Blackberry Bold Tips/Tricks/Apps Thread

assagai said:
Is there a way to compose an sms with one click/button press like you can for email? The 'c' key is a great shortcut for emails but writing texts still requires a couple of keystrokes.

Something like the 'new sms' shortcut you can have in s60 or winmo would be very handy.

also curious - what kind of battery life are you guys getting? i was a bit disappointed after reading reviews about the great battery life only to find i get about 24hrs tops with mild usage, wifi & bluetooth & gps off, on 3g network.
Click to expand...

Answer to your SMS question: http://berrycoder.com/
It's called Qsms, once installed just press Q to compose an SMS, I couldn't find a more integrated solution.

As for battery life I'm in the same boat. I get about 20 hours with heavy use on 3G and no wifi or Bluetooth. It's a lot more than my Sony Ericsson P990 on 3G. Bear in mind it's always connected to 3G so it's not that bad.
When I know I'll need more battery life I switch to Edge. I hear the newest firmware offers much better battery life, but it's not officially available from MTN yet.
I also have my phone turn off from 1 at night and wake up at 7 the next morning, which helped a little.
I usually just put the charger in at night, it would have been nice if they'd included a cradle though.
 
oronte said:
Answer to your SMS question: http://berrycoder.com/
It's called Qsms, once installed just press Q to compose an SMS, I couldn't find a more integrated solution.

As for battery life I'm in the same boat. I get about 20 hours with heavy use on 3G and no wifi or Bluetooth. It's a lot more than my Sony Ericsson P990 on 3G. Bear in mind it's always connected to 3G so it's not that bad.
When I know I'll need more battery life I switch to Edge. I hear the newest firmware offers much better battery life, but it's not officially available from MTN yet.
I also have my phone turn off from 1 at night and wake up at 7 the next morning, which helped a little.
I usually just put the charger in at night, it would have been nice if they'd included a cradle though.
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Installed Qsms - works perfectly! Thanks for the tip.

I see the new firmware is available on the BB site, and there is the old vendor.xml trick for installing it - maybe i'll brave it and report back the findings here. Improved battery life would be a huge plus - coming from a nokia e61i I'm used to going days without charging.
 
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Does upgrading the OS void the warranty with MTN? I am having a problem with dropped calls. Hopefully .216 fixes that. When I'm on a call, if my 3G switches to edge/gprs or visa versa the call drops until it switches back. If I switch off 3G then I don't have the problem. Very irritating! Other than that this phone is amazing. Anyone else experienced the same problem?
 
Sensorei said:
Does upgrading the OS void the warranty with MTN? I am having a problem with dropped calls. Hopefully .216 fixes that. When I'm on a call, if my 3G switches to edge/gprs or visa versa the call drops until it switches back. If I switch off 3G then I don't have the problem. Very irritating! Other than that this phone is amazing. Anyone else experienced the same problem?
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does mtn have the latest 216 firmware for download? If so then i'm sure it won't void your warranty.

I'm about to flash mine with 216, will report back.
 
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Sensorei said:
Does upgrading the OS void the warranty with MTN? I am having a problem with dropped calls. Hopefully .216 fixes that. When I'm on a call, if my 3G switches to edge/gprs or visa versa the call drops until it switches back. If I switch off 3G then I don't have the problem. Very irritating! Other than that this phone is amazing. Anyone else experienced the same problem?
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It should not be a problem, otherwise just go back to the original OS if you are not happy with the .216
 
What I would like to confirm with you guys:

1) On MTN - is all data through the Blackberry APN free? The MTN site seems to indicate only the first 3 months of data is free.

2) Will it sync with my gmail imap account nicely? IE. If a message is read on the BB, it gets marked as read on gmail (when it gets imap'd to my pc) or if I move it to a new folder, it gets moved.

3) How does it work exactly with the service provider and BES? Do I call them first to set up BES...or do I contact my IT department first (I am with iTalk by the way)

4) What exactly does MTN charge for BIS and BES? I cant seem to get a straight answer. My contract is a procall 120 - and I would like to bolt on the BES/BIS service (depending on which I choose)

I will most likely be connecting it to the BES server at work - but in all honesty, my work email is not critical - my personal email is (cause I cannot get personal email at work).

5) Is there an MSN client or something like that, included in the BB-APN data? I know there's the google talk one...but MSN is more popular in my circle (g-d knows why...)
 
What I would like to confirm with you guys:

1) On MTN - is all data through the Blackberry APN free? The MTN site seems to indicate only the first 3 months of data is free.
The first post on this thread states exactly what is and what is not free. The information on the MTN website is old, everything that does go through the BB APN is covered under your BIS Bolt on for as long as you subscribe to it. Most new contracts include 24 month subscription to BIS I their monthly fee.
2) Will it sync with my gmail imap account nicely? IE. If a message is read on the BB, it gets marked as read on gmail (when it gets imap'd to my pc) or if I move it to a new folder, it gets moved.
It works quite well, requires a little tweaking. The only thing not supported is personal folders. Messages will sync read/unread status. By default the imap service will delete the e-mail, but it is possible to have it archive instead and set up filters on Gmail to send those messages to particular folders. The read/unread isn't perfect though, if you read an delete/archive a message immediately after its arrival it's not always marked as read in Gmail.
3) How does it work exactly with the service provider and BES? Do I call them first to set up BES...or do I contact my IT department first (I am with iTalk by the way)
Not sure, check with your company. I don't believe that italk offer Blackberry's at all, so check with them as well, you may want to move to MTN SP.
4) What exactly does MTN charge for BIS and BES? I cant seem to get a straight answer. My contract is a procall 120 - and I would like to bolt on the BES/BIS service (depending on which I choose)
Between R60-R69 for BIS, I'm not sure about BES, I think it's around R130, but don't quote me on that.
I will most likely be connecting it to the BES server at work - but in all honesty, my work email is not critical - my personal email is (cause I cannot get personal email at work).

5) Is there an MSN client or something like that, included in the BB-APN data? I know there's the google talk one...but MSN is more popular in my circle (g-d knows why...)[/QUOTE]
Windows Live Messenger is available and I believe it does fall under the BB APN, don't know if that's the same as MSN or not though.
 
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Hi,

can someone please post the OTA link for vodafone satnav for BB?
After upgrading i need to reinstall and can't find the link anywhere!

Thanks
 
i've updated to 216, so far battery life seems worse then before... battery went from full to half overnight, without even using the handset.
 
oronte said:
What I would like to confirm with you guys:

1) On MTN - is all data through the Blackberry APN free? The MTN site seems to indicate only the first 3 months of data is free.
The first post on this thread states exactly what is and what is not free. The information on the MTN website is old, everything that does go through the BB APN is covered under your BIS Bolt on for as long as you subscribe to it. Most new contracts include 24 month subscription to BIS I their monthly fee.
2) Will it sync with my gmail imap account nicely? IE. If a message is read on the BB, it gets marked as read on gmail (when it gets imap'd to my pc) or if I move it to a new folder, it gets moved.
It works quite well, requires a little tweaking. The only thing not supported is personal folders. Messages will sync read/unread status. By default the imap service will delete the e-mail, but it is possible to have it archive instead and set up filters on Gmail to send those messages to particular folders. The read/unread isn't perfect though, if you read an delete/archive a message immediately after its arrival it's not always marked as read in Gmail.
3) How does it work exactly with the service provider and BES? Do I call them first to set up BES...or do I contact my IT department first (I am with iTalk by the way)
Not sure, check with your company. I don't believe that italk offer Blackberry's at all, so check with them as well, you may want to move to MTN SP.
4) What exactly does MTN charge for BIS and BES? I cant seem to get a straight answer. My contract is a procall 120 - and I would like to bolt on the BES/BIS service (depending on which I choose)
Between R60-R69 for BIS, I'm not sure about BES, I think it's around R130, but don't quote me on that.
I will most likely be connecting it to the BES server at work - but in all honesty, my work email is not critical - my personal email is (cause I cannot get personal email at work).

5) Is there an MSN client or something like that, included in the BB-APN data? I know there's the google talk one...but MSN is more popular in my circle (g-d knows why...)
Click to expand...
Windows Live Messenger is available and I believe it does fall under the BB APN, don't know if that's the same as MSN or not though.[/QUOTE]

Great! Thanks for the response! I did call iTalk, and you can activate blackberry on their systems. They've also just been bought over by MTN SP!
 
assagai said:
i've updated to 216, so far battery life seems worse then before... battery went from full to half overnight, without even using the handset.
Click to expand...

I've now read several mixed review about 216, some say battery life is better, some worse, and others the same. Let us know in a week what battery life is like Assagaai.
I've just spoken with 1555 and they say the Wireless Upgrade option should be available in about a week. If you don't have the option (it's under Advanced Options in the Options menu) then you'll have to do it on Windows or at a Service Centre.
 
will report back after some extended use - it seems like the first part of the battery indicator goes down very fast and the last part doesn't - for an average of about the same battery life so far..

another question - does anyone know why html email displays properly only on my BB (mobileemail.co.za) but not on my pop account on the bold?
 
assagai said:
will report back after some extended use - it seems like the first part of the battery indicator goes down very fast and the last part doesn't - for an average of about the same battery life so far..

another question - does anyone know why html email displays properly only on my BB (mobileemail.co.za) but not on my pop account on the bold?
Click to expand...

Could you give us more detail on this? On my gmail account html e-mails are reformatted for column view and long ones are usually truncated - are these the problems you're having.
 
oronte said:
Could you give us more detail on this? On my gmail account html e-mails are reformatted for column view and long ones are usually truncated - are these the problems you're having.
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if i forward the same email to both my personal pop3 address (setup on the bb) and to the blackberry vodfone address, the images and HTML only show up in the vodafone account, my pop account shows the HTML source code - as if it were a plaintext client... kinda wierd. Anyone know what's up with that?
 
another question - if i switch to 2g only to save battery, the "B" icon no longer appears - does this mean if i switch to 2g that my data will no longer go through the bb apn? Is the unlimited data only available with 3g switched on? (i'm on vodacom)
 
Hi Guys

Got my bold up and running with Gmail...but it seems to be popping the email (ie, if I read it on my blackberry it's not marked as read on my computer).

Is there any way to IMAP the gmail? If so...how?
 
assagai said:
another question - if i switch to 2g only to save battery, the "B" icon no longer appears - does this mean if i switch to 2g that my data will no longer go through the bb apn? Is the unlimited data only available with 3g switched on? (i'm on vodacom)
Click to expand...

EDGE in uppercase is the BB APN. edge in lower case is not :P
 
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