How many times do I have to tell you?

People please.

I've seen some really bad scenario's lately and I would like to warn all phone users that there's always a chance your phone will go missing or get damaged.

The Blackberry Pearl is extremely easy phone to backup - so please follow these steps to receive peace of mind.

1. Plug in your Pearl using your USB cable.
2. Open Desktop Manager (the basic blackberry software).
3. On the opening screen select 'Backup & Restore'
4. In the next menu, simply click "Backup" and select a location to save the file.
5. Done!

Doing this will save absolutely everything on your phone - phone numbers, all stored messages, pictures, and anything else you can think of.

To load your backup onto a phone (and delete everything else on it), simply follow the same steps, but at step 4 select the "Restore" button.

Now next time your phone goes missing, don't let your blood pressure get too high - in the back of your mind, you know you won't lose that precious data.

Cheers!

Pearl iPhone Skin

This is the mother of all blackberry skins. For those that don't know, a skin is simply geek lingo for a different 'look' but with the same functionality. After downloading this skin, your home screen will look something like this:

Note that the background can be changed to be anything you'd like, for more information see my earlier posts.

To download this gorgeous item, visit the link below and follow the instructions.

http://rogersmj.com/tech/blackberry/bphone/#15235

I recommend choosing 'OTA' download.

To activte the skin, simply navigate to your blackberry options menu (wrench icon). Select Theme and you will see that the iPhone skin is available, simply click it and allow to load, now go back to your homescreen and voila!! Thanks to www.rogersmj.com for hosting a great skin!

Upgrading your Internet Browser

When you first buy your Blackberry you'll find that it comes with a default WAP Web Browser. This browser is a serious pain in the ass - it's got terrible navigation and it does a poor job displaying websites optimally. Thankfully there is an incredible alternative. It's called Opera Mini.

This free software allows blackberry owners to use the internet in a convenient and fast way. Check out some of impressive features from the latest release:

• Ability to sync bookmarks and cache pages from your PC or Mac.
• Pages can be rotated to be viewed in landscape.
• Recognizable Blackberry menu styles - effortless to learn/use.
• Mouse movement using the Pearl.
• Enhanced small screen rendering.

What's more is that Opera Mini can actually help you save money by rendering websites using far less data than the traditional WAP Browser. I'll load the BBC site as an example. Using the WAP Browser (default on Pearl), it took 33.7 seconds and ate up 270kb. Using Opera Mini the page took only 16 seconds and only downloaded 40kb of data! It's remarkable! You'll save both browsing time and bandwidth on your phone plan.

Overall the software is fantastic and anyone who uses their Blackberry for internet needs this free download.

In order to Download Opera Mini you'll have to fire up the old clunky WAP Browser and press the menu key, select 'Go to...' and punch in the following address: http://mini.opera.com/

Once you're on the site, click "Download Opera Mini"... if prompted, allow the install to proceed.

When the download ends, your phone will be reset... Now you can enjoy web browsing on your phone without all the hassle - enjoy!!

Understanding the PIN Function

Every Blackberry owner has a unique PIN Number that allows any Blackberry to communicte with other Blackberries - FREE!

You may have noticed a program pre-installed on your phone called "Blackberry Messenger". This is the main software to use when PINing your friends or co-workers.

To find your PIN, open a text message, or e-mail to your friend and type the word 'mypin'. Hit the space button and you'll find the words are replaced by an Alphanumeric code. This is your unique PIN Number.

I recomend highlighting the pin number and copying it. There is a feild in each contacts profile for their PIN number. This is the easiest way to use PIN's.

Open Blackberry Messenger, hit the Menu Button and select 'Add Contact...'
It will bring you to your address book and you'll be able to select the person (only if you've added PIN to their profile).

You're now able to 'Start a Conversation' with that perticular person.

You'll notice that Blackberry Messenger is an absolutley kick ass application. The messages you send a real time. When people are typing on their end, it shows on your end that theyre typing. You also get a nice selection of emoticons and such. Here you can also send voice clips and pictures for free!

I hope this is helpful for everybody. Cheers!!

My Pearl is Black...

I've had a few people e-mail me asking about keeping their blackberry in mint condition. I've done my research and found there are some good and bad ways to care for your phone.

The majority of Pearl users will find that after owning the phone for about 6 months, there is an obvious discolouration of the pretty white pearl. The first thing I can recommend is rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth (without lint). Dip your cloth into a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Flip your phone upside down (pearl facing the floor), then rub in circles, cleaning all sides of the pearl. Rub that for a few minutes, making sure that no drops get into the phone. Note; it's crucial you turn your phone off first! If your pearl is black beyond the point of cleaning, I recommend seeing my earlier entry about changing the backlight on your pearl; it really helps.

Next we've got our precious screen. The 8100 Series has a special finish on the screen that prevents it from large scratches. If you get a big scratch, there’s not a lot you can do aside from buy scratch remover and buff it out.

Never use Windex or cleaner with an Ammonia base. This will permanently damage your LCD screen and it will never be the same again. Use a very fine cloth (silk or polyester), rub the screen with either water or your breath.

A great item to keep handy is compressed air. You can buy this suff anywhere you can buy a computer. I use this stuff to blast bits out from under the keypad frequently. In addition, I like to take the back plate off, remove the battery, SIM card and the memory chip (if you have one), and give the whole thing a good air blast. You'll find there is all sorts of built up dirt inside your phone. Too much dirt can cause overheating and decreased performance.

Ringtones, Alerts and Funk

This is a simple post about editing your ring tones. I've been getting some mail asking me - 'hey, how do I change my ring tones and alerts for free?' ... well, I'm glad you asked!!

It's really very very easy. The first thing you're going to need is that bad ass MP3 you want to play.

The next step is to plug in your blackberry using the data cable. Fire up Blackberry Desktop Manager, and open your Media folders. Navigate yourself into the ring tones folder. Now it's a simple matter of dragging and dropping the MP3 you want to use into the ring tones folder.

Once the transfer is complete, scroll through your Blackberry icons and select 'Profiles'.
When you see the different types of settings appear, scroll to the bottom and choose 'Advanced....'

You'll now be given a listing of the various setting you can use 'Loud, Vibrate, Normal etc...'

Highlight Loud (because thats how most people keep their phone set), now press the MENU button on your phone and select edit.

Here you will see a list of each type of alert. You can change all of them to be completely customized, for example, scroll down to 'Phone' and click it with the Pearl.

You will see the screen divided in 2, 'Out of Holster' and 'In Holster' ... Choose your Tune, Volume, Repeat Notification and Number of Vibrations.

Save you changes, and have someone call you! You're now the proud owner of a unique Blackberry Pearl!!

In my next post I'll discuss keeping your Blackberry physically clean.

Total Customization: Part II

Changing the Trackball

The Blackberry Pearl (8100) is the only blackberry to have 4 lights below the Pearl (Red, Green, Blue, White). Although there is no option in the menu to light them up, there is a great program out there to edit the colour of your pearl.

Click this link from your Blackberry Browser: Install ColorPearl

After installed, check your blackberry 'Options' and select 'ColorPearl'.

Next post we'll toy with our options and make our Blackberry stand out even more. Millions of pearl users will envy you. Check back soon.