Some blackberry tips
If you use a Blackberry phone, here are sfome tips from my experience using one the past couple of months. While I have the 7130, some may apply to any BB phone.
Swapping Windows
If you're used to opening multiple windows on your computer, you may be annoyed to find that phones and PDAs have a feel of being single-tasking: you open one window or app, and do some work, and if you want to swtich to another, you leave the first. You may wish you had the equivalent of Alt-tab to keep previous windows/apps open while you go swap to another and then come back. Well, guess what? You can indeed do that. Again, on the 7130 at least, hold down the alt key (lower left corner) and hit the escape key (the rubber button on the right, under the scroll wheel). You'll see that it's much like alt-tab, allowing you to page through any other open apps. So for instance you can go back to your browser after leaving to read an email, or vice versa, and the app you're leaving remains running in whatever state you left it. Just be careful about opening too many such windows and forgetting about them. :-)
Along the same lines, did you know that you can leave one window (closing it) using just the escape button?
Moving Around One Letter at a Time
Here are some useful typing tips. If you discover you've made a typo, and want to back up to a given word, you may be frustrated to find that the scroll wheel moves up a line, rather back a word. How to overcome that? Hold the Alt key (left of the 0 kwhile scrolling. Problem solved!
Selecting Text for Copy/Paste
Similarly, if you ever have need to select some text to do perhaps a copy or cut and paste operation, you may know you can hit the scroll wheel, choose "select" and then the scroll wheel will start selecting text a line at a time in the direction you scroll it. But what if you just want one or a few words? Well, on the BB, hold down the Alt key (left of 0) and use the scroll wheel. Nifty! BTW, whenever you select some text, the context menu shown by pressing the scroll wheel will be pre-selected to Copy. Smart system!
Enabling SureType
I was shocked to see some colleagues suffering from having to type letters on the phone using the old style approach of hitting a given key twice to get the second letter on that key. No wonder they were hating their blackberry! Suretype to the rescue! You should be able to just type a key and have the BB predictively determine which of the letters on that key you mean for the word you're typing. It's not always right, but it is probably 90% of the time. The old approach is called "multitap".
If yours is somehow not using SureType, in the device "options" (under "settings" on the 7130), click "Language", and if the "Input Method" value is set to "<Language> Multitap", change it to just <Language>. Save the changes.
You can also switch the two on the fly by holding down the * key.
Learn more about it at http://www.blackberry.com/products/suretype/index.shtml (BTW, it was the SureType stuff that was at the heart of the big patent lawsuit settled by RIM.)
Typing Apostrophe's More Easily with SureType, Using Comma
You may know that you can use the Alt key with the xy (Sym) key to be able to access various symbols not otherwise on the keyboard. But I was really annoyed to have to do that all the time to get to the apostrophe (such as to write "person's"). I was delighted to learn recently that you don't need to bother. The SureType system is smart enough to recognize that if you type person,s (using the comma), that you mean person's. I just tried it one day, and it worked. Halleluiah! :-) There may be other similar gems. Leave a comment if you know of any.
Typing Capital Letters: Don't Bother, with SureType
Along the same lines, if you are writing a sentence and would want to capitalize a letter (either at the start of a sentence or for some proper noun), don't bother. SureType will typically get it right for you. Just watch! :-) If ever need to force a cap, btw, while you could use the "shift" key (to the right of 0), you can also just hold the given key down a moment and that will capitalize it.
Enabling Speakerphone in One Keystroke
If you want to switch a call to use the speaker phone, just hit the P key. It's a toggle, turning it off and on. And to mute, just hit the Q key. There are lots of other useful keyboard shortcuts listed in the docs, mentioned in the last point below.
Using Your Phone as a Modem
If you've ever been stuck somewhere without net access, did you know that you can use your phone as a modem for your computer? Yes, you can! And depending on your rate plan, it could even be free! Learn more (and about other BB devices supporting this) at:
http://www.blackberry.com/products/blackberry/tetheredmodem.shtml
Read the Manual
Those who know me know I'm a fan of reading the documentation that comes with a product or service. That's often how I learn so many tips (but then again that's why I created this site, to help those who don't!) You would really do well to read at least the 27-page Getting Started guide and then the much larger 150-page User Guide. If you've misplaced them, they're both available online at:
Also, note that there is an available demo on the phone that will also help you learn such tips.
That should be enough to suprise and delight many. I may have some more to offer in the future. Again, your comments are welcome.
Thanks! I now know how to use the speakerphone function.