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BB Essentials: You and Your BlackBerry

Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Nana Kwabena Owusu in Berry Crazy

This is the first actual post on Berry Crazy (well the intro was just that an intro) and I felt it would be appropriate for me to talk abut the most important piece in the BlackBerry world, the BlackBerry devices themselves. Without owning a BlackBerry, this blog and everything on it, is just words which don’t mean much for you.

Now this is not going to be a review or to go into detail about each and every device feature but just a bit of everything, an overview of important stuff, well actually stuff I think you need to keep in mind or know as we discuss BlackBerry devices.

Knowing the Devices (Hardware Overview)

RIM has a formula for grouping its devices, whether by name or numbering (although these days they seem to be deviating), and each category has specific and distinct features. The main difference between categories are usually; screen resolution, internal memory capacity and build quality.

The current models (those you are likely to encountering) are; 8800, Curve, Pearl, Tour, Storm and Bold. Its easy but not perfect, to split them into Consumer(Curve) vrs Business (Others), as the lines are blurring. Only one Tour was made as the Tour 2 has been added to the Bold range of devices as the Bold 9650.

Within models, the different numbers usually occur because of slight differences like having Wifi + 3G or only having one of them or having more or less internal memory and also a different notation for CDMA versions.  Yes for those of you using Kasapa, there are CDMA versions of BlackBerry devices ( eg 8830) which will work on Kasapa.

BlackBerry OS (Software Overview)

Different BlackBerry models run different versions of the BlackBerry operating systems. Most current BlackBerry devices can run at least OS 4.5, while anything released after November 2008 can run OS 4.6 and the  current version is OS 5.0 for new devices. There are still some OS 4.2 models around as BlackBerry popularity keeps increasing. Every device cannot run the newest OS mainly because of the processor and memory capacity of the different device models on the market.

Why does this matter, well sometimes certain functions are OS version specific and app developers also usually choose a minimum version of the OS to support. You experience may not be as enjoyable on say version 4.5 as on OS 5.0. You can however upgrade y0ur device to the most current version of whichever OS your device supports, whenever an upgrade becomes available.

Keyboard (QWERTY or SureType or TouchScreen )

Another tricky area (choice can be bad sometimes huh, nah, never) is the keyboard. Full QWERTY keyboards are what made BlackBerry devices loved and popular but also made them big physically. Some consumers used to candy bar and flip phones found them too big, so RIM made a compromise. They made the Pearl and Pearl Flip, slimmer with a candybar and flip form factor and added SureType .

The best way to describe SureType seems to be a different more advanced flavour of T9 predictive text on feature phones. By all accounts it takes some getting used to, but most users also admit once you adapt, you may love it as much as a full QWERTY keyboard. The Storm (9500 series) has no physical keyboard and rather uses a keyboard on the screen. This although it provides haptic feedback through vibrations still takes some getting used to before getting comfortable.

BlackBerry Speak (Common Terms)

To get you started discussing your BB like a pro, here are some common terms you’ll need to survive.

• OTA: Over the Air. This refers to softwaredelivered over a wireless network directly to your BlackBerry device.

• BBM: BlackBerry Messenger. This is the BlackBerry-exclusive instant messaging system. You can find users by their BlackBerry PIN or their email address.

• DM: BlackBerry Desktop Manager : It is the software used to manage your BlackBerry.

• Menu button: The button to the left of the trackball/trackpad that has the seven-dot BlackBerry logo.

• Escape button: The button to the right of the trackball/trackpad that has the back arrow on it.

Quick Fixes

The Abracadabra Trick: If your device  is misbehaving in anyway shape or form before you panic, PULL THE BATTERY. Doing this ‘hard reset’ is sure to cure most problems you are experincing. If this doesn’t work worry just a little since your device most probably can be restored to a former state.

Note: To allow these short cuts to work, you must have “Dial from Home Screen” set to “No” (go to Phone dialer > Options > General Options.)

Trackball: For those of us with trackballs on our devices, unfortunatley you need to prepare for the inevitable day when it will hang up or stop working completely. In such cases, you need to get a replacement trackball but
before you do that, here is a list of lifesaving shortcuts (Basic Shortcuts , Message Shortcuts , Phone Shortcuts) to keep you sane.

Well that’s in my opinion, a good quick overview but if I left something out which you consider relevant to a quick overview, point it out in the comments or if you have a question too, fire away.

Ps. Last and one of the most vital things to have in mind, if someone asks what does a Blackberry phone do that others cannot, in a cool, calm voice reply, “Its not a phone, its a BlackBerry”.

Related posts:

1. Opera Mini: Better web browsing on the BlackBerry
2. BB Essentials: BlackBerry Internet Service (Part 1)
3. Zain announces contract phones
4. BlackBerry Messenger 5 Released

Tags: beginner, blackberry, devices, essentials, keyboard, OS, overview, tips