through Grand Central Station in New York City on her way to work, and every morning, she sees something odd. Such is the nature of living in the Big Apple.

This happened: she saw a man — a regular dude in slacks and a button-down — carrying his iPad in his butt.

Can't see the details? No worries, here I am to post this blog to make all of you lose your words. :)

Excellent comment: "I'm assuming these are his Applebottom jeans and he just forgot his boots with the fur."

How to Improve Battery Life of BlackBerry Devices?

Smartphones are powerful tools that many people use on a daily basis, but their ever-increasing functionality has meant that battery life often fails to last the distance. No matter if the battery capacity of your phone is less or more, it drains at the same pace because of the hardware which runs on that battery. If you are a BlackBerry user, there are a number of things you can do to improve battery life.

Rogue Apps

If you own a BlackBerry device, you certainly have used the App World service to download one or more applications to help improve the features of the phone or keep you entertained while you are out and about.

Of course, the most prolific app down-loaders could have accumulated hundreds of little programs, many of which they use on a regular basis. It is worth noting, however, that different apps will consume different amounts of energy by dint of what resources they are harnessing.

For example, an app which uses complex graphical elements as well as audio and even vibration, such as a game or video streaming service, will be far more of a drain on your battery than an app that lets you check e-mails or read static text.

Meanwhile, any app that requires a constant network connection will be even more of a battery hog, because whether it harnesses Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth or GPS it will need the energy boost that is necessary to keep these services operating.

For example, an app that has integrated advertising in order to make it free will be using your network connection regularly. As such, you might consider getting the paid, ad-free version, which will be less reliant on this kind of connectivity.

App optimization is another point to consider, since some apps are better produced than others, with poor programming occasionally leading to a rouge app that is going to eat into your battery life unnecessarily. Check out user reviews and online opinions on this topic in order to determine which are the worst offenders.

Meanwhile, you should also consider the best time to use certain apps in order to maximise your battery. Ultimately, using a resource-intensive app when you have only limited battery life left is not sensible.

Managed Multitasking

Another facet of your BlackBerry that you may not think of as having an impact on battery life is multitasking. This is an eminently useful function as it makes jumping between recently used apps a doddle, with no need to endure loading times and quick access to services which run unobtrusively in the background.

However, multitasking requires processing power and if you leave lots of apps open this can quickly burn through your battery without giving you an obvious reason as to why this is occurring. In order to avoid the issues of over-wrought multitasking, it makes sense to properly exit applications which you know you will not be using in the immediate future as soon as you have finished with them.

You would not leave lots of apps running on your PC once you have finished using them, but because your phone lacks a dedicated mains power supply it is even more important to kill unused apps and free up processing capacity and memory in the process.

When you no longer need an app, rather than switching to a different app or backing out using cancel, you should bring up the menu and scroll down to the bottom, where the option to close or terminate the app should be displayed clearly.

Selecting this will prevent it from running in the background while you are getting on with other things, thus saving you precious battery life to keep your device running for longer.

Final Thoughts

It is worth pointing out that you need to be judicious in your management of BlackBerry applications, both in terms of choosing which apps to use in a particular situation and which apps to kill to avoid a multitasking overload.

For example, it might be useful to keep the browser open in the background if you use it regularly to find deals on BlackBerry SIM only on this useful site, because constantly starting it up from scratch might be a pain.

On the other hand, services which use a lot of your system resources but only come in handy from time to time can be closed without too much debate and allow you to get the maximum usage out of your handset’s battery.

From:techblazes.com

3 things that doomed BlackBerry maker RIM

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — As Research In Motion Ltd. tries to reverse its slide, it’s tough to find anyone betting on its ability to recover.

From software developers to Wall Street, RIM’s(US:RIMM) long-term viability is in real doubt since the news last week that its next generation BlackBerry 10 software and devices won’t be available until next year. This could be a near-fatal blow for the pioneering company, as its smartphone competitors continue to leap ahead with new devices for the holiday season. RIM is also laying off 5,000 workers. 

So as many start to analyze where the company went wrong, new business-school case studies are likely in the works. Here’s a look at what some of them might conclude:

1) Doomed by co-chief executives

This column was among the early advocates for investors who asked whether or not RIM’s dual-CEO structure was one of its core problems, and possibly a cause or contributing to its product delays and other issues.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal quoted former executives about RIM’s many missteps, including its “split personality in the executive suite,” noting that the offices of the two former co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis were a 10-minute drive apart in Waterloo, Ontario, and that they were each focusing on a different strategy.

Those two executives no longer lead the company but Lazaridis is still on the board. Under its new CEO, Thorsten Heins, RIM continues to pursue his strategy around a whole new operating system, based on software developed by a company it purchased, QNX Software, in 2010.

Heins told investors last week on a conference call that he realized he had “delivered a lot of tough news today,” and highlighted some of RIM’s plans to address its issues, including its job cuts, management changes, and its continuing discussions for strategic opportunities, such as alliances or licensing assets.

“When we come out of this transition period, we want to move forward with a lean and nimble organization that can act quickly and is aligned with our growth opportunities,” Heins said.

2) Developing yet another system

After Apple Inc. (US:AAPL) began to become a serious leader with the iPhone and its iOS software, app store and developer ecosystem, Google Inc. (US:GOOG) followed suit with its Android software and a more open approach to software developers, and it also quickly garnered support.

Even as it became clear that RIM was going to have to compete with Microsoft Corp.(US:MSFT) and the now-defunct Palm Inc. for the No. 3 slot in smartphones, it continued to back its plans to develop a whole new software and hardware system around QNX software, which was not even originally developed for mobile phones. QNX originally was developed as an embedded operating system for automotive entertainment systems.

From:articles.marketwatch.com