The new BlackBerry Tour was recently released for Verizon and Sprint and this August, RIM is launching the BlackBerry Curve 8520 on T-Mobile. If you’re lucky enough to have picked up a new device or you haven’t done these tweaks to your current BlackBerry, give them a look. They’ll certainly make you look like a BlackBerry genius at the office and potentially more attractive to the opposite sex.
1. BlackBerrys have a built in dictionary called Autotext. If you go to the Options (wrench icon) and select Autotext, you can add to the list. You can add shortcuts such as having the BlackBerry replace “ty” to “thank you” or “yw” to “you’re welcome.” Doing this will make you incredibly fast in your email and text responses.
2. The camera on your BlackBerry has keyboard shortcuts that allow you change options without going into the menu.
a. Spacebar – Cycle between automatic flash, turning it off or forcing the flash with the spacebar
b. Volume buttons – let you zoom in and out
c. SYM button – toggles the full screen view
3. There are a number of Twitter applications that you can pick up for your BlackBerry. Typically, you’ll find people using TwitterBerry, one of the first good Twitter apps. Now, I prefer the following applications because they’re much faster and they have additional functionality:
a. UberTwitter (free) – this is my current Twitter application. It’s fast, allows for re-tweets, allows you to look at trending topics and allows you add locations to your tweets and photos. Use your phone’s browser to get it from http://www.ubertwitter.com
b. SocialScope (free) – SocialScope is another great free BlackBerry Twitter app that has tabs for Twitter and Facebook and allows for re-tweets. Get more information at http://www.SocialScope.net
c. TweetGenius ($5) – TweetGenius is the best looking BlackBerry Twitter application from Boy Genius. TweetGenius lets you track users and perform Twitter searches, among other features. You can see screenshots and purchase at http://www.thetweetgenius.com
4. Do you want to read your news feeds, check the weather, sports and flight status all from one place? Do you think free applications are the best ones? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should check out Viigo at http://www.getviigo.com/nan through your BlackBerry Browser.
5. Your BlackBerry is capable of streaming internet radio and again, it’s free! Point your BlackBerry Browser to Pandora http://www.pandora.com or my favorite, Slacker at http://www.slacker.com. You can set up your station on your computer, and then login with the same credentials on your BlackBerry for the same experience. Additionally, Slacker allows you to save the stations to your memory card for listening when your phone isn’t able to connect to the network, such as flying in a plane.
Keep an eye out on this blog for more BlackBerry tips and applications to help you maximize your device at little to no cost to you. Enjoy your new knowledge and ask questions in the comments or on Twitter.
As seen on MySA.com