GuruBlake
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Survival Guide: Upgrading Your BlackBerry OS
May 1st
RIM constantly releases OS updates, but the average BlackBerry user usually doesn’t take advantage of them. Many people are scared to update their OS because they are afraid that something will go wrong and they will break their phone. I, too, was once afraid until I realized that an OS upgrade can bring major improvements to your device. You’ve paid for it and if you can make it better for free, why wouldn’t you? If being afraid is the reason, here is a simple guide that will walk you through all of the steps.
Check Your Current OS Version:
First you want to see what OS you are currently running. Click ‘Options’ > ‘About’. Your OS should be listed on the 3rd line after a lowercase ‘v’.
Download Desktop Manager:
Next, you want to make sure you have the latest version of Desktop Manager. Go to www.blackberry.com, click on ‘Software’ > ‘BlackBerry Desktop Software’ > then download for either PC or Mac. Download the file open and install on your computer.
Loading an Official OS:
The easiest way to download an official OS is to plug your BlackBerry into your computer using the USB cable that came with your device and to open Desktop Manager. Desktop Manager will automatically check for updates. If there is an official OS update, you will be prompted to install ‘System Software’ and ‘Core Applications’. Click ok and Desktop Manager will show you the available OS versions.
Once Desktop Manager prompts you to update your software, click OK. You will have an opportunity to decide if you want to add or delete applications before you load the OS. Next, a screen will pop up with an update summary. On the right side, hit the Options tab and make sure you check the box to ensure that your device will be backed up in the process. As far as third-party apps go, you may have the option to carry them over, but I recommend re-installing them (especially if you are going from 4.x to 5.x. In this case, some of your 3rd apps may not be compatible with your new OS).
Go through the prompts and your software will be updated. When the progress bars clear, Desktop Manager will give you a message that your software has been successfully updated.
Once your device automatically restarts, pull out the battery for a full minute afterwards. This is very important
Loading a Beta OS or one from another Carrier:
If you somehow found and downloaded a beta OS, or an OS from a carrier different than your own, Desktop Manager may not prompt you to update. Remember loading a beta OS is at your own risk. Beta OS’s can sometimes make one aspect of your BlackBerry better, while making another worse.
If you are ready to update, make sure you backup your BlackBerry first. Then you must delete the Vendor.xml file. On a PC you can delete the Vendor.xml file by going to (C:) > Program Files (Program Files x86 on Vista or Windows 7 – 64 bit) > Common Files > Research in Motion > Apploader. Next click on the ‘Loader’ icon and the Application Loader Wizard will start up. App Loader will take you through the same prompts as Desktop Manager, but the screens will look different.
*If you are using a Mac, installing a beta OS will be covered in another article.
After OS Installation Is Complete:
You will be promped to go through the Setup Wizard with a new OS. Afterwards, if you haven’t received a message in your inbox telling you your device has been registered with the wireless network, click on Setup > Personal Email Setup > Log In > Menu > Service Books. Service Books will be pushed to your device.
You will also have to do the initial setup on your 3rd party applications even if you carried them over but that’s all part of the fun. As for your core applications & settings, all settings were saved as long as you backed your device up.
CONCLUSION:
Remember, installing a new OS is a dirty job, but someone has to do it. The benefits of upgrading are sometimes slim, and the lost time with your device can be inconvenient.
But many times, the benefits are great, and your device may be faster, more stable, and have more features. Most BlackBerry upgrades are incremental, and add relatively few features, but they often include important bug fixes.
If you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments and I will respond personally!
This Week In BlackBerry
May 1st
With WES 2010, this has been a huge week for BlackBerry. Last week in the days leading up to the event, many rumors arose and left us guessing. Thankfully, all of these rumors are now put to bed. Read on for this week in BlackBerry.
New Devices:
To kick of the week RIM officially announced the Pearl 9100 and Bold 9650 smartphones. This came as no surprise to us BlackBerry addicts but it’s always nice to hear or see an official announcement. Shortly after, Sprint, Rogers and Telus followed suit and announced the devices they will be carrying.
RIM Officially Announces The Bold 9650 Smartphone
Rogers and Telus Both Officially Announce The Blackberry Pearl 9100
BlackBerry 6:
At WES, Mike Lararidis officially announced Blackberry 6 will be released next quarter! Later, an announcement was made that the only two current devices to get BlackBerry 6 are the Bold 9700 and Storm 2. This was exactly what I predicted in last week’s roundup. I’m sure there are plenty of people with older devices that are not happy about this, but RIM’s reasons go deeper than trying to make people upgrade their devices. BlackBerry 6 is a big step up from OS’s 4.6 & 5.0 and RIM will only put BlackBerry 6 out for devices that have the hardware to handle it.
On Tuesday at WES, RIM played a BlackBerry 6 video teaser. This video is a must watch, touting the all new user experience complete with the WebKit browser.
Super Apps:
This week at WES, the BlackBerry Partners Fund announced their 3rd annual developer challenge which will focus on Super Apps. Mike Lazaridis went into more detail about Super Apps as well. Click here to read my article.
The Future of BlackBerry:
At WES, Mike Lazaridis gave another keynote speech regarding where BlackBerry now stands and where it is going from here. Lazaridis spoke on stats, BlackBerry 6, Super Apps, BBM, new devices, the Webkit browser and more. Towards the end of his speech, Lazaridis introduced ‘Will I Am’ to briefly speak on BlackBerry. Click here to read GuruDaniel’s article and watch the videos of the keynote speech.
Leaks:
OS 5.0.0.591 leaked for the Storm 9530 on Monday as well. There have been very few 5.0 leaks within the last month or so. I hope this is all a sign that we will see some BlackBerry 6 leaks soon.
Conclusion:
I have loved all of my BlackBerry devices and have been happy with the improvements they have made over the past few years. I’ve grown accustomed to the BlackBerry interface, and for me, nothing else will suffice. After watching this weeks WES videos, I am confident that BlackBerry is moving to the next level by drastically “changing how people live, work, and play.” Lazaridis has also stated that BlackBerry 6 is “fresh yet familiar.” In my opinion, it doesn’t get any better than that.
BlackBerry Super Apps
Apr 29th
Back in February at MWC 2010, Mike Lazaridis introduced the concept of ‘Super Apps‘ representing next-level apps that are fully integrated into core BlackBerry applications such as the inbox, calendar, address book, etc. I must admit, at first when I read about this ‘Super App’ statement, I kind of laughed about it like, “There you go again Mikey L.” Let’s face it, Mike Lazaridis has made his fair share of strange assertions.
After my initial doubt, I really started to think about this ‘Super App’ concept. It really does make sense. There are very few apps out there that take full advantage of the BlackBerry platform. Let’s take ‘Facebook for BlackBerry’ for example. The Facebook app pushes notifications into your Inbox, events into your calendar, adds your friends info & profile picture in your address book entries, and more. You can post to Facebook from your photo albums, emails, etc. This is an example of a ‘Super App’.
I have to tell you, I fully agree with Mike Lazaridis. Being someone who reads up on BlackBerry news daily, I have always been quick to try out new or updated apps and have also been just as quick to dismiss the majority of them. I never knew what to call it before, but I have always been looking for that Super App integration.
RIM is now conscious that the mobile world is now mainly app driven, and has given developers access to their ‘push’ technology and the proper developer tools to push out higher quality apps. Most developers, however, are still not taking full advantage of the internal APIs RIM gives them access to. As frustrating as it is for me, I’m sure it is ten times more frustrating for RIM. RIM is really stepping their game up with BlackBerry 6 and they want app developers to follow their lead.
This week, at WES 2010, the BlackBerry Partners Fund launched their third annual Developer Challenge. This year, the new focus is Super Apps. The stakes have been raised as well as the prizes. This is a great motivational tool to drive developers to be fully conscious of Super App integration, and it is sending out the message not to bother if you are not working on a Super App. Amen! Now that there is a new level of expectation for BlackBerry app developers, I am very excited to see what the future will bring.
Optimizing Memory On Your BlackBerry
Apr 29th
How do you manage memory on your BlackBerry? If you can’t instantly ramble off answers to this question, you need to read this. Does your BlackBerry sometimes seem sluggish? Newer devices such as the Tour, Bold 9700 & Storm 2 have 256MB flash memory compared to older devices 128MB, but you should read this either way.
Trim The Fat:
Let’s get rid of the big stuff first. Go to ‘Options’ > ‘Applications’ OR ‘Options’ > ‘Advanced’ > ‘Applications’ depending on your OS. There’s probably a bunch of useless stuff there that you can delete:
1. Delete Extra Languages: If you don’t use the languages on your BlackBerry, then get rid of them!
2. Delete Games: If there are any games installed that you don’t play, delete!
3. Delete Help: You probably never use it anyway.
4. Delete any other unused apps: Many people keep apps on their BlackBerry that they have forgotten about, or just because they think they might need them one day. If you haven’t used an app in the last couple of months, chances are you aren’t going to use it in the future. You can always re-download apps anyway.
Manage Your Media:
Go into your media folder and hit ‘Menu’ > ‘Explore’ > ‘Device Memory’ > ‘Home’ > ‘User’. Then go through each folder. If you come across anything such as pictures, videos, documents, etc., move everything over to your media card.
Manage Your Messages:
Go through your message list and delete everything that isn’t important. Do this with your SMS/MMS messages as well. This may take a while if its the first time you’re doing this, but it’ll be much easier to manage as long as you do this at least once a month. In addition to your regular messages, delete your call logs, Facebook & browser messages, and whatever else you find that you don’t need. Believe me all of these little things add up.
Clear Browser Cache:
If you can’t remember the last time you’ve done this, its been too long. Open your browser and hit ‘Menu’ > ‘Options’ > ‘Cache Options’.
Manage Memory Settings:
Go to ‘Options’ > ‘Memory’. Make sure ‘Content Compression’ is enabled and ‘Media Card Support’ is on. You can check your free ‘Application Memory’ on this screen as well.
Use Memory Cleaner:
Many people do not realize that BlackBerrys come with a built-in memory cleaner! Go to ‘Options’ > ‘Security Options’ > ‘Advanced Security Options’ > ‘Memory Cleaning’. You can set it to automatically clean when idle. Set the settings to your liking and your BlackBerry will do the work for you. You can also choose to ‘Clean Now’ or place an icon on your home screen to clean on demand. This really isn’t necessary if you set your device to clean when idle.
Close Background Apps:
If you have apps running in the background, they are taking up virtual memory, as well as draining your battery. (See my article on saving battery life) You can view your runningbackground apps by hitting menu & selecting ‘Switch Application’ (on 5.0 OS builds you can simply hold down the menu key). Some apps have to run in the background and cannot be closed. ie: Phone, Messages, BBM, Browser, Visual Voicemail etc. Mostly everything else can be closed. Many people have a bad habit of hitting the end key when done with an app, but doing so will leave it running in the background! In order to close an app, you have to use the exit key, or sometimes press
menu & close, exit, or shutdown. That all depends on the app. You should make it a habit of checking to see which background apps are running from time to time. We are all guilty of forgetting about something here and there.
Delete Themes:
Being the efficiency freak that I am, I don’t use any extra themes. I actually load my OS’s with only the zen theme. I find that my BlackBerry starts up a lot faster that way. I do know people that like to constantly download new themes but don’t really manage them. Most themes take up a large amount of space. If you are one of those people that can’t live without 3rd party themes, you should only keep one theme on your device at a time. Save the links or zip files for the themes you aren’t using in case you decide to re-download them at a later date. Its not worth storing them on your device.
Power Cycle Your BlackBerry:
It amazes me how often I come across someone who cannot remember the last time they restarted their device. You should power cycle your BlackBerry once daily. You can do this manually by holding alt + right shift + del. You can also download Quickpull in App World and set it to automatically restart daily at a time you specify. Most people set Quickpull to power cycle at a time when they are usually sleeping. In addition to power cycling your device once daily, you should pull your battery once every week.
Conclusion:
I didn’t touch upon shrinking OS’s or deleting .cod files because this article was written for the average BlackBerry user. If you took all of the steps listed above, I’m sure your BlackBerry is running more smoothly and efficiently.
BlackBerry Tips: Backing Up Your Phone Data
Apr 28th
It never fails. Once every couple of weeks, another one of my Facebook friends’ statuses will read something to the tune of, “New BB. Lost all my contacts. Please send them over. 
”
I can’t express how much those status updates frustrate me! The sad part is that 9 out of 10 people know that they can backup their BlackBerry, but just never bother to go through the simple steps. I’ve even seen the same people lose their device and contacts multiple times and still not bother to back it up!
In case you need guidance, I’m going walk you through the steps of backing up your BlackBerry with Desktop Manager.
1. Go to http://www.blackberry.com
2. Select your country
3. Select ‘Software’
4. Select ‘BlackBerry Desktop Software’
5. Select ‘PC or Mac’
6. Select ‘Download Now’
7. Once downloaded, install Desktop Manager
8. Open Desktop Manager and connect your BlackBerry to your computer with the usb cable that came with your device.
9. Select ‘Backup and Restore’
10. Select ‘Backup’
You should do this frequently to make sure all your contacts, messages, calendar entries, tasks, etc. are up to date. When you restore your data, everything will be just like you had it when you backed it up, including all of your settings. Take 2 minutes out of every week and ensure your data is backed up. You’ll be one less person with a frowning face BB message on Facebook. 
Blackberry News Roundup: April 24th, 2010
Apr 24th
WES 2010 is just around the corner and the week leading up to it has been had no shortage of interesting BlackBerry news. There has been a ton of OS6 talk this week as well as a couple new devices leaked into the wild.
First, BGR posted some OS 6 screenshots, with a revamped home screen, a new media player, and the much awaited Webkit browser with tabbed browsing! Shortly after, a pic leaked of the BlackBerry 9670, ‘One Ugly Clamshell.’ Even though we here at The Cellular Guru are not fans of the device, we were glad to see that the device seems to be running OS 6.0. Then some details on BIS 3.1 leaked, showing OS 6 is required for some of the synchronization features to work. How soon do you think we’ll see OS 6?
There is also a rumor that the Bold 9650 will be shipping with 512MB memory. This raised many eyebrows amongst BlackBerry enthusiasts. The main concern is regarding OS 6 on current devices. Will 6.0 be released for my current 256MB device? If it does get 6.0, will it be low on memory and be sluggish? In my opinion, at the very least the Storm 2 and Bold 9700 will get OS 6. After all, we did see RIM demo the Webkit browser on the 9700 at Mobile World Congress back in February. I do believe OS 6 will take up a bit more memory than OS 5 but optimizations to the code should be made to allow for good performance on current devices. As far as the 512MB goes, I’m thinking RIM is covering themselves for the uninformed consumer that does not properly manage memory on his BlackBerry, as well as users who like to load up on apps. Not to worry, I’m sure all rumors will be put to bed at WES next week! In the meantime read on down for some other highlights from the week.
News:
Verizon Updates OS 5.0.0.591 for Blackberry Tour. That’s right, I said VZW updated an existing OS! Hmmm. Weird. http://bit.ly/adyHCO
Blackberry Pearl 9100 Pricing Revealed?
http://bit.ly/amoLJl
BlackBerry OS6 Screenshots And Details! Finally!
http://bit.ly/brujxY
Apps:
Foursquare For Blackberry Updated With New UI, Speed Increase
http://bit.ly/aNdSXq
Blackberry App Review: Viigo
http://bit.ly/d5ekdR
BlackBerry App Review: SuperQWERTY
http://bit.ly/d0bKzR
Themes:
I Dream of 6, The First Blackberry OS6 Inspired Theme Now Available
http://bit.ly/ak1I88
Tips:
Blackberry Tips: Shortcuts To Make Your Life Faster
http://bit.ly/cjs1qp
*Don’t forget to check out The Cellular Guru Online Store! It is now open for business! Have a good weekend everyone!
Blackberry App Review: Viigo
Apr 22nd
In this day and age, many of us feel the need to constantly keep up with everything over the web. Don’t you feel it can be quite overwhelming? Viigo is a spectacular app for BlackBerry that will simplify this daily task and give you more time for life.
Viigo is an RSS reader with a load of additional modules. For those of you who don’t know, ‘RSS’ stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’. It basically takes web pages and breaks them down into a timeline/topic format. This way it makes it really easy to sift thru the garbage and only view what interests you.
There are three ways to add a website to Viigo. One way is to navigate through Viigo’s channels and find sites that are to your liking. Personally I have found some great sites this way. The second way is to manually enter a web address. If you are viewing a website on your computer and you see that little orange logo on the right side of the web address window, that site supports RSS, and most sites do these days. Once you enter the web address into Viigo, it will automatically find the RSS address and will load the site into your channels.
The third way, and perhaps the most efficient, is to import your Google Reader feeds into Viigo. While it does not yet support two-way sync between your app and Google Reader, merely the ability to import your feeds is a huge time saver.
When viewing a feed inside one of your channels, Viigo will smoothly render text along with images. You will also have the option to post directly to Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, send via email, or open in your browser. Viigo’s native viewer does such a good job, I rarely feel the need to open a feed in my browser. (Note: if you want to have one click access to these functions, open your BlackBerry browser, hit menu, Options, General Properties and set ‘Default View’ to ‘Column’).
In addition to RSS & News, Viigo has modules for weather, sports, business & finance, local interest, shopping, social networks, entertainment, flights & travel, and politics. You can manage your stock portfolios, track flights, view local movie times and much more. The sports module is also very robust with features like live scores and news updates as well as stats, schedules, etc. Viigo even has a Craigslist feature where you can create a search so you will be alerted if the product you’re looking for is posted for sale in your area.
There are many more features which I did not touch upon, but download Viigo and play around with it. Don’t be afraid to adjust settings, add channels and try out different modules. I’ve been a Viigo user for over 2 years now and it has come a long way. Once you use Viigo, you will not be able to live without it.
*Fun Fact: RIM recently acquired Viigo and that speaks volumes about the app’s identity within the BlackBerry platform.. RIM is the type of company which sees a great BlackBerry app and usually decides to make their own native version. In this case, I believe RIM figured they couldn’t beat ‘em, so they joined ‘em. It will be interesting to see what additions RIM brings to the table. ‘Super App’ integration anyone?
You can find and download Viigo in BlackBerry App World or OTA at http://www.getviigo.com
There is also a lighter version of Viigo which is an RSS reader without the additional modules. Viigo News can be downloaded OTA on your BlackBerry device at http://www.getviigo.com/news
BlackBerry App Review: SuperQWERTY
Apr 21st
When it comes to phones, I am an efficiency freak.
I use shortcut keys for everything possible on my BlackBerry. As far as the home screen goes, the standard BlackBerry shortcut keys do a good job, but I would like to be able to customize the keys. I have seen and tried several apps for BlackBerry which enable you to create shortcut keys within the app, and just wasn’t satisfied. The whole purpose of a shortcut app is to save time, right? I don’t want to have to click on an icon on my home screen to open up a shortcut app. I don’t even want to give up one of my precious convenience keys. Lastly, after entering the app, I don’t want to have to click two keys for each shortcut.
That’s where Super QWERTY (by MMMOOO) comes in.
Super QWERTY utilizes the ‘Q’ key, which is the only customizable key on a BlackBerry so far. You also set your shortcuts up to be one key press. Once set up to your liking, you simply hit ‘Q’ from your home screen, and a letter, and your app is open! Not only can you set shortcuts for apps, but Super QWERTY also gives you the ability to set shortcuts for things like:
- BES (Enterprise Activation)
- Bluetooth Toggle
- Bookmarks
- CA Profiles Manager
- Enterprise Activation
- Manage Connections
- Memory Cleaner
- Power Off
- Radio Toggle
- Wifi Toggle
You can download a 3 day free trial of Super QWERTY here http://bit.ly/cm6eZp
Don’t forget, you have to turn on home screen shortcuts in order to utilize the ‘Q’ key. If you don’t know how to do so, see my article on home screen shortcut keys.
BlackBerry 9670 One Ugly Clamshell
Apr 21st
Editor’s note: I think this is one of the ugliest phones ever produced, and if this comes out, I feel sorry for anyone taking it out of his or her pocket to use it. Where is RIM’s head on this one? It had better be a prototype.
Today BGR posted
a photo of the BlackBerry 9670, RIM’s second flip/clam shell device. The one piece of greatness I got out of the photo is that it is shown running OS 6.0. You can read GuruDaniel’s review for more on that. As far as the hardware goes, the 9670 is much more aesthetically pleasing than the Pearl Flip, but does that really cut it? Is anyone out there in 2010 really waiting on a clamshell BlackBerry? Its expected to have a 5 megapixel camera and a large external display when closed, but is anyone really going to care?
Nowadays it seems like there are only two popular form factors in the smartphone world. That would be a one-piece device with a QWERTY keyboard (such as the Bold or Tour) or a one-piece touch screen device such as the Storm, iPhone or Nexus One. I feel like RIM is pushing too many types of BlackBerrys out into the market. I’m not saying they should only work on a single device like Apple, but they should focus on a select few. Choosing to create a bunch of different pieces of hardware also forces them to work on that number of software builds.
In my opinion, creating this device was a complete waste of time. Does anyone else think RIM should have spent their time instead focusing on the forever awaited ‘Dakota’?
Blackberry Tips: Shortcuts To Make Your Life Faster
Apr 19th
Today’s article is from a new blogger we are introducing, GuruBlake. He is a Blackberry lover and a shortcut user, and he is sharing his wisdom with us today. -Ed
If you have a qwerty BlackBerry, and are not using shortcut keys, you are truly missing out. Setting up home screen shortcuts is one of the first things I did when I purchased my first BlackBerry two and a half years ago. Why waste time scrolling around to click an icon, when you can simply hit one key instead? With that said, here is how you set shortcuts up:
Press the Send button > hit the Menu key > select Options > General Options > Dial From Home Screen > select ‘No’. Then save, and back out to your home screen and shortcuts are set up.
A > Address Book/Contacts
B > Browser
C > Address Book/Contacts
D > Memo Pad
F > Profiles (only for OS 4.x)
G > Google Talk (if installed)
I > Aol Instant Messenger (if installed)
K > Lock Keyboard (depending on OS)
L > Calendar
M > Messages
N > Blackberry Messenger aka BBM
O > Options
P > Phone
Q > Holding ‘Q’ will toggle between current Profile and Vibrate only on OS 5.0
R > Alarm (only OS 4.x)
S > Search
T > Tasks
U > Calculator
W > WAP Browser
X > Windows Messenger (if installed)
Y > Yahoo Messenger (if installed)
I can honestly say, I have hidden all of those icons on my screen, except ‘Options’ which you can’t hide. I don’t need them there. I don’t like clutter. I can click a key much faster anyway. Now, some of you may be thinking what about an SMS shortcut? What about other apps?
If you aren’t already doing so, you should also utilize your convenience keys. Go to Options > Screen/Keyboard and set your convenience keys to open 2 other important things that you use all of the time. If that isn’t enough for you, look for my upcoming review on Super QWERTY, the app that gives you one key access to all applications!
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